So, fourth place was fun for a few hours…
- How did Mets settle on black uniforms? (ESPN). I’m not a uniform connoisseur by any stretch, but this is an entertaining read.
- “Everything in My Life Sucks Right Now.” (FanGraphs). I’ve written about Hong-Chih Kuo’s struggles in Los Angeles; on the other side of the country, Red Sox right-hander John Lackey is going through tough times of his own.
- Prospect Hot Sheet (Baseball America). Keyvius Sampson makes an appearance on the May 13 edition.
- Who’s Zoomin’ Who? (Baseball Prospectus). The Padres have been very good at stealing bases this year. I wonder how much of that falls on Dave Roberts?
- Geer rehabbing after cancer surgery (U-T). “Yearlong chemotherapy program”? Geer hopes to resume pitching in July. Here’s wishing him the best of luck.
- When baseball defied segregation off the field (CNN). More fascinating stuff from former big leaguer Bill White… [h/t BBTF]
- Rizzo needs a slump to find San Diego (North County Times). Jay Paris argues that the Padres should wait to see how Anthony Rizzo responds to adversity — assuming he ever experiences any — before promoting him. Makes sense to me.
- It’s a Hardball Times e-book. Steve Treder has published an eBook called Third Base: The Crossroads that sounds promising. I’m biased, though, being a huge fan of Treder’s work.
- Who’s No. 1? (Baseball Prospectus). Kevin Goldstein provides a quick overview of his top 20 prospects for the 2011 draft. Twelve of the top 16 are pitchers.
- U Got the Look: Hitters, Part II (Baseball Prospectus). Jason Parks talks hitting from a scouting perspective. This has been an informative series.
- The Worst Pitching Performance Ever (Joe Blogs). In which Royals right-hander Vin Mazzaro channels his inner Will Cunnane…
- Minor League Update: Games of May 16 (Baseball Prospectus). Padres farmhands Jason Hagerty and Anthony Rizzo show up here, as do USD alum Brian Matusz and SDSU alum (and son of ex-Padre Greg Vaughn) Cory Vaughn.
- Brian McCann’s 2-HR game (Baseball-Reference). What do former Padres outfielders Scott Hairston, Carmelo Martinez, and Marvell Wynne have in common. Wait, Marvell Wynne?!?
RIP, Harmon Killebrew
Former Washington Senators and Minnesota Twins star Harmon Killebrew died Tuesday following a battle with esophageal cancer. By all accounts, the Hall of Famer corner infielder/left fielder was one of the game’s true gentlemen…
- Thinking about Harmon (Hardball Times, Bruce Markusen)
- The Gentle Killer (Hardball Times, Chris Jaffe)
- Peace Be With You, Harmon Killebrew (Sadly Updated) (Baseball Prospectus, Steven Goldman)
- The Gentleman Called Killer (Joe Blogs, Joe Posnanski)
- Killebrew was ‘Paul Bunyan with a uniform on’ (Star Tribune, La Velle E. Neal III)
Poor Will Cunnane. Hey, Rule 5 guy, it’s time you learned why you’re really here…..
Thanks for the link to the Lukas article on the Mets’ black unis … I’m a *huge* UniWatchBlog fan, but I don’t read it as often as I’d like to … it’s just *always* filled with interesting tidbits … highly recommend …
OT – Until yesterday, I didn’t know Troy Aikman is part of the Padre ownership team … bleh … in a fun way …
Why would the Padres need to see how Rizzo overcomes adversity? Didn’t the guy overcome cancer?
How did Eric Patterson make the roster? Were they hoping that his 4 years of .200 batting was just a fluke and he’s destined to be the next big thing? Cause it’s one thing to be that bad and make the roster, but it’s another to actually get the playing time as well.
Or is it just me, am I missing the greatness?
