While Adrian Gonzalez was busy not boycotting the All-Star game, I was writing articles.
I’ve got two new pieces up at Baseball Prospectus. One is my usual NL West thing ($), while the other is a group effort (free) that remembers overlooked players of the past.
If the current Padres season has you down, here’s a little snippet from my NL West article that might make you feel better:
This past winter, the Dodgers spent nearly $58 million to sign and retain free agents — mostly mediocre thirtysomethings. They owe Matt Guerrier and Juan Uribe a combined $33 million through 2013. (They owe Marquis Grissom — who hasn’t played for the Dodgers since 2002 or for anyone since 2005 — a shade more than $2.7 million, but that’s another story.) The trouble is that Guerrier (4.10 ERA, 4.70 SIERA) has given no indication that he can help a contender down the stretch. Neither has Uribe (.207/.273/.306, .209 TAv), which means that whomever rescues Los Angeles from the McCourts will continue to “benefit” from their services for the next couple of years.
I would prefer to celebrate our own team, but right now, that is difficult to do. We will have to settle for schadenfreude. Or Haagen-Dazs… I could go for some ice cream.
Anyway, the group article features 18 players, including several with Padres ties: Greg A. Harris, Gene Tenace (my contribution), Tony Phillips (who was here ever so briefly), Willie Montanez, and Marty Barrett. San Diego products Mark Grace (SDSU) and Matt Nokes (Patrick Henry HS) also make appearances.
Enjoy…