Bozied and Gautreau Named to California League All Star Team

by Geoff Young on Jun 06, 2002 (Comments Off) Comments

Class-A All-Star teams have been announced. In the California League, Tagg Bozied and Jake Gautreau will make the trip to Wilmington. Xavier Nady and Oliver Perez surely would have gone had they not been promoted. Midwest League representatives are pitchers Justin Germano, Cory Stewart, and Rusty Tucker. Congrats, guys!

Be sure to check out the excellent, detailed reports on Padre draftees over at Padre Prospects Report.

Barry Bonds, eh? I can’t remember (nor can others who have seen a lot more games at the Q) ever seeing a ball hit the scoreboard in right. That was impressive.

Padres First 22 Picks of 2002 Draft

by Geoff Young on Jun 05, 2002 (Comments Off) Comments

Here are the Padres’ first 22 picks from yesterday (comments abstracted from Baseball America and MLB.com):

  1. Khalil Greene, ss, Clemson U., R/R, 5-10, 190, 10/21/79. Good power for a middle infielder; solid plate discipline. May move to second base due to lack of range.
  2. Michael/William Johnson, 1b, Clemson U., L/R, 6-2, 220, 6/25/80. Short stroke; above-average power. May be able to play the outfield as a pro.
  3. Kennard Jones, cf, U. of Indiana, L/L, 5-11, 180, 9/8/81. Runs well. Contact hitter with good plate discipline. Solid makeup.
  4. Aaron Coonrod, rhp, John A. Logan (Ill.) JC, R/R, 6-4, 215, 5/17/80. Features low-90s fastball, low-80s slider, and developing changeup. Good body; able to sustain velocity deep into games.
  5. Sean Thompson, lhp, Thunder Ridge HS, Denver, L/L, 5-11, 165, 10/13/82. Mid- to high-80s fastball, plus curve. Good mechanics, command, and attitude. Similar in build to Billy Wagner.
  6. Adam/John Shorsher, c, San Jose State U., R/R, 6-2, 205, 10/8/80. Body similar to Jeff Reed.
  7. Matt Lynch, lhp, Florida State U., L/L, 6-1, 185, 1/4/81. Mid-80s fastball; good control and attitude.
  8. Luke Steidlmayer, rhp, UC Davis, R/R, 6-5, 195, 8/13/80. Body similar to Andy Ashby. Fastball runs 89-91. Good poise.
  9. Brian Burgamy, 2b, Wichita State U., S/R, 5-10, 190, 6/27/81. Also has played center field.
  10. L.J. Biernbaum, of, Florida Atlantic U., L/L, 6-3, 185, 7/30/79. Body similar to Luis Gonzalez. Good bat speed; gaps power. Can play all three outfield positions and first base.
  11. Brandon Wilson, rhp, Okaloosa-Walton (Fla.) CC, R/R, 6-1, 180, 2/3/83. Body similar to Brad Radke. Good breaking ball; easy delivery. Challenges hitters.
  12. Paul McAnulty, 1b, Long Beach State U., L/R, 5-11, 220, 2/24/81.
  13. Lance Pendleton, rhp, Kingwood (Texas) HS, L/R, 6-3, 185, 9/10/83. Body similar to Orel Hershiser. Loose, free, easy arm. Converted outfielder lacks pitching experience.
  14. Gabriel Ribas, rhp, Northwestern U., R/R, 6-4, 210, 2/3/80.
  15. Rolando Agosto, ss, Union (Tenn.) U., R/R, 5-9, 165, 1/10/81.
  16. Kevin Beavers, lhp, Pepperdine U., L/L, 6-5, 195, 10/22/79.
  17. Rashad Smith, cf, Lambuth (Tenn.) U., L/R, 6-4, 210, 1/20/80.
  18. Michael Gallaway, lhp, Grayson County (Texas) CC, R/L, 6-4, 190, 9/17/82.
  19. John Grogan, lhp, Okaloosa-Walton (Fla.) CC, L/L, 6-4, 215, 10/10/82.
  20. George Kottaras, c, Connors State (Okla.) JC, L/R, 6-0, 180, 5/10/83.
  21. Andrew LaRoche, ss, Grayson County (Texas) CC, R/R, 5-11, 180, 8/13/83. Body similar to Mark Grudzielanek. Good baseball instincts. Son of former big-leaguer Dave LaRoche.
  22. David Krisch, lhp, California Poly Pomona, L/L, 6-7, 205, 5/25/80.

