FYI, I’m way behind on my email. I don’t expect that to change anytime soon. If you’re expecting a response from me, it may be a while…
Triple-A — Fresno 11, Portland 10
Craig Stansberry (SS): 3-for-5, 3B, BB
Peter Ciofrone: 1-for-4, BB, HBP
Will Venable: 1-for-4, 2B, 2 BB
Justin Huber (1B): 0-for-5, SF
Vince Sinisi: 2-for-5, BB
Colt Morton: 3-for-6, HR
Matt Antonelli: 0-for-4
Cesar Ramos: 4.2 IP, 8 H, 8 R, 2 HR, 2 BB, 3 SO, HBP
Adam Bass: 1.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 HR, 0 BB, 1 SO
Joe Thatcher: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 HR, 0 BB, 0 SO
Dirk Hayhurst: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 HR, 0 BB, 1 SO
Justin Hampson: 0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 HR, 0 BB, 0 SO
On our way back from Oregon, somewhere around Mt. Shasta, we passed a place called Bassholes Bar and Grill. For some reason, seeing Bass’ name made me think of that. Bassholes. Pretty clever. It’s like a play on words. And it really gets me in the mood to eat… Game time temperature at Fresno was 103; sounds like fun…
Double-A — Tulsa 5, San Antonio 4
Drew Macias: 2-for-6
Craig Cooper (LF): 4-for-6, 2 HR
Kyle Blanks: 0-for-0, BB, HBP
Chad Huffman (PH): 0-for-1
Jose Lobaton: 0-for-2
Steve Garrison: 6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 HR, 3 BB, 5 SO, WP
Mauro Zarate: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 HR, 3 BB, 3 SO
Jonathan Ellis: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 HR, 2 BB, 1 SO
Blanks was plunked in the third inning, after the first of two Cooper home runs, and lifted for a pinch-runner. Here’s hoping Gigantor is okay… I don’t know why I keep tracking Zarate. He threw well when I saw him in spring training, and I just haven’t been willing to let it go… Somehow David Parrish, son of Lance, ended up on the Missions. I wasn’t crazy about him when he played at Michigan and my opinion hasn’t changed since then.
High-A — Lake Elsinore 4, Bakersfield 1
Eric Sogard: 0-for-4
Cedric Hunter: 1-for-4
Kellen Kulbacki: 2-for-4, HR
Mitch Canham: 1-for-3, BB
Ernesto Frieri: 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 HR, 1 BB, 8 SO
Another day, another Kulbacki homer; that’s six in his last 10 games… I remain intrigued by Frieri, who has made a smooth transition from reliever to starter this year; he isn’t young and he isn’t overpowering, but I like him.
Low-A — South Bend 6, Fort Wayne 0
Luis Durango: 1-for-4
Lance Zawadzki (SS): 1-for-4, E (20)
Justin Baum: 2-for-4
Danny Payne (RF): 1-for-2, 2 BB
Yefri Carvajal: 1-for-4
Felix Carrasco: 0-for-4
Brad Chalk: 1-for-3
Matt Teague: 4.1 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 1 HR, 2 BB, 2 SO
Robert Woodard: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 HR, 0 BB, 1 SO
Carvajal is quietly putting together a decent season in the Midwest League. No, a line of .280/.319/.377 is nothing to write home about, especially for a corner outfielder, but he’s hitting a ton of doubles and he doesn’t turn 20 until January… Since May 1, Carvajal is batting .296/.352/.381.
Short-Season-A — Spokane 6, Eugene 3
Shane Buschini: 1-for-4
Jeudy Valdez: 1-for-2, 2 BB
Emmanuel Quiles: 0-for-3, BB
Tyson Bagley: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 HR, 0 BB, 2 SO, HBP
Rob Musgrave: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 HR, 1 BB, 1 SO, WP
Anthony Bass: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 HR, 0 BB, 1 SO
So a day after I tell you Valdez hacks at everything, he draws two walks… I got to see Quiles while we were in Eugene, too; he’s hyperactive behind the plate (always looking to make a throw) and he doesn’t turn 19 until the end of October… Bagley has fanned 21 in 14 2/3 innings so far.
