2008 August

Archive for August 2008

Comments Returning… Sort Of

Friday, August 29, 2008
by Geoff Young

Part of a host's responsibility is to lay out and enforce ground rules that enable all guests to enjoy themselves. I'm afraid that as Ducksnorts has grown, I've neglected this duty and allowed us to stray too far from our mission, which is to discuss baseball in an intelligent and thoughtful manner. For that, I am sorry. Over the past week I've had a chance to reflect, and I've come to realize that we really do need reader comments here. At their best, they significantly enhance the value of Ducksnorts for all of us. With that in mind, I'll be reinstating comment functionality on Monday, September 1... with a twist. Stay Focused To help ensure that everyone follows the Community Guidelines and Moderation Policy (read this, understand ...

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Padres Farm Report: Spotlight on Portland

Thursday, August 28, 2008
by Geoff Young

Portland Beavers in a Box: Record: 69-70 Runs Scored: 695 Runs Allowed: 764 BA/OBP/SLG: .265/.350/.431 (Pacific Coast League: .277/.347/.443) ERA: 5.04 (PCL: 4.84) DER: .632 (PCL: .637) Source: Baseball-Reference. This may be the weakest minor-league team in the Padres organization. In a league that emphasizes scoring, the Beavers' offense is a little below average, while their pitching and defense are considerably worse. The roster features a mix of legitimate prospects, suspects, guys who could have a career on the fringe if everything breaks right, and veterans who aren't going anywhere soon. The best of the lot are second baseman Matt Antonelli (whom I ranked as the Padres #2 prospect entering the season), center fielder Will Venable, and left-hander Wade LeBlanc (#7). Others potentially in the ...

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Posted in Minors | 1 Comment »

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Congratulations, It’s a Center Fielder

Wednesday, August 27, 2008
by Geoff Young

One of the few pleasant surprises in a miserable season has been the resurrection of Jody Gerut's career. Gerut, who hadn't played in the big leagues since 2005, signed a minor-league contract with the Padres back in January. Talk about under the radar. As Mick Jagger once sang, "I've got no expectations." It's not like he was never any good, though. During his rookie campaign of 2003, Gerut had enjoyed a fair amount of success with the Cleveland Indians, hitting .279/.336/.494. After tailing off a bit the following year, he fell off even further in 2005 before missing the next two seasons altogether. At that point, what's to expect? How ...

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Posted in Baseball, Minors | 1 Comment »

Please, Don’t Beat the Worms

Tuesday, August 26, 2008
by Geoff Young

In the Ducksnorts 2008 Baseball Annual I noted that Adrian Gonzalez didn't ground into many double plays in 2007. Given how slow he is and how many he'd hit into the year before, this surprised me. Well, now he's back to his old tricks: Adrian Gonzalez, Grounders and Double Plays YearPAGIDPGB% Statistics are courtesy of Baseball-Reference and Hardball Times, and are through games of August 25, 2008. 20066312443.8 2007720636.9 20085672043.6 This is a little troubling: In the book, I observed that his GB% actually declined from 2006 to 2007, which didn't make any sense to me at the time. I don't remember which source I used and I'm too lazy to go digging through my notes, but this time I've ...

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Posted in Baseball | No Comments »

Don’t Believe a Word I Say

Monday, August 25, 2008
by Geoff Young

Daniel at There Are Better Deals in August asks whether it's okay for the front office to lie. It's a provocative question, and one that deserves attention. He cites a recent article by Derek Carty, my colleague at Hardball Times, that mentions Paul DePodesta's blog as a possible propaganda tool. From Derek's article: By sending messages through the media, the front office can send them under the guise of praise for the actual players or on-field management. By writing to a blog, these messages can be sent under the guise of informing the team's fan base. Derek then asserts that ...

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Posted in Baseball | No Comments »

Comments Disabled

Saturday, August 23, 2008
by Geoff Young

Effective immediately, and for the foreseeable future, comments have been disabled. I've asked folks to follow the rules, but it's just not happening and I don't have the time or energy to continue policing the situation. Thanks for your support and understanding. Go Padres!

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