1969: Padres Lose Fourth Straight at Home

by Geoff Young on Jul 10, 2007 (0) Comments

July 10, 1969, San Diego: Braves 3, Padres 1 (box score)

Dave Roberts, making his second big-league start for the Padres, lasted just four batters into this game. Felipe Alou singled, Felix Millan walked, Hank Aaron doubled, Rico Carty walked, and Roberts was yanked. Gary Ross came in and slammed the door, but the Braves’ 2-0 lead would prove insurmountable.

Atlanta scored its final run in the seventh. With Billy McCool on the mound for the Padres, a single, walk, two sacrifice bunts, and another single put the Braves up, 3-0. San Diego finally got on the scoreboard in the bottom half of the frame courtesy of a rare Roberto Pena home run.

The Padres put a couple runners on base in the ninth, but right-hander Cecil Upshaw came in and retired Van Kelly to end the threat. The Padres, in front of more than 12,000 fans, had dropped their fourth straight home game.

Who Is Taxing the Bullpen?

by Geoff Young on Jul 09, 2007 (36) Comments

One thing I’m tracking this season is reliever usage. We know the Padres bullpen has been outstanding all year, but are the two fortysomethings in the rotation putting a strain on the relievers? With five guys in the bullpen who pitch on a regular basis plus two others who are along for the ride, it’s not always easy to keep arms fresh, especially when the old guys — who lose effectiveness around the sixth inning — are pitching on consecutive days, as has been the case for much of the first half (10 times).

What follows is mostly a data dump, but I think you’ll find some of the numbers interesting…

Bullpen Usage by Starter
Player GS App/G Pit/G IP/G
Statistics are through games of July 8, 2007, and are courtesy of Baseball-Reference. App/G is the average number of relief appearances per start, Pit/G is the average number of pitches thrown by relievers per start, IP/G is the average number of innings thrown by relievers per start.
Jake Peavy 18 2.56 39.39 2.61
Greg Maddux 18 2.50 41.33 2.96
Chris Young 17 2.29 38.53 2.80
David Wells 17 3.53 68.71 4.18
Justin Germano 11 2.73 49.45 3.30
Clay Hensley 6 3.17 62.00 3.94

Wells clearly is very reliant on the bullpen. Granted, he’s started two of the longest games this year (April 29 against the Dodgers, May 5 at Florida), but he’s also failed to make it through the sixth inning in 8 of his 17 starts. The Padres use an average of one more reliever per game with Wells on the mound than they do when Maddux starts. The bullpen throws 30 more pitches to record four more outs per Wells start than per Chris Young start.

Five times this season Padres relievers have had to throw 100 or more pitches in a game. Three of those were started by Wells:

Games in Which Padres Relievers Have Thrown 100+ Pitches
Player Date Opp App Pit IP H ER HR BB SO
Statistics are through games of July 8, 2007, and are courtesy of Baseball-Reference.
Wells 4/13 @LA 3 101 5.2 5 4 0 4 3
Maddux 4/17 @ChN 5 127 9.0 2 0 0 2 8
Wells 4/29 LA 5 172 12.0 7 0 0 5 5
Hensley 5/2 Was 5 106 7.0 5 2 0 0 5
Wells 5/5 @Fla 7 115 6.2 4 3 0 4 9

Incidentally, the Padres lost that April 29 game where the bullpen worked 12 innings without allowing a single earned run. Tough day in the big leagues.

I guess if I’m presenting the problem, I should also suggest a solution. Given the propensity of Maddux and Wells to implode around the sixth inning or 75- to 80-pitch mark (we’ve touched on this several times and I’m not going to repeat it here; look up the splits at any of a number of sources if you’re not sure), and the strain that Wells in particular has put on the bullpen, I would recommend two courses of action:

  1. Slot someone — preferably Peavy or Young — between Maddux and Wells so that relievers have a better chance to recover between outings.
  2. Given that the seven-man bullpen is here to stay, be sure to use all seven guys. I don’t care that Kevin Cameron is a Rule V pick; a contending team cannot carry a player who twice has gone 10 days and once gone 17 (!) days between appearances. I like what I’ve seen of Cameron this year and I think he can be a valuable asset to the Padres, but not if he’s riding pine all the time.

