Manhandled by Mediocrity/Get Your Own Song

by Geoff Young on Aug 05, 2010 (4) Comments

This is why I hate playing a team right after they’ve been swept by their rivals. The Giants embarrassed the Dodgers, who are now taking it out on the Padres.

In the Dodgers’ defense, the club from San Diego isn’t offering much resistance. How do you get dominated by Ted Lilly and Vicente Padilla? They’re competent big-league pitchers, but really:

                    IP ERA+
Sandy Koufax    2324.1 131
Don Drysdale    3432.0 121

Ted Lilly       1648.2 109
Vicente Padilla 1499.1 101

That’s almost as irritating as hearing the Dodgers rip off the White Sox theme song. C’mon, guys; be original. Randy Newman even wrote a tune with your city’s name in the title. It’s not like folks in Chicago are going to use that anytime soon.

I would kill for a good song with San Diego in the title. Actually, Tom Waits wrote one… not exactly a pick-me-up. Mel Torme’s “They Go to San Diego” swings hard but nobody knows it.

On another note, I hope Tony Gwynn Jr. got the good pillows last night. Watching Chris Denorfia out in center the past couple of games brought back nightmares of Brady Clark and Jason Lane in 2007. Those, I don’t need.

Kevin Correia starts for the Padres in Thursday’s finale. Chad Billingsley gets the call for the Dodgers. He’s a good pitcher, but let’s not turn him into Dazzy Vance. Just sayin’…

Me, Elsewhere: On Petco and Hoyer

by Geoff Young on Aug 04, 2010 (4) Comments

I have two new articles of potential interest floating around on teh interwebs. First, Rob Neyer has graciously allowed me to contribute a guest post at his ESPN home. The piece focuses on the Padres’ increased offensive success at home this year:

…hitting coach Randy Ready has gotten these guys to do something they haven’t done in a while: believe they can hit and score runs at their home ballpark. When you consider that the Padres had scored 515 fewer runs at Petco than away from it over its first six years of existence, that is no small accomplishment.

One commenter mentioned the possibility of regression, which is an excellent point (in fact, it’s already happened a bit in the past few weeks). It may well be that the Padres end up with lower offensive numbers at home than on the road.

Still, as I’ve noted before, the Padres are doing something under Ready that they haven’t done under any other hitting coach. How much of their success at home is his doing, I don’t know, but it’s happened on his watch and he deserves credit.

* * *

The second article is in my usual spot at Hardball Times and examines the trades Jed Hoyer has made since taking over as Padres GM. There haven’t been many, and although it’s too early to declare “winners and losers,” we can look for patterns and tendencies.

One aspect of Hoyer’s style so far that stands out to me is his ability to be creative and flexible, which is helpful for any GM, but which takes on an even greater importance for one operating in a small market, where brute force isn’t always an option. Hoyer exhibited this recently with the Ryan Ludwick deal:

The interesting part of this trade is that it required the cooperation of three teams. I’ve never been a part of these sorts of negotiations, but I imagine it’s hard enough to swing a deal with just two parties involved. The fact that Hoyer was able to fill a need for the Padres (and one for the Indians) while working with two different GMs under deadline pressure speaks well both to his ability to think outside the box and to his people skills.

We’ll need to revisit this topic after Hoyer has made a few more trades. For now, I hope you enjoy the article.

* * *

As always, thanks for reading my stuff here, there, and everywhere. And thanks again to Rob Neyer for letting me stand on his soapbox for a while.

Tuesday Links (3 Aug 10)

by Geoff Young on Aug 03, 2010 (1) Comments

Links? Sure, why not…

  • 1998 (What’s a Picture Worth?). John Weisbarth hangs out with a couple of guys from the best squad in Padres history. When you talk about Padres second basemen (and who doesn’t?), there are three names in the discussion: Roberto Alomar, Mark Loretta, and the fellow in Weisbarth’s photo, Quilvio Veras. [h/t Gaslamp Ball]
  • Black’s demeanor a perfect fit for Padres (Padres.com). Yep.
  • Padres acquire Miguel Tejada (Sacrifice Bunt). Ray says that, “Ultimately, this is an uninspiring-but-inoffensive trade.” Sounds about right to me.
  • Padres Trade For Ryan Ludwick (Friar Forecast). Daniel likes the move: “In return for two non-impact prospects, the Padres acquired a year and a half of Ryan Ludwick. He further improves the club’s playoff chances both this year and next year, giving the team some added pop without weakening the defense. This is the exact type of trade contending teams with room to add payroll should be making.”
  • Jon Jay’s bat sends Ryan Ludwick to S.D. (SweetSpot). Rob Neyer is less sanguine: “If I’ve got a problem with the acquisition, it’s that the Padres already have Chris Denorfia, another righty-hitting outfielder who’s not great, but is good enough to play.” With all due respect to Rob, Ludwick represents an upgrade. For as much fun as the Denorfia story has been, there’s something to be said for track record (Ludwick has 1700+ more big-league plate appearances). Here are their respective career numbers per 162 games: 
             Age  AB  R   H 2B 3B HR RBI BB   K SB CS   BA  OBP  SLG OPS+
Denorfia  29 388 61 106 19  1 10  47 39  83  8  3 .273 .342 .402 100
Ludwick   31 532 80 145 32  2 27  95 49 133  4  4 .273 .341 .492 117

