Padres @ Reds
9:35 a.m. PT
no television
AM 1090, FM 105.7, XM 183
MLB, B-R
Wake up and play ball.
In case you missed it, the Padres traded left-hander Randy Wolf to Houston for right-hander Chad “I’m Not Going to Pay a Lot for This Pitcher” Reineke. Pretty exciting stuff, eh? Paul DePodesta gives us the scoop…
Here’s a great recap of how the minor leaguers did yesterday …
http://firstinning.com/daily/sd
Chad “I’m Not Going to Pay a Lot for This Pitcher†Reineke
Wow Geoff, that’s below the belt…
I think it’s a pretty decent haul. We had a strugling big league pitcher who may or may not be back next year and we flipped him for a AAA pitcher w/ solid numbers (I said, “solid” not great) who may have additional velocity if he moves to the ‘pen fulltime… The Sludge Merchant strikes again!
24 hrs later, I’m still not happy with the Wolf trade
Frankly, if DePodesta can be believed and Wolf was being pursued heaviest by the Astros, then I can’t imagine that the Padres wilfully asked for Reineke as acceptable payment for Wolf.
#3@Loren: The move was more to drop Wolfs $4 mil contract for the last half of the season more than it was to pick up a lower B level prospect who may or may not be able to be a long reliever for the pads next year…
I like the move because it frees up a spot in the rotation for Hensley who I think can come back strong and be the Pads 3rd starter in 09.
2: I’ve got to agree with Peter. Reineke is a pretty good haul for a pitcher with horrible numbers away from PetCo, with horrible numbers in July, and with a terrifying injury history.
I do think that Reineke is going to be a pretty good bullpen piece.
3: I think that when DePo mentions that Wolf was being pursued aggressively, he means in comparison to other teams pursuits of Wolf. No real contender really wanted him making starts for them down the stretch. The last time that Wolf pitched 140 innings was 2003…he’s just out of gas.
Not sure if anyone is watching the game… Jody Gerut led off the game with a HR. Its still 1-0 through 1.5 innings.
Not to pick on Paul, but does anyone else get sick of hearing players — they’re people, people! — referred to as pieces and parts? I listened to a BP podcast yesterday in which Carroll and Sheehan used “pieces” or “parts” seven or eight times in a 13-minute segment. I just wanted to scream at them, “Call them players, pencil necks!”
Here’s what Baseball Prospectus says about the trade:
Credit Kevin Towers for getting good value out of Wolf’s San Diego sojourn before the oft-injured lefty broke down. Wolf only really appeared to be an asset courtesy of Petco Park, he’s a certain free agent after the season, and not one you’d want to bring back if he’s expecting multi-year money. In return, to get one of Houston’s better prospects has to be considered pretty tasty, even if Reineke hasn’t been especially dominant in the PCL this season. However, with solid low-90s heat and a sharp slider, delivered out of a 6’6″ frame, he’s got enough to entice scouts. The performance record is also starting to catch up, because he’s on a good run of late, having delivered six quality starts in his last seven, which has lowered his overall numbers to just under five runs and more than eight strikeouts per nine, and only 2.8 BB/9 to boot. Add in that he’s a fly-ball pitcher going to Petco, and you have to like his chances of being able to improve on his PCL numbers in the majors once he’s ready. He’s a good one-for-one swap-out for Wolf as fourth starters go, with the added benefits of relative durability and some cost savings.
Kouz goes yard!!!! Padres up 3-1 top of the 6th. Nice. Let’s get away on Get Away Day with a W.
I wonder if Maddux is being scouted today. Good to see him boost his trade value with a nice outing on the road.
And I still like the Wolf deal quite a bit, considering how much his value dropped with his recent poor performance. He wasn’t helping this season. Reineke could help down the road. Hensley gets an opportunity. And they save a few million bucks. And if they really liked Wolf ,and I’m pretty sure he likes SD, they could sign him again in the offseason.
Flubbed pick off, single, home run. If it can go wrong, it will go wrong.
How long must we endure Joe Thatcher. The guy has to go…..
#12@Field39: No kidding. I was just looking at Gameday trying to figure out how Phillips could be picked off, caught stealing and safe at 3rd all on the same play. Crazy! And now Dunn hit a Granny.
So much for getting away with a win; let’s just get out of town.
I don’t care how bad the offense is. The bullpen should be the #1 priority of the offseason. The offense hasn’t been good since they moved to Petco. The back of the rotation has always been a bit shaky. But the bullpen has always been the team’s strength during the four consecutive winning seasons.
It’s getting ridiculous how often Meredith has allowed inherited runners to score. I honestly can’t remember the last time he stranded a runner.
Put me down for liking the Wolf trade … I agree with the above comments about the bully needing to be a priority … and Chad seems to be a decent candidate to be a part of the solution to that problem … I don’t see how Wolf could have been used to do more than that … plus the cost savings seem like it’s useful/helpful for the long-term (ie. that money can be used on pieces^H^H^H^H^H^Hplayers that will be part of the 2009 Padres and beyond) …
OT … here’s a good column to check out during this free BP week … http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=7845 … an update on Jenga … and a look at the history of the “save” …
AZL Padres are off today … rats … I coulda used a pick-me-up … bleh …
Why does Bud pitch Thatcher is any high leverage situation?
#18@SDSUBaseball:
Why pitch “insert any Padre reliever except Bell or Adams” in any high leverage situation?
Unfortunately, most games the Padres play are high leverage and you can’t keep running the same two guys out there every day.
Thatcher has been a disaster. He was unhittable at Portland and appeared to be back on track but he’s been just as bad as he was the first 3 times he was up here this season.
#15@JMAR: Bell has been nearly as horrible with letting inherited runners score.
This game just got interesting….
Hairston makes a LOUD 3rd out with the bases loaded to end the game… 9-5 Reds.
#20@SDSUBaseball: You’re right, although Bell rarely enters the game in the middle of an inning. He’s allowed 4 of 8 inherited runners to score. Meredith has now allowed 16 of 30.
What do you mean by “loud”? No that it matters, but did he almost hit it out?
Would you have pitched Trevor today? Either when Cla came in … or when Thatcher came in … or to relieve Thatcher? All this is 20/20 hindsight … I wasn’t watching / following the game … I strongly doubt that’s a move I’d have wanted Bud to make … but it’s clear that a different decision at any one of those points prolly woulda had better results …