Mailbag

by Geoff Young on Sep 15, 2003

So my "Statewide Special Election" pamphlet arrived the other day (oh, it’s special alright). I try not to get too political here or in real life, but since this is more comedy than politics, here are my new favorite candidates:

  • Trek Thunder Kelly An artist from Venice, Kelly’s statement asks Californians to vote for him, "thus breaking the Seventh Seal and incurring Armageddon." He’s also begun the process of attempting to recall Arnold Schwarznegger should he be elected. I like a guy who thinks ahead.
  • Kevin Richter His primary qualifications are "29 years of experience in breathing" and "extreme frugality." Admirable qualities in a politician.

You know what I want? I want a candidate who will make folks outside of California understand that we are not a bunch of flakes who can’t seem to figure out how to run our own affairs.

Right.

In Padre land, there’s not much good to say about recent events. Three game sweep at Dodger Stadium, including back-to-back shutouts? Yuck.

On the other hand, the Pads did a nice job of coming back Friday night against the Giants. Despite repeatedly shooting themselves in the foot, they managed to pull that one out on, of all things, a bases-loaded single from Keith Lockhart. Yeah, how crazy is that?

Lots of catching up to do. This entry may ramble on a bit, so don’t feel you have to eat it all in one sitting. Stick it in a to-go box, eat the rest later. It’s even good cold. First, we read some letters…

From Jeff #287:

I was just checking out this site (www.summerofglove.com), thought you might like it. I found it by searching on “obnoxious giants fans” to see if anyone shared my opinion that they are only less obnoxious than Raiders fans by a very slight margin. Anyhow, it’s sorta cool. This couple took the summer to check out every ballpark in the U.S. this summer. Sorta fun brainless stuff to read. Right up my alley. ; )

First of all, I don’t know about all Giant fans, but the ones I’ve seen at the Q lately have been pretty unbearable. I didn’t get out to any games this last time around, but on their previous visit, chants of "Let’s Go Giants" were audible throughout much of the game. Part of that is our fault; the Pads got off to a horrendous start this year and a lot of the fans stopped caring. We left ourselves ripe for a takeover.

But there’s also something a little different about Giant fans at the Q that I can’t quite define. Dodger fans don’t cause me any trouble, but maybe that’s because I grew up in LA and followed the club for many years. Diamondback fans don’t bother me nearly as much as their manager does. Rockie fans? Never seen one at the Q. Cub fans are great. It is amazing to me to see people so passionate about a team that never wins. But Giant fans? No thanks.

As for the Summer of Glove site, thanks for passing that along. I remember hearing about that a while back. Reminds me of a time when I didn’t have any responsibilities and could get away from home for more than a handful of days.

Like when my friend Brad and I drove clear around the country back in 1988: San Diego; Van Horn, TX; Madisonville, TX; Slidell, LA (couldn’t stay in New Orleans due to the Republican National Convention); Richmond Hill, GA; Richmond, VA; Utica, NY; Dubuque, IA (this is the longest stretch of driving I personally have ever done: left Cooperstown at 3:15 PM, arrived in Dubuque 8:15 the next morning); New Brighton, MN; Rapid City, SD; Missoula, MT; Redmond, WA; Cresent City, CA; Culver City, CA.

That was a great trip, just driving and seeing the country. I’m glad I did it back then, when I had the time. Anybody out there who is in college or otherwise without a great deal of responsibility: I highly recommend a road trip. It’s good for the soul.

Our next letter comes from Chewy Lomax, who writes:

I have heard a little talk recently about whether the new ballpark will be a “hitters” park or a “pitchers” park. What is your opinion? This also made me think a little (stretch)… How has the Murph compared to parks that are considered hitters” or “pitchers” parks (minus Colorado of course)?

Excellent questions. I’ll get to the second one first, because we have cold, hard facts there.

