Blogging the San Diego Padres… established 1997

We know that Dave Roberts is in left, Mike Cameron is in center, and Brian Giles is in right. But what if Roberts or Cameron gets hurt (I don’t even want to think about the other possibility)? And even if everyone stays healthy, the starters will need a day off once in a while.

What will the supporting cast look like this year? Eric Young should be there because he can play the infield as well. And Terrmel Sledge, acquired in a trade with the Rangers, appears to be a strong candidate assuming his legs cooperate.

But there’s talk that the Padres might go with six outfielders. According to the North County Times, if this happens, then one of Jack Cust or Eric Valent will make the club.

Interesting.

Paul McAnulty already has been shipped out to Triple-A Portland. And after missing a year due to injury, Freddy Guzman figures to need some refining at the minor-league level before returning to San Diego.

But what about Ben Johnson? He’s pretty well mastered Triple-A. If the Padres don’t have a place for him to play now and he isn’t a part of the long-term plans (he turns 25 in June, so now would be a good time to find out), then maybe they need to move him, a la Xavier Nady, and give the kid a chance at a career.

I guess my headlines need as much work as my weather-controlling skills, eh? After years of thinking about it, I finally get off my lazy arse and schedule a Ducksnorts meetup and it promptly rains out.

Welcome to San Diego.

I don’t have anything planned yet, but I’m thinking we should descend upon Petco Park sometime this summer. If we can get 25 or more people we’ll get a small discount on tickets and they’ll stick our name on the auxiliary scoreboard in right field.

Cool.

Anyway, about the catchers. Mike Piazza made his Padres debut on Sunday and launched a grand slam against Armando Benitez in support of the Friars’ 10-6 victory over the Giants. I love Piazza’s explanation of hitting: “Keep it simple. See the pitch, let it unfold, trust your hands.” Of course, it helps if you have really strong hands. But even if you don’t, like many things in life, it’s best not to overthink the process.

Meanwhile, back at the backup backstop battle (ugh, sorry!), Ducksnorts reader Nick G. notes that the Red Sox may be interested in reacquiring backup catcher Doug Mirabelli. No word on who Boston might send in return.

And moving further down the food chain, Padres.com has a nice profile on prospect George Kottaras. He talks about studying and trying to emulate John Olerud’s swing. Also, here’s an encouraging quote about learning how to play his position: “Nobody masters it… You’re always learning new things, trying to get better.” If Kottaras continues to approach his craft with that attitude, then he will learn and get better.

You might even say, if you were prone to saying such things, that he could catch on.

I’d rather talk about the World Baseball Classic, which I’ve been enjoying very much — more than I’d expected, even — but the two big stories in baseball this week are the death of former Twins outfielder Kirby Puckett and the news of a forthcoming book that reportedly chronicles in great detail Barry Bonds’ use of performance-enhancing drugs.

What fascinates me about Puckett and Bonds is how different the media and fan perception is of each despite their similarities. The accomplishments of both men on a baseball field are undeniably amazing. Increasingly less deniable are their flaws away from the diamond. Jay Jaffe has published an excellent piece on Puckett at Futility Infielder that pretty well reflects my own feelings. As for Bonds, I know as a Padres fan I’m supposed to hate the guy, but truth is, I’ve long admired the way he plays the game and the things he is able to do between the lines.

So what do we really know about these two men, Puckett and Bonds? We know that both play(ed) the game at a stratospheric level. We know that both have/had severe “issues” off the field. We know that one smiled a lot and could make people laugh, while the other comes across as just plain surly. That’s about all we know.

The larger question is, Why do we even care? What is it in each of us that causes us to have a vested interest in athletes, movie stars, and other celebrities? Do we admire the skills? The success? Maybe it’s the money and the power it brings. Or perhaps we feel like we “know” these people because we’ve seen them in public so often (if you were to judge me on the basis of my public appearance, you would completely miss out on my vast collection of grey sweatpants and who knows what else). Or maybe they play for “our” team and we identify with them as a symbol of civic pride. Or maybe…

Well, there could be a lot of reasons. At the risk of sliding further into the realm of pop psychology, I think it’s worth asking ourselves why we are willing to invest so heavily in the lives of strangers. I’m not saying there aren’t valid answers to that question — I totally get admiring the way Bonds swings the bat or Alex Lifeson plays the guitar — just that it’s a question that each of us needs to be asking ourselves. After all, if we’re going to indulge in hero worship, shouldn’t we know what we are worshipping and why?

Just a quick reminder that Ducksnorts will be out at Tony Gwynn Stadium this Saturday to watch the SDSU Aztecs and USD Toreros do battle:

Date: Saturday, March 11, 2006
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Tony Gwynn Stadium, Section P9 (first base side)

See you there!

[Update: Seats are general admission. Go ahead and buy your ticket ($7) and we'll meet in Section P9. I'll be wearing a Ducksnorts cap.]

