Category Archive for ‘Notes and Links’ rss

Links for 14 Oct 08

by Geoff Young on Oct 14, 2008 (4) Comments

I’m trying out a tool that pulls links from my Delicious bookmarks and publishes them here on a semi-regular basis… How much should Ben Sheets get? (Hardball Times). Victor Wang uses projected performance and risk analysis to predict that free-agent right-hander Ben Sheets will get $55-65 million for 4 or 5 years. The methodology seems [...]

Hayhurst Takes Off, Eh?

by Geoff Young on Oct 07, 2008 (11) Comments

Right-hander Dirk Hayhurst has been claimed off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays. Dirk was gracious enough to chat with us not long ago. Although his Padre career lasted just 16 2/3 innings, it got his foot in the proverbial door. Here’s wishing Dirk all the best in Toronto (one of my favorite cities) as [...]

It Could Be Worse; Just Ask the Mariners

by Geoff Young on Sep 25, 2008 (5) Comments

Bullet points this morning: I’ve got a new piece up at Baseball Digest Daily that talks about the challenges facing the Seattle Mariners this off-season. Here in San Diego, the Padres have their work cut out for them as they attempt to rebuild, but there’s something to be said for not owing Jarrod Washburn, Miguel [...]

Fun with Run Support

by Geoff Young on Sep 18, 2008 (3) Comments

My latest article at Hardball Times focuses on a technique Bill James employed in his 1988 Baseball Abstract to evaluate the degree to which a pitcher might be aided (or not) by his offense. James used it to compare Danny Jackson and Walt Terrell from 1985 to 1987; I use it to compare Jarrod Washburn [...]

Ten Games

by Geoff Young on Sep 17, 2008 (15) Comments

What a grind it’s been. In 30+ years of following baseball, I can’t ever remember looking forward to season’s end, but that’s pretty much where I’m at right now. Actually, I’ve been there for a few months. It’s a strange feeling, and kind of sad. I just want the friggin’ games to end so I [...]

Friday Links (12 Sep 08)

by Geoff Young on Sep 12, 2008 (27) Comments

That was a fun one Thursday night, eh? I’d make a crack about how it’s only the Giants, but seeing as how we have virtually no chance of overtaking them for fourth place, that hardly seems appropriate. Seriously, though, it’s cool to see a bunch of these kids that I watched at Elsinore come up [...]

Partly Focused, with a Ten Percent Chance of Useful

by Geoff Young on Sep 11, 2008 (14) Comments

Like that new Metallica song, I’m scattered and unfocused today, with hopefully a touch of good stuff in there somewhere… Folks have been singing the praises of Cha Seung Baek because his fastball actually creeps into the mid-90s. I look at his track record and apparent disinterest in attacking hitters, and have concerns, but Monday [...]

Here, There, and Everywhere

by Geoff Young on Sep 04, 2008 (5) Comments

My latest article at Hardball Times looks back at a 1989 game in which the Cleveland Indians collected six hits, all home runs. Joe Carter knocked three of them. Carter, you may recall, came to San Diego the following year and gave a convincing demonstration of how utterly useless the RBI statistic is. Ten men [...]

Light Posting This Week

by Geoff Young on Aug 18, 2008 (58) Comments

Posting will be light this week. Nothing much is happening with the Padres right now (aside from the signings of Allan Dykstra and James Darnell, I suppose), and a few other projects are demanding my time: I’m working on a quick survey of compensatory draft picks through history — We’ve already touched on Rafael Palmeiro [...]

Random Friday Stupidity

by Geoff Young on Aug 15, 2008 (51) Comments

I was hoping to have some original content today, but it’s been a long week at work and I haven’t been able to formulate my thoughts on various topics as well as I’d have liked. Here are a few things I’m wondering right now: Why did Chase Headley suddenly discover plate discipline on June 12 [...]