Blogging the San Diego Padres… established 1997

So, we’ve been kicking this idea around a while and it’s time to make our move. Weekend of March 11-12. Either Saturday evening (6 p.m.) at Tony Gwynn Stadium or Sunday afternoon (1 p.m.) at Cunningham Stadium. Any preferences?

[Update 13 Feb 06, 8:00 a.m.: Looks like it'll be Saturday, March 11, at SDSU. I'd still like to get a bunch of us out to Cunningham Stadium at some point. Maybe we can make plans at the game.]

Just a quick heads-up: I’ve started a free Yahoo! league if anyone is interested.

Go to the Fantasy Baseball web site
Choose Sign Up > Join Existing Custom or Public League > Join a Custom League
League ID: 26164
Password: ducky!

It’s configured for 12 teams using players from the NL only. If the league fills up and you can’t get in, let me know and we’ll start a second league.

[Update 5 Feb 06, 8:34 a.m.: The league has filled, so I've started a second one. If you didn't get into the first league, feel free to sign up. League ID: 37127. Password: ducky!]

[Update 6 Feb 06, 10:09 p.m.: Both leagues are now full. Thanks to all for signing up! If you didn't get in and would like to play, tough. Naw, just kidding; leave a note in the comments and if there's enough interest, we'll start a third.]

The Padres have signed catcher Mike Piazza. The Friars’ willingness to let him catch reportedly played a key role in Piazza’s decision to choose San Diego over his hometown of Philadelphia.

On the one hand, the Padres are at least five years late to the Piazza train. On the other hand, this limits the amount of time Todd Greene, Pete LaForest, Doug Mirabelli, David Ross, Chris Cannizzaro, Gene Tenace, and Terry Kennedy will have to get behind the dish. I’m not doing cartwheels over the signing, but the price is right. For a minimal investment, the catching situation has been upgraded from bleak to blah.

If we could turn back the clock to 1997, the Padres would have one heck of a team right now:

Mike Piazza .362/.431/.638, 186 OPS+, 40 HR

Ryan Klesko .261/.334/.490, 111 OPS+, 24 HR
Eric Young .280/.359/.397, 87 OPS+, 45 SB
Vinny Castilla .304/.356/.547, 114 OPS+, 40 HR
Brian Giles .268/.368/.459, 112 OPS+, 17 HR
Mike Cameron .259/.356/.433, 109 OPS+, 14 HR, 23 SB

Doug Brocail 78 IP, 3.23 ERA, 142 ERA+
Shawn Estes 201 IP, 3.18 ERA, 130 ERA+

Trevor Hoffman 81.1 IP, 2.25 ERA, 175 ERA+
Chan Ho Park 192 IP, 3.38 ERA, 115 ERA+
Woody Williams 194.2 IP, 4.35 ERA, 106 ERA+

I’m sure Khalil Greene and Jake Peavy were destroying their high school competition as well.

Other Reaction

• Baseball Musings. David Pinto isn’t enthusiastic: “I just don’t see where it makes much sense for Piazza or the Padres.”
• Talking Baseball. Neither is Ben Kabak: “While the Padres and their fans may finally have the star they want to boost their lineup in Mike Piazza, this future Hall of Famer’s glow won’t be too bright in San Diego.”
• 6-4-2. Add Rob McMillin to the ranks of those unimpressed: “This is a poor signing to defend.”

Tough crowd. Personally I don’t think it’s too difficult to defend a 1-year, $2M deal in this day and age. Piazza is cheaper than Ryan Franklin and Ramon Ortiz, to name two actual poor signings. The guess here is that Piazza will put up numbers similar to what Ramon Hernandez posted last year (.290/.322/.450, 12 HR) with maybe less batting average and more power. Besides, it’s not like the Padres gave away Mark Loretta to get the guy.

Yeah, like that pun’s never been used. Anyway, folks are talking in the comments about the potential signing (NC Times) of Mike Piazza. The guys at Gaslamp Ball are talking about it, and since they stole (in the sense that I’m totally, totally kidding) my idea about the ballparks, I figure payback is due.

Whaddya think? How would Piazza fit in, and what would be a reasonable price for him? Frank Thomas just got signed on the cheap, so maybe, just maybe…

So, I finally made it out to Pt. Loma’s Carroll B. Land Stadium, and it lived up to its name of “America’s Most Scenic Ballpark.” The games that day weren’t real competitive so I took the time to draw up a list of ballparks I’ve visited over the years.

Feel free to leave your own in the comments, or maybe you have a good anectode or two about a place you’ve been.