So I guess you could say that Bill Gayton likes college players. Here’s a breakdown of the Pads’ picks from yesterday:

By experience

  • 4-year college: 14 (12 seniors)
  • junior college: 6
  • high school: 2

By position

  • lhp: 6
  • rhp: 5
  • c: 2
  • 1b: 2
  • 2b: 1
  • 3b: 0
  • ss: 3
  • of: 2

The Padres envision Greene as a potential five-tool shortstop, in the mode of San Francisco’s Rich Aurilia. Assuming they sign, he and Johnson are expected to start their pro careers at Ft. Wayne or Lake Elsinore.

Elsewhere, Matt Harrington was drafted in the 13th round by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. That’s a mighty fall for a kid who was considered the best amateur player in the country just a few years ago.

Two Toreros were drafted back-to-back in the seventh round. The Dodgers picked third baseman David Bagley at #211, while the Twins snagged southpaw Ricky Barrett at #212. Barrett draws comparisons to Philadelphia left-hander Randy Wolf, another former WCC competitor. And speaking of the Phillies, they grabbed two Rancho Bernardo kids, lefty Cole Hamels in the first (#17 overall) and third baseman Jake Blalock in the fifth.

And on the big-league front, which is becoming increasingly difficult to stomach, right-hander Josh Boyd has been designated for assignment and replaced on the roster by curveballing southpaw Jason Pearson, yet another Indy League veteran. And righty Brian Tollberg has decided to undergo season-ending "Tommy John" surgery. Rehab is expected to take 9-18 months.

Padres Nab Greene with First Pick

by Geoff Young on Jun 04, 2002 (Comments Off) Comments

Yikes, sorry ’bout that font explosion the other day. Forgot to close a tag. Ah, the joys of coding by hand.

Anyway, draft day is upon us and the Pads grabbed Clemson shortstop Khalil Greene with their first pick at #13. Local kids Cole Hamels and Royce Ring went at #17 to the Phillies and #18 to the White Sox, respectively. Preseason #1 favorite Bobby Brownlie slipped to the Cubs at #21.

I have to say, real-time draft coverage on the Internet stinks. MLB Radio is telling me that Buck Martinez has been fired as Toronto’s manager and to be sure to tune in tomorrow for live coverage of the draft. Um, I don’t think so.

I’m not overly thrilled at the selection of Greene when guys like Hamels, Brownlie, and Scott Kazmir were available. For one thing, there’s talk that his future is at second base, which has become an area of relative strength in the organization. For another, he’s a college senior who is a full year older than Sean Burroughs. I hope I’m wrong but I can’t help but think of Kevin Nicholson when I see this pick.

The Padres came back with Greene’s teammate, first baseman William Johnson, with their second pick at #54, and Indiana U. center fielder Kennard Jones with their third at #85.

I’ll be back with the full list when the draft is complete. Meantime, a couple items worth mentioning. First, Xavier Nady knocked his first homer at Portland last night.

And second, in a move long overdue, I’ve finally added a link to Padre Prospects Report. There you’ll find an archive of box scores for all the Padre minor-league affiliates, as well as links to team sites and local newspapers. Hank does a great job with the site, so be sure to check it out. And sorry, Hank, for taking so long to add you to my links!

Weekend Recap

by Geoff Young on Jun 02, 2002 (Comments Off) Comments

I’ve been keeping notes all weekend, just didn’t have a chance to post ‘em. So here goes…

Friday

Padres destroyed by Milwaukee, 12-1. Dennis Tankersley pounded. He’s throwing well, just learning the difference between what he can get away with in the minors and what he can get away with in the Show. Hitters are much more unforgiving here.

