We’re a little behind, so some of these might be stale. Just pop ‘em in the oven, they’ll be crispy again in no time…

The Present

• Team looks to Ready to end high turnover at batting coach (NC Times). Good luck with that when folks want a scapegoat for the fact that Petco Park is an extreme pitchers park. [h/t Gaslamp Ball]
• Venable back in the swing (U-T). Bill Center notes the the role Will Venable’s mother played in getting him back into baseball. It’s amazing to think that Venable didn’t play at all in his senior year in high school or freshman year in college.
• 2010 Marcel Projected Standings: National League West (Baseball-Reference) Neil Paine has the Padres at 76-86, which seems just about right to me.
• Blanks owes much to Padres scout (Padres.com). Corey Brock profiles everyone’s favorite 42nd-round pick. Quoth Kyle Blanks: “I don’t think that I would have done very well had I signed out of high school … and I don’t think I would have been where I’m at now.”
• Organizational Rankings: Current Talent – San Diego (Fangraphs). Interesting assessment from Jack Moore. He underestimates Venable (that happens a lot, I used to do it myself) and completely misreads Jon Garland, saying that Garland might “give nothing of value this season,” which is unlikely given the right-hander’s track record of durability and reliability. Moore correctly identifies the bullpen as a strength.
• Organizational Rankings: #27 – San Diego (Fangraphs). Dave Cameron confirms what we already knew: “Patience will be the key for Padre fans.”

The Future

• Previewing the 2010 Portland Beavers: Batting (Friar Forecast). Ben gives us the lowdown. I am interested to see what happens with attempts to turn Logan Forsythe into a second baseman and Mitch Canham into Robert Fick. Ben also looks at Portland’s starters and relievers.
• Organizational Rankings: Future Talent – San Diego (Fangraphs). Marc Hulet offers his thoughts. I agree with much of this, although he misses the boat a little here: “The club’s best young offensive player is Kyle Blanks but he’s not really well-suited to the park.” In fact, there is no park that can contain Blanks. His power will play absolutely anywhere.
• Pumped about Pads’ young blood (U-T). Bud Black on pitching prospect Simon Castro: “I really like what I’ve seen of him. He not only has stuff, he knows how to use it and he wants to learn.”
• Toy-toting prospect not playing around (U-T). Fun article about Aaron Cunningham, who talks, among other things, about playing winter ball in Venezuela: “Games down there are like a big party. The fans are cool, unbelievable. You score a run and they throw their beers in the air. The music’s nonstop…. It was my first time down there, and it was a serious trip, crazy. But I learned to respect the game more. I saw how they live down there, how blessed we are up here, and I learned not to take anything for granted.”
• It’s clicking for Antonelli (U-T). Tim Sullivan profiles Matt Antonelli. Interesting quote from Tony Muser, who worked one-on-one with Antonelli in 2009, when the former first-round pick was struggling: “I was expecting some locker rooms torn up. We talked about that. It’s OK to have a temper tantrum. But with his personality, he kept it all in. Everybody complimented him on he’s handling it so good. I didn’t like it. I wanted an emotional reaction. It’s OK to get upset with yourself. It’s OK to want it.” Hey, what’s the worst that could happen? It’s not like you’ll break your hand and have the boss try to stop paying you because of it.
• Youth is served with Padres’ Decker (Padres.com). Corey highlights young outfielder Jaff Decker. I cannot wait to see Decker at Lake Elsinore this year.

The Past

• Brian Giles, Hall of Fame Class of 2016? (Hardball Times). No, but it’s a question worth asking, and Ben Jedlovec does just that.
• Several easy picks for All-Decade squad (Padres.com). That rotation is just… yikes. [h/t Gaslamp Ball]

The Geeky

• State of sabermetrics: Insights from the 2010 Sloan Sports Analytics Conference (Hardball Times). Sal Baxamusa recaps the event and slings in some choice nuggets: “Lots of teams have lots of good sabermetricians working for them. A decent number of teams have analytically minded general managers. But in talking with and hearing from various front office personnel, one recurring theme kept coming back: integrating serious, rigorous sabermetric thinking into a formalized decision-making framework is hard.”
• Odds Are, It’s Wrong (Science News). Speaking of which, Tom Siegfried offers this sobering thought: “Supposedly, the proper use of statistics makes relying on scientific results a safe bet. But in practice, widespread misuse of statistical methods makes science more like a crapshoot.” [h/t Slashdot]
• Franchise Strengh Index History for All 30 Teams (Baseball Analysts). Sky Andrecheck presents some interesting attendance data.
• Lidge vs. Pujols: I was in the wrong spot (Morgan Ensberg’s Baseball IQ). Former Padres infielder Morgan Ensberg has a blog. This entry deals with the 2005 playoffs and involves current Padres infielder David Eckstein. Pretty cool to hear the player’s perspective on some of this stuff. [h/t Hardball Times]
• Spring Training Records Matter, A Little (TSI on Sports). Longtime reader Jay Stokes observes that “it is never a bad thing to have a good record. At worst it says nothing about your regular season, but other years it says you will probably have a decent season”
• Padres 2010 Potential Milestones (Gaslamp Ball). Who knew Kevin Kouzmanoff was the franchise leader in HBP?

That should keep you suitably unproductive for much of the day. It’s been a long week, you deserve it. I’ll sign a note for you if your boss asks.

Tagged as: aaron cunningham, attendance, brian giles, jaff decker, jon garland, kevin kouzmanoff, kyle blanks, logan forsythe, matt antonelli, mitch canham, morgan ensberg, portland beavers, randy ready, sabermetrics, simon castro, Spring Training, statistics, tony muser, will venable