I’m supposed to write something about baseball here. That’s my recollection, anyway.
First, a quick programming note: The long, once-a-week pieces from last year are done. Turns out they required a lot of work, and I’m lazy, so no mas. I’ll be publishing more frequently this year and the articles will be shorter.
If 2009 was Coltrane and Monet, then 2010 is Cohen and Mondrian. That’s a horrible analogy, but it will have to do.
So, baseball. The Padres. We still have a team in San Diego, right?
On Stuff That Has (or Hasn’t) Happened
Bullet points already? Brilliant…
- The hiring of Jed Hoyer as GM — Beyond my disappointment in seeing Kevin Towers leave, I am devoid of opinion on this move. There are no data points on Hoyer as GM, so I’m withholding judgment until I see something. Yeah, that makes me a lousy blogger. I’ll live with it.
- The loss of Henry Blanco to the Mets — Hank White is a solid backup catcher who does all those things I can’t quantify (good luck disproving that). We’ll see if newly acquired Dusty Ryan can do the same. No disrespect to Nick Hundley, who is better than he gets credit for, but I like the idea of having a veteran presence to work with kids like Mat Latos, Wade LeBlanc, and whoever else sticks. This year’s pitching staff should be better than last year’s (Walter Silva?), which is more of a threat than a compliment, but it’s going to need help. And I’m still expecting 85-90 losses out of these guys, which means that the emphasis needs to be on developing Latos, LeBlanc, Gallagher, Poreda, whomever.
- The loss of Drew Macias to the Diamondbacks — Damn politics. By rights, this guy should still be in San Diego, but his name isn’t Gwynn. The stupid thing is, Macias isn’t even that great. It’s just that teams like the Padres aren’t in a position to discard him. It would have been nice to see them at least convert Macias into another spare part.
- The loss of Brian Giles to… somewhere — He wasn’t Jason Bay, but neither was Bay when he played here. Giles had a nice run in his hometown and he carried the ’05 team into the playoffs. I won’t miss the ’09 version, but I will miss the guy that was a vital part of the offense from late 2003 through 2008. It stinks that he leaves on such a down note.
- The hiring of Dick Enberg to work TV play-by-play — Love it. Enberg is an iconic figure from my youth. He’s right there with Vin Scully and Chick Hearn in my mind. I only hope that Mark Neely remains an integral part of the team. He had huge shoes to fill when Matt Vasgersian departed, and although Matty V. is impossible to replace, Neely held his own. I enjoyed watching games that he called, which I cannot say about everyone (sorry, FOX, did I offend?).
- The Adrian Gonzalez trade rumors — Whatever. If/when something happens, I’ll form an opinion. Until then, I couldn’t care less.
- The Kevin Kouzmanoff trade rumors — Same thing. Heath Bell, too.
Shorter. More frequently. I should shut up now. If I’ve missed something, let me know; we’ll talk about it later.
Woohoo! Real baseball content!
I’m glad you’re going back to the shorter more frequent posts, it helps those of us with a short attention spans.
GY do you think the team is set with the roster as is or would you like for them to add another few pieces?
Nice to have you posting about baseball here again, Geoff. Also good to see you are completely, 100% over your animus toward acquiring T.Gwynn Jr.
I hope Dusty Ryan isn’t our only option for a backup catcher. I hope they are still shopping for that spot.
85-90 losses? At best a two game improvement? Please explain your dark, stifling pessimism.
New Ducksnorts content! Glad to have you back writing and looking forward to more throughout the year, regardless of the length of posts.
welcome home.
I like the shorter, frequent posts. Less intimidating to read.
I heard that the Padres were talking to Khalil Greene. Wow, that would start up the spirited debates about Khalil’s value (or lack thereof). Ahhhh, good times, my friends, good times.
Nice to see you back on here…I am looking forward to the shorter, more frequent posts. It makes for a much more enjoyable blog in my opinion. It will also make it easier for many of us to contribute and talk Padres baseball more frequently. So thanks.
Cool, glad everyone is down with the new format.
#1: Steve, I wouldn’t mind seeing a big-league center fielder on the roster. Failing that, someone more experienced than Ryan to back up Hundley. According to the U-T, the Padres are still looking in that direction. Arms would be nice, but if paying for a year of Kevin Correia was such a tough decision, I’m not real optimistic on that front.
#2: Michael, I don’t see enough pitching to push the team much higher. The kids will be fun to watch, but you never know what you’ll get from young players. Some may improve, others may stall. The upside is 85 wins and a lot would have to go right for that to happen.
#6: LaMar, I’d be in favor of bringing back Khalil… as long as it doesn’t cost, say, Luke Gregerson.
Hooray, Ducksnorts is back! And I think we all know where I’m going with this comment, but I would be overjoyed to see the blonde bot as a backup IF/bat off the bench. He should be a FA this year so if we can get him for a mil, do it. Plus, it would be a nice gesture that I think lots of fans would appreciate.
Testing?
In case this works, I’m ready for 2010 also …
Glad to see Roberto Alomar get good support for HOF …