    I’ll take the extra .090 in slugging.

  • The Better Part of Valor (FanGraphs). Dave Cameron thinks one team in the National League West made a mistake: “While inaction is usually looked at with scorn during deadline time, I would imagine the Dodgers will look back on their moves and wish they had exercised a little less aggressiveness.” Speaking as a Padres fan, I love what the Dodgers did at the deadline.
  • Luebke and trade pricing (Inside the Padres). Tom Krasovic talks about left-hander Cory Luebke, who was much coveted but not traded.
  • James Shields Dominating Hitters With His Changeup (FanGraphs). Joe Pawlikowski takes a look at what makes one pitcher successful. He talks about sequences, game theory… all the good stuff.
  • Rick the Roommate (Watson Files). Dan tells more wacky stories… also, he likes what he’s seen of Jedd Gyorko, as do I.
  • Ludwick’s debut (Inside the Padres). Kras waxes poetical: “In my eyes, the Padres are one victory better than they would’ve been without Ludwick. And a pretty big victory at that.” Kras also has nice things to say about Corey Kluber, who went to Cleveland in the deal. I’m still a fan of Kluber and I hope to see him pitching for the Indians soon.

Whoomp, there it is.

Really, Aren’t They All Statement Games?

by Geoff Young on Aug 03, 2010 (1) Comments

That was a fun way to start the four-game series in LA. If I believed in statement games, I might be tempted to call this one. But I don’t, so I won’t.

Each individual game is more like a word. The statement doesn’t reveal itself until after the season is over and you know what you’ve said.

Yorvit Torrealba extended his hitting streak to 15 games and is officially ridiculous. Also, I’m glad to see Chase Headley and Will Venable get in on the act. Both of their homers were crushed.

Venable’s blast gave the Padres an early 3-0 lead, just after the Dodgers failed to score in the first when James Loney got thrown out at third by Chris Denorfia to end the inning before a decelerating Matt Kemp touched home plate. Headley’s came later and extended San Diego’s lead to 10-2. The best part? It came after Ryan Ludwick struck out following an intentional walk to Adrian Gonzalez.

Protection. Believe.

The only real downer was Clayton Richard, who refused to throw strikes when given big leads. He walked three batters, and all three came around to score. He also managed to allow five straight singles at one point without giving up a run. That is hard to do.

On the flip side, Richard played a crucial role in the five-run fourth. With Denorfia on first and one out, he laid down a sacrifice bunt in front of home plate. Dodgers catcher Russell Martin pounced on it and fired to second to try for the lead runner. But the ball skipped away and Denorfia raced to third. With second base uncovered, Richard moved up as well.

The home team paid dearly for its defensive breakdown when Miguel Tejada fisted a two-out single to center to give the Padres a 5-0 lead. This forced Joe Torre to lift starter Hiroki Kuroda for a pinch hitter in the bottom half and lean on the Dodgers bullpen for five innings. As reader Marshall C. informed me, this is where the Padres made their move the last time these two teams met, in San Diego:

         IP  H R BB  K W-L S
Padres  9.1  1 0  0 11 1-0 1
Dodgers 7.1 10 4  5  9 0-2 1

Not that Monday night’s game was close (six-run lead: great time to let Edward Mujica come in and serve up a solo shot), but I’ve said before that if the Padres are within a run either way after six, I like their chances. Ernesto Frieri struck out three of the four batters he faced (walking the other) to close out the victory. He has fanned 14 of the 25 batters he’s faced this year… and yet, when Mike Adams returns from the disabled list this week, Frieri probably will head back to Portland.

Problems. You don’t know problems.

