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Cheeseburger in Purgatory

Jake Peavy isn’t going to the Cubs… for now. And just when I was starting to like the names being mentioned. Did you notice how the rumored packages went from being awful, to decent, to pretty good? At the very least, Kevin Towers deserves credit for not jumping on any old deal, like some folks [...]

Links for 9 Dec 08

I’m a little behind in my links, so some of these might be oldish. Hey, better late than never… Organization free of bad contracts and long-term financial obligations (San Diego Union-Tribune). Good stuff from Tom Krasovic: The Padres certainly are familiar with toxic player contracts… The low-revenue Marlins and Twins almost never made such mistakes, [...]

Writing the Book (8 Dec 08)

I hope everyone had an excellent Thanksgiving. I’m finally settling back into my routine and almost caught up on emails. If I still owe you a response, this is probably the week it happens. I got a ton of work done in Hawai’i, which is good because I’ve been stressing about the whole book thing. [...]

Cardinals Get a Shortstop, Padres Save Money

The Padres have traded shortstop Khalil Greene to the St. Louis Cardinals for right-handed reliever Mark Worrell and a player to be named later. Worrell, no relation to ex-Padre Tim Worrell, has has put up some nice numbers in the minor leagues. Then again, so has Carlos Guevara, and nobody ever gave up the best [...]

Stupid Padre Tricks: Two Games or Fewer Pitched (2000-2008)

On Monday, we ran through the list of players who pitched two games or fewer for the Padres from 1969 to 1999. Today we check out the rest of the lot. Interestingly, only seven guys met our criteria in the club’s first 31 years of existence, while nine have done so in the last nine. [...]

Stupid Padre Tricks: Two Games or Fewer Pitched (1969-1999)

In their relatively brief history, the San Diego Padres have had 16 players pitch in two games or fewer for them. It’s a fascinating list… if you find these sorts of lists fascinating: Al McBean, 1969 Taken from the Pirates as the 50th player selected overall in the 1968 expansion draft, McBean started his only [...]

Blast from the Past: Old Free Agents, Ugly Drafts, and Great Albums

Not much of a theme today. Just… whatever… Remember when we used to lust after Marcus Giles? This was in 2002 — years before he actually arrived and demonstrated an alarming inability to hit baseballs. We kinda had a thing for Jose Vidro and Bobby Hill back then, too. Don’t ask. On the bright side, [...]

Blast from the Past: Mark Phillips Outrage

What a fool I used to be. Those are Neil Peart’s words, but they apply here as well, so I’ll use ‘em. When the Padres traded Bubba Trammell and minor-league left-hander Mark Phillips for Rondell White back in ’03, I was… a little less than pleased. I actually vented in three parts: Part 1 includes [...]

Blast from the Past: Arizona Dreamin’

I usually make one or two trips out to Phoenix each year. Spring training has become a must, and I always enjoy taking in some Arizona Fall League games. Today, we’re all about the AFL… and whatever else happened to come with it on a particular journey… and whatever else that triggers in my mind, [...]

Thanksgiving Holiday Schedule

Forgive the lack of updates this past week. I rolled out of bed on Monday, blinked, and it was Saturday. Time is not your friend. We’re off to Hawai’i for the annual Thanksgiving shindig at my wife’s family’s farm. I’m prepping some articles (mostly annotated reruns) to run in my absence; although discussion is always [...]