Sun, Aug 3, 2008
by Geoff Young
Padres vs Giants
1:05 p.m. PT
Channel 4SD, DIRECTV 736
AM 1090, FM 105.7, XM 188
MLB, B-R
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.
Filed under In-Game Discussion.
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Tags: giants, mlb, padres
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August 3, 2008 at 8:27 am
How the heck did we lose to the Zito?
This is a load of crap.
August 3, 2008 at 11:30 am
Worst offenses in team history, OPS+
1. 1969 — 81
2. 1974 — 87
3. 1971 — 88
3. 1972 — 88
5. 1975 — 89
11. 2008 — 95
This season is the worst since 1993. The Padres first season over 100 was 1977.
Best offenses in team history, OPS+
1. 2004 — 110
The first year of Petco. You would never convince Nevin or Klesko of this.
2. 1997 — 108
3. 1998 — 107
4. 1996 — 106
5. 2006 — 104
Other than the 1995-98 era, 2004-07 has been the Padres best time for offense.
August 3, 2008 at 12:10 pm
#2@Kevin: Thanks for this Kevin.
August 3, 2008 at 12:34 pm
At least the Chargers have a promising season ahead of them.
August 3, 2008 at 12:50 pm
As I watched Xavier Nady hit a 3-run dinger for the Yank’s, I thought about what I had read in this morning’s UT from Sandy Alderson - long-term vs short-term. What BS and what hypocrisy from the FO!
August 3, 2008 at 1:02 pm
WTF? The Padres suck so bad that SD4 isn’t even broadcasting in HD.
August 3, 2008 at 1:04 pm
#5@LoyalSufferer: This is Nady’s first really good year. For him we got two much more valuable years from Mike Cameron.
It’s pretty funny to blast the front office for short-term thinking based on one HR, or even for one good season by a guy who had been nothing but a platoon corner outfielder with bad defense before 2008 (and is pretty likely to be that again the rest of this year and for his career).
August 3, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Please check his stats at http://www.baseball-reference.com/n/nadyxa01.shtml. Xaver’s production appears to be getting better and - btw - where is Mike Cameron now? And I don’t remember his defense as being “bad” - mediocre maybe!
August 3, 2008 at 1:25 pm
#8@LoyalSufferer: I know all about Nady’s stats. Those numbers were compiled in part-time duty, with both the Mets and Pittsburgh limiting his exposure to RHP. This is the first year he’s hit righties.
Nady being good for 1 year is better than Cameron being good for 2 years…..how? Even if Nady is good next year, that’s 2 good years for each of them. And Cameron gives you superior defense at a more important position. You don’t just wash away what the Nady trade brought us because those games are in the past.
In 2006 and 2007 Nady was a pretty good platoon player who could play an adequate LF, given that LF are generally not good. Meanwhile Mike Cameron was a very good everyday CF. Are the Padres supposed to wait for every player to have a career year?
August 3, 2008 at 1:32 pm
The Padres can’t hit, can’t bunt and can’t steal. At least they don’t score many runs so their games pass quickly. It is tough to be a Padre fan.
August 3, 2008 at 1:38 pm
OMG! The Mad Dog with a tie RBI!
August 3, 2008 at 1:40 pm
An RBI for the first time in 12 innings. And it is a pitcher that does it. Go figure…
August 3, 2008 at 1:41 pm
#11@Turbine Dude: Even in a bad season, there’s something in almost every game to make you smile.
August 3, 2008 at 1:45 pm
#9@Tom Waits: LOL - I figured out where to click for the reply! So here we are “long-term” with neither of the two.
August 3, 2008 at 1:46 pm
#13@Tom Waits: Yeah, but the Padres suck so bad that SD4 isn’t even broadcasting in HD today.
August 3, 2008 at 2:06 pm
One of the biggest FO decisions of the year has to be not protecting J. Soria.
August 3, 2008 at 2:46 pm
I think the Padres should adopt the cammies as their everyday uniform. They seem to play better and they are more intimidating. On the other hand, the Chargers should loose the powder blue. Those uniforms belong in Hillcrest.
August 3, 2008 at 3:07 pm
#17@Turbine Dude: That’s probably a little too much.
August 3, 2008 at 3:08 pm
#16@JP: Or not signing Bradley. Or not signing Fukudome.
August 3, 2008 at 3:08 pm
#14@LoyalSufferer: Long-term doesn’t mean “later.” Two good years from Nady in 2008 and (possibly) 2009 is no more valuable than two good years from Cameron in 2006 and 2007. If you want to fault the Padres for seeming to be content with a team with a likely max win potential of 88-90 instead of retrenching to build more of a powerhouse, that’s one thing. Using Nady’s first good season as evidence that they’re lying about having a plan proves no such thing.
#16@JP: A huge blunder before 2007. One of the biggest disagreements between GY and myself concerns Soria and the Padres culpability for it.
August 3, 2008 at 3:15 pm
19. Fukudome was never going to come here. The Cubs were always going to be the highest bidder there and he wanted to go there. And Bradley essentially had agreed to resign with the Padres following the Winter Meetings but then signed with Texas instead for a little more. He has a prior relationship with Ron Washington and being able to DH coming back from knee surgery was a factor.
