- Caught the Harry Potter movie Friday night. I was expecting to be let down, given all the hype, but it actually was pretty entertaining. Almost as entertaining as the news footage of people burning their Harry Potter books (I wonder how much they paid for those books?). Actually, they weren’t burning them; apparently these folks couldn’t procure a fire permit so they had to resort to tearing the books to pieces by hand and throwing the remains in the trash. I’m a bit troubled that they chose to throw away perfectly good paper rather than recycle but what are you gonna do.
- Hope you had a chance to catch some of the Leonid meteor shower that graced the Western United States early Sunday morning. Thanks to a power outage from about 12:45 to 1:30 AM, we got a pretty good view from our backyard. Saw about 30-35 meteors in about an hour and a half. It’s difficult to feel any sense of self-importance after watching a display like that.
- A bit closer to home, former Padre outfielder Ruben Rivera has been claimed off waivers by the Giants. Rivera played for Cincinnati last year.
- This has nothing to do with baseball, but former Charger Ryan Leaf got his ass handed to him on a platter courtesy of the Philadelphia Eagles. My favorite quote from Leaf: “A lot of things went wrong, but I can definitely learn from them.” Let’s see, he might learn that he’s, um, not an NFL quarterback? I don’t actively root against too many pro athletes — Hideki Irabu, Bobby Chouinard — but Leaf is definitely one guy I enjoy watching self-destruct. Can’t wait to see how his screaming-at-reporters routine goes over in Dallas.
- Speaking of Chouinard, I’ve been reading Bill James’ revised Historical Abstract and after learning about the antics of one Terry Larkin I’ve decided to lay off our modern-day gunslinger a bit. Seems Larkin actually shot his wife. Didn’t kill her, though. Charming man.
- I’ve also discovered my new favorite baseball name in James’ book: Oyster Burns. Is that great, or what?
Harry Potter, Leonid Meteor Shower, and Ryan Leaf
Caminiti Arrested for Cocaine Possession
Phil Nevin, Ken Caminiti. They’ve been linked since Nevin was drafted first overall by the Astros in 1992, when Caminiti was playing third base in Houston. Nevin was to be his heir apparent. It never happened. Several years later, and quite by accident, Nevin ended up replacing Cammy at the hot corner in San Diego. Now, in November 2001, on the same day Nevin signs a 4-year contract with the Padres, Caminiti is arrested for possession of crack cocaine.
I don’t usually think or talk a lot about big-league players as people, because, frankly, it’s difficult for me to relate to a guy making millions of dollars a year. But Caminiti was something of a folk-hero during his time in San Diego. From the “Snickers” game, to the 1996 MVP Award, to the 1998 World Series, the guy just brought so much to the Padres. Without question, he was the second most popular guy on the team among fans.
And by all accounts Cammy was a pretty good person. Sure, he’d battled some demons earlier in his career and worked hard to overcome a drinking problem, but by the time he arrived in San Diego he was a solid citizen. He let slugger Greg Vaughn live with his family when he came over from Milwaukee and didn’t have a place to stay. Cammy was one of the good guys.
I wasn’t there the night this happened but Caminiti once showed up at a local park to watch a buddy of his play softball in a recreational league. After the game he stuck around to watch the next game, which featured the team I was on at the time. After that game he hung out and chatted with some of my teammates for several minutes before excusing himself to get ready for his own playoff game the following day. I’m sorry I didn’t get to meet him; I’m told he was very humble and down-to-earth, not what you’d expect from a guy in his position.
And now I’m sorry to see Cammy in a bad situation again. I know just enough about addiction to appreciate how damaging it can be and I’m grateful that I’ve never experienced it firsthand. When I look at ballplayers on the field, I see numbers. I see on-base percentages, slugging percentages, and ERAs. Sometimes I see dollar signs. But very rarely do I see a guy with a wife and kids, struggling to get it right. I just don’t think about professional athletes that way.
But when I see what Caminiti’s gotten himself into now, with all that he brought to the Padres and to the city of San Diego, all I can think about is his family. He’s a good man in a very bad situation. I can’t make excuses for him but I sure as heck can hope he finds the strength to get through this and get it right.
. . .
Elsewhere:
- More on the Nevin signing (Baseball Primer)
- John Sickels responds to fans’ reaction to contraction talk (ESPN.com)
- Roger Clemens, deservedly or otherwise, wins another Cy Young Award (Baseball Primer)
Finally, I’ve posted my Arizona Fall League article. Enjoy!
Bozied, Harrington, and Stewart
- John Manuel at Baseball America sees newly signed Tag Bozied making his Padre debut at Lake Elsinore next year, alongside Jake Gautreau, who is impressing folks with his work at second base.
