I’m glad Jerry Hairston Jr. finally hit a home run away from San Diego Thursday night. That’s his first road homer of the year, to go with the five he’s hit at home. I was beginning to fear that maybe Hairston’s power was just a product of Petco Park…
- Tagg, You’re It: A Conversation with Eric Nusbaum (FanGraphs). Nusbaum and Carson Cistuli discuss former Padres farmhand Tagg Bozied’s walk-off grand slam that ended with a blown-out knee. It’s a good read, although it overstates the prospect status of Bozied, who was a DH with some power… basically a less patient, right-handed version of Paul McAnulty. Bozied could have had a marginal career if things had broken right for him, which they didn’t.
- Clemens too tough to hit in Derby (MiLB.com). Missions represent. San Antonio first baseman Matt Clark won the Texas League Home Run Derby, while catcher Luis Martinez was named MVP of the All-Star Game. For some reason, this article seems to be about Koby Clemens, who didn’t win anything but whose last name is Clemens… so congrats on that, anyway.
- Obscuring To New Heights in Lake Elsinore (Ben’s Biz Blog). This took place while I was cavorting about the Pacific Northwest… so bummed I missed the fish-tossing contest.
- Buy or sell: Is there any question? (Friar Forecast). I was going to write about this earlier in the week but then, as he so often does, Myron said what I would have said: “It is not easy to build a .588 team with a good shot at the playoffs, so once it happens, even if by accident, it doesn’t usually make sense to disassemble it.” Yeah, you pretty much have to go for it. The thing is, I’m not sure more than a few minor tweaks are needed.
- For the Padres and Blue Jays, winning isn’t always the best thing (SI.com). Tim Marchman notes that the Padres find themselves “in a precarious position” with all their winning in what was expected to be a down year: “The slight shame of things for the club is that no matter how well they’re playing, in the abstract the best move would probably be to trade [Adrian] Gonzalez, a free agent after the 2011 season.” [h/t Gaslamp Ball]
- I-5 Run Rally. I recently stumbled onto Scott Grauer’s blog that provides previews and reviews of every game in the Cal League. Pretty cool.
- The Worst Relief Outings Since 2002 (FanGraphs). Hideki Irabu shows up on this list. As longtime Ducksnorts readers know, I am forever connected with Irabu. He and I were born on the same day, and Irabu’s spurning of the Padres in ’97 inspired the creation of this site.
- Back to the Doc (The Official Blog of Matt Antonelli). Antonelli shares the latest in his efforts to return from injury and offers some thoughts on exercise equipment: “I always used to make fun of people when I saw them riding the elliptical machines, especially athletes, but I must say they are actually a pretty good workout. I tried one for the first time in my life about a week ago and have spent at least ten minutes a day on it since. I was wrong and I’m sorry if I offended any elliptical fans out there.” Heh, wait until you are older and your knees are shot to the point where you can’t really do much in the way of impact stuff. Oops, we were talking about you, weren’t we?
- Who Are Creating Outs Running the Bases? (FanGraphs). The Padres run into a lot of outs… more than any other team in the National League, in fact. Aggressiveness on the basepaths will do that, I suppose.Back to back rallies fall just short (Padres Trail). Mike is concerned that the pitching might be “starting to wear down a little bit.”
- Looking for a sound investment? Take these predictions to the bank (SI.com). Quoth Joe Sheehan: “Despite its current lofty standing, San Diego will not win the NL West or the NL wild card.” He may be right, although I don’t know about taking anything to the bank. The National League West has been incredibly tough this season and I don’t see that letting up any time soon. I remain concerned that at least one of the Giants or Rockies will make a serious run at some point. [h/t reader Sean Callahan]
- We’re in America, so I’m speaking American (Watson Files). Dan notes that Edinson Rincon’s hitting has improved, Jonathan Galvez’s defense has improved, and fifth-round pick Rico Noel is fast. Dan also articulates some of the perils associated with being a game’s official scorer: “No matter what the call, no matter if the game’s at home or on the road, coaches believe they are being hosed by the official scorer. The conspiracy theories are more far-fetched than the ones hatched by Kramer and Newman.” Yeah. Been there, done that.
- Top four pitching picks still unsigned (U-T). The deadline is August 16.
There you go. Happy Friday!
Re Joe Sheehan: He clearly doesn’t know much about our situation, because he thinks our top priorties are a left-handed outfielder to platoon with Scott Hairston and a replacement shortstop for Jerry Hairtson. He also fails to consider the position the Padres have put themselves in–play just .510 from here out and they win 90 games.
And yeah, I fear the Rockies WAY WAY more than any other NL West team.
Not only did Tim Marchman write a column about the “quandary” the Padres find themselves in but so did Dave Cameron at Fangraphs.com. It’s funny that so many of these analysts forget about the reason why teams would trade their stars before they leave as free agents – it’s not so they get talent before they walk for nothing but because the free agents to be won’t be around when the team is winning. However, since the Padres are winning this year, there is no reason to trade Gonzalez; any attempt to do so would be incredibly foolish.
Speaking of trading, the Yankees will soon attempt to trade Javier Vazquez. As a flyball pitcher who thrives in the NL, isn’t he perfect for the Padres? Is there anyone in the minors other than Simon Castro that the Padres shouldn’t trade? This goes for David DeJesus as well.
I’m sorry to hear you missed the fish toss at Lake Elsinore, Geoff. This should be an incentive to plan your minor league excursions with team promotions in mind. I wonder if the fish toss would work at Petco? They could have it when the Marlins are in town, or would that be considered baiting?
Yeah, the Rockies sort of look like they’re making that run now. Hope we can get them tonight!
Are you sure you were born on the same day as Irabu? What about the international date line?
@Tom: I’ve heard that Vazquez can (and will) block trades to the NL West. As for DeJesus, he’s playing a bit over his head, but I liked the idea of acquiring him when the Padres were seeking a replacement for Mike Cameron and I’m not against it now. I don’t think I’d give Castro to get DeJesus, but I’m not sure that anyone else should be off limits.
@Larry: Ha-ha, very punny.
@Michael: Ooh, good point. I have no idea what time either of us was born, but you may be onto something.