The Padres, thanks to Wednesday’s 3-1 victory over the Dodgers, are back on top in the National League West for the first time since… whew, Saturday? Time flies. Continue reading ›
Me, Elsewhere: No Ausmus, No Ashby, No Thanks
My latest at Hardball Times continues our 1987 redraft with the benefit of hindsight. This installment covers picks 17 through 24. Aside from the amusing fact that in 2000, the Toronto Blue Jays would have been better off with almost anyone in their rotation other than Chris Carpenter and Roy Halladay, there are a couple items of interest to Padres fans.
The first is that in our revised draft, the Texas Rangers take Brad Ausmus with the 19th pick. Presumably he is not left unprotected in the 1992 expansion draft and taken by the Colorado Rockies, who later trade Ausmus and Andy Ashby to the Padres in one of then-GM Randy Smith’s finest hours. The Padres, you will recall, are already without Ken Caminiti and Steve Finley in our scenario. Now there is no Ashby, which gives us one more reason to kiss ’96 and ’98 goodbye.
The second is that the Detroit Tigers take Dave Hollins with the 21st pick. This sounds devastating, but of course, Hollins never played for the Padres, being selected by Philadelphia in the 1989 Rule V draft.
Here’s the thing about the Padres’ 1987 draft. It stunk. For as much as we like to complain about 2004, at least Kyle Blanks might turn into something. You know what the Padres got in ’87? They got this:
PA BA OBP SLG 206 .197 .280 .236
That is parts of three seasons from 23rd-round pick Paul Faries. A couple other guys (Roger Smithberg, Alan Newman) had cups of coffee elsewhere. Newman never signed with the Padres; neither did shortstop Marty Cordova, who elected to attend Orange Coast College instead. Cordova was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in ’89 and won American League Rookie of the Year honors in ’95.
The only player the Padres drafted and signed in 1987 who had a career was sixth-round pick Hollins, and he never appeared in a single game for them. In the early-’90s, before Tom Werner embarked on his slash-and-burn campaign, the Padres were on the cusp of respectability. With so many picks from the ’87 draft establishing themselves during that period, one wonders what the Padres might have accomplished had they gotten more out of their picks than what Faries gave them.
Anywho, it’s a long article — I get carried away with my research sometimes — but I like to think it makes for an entertaining read. Head on over and check it out if you’re so inclined.
It’s the Most Improbable Time of the Year
A few random thoughts on Tuesday night’s 6-0 victory over the Dodgers in LA… Continue reading ›
Twenty-Four
Here’s a simple comparison between the Padres’ most recent 24-game stretch and the one that preceded it:
Games AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K DP SB CS LOB BA OBP SLG 102-125 806 120 204 41 4 25 113 91 163 19 18 3 166 .253 .329 .407 126-149 794 70 187 30 3 20 68 57 178 22 9 7 155 .236 .290 .356
What went wrong on offense? Everything. The two things that jump out at me are the complete collapse in plate discipline and base stealing efficiency. When the three-run homer isn’t a significant part of your attack, stuff like that gets magnified.
Here’s the pitching side:
Games IP H R ER HR BB K ERA W-L 102-125 211.0 186 79 77 17 83 187 3.28 16-8 126-149 212.0 219 117 110 23 80 206 4.57 7-17
Too many homers. Too much everything else. To sum it all up:
Games W-L RS RA RS/G RA/G 102-125 16-8 120 79 5.00 3.29 126-149 7-17 70 117 2.92 4.88
Fewer runs scored, more allowed. Yup, there’s your problem.
Saturday Links (18 Sep 10)
When the world is running down, you make the best of what’s still around… Continue reading ›
Stranded, Caught in the Crossfire
I’d intended to launch into a tirade about drawing seven walks against the opposing starter and losing, but it turns out that happens fairly often. Since 1920, teams are 2077-2158 in games where the starting pitcher allows at least seven walks. That’s a .490 winning percentage, which is both surprising and hardly cause for a tirade.
That said, failing to score against Jonathan Sanchez on Friday night irritates me — in much the same way that Sanchez himself irritates me (or letting Aubrey Huff beat you with his legs, but that’s another story). Actually, failing to score against a starter who issues at least seven walks is uncommon. Again going back to 1920, it’s happened just 181 times out of 4235 total 7+ walk starts, or a shade under 4.3 percent. Continue reading ›
Thursday Links (9 Sep 10)
Real life rears its ugly head, so we’ll run links a day early this week. It’s crazy party time… Continue reading ›
Cleanup on Aisle 14-to-4
by Geoff Young on Sep 17, 2010 (0) Comments
I have two questions that are much easier to answer now that we know the outcomes:
As a visual aid, here are their last two starts (you may remember Westbrook’s domination of the Padres on Thursday):
Stupid future, always so unpredictable. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to grab some paper towels and clean up this milk that’s gotten all over the floor.