- Still no progress on the Matt Harrington front.
- Dave Stewart is justifiably upset after being rebuffed again in his attempts to become a big-league GM.
Magadan Retires, Bozied Signs
Couple items of interest involving Padre third basemen. First is on one of my faves, veteran Dave Magadan. He’s retiring to become the Padres’ minor league hitting coordinator. I couldn’t be happier that a guy with his approach at the plate will be teaching his craft to the young Padres’ hitters.
The other involves one of the kids Magadan will be working with, newly signed Taggert Bozied. No word yet on what the Pads plan to do with Bozied, who hit .307/.359/.461 at Sioux Falls of the Northern League. My guess is that he’ll stay at third for now and start out at Lake Elsinore, with Jake Gautreau starting at Double-A Mobile. Or, if the Padres want both of them in the Cal League, they could move one to first, probably Bozied. Regardless, the Pads just signed another good young power hitter.
Thoughts on the Arizona Fall League
I’m back from Arizona. Yo, Bill, thanks for putting me up for the weekend. The AFL was a blast; I’ll give a more complete report later but for now, I just have to say that Hank Blalock is a stud. He might be the best of the young AL third baseman from San Diego (Eric Chavez, Troy Glaus). He didn’t even get a hit the day I saw him but he made good contact on some pitches that he shouldn’t have been able to hit. I still don’t know how he managed to hit a ball as hard as he did just foul down the first base line and break his bat. He ended up striking out but that one swing really left an impression. He also looked very good at third, showing quick feet and a strong arm. John Sickels once compared Blalock to George Brett, and while he certainly has a long way to go to become a player of Brett’s caliber, I don’t think it’s out of the question. The guy has no identifiable weaknesses.
Check out what Sickels has to say about the AFL over at ESPN.com. In looking over his comments, I see what a difference a day can make. He was not impressed with J.R. House, who looked like a pretty darned good hitter the day I saw him. Conversely, he’s pretty high on Nic Jackson (as are a lot of people, I might add), who didn’t do much for me. Same with Mario Valenzuela, who looked completely lost the two times I saw him. Our observations on Blalock and Scott Sobkowiak are similar, though.
. . .
- The results of the Internet Baseball Awards are now in over at BaseballProspectus.com. I picked all the winners except AL MVP, which went to A-Rod. My choice, Roberto Alomar, placed fourth.
- And, if you haven’t heard, Mark McGwire announced his retirement yesterday, according to ESPN. He brought a lot to the game and will be missed.
Kevin Towers, Contraction, and Internet Baseball Awards
- I’ve been busy researching Kevin Towers’ trading record as GM of the Padres, and I finally have something to show for it. Check out my analysis of Towers’ first year as GM. Let me know what you think. Other years will follow, and at some point I may take a look at his drafts.
- Elsewhere, here’s another one on contraction. ESPN.com’s Rob Neyer shares his thoughts on the possibility.
- The Baseball Prospectus staff show their ballots for 2001 awards. Ack, just realized I screwed up on my IBA ballot; totally forgot Jimmy Rollins was a rookie. Sorry, dude. It also appears that I was overly kind to Roger Clemens and overly harsh on Phil Nevin, probably as a result of my overcompensating for any biases I might have. Nice to see Bruce Bochy receive some consideration for Manager of the Year, too.
- Fun discussion going on in one of my Scoresheet leagues about players who are/were underrated throughout their careers because of their home park or not getting a chance to play regularly when they were young. So far we’ve come up with Pedro Guerrero, Darrell Evans, Dwight Evans, John VanderWal, the legendary Ken Phelps, Mike Easler, Jose Cruz, Terry Puhl, Lee Lacy, Roberto “Fastball or Nothin’ At All” Petagine, Frank Catalanotto, and Jon Nunnally among hitters, and Billy Taylor and Chuck Smith among pitchers. Got any others?
- EEEEEE! A newsletter by and for annoyed San Francisco Giants fans.
Economics of Baseball, Contraction, and the Arizona Fall League
- Fascinating stuff over at Forbes.com on the economics of baseball.
- Everybody has their pet reasons for hating Bud Selig’s asinine plans to contract MLB. Here’s what ESPN.com’s Jim Caple has to say.
- Hank Blalock is destroying the AFL to the tune of .337/.431/.750. Two sets of numbers really stand out for me: 15 walks against 14 strikeouts over 92 at-bats; and 18 of 31 hits for extra bases (including 9 homers). Teammate and fellow third baseman Drew Henson is hitting .316/.422/.582, not too shabby.
- The San Diego Padres Unofficial Home Page is no longer actively maintained but it contains some good historical info.