Major Leagues

• Anaheim – can’t remember what the team or the stadium are called now, but I got Rod Carew’s autograph after a game here c. 1979
• Detroit – visited old Tigers Stadium back in 1984
• Oakland – ugh
• Toronto – Rogers Centre
• Los Angeles – the old stomping grounds
• San Diego – Qualcomm (my first ever game, c. 1977) and Petco, of course
• San Francisco – Candlestick Park

Minor Leagues

• Old Orchard Beach, ME (ballparkreviews.com) – Jay Buhner was a hot prospect for the visiting Columbus Clippers; I think Orestes Destrade was on that team as well
• Lake Elsinore – probably my favorite ballpark in baseball; the 2001 team is not one I’ll soon forget
• Rancho Cucamonga – The Epicenter, another Cal League beauty
• San Bernardino – Arrowhead Credit Union Park
• Adelanto – Maverick Baseball Stadium
• Lancaster – The Hangar (jethawks.com)
• Bakersfield – the oddly configured Sam Lynn Ballpark
• Modesto – John Thurman Field
• Visalia – Recreation Park
• Stockton – old (small-parks.com) and new (attheyard.com)
• Sacramento – Raley Field
• San Antonio – Nelson Wolfe Stadium
• [Update Jan 26, 2006, 8:04 a.m.] Las Vegas – Cashman Field

College

• SDSU – Tony Gwynn Stadium
• USD – John Cunningham Stadium
• Fresno State – Beiden Field (actually was here to see the Fresno Grizzlies before they moved to their new park)
• Long Beach State
• PLNU – Carroll B. Land Stadium

I’ve also been to many of the spring training facilities in Yuma, AZ, and the Phoenix area.

So, where have you been?

The Padres have claimed former Orioles “first baseman” Walter Young off waivers. Young is listed at 6’5″, 322 lbs. Yes, you read that right. According to the recently released Lahman Database v. 5.3 (hat tip to Baseball Musings for the reminder on that), Young is the heaviest man ever to play big-league baseball. For the curious among you, here are the top 10:

1. Walter Young, 6’5″, 322 lbs.
2. Jumbo Brown, 6’4″, 295
3. Calvin Pickering, 6’5″, 275
4. Andrew Sisco, 6’10″, 270
5. Bobby Jenks, 6’3″, 270
6. Jeff Juden, 6’8″, 270
7. Prince Fielder, 6’0″, 265
8. Joey Meyer, 6’3″, 260
9. Garland Buckeye, 6’0″, 260
10. Steve Rain, 6’6″, 260

Here’s a picture of Young in action (jnevitt.com). Presumably he’ll be battling the likes of Tagg Bozied, Jack Cust, Jon Knott, Greg Sain, and Corey Smith for DH time at Portland.

Ducksnorts Meetup

Pat had an excellent suggestion in the comments the other day. We’re talking about getting together at a USD game sometime in February or March. Check out the schedule and let us know what works for you. Some possibilities include March 11-12 vs SDSU, March 25-26 vs UNLV, or March 31-April 1 vs St. Mary’s. Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Things I’m Pimping

• Ducksnorts: Best of 2005. Take a look back at the season that was. Comment spammers love this entry, so you know it’s good. Free, donations accepted.
• Ducksnorts Online Store. Caps and tees.
• Ducksnorts @ Frappr.com. Add yourself to the Ducksnorts map. Post pix. Free.
• Mental Shrapnel. My music blog. Free, but it may bore you to tears.

Other Stuff

• National League Hot Stove grades (SI.com). John Donovan grades the Padres at C, which seems about right to me. I love how he drops four names when talking about the bullpen but completely misses Scott Linebrink.
• Good with the bad (SI.com). Alex Belth (hey, he’s writing for SI.com – good for him!) lists the Friars’ re-signing of Brian Giles as the best move of this off-season. He puts the Mark Loretta giveaway at #3 on his list of bad moves and the Xavier Nady/Mike Cameron deal at #4 (from the Mets’ perspective).
• Gaslamp Ball meets the Oregon Trail. You can’t teach this kind of funny. Man, I wish I could come up with stuff like this, but instead I give you lists of the heaviest players in big-league history. Anyway, don’t be drinking anything when you read this one.

There you go. Happy weekend and all that.

I attended the USD alumni game this past Saturday afternoon. I didn’t go with an eye to provide a report, so you won’t get much in the way of coverage. But I did take a few pictures to help whet your appetite for the coming season.

If you’re looking for an excuse to see the Toreros play this year, how about the fact that they have two players in the top 20 of Baseball America‘s list of top 50 freshmen? Left-handers Brian Matusz (ranked 11th) and Josh Romanski (16th) each worked a scoreless inning, with Matusz striking out current Padres farmhand Greg Sain (who played at Triple-A Portland in 2005) on three pitches.

