I’m still sorting through my thoughts on the Orlando Hudson signing. Meanwhile, have some links…
Padres
Home is where the heart is, so that’s where we’ll start.
- Where am I, Bizarro World? (Watson Files). Dan looks back at some of the zanier moments from the TinCaps’ 2010 season.
- Previewing the 2011 Tin Caps pitching (Friar Forecast). Speaking of everyone’s favorite Midwest League team, Ben Davey breaks down the possible staff. I’m interested to see what Keyvius Sampson (if healthy) and Adys Portillo are capable of doing in a full-season league.
- Tucson’s new Triple-A team announces name: Tucson Padres (Tucson Sentinel). Cue the “Which Triple-A Padres?” jokes. Oh wait, that’s the only joke. And damn, is it funny.
- The Josh Willingham Trade: Oakland’s Side (FanGraphs). The A’s gave up almost nothing to get a darned good hitter. Too bad he didn’t end up in San Diego.
- Could The Padres Be (gasp!) Better in 2011? (619 Sports). Will they win more than 90 games? Probably not. Will they exceed expectations again? Yes, I think they just might.
Interviews and Literature
People talk, they say stuff, it’s cool.
- Interview: John Coppolella of the Braves (FanGraphs). Coppolella is the Braves’ Director of Baseball Administration. I always enjoy these “behind-the-scenes” looks at an organization.
- Minor League Journal, Part I: The Signing (Platoon Advantage). More behind-the-scenes stuff, this time from a player’s perspective.
- Transcript Of Sandy Alderson’s Conference Call With Bloggers (Amazin’ Avenue). I like the guys the Padres have in place, but yeah, Mets fans are in for a treat.
- Mark Twain, Baseball Fan, Had an Eye for a Short-Stop (New York Times). I’m currently reading Twain’s Letters from the Earth, which touches on baseball.
- The Best Baseball Books Of 2010 (Baseball America). Congrats to friends of Ducksnorts Dirk Hayhurst, Josh Wilker, Edward Achorn, and Lee Panas… as well as the rest of the folks who made the list.
History
Once upon a time, in a place, things happened.
- The 1928 Negro Leagues – The Two Leagues Part II (Seamheads). The accompanying images are fantastic.
- HIDDEN HISTORY: A black manager for Batavia in 1961 (Daily News). Mark Graczyk reflects on the career of Gene Baker. [h/t BBTF]
- Sickels: Knowing Bob Feller (SweetSpot). Sickels, who wrote a book about Feller, recounts his personal experiences with the late, great pitcher.
- The Agony of Defeat (Joe Blogs). Posnanski gives a fun list of heartbreaking game endings.
- What happened to Gene Bearden? (SweetSpot) Rob Neyer wonders about an old knuckleballer. The Common Man ponders the question as well.
Hall of Fame
I stay out of these debates nowadays because I think the election process is quite beyond hope. Enjoy the institution for what it is, and try not to let the sloppy voting bother you. Kudos to those who are attempting to bring attention to such sloppiness, and good luck with that fight.
- Why I didn’t cast a Hall of Fame vote for Bert Blyleven, again (SI.com). This is a remarkably ill-informed article written by someone who has a vote and who cast one in favor Jack Morris whle omitting Blyleven. The explanation of why he did so is as bizarre and nonsensical as the decision. Well, that’s the Hall of Fame for you… a fantastic but flawed institution. Craig Calcaterra, The Common Man, and Rich Lederer respond. Mel Antonen offers some thoughts of his own.
- Facepalming a HOF vote (IIATMS). Jason Rosenberg takes issue with another writer’s vote, proving once again that the way to make a name for yourself as a Hall of Fame voter is to do a piss-poor job at it.
- Five votes for the Hall of Fame (Boston Globe). Peter Abraham, meanwhile, submits a ballot that makes sense.
- The Hall of Fame ballot runneth over (ESPN). Jim Caple explains his ballot.
- My 2011 Hall of Fame ballot (Newsday). Ken Davidoff does the same.