Game 2 on Tuesday night features Mat Latos and the newly reacquired Ted Lilly. Be there or be elsewhere…

Padres Drop Series to Marlins; On the Bright Side, People Actually Saw It

by Geoff Young on Aug 02, 2010 (4) Comments

Too bad nothing happened over the weekend, eh? This time of the year is so boring.

Well, except for the Padres acquiring Miguel Tejada and Ryan Ludwick for three minor-league pitchers of minimal concern… and playing meaningful games against the Marlins in front of packed houses at Petco Park. Funny, I don’t remember any of this being in the script. Continue reading ›

Padres Acquire Ludwick

by Geoff Young on Aug 01, 2010 (10) Comments

The Padres acquired outfielder Ryan Ludwick from the Cardinals in a three-way deal that also sent Indians right-hander Jake Westbrook to St. Louis. The Padres sent minor-league right-hander Corey Kluber to Cleveland and minor-league left-hander Nick Greenwood to the Cardinals.

Ludwick is the second right-handed bat acquired by GM Jed Hoyer in the days (and hours) leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline. The difference is that where Miguel Tejada’s value lies in his name and the appearance of commitment to 2010, Ludwick provides the Padres with a legitimate middle-of-the-order threat who should help bolster the offense while also playing solid defense in left and right field. Continue reading ›

Friday Links (30 Jul 10)

by Geoff Young on Jul 30, 2010 (1) Comments

Before we get to the links, I should say a couple things. First, I’ve been informed by more than one person that hating on David Eckstein haters is about as novel and interesting as hating on Eckstein himself. So I won’t do it anymore, at least not out loud. I will find original ways to bore you instead.

Second, when I was writing full time, I lived and breathed baseball. I had a lot of time to read. Now, with the day gig infringing on things like sleep and having a life, I’m lucky if I can skim through stuff. I try to offer insightful commentary, but where that fails, I rely on snark because snark is cheap and easy. I’m not proud; I do what I must.

The important point is that even if my comments sometimes come off as being dismissive of someone else’s work, they aren’t meant that way (on the Internet, nobody knows you’re hilarious). I link to stuff because I find it interesting on some level. If I disagree with what the person says, I tell you. If I don’t find their point of view interesting, I don’t link in the first place… it just isn’t worth my time and whatever stupid thing I might have to say that compels you to go read and hopefully merits at least a chuckle in the process. Continue reading ›

Three Years Ago Would Have Been Good, Six Would Have Been Better

by Geoff Young on Jul 29, 2010 (9) Comments

Yesterday I joked about traveling through time. Today I’m wishing it were no joke, as the Padres have acquired third baseman Miguel Tejada and cash from the Baltimore Orioles for right-hander Wynn Pelzer.

What? No Adrian Gonzalez to Boston for some wicked good chowdah? Eh, maybe another year.

I’ve pointed out that Tejada, once a fine player, is basically a poor-man’s Jerry Hairston Jr. without the defensive utility at this stage in his career. Tejada supposedly will see action at shortstop. If he does, it will be the first time since 2009. He can’t be any worse there than Todd Walker was at third base in 2006, right? Continue reading ›

Once Upon My Mind: Fire Sales and Other Things That Didn’t Quite Happen

by Geoff Young on Jul 29, 2010 (8) Comments

No time for original content, so grab a companion and hop in the Tardis as we travel back through time…

  • Did Somebody Report a Fire Sale? (July 25, 1999)

    The bottom line is this: The 1999 Padres aren’t as good as the 1998 club (which was better than it “should” have been), but it’s doubtful that the players and their $22,713,000 who departed San Diego would be contributing enough to make this year’s team any better than it already is. That doesn’t fit too well with the “greed is evil” agenda some would foist on the masses but it is an accurate assessment of reality, which is what we are (or should be, in my opinion) interested in, anyway.

    Did I really used to say things like, “foist on the masses”? Apparently I did. This would have been a good time to bust out “hoi polloi.”

  • Padres Rumors Heating Up (July 28, 2001)

    [Sterling] Hitchcock to Yankees rumors are heating up. Kevin Towers has his eye on minor-league outfielder Marcus Thames, who is hitting .305/.393/.579 at Double-A Norwich. Bad news is, he’s 24 years old. Not a bad prospect but probably more of a fourth outfielder type. Honestly, if Dennis Cook and Turk Wendell can fetch Bruce Chen and change, you’d think the Pads could get something more than Thames for Hitchcock. The Giants also were looking at him but balked at moving Armando Rios.