Neither of these is particularly revolutionary, but I believe that implementing them would help balance the load and keep the bullpen fresh throughout the course of a long season. The last thing the Padres need right now is to see someone like Heath Bell get overworked and lose effectiveness down the stretch. As dependent as this club has been on its bullpen, it cannot afford to weaken the links between starter and closer.

Padres Prospect Report

by Peter Friberg

You will not see Drew Cumberland play college baseball. He signed with the Padres on Friday.

Friday, July 6, 2007

AAA

Pete LaForest: 4 AB, 0 R, 1 H, 0 RBI; 3 SO – another single!

AA

Cancelled…

High-A

Matt Antonelli: 4 AB, 3 R, 1 H, 1 RBI; BB
Chad Huffman: 4 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 5 RBI; BB, SO – 5 RBI w/o an XBH
David Freese: 4 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 2 RBI; BB

Low-A

Cedric Hunter: 2 AB, 0 R, 2 H, 0 RBI; 2B, BB, CS
Aaron Breit: 3.1 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 3 SO, 0 HR – ouch!

Short Season-A

Luis Durango: 6 AB, 2 R, 3 H, 3 RBI; 3B, HR, SO, SB – GW HR

Rookie

Yefri Carvajal: 6 AB, 1 R, 3 H, 1 RBI; 3 2B, SO

Commentary:

On Friday night, Lake Elsinore scored 11 runs without hitting any extra-base hits and without any stolen bases. How did they do it? They walked seven times while striking out only three…

Saturday, July 7, 2007 (7/7/7)

AAA

Clay Hensley: 6.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 7 SO, 0 HR – progress!

AA

Chase Headley: 2 AB, 1 R, 0 H, 0 RBI; 3 BB
Nick Hundley: 3 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 1 RBI; 2 BB
Will Venable: 4 AB, 0 R, 1 H, 4 RBI; 2B

High-A

Kyle Blanks: 4 AB, 2 R, 1 H, 2 RBI; HR, BB, SO
Yordany Ramirez: 4 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 1 RBI; 3 SB

Low-A

No significant performances…

Short Season-A

Mat Latos: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO, 0 HR – wow!

Rookie

Juan Ciriaco: 4 AB, 2 R, 2 H, 2 RBI; 2 2B, BB, SO

Commentary:

Mat Latos came into the game in relief for the first time as a professional and dominated (remember, San Diego uses the tandem-starter system in Arizona and Eugene — the Padres do not see Latos as a reliever).

Yes, that Juan Ciriaco… The same 23 year-old guy who batted .197 in San Antonio and .239 in Lake Elsinore… I put him on the list because he’s had a few big games lately (3-for-6 with a 2B and HR on Friday) but he’s simply not a prospect. He’ll turn 24 in August… He should be doing this in Rookie ball but he shouldn’t be in Rookie ball; this is now Juan’s fifth season in the Padres organization.

Sunday, July 8, 2007

AAA

Ryan Ketchner: 6.2 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO, 2 HR

AA

Chase Headley: 3 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 1 RBI; 2B
Will Venable: 3 AB, 2 R, 0 H, 0 RBI; BB
Paul Abraham: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO, 0 HR

High-A

David Freese: 4 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI; SO
Craig Cooper: 4 AB, 0 R, 3 H, 0 RBI; 2 2B, SO

Low-A

Rayner Contreras: 3 AB, 0 R, 2 H, 0 RBI; 2B, BB

Short Season-A

Mitch Canham: 5 AB, 1 R, 3 H, 0 RBI; 2B, SB – played DH
John Hussey: 3.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 SO, 0 HR
Robert Woodard: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR
Jeremy Hefner: 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 SO, 0 HR

Rookie

No game scheduled…

Commentary:

That pitch was outside! You can’t call that pitch a strike with the winning run on base! Ugh!

