Search results for ‘chase headley

We Were Young and Stupid

When I was younger and measured days by the inning rather than by proximity to the next mortgage payment, I ridiculed people for arriving late to ball games. Such luxury… Nowadays, I am grateful to arrive at all.

Thought Exercise: Mock Expansion Draft

Our pals at the Platoon Advantage have spearheaded something they call the Great 2011 Expansion Draft (complete with commentary from Keith Law), which assumes that two new teams will be added to MLB in 2012. (This is a thought exercise, so roll with it… as well as the assumption that Portland, which couldn’t handle Triple-A, [...]

Weekend Musings

Tim Stauffer hit his spots on Friday night and had good movement on his breaking ball en route to a career-high nine strikeouts. Stauffer appeared to tire in the seventh, when he gave up a couple well-struck balls, including Freddie Freeman’s two-run homer to dead center that accounted for Atlanta’s lone runs.

Symbol of a Lost Season

While the Padres were getting pasted by the Red Sox at Fenway on Monday evening in the first game of what I told a friend “has a chance to be the least competitive series between two baseball teams all season,” I was rewriting an article. Part of that article landed on the cutting room floor, [...]

Five Guys in the Minors

There are several intriguing stories in the Padres minor-league system — the emergence of Beamer Weems (giving up switch-hitting was a good idea, huh?) and international signee Luis Domoromo, the sudden glut of third basemen, the signing of first-round pick Cory Spangenberg — but today we’ll focus on a few items I’ve been tracking…

Me, Elsewhere: Hawpe’s Future, Headley’s Homer

My latest at Baseball Prospectus ($) examines Matt Kemp’s dominance, Tim Lincecum’s slump, and other goings-on in the National League West. The Padres section, not surprisingly, focuses on Anthony Rizzo. It also touches on the question of what to do with Brad Hawpe, and when: The trouble with Hawpe (now back in right field thanks [...]

Rizzo’s Debut

Anthony Rizzo made his big-league debut Thursday night at Petco Park. The Padres beat Washington, 7-3, although this was a mere footnote to the “crowd” (if three is a crowd, then 16,464 qualifies), which cheered everything Rizzo did but which seemed uncertain how to occupy the spaces between his moments. The public address announcer helped [...]

Draft Impressions, First Basemen, Curmudgeonliness

Today’s not-so-fully formed thoughts are brought to you by Tempus Fugit, frustrating humans since forever…

At Least the Burgers Were Delicious

Stopped at Elsinore, overlooking empty ballpark. Sipping coffee, chewing on Posnanski’s advice to stay humble as a writer… Don’t preconceive. Don’t hesitate to ask questions that might make you look dumb. Don’t linger too long in your comfort zone. Bearing this in mind, I ask a question: “With one quarter of the season behind us, [...]

Tuesday Links (10 May 11)

Seems I’ve fallen behind in my links. Some of these are a little old and might taste funny, but they won’t make you sick or anything…