Research
Digging, digging, digging…
- Spinning Yarn: The Forkball (Baseball Prospectus). Mike Fast examines differences between this and the similar split-fingered fastball. Ex-Padre Scott Linebrink is one of the few pitchers in MLB today who throws a forkball. Cool charts.
- Relievers Are Not Worth Multi-Year Deals (FanGraphs). File under “D” for duh. Less facetiously, it’s always good to confirm what we think we know.
- More Observations on Pace (Baseball Analysts). In which we learn, among other things, that Mike Adams takes his time with warmup tosses.
- Baseball’s Decelerating Average Salary (FanGraphs). Alex Remington notes that “the free agent market simply isn’t as volatile as it once was.”
- Getting defensive (Hardball Times). Myron Logan examines the current and future state of fielding metrics, using new Padres shortstop Jason Bartlett to illustrate.
Fun
Enough digging, can you dig?
- Former manager Weaver is ‘still here’ (FOX Sports). He feels fine, he feels happy, he thinks he’ll go for a walk now. [h/t reader Foster Brooks Robinson]
- Most similar players traded for each other (Baseball-Reference). Be sure to read the comments, which include a reference to the December 2001 trade that saw the Padres send Alex Arias (among others) to Seattle for Ramon Vazquez (among others).
- A Crude Measure Of The Most “All-Around” Players Since 1957 (Cybermetrics). Cyril Morong plays with numbers. [h/t BBTF]
- Michael Schur of ‘Parks and Rec’ on Why Joe Morgan Was So Frustrating (FanHouse). Schur’s blog “Fire Joe Morgan” was quite popular for a long time. I never had a problem with Morgan’s style, but then, I never took anything he said very seriously either… just found him entertaining in a way that most sports broadcasters aren’t. [h/t BBTF]
- Live from Daryl’s House. I have become obsessed with this show. Daryl Hall, of Hall and Oates fame, has put together one of the coolest things I’ve seen on the Internet. If you are a musician or a music fan (even if you aren’t into Hall and Oates), check it out.
That’s all for now. Be excellent to one another…
Interesting note on the Hawpe signing: Adrian’s OPS in PETCO was .821; Hawpe’s, in obviously a much smaller sample, is .822.
Merry Christmas to you, Geoff (and to Mrs Ducksnorts
) … and to *all* my Ducksnorts buds out there!
My favorite gift this season was a call from my best friend, Al, who told me he was driving on Thursday, listening to 1090 and someone called in hoping that the Padres would sign Russell Branyan because he’s strong enough to hit a HR and knock the #6 off the scoreboard … YES!!! Wouldn’t that be a *dream* come true? Good to hear that some folks are still out there thinkin’ … bein’ creative … where there’s a will, there’s a way
We’ll see on Hawpe; sure nice, though, to have a front office that seems to be operating with a wider range of information than casual fans. Frankly, I had no idea that Hawpe was a 1B through college and the minor leagues, only to be blocked by Helton.
Given some of the other options wanting 3-year deals and the club likely having Blanks and/or Rizzo ready for 2012, a 1-year rental makes a lot of sense, especially when it’s a guy like Hawpe, who should easily be passable at worst and has the potential for much more.
@ Slasher: Um, yeah, in about half a season’s worth of PA’s. Perhaps a bit early to draw any conclusions.
@ Mark: I’m going to be a Negative Nelly on Hawpe. At least this way I won’t be disappointed and I might be pleasantly surprised.
I don’t find the fact he was a 1B in the minors over 8 years ago encouraging and I think he will be a defensive liability at 1B.
OTOH, you’re totally right about us having 2 legit 1B prospects who should be ready to go in 2012 so it’s best not to block them. So maybe I should lighten up a little.
@LynchMob: Thanks. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours as well… Love the Branyan anecdote.
@Mark: I couldn’t agree more about the 1-year rental at first base. It makes all the sense in the world.
@Pat: Sometimes lowering expectations is the only way to make it through the day.
I’ll have more to say about Hawpe in tomorrow’s post…