2008 Annual

Archive for the ‘2008 Annual’ Category

The Khalil Conundrum

Tuesday, January 22, 2008
by Geoff Young

Late last week talks broke down between the Padres and shortstop Khalil Greene. The Padres control Greene through 2009 but are interested in pursuing a long-term deal with him. According to the U-T, the club offered a 3- or 4-year deal (no money disclosed) without success, and the two sides now have exchanged salary arbitration figures. Quoth GM Kevin Towers: A long-term contract with Khalil at this time is probably doubtful. I don't know, it might not be able to get done. Khalil's family is on the East Coast and ...

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Posted in 2008 Annual, Baseball | 49 Comments »

Bad Pitching Performances, Book and Spring Training Updates

Thursday, January 17, 2008
by Geoff Young

Three things on the agenda today. Four if you count "an almost fanatical devotion to the pope," but I digress... Bad Pitching Performances I've got a new article up at Hardball Times: "Ten pitching seasons to forget." Three of these guys once pitched for the Padres. One was Mark Davis, which gave me an excuse to revisit the Keltner List I did for him over at Baseball Think Factory many moons ago. Steve Arlin merited an honorable mention for his 1973 season with the Padres. Before I added an innings-pitched component to the formula, Arlin made my top 10. Here's the writeup on him that got left on the ...

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Posted in 2008 Annual, Spring Training | 53 Comments »

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Matched Pairs: Batters

Monday, January 14, 2008
by Geoff Young

I'm addicted to Baseball-Reference's PI tool. For grins I ran a search on everyone who has accumulated 1500 or more career plate appearances with the Padres (39 in total) and ordered them from top (Fred McGriff) to bottom (Enzo Hernandez) according to OPS+. Then I looked for "matched pairs" -- guys who have the same OPS+ (give or take a point). The rankings referenced in each entry are from the upcoming Ducksnorts 2008 Baseball Annual. Let the fun begin: Another Retired Number? PlayerYearsPABAOBPSLGOPS+ Ryan Klesko2000-20063333.279.381.491134 Dave Winfield1973-19804512.284.357.464134 I've got Klesko as the best first baseman in club history and #6 left fielder. Winfield is the #2 right fielder and tied for 10th in left field. Logjam in Center Field PlayerYearsPABAOBPSLGOPS+ Mark Kotsay2001-20031647.283.355.426112 Steve Finley1995-19982640.276.334.458112 Kevin McReynolds1983-19861983.263.319.438111 It's amazing to me ...

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Posted in 2008 Annual | 32 Comments »

Spring Training and Book Updates

Thursday, January 10, 2008
by Geoff Young

Okay, we've had a chance to come up with a spring training plan of sorts. From the poll, I see that the general preference is that we do this earlier rather than later. February 29 - March 2 is in the lead right now, but I have to say, the idea of getting way too familiar with Luis Rodriguez and a bunch of NRIs holds little appeal to me, so I'd like to shoot for March 7 - 9 instead. Anyway, here are some details: Ducksnorts 2008 Spring Training Thang Dates: March 7 - 9, 2008 Price: TBD (depends on how many folks can join us) What the package includes: Hotel accommodations Tickets to all Padres games Complete limousine transportation in Arizona to ...

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Posted in 2008 Annual, Spring Training | 27 Comments »

Road Trip to Cooperstown: Syracuse to Fort Wayne

Wednesday, December 19, 2007
by Geoff Young

The following is an excerpt from the Ducksnorts 2008 Baseball Annual, scheduled for publication in February 2008. I learned about toll roads on this day. Specifically, I learned precisely how confusing they can be. After checking out of my room in Syracuse, I cruised west on I-90, which runs past Rochester and Batavia, and into Buffalo. To drive along I-90 you need a ticket, which you get from -- actually, I'm not sure how that works because I never got one. I exited the interstate in Buffalo and came to a toll booth, trying to think of excuses. Thankfully the operator had encountered clueless tourists before and was very patient with me. "Where's your ticket?" she ...

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Posted in 2008 Annual, Travels | 28 Comments »

Oooh, Shiny Book Cover

Tuesday, December 18, 2007
by Geoff Young

I swear I'm not turning Ducksnorts into a photo blog, but I'm pretty psyched about this because it means I can almost see light at the end of the tunnel. When will the book be done? Well, when it's done. I'm shooting for the first or second week of February. I think this is realistic and not just me being blindly optimistic the way I was that, say, Sean Burroughs could learn to hit a baseball with authority. On a related note, I'm planning to run an excerpt tomorrow and I'd love your input. Our choices are "2007 in Review" and "Driving to Cooperstown." Both are very much in progress, but some parts are fit for human consumption. Please ...

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Posted in 2008 Annual, Open Thread | 65 Comments »

Padres Acquire Edmonds

Saturday, December 15, 2007
by Geoff Young

The Padres are about to pick up center fielder Jim Edmonds from St. Louis for minor-league third baseman David Freese. Reportedly, the Cardinals also will be sending $1 million, which is why the deal hasn't been formally announced yet. Edmonds is in decline, and the Pads will need a contingency plan, but I like this move. They're essentially signing him to a 1-year, $7 million deal. Like the acquisitions of Randy Wolf and Tadahito Iguchi (and the re-signing of Greg Maddux), it's a relatively low-risk move. The last time San Diego brought in a guy that everyone else had written off, it worked out pretty ...

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Posted in 2008 Annual, Trade Analysis | 59 Comments »