2008 December

Archive for December 2008

Happy Holidays; See You in ‘09!

Friday, December 19, 2008
by Geoff Young

Work, book, and family demands are kicking into high gear, so I'm ducking out early this year. Happy, merry, whatever you celebrate. Be safe, be well, and enjoy. I will see you back here sometime the week of January 5.

Posted in Off-Topic, Site News | 21 Comments »

Links for 18 Dec 08

Thursday, December 18, 2008
by Geoff Young

Before we get to the rest of the links, I have to call my own number. I've got a new article up at Hardball Times that looks back at some old projections I did here at Ducksnorts many moons ago. Good fun... Lots to cover this morning: Padres experienced relative success in Moores Era (San Diego Union-Tribune). From Tom Krasovic's article: "John Moores presided over four Padres trips to the postseason, a World Series appearance and the construction of a downtown ballpark." Shhh, you're going against the Angry Fan Company Line that Moores is a crappy owner. Enough with you and your silly little facts....

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Posted in Notes and Links | 8 Comments »

Padres tickets Chargers tickets Sports tickets

The Girls Ran Screaming Behind Him on the Beach

Wednesday, December 17, 2008
by Geoff Young

Do you remember where you were when the Ben Davis Era (TM) ended? Neither do I. Let's face it, that's not the sort of thing one remembers in a life full of Things That Matter (TM). (What's up with all the TM's, anyway? Or as I like to say, WUWATTA? (TM)) Quick refresher: The Padres took Davis with the second pick overall in 1995, ahead of Jose Cruz Jr., Kerry Wood, Todd Helton, Geoff Jenkins, Roy Halladay, and 1660 other guys. The track record for high-school catchers isn't real good, and early in his career, Davis looked like he would join the ranks of those who had failed before him. In his first full pro ...

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Posted in History | 4 Comments »

Links for 16 Dec 08

Tuesday, December 16, 2008
by Geoff Young

Wait, do you smell something? No, not that; I think it's links... Club and closer still need each other, but can they mend the fences? (U-T). It seems that Trevor Hoffman and his agents may have overplayed their position. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Hoffy back with the Padres in 2009. (Melvin Nieves at Sacrifice Bunt takes a closer look -- pun somewhat intended -- at the situation.) Radio hosts Bill Werndl, Joe Tutino are 'let go' ...

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Posted in Notes and Links | 1 Comment »

Writing the Book (15 Dec 08)

Monday, December 15, 2008
by Geoff Young

I'm pressed for time this morning, so we'll be quick. Work and various other commitments kept me from writing at all during the week, so it was another 20-hour weekend. Really, with enough coffee, almost anything is possible. Oh, and I'm sporting a sweet mullet these days. Think of a cross between Barry Gibb and Larry Fine. Did I just ruin your day with that visual? Good. It'll all come off once the book is done. That's pretty good incentive to keep writing, methinks. Where was I? Ah, yes, the book. I plowed through more of the prospects chapter. It's approaching 40 pages and I haven't even gotten to the pitchers yet. I'm hoping I'll have more time to work on stuff during the ...

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Posted in 2009 Annual, Minors | 4 Comments »

Ducksnorts Top 20 Prospects

Saturday, December 13, 2008
by Geoff Young

The good folks at MadFriars.com have published my list of top 20 Padres prospects. As always, this list represents a snapshot in time. I'm expecting a few of these names to shift places by the time I send the book off to the printer in February. That said, I feel pretty good about the list. The guys who are giving me the most trouble are Mat Latos and Jonathan Galvez (whose careers could go any number of directions at this point) and Will Venable (who refuses to stop impressing me despite what his statistics say). I also love that Jaff Decker checks in at #4. Do you know how many years he would have been our best prospect? That's ...

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Posted in Minors | 10 Comments »

Cheeseburger in Purgatory

Friday, December 12, 2008
by Geoff Young

Jake Peavy isn't going to the Cubs... for now. And just when I was starting to like the names being mentioned. Did you notice how the rumored packages went from being awful, to decent, to pretty good? At the very least, Kevin Towers deserves credit for not jumping on any old deal, like some folks seemed to assume he would. (Of course, it's his job to refrain from making lousy trades, so how much credit he deserves is open to debate.) Still, we're left with the question: Now what? Well, holding onto Peavy remains an option. Actually, given his lack of potential suitors ...

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Posted in Commentary | 31 Comments »