I’m trying to come up with a game plan for 2011 and I need your help. What do you want to see here this year? Game recaps? Analysis? Snark? Minor-league coverage? Interviews? Chats? Question marks?
Give me some feedback. Otherwise, you’ll be stuck with another year of whatever the heck it is I’ve been doing.
Or just read stuff:
- 2000+ Games Played For One Team Only (Baseball-Reference). Tony Gwynn makes an appearance, as do San Diego natives Alan Trammell and Ted Williams.
- The Nickname Game: The barons of the bullpen (Hardball Times). Former Padres Hall of Fame closer Rich “Goose” Gossage shows up here.
- Even without comeback, Moyer’s Amazing (SweetSpot). Rob Neyer reminds us, among other things, that Jamie Moyer is “one of only two pitchers (Phil Niekro’s the other) to win more than 100 games after turning 40.”
- Review of Hitting Prospects, James Player Rater 1994 (FanGraphs). Carson Cistuli goes all retroactive on us. Former Padres appearing in this one include Ryan Klesko, Cliff Floyd, Rondell White, Alex Gonzalez (yep, he played here for a few seconds), Roberto Petagine (couldn’t hit off-speed stuff, but the fanboys loved him), Chris Gomez, Marc Newfield (shoulda been great), and Melvin Nieves.
- Hizzoner, The Second Baseman (ThePostGame). St. Cloud State second baseman Kent Koch, age 23, is also mayor of Loretto, Minn. [h/t BBTF]
- Trevor Hoffman and the Coming Wave (Baseball Prospectus). Jay Jaffe examines Hoffman’s Hall of Fame worthiness. Jaffe looks at a couple other ex-Padres as well: Mike Piazza and the man for whom Hoffman once was traded, Gary Sheffield.
- Prospect Watch: Top 10 first basemen (Padres.com). Anthony Rizzo checks in at no. 7. Reymond Fuentes ranks no. 8 among center field prospects. Everyone likes Fuentes than I do. I hope they are right.
Snark is always popular.
Forget interviews. They’re worthless. Here is every athlete interview that has ever been done in the history of the universe. Q: How did it go out there today? A: Well we came out and played as a team and we just have to take it one game at a time. Q#2: If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be? A: Well we came out and played as a team and we just have to take it one game at a time.
Game recaps alone are okay, but honestly I can get that anywhere. I like your analyses, both of individual games and of season trends as a whole, a lot. You use sabermetrics but don’t rely on them exclusively. Your writing style and sense of humor are excellent. Minor-league coverage is also a good topic.
Keep up the much appreciated good work.
I’d like for you to join us in some GLB OTs.
More game-by-game logs/observations… as a displaced fan living in Phoenix, I never have anyone to talk to about the Padres, so it’s nice to know other people are actually watching the games too. And maybe a few healthy discussions/debates, like why they decided to keep bringing Scott Hairston back (maybe it was in Jerry’s contract…).
I don’t follow other baseball sites (or other teams, for that matter) and I always appreciate your analysis of Padre players during the season. The old in-game discussions were generally good for a laugh the day after, but I expect those days are gone.
This is sort of a cop-out answer, but over the past X years I’ve been reading, I’ve enjoyed most everything.
FWIW, of the options presented, game recaps, analysis, and minor-league coverage would be my choices, but it seems that whatever you write is of top notch quality so don’t let me deter you.
Here’s to a great 2011!
Geoff,
I really appreciate your Sabr spin on things, the interesting angle you take a look at Padres history, and the links, because I don’t have time to find them myself. LOL
-I like seeing some links each day instead of a slew of them on Friday.
-Rather than full game recaps, I’d want to see your analysis of specifics from particular games each week.
-Minor-league coverage educates fans.
-Current snark level is appropriate.
-Interviews are always cool.
-Front office analysis.
What do you want to do?
Geoff, I love your analysis, whatever topic you choose. More of it, please! Also, the interviews you do are always very interesting. I think bringing more of these to the table would be tasty! Game recaps and chats, not so much, for me anyway. I love hearing and learning more about the minors and our prospects. Whether it be your own insights or whether you bring in someone like Peter, as you’ve done before, I think that would be great. Otherwise, I’m very content with whatever the heck it is you’ve been doing for these past several years I’ve been lucky enough to have been reading Ducksnorts!
I would like to see:
A regular minor-league update
In-depth interviews
Analysis/opinion
and
More cowbell
No help here, I’m afraid. Keep doing what you’ve been doing. I look forward to each new post because I’ve found the preceding ones consistently rewarding. Being good consistently is what it’s all about, and I’d hate for us readers to screw that up.
Just found Ducksnorts from an ESPN link to you. I live in Oregon, so it is great to find more on my beloved Padres. From what I’ve read today… keep up the good work and I will be a frequent reader. Past, present, and future posts are my favorites.
Fuentes doesn’t have to do a lot of hitting to be valuable. The comparison to Ellsbury is the standard — if he can slap hits around like the Navajo, his speed and defense will make him valuable (caveat: he does need to be healthier than Ellsbury). We’re talking about a CF here. He doesn’t need to hit like a corner to be valuable.