Brutal defense. In the middle innings Ray Lankford dropped a routine fly ball to center with the bases loaded and two outs, allowing three unearned runs to score. Mark Sweeney, playing first base, dropped a relatively easy throw from Deivi Cruz later in the game.

On a bright note, Trenidad Hubbard looked pretty good in his first duty at second base. Hubbard is a guy who has really grown on me. He’s not the most talented guy in the world, so he’s always out there scrapping, doing whatever he can to help the team. Hubbard can play just about anywhere on the field (he’s the Pads’ third catcher), and he always battles at the plate. Like Eric Owens a couple years ago, Hubbard is an easy guy to pull for.

Julius Matos made his big-league debut. The 27-year-old rookie shortstop was hitting .312/.345/.468 at Portland before being recalled.

Portland: Seven strong innings from Ben Howard, Xavier Nady three hits as DH, batting cleanup. Beavers beat Edmonton, 6-4, at home.

Mobile: Oliver Perez spun seven shutout innings at Mobile, allowing two hits and four walks while fanning 12. Closer J.J. Trujillo nailed down his 16th save and lowered his ERA to 0.56, as the BayBears won at Huntsville, 1-0.

Lake Elsinore: Jason Wiedmeyer worked into the eighth, and Jake Gautreau collected two hits and three ribbies as the Storm beat Rancho Cucamonga at home, 8-6.

Ft. Wayne: The Wizards defeated Kane County, 5-4, behind Jon Huber and two relievers. Pedro De Los Santos, playing center field, stole three more bases.

News on the draft front. This from Friday’s Baseball America chat with Jim Callis:

Q: John Henry from Pittsburgh, PA asks:
Since the Padres “saved” 1.2 million when Harrington turned them down, do
they take a bigger risk in the first round than they otherwise might have?
Any chance they pick Russ Adams instead of a pitcher?

A: Jim: We keep hearing word they’ll take Khalil Greene. Earlier, they
were associated with Cole Hamels but that no longer appears to be the case.

Speaking of Baseball America, that’s where you’ll want to be come Tuesday. The folks over there do an incredible job of covering the draft.

Saturday

USD bounced from the NCAA regionals. Beat New Mexico Sate, lost twice to Arizona State. Hey, at least they got a win. Not too shabby for their first ever appearance.

Caught an unusual doubleheader Saturday. In the afternoon, some buddies and I saw the Dodgers beat the Diamondbacks, 2-0, in Los Angeles. Great game. Andy Ashby and Brian Anderson were brilliant. Ashby scattered five hits over eight innings, before yielding to Eric Gagne, who dealt some serious filth in the ninth. Anderson allowed just two hits through seven. The only scoring came in the fourth, when Cesar Izturis led off with a bloop single to right and Brian Jordan slammed a two-out, two-run homer to left-center. The Dodgers didn’t get another hit all day. The game time was an almost unheard of 2:00, and only 194 pitches were made. Chris Rock also did a nice job before the game of delivering Lou Gehrig’s farewell speech.

After the game, we headed over–after an accidental tour of Chinatown–to a place called The Original Pantry for obscene amounts of meat and potatoes. The place is famous for never having closed its doors since it first opened in 1924.

From LA it was off to Lake Elsinore for the Storm/Quakes contest. Right-hander Blair DeHart started for Elsinore and allowed just one run over seven innings. With the game tied at 1-1 with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Storm center fielder Jeremy Owens launched a towering drive to deep left field. It banged off the top of the wall and bounced away from the fielder, and Owens ended up with an inside-the-park homer. The play at the plate was very close, and probably made even closer by Owens’ late slide, but the end result was a run for the Storm, and that’s all they needed as they held on to win, 2-1.

Honestly, is there anything better than hanging out at the ballpark with friends?

Nevin, Burroughs, Tollberg Hurt

by Geoff Young on May 31, 2002 (Comments Off) Comments

Oh boy, where to begin. Phil Nevin, it turns out, broke his left arm and will be out a minimum of six weeks, probably longer. Sean Burroughs, meantime, will be shut down for three weeks. The Padres are optimistic that his shoulder will not require surgery. They are less certain about Brian Tollberg.

