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Adrian Gonzalez Traded to Boston for Guys You Haven’t Heard of… Yet

Slow news day, eh? Neither team has confirmed this, but sources too numerous to count are reporting that the Padres and Red Sox have agreed to a trade that would send All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez to Boston for right-handed pitcher Casey Kelly, first baseman Anthony Rizzo, center fielder Reymond Fuentes, and a player to [...]

Friday Links (3 Dec 10)

If there is a worse way to travel than by airplane, I’d just as soon not know about it. Anywho, I’m back from Hawai’i with links…

Me, Elsewhere: Show Some Glove

I went on vacation and wrote an article about the Padres defense. Yeah, I know how to party. Among the many interesting things I discovered in conducting my research are these: Padres outfielders can’t keep baserunners from advancing. Padres infielders are excellent at defending against the bunt. The Padres turned more double plays in 2010 [...]

One-Hit Wonders: Atlee Hammaker to Jerry Johnson

This is Part 6 of a 13-part series examining the 65 men who have collected exactly one hit as a member of the San Diego Padres. Our current installment features a man once traded for Vida Blue, Trevor Hoffman’s predecessor as Padres closer, the survivor of Mike Darr’s fatal car crash, a former teammate of [...]

Me, Elsewhere: Pitchers Duels of the 1940s

The second part of my “epic pitchers duels” series is up at Hardball Times and focuses on the 1940s. There is a little more of a San Diego/Padres connection in this installment. Bob Kennedy (father of former Padres catcher Terry Kennedy) merits a mention, as does the pride of Hoover High, Ted Williams. One of [...]

I Almost Prayed in Albuquerque: It’s Not a Problem for Me

In Summer 2007, I drove from San Diego to Cooperstown for Tony Gwynn’s induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. This is Part 6 of a nine-part series covering the first day of my journey. Welcome to the Arizona League: home of stealth baseball. The league represents the absolute lowest level of affiliated baseball. Most [...]

One-Hit Wonders: Steve Fireovid to Charlie Haeger

This is Part 5 of a 13-part series examining the 65 men who have collected exactly one hit as a member of the San Diego Padres. Our current installment features four right-handers (one of whom earned 139 minor-league victories, one who once was traded for Cito Gaston, one who threw the knuckleball, and one about [...]

Me, Elsewhere: They Don’t Pitch Like That Anymore

My latest at Hardball Times examines the four greatest pitchers duels of the 1920s and 1930s, including the classic May 1, 1920, battle between the Brooklyn Robins and the Boston Braves that saw starters Leon Cadore and Joe Oeschger work all 26 innings of a 1-1 tie. There is no real Padres angle here. Gaylord [...]

Once Upon My Mind: It’s Just a Big Jumbled Mess

Ah, November… Of all the months between October and December, it is by far my favorite. It’s also the month in which I once wrote many things, some of which have not come back to embarrass me…

I Almost Prayed in Albuquerque: A Crow Left of the Murder

In Summer 2007, I drove from San Diego to Cooperstown for Tony Gwynn’s induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. This is Part 5 of a nine-part series covering the first day of my journey. I listened to Incubus’ A Crow Left of the Murder during this stretch. You might think that it’s appropriate to [...]