Has Anyone Seen the Part of Me That Cares?
Tue, Jul 8, 2008
by Geoff Young
In Ashland, just around the corner from the Standing Stone Brewery (excellent Oatmeal Stout), there’s a cool little comic book store we always make sure to visit. This time, on impulse, I bought every baseball card they had in stock — 41 packs of maybe 30-40 cards each, separated by team — for $19. There’s everyone in here from Hall-of-Famers Paul Molitor and Eddie Murray to the all-but-forgotten Bill Stein. Heck, I’ve got Omar Vizquel as a Mariner.
Anyway, one of the packs contains nothing but Padres:
- Broderick Perkins
- Mike Maddux (x2)
- Frank Seminara
- Bip Roberts
- Jeremy Hernandez (x2)
- “Eddie” Whitson
- “Benny” Santiago
- Tim Teufel (x5)
- Andy Benes (x3)
- Rich Rodriguez (x3)
- Randy Myers (the moderately effective version, not the completely sucky and expensive one; x3)
- Dan Walters (x2)
- Kurt Stillwell
- Darrin Jackson (go Centaurs!)
- Ricky Gutierrez (x3)
- Fred McGriff (x2)
- Phil Plantier (he shoulda been great; guys who knock 34 bombs at age 24 typically don’t disappear quite so quickly and dramatically)
- Tony Gwynn
It may not be the proudest tradition in the world, but it’s what we’ve got.
* * *
While I was away I completely lost track of the Division That Relevance Forgot (TM), which probably makes me the envy of most baseball fans. In case you need a reminder why nobody cares what’s happening in the NL West, here’s how it breaks down after April 28:
- Dodgers: 32-32, 251 RS, 256 RA
- Rockies: 28-36, 297, 335
- Giants: 27-35, 279, 282
- Diamondbacks: 25-38, 240, 294
- Padres: 25-39, 246, 298
Stellar effort, guys. Way to keep everyone interested in the proceedings…
Picking up where last year's version left off, the Ducksnorts 2008 Baseball Annual provides in-depth analysis of and commentary on the San Diego Padres. Get your copy today.
July 8, 2008 at 7:56 am
On a happy note, I did see Brian Lawrence pitch in Norfolk last Thursday…I put some pictures on my website here:
http://teambogart.blogspot.com.....rence.html
He actually threw well.
I had some good seats (3rd row above the Richmond Dugout) and as BLaw was leaving the field in the 3rd inning, I hollered out “BLAW” and held up my brown and mustard Padres hat. It was the first time he smiled all night, giving me a nice point and wave. Sure, that made me popular with the ladies and 6 year-olds that were around me, but it also made me smile to think BLaw remembers his time in SD with happiness in his heart…
July 8, 2008 at 8:25 am
I’m starting to think we’re not so good at the baseball thing this year.
Actually, I’ve been thinking it for a while, but ya know.
July 8, 2008 at 9:24 am
This is an amazing promo. No, it’s not the Padres.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/medi.....l4.kubrick
July 8, 2008 at 9:26 am
1: Hey, thanks, CM. I’ve always like Brian Lawrence. It’s nice to see that he’s still in baseball and remembers the Padres fondly.
July 8, 2008 at 10:15 am
I was at the game last night. Bright spots included Carlin’s CS and his throw which almost got Ramirez stealing 3rd. Also, an underrated bright spot is Buddy Black not getting thrown out of the game. Instead of coming out furious and trying to inspire his teams passion by getting thrown out, Black got the umpires to confer and got the call changed. I know it didn’t help last night, but I think it’s a big deal and a good quality of his as a manager.
Also, I think that Khalil should sit for a bit. The error last night was a little silly; especially because if he had run and picked it up instead of sulking he could have still thrown Hanley out at first (Ramirez stopped running when it hit Khalil’s glove). I wouldn’t mind seeing Rodriguez start for a few days leading up the ASB and letting Khalil clear his head.