I don’t know what to make of Ryan Ketchner at this point. If we look at the starting pitching situation, it sure doesn’t look like Germano’s hold on that fifth starter spot is secure (5+ ER in three of last six starts) yet Hensley hasn’t looked like he could retake that role (6.59 ERA, 28/37 BB/SO ratio, .339 BAA, and 8 HR in 54.2 Triple-A innings). Up until Ketchner’s last two starts I was thinking we might see him in the San Diego rotation this season. I still think we might see him in the fifth starters role next year, but he needs to pitch more like the guy who started the season 1-8 (4.41 ERA) than the guy who has gone 0-2 since (11.81 ERA)…

Thanks, Peter. Quick programming note: I’m taking most of the week off, but I do have some good stuff lined up for you while I’m sipping fruity drinks from a bendy straw or whatever. Here’s the schedule:

  • Tue: Who Are the Padres’ Marquee Players?
  • Wed: Fun with Win Shares
  • Thu: Kevin Towers’ Trades of 1999

We’ll have the “1969 Revisited” series going as well. I’ll be back on Friday with the weekly link roundup and a monster edition of PPR, as well as the IGD that evening for the game against Arizona. Until then, be excellent to one another and go Padres!

1969: Padres Swept by Reds

by Geoff Young on Jul 09, 2007 (0) Comments

July 9, 1969, San Diego: Reds 4, Padres 3 (box score)

Another day, another home loss to the Reds. Clay Kirby and left-hander Jim Merritt hooked up in this one, and although neither pitched particularly well, both kept their team in the game.

Cincinnati struck first. Pete Rose led off the game with a single to left. After Rose stole second, Bobby Tolan beat out a bunt single to put runners at the corners. Alex Johnson then flied to right, scoring Rose and advancing Tolan to second. With Tony Perez up, Tolan stole third and then was caught trying to steal home. (I can’t imagine a scenario in which it makes sense to try and steal home with Perez up and one out, but maybe this is another sign that the times have changed.)

The Padres responded in the third. Ivan Murrell led of with a single to left. With one out, Kirby sacrificed him to second. John Sipin followed with a single that scored Murrell. Unfortunately, Sipin was thrown out trying to take second on the play. Still, San Diego had tied the game.

The Reds scored twice in the fifth inning. Johnny Bench singled and Tommy Helms tripled to bring home the first run. Chico Ruiz, a weak-hitting infielder (there are no contemporary comparables; the closest I could find is Onix Concepcion), followed with a sacrifice fly that scored Helms.

The two teams traded runs in the seventh. Cincinnati scored on a sac fly by starting pitcher Merritt. The Padres scored on singles by Ollie Brown and Ed Spiezio, wrapped around an Al Ferrara double. With runners at the corners and one out, Pedro Ramos replaced Merritt and induced Murrell to rap into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.

The Padres had one final opportunity in the eighth. Roberto Pena singled in a run to cut the deficit to 4-3. With two on and one out, though, Brown and Colbert grounded out to end the threat. Reds left-hander Wayne Granger, who had put out the fire that inning, went on to work a perfect ninth and seal the victory.

IGD: Padres vs Braves (8 Jul 07)

by Geoff Young on Jul 08, 2007 (43) Comments

Game #87
time: 5:05 p.m. PT
tv: ESPN
sp: Greg Maddux (4-5, 4.16) vs Kyle Davies (3-7, 5.85)
pre: Padres.com, SI.com

The Padres are assured of entering the All-Star break with the NL West lead. Greg Maddux gets the final start of the first half for San Diego against his former team. Somebody set the timer for six innings…

1969: Cloninger Dominates Padres

by Geoff Young on Jul 08, 2007 (1) Comments

July 8, 1969, San Diego: Reds 8, Padres 2 (box score)

Cincinnati jumped to an early 1-0 lead, and it could have been much worse. The Reds had the bases loaded and one out in the first, but couldn’t score any additional runs.

No such troubles in the third inning. A Lee May double to left scored Alex Johnson and, two batters later, a Tommy Helms single brought home May and Pat Corrales to put the visitors up, 4-0, and effectively end the contest.

The Reds added four more in the fourth. The home team finally made an appearance the next inning, but it was too little, too late. After the first three batters singled, Chris Cannizzaro hit a sacrifice fly to break Tony Cloninger’s shutout. A wild pitch brought home another run, and that was it.

Cloninger went the distance, allowing just five hits (four in the same inning) and striking out five. The Padres, in front of 3,829 at San Diego Stadium, fell to 29-58.

IGD: Padres vs Braves (7 Jul 07)

by Geoff Young on Jul 07, 2007 (112) Comments

Game #86
time: 12:55 p.m. PT
tv: FOX
sp: David Wells (4-5, 4.16) vs Jo-Jo Reyes (0-0, –)
pre: Padres.com, SI.com

Day game for the Padres. You know, so the big network can broadcast their game against the Braves, help those guys get a little national exposure…

David Wells looks to continue his success at home (.260/.305/.357, 2.56 ERA in eight starts), while Jo-Jo Reyes makes his big-league debut for Atlanta. Go Padres!

1969: Padres Fall to Reds

by Geoff Young on Jul 07, 2007 (5) Comments

July 7, 1969, San Diego: Reds 5, Padres 3 (box score)

This game started off with a bang when Pete Rose popped a leadoff homer to right off Joe Niekro. Johnny Bench added an RBI single later in the first inning to put the Reds up, 2-0.

San Diego got one of the runs back in the second. Van Kelly doubled and Ivan Murrell singled him to third. Kelly scored on a 4-6-3 double play off the bat of Chris Cannizzaro to make the score 2-1.

The Padres had a chance to break the game open in the third. With runners at second and third, and one out, Cincinnati starter George Culver intentionally walked Ollie Brown to face Nate Colbert, who rapped into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. San Diego did tie the score in the fourth thanks to a leadoff homer off the bat of Kelly.

In the seventh, with Tommie Sisk now on the mound for the Padres, Cincinnati took control. A two-out single by Bobby Tolan and triple by Tony Perez gave the Reds a 5-2 lead.

The Padres scored a run in the ninth on yet another double play grounder (this one off the bat of Murrell), making the final score 5-3. Right-hander Pedro Ramos got the win in relief, with Wayne Granger picking up his 11th save of the season. Sisk took the loss and saw his record fall to 0-6.

Trivia: Ramos lost 10 or more games in each of his first eight big-league seasons, and 18 or more every year from 1958 through 1961, including 20 with the Minnesota Twins in ’61.

IGD: Padres vs Braves (6 Jul 07)

by Geoff Young on Jul 06, 2007 (30) Comments

Game #85
time: 7:05 p.m. PT
tv: 4SD
sp: Justin Germano (5-2, 3.12) vs Buddy Carlyle (2-2, 4.74)
pre: Padres.com, SI.com

The last time Buddy Carlyle started a game in San Diego, it was at Qualcomm Stadium and he wore a Padres uniform. Since leaving here, Carlyle has spent time pitching in Hanshin, Japan; Wichita; Omaha; Trenton, N.J.; Columbus, Ohio; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Albuquerque; Richmond, Va.; and now, finally, Atlanta.

Did I mention that Carlyle is just 29 years old? I liked him when the Padres acquired him from Cincinnati for flame-throwing right-hander Marc Kroon (who, ironically enough, is pitching in Japan these days). I quote myself from June 2002 because it’s one of the few times something I wrote five years ago still makes sense:

I really thought Carlyle was going to be what Brian Lawrence has become. I have no idea where he is right now, but he’s only 24 years old, and I still half-expect him to surface in North America at some point and pitch in the big-leagues again.

I’m glad I got one right and that Carlyle might actually have a career on this side of the pond. Now if we can just find Junior Herndon and Brett Jodie…

Friday Links (6 Jul 07)

by Geoff Young on Jul 06, 2007 (50) Comments

Adrian Gonzalez is very much ready for the All-Star break, and so am I. Light on the links today. Enjoy…

That’s all for me. Peter?

Padres Prospect Report

by Peter Friberg

You will not see David Freese in San Antonio, yet. He’s still in Lake Elsinore. Looks like I got a little jumpy on that one…

AAA

No significant performances…

AA

Chase Headley: 5 AB, 2 R, 3 H, 2 RBI; SO
Nick Hundley: 2 AB, 3 R, 2 H, 5 RBI; 2 HR, 3 BB – true outcomes!
Will Venable: 5 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI; 2 SO
Wade LeBlanc: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 SO, 1 HR – 1st AA

High-A

Matt Antonelli: 3 AB, 3 R, 1 H, 2 RBI; 2 BB, SO
David Freese: 5 AB, 0 R, 1 H, 1 RBI – still here
Kyle Blanks: 4 AB, 0 R, 2 H, 2 RBI; 2B, SB

Low-A

Cedric Hunter: 4 AB, 0 R, 2 H, 0 RBI
Drew Miller: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO, 1 HR

Short Season-A

Luis Durango: 5 AB, 2 R, 2 H, 0 RBI; SB
Eric Sogard: 4 AB, 2 R, 3 H, 1 RBI; 2B, SB
Jeremy McBryde: 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, 0 HR

Rookie

Keoni Ruth: 4 AB, 2 R, 2 H, 1 RBI; 2B, 3B
Edgar Garzon: 4 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 4 RBI; 2 2B
Matt Bush: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, 0 HR

Commentary:

Nick Hundley (read musically), “…oh what a night…” Nick hit .206 in April, .250 in May, .280 in June, and he’s 5 for 9 so far in July… I think he’s figuring out Double-A.

If Jeremy McBryde isn’t on your own watch-list, he should be. In 13.2 IP he’s given up 7 hits and walked 1 hitter while striking out 14… No wonder Grady Fuson raved about McBryde’s signing as much as Mat Latos’.

Keoni Ruth, drafted in the 22nd round out of Concordia University, has played 10 professional games and has amassed 39 professional at-bats. He has yet to strike out (he has walked five times). Keoni is hitting .487/.545/.718.

[Ed note: Ruth also attended USD for a while. Go Toreros!]

Thanks, Peter. The Braves are in town for the weekend. Friday’s IGD will be up around 6:00 p.m. PT. Go Padres!

1969: Padres, Astros Split Doubleheader

by Geoff Young on Jul 06, 2007 (0) Comments

July 6, 1969, San Diego: Astros 3, Padres 2 (box score); Padres 1, Astros 0 (box score)

Jim Ray got the start for Houston in the opener. The Padres countered with rookie left-hander Dave Roberts, just up from Double-A Elmira, where he was 7-5 with a 3.50 ERA in 15 games.

Originally signed by the Philadelphia Phillies, Roberts had made stops in the Pirates and A’s organizations before being selected in the expansion draft and making his big-league debut in San Diego. His first start was a dandy.

Houston scored an unearned run in the third when Cito Gaston couldn’t hold onto a fly ball off the bat of Jimmy Wynn. The Padres came back to tie the next inning on singles by John Sipin, Ollie Brown, and Van Kelly.

In the sixth, San Diego took its first (and only) lead. With runners at first and second, and two out, Gaston singled to right, driving home Al Ferrara to make the score 2-1.

The Padres’ defense broke down again in the eighth. With runners at the corners and one out, right-hander Gary Ross came on to face Doug Rader, who grounded to second base. Jose Arcia, inserted into the game that inning, made an error on the play, allowing both runners to score and give the Astros a 3-2 lead they would not relinquish.

The second game featured pitching and lots of it. Jack Billingham and Dick Kelley gave up five hits between them.

The Padres pulled out the victory in the ninth. Sipin led off the inning with a single to left. A sacrifice bunt by Brown bunt moved him to second. After Nate Colbert struck out, Larry Stahl was intentionally walked to bring up Arcia. Ed Spiezio batted for Arcia, knocking a single to center and driving home Sipin for the game’s only run.

Kelley went the distance for his fourth win of the season. He allowed just one hit in the process — an infield single to Dennis Menke with one out in the second.

Trivia: Yet another way in which the game has changed since 1969: Denny Lemaster saved the first game for Houston, just one day after he started against the Padres.