If you’re looking for a sliver lining, I guess it’s the fact that Dennis Tankersley will get an extended shot in the big-league rotation. We might also see Jake Peavy a little bit sooner than expected.

Things sure can change in a hurry.

Padres Eye Hamels in Draft

by Geoff Young on May 30, 2002 (Comments Off) Comments

The good news is, the Padres found the bats. The bad news is, everybody’s hurt. Mark Kotsay led the charge, as the Pads tallied 11 runs against Dennis Stark and company. Stark, who walked four in the first inning alone, somehow managed to work into the sixth. Kotsay drew two walks and slammed a mammoth three-run homer into the second deck in right field.

Jason Middlebrook worked seven shutout innings in relief of starter Brian Tollberg, who is expected to head to the DL with a sprained right elbow. Phil Nevin, playing his third game of the year at the hot corner, hurt his shoulder diving to his left to field a Todd Zeile grounder. His status is uncertain but the DL is a possibility.

Bobby Jones comes off the DL to make the start in this afternoon’s game against the Rockies. Replacing him on the DL is rookie Sean Burroughs, whose shoulder has been bothering him since last September and who was a DL candidate earlier this month. He’s struggling at the plate and in the field, and the consensus is that something’s not right with Burroughs.

I haven’t seen anything on who might be called up to replace Tollberg but logical candidates would include Triple-A right-handers Brandon Villafuerte and Junior Herndon, and Double-A right-hander Jake Peavy. My guess is that Middlebrook will take Tollberg’s spot in the rotation (even though he’s been much more effective out of the bullpen this year), with Villafuerte working middle relief. The only potential problem there is that Villafuerte may not be on the 40-man roster, in which case Andy Shibilo might resurface. We’ll see.

As for Nevin, if he’s disabled, his replacement likely would be one of the utility guys at Portland, either Cesar Crespo or Alex Pelaez. We should know more about Nevin in the next day or two.

Gettin’ excited about the draft? I am. All signs point toward the Padres snagging local southpaw Cole Hamels at #13. According to Baseball America some clubs have been scared away by an elbow injury but apparently the Padres aren’t one of them; their team doctor has helped treat Hamels, and he’s given the kid a clean bill of health.

Meantime, the Padre phase of the Matt Harrington saga is complete. Harrington failed to impress Padre brass enough to get them to meet his demands. So he continues to pitch for Long Beach of the Western League and waits to see whom he’ll get to dance with next. That can’t be very satisfying…

Padres Lose to Rockies in Extra Innnigs

by Geoff Young on May 29, 2002 (Comments Off) Comments

Tough loss last night against the Rockies. Brett Tomko worked eight strong innings but was let down by some sloppy defense, poor clutch-hitting, and a questionable decision by third-base coach Tim Flannery.

With the struggling Sean Burroughs sitting out his second straight game, Phil Nevin played third and committed a first-inning error that led to Colorado’s first run. Burroughs eventually did make it into the game, striking out for Tomko in the bottom of the eighth.

Meantime, the Pads failed to score despite putting runners on second and third with nobody out in the sixth. Nevin, Ray Lankford, and Mark Sweeney all hit weak popups to end the inning.

Then, in the bottom of the 11th, against closer Jose Jimenez, the Padres had runners at first and second with two out and Ramon Vazquez at the plate. Vazquez slashed a single to shallow left, and Flannery sent 38-year-old catcher Tom Lampkin home, where he was thrown out by plenty. Oh, and Ryan Klesko, who is 6-for-7 lifetime against Jimenez was on deck. Explain that one to me.

In happier news, Jake Peavy pitched into the eighth at Huntsville last night, as the BayBears defeated the Stars, 4-3. Peavy allowed one run on five hits, walking just one and fanning eight. Ben Johnson’s solo homer in the top of the ninth proved to be the game winner for Mobile.

Toreros Earn Invite to NCAA Tourney

by Geoff Young on May 28, 2002 (Comments Off) Comments

USD beat Pepperdine Sunday to take the WCC championship. That earned the Toreros their first ever trip to the NCAA tournament, as the #3 seed in the regionals at Tempe, Arizona. A tip of the cap to Rich Hill and his squad. Good luck, guys.