What a great title. It’s like Friday Links, only Monday…

• Padres to host inaugural FriarFest (Padres.com). For $5, fans can set foot on the Petco Park playing field and “interact with their favorite Padres personalities.” Brian Giles, Eric Young, and Mike Cameron are mentioned among those scheduled to attend.
• Cactus League (via Baseball Musings). The official site of spring training in Arizona features schedules, tickets, etc. Padres open against the Mariners at Peoria on Thursday, March 2.
• Chan-ho Clashes Online With Fan (Korea Times). In Park’s defense, his detractor seems a little, um… Well, he thinks Park would do better if he cut his hair shorter.
• Colletti Baez A Reliever (6-4-2). The Dodgers have dealt away two promising young pitchers for two decent relievers. This is why I don’t stress too much over the Padres’ moves this winter. Nobody else in the NL West is doing much to help themselves either.
• Percentiles for Offensive Production Measures (Tiger Tales). Friend of Ducksnorts Lee Panas takes a good look at offensive production and provides a handy chart to show, among other things, that an 803 OPS is roughly equivalent in magnitude to 6.0 RC/G. Good stuff.
• Bruce Sutter and the Hall of Fame – Another Look (TigerBlog). Brian looks at how former Tiger John Hiller compares with Sutter.
• Weighted Park Factors, 2003-2005 (BTF). Dan Szymborski has posted (okay, it was over a month ago) “3-year weighted park factors for all active major and minor league teams, not counting rookie league teams.” If anyone is doing translations or other research involving minor league stats, this could be quite useful.

Former Padres

• Pirates’ Perez speaks of improvement (Beaver County Times). The Pirates hope that Oliver Perez‘ improving English skills will pay dividends on the field as well.
• Burroughs Welcomes A Change Of Scenery (Tampa Tribune). Looks like Sean Burroughs will be the starter in Tampa. Quoth Burroughs, on his time with the Padres: “I had some good years out here but I guess I didn’t match up to their expectations.”

That’s all for now. We’ll get back to more regular posting soon.

Just links today. More Hall of Fame stuff, Russell Branyan, college baseball, and Kevin Towers in Oregon. Enjoy…

• Rating 2006 Hall Candidates by Win Shares (Scout.com). This appeared toward the end of December on a site that covers the Cardinals. From the article: “Despite receiving 66.7% of the votes last year, Sutter will not get the necessary 75% because many writers will realize he is not the most deserving relief pitcher on the ballot.” Personally, I am still trying to figure out what Sutter accomplished between 2000 and 2006 to get his share of the vote up from 38% to nearly double that.
• Ray Lankford Wing of the Hall of Fame Inductions (Beyond the Boxscore). Speaking of the Cardinals, Marc Normandin has created “a place for the ‘no real shot at the Hall of Fame, but a great career nonetheless’ players, like Lankford.” Two players were inducted this time, one of which had a better claim than the guy who got inducted into the actual Hall of Fame.
• Writers’ baseball awards are at risk (Pioneer Press, via XM MLB Chat). Of the Hall of Fame vote: “It’s almost a rite of passage for a ball writer… You earn that right.” I’ve been enough of a hater already; anyone else want to take a shot at this one?
• No need for changes in Hall voting process (FOXSports.com, via Baseball Musings). Ken Rosenthal offers his thoughts on the matter. He makes some good points, and actually most of my complaints with the process don’t concern conflict of interest.
• The MLB Misery Index (ESPN, via 6-4-2). Padres check in at #10, tied with the Detroit Tigers.
• Brewers DFA Branyan (Transaction Guy). You know, I think I could have gotten behind trading Brian Lawrence for TTO.
• Clippers Award Reese Top Honor (OurSports Central). Former Padres farmhand and USD alum Kevin Reese gets a little ink. Go Toreros!
• NCAA Changes Start Date for Baseball to Late February (LA Times). This applies to the 2007 season, so get out there early and often this year. From the article: ” ‘Speaking just for me, I’m disappointed,’ USC Coach Mike Gillespie said.” Actually, coach, I think you speak for a lot of us.
• Fond memories (Mail-Tribune). Padres GM Kevin Towers returned home to Medford, Oregon, to speak to a “gathering of baseball enthusiasts” at a new field being constructed there. I know it’s kind of fluffy but I’m a sucker for these stories.
• The Cuba Conundrum (Voice of San Diego). The latest on the World Baseball Classic. From the article: “If the IBAF withdraws its sanction, the tournament would most likely be cancelled altogether because any nation that participates in an event without IBAF sanctions could be banned from Olympic baseball and any other international baseball event.” Sigh. Can’t we all just get along?
• Padres, Mariners tickets will go on sale Saturday (Arizona Republic). Spring training tickets, of course.

Okay, that’s enough for now; have an excellent weekend!