Rookie — AZL Padres 7, AZL Rangers 3
Kevin Hansen (2B): 2-for-4, 2B, BB
Keisy Marte: 3-for-4, 2 2B
Edgar Garzon (1B): 1-for-3, 2B, HBP
Kevin Cameron: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 HR, 0 BB, 1 SO (2 GO)
Cameron makes a rehab start; good for him…
Rookie — DSL Tigers 8, DSL Padres 4
Jonathan Galvez: 1-for-4, BB, E
Rymer Liriano: 0-for-5
Milton Bradley has a blog
http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/07/milton-bradley-what-have-i-done-now/index.html?ref=sports
Christ could we use an MB right now. Well written, wonder if he writes his own copy? Never thought of ball players as too bright, much less writers.
Antonelli has unfortunately fallen back off the wagon
#2@PM: I thought that was one of the knocks on Bradley — that he was too smart and too introspective for his own good. He’s only played 18 games in the OF this season — about 1 every 4 starts — but I’m not sure if that’s all he can play because of the injury or just all they need him to play. If that’s all he can do then it’s not like the Padres could really use him.
#3@Loren: I’m wondering why they don’t send Antonelli down to San Antonio. Hasn’t he struggled enough this season. I can’t imagine there are too many major leaguers that have any minor league season where they hit below .200 — although that might be hard to check.
I wonder how long until Kulbacki gets a shot at Double A. He has simply murdered the ball since June.
I went and saw the Storm game last night on Nothing Night. I really enjoyed it; the lack of loud PA music and announcements gave the game a lot more laid back feel, and since the Storm players have their names on the back of their jerseys I knew who everyone was. They did operate the scoreboard, which was very helpful. Someone brought a megaphone to the game and announced the Storm players as they came to bat and entered the game and occasionally interjected other comments (a “nice play” or some charge shouts).
In the game itself, Frieri pitched really well, but he didn’t look dominating. In my pretty much worthless opinion his stuff didn’t look that good. Kulbacki hit really well. His homer was to dead center, and one of the outs he made (against a lefty) was a crushed line drive the first baseman made a leaping snag of. Sogard looks really awkward turning the double play and doesn’t have much arm strength. That’s about the extent of my scout-y observations. It was a really fun game and pretty crisply played for the Cal league.
#6@Ben B.: Well done, Ben B … THANKS!
I was asked one question about “Nothing Night” … did they do the Star Spangled Banner before the game?
Also, I assume it was informal, but I’d bet that everyone still did a “7th inning stretch”, right? Or did the crowd keep to the spirit of “Nothing Night”?
The guys got a clear writers voice, pretty interesting. Funny how schlome mentioned he was to smart for his own good, it seems kind of a paradox, but in many cases it is true.
A bit off topic, but in looking at the list of of draft picks on padres.com, and comparing the list to years past, it seems we have signed a lot less guys at this point of the summer than we did last year.
For example, in the 2007 draft, the last two draft picks to sign were Cumberland on July 6th and Corey Kluber on July 13th. Everyone else signed in June.
This year, however, as of today, July 8, we still haven’t signed over 15 guys, including a lot of the high picks like Dykstra, Darnell, Tekotte, Kipnis, Figueroa and Zornes.
What does everyone make of this? Is the list just not updated? Did the Padres spend all their cash on the international players? Are they waiting to see if they’re going to free up cash by selling Maddux, Giles, etc.?
Query.
#7@LynchMob: I am embarrassed to say I arrived a little late, so if the national anthem was played, I missed it. For the seventh inning stretch, most of the people stood up on their own and the group with the megaphone coordinated the singing of “Take Me out to the Ballgame”.
#9@Ryan: Good question … I’ll try to ask DePo when I see him Friday @ Petco …
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=922
#10@Ben B.: So, uh, perhaps it’s fair to say you don’t know “Nothing”?
#11@LynchMob: Many thanks, Lynch. If you get a chance to ask I’d be interested in hearing what Pablo has to say.
FYI, the reason I checked the lists in the first place is because a friend of mine saw Figueroa play in the Cape Cod league last week and went out of his way to e-mail me and say that Cole looked pretty darn good. Putting aside Mooneyham, of the remaining unsigned players, Cole’s the one I most hope the Pads sign.