When we arrived at Petco Park, a little over an hour before first pitch, the Giants were taking batting practice and Heath Bell was signing autographs near the home dugout. Bell signed for 10-15 minutes, with other members of the Padres bullpen joining in as well. Players milled about the field, the grounds crew made [...]
Category Archive for ‘Notes and Links’ 
Me, Elsewhere: Contrasting Defensive Styles
My latest look at the NL West over at Baseball Prospectus (freebie) considers the respective defensive approaches (or lack thereof) of the Giants and Dodgers. And I offer a few thoughts on the Padres’ opening weekend series win in St. Louis: Most people don’t expect much from the Padres in 2011. Three games doesn’t change [...]
Opening Day Links and Open Thread
Well, it’s here. First, we have links to whet your appetite…
Me, Elsewhere: Looking Forward… in Three Places at Once!
My latest at Hardball Times is part of their annual “Five Questions” series and focuses on our favorite team. One of my questions deals with Cameron Maybin, who is a key to this franchise in many ways right now: Oliver likes his chances this season, setting the bar at .271/.339/.422, which looks suspiciously like what [...]
Me, Elsewhere: What Came Before the NL West?
My latest at Baseball Prospectus ($) focuses on the origins of professional baseball in each of the five current NL West cities. Did you know, for instance, that Hall of Fame right-hander Walter Johnson pitched for the San Diego Pickwicks in 1907? I had no idea. Anyway, the whole article is full of stuff like [...]
Me, Elsewhere: Would You Like Fries with That?
I caught a few innings of Monday night’s game between the Padres and White Sox on television. At one point, Mark Loretta joined Mark Grant and Dick Enberg in the broadcast booth, and the three of them discussed whether spring training is too long. The consensus opinion was that, yes, it is too long. The [...]
Gardenhire’s Cat
As you may have surmised from the title of this blog, I’m a big fan of quirky baseball terminology. With that in mind, I’ve got an idea for a phrase we should start using. Physics has Schrodinger’s cat. Baseball should have Gardenhire’s cat. This term would be used to describe seemingly irrelevant details provided in [...]
Me, Elsewhere: Rizzo, Belt, and the Rest of the West
My latest at Baseball Prospectus ($) examines two top-shelf first base prospects in the NL West, San Diego’s Anthony Rizzo and San Francisco’s Brandon Belt. It also discusses Jon Garland’s recent oblique strain, recalling how badly Chris Young fared after a similar injury in 2007. My favorite piece of information to come from researching this [...]
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