    The Padres, you may recall (or not), ended up getting Darren Blakely for Hitchcock. In retrospect, where the grass is always greenest, Thames would have been a nice haul. At last count he has 104 big-league home runs, or 104 more than Blakely and Hitchcock combined.

  • Deadline Deals (July 30, 2002)

    I was surprised to see the Dodgers part with right-hander Ricardo Rodriguez for Paul Shuey. Baseball America had Rodriguez ranked as their best prospect coming into the season. On the other hand, Shuey is a terrific reliever. I guess I’m just a little bummed because I know the Padres won’t get anyone with near the upside of Rodriguez for Steve Reed.

    The record will show that the Padres got Jason Bay for Reed. No, really, they did.

  • White Stripes, Web Sites, a Little Bit of Baseball (July 28, 2003)

    The rumors are flying all over the place right now, and it’s hard to separate fact from fiction, but names being mentioned as possibly coming to San Diego are Brian Giles and Jason Kendall, J.D. Drew, Milton Bradley, and Ramon Castro. Sure wouldn’t mind seeing Giles and Kendall in Padre unis. Right now the Rondell White to Florida for Castro and Blaine Neal rumors are pretty hot. Tomorrow the names may be different. Then again, nothing may come of any of this. We shall see.

    Kids may not realize this, but Kendall used to be very good, if a tad expensive. Giles came to town later that summer (for Bay), while Bradley arrived several years later. Bradley, for all his faults, remains one of my all-time favorite Padres. I will never forget the time he hit two home runs in Philadelphia and started screaming “I am that good” to fans behind home plate who had been riding him all game. Ah, Jenga…

  • Quasi-Random Thoughts (July 29, 2004)

    My wife makes me so proud. After the Pads’ big inning, she turns to me and says, “With that lead, it’ll probably be Neal or [Ricky] Stone.” It was Stone. I like to think I’ve made a difference in her life. And if it can’t be for something important, at least it can be for something fun.

    Neal? Stone? Rich Aurilia and Terrence Long get mentions as well… How did that ’04 team win 87 games?

  • Please Help, My Shortstop Is Broken (July 31, 2008)

    “In 2004, [Khalil] Greene’s home numbers were a lot like Pepe Mangual’s 1975 overall numbers; Greene’s road numbers were a lot like Will Clark’s 1991 overall numbers.” Suffice to say, when your performance calls to mind Andres Galarraga one year and Andres Thomas the next, that’s not good.

    I still find it incredible (and sad) how quickly Khalil’s career unraveled. When the Padres shipped the former Jose Valentin clone to St. Louis, it looked like a salary dump, plain and simple. Now we refer to it as “the Luke Gregerson trade.”

  • Will I Lose My Sight if I Watch, or Just My Lunch? (July 20, 2009)

    I understand why the Padres moved [Scott] Hairston. As anyone who has watched the Pads and their 80 ERA+ this year can attest, they desperately need pitching. Am I super excited about the arms they got in return? Not really, although Sean Gallagher sounds somewhat intriguing.

    Two things stand out here: First, I’d forgotten I liked Gallagher for about two minutes. Second, last year really sucked.

There you go. Padres try to take the series against LA this afternoon. Mat Latos squares off against Vicente Padilla, which should be a favorable matchup for the home team. It’d be nice if they could get win number 60 today. That didn’t happen until September 4 last year (and September 20 the year before). Let’s do it.

Tuesday Links (27 Jul 10)

by Geoff Young on Jul 27, 2010 (4) Comments

You ever feel like there’s not enough time to read everything? Or maybe that’s just me…