July 8, 2008 at 10:43 am
#5@Paul R: Agree that he needs some rest. He’s played more innings than any other SS in baseball. Dude could have used last nite off.
July 8, 2008 at 11:44 am
4: I think you are right. Khalil badly needs to sit down going into the ASB. He’s gotten one measly single since July 4 with 6K’s.
Can’t hurt, right.
July 8, 2008 at 12:00 pm
#7@Didi: The problem is that they don’t have a good backup. As bad as Khalil has been with the bat, Rodriguez isn’t any better and isn’t nearly as good defensively. However, it might help to give a day off every now and then, maybe then his bat will wake up.
With the way the Padres are hitting at home lately (and the near perfect game by Kuroda last night) I’m wondering what the chances of a no-hitter are the next five games. Here’s the pitchers they face before the All-Star Break: Andrew Miller, Scott Olsen, Jo-Jo Reyes, Charlie Morton, Jorge Campillo. No real Cy Young Award winners there but that probably won’t matter.
July 8, 2008 at 12:33 pm
#8@Schlom: Nobody’s backup SS is very good. They need to be sensible about Greene. The dropoff for one or two games is worth possibly re-energizing him. If nothing else, to get his numbers respectable for the offseason.
#4@Didi: Agree. BLaw was a quality pitcher for the Padres for a while, and too many people acted like he was soft. His shoulder was held together with twine and spit for the last couple of seasons in San Diego.
July 8, 2008 at 12:37 pm
Give th guy the night off, what does it matter, hell take the rest of the week off Greene, go back home, soak up to that home spun spirituality and sheet, then come back after the ASB and start hitting the freaking ball.
Can anyone say 07 career year?
July 8, 2008 at 12:40 pm
#10@PM: Since his 04 was better than his 07, I would say 07 was not a career year. It seems pretty safe to say now that he’ll never come close to 04 again, so you could call that his career year.
July 8, 2008 at 2:29 pm
I read Myrow and Ambres are on their way! No corresponding moves have been announced. I’m guessing P-MAC is out and maybe Giles to the DL.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/articl.....rId=rss_sd
July 8, 2008 at 2:43 pm
#12@JMAR: Or they may go with the crazy idea of carrying 11 pitchers!
July 8, 2008 at 2:46 pm
It would have been so much easier if they just would have been swept by the Dbacks. There wouldn’t be any question about what we should be doing for the rest of the year (see Depodesta’s current blog entry).
Instead, by winning the first two games, everyone keeps this glimmer of hope that maybe, possibly, hopefully. It’s not going to happen this year, so the focus should be on how can we make it back to the postseason sometime in the next three years.
Give Giles, Maddux, Hoffman the option to go elsewhere if they want and we can get some high-risk, high-reward prospects for them. Anyone else who isn’t likely to be a starter in the next three years is fair game, if they’ll bring back prospects.
July 8, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Wow after the Pads make those moves they will have 13 players on the team that were not on the opening day roster…
July 8, 2008 at 2:55 pm
#1@Coronado Mike: Well done, CM … you represented Padre fans well there … thanks!
#11@Ben B.: Question about “Nothing Night” @ Lake Elsinore for you … did they do a Star Spangled Banner? I’d think they’d have to … but it certainly conflicts with “Nothing” …
Agree 100% that KG needs a day or 2 off … which makes me appreciate Cal just a bit more … but even he went thru periods when folks whined for him to take a day off … “rest” really does make a difference …
July 8, 2008 at 3:08 pm
#14@Sean Callahan: How does trading Giles make sense?
July 8, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Bad news trade front wise
Cubs appear to have acquired Rich Harden from the A’s
and trade Giles if you can something for him
and Greene needs rest, see Gonzalez near the all-star break last year, too much time in the field he got burnt out. Got some time off and he did alot better after.
