2008 November

Archive for November 2008

Blast from the Past: Old Free Agents, Ugly Drafts, and Great Albums

Wednesday, November 26, 2008
by Geoff Young

Not much of a theme today. Just... whatever... Remember when we used to lust after Marcus Giles? This was in 2002 -- years before he actually arrived and demonstrated an alarming inability to hit baseballs. We kinda had a thing for Jose Vidro and Bobby Hill back then, too. Don't ask. On the bright side, Royce Clayton signed with Milwaukee, leaving the Padres with their fallback option of... Mark Loretta. That same year, we were underwhelmed by the Padres off-season moves, and who can blame us? The big free-agent signings were 39-year-old outfielder Brady Anderson, injured right-handers Francisco Cordova and Jaret Wright, and 46-year-old left-hander Jesse Orosco. I think all of us were expecting big things from the '03 team after those moves. Could you ...

Keep reading >>

Posted in Draft, Off-Topic | 1 Comment »

Blast from the Past: Mark Phillips Outrage

Tuesday, November 25, 2008
by Geoff Young

What a fool I used to be. Those are Neil Peart's words, but they apply here as well, so I'll use 'em. When the Padres traded Bubba Trammell and minor-league left-hander Mark Phillips for Rondell White back in '03, I was... a little less than pleased. I actually vented in three parts: Part 1 includes this gem: I realize I may not be the most objective person when it comes to talking about Phillips. I've seen him pitch on several occasions and I even once had the chance to chat with him while he was charting a game at Elsinore. But beyond the fact that he seemed like a nice enough kid, he has a serious arm. You just don't see a lot of young lefties ...

Keep reading >>

Posted in Trade Analysis | 12 Comments »

Padres tickets Chargers tickets Sports tickets

Blast from the Past: Arizona Dreamin’

Monday, November 24, 2008
by Geoff Young

I usually make one or two trips out to Phoenix each year. Spring training has become a must, and I always enjoy taking in some Arizona Fall League games. Today, we're all about the AFL... and whatever else happened to come with it on a particular journey... and whatever else that triggers in my mind, which you may recall is a scary place to be: In 2001, I was impressed by a kid from Rancho Bernardo named Hank Blalock. Incidentally, his name used to appear at Ducksnorts with some regularity. The following year, while comparing a young Adam Dunn to Brian Giles and a young Albert Pujols to Manny Ramirez, we tossed around the possibility of acquiring Blalock to play second base to accommodate ...

Keep reading >>

Posted in Travels | No Comments »

Thanksgiving Holiday Schedule

Saturday, November 22, 2008
by Geoff Young

Forgive the lack of updates this past week. I rolled out of bed on Monday, blinked, and it was Saturday. Time is not your friend. We're off to Hawai'i for the annual Thanksgiving shindig at my wife's family's farm. I'm prepping some articles (mostly annotated reruns) to run in my absence; although discussion is always welcome, comments may be held up in the moderation queue a little longer than usual. I will get to stuff when I can, but my priorities over the next two weeks are: Hang out with family Eat good home cookin' Work on the book Do nothing Anything else is a luxury, and I make no guarantees. I also have a couple of articles scheduled to run elsewhere at some point. One is on Padres bench coach Ted ...

Keep reading >>

Posted in Site News | 1 Comment »

Links for 18 Nov 08

Tuesday, November 18, 2008
by Geoff Young

Hooray, it's links: Giles and Hoffman (It Might Be Dangerous...). Paul DePodesta offers his thoughts on the re-signing of Brian Giles as well as the latest in the Trevor Hoffman negotiations (or lack thereof). [h/t LynchMob] John Moores to give $2.1 million to Scripps Research Institute (Gaslamp Ball) I especially like how some of the commenters begrudge Moores for, you know, doing some good in the world. That takes a special kind of bitter. ;-) Quite a Haul (Bad Altitude) Mark Donohue isn't impressed with what the Rockies got in return for Matt Holliday, and who can blame him? Here's hoping the Padres do better in any ...

Keep reading >>

Posted in Notes and Links | 15 Comments »

Writing the Book (17 Nov 08)

Monday, November 17, 2008
by Geoff Young

Some friends of ours lent us their Wii, so we've been playing Guitar Hero in the evenings. I'd heard about it for years but never tried it, and I have to say, I'm impressed. Although it's not the same as playing an actual guitar, many of the same skills -- ability to keep rhythm, anticipate the next note while focusing on the current one, etc. -- are required. I can't see myself ever getting hooked on the game, because after a while it starts to feel like rehearsal, but it is a surprsingly good simulation. I also did a lot of walking this weekend. Four miles to Teri Cafe and back (with a long rest ...

Keep reading >>

Posted in 2009 Annual | 2 Comments »

Potential Fire Sale FAQ

Friday, November 14, 2008
by Geoff Young

Nothing has happened yet, but all indications are that life is about to get real interesting around these parts. With that in mind, here's a little something to help you through as we move forward into the unknown... Q: What the heck is going on with the Padres? A: Principle owners John and Becky Moores have filed for divorce. Custody of the team will be a part of the proceedings, although as of early October, "no decision regarding the Padres has been made." Some reports suggest that total payroll could plummet to as low as $40 million in 2009. This may or may not be the result of a desire to make the franchise ...

Keep reading >>

Posted in Baseball | 24 Comments »