Comments on: Friday Links (12 Sep 08)

By: Geoff Young

Geoff Young — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 01:30:44 +0000

#23@Steve C: Thanks, those are valid concerns. #24@Mark Ase: Unfortunately he has very little value right now. Better to hold, methinks.

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By: LynchMob

LynchMob — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 17:22:53 +0000

#18@Didi: And Dirk responds to his email also ... I sent him a nit (after a word of appreciation and thanks for his writing) about his comment about "I Dream of Genie" (sic) ... and he sent me a (classicly humble) reply ... cool-e-o, in my book!

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By: Steve C

Steve C — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 16:02:29 +0000

#23@Steve C: Scratch the Bard comment it looks like the Pads are going to non-tender him…

http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com.....mp;c_id=sd

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By: Mark Ase

Mark Ase — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:48:49 +0000

Looking back at some of the stuff from the beginning of the year-anybody want to start the "should we trade KG?" discussion again?

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By: Steve C

Steve C — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:18:09 +0000

#21@Geoff Young: Several reasons:
1. Lack of starting pitching - The rotation is a mess, Peavy will continue to be solid but as we have seen unless he pitches out of his mind like he did last year he will continue to have a .500 record year in and year out. Who knows how many games Young will pitch next year and how effective he will be. The last three spots of the rotation are up for grabs one may be able to be filled with a Kouz/Headley trade but if the Pads do cut payroll as it has been rumored they will not be able to afford veterans like Maddux and Wolf to fill out the last two spots but instead they will be forced to fill the last two spots with rookies, retreads, rule 5 guys or waiver wire pickups…

2. Bullpen – its hard to count out any shoe string budget bullpen that KT put together but as this year has shown his magic touch is not always as effective as we would all like to assume it is.

3. Offence - will Bard and Greene find their stroke again? Will the Pads bring back Giles? Was this year a fluke for Gerut? Can they fill their LF spot with a truly productive player? Who’s going to be at 2B?

Like I said I do think that this team will get better as its farm system develops but I think they are a good year or two away and if they are cutting payroll and cant afford solid vets like Wolf, Bradly, or Cameron then I just don’t see the pads returning to 85 to 88 win baseball within the next two years.

I don’t mean to be a debbie downer because I am really excited about the future of the club and I am more than willing to go through another losing season next year if its with their future players and show improvements as the year moves on and are not just squeaking by with a bunch of stop gap players.

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By: Tom Waits

Tom Waits — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 11:47:35 +0000

#20@JP: Geer has 567 minor league innings in which he didn’t strike people out. You just don’t see quality major league pitchers with a K/9 rate that far below average. History is littered with guys who won a few games with subpar stuff and bad peripherals, then the magic wore off. My money’s on Geer being one of those guys.

It’s something similar for Venable. He’s only had 16 major league ABs vs lefties. He did okay against them in AAA, but did his real damage vs righties. It’s easier to live with since he’s on the good side of the platoon, but if you’re looking for a solid OF, Gerut/Venable/Hairston still comes up half a player short.

If we whack Venable’s finger with a hammer, we’ll see if he’s any more robust than Gerut. But Gerut’s bat this year plays in a corner, too.

Hopefully last night will get the UT writers to shut up about Estes as a possible starter next year. Given enough innings (and that’s not many), Shawn Estes turns into Shawn Estes. I’d much rather see Geer have those starts next year. At least you get an answer to a meaningful question.

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By: Geoff Young

Geoff Young — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 05:18:55 +0000

#10@JP: Agreed about Macias. I’ve been saying for a while that he could have a career as a backup. He does a lot of things well.

#14@Lance Richardson: Only if he values his sanity.

#19@Steve C: Why don’t you see the Padres rebounding next year? Beyond payroll, which I count more as an excuse than a reason, what specifically leads you to believe that 2009 is a lost cause before it begins? Lack of pitching? Strong division? You’ve piqued my curiosity.

#20@JP: We should not automatically assume anything. However, as has been discussed here before, Geer’s minor-league track record looks an awful lot like Germano’s (except that Germano was younger when he posted his numbers). Geer may help bridge the gap, but he’s not part of the long-term solution.

As for Venable, I’m beginning to think that maybe he can have a Gary Matthews Jr. type career. There isn’t really much upside to speak of, but he looks like he can hold his own here right now, which means he doesn’t need upside per se. Of course, it’s September and plenty of guys perform well in a small sample. Still, he’s done enough to make me want to see more.

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By: JP

JP — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:06:33 +0000

#12@Tom Waits: Of course, we should not automatically assume that Geer is Germano, though I understand why you draw the comparison. After all, Germano's first dozen or so starts in 2007 were superb and he ended up struggling the rest of the year and 2008 was horrific. But we must give Geer more of a look before we write him off as Germano. However, why do you think that Venable is a platoon player ? He seems to hang in there quite well against lefthanders and seems to be better defensively than many were saying. Gerut can't seem to stay healthy ---his durability is more than questionable and not only that, I really believe that when you consider age and upside, that Venable is the man for center.

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By: Steve C

Steve C — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 21:33:19 +0000

#12@Tom Waits: I just don’t see the Padres rebounding next year especially if they are looking at a $50 - $55 Mil payroll so why not go with the total youth movement.

I would love to see Venable and Hairston platoon in LF but I don’t see the Pads bringing in any everyday player FA’s and who knows if Giles will be back or not (at this point I really don’t think so because he will be a 10-5 guy and they will not be able to move him at the deadline if they find themselves in a similar spot as they did this year).

I agree with you on Geer but I was kind of hoping that he would be able to keep the seat warm until Carrillo was ready.

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By: Didi

Didi — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 20:43:08 +0000

Dirk knows how to tell a story.

http://www.baseballamerica.com.....66855.html

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