The only hitch might come about if Maybin turns it around and forces Fuentes to compete for a corner. He probably doesn’t have the upside for that, and it’s unlikely Maybin does either. But that’s under the heading of “nice problems to have.”
I have been a long-time reader of your site, and I really enjoy your writing (snark and all). Also, I think it is cool that you are asking your visitors for input. Sooo… First (just more compliments), I like how you restrain the natural impulse these days to immediately broadcast your initial reactions to any news until you have had an adequate time to weigh the trade/lineups/matchups/etc. This usually makes for your best work when these blockbuster trades go down, you give it a moment to settle before you analyze. Good stuff, a step above the rest.
Now personally speaking here, I don’t use the website to check in on your personal chronicles with the game (i.e., the trip to Cooperstown diary stuff). Although I do enjoy that writing also, I would prefer to just wait for the work to be completed before reading. Maybe my suggestion would be to put the “outside the daily box scores/not really following the season here” writings together on a side menu.
Other bits:
- I like the sabermetric stuff you use; just make sure you keep us casual followers of modern stats hip to what the stats mean to collect, the benefits, and the shortfalls of the numbers.
- I would like periodic reports on our top 25 prospects throughout the season (if only in the link roundups).
- Gotta admit, I’m a sucker for trade rumors, so feel free to present your forecasts for potential targets and how they would fit into our organization with what they bring. These usually get boring, though, when people start guessing the exact exchange of players.
- Interviews and chats could be really cool.
Thanks for the site.
I like what you have been doing. Keep it up!
Geoff,
Long-time lurker – love your work. The gap I see in the “Padres blog market” is really in the minor-league coverage. With the closing of Friberg’s blog, nobody does a quasi on-time minor league analysis. Sure, Friar Forecast does good stuff, but they are more of a post once a week blog; you are more consistent. So, pardon the rambling … what I’m driving at is that I think minor-league analysis and commentary would be an excellent addition. This would be most pleasing to the Padres junkies such as myself. Especially the ones who live in Australia and rely on blogs because we can’t easily watch the games!
Regards,
jdforce
So – there are 35 players who have played 2000+ games in their career – all for the same team.
24 of them are in the Hall of Fame.
4 of them (Biggio, Jeter, Chipper Jones, and Bernie Williams) are not yet eligible for the HoF.
The other seven ?
11 Dave Concepcion
17 Lou Whitaker
19 Frank White
23 Alan Trammell
26 Bill Russell
27 Barry Larkin
32 Jeff Bagwell
35 Edgar Martinez
In the off-season, I enjoy a lot of the “history of the game” posts. Anything that looks at 1960-70′s MLB or Padres is always a treat for me.
IMO you do a very good job with it. They are not just mushy nostalgia pieces.
You know I’m in the “keep doing what you’re doing” camp! I check here every time I get on-line … and I like and appreciate everything you write about … and most of the comments you elicit …
A topic that might not get enough coverage is “health status” … like what’s up with Kyle Blanks?
I miss the IGDs … I just can’t get into how they do it at GLB (which is a great Padre blog-site, just a bit different demographic than I fit into
) … what’s another option for me?
THANK YOU, GY, for Ducksnorts! Thank you, also, to all the DS commenters … you make me a better Padre fan!
Greetings Geoff!
Ditto verbatim the post from jdforce.
* Long time lurker
* Love your site as is
* The one thing I would really like from the blogosphere is some more detailed minor league coverage… Perhaps you could liaise somehow with people within the affiliates or who cover the games, to get a “weekly rundown” or something similar?
* Padre junky
* Australian who has trouble watching games.
* Though apparently slightly slower to post on forums
ok yeah, it’s all a bit weird…
Thanks for all the great work!
Remember that series you did recapping every game of the ’69 Padres season? That seemed like a ton of work, and maybe your time is better spent writing short pieces here and for Hardball Times, but I’d like to see a similar series for one of the Padres successful seasons, like ’78, ’84, ’96, or ’98.
Geoff,
I think the site is great as it is. One thing I would suggest is to organize a Ducksnorts outing to Petco, ideally like the ones that Jamey Newberg of the Newberg Report has done in the past with the Texas Rangers. Even though I’m not a Padre fan (Go Cardinals!), I would drive down to attend a Ducksnorts gathering.
Also, I’m still willing to move Headley for Mauer in our Scoresheet league.
Keep on keeping on. And don’t stop snarking — it’s the salt and pepper in the meal.
I just reread your intro to this … noticed the list of options you throw out includes “chat” … doing a few of those might help time go by faster until the pitchers and catchers report
If not here … might BP let you do a Padres-oriented chat there?
I’m in the “keep doing what you’re doing” camp. But, to offer something, I am always more interested in your analysis of the organization as a whole and different moves/transactions/decisions that take place through the season (and off-season) than anything else.
Keep up the good work, Geoff!
Analysis, yours, that’s why I come here. Also the snark.
Not so much the history but that’s only because I’m a recent fan.