Contraction Links
- More general contraction wackiness over at ESPN.com courtesy of Sean McAdam.
- And Joe Sheehan weighs in on the subject over at Baseball Prospectus.
- Sean Forman at Baseball Primer is putting together a grassroots “Tell the Commissioner What you Think about Contraction” movement.
- In other news, my buddy Theron just pointed me toward the Baseball Survivor site. Basically, 103 of MLB’s greatest have been placed on a virtual island, and each week, 22 members of SABR are voting 1 to 5 of them off the island. Good stuff.
That’s all for now…
Hank Blalock, Grady Fuson, and Matt Vasgersian
- The A’s are trying to get the Rangers to cough up Hank Blalock as compensation for signing Grady Fuson? Now that takes guts.
- Great article on Game 7 over at ESPN.com: Rolling a seven
- Closer to home, the Pads signed second baseman Damian Jackson to a 1-year, $625k contract. Not bad, in this day and age, for a guy who plays spectacular defense and doesn’t completely embarrass himself at the plate. One good sign is that Jackson appears to be well aware of his shortcomings and wants to do better:
I know what I’m capable of, and I know what I didn’t do last year. I didn’t put up MVP-type numbers. I want to show this organization that I can have a .380 on-base percentage, steal 40 bases and score 100 runs.
But I’ve got to make better contact. It’s ridiculous how many times I strike out.
Read more about the signing at SD Union-Tribune.
- Another article in the U-T talks about contraction. Still can’t believe it’s gonna happen but you never know. Anyway, the last line of the article reads, “the Diamondbacks don’t even know for sure if they’ll need to find a designated hitter next year.” Um, Erubiel Durazo?
- One final item that I missed last week. The Padres have replaced TV play-by-play announcer Mel Proctor with Matt Vasgersian, formerly with the Milwaukee Brewers and, er, the XFL. I don’t know much about Vasgersian but almost anything has to be an improvement over Proctor, who seemed like a really good guy but not a very good announcer. Too often over the past several years his broadcasts would degenerate into talent-show comedy routines, with he and cohort Mark Grant sacrificing quality for cheap laughs (well, at least they were laughing). I’ve got nothing against humor in baseball, but not at the expense of calling the game. If it’s a blowout and you’re worried about people changing the station, by all means go for the funny bone (and for God’s sake, please make it funny!). But cracking silly jokes in a tie ballgame in the ninth inning… well, it’s just not for me. I’m looking forward to a new voice in the booth to join the affable Grant and the astute if sometimes grating Rick Sutcliffe. Stay tuned…
Diamondbacks Win World Series Despite Brenly
Congratulations to the Diamondbacks on winning their first World Series. I still can’t believe they managed to overcome Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the ninth, to say nothing of their own manager’s continued boneheaded decisions. I’ve stated in other forums that out of respect for idiots, I’ll no longer refer to Bob Brenly as one, but what was he thinking, letting Curt Schilling hit for himself in the seventh, when he’s got Erubiel Durazo and David Dellucci sitting on the bench? And even worse, why bring Jay Bell up to bunt with runners at first and second and nobody out in the ninth, when Durazo is still on the bench? Durazo never did make it into the game. Unbelievable.
So, ultimately Brenly’s asinine moves didn’t cost his team. Back-to-back terrible bunts in the ninth by Damian Miller and Bell didn’t come back to haunt him, thanks in part to a poor throw by Rivera, nor did Brenly’s absolute refusal to trust anyone other than Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling on the mound (the two combined to throw 59% of Arizona’s innings in the World Series).
Speaking of Johnson, his performance in Game 7 was heroic, as was Schilling’s. I really didn’t expect Johnson to pitch to more than one batter, if that. But the guy threw 17 pitches last night, after having thrown 104 the previous night. And he’s not used to pitching in back-to-back games, unlike Byung-Hyun Kim.
Actually, if for no other reason than Kim’s psyche and reputation (well, that and the absence of a smirk from Derek Jeter’s mug), I’m glad the Diamondbacks came out on top. Everyone remembers the guy who gives up the homer, not the guy who stupidly brings him into the game.
For the record, using the original version of Bill James’ Pythagorean Theorem of Baseball (exponent of 2.00, not 1.83 — I don’t have a sophisticated calculator at my disposal right now), the Diamondbacks would be expected to have a winning percentage of .875 based on their outscoring the Yankees, 37 to 14. Over a seven-game series, that translates to 6.12 victories. It’s a testament to Brenly’s genius that he managed to use seven games to win the damn thing. Of course, this also means that the Diamondbacks are stuck with him for another year. 
More on the Series from Joe Sheehan at Baseball Prospectus.
Finally, here’s another interesting site: thebaseballpage.com
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