  • The Indie Scene (Hardball Times). Richard Barbieri attended an Atlantic League game and tells us about it. Apparently Wily Mo Pena (whom the Padres recently signed because the entire Portland Beavers outfield is in San Diego) crushed a ball to dead center off Kip Wells. Good times.
  • Wade LeBlanc’s Houdini Act (FanGraphs). From David Golebiewski: “Wade LeBlanc is in a fantastic situation as a result of pitching in a cavernous park behind quality fielders. But eventually, he’s going to get himself into some jams from which he won’t be able to escape.” Perhaps LeBlanc should switch to Tchaikovsky for his entrance music.
  • TinCaps’ Galvez enjoys career night (MiLB.com). Drew Cumberland was getting most of the attention before his recent knee injury, but don’t forget about Jonathan Galvez. I like when 19-year-old shortstops hit three home runs in a Midwest League game. I also like that Jedd Gyorko has moved up to Fort Wayne.
  • Oswalt or Bust (Friarhood). Steve wants to see the Padres trade for Roy Oswalt and his ugly contract.
  • Band of brothers: Pastime unites siblings (Padres.com). From the article: “…the Hairston brothers were raised on hardball, with their father, Jerry, having played 14 seasons in the Majors, and their grandfather, Sam, having been a Negro Leagues star before becoming the first African-American to play for the Chicago White Sox in 1951. Jerry Jr. and Scott’s uncle, John, also suited up for the Cubs for three games in ’69.”
  • Teams Should Be Allowed to Trade Draft Picks (FanGraphs). Pat Andriola isn’t the first to suggest this, of course. Still, it remains an intriguing idea, although I’m not sure how practical it might be… particularly to get buy-in from all parties.
  • October Game Changers (Baseball-Reference). Steve Garvey had one of the biggest hits ever in a postseason game as a member of the Padres. On an unrelated note, I wonder if the Dodgers will ever retire his number.
  • Hiring Ryne Sandberg might bring unwanted pain, Cubs fans (Big League Stew). Friend of Ducksnorts Ian Casselberry makes a guest appearance and compares Sandberg’s (potential) situation with Alan Trammell’s a few years ago when the Tigers legend (and Kearny High alum) tried his hand at managing.
  • The average number of pitches thrown per game is rising (Baseball-Reference). Andy finds, among other things, that “relievers threw 40 pitches per game in 1988 and 52 pitches per game in 2009.”
  • Calculating Charlie Brown’s Wins, Losses, & Other Stats: the 1960s (Wezen-Ball). This has been around a while, but wow.
  • VIP entrance, press box tour, conversation with the Ecksteins and Padres’ win in one day? Oh my! (Perpetual Padres Saga). Hyun, Kaybee, and friends got to meet the Ecksteins at a recent game. One downside of covering the team as much as I have over the years is that it’s easy to become jaded. Reading stuff like this reminds me of why I fell in love with baseball back in the day.
  • Eckstein to DL. Padres still win. (Kept Faith). Speaking of David Eckstein, hating on him is as fresh today as it ever was. Original thought is good.
  • Top 50 Baseball Players (Baseball Reality Tour). Here’s a fun list. Adrian Gonzalez checks in at #19, while Mat Latos is #31. Local products Stephen Strasburg (SDSU) and Brian Matusz (USD) also make the cut.
  • High School Draft Picks: Chapter VI, Conclusions, Summary, Future Research (The Winning Mind in Baseball). This is the final part of a fascinating series by Geoff Miller:

    In 1998, for my Master’s Thesis at San Diego State University, I chose to study the “Decision-Making Factors Governing High School Players’ Choice of a College or Professional Baseball Opportunity.” I wanted to know what factors were most important to high school seniors who were drafted and had to choose between signing or going to school as I had known many players who regretted their choices years after they made them.

    Be sure to follow the links to other parts of the series.

  • Latos Is Good…But Not This Good (Friar Forecast). Daniel isn’t impressed with Mat Latos’ success in 2010.
  • On not getting enough for Dan Haren (SweetSpot). If I haven’t said so before, I’m glad Josh Byrnes isn’t running things in Arizona anymore. I don’t wish ill will on Byrnes, but he seemed to know what he was doing and I’d just as soon not see a division rival have a guy like that making decisions.
  • Haren’s “Haul” (UPDATED) (FanGraphs). Bryan Smith offers his thoughts on the Haren heist. Dave Cameron weighs in as well.
  • Roseanne Barr sang the National Anthem between Padres games 20 years ago today (Gaslamp Ball). Jbox recalls one of the finer moments in Padres history. Ah, the Tom Werner days… he did so many wonderful things to this franchise.
  • Marlins’ incredible week of walk-off wins (Baseball-Reference). Good on the Fish, but did you know that the Padres lead MLB with nine walkoff wins in 2010?
  • A Closer Look at Gregerson’s Slider (FanGraphs). Everyone loves Luke Gregerson’s slider… except that one guy at FOX Sports. Pretty charts and stuff.
  • Padres Grounds Crew Dims Stadium’s Lights For Romantic Night Game (The Onion). “Umpires later ejected Casey Blake when the Dodgers third baseman charged the mound and attempted to stuff a chocolate-dipped strawberry into pitcher Jon Garland’s mouth.” [h/t Gaslamp Ball]

Garland faces the Dodgers tonight. Watch out for strawberries.