San Diego State, unfortunately, did not make the dance despite winning the Mountain West regular season title. BYU, which beat the Aztecs in the conference tourney, earned a slot as the #4 seed in the Los Angeles regionals. It would have been nice to see coach Jim Deitz get one last crack at it, but it wasn’t meant to be.

Baseball America has released its list of the top 250 draft-eligible prospects. Allan Simpson and Jim Callis have done a thorough job on this one. Some names of note:

  • 9 Cole Hamels, lhp, Rancho Bernardo HS, San Diego. There is speculation that the Padres will take local product Hamels with their first pick at #13
  • 26 Royce Ring, lhp, San Diego State U. The track record of college closers is spotty, but he’s got a live arm.
  • 56 Jake Blalock, ss-3b, Rancho Bernardo HS, San Diego. Teams may be hesitant to let Hank’s little brother slip as far as Hank did.
  • 77 Taber Lee, ss, San Diego State U. Travis’ little brother is a pest at the plate and knows how to play the game.
  • 82 Rory Shortell, rhp, San Diego State U. Yep, yet another Aztec.
  • 125 Alberto Concepcion, c-1b, U. Southern California. Padres’ 1999 second round pick.
  • 192 Ricky Barrett, lhp, U. of San Diego. Southpaw will be drafted about where former batterymate Greg Sain was taken last year.

Five songs that currently blow my mind, in no particular order:

  • "Earthshine" (Rush). Gee, what a shock. The symphonic guitar parts in the chorus are just overwhelming. Extra style points for the pre-chorus, which is written (if I’m counting correctly) in 11/16 time and doesn’t sound like Morse code.
  • "Mexico" (Incubus). The whole Morning View CD rocks. Mike Einzinger’s articulate yet elusive guitar lines never get old. Even though he almost never takes a solo, the cat can flat-out play. Brandon Boyd’s vocal control is ridiculous on this track.
  • "Simple Man" (Lynyrd Skynyrd). I know these guys are the antithesis of hip in many circles but this is a really powerful tune. Slow and very heavy.
  • "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" (Charles Mingus). I have no explanation for anything Mingus created. It’s just otherworldly.
  • "Possibly Maybe" (Bjork). Her ability to juxtapose beautiful melodies with strange noises is unparalleled. She shouldn’t be able to make what she does work so well, and yet there it is.

I just really love music, and sometimes I like to share what moves me. If I turn you onto something you’ve never heard before, great; if you think my taste stinks, well, that’s cool, too. If we all liked the same thing, life would be pretty boring, now, wouldn’t it?

Sometimes I frighten even myself. Back to baseball. Xavier Nady made a pinch-hitting appearance for the second game in a row at Portland, this time doubling and scoring the Beavers’ only run in a 2-1 loss. Ben Howard worked seven scoreless innings, allowing five hits and two walks. He also fanned two batters.

Down at Mobile, Oliver Perez was less impressive in his second Double-A start. Still, it wasn’t too bad, as he surrendered three runs on six hits over five innings. Perez walked four and struck out six. Second baseman Bernie Castro swiped his 30th base of the season.

At Rancho Cucamonga, the Storm beat the home team, 5-1, behind the strong pitching of Jason Wiedmeyer and Tagg Bozied’s 11th home run.

And down at Ft. Wayne, Greg Sain knocked two hits and Jon Huber worked seven strong innings in a 2-1 victory over visiting Quad City.

Tankersley Homers, Earns First Big-League Victory

by Geoff Young on May 27, 2002 (Comments Off) Comments

Very cool. I’m back on the Internet again, thanks to this handy US Robotics 5686 Modem I picked up yesterday. I’m slowly figuring out how to use the software that comes with SuSE Linux 8.0 (today’s entry was typed in KEdit and uploaded in Konqueror, two programs I’d never used before last week).