July 8, 2008 at 3:34 pm
Surely P-Mac is gone. Who else? Is the Tony Clark era over in SD? Are they bringing Myrow up just to showcase him for a couple weeks in order to trade him? Where do you plug Myrow in? Does Adrian sit? Just use him twice a week off the bench? Seems a waste to do that to the reigning PCL batting champ.
July 8, 2008 at 3:39 pm
CHICAGO (AP) – The Chicago Cubs have acquired pitcher Rich Harden from the Athletics in a mutiplayer trade.
July 8, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Giles could have a .400 on-base for a few more years. That’s really hard to replace.
July 8, 2008 at 3:41 pm
A good write-up about recent draftee Sawyer Carroll …
http://padres.scout.com/2/767658.html
July 8, 2008 at 3:42 pm
#19@Geoff B: No team plays a player like Adrian twice a week under any scenario.
July 8, 2008 at 3:43 pm
#22@LynchMob: That link was courtesy of the FJ blog at mlb.com … lots of other good links there today …
http://padres.mlblogs.com/
July 8, 2008 at 3:47 pm
#23@Kevin: Sorry, that wasn’t clear. I meant Myrow coming off the bench twice a week. Of course Adrian has to play as much as possible. That’s why I’m not sure what the plan is with Myrow.
July 8, 2008 at 3:50 pm
The Cubs will receive the right-handed Harden and righty Chad Gaudin for pitcher Sean Gallagher, outfielders Matt Murton and Eric Patterson, and minor leaguer John Donaldson.
July 8, 2008 at 3:51 pm
The Cubs’ press release is out. The Cubs get Harden and Chad Gaudin for Gallagher, Murton, Patterson, and catching prospect Josh Donaldson. Jim Hendry did his best to counter the Brewers’ acquisition of CC Sabathia. The A’s get three MLB-ready players plus a solid offense-oriented catching prospect.
July 8, 2008 at 3:52 pm
#25@Geoff B: I see. My bad.
July 8, 2008 at 3:55 pm
And in another little smack
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....id=3476173
Adrian left off home run derby team, Ryan Braun gets the spot
July 8, 2008 at 3:57 pm
#27@Loren: That’s a gutsy move by the Cubs, but it would also seem to kill any idea of sending Maddux/Khalil to them as our two biggest targets were likely Murton and Patterson.
July 8, 2008 at 3:58 pm
#18@Loren: That’s a solid return for Harden, who is the poster boy for oft-injured. It’s also a good move for Chicago, because they don’t necessarily need Harden for the next 3 months. They’re good enough that they might only really need him for the playoffs. This and the CC trade could lead the Cardinals to make some moves.
#19@Geoff B: I believe Myrow will make more in a month of sitting on the bench than he would all year in Portland. I doubt he’ll mind losing the chance to defend his title.
July 8, 2008 at 4:13 pm
#21@Kevin: Totally agree. Put Giles in LF field next year to ease his legs and he’s one of the best defensive LF in the game to go along with that .400 OBP.
#30@Phantom: Yeah, but it may put some pressure on St. Louis. I’d target Anthony Reyes and Jon, a 23 year old CF who is hitting 311/379/485 in AA. The deal might have to get bigger. Besides, maybe Harden goes on the DL and we get Rich Hill from the Cubs for Wolf.
July 8, 2008 at 4:19 pm
#19@Geoff B: With Myrow on the team, either P-MAC is gone or they’ve traded Tony Clark. Even if Clark is still around, Myrow should end up as the team’s #1 pinch hitter. That’s really his best bet in the majors anyways. If he can be a John Vanderwal or Mark Sweeney-type, the Padres would be ecstatic. They haven’t had that type of player in years.
There aren’t many hitters that can be sharp with just 5 or 6 at bats per week. We’ll see if Myrow can be that guy. I just know that P-MAC proved that he definitely wasn’t that guy.
July 8, 2008 at 4:26 pm
#33@JMAR: Even those guys had seasons when they weren’t that guy. But PMac’s recent struggles seem to make it likely he’ll make it back through waivers.