August 3, 2008 at 3:28 pm
#21@Corey Brock: Agreed. But if they could have had just one of them, they could combined their Bradley money and their Fukudome money and given it to one of them. Maybe. It would have helped the team.
August 3, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Wow, they actually won.
August 3, 2008 at 3:43 pm
#17@Turbine Dude:
WTF??? The powder blue unis are incredibly popular, despite the questionable taste of certain homophobic commenters at Ducksnorts.
August 3, 2008 at 3:57 pm
#24@Lance Richardson: Yeah, they are really popular across the country. Part of the whole throwback movement.
August 3, 2008 at 4:31 pm
David Pinto at Baseball Musings finds something our Padres can be proud of:
http://www.baseballmusings.com/archives/028166.php
August 3, 2008 at 4:35 pm
#23@Turbine Dude: How can it be over already? I just finally got out of all my Monday morning meetings!
August 3, 2008 at 8:26 pm
When Hundley threw out John Bowker attempting to steal second base in Saturday night’s game, it marked the third consecutive base stealer nabbed by San Diego catchers. The last time the Padres did that was June 11, 2006, against Florida. For the season, Padres catchers have thrown out only 16.2 percent (24 of 148) of potential base stealers.
August 3, 2008 at 8:33 pm
ATLANTA (AP) – The Atlanta Braves say longtime broadcaster Skip Caray, the son of famous Chicago Cubs voice Harry Caray, has died in his sleep. He was 68 years old.
August 3, 2008 at 8:42 pm
#20@Tom Waits: I disagree with your statement that this is Nady’s “first” good season. It clearly is his best season so far. As for being a platoon player, I also see that there were over 400 AB’s in both 2006/7. Not a sign of a guy who rode the bench. And - no doubt - Cameron played a superb CF and clearly is the superior defender. However, Nady would have been more than adequate in LF. And the bottom line for now is we have neither. So much for long term thinking.
August 3, 2008 at 9:38 pm
Some good news in the minor leagues today: Drew Cumberland and Mat Latos both played in an AZL game. Latos pitched two innings and Cumberland was 2-4 with a triple before being taken out in the sixth inning.
August 3, 2008 at 10:18 pm
Kulbacki with HR #20 for the Storm tonight …
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.....a_bakafa_1
… and HR #6 from Cedric Hunter!
August 3, 2008 at 10:24 pm
#26@Lance Richardson: Thanks for the link … I s’pose … he took the words right out of my mouth
August 3, 2008 at 10:25 pm
#31@Ben B.: Yes, it’s good news that they are playing … it will be better news when they are back to playing at their proper level … baby steps, I s’pose …
August 3, 2008 at 11:52 pm
Its no mystery. At the end of the day, the reasons behind the Padres 95-100 loss 2008 season stem mainly from years of not developing enough talent in the minors. It finally caught up with the organization. Three good years out of the last decade (2004,2006, & 2007) with what amounts to a bad farm system is actually, when you think about it, fairly impressive. Hopefully things will turn around on the farm. I guess we really will not know until players start contributing on a consistent basis at the major league level.
August 4, 2008 at 12:05 am
Kevin Kouzmanoff has 15 walks. This is totally inexcusable. It obviously says a lot about his approach. Needless to say, Kouzmanoff has been a disappointment this year. Do you give him another year ?
August 4, 2008 at 12:23 am
#9@Tom Waits: Do you really think Cameron was a “very good” everyday CF ? What qualifies as very good ? Don’t misunderstand me, I would have done that Cameron trade for Nady again but if Cameron was “very good” in 2007 (103 OPS+ on ‘07) then should it not be considered a mistake to let him go ?
August 4, 2008 at 5:38 am
#30@LoyalSufferer: 400 at-bats when a full season is over 600. In both years he was below-average against RHP. It was only by limiting his appearances against them that his hitting against LHP made his overall OPS+ good.
Until you can explain what “long-term thinking” means, there’s not much point. If it means “I don’t care what happened before, I only care what’s happening now,” then it’s a silly stand to take. Long-term thinking doesn’t mean holding onto players until the last possible second. The Padres didn’t need Nady to play an adequate LF in 2006 and 2007. So again, it comes down to thinking that having a player in 2008 and 2009 is somehow more valuable than having a player in 2006 and 2007.
August 4, 2008 at 5:52 am
#37@JP: 103 OPS+ playing a very good CF in a tough park almost every day (151 games, with a week lost to Jenga). 22 Win Shares in 2007, 3rd among NL CF. I’d say that’s very good.
Cameron going was not entirely under the Padres control. I don’t see how we can blame the Padres when his agent told them the minimum deal was more than what he eventually settled for. You can’t force him to sign. Since his suspension overlapped the dark Edmonds period, and he’s been outplayed by both Gerut and Hairston, keeping Cameron wouldn’t have done much for us this year.
#36@JP: It makes the Padres insistence on not trading him rather baffling. Maybe the deal wasn’t there and they’re trying to preserve leverage, but he’s always going to be limited until he gets control of the zone.
August 4, 2008 at 11:43 am
#39@Tom Waits: Yes, no doubt about it, Gerut has had a significantly better year offensively than Cameron.
Also, I am glad we are finding out about Edgar Gonzalez. His VORP (7.20) has dropped pretty significantly (partly because he is in the midst of a 2 for 34 slump) and because he doesn’t field well, the jury is still out as to whether he is an everyday player.