Back to baseball, Dennis Tankersley secured his first big-league victory yesterday at Milwaukee. He also knocked his first homer, a blast to left field off reliever Mike Buddie. Earlier in the game, Tank hit a ground-rule double to dead center. The kid can swing the bat.

Down on the farm, Xavier Nady made his Triple-A debut Saturday night, striking out as a pinch-hitter against Las Vegas. His elbow is still giving him trouble, so he probably won’t play in the field right away.

Happy Memorial Day, everyone. I’ll talk to ya soon…

Quick Trip Around the Minors

by Geoff Young on May 25, 2002 (Comments Off) Comments

Apologies for going incommunicado on you. Between not having Internet access at home and spending most of my waking hours building and fixing other people’s web sites, finding time to update my own site has been tricky of late. So while I have a moment let’s see if we can catch up on some things.

USDHS alum Mark Prior made his big-league debut for the Cubs last week and pitched great. Doesn’t look like he’s headed back to the minors anytime soon.

Oakland traded hitting machine Jeremy Giambi to Philly for bench jockey John Mabry. This sure looks to me like a terrible trade for Billy Beane and the A’s, but there is another possibility, and that is that Giambi isn’t as good as a lot of us — statheads in particular — think he is. Beane’s got a good track record, so I’m not prepared to rip him just yet. I will say that on the surface it looks horrible. We’ll see.

In Padre news, lefty Oliver Perez was promoted to Double-A Mobile, where he proceeded to dismantle the Birmingham squad in his debut this past Tuesday. He worked six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits, striking out seven and walking three.

Pedro De Los Santos, who had been hitting .259/.326/.333 at Lake Elsinore while playing second base, third base, and the outfield, returned to the Midwest League. In nine games at Ft. Wayne, playing the outfield, he’s hitting .323/.447/.452 with nine steals in as many attempts. De Los Santos is an exciting player to watch and figures to be among the Pads’ Top 15 prospects next year.

Right-hander Justin Germano continues to excel at Ft. Wayne. I have to think he’ll be up at Elsinore before too long. Another guy making some noise in the Midwest League is lefty Cory Stewart. Another of Kevin Towers’ indy league refugees, Stewart is dominating hitters, having allowed just 23 hits in 32 2/3 innings while registering 59 punchouts. At age 22, he’s not particularly old. Right-hander Blair DeHart, a year older, sports a 1.99 ERA over 22 2/3 innings. Even more impressive are the 30 strikeouts against zero walks. Neither of these guys has near the upside of Germano, but they’re worth keeping an eye on.

USD alumni Greg Sain, still mostly DHing, is hitting .282/.342/.423. With Xavier Nady moving up to Portland any day now, might Sain move up a level to Elsinore?

Speaking of Nady, his elbow still isn’t quite right, although you’d never know it from his .278/.382/.580 numbers. Two guys going in opposite directions at Elsinore are Tagg Bozied and Jake Gautreau. Bozied, who started the year on fire, has cooled off significantly. He’s still hitting .299/.392/.561, and some scouts think he’s a better hitter than Nady. Gautreau, meantime, has come on very strong after a slow start. After a huge game last night against Rancho Cucamonga, he’s now hitting .322/.366/.463. He still needs to draw more walks.

Also at Elsinore, signs of life from lefty Mark Phillips. Thursday night he allowed just one hit in a start for the third time this season. This time, though, he lasted more than five innings and walked fewer than seven batters. Perhaps the previous outing, his worst of the year, served as a wakeup call. Hopefully this is the start of bigger and better things from the immensely talented but inconsistent young southpaw.

Righty Ben Howard moved up from Mobile to Triple-A Portland this week. Howard, up with the big club earlier in the month, battled his control in his first start at Tucson, allowing six runs on eight hits and four walks, with just one strikeout this past Tuesday.

Finally, lefty Kevin Pickford, called up last week, makes his first big-league start tonight at Milwaukee. He’s taking Bobby Jones’ turn in the rotation. Kevin Jarvis, meanwhile, isn’t expected back anytime soon, which means that Dennis Tankersley may stick around a while.

That’s it for now. With luck, I’ll be able to get back onto a more regular schedule. Thanks for your patience…