July 8, 2008 at 4:29 pm
#17@Kevin: I don’t think we can rebuild fast enough to compete next year and I don’t see Giles in a Padres uniform in 2 years.
He’s one of the few veterans we have that has some trade value. Like you say, a .400 OBP is hard to replace - if that’s true, we should get some good prospects in return.
July 8, 2008 at 4:32 pm
P-Mac’s been outrighted along with Carlos Guevera. We may lose Guevera since he’s a Rule V guy.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/articl.....rId=rss_sd
I’m interested to see what the Padres plan is with Ambres. I would have thought that Clark or one of our OFers is on the way out.
July 8, 2008 at 4:33 pm
#35@Sean Callahan: Those are valid points, although this year’s team isn’t much different in personnel from the competitive 2007 squad. But the larger problem with trading Giles is that he gets paid a lot more money if it happens, possibly so much more that other teams won’t be willing to move good players for him. I wouldn’t move him just to clear his salary, because what’s freed up probably doesn’t get anybody as good. We might end up paying a few million dollars to send OG somewhere if we want to get a decent prospect back. That still might make sense, but he’s not going to be that easy to move.
July 8, 2008 at 4:46 pm
#37@Tom Waits: Oh, I didn’t realize this was a discussion of what the FO might find realistic and practical to do. My bad.
This year’s team may be nearly the same as the team that was three outs from getting to the postseason in 2007, but the rest of the division and league isn’t the same. That’s why were staring at them from the bottom of the pile - everyone else got better and we didn’t (and have had some unfortunate injuries, though we were playing pretty poorly even before Peavy, Bard & Young went down).
If you don’t believe we can compete next year AND you don’t think we’ll resign Giles in 2010 (I believe we have an option for 2009), trading him would seem to be a prudent option if you get back something that has a good likelihood of helping in 2010 or 2011.
If you think we can compete next year and/or you think we’ll resign him for 2010, then I’d agree with moving him to LF. I just don’t think either of those two scenarios are likely.
July 8, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Here’s an interesting tidbit …
Making the NL All-Star roster earned San Diego’s Adrian Gonzalez a $100,000 increase to $5.6 million in the price of his 2011 club option.
July 8, 2008 at 4:55 pm
#38@Sean Callahan: The rest of the division? It’s worse than last year, much worse. I agree that this year wasn’t just bad luck or injuries. We had serious regression from a lot of players, but not all of it should have been unexpected. Still, the team that won 89 games in 2007 wasn’t overperforming, either.
I expect the Padres think they have pretty good odds to compete next year. I have no idea if those odds are enticing enough for them to forgo trading OG. You’d think it would mostly depend on that and how much money (if any) other teams want us to kick in for his contract jump. If we have to pay 4 or 5 million and all we get back is a B prospect, that may not be too enticing.
July 8, 2008 at 5:06 pm
36: Cancel that. We actually traded for Guevera, so we retain his rights.
July 8, 2008 at 5:07 pm
#35@Sean Callahan: The team should have competed this year, and it competed last year. I don’t see why they shouldn’t compete next year.
Injuries to Peavy, Young and Bard really hurt this team.
There seems to be this theory that other than Peavy, Young and Adrian, the whole team should be 23-year-olds next year. I think that creates more problems than it solves.
July 8, 2008 at 5:08 pm
I think that what the Cubs got for Harden should temper some of the enthusiasm about what Maddux/Wolf might be worth. Murton is a guy that the Cubs have been trying to unload for most of the year, and while Patterson and Gallagher have some upside, neither is an A or A-, or even B+ type of prospect.
July 8, 2008 at 5:10 pm
42: “There seems to be this theory that other than Peavy, Young and Adrian, the whole team should be 23-year-olds next year. I think that creates more problems than it solves.”
I agree wholeheartedly. I don’t think that building for 2011 is a great idea. This division remains winnable, and we still have the pitching to beat in the division next year.
