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Me, Elsewhere: Alchemist at Work

My latest at Baseball Prospectus (free!) focuses on the efforts of former Padres GM Kevin Towers on behalf of his new team. The Arizona Diamondbacks, much as his old team did in 2010, are surprising everyone this season with their strong play. Although much of the groundwork was laid by his predecessors, Towers has added [...]

Vedder Cup Recap

The Padres dropped two out of three in Seattle over the weekend to lose this year’s Vedder Cup, 5-1. If you’re keeping score at home, here’s how the Padres have fared in Bud Selig’s idea of a “natural rivalry”…

Friday Links (1 Jul 11)

Now, with 100% less snappy intro…

Do the Padres Trade Away Their Stars?

A debunking? Moi? Why, I’d love to give it a go… Reader Peter Thomas writes: I keep reading on message boards and hearing on Hacksaw [San Diego radio personality Lee Hamilton] “react to me” that the Padres are constantly trading away All-Star players and that there’s no reason to root for a team that is [...]

We Were Young and Stupid

When I was younger and measured days by the inning rather than by proximity to the next mortgage payment, I ridiculed people for arriving late to ball games. Such luxury… Nowadays, I am grateful to arrive at all.

Me, Elsewhere: Extreme Ballparks of the NL West

My latest at Baseball Prospectus ($) revisits a familiar topic, with an added wrinkle. We know that the Padres, who play half their games in baseball’s least hitter-friendly environment, enjoy less of a home-field advantage than many other teams. Replace “least” and “less” with “most” and “more,” and we’re talking about the Rockies. The wrinkle [...]

Thought Exercise: Mock Expansion Draft

Our pals at the Platoon Advantage have spearheaded something they call the Great 2011 Expansion Draft (complete with commentary from Keith Law), which assumes that two new teams will be added to MLB in 2012. (This is a thought exercise, so roll with it… as well as the assumption that Portland, which couldn’t handle Triple-A, [...]

Weekend Musings

Tim Stauffer hit his spots on Friday night and had good movement on his breaking ball en route to a career-high nine strikeouts. Stauffer appeared to tire in the seventh, when he gave up a couple well-struck balls, including Freddie Freeman’s two-run homer to dead center that accounted for Atlanta’s lone runs.

Padres Take Series at Fenway, and I’m Not Even Kidding

You may be wondering how the sad, sad Padres took a series from the big, bad Red Sox in their house. It’s simple, let me explain: I have no clue.

Red Sox Lose to Other Team

The Boston Red Sox struck early on Tuesday night, in front of the largest crowd at Fenway Park since World War II. They scored on a first-inning single by Dustin Pedroia and double by Kevin Youkilis to take a 1-0 lead.