Search results for ‘scott hairston

When Projections Go Bad

What the heck, now is as good a time as any to revisit pre-season projections. I know, OPS and ERA aren’t the end-all and be-all, but they’re good enough for government work… Projections vs Reality: Hitters   OPS Player BJ CH MA MI ZI DS Act Statistics are courtesy of FanGraphs and are through games [...]

Reshