My favorite color is red… no, blue. Next? Continue reading ›
Mailbag: On Lineup Construction
We had some good discussion about possible lineups for the 2011 Padres in last week’s open thread. Several suggestions were made regarding specific order, but a few “big picture” comments caught my attention. Continue reading ›
Duke Snider, Original Padres Color Commentator, Dies at 84
Hall of Fame center fielder and longtime Fallbrook resident Duke Snider died this past Sunday in Escondido at age 84. I’m not seeing this mentioned anywhere, but it’s worth noting that Snider was one of the Padres original color commentators in 1969. Continue reading ›
Tuesday Links (1 Mar 11)
Cleaning off the metaphorical desk…
- Cajon Speedway Track History (Tracks Back When). Who knew the old Cajon Speedway was supposed to be a baseball facility for a Detroit Tigers farm club back in the day? You did, that’s who!
- Veteran Gerut announces his retirement (MLB.com). Good on former Padres center fielder Jody Gerut for realizing it was time to walk away from the game.
- BP’s 2011 Top 101 Prospects (Baseball Prospectus). Kevin Goldstein includes RHP Casey Kelly (no. 48), RHP Simon Castro (no. 61), 1B Anthony Rizzo (no. 69), Jaff Decker (no. 97), and Donavan Tate (no. 101). A couple of shortstops the Padres drafted but did not sign — Oakland’s Grant Green (no. 49) and Kansas City’s Christian Colon (no. 88) — also make the list.
- Our friends at the MadFriars recently chatted with Goldstein (and Baseball America’s Matt Eddy) about the Padres organization. Goldstein’s comments on Jedd Gyorko are encouraging: “In some ways, I think Gyorko is kind of underrated because too many people focus on what he can’t do instead of what he can.” That’s how I see it as well. Eddy and Goldstein identify LHP Jose DePaula and C Tommy Medica, respectively, as sleepers.
- Team Preview: Colorado Rockies (FanGraphs). From the article: “The Rockies won 83 games last season, but could — and perhaps should — have won six to eight games more.” Yeah, they’re pretty good.
- The Padres will be better than you and Vegas thinks (Platoon Advantage). The Common Man notes that “the conversation from the national media has largely dismissed the San Diego Padres” (what else is new?) and that you should “take the over” on wins, which at least one outlet has put at 76 for the Pads. Assuming the pitching holds up, that’s not a terrible bet.
- Tug Haines: Casual Fan. The tagline says it all: “27 states. 113 ballgames. 1 season.” So jealous.
- Team Preview: San Diego Padres (FanGraphs). Eno Sarris gives his take. Aarons Cunningham and Poreda will be in the minors, with Chris Denorfia and Dustin Moseley occupying those spots in San Diego, respectively.
- Marlins, Rays, Rangers lead value pack (MarketWatch). In what should come as no surprise to those of us following along at home, the Padres have gotten good value in recent years. [h/t SBNation]
That is all.
Me, Elsewhere: Is It Lukewarm in Here, or Is That Just the Third Baseman?
I’m writing a new weekly column about the NL West at Baseball Prospectus this year. My first report examines the division’s third basemen. You know about Chase Headley, of course, but here are some of my thoughts on him:
Headley has been better than many people realize, but with the departure of Adrian Gonzalez, the Padres need a few of their less established players to take a step forward this season. If they are to have any shot at duplicating (or even approaching) last year’s success, they’ll need Headley to show more on offense. Even a slight nudge upward to Corey Koskie levels would be helpful.
Anywho, if you want to know what’s going on with the other teams, head on over and read stuff.
Has It Started Yet?
Hey, look, a box score. The Padres lost, 13-12, to the Mariners (those rapscallions!) in 10 innings. Nick Hundley, James Darnell, and Logan Forsythe all homered for San Diego. Starter Tim Stauffer got shelled. Samuel Deduno took the loss. Continue reading ›
Open Thread: What’s Your Lineup?
I’ve got nothing today, so let’s kick off our open thread a little early this week. My question to you: If you had to set the 2011 Padres lineup, what would it look like?
Of course, other topics are fair game as well. Whatever floats your boat… Continue reading ›
Regardless of Venue, Homers Are Hard to Come By in San Diego
The folks at Gaslamp Ball have a fun article up about polarizing topics for Padres fans. Among the topics is Petco Park’s effect on offense.
It’s a legitimate concern, but part of the discussion centers on a fallacy: “Fans used to seeing home runs fly out of a Qualcomm Stadium at an average rate were bored by the low scoring and defensive driven games.”
Home runs didn’t fly out of Qualcomm Stadium at an average rate. Continue reading ›
Tony Phillips (Almost) Played for the Padres?
As someone once said (or should have said), Twitter is 99% crap and 1% gold. Every now and then, you are rewarded for your patience with a nice shiny bit of information:
This date in #Rangers history: (1980) Texas trades 1B Willie Montanez to the #Padres in exchange for 3B Tucker Ashford & RHP Gaylord Perry
I see this and think… that can’t have been a good trade for the Padres. Montanez was a decent ballplayer but he wasn’t here long and Perry did win the Cy Young Award for the Pads. So I check the records, and it turns out that there isn’t much to celebrate on either side.
The 41-year-old Perry went 6-9 with a 3.43 ERA (114 ERA+) before being traded to the Yankees for Ken Clay and Marvin Thompson on August 14. On the other side, the 32-year-old Montanez hit .274/.325/.353 (95 OPS+) for the Padres before being shipped to Montreal on August 30… for Tony Phillips and cash.
Hello. That Tony Phillips? As in, the man ranked no. 66 all time among right fielders in The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract? Continue reading ›
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