Comments on: Ten Games

By: Tom Waits

Tom Waits — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:36:03 +0000

#14@Geoff Young: Other words would fit 700+ plate appearances of possibly 55 OPS+ hitting besides "disaster," but they'd all be in that family.

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By: Geoff Young

Geoff Young — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 01:21:15 +0000

#13@Tom Waits: I think “disaster” is a bit of an overstatement, but your concerns are not without merit. More importantly, as you note, bringing in some guys who can pitch is a much bigger priority than finding a backup catcher. It’s also a more difficult task. So yeah, stressing about Carlin isn’t high on my list of things to do right now.

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By: Tom Waits

Tom Waits — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:55:05 +0000

#11@JP: #12@Geoff Young: It depends on their goals next year. If they're cutting OG loose and don't address the rotation, then any money spent on a veteran catcher is a waste. If they're reloading for another shot at the still-not-strong NL West, then Hundley + Carlin is a disaster. It might be survivable if they get enough offense from everywhere else and if the pitching is fixed, but a competitive team really should do much better.

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By: Geoff Young

Geoff Young — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 15:03:57 +0000

#11@JP: I wouldn’t have a real problem with Carlin, although the danger is that he ends up getting too much PT, a la Gary Bennett in 2003. Carlin is a brutal hitter but I like his actions behind the plate and think he could have a career as backup in the mode of, well, Bennett. Carrying two young catchers is a risk, and we saw the downside of that a few years ago with Ben Davis and Wiki Gonzalez. However, I’m not sure that Hundley and Carlin have quite the baggage that those two did. I really think that as long as we temper our expectations of what a guy like Hundley can do and don’t get carried away singing his praises, we’ll be pleased. And I like Carlin way more than any numbers say I should. I’d be okay with those two, although it wouldn’t surprise me to see the Pads bring in someone with more experience. I don’t envision Barrett returning.

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By: JP

JP — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:22:00 +0000

#10@ GY, what do you think that the Padres should do for a backup in '09? Should they bring in a veteran as a backup or give the role to Carlin? Any chance that the Padres will bring Barrett to camp again to give him one last crack?

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By: Geoff Young

Geoff Young — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 20:44:58 +0000

#9@JP: Hundley is 24 years old (actually he just turned 25, but he played the season at age 24). Long term, he should provide value similar to or slightly better than that of Laird. I compared Hundley to Mike Macfarlane in last year's book, but in retrospect, that was probably too generous. I'm thinking now more of guys like Jason LaRue and Ron Karkovice. As for the rest of the system, Lobaton hit .259/.338/.422 in a tough environment this year so he's not an offensive zero. Mitch Canham is a good hitter, although I have questions about his defense. Further down, Emmanuel Quiles could be something. None of these guys is star material, but the Padres do have depth at catcher.

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By: JP

JP — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 02:48:34 +0000

Many learned DS bloggers have touted the Padres depth at the catching position, but I believe that is one of the positions that the organization actually is quite thin. Hundley and Carlin’s defensive work has been quite good (and we don’t expect Carlin to hit) but the jury is still out big time on Hundley’s offensive capabilities at this level - he has never shown much selectivity at the plate and in return doesn’t quite hit enough for power to justify his low OBP; if you look at his o.k-so so minor league numbers and that he is hardly a young prospect at 26, not sure the Pads should lean/rely on this guy to get it done for 120-130 games in 2009. In addition, Colt Morton may be a lost cause and Jose Lobaton does not hit so where is the depth ? Should the Pads look to get someone like Gerald Laird or Ramon Hernandez under contract ?

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By: bullpener

bullpener — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 17:51:49 +0000

Actually, my worst nightmare is that we finish with the worst record and then DON'T draft Strasburg because he is represented by Boras and will demand a huge contract and signing bonus. Granted this season is awful but there would be no redeeming quality if that happened!

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By: Kevin

Kevin — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 02:37:23 +0000

Don’t know why exactly, but I have been watching every Padres game. When I was in the District working nights, I was watching them on my two off nights.

Now that I’m in Raleigh with no job, I have been watching them every night. With not much else to do besides play pool, work out and apply for jobs, watching baseball is one of my favorite things. Plus, the annoucing team is always enjoyable.

I don’t find the new guys that interesting (maybe Venable or Antonelli), but it’s not like they are can’t-miss prospects. Watching Giles, A-Gon and Peavy play well until the end is fun.

The Padres need to sign Giles, make some pretty good signings and get lucky with them — unlike this year with Edmonds.

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By: Masticore317

Masticore317 — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 02:03:12 +0000

#5@Geoff Young: I don't like TRYING to get the #1 pick, but if we get it I'll be happy about it. At this point, I'd rather end up worst than 2nd worst. I mean, really.

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