All in all, it’s usually a good read. Keep it up, mate!
Oh and one other thing. I like the fact that your writing shows emotion, that you actually care about the team winning or losing and you are a fan. So much of the sabermetric type writing is stale and uninvolved…
I’ve always appreciated your analytical approach to looking at the Padres, and there’s really nothing else comparable on the web. There’s plenty of snark, so let some other sites continue in that vein. I’d say the Pads are a very exciting, developing team, so put your eye to that, along w/ the usual interesting stuff about Elsinore and the other minor-league affiliates.
First off, thanks to all who have responded. It’s gratifying to hear from so many folks — those I know, as well as those who are saying hello for the first time.
What I’m hearing is that I should continue with the analysis and offer more minor-league coverage, maybe some interviews. Okay, that works.
To a few specific points:
@bee1000, @LynchMob: Yeah, the IGDs were fun, but I don’t have time to administrate those anymore.
@Mike@AJM: I’m glad you like the shorter, more frequent link dumps. This approach is working better for me, too. As for what I want to do… well, I guess the same as always, which is write about whatever I happen to find interesting and hope that you also find it interesting.
@Field39: Sorry, I’ve been lagging on the cowbell. Do you have a fever?
@RJ: Thanks for the honest and thorough response. This made my day: “I like how you restrain the natural impulse these days to immediately broadcast your initial reactions to any news until you have had an adequate time to weigh the trade/lineups/matchups/etc.”
@parlo: Thank you. I hate mushy nostalgia pieces.
@Ryan: The ’69 season recap was a lot of fun but a lot of work. I’ve toyed with the idea of doing something similar for other seasons (’78 would be interesting, I think), but it always comes down to a time commitment. I will keep it in mind, though.
@Gary: We’ve done a couple of Petco outings in the past and had a good time. I will see if maybe we can get something going again this year. Thanks for the suggestion. As for Headley/Mauer, I’m sure you are.
Thanks again. If I didn’t respond to you directly, please take no offense. I read each of the comments carefully and very much appreciate the input!
I like that you’re a fan but don’t let that temper your cynicism. So definitely more minor-league news/analysis. Is there a Ducksnorts without snark?
Snark and analysis. I’m not too into the minor-league stuff, but it sounds like most are.
I’m not gonna lie, Geoff: it’d be great if you could open up the commenting again. It just hasn’t been the same since the great blow-up that prompted you to moderate in the first place. Well, that and the fact that 2008 was a real painful season.
As with Lynch, I find GLB has a different vibe, and I miss the days where there were actual conversations going on here. I understand why you made your decision, but I’d like to think that we are all adults here and can handle ourselves in a proper manner.
Other than that, I like the new look and echo what others have said: keep doing what you do.
You know what I want from Ducksnorts? A “How Bad Ass is Jed Hoyer?” graph, which currently would be redlined.
The man is playing at the high-dollar table with a pocketful of quarters, but he keeps making smart bets. Cantu may not hit, it’s happened to him before, but he’s still a solid acquisition. You’re not going to hit on every item in the bargain bin, but the bargains he picked (Hawpe, Qualls, Zaun, now Cantu) are very good selections.
I thought Kevin Towers was a fine GM. I know GY liked the Alderson-DePodesta team. But who could be anything but deeply impressed with Hoyer? Even when his moves don’t pan out — Ludwick 2010 — no one can say they weren’t well THOUGHT out.
@Bruce: Honesty is always appreciated. I tend to be a “never-say-never” kind of guy, but Ducksnorts almost didn’t survive that experience and I’m not sure I want to test myself again.
@Tom: Hoyer has done a fantastic job with the hand he’s been dealt. I’ll talk more about the Cantu signing tomorrow.
More minor-league coverage + more snark = Awesomeness!
I also agree with Bruce; I miss having great baseball conversations on here. You do an amazing job with your analysis, GY, and in return you attract incredibly informed readers. In the olden days, readers could find just as much (if not more) information on any given subject in the comments section as in the actual posts themselves (which is hard to do given the quality of your analysis). Also, if you ever had a question on a subject, regardless of whether it was on topic or not, there was always someone to promptly answer it for you.
The comments section used to be filled with great opinions and friendly debates (well, mostly friendly), and while those things still exist, I feel it has been a bit watered down since conversations now take days instead of minutes. I completely understand your position and I know there will always be bad apples but I feel that there has to be some kind of common ground that we can find here.
Is there some kind of subscription process that can be implemented? Like if you want to have real-time commenting abilities you can donate X amount of dollars to the blog? I realize this is extra work for you and you should be rightly compensated, which is why I think a donation/subscription process is fair; it will also help to keep trolls and spammers away, while allowing lurkers and new readers to still access the content for free and allow them to ease into the community with moderated comments.
Analysis (especially transactions), Minors (prospects only), and Ducksnark!
By the way, can I ask what happened in the “great blow-up” that prompted comment moderation? I must have missed that.
Ducksnorts, just keep doing what you do! I find I enjoy most everything of yours. Thank you, and keep up the great work!