Here is how the Q measures up to other MLB parks (courtesy of Baseball-Reference). The basic idea is that a score of 100 represents a neutral park, with anything below that mark being below average and anything above being above average:

Year Bat Pit
1996  95  95
1997  93  92
1998  91  90
1999  96  96
2000  91  92
2001  91  92
2002  92  93

For the masochistic among us, a technical explanation of how these numbers are derived is available.

This site breaks down park factors at the Q from 1996 to 2001 in a little more detail. Basically, they show that runs were pretty hard to come by at the Q relative to the league as a whole. These folks also conclude that left-handed power hitters in particular have been hurt by the Q.

As for Petco, we won’t know for sure until we see the results, but we can speculate based on available information. Here’s the Tale of the Tape (courtesy of Ballparks.com):

             Petco  Qualcomm*
Left field    334'    327'
Left-center   367'    370'
Center field  390'    405'
Deepest RCF   409'     --
Right-center  387'    370'
Right field   322'    327'**

*Since 1982, when the fences were moved in.
**Since 1996. From 1982 to 1986, the distance from home plate to the right field wall was 330 feet.

At first glance, it looks like it should be a little tougher to drive the ball out of the park to right-center in Petco. Phil Nevin hits a lot of balls that way, so some of his homers may turn into doubles. Some folks have speculated that Petco may be more of a hitter’s park that should help left-handed hitters due to winds blowing out toward right field.

If the Q has been hampering left-handed power hitters and Petco truly does help them, we could see some jumps from the likes of Ryan Klesko, Mark Kotsay, and Brian Giles. The move into Petco may have been one factor in Kevin Towers’ decision to acquire Giles (well behind, say, the fact that he’s a great player).

Of course, there are additional parts of the equation we haven’t considered. For instance, I’m not sure about the wall heights in Petco, or the distance from home plate back to the screen. I also don’t know how much of a role (if any) the differences in elevation and relative proximity to the ocean will play. (My suspicion, based on anectodal evidence, i.e., having spent a reasonable amount of time in both areas, is there won’t be much change.)

Incidentally, for more information on atmospheric conditions and ballpark effects, check out these sites:

Bottom line, I think Nevin is going to be hurt a little, while Klesko and Giles will be helped. I don’t expect much of a change for the pitchers (although extreme flyball guys like Kevin Jarvis might find the new digs a little less forgiving).

More Baseball Stuff

  • The Interrogation Room: Matt Clement — Former Padre pitcher Clement is a Rush fan. Very cool.
  • BallParkWatch — Here’s a find. All kinds of information about baseball parks. From the site:

    This site is really a collection of resources for those who love baseball at any level, with special emphasis placed on the minor leagues. The roots for this site came from my guides to baseball travel, focusing mainly on the Upper Midwest.

  • Mauer, Prior Rekindle 1 vs. 2 Debate — Joe Mauer is Baseball America‘s 2003 Minor League Player of the Year, beating, among others, Josh Barfield. Jim Callis looks back at other famous dilemmas at the top of the amateur draft (Steve Chilcott vs Reggie Jackson, Todd Van Poppel vs Chipper Jones, Darren Dreifort vs Alex Rodriguez, etc.).

Flotsam and Jetsam

Discovered a couple of Blog Search Engines that the blog hounds might find useful:

Let me know how these work for you, or if you have any engines you like to use.

Finally, I forgot to mention it at the time, but Ducksnorts hit a milestone last Sunday. September 7 marked our sixth anniversary. We’ve come a long way since our humble beginnings, and it’s pretty much because of all the folks who stop by to visit. If you’re so inclined, check out the article that started it all: a little rant about Hideki Irabu.

It’s a bit rough around the edges (and angrier than I’d remembered), but I’m still proud of it. Since that time, I like to think that this site and I have mellowed some. But I hope not too much.

That’s all for now. We’ll get back to our discussion of Josh Barfield a little later in the week. Take care, and keep your eye on the ball!

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