July 8, 2008 at 5:10 pm
#40@Tom Waits: I haven’t looked in detail at the Diamondbacks and Dodgers this year. The Dodgers ineptness at signing centerfielders for stupid contracts definitely helps keep them close, but they, and the DBacks, would seem to have the farm system that will keep them at their current level or better over the next two years (either via trade or bringing them up).
While our farm system has improved, it would appear to be primarily at the lower levels, not having major-league ready guys. No one we’ve brought up this year has set the world on fire - not to say Headley or Hundley won’t, but the young guns appear to be 12-18 months away.
B prospect and $4-5 million isn’t worth OG, agreed. I don’t know what we can get for him, but it should be more than we’ll get for trading most anyone else.
July 8, 2008 at 5:17 pm
#41@Paul R: I’ve never seen Guevara pitch … but a friend of mine whose amatuer-scouting-eye I trust says there’s very little chance he can be a contributing MLB player … what’s your opinion on his prospects? What might the Padres see in him?
July 8, 2008 at 5:19 pm
#42@Kevin: Our record prior to Peavy, Young and Bard going down was not good.
As I said, if you think we can compete next year, keep Giles and move him to left. I think that’s somewhat of a pipe dream based on the hope that Young returns to form, Maddux resigns with us and we start scoring runs when he pitches well, Wolf finds his early season form and Banks continues to surprise. The bullpen also has to revert to form - beyond Bell, it appears to be mediocre.
It also assumes, KG either gets replaced by an offensive upgrade or returns to 2004/2007 form, Gerut or Harriston can continue to surprise in CF and Hundley, Carlin or Morton matures into a MLB-starting catcher.
I think our best chance at winning a postseason game in the next three years is to build around a solid core and find real solutions to the rest of the holes.
July 8, 2008 at 5:27 pm
#47@Sean Callahan: Yes, the record was poor. But there was no way to predict the bad play of Greene or Bard. The team had the worst center fielder in baseball. Kouzmanoff had his usual terrible April. He has been quite good since.
If the Rays management can tinker with their fielding and say to themselves and their players: “we are not a team of the future. we will win this year,” then the Padres should be able to compete in a division in which 85 wins might win it.
Maybe Maddux and Wolf won’t be with the team, but Banks has been a find.
July 8, 2008 at 5:41 pm
Padres are 55 percent to win tonight:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....=280708125
July 8, 2008 at 6:03 pm
#36@Paul R: I’m guessing they won’t go with only 11 pitchers once the second half of the season starts. That gives them another 10 days or so to try and trade Tony Clark or make some other bigger move. I would hate to see Myrow or Ambres sent back down so quickly.
Ambres has never been given much of a chance to play in the majors on a regular basis so it would be good to see him get a chance to play everyday, like they’ve done with Jody Gerut. Of course, there isn’t a spot for him unless Giles is traded or DL’d for an extended period, or if Kouzmanoff is traded, which would open up LF.
#46@LynchMob: Based on KT’s track record with relievers, I was expecting much more from Guevara. Nine walks in 12.1 innings in mop-up duty is pretty brutal. You expect some wildness from a rule V guy like Kevin Cameron, who throws in the low 90’s with movement. But Guevara doesn’t throw harder than mid-80’s. I was not impressed at all. Since they’re keeping him, he’ll have a chance to prove otherwise at Portland.
July 8, 2008 at 6:03 pm
I’ve been surprised at how much communication from the Padres’ FO has indicated they have not yet made the “buy vs sell” decision for 2008 … it’s obvious to me which way this decision should lean … and I’m 99.99% sure that the reality inside the FO is different from their public communications (and I fully understand and support how/why that’s the case) …
So, what I’m left to ponder is what’s been touched on a bit here today … make moves now for 2009 or 2010 or 2011?