[Update 3/11/06 @ 6:48 a.m.: Due to heavy rain last night and expected rain throughout the day, there may or may not be a game today. Please check with the SDSU ticket office at 619-283-7378 before heading out the stadium.]

Padres right-hander Jake Peavy worked three scoreless innings Tuesday afternoon in USA’s 2-0 victory over Mexico at Phoenix. Ducksnorts reader LynchMob was at the game and said that “Jake was dominating.”

I watched the contest on TiVo, and I’ve cycled through Peavy’s performance a few times. Here is a breakdown of his afternoon:

1st inning
Karim Garcia (LHB)
FB 91 outside, ball
FB 90 inside, ball
FB 92 down (probably a strike), routine grounder to second ruled a single; Chase Utley fell down and made a bad throw

Jorge Cantu (RHB)
FB 92 called strike @ belt, inner half
SL 83 up and in, fouled off foot
SL 81 6-4-3 DP

Vinny Castilla (RHB)
SL 86 6-3

2nd inning
Erbubiel Durazo (LHB)
FB 88 called strike
FB 87 called strike, inside corner
FB 91 fouled back
SL 86 low
FB 92 called strike @ knees

Luis Alfonzo Garcia (RHB)
SL 87 E6

Adrian Gonzalez (LHB)
FB 91 called strike, outside corner
SL 88 in on hands, 3-6-1 DP

3rd inning
Geronimo Gil (RHB)
FB 90 called strike
FB 90 fouled back
SL 87 swinging strike, outer half just off dirt

Mario Valenzuela (RHB)
SL 86 swinging strike, outside off plate
FB 91 fouled back
SL 81 swinging strike, down the middle

Juan Castro (RHB)
SL 86 outside
SL 87 F8 – hung it a little; this is the only ball that was hit hard off Peavy, and it was a routine fly to center

Velocity is as reported by ESPN2. Pitch type is courtesy of my untrained eye. I mainly was looking at velocity and movement of pitch to determine its type. By my count, Peavy threw 12 fastballs and 11 sliders. I’m sure of the first number, some of those sliders may have been change-ups (I say this because I find it hard to believe he didn’t throw any — but they sure looked like sliders to me).

Peavy needed just 23 pitches to get through three innings. He fell behind, 2-0, to Karim Garcia to start the game, then threw 19 of his final 21 pitches for strikes. Fastball topped out at 92 mph according to ESPN2 and, of course, it had that late movement in on right-handed hitters that we’ve come to know and love.

Peavy’s three nastiest pitches were a 92-mph fastball at the knees to retire Durazo on called strikes to open the second; an 88-mph slider that bore in on the hands of Gonzalez, forcing the latter to ground into a double play to end the same inning; and an 87-mph slider down and away to get Gil swinging to lead off the third.

I also noticed a couple things about Peavy’s delivery while watching it in slow motion. The first is how high he gets his front leg. At its apex, Peavy’s left knee is pretty much even with the jersey letters and his thigh is almost perpendicular to the ground. Contrast this with Mexico’s Rodrigo López, who gets his knee about to belt level and keeps his thigh parallel to the ground. I’m no expert on pitching mechanics, but it seems to me that getting the leg so high, so quickly should generate a lot of power, assuming everything else is coordinated properly.

The second thing I noticed is how well Peavy keeps the ball hidden from the batter. His hands separate behind his raised front leg, and he keeps his glove hand in front of his ball hand until the latter has moved behind his hip. He then extends so that his front foot and glove hand are pointed directly toward home plate. At this point, Peavy’s ball hand is 180 degrees opposite his glove hand, forming a straight line from the ball, through his torso and glove hand, to the catcher’s mitt. The first time he shows the ball is as he turns his torso toward the plate and cocks his arm behind and over his right ear.

Again, I’m no expert on pitching mechanics, but I’ve seen a lot of pitchers do their thing, and from an aesthetic standpoint, Peavy is one of the best I’ve ever seen. Also, his results aren’t too shabby.

I had the pleasure last night of seeing Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares in concert. I won’t attempt to describe their music, but I will say that if you ever have a chance to watch them perform, by all means do so. What they are able to produce using only their voices is stunning.

You know what else is stunning? The way Chan Ho Park is pitching in the World Baseball Classic. In case you’ve missed it, Park has saved two of Korea’s three victories so far, including the 3-2 upset of Japan to finsh play in Pool A.

Which leads to this quote from Padres manager Bruce Bochy: “The way he’s closing, we may have to flip-flop him and Clay Hensley.” I’m still not getting my hopes up too much, but wouldn’t it be something if the Pads actually got something out of Park this year? Maybe it’s just spring but I’m starting to believe that there’s at least a chance it might happen.

Speaking of the Korean team, they’ll be playing an exhibition game against the Padres in Peoria Friday night. And speaking of the WBC, Pool B gets started on Tuesday. Padres farm system graduates Rodrigo Lopez and Jake Peavy square off at 1 p.m. PT in Phoenix. We’ll get an In-Game Discussion going for that.