PadresFuture … I’m not sure I fully buy into the premise of Paris’ article, but as opposed to “overcome adversity”, I’d say that what’s being proposed is to wait to see if Rizzo can make adjustments. A key difference between AAA and MLB is the number of mistakes that pitchers make. AAAA players can hit all the AAA pitcher mistakes, but don’t get enough of them in MLB to get good results. MLB pitchers are generally better at finding and adjusting to a hitters weakness … so a good MLB hitter has to be able to know his weaknesses and adjust around them. I think Paris is saying that we (and the Padres) can’t tell if Rizzo can do that until they see it done at the AAA level …
I’m OK leaving him down … gaining confidence … developing … getting past the Super2 deadline … and I’m also OK with calling him up mid-season even without seeing him battle thru and out of a slump!
The Padres have to see how Hawpe and Blanks progress also … I’m guessing if they get any kind of offer for Hawpe, he’s gone … but that seems unlikely …
There’s no need to run anything, right? Best case scenario for 2011 does not include a playoff push in September, does it? I’m far from believing that. 2012? Perhaps!
Last paragraph of previous post should say “There’s no need to RUSH anything, right?”
OT … from KG @ BP today … Sean Burroughs, 3B, Diamondbacks (Triple-A Reno): 5-for-5, 3 2B, 3B, 2 R, 4 RBI. How cool is it that this guy is hitting .386/.434/.571?
The Rays have called Burroughs up to the big club. I doubt he can handle 2B or SS for even an inning at the major leaugue level, which will limit his utility value, but maybe a career as a PH and corner IF/OF reserve isn’t out of the question. Anyway, I’m glad to see he’s found his way back.
Lance … you’ve got your Rays and D-backs mixed up
We might see him in Petco … whodathunk?
Yeah… oops. That was a pretty embarrassing error.
Lynch:
The only way to find out if this guy can hit major league pitchers and make the adjustments is to let him try. I just think having overcome the adversity of cancer, he will be mentally prepared for having to work hard at making adjustments. I am starting to lean towards waiting to call him up until late summer. Rizzo is not gonna make or break whether or not the team makes the playoffs. I have the feeling the Padres are gonna be just close enough to not have a fire sale, but just far enough to not go out and make a blockbuster to improve the team.
I wonder if there’s been any studies about developmental benefits of an extra month or 3 at AAA?
I’m a big believer in the concept of “development” … a player can be ruined by moving him “too fast” thru the minors … but that seems like a tough concept to “study”, let alone “prove”.
One more thought along those lines … I also do believe that for some players, a promotion is necessary / beneficial. I read something about KC’s Hosmer … they decided that his development was not being maxmized in AAA.
So, as I think you are aluding to, PadresFuture, there are some things we’ll only know when he gets to the Padres … and it’s one of those magical calls about when to make that move … pro’s & con’s on both sides.
@PF / LM
Triple A is often a good place to learn to make those adjustments without hurting the big club. There are a lot of veteran pitchers in the PCL who don’t rely on just stuff to get guys out. He’s seeing more 2-0 breaking balls and changeups than he ever has before. He’s seeing pitchers who will take something off a fastball 3-1 instead of humping up. That seems like a valuable lesson to learn, and he might as well learn it in front of 5000 people instead of 10x that many.
Bye, Harmon.
As much ball as I watched in the sixties, he was a guy who walked to the plate as a legit homer threat every time. A class act, too.
I hope Lance reads this, because the loss of Harmon means one more guy gone whose jock Manny Ramirez doesn’t deserve to carry.
I think Dave Roberts is most of the reason the Padres are not just stealing bases but stealing them at a high rate.
Roberts: 243 steals/301 attempts/81 percent
2011 Padres: 46 steals/58 attempts/79 percent
Crazy, huh?
I wouldn’t be too hard on Mazzaro’s pitching performance. Under normal circumstances, the manager would have yanked him before that much damage was done, but you could say Mazzaro (or his ERA) was sacrificed for the team.
For worst performance over a month, you can’t beat “Mr. 15″, Alex Mustaikis, who won over 170 games in a long minor league career, but had only one chance in the majors with Boston in 1940. He’s “Mr. 15″ because his major league line consisted of 15 IP, 15 hits, 15 walks and 15 earned runs.
wow, that’s cool about “Mr. 15″…only in baseball. Thanks, Larry.
Ya, if Ducksnorts had a “like” or “+1″ button for comments (can you add something like that, GY?), then I’d click it for Larry’s comment about Mr 15 … thanks for that!