It’s clear to me that the Padres’ ownership and management works towards having a team each year that is most likely to compete for the division and/or wild card while minimizing the risk of having a season which is as bad as 2008 has turned about to be (which begs an obvious question) … which says to me that what they are really doing right now is investigating options to make the 2009 team as good as possible within their risk (and budget, obviously) constraints.
I wish they’d have more of an attitude of “plan for a run at a World Series” … but I understand both how risky and hard that is. Perhaps they even think that’s what they are doing … perhaps that *is* what they are doing … but that’s sure not what it looks like to me.
I don’t claim to know what it takes to make and execute such a plan … it took Boston *many* years to figure out how to do it … clearly the Yanks have struggled doing it lately … so it’s not just a money issue … and I’m not even sure that the Twins nor the A’s have such a plan (I think they are just better at the “be a good team every year” model) … and the Tampa Bay model has many of its own risks and downsides (ex. sucking bad enough and long enough to have so many high draft picks that you almost can’t avoid creating a team that seems to be young and talented enough to make a run at several World Series’) …
I guess I’ve always thought that the key was to keep having a good team and be ready, willing and able to buy the right free agent hitter at the right time … a Bonds-type … a Vlad-type … a Manny-type. They are few and far between … so perhaps this is the Padres’ plan … they just have not yet found the guy they want … I was OK with it not being Carlos Lee, nor Soriano … (and we all knew it certainly wasn’t Barry Zito
) … it seemed like it might have been Miguel Cabrera … who might it be in the near future?
In the mean time, the team tries its best to stay poised … to take a few shots at drafting or signing and developing that guy …
I think the things that have hurt the 2008 Padres, beyond the oft-mentioned injuries (Jake, CY, Bard) and regressions (KG, Bard, Barrett, bully) are the events from 2007 which led to not retaining Jenga and Cameron …
July 8, 2008 at 6:03 pm
PMAC cleared waivers and will be heading to Portland. Hopefully he can stay healthy and get 200 at bats or so
July 8, 2008 at 6:10 pm
#48@Kevin: Saying that Kouz “has been quite good since” April seems a stretch to me … here’s a link to some numbers …
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/pl.....n4sLqFCLcF
… OK, now I see that in May and June, his OPS was .822 … which I’ll agree is “quite good” … it just didn’t seem like that’s what was happening …
I’m not convinced he’s 100% healthy right now … I head one of the guys on 1090 last night or this morning mention that his double last night coulda/woulda/shoulda been a triple if he’d been healthy … just for example …
Also, from the couple of times I’ve seen him on TV recently, he sure seems to be in a pull-only mode … ‘cept for the double he rip’d down the RF line in the 9th inning of that last D-backs game … so perhaps I’m just getting too down on KK as a result of the poor performance with the bat from several others in the lineup …
July 8, 2008 at 6:17 pm
#14@Sean Callahan: In case you missed what started what turned into today’s topic of conversation (buy vs sell in 2008) … it was Sean’s mention of DePo’s blog entry …
http://itmightbedangerous.blog.....ay-gm.html
… which asks you/us to “Plan GM” … specifically …
Given the state of our current team, our organization as a whole, and the entire division, what would you do?
… and includes a poll which currently reads that 88% of 734 voters would be “sellers” (and that’s what got my vote).
July 8, 2008 at 6:19 pm
#54@LynchMob: Oops, that should be “Play GM” … and I’ve not yet read thru the 73 responses posted so far … have you? Any good / interesting ones in there?
July 8, 2008 at 6:21 pm
GY: That part of you that cares is still there……just have to suppress it while baseball times are tough, as I’m sure you know. =)
Next year we can care, or even this year??????
July 8, 2008 at 6:41 pm
#51@LynchMob: I don’t think the Rays had a model to suck for a long time.
I would have worked hard to sign Bradley. But maybe he would gone away anyway, because of the luxury of the DH.
July 8, 2008 at 6:43 pm
#53@LynchMob: Yeah, he has been quite good, especially for playing in Petco.
The reason his numbers are slow to improve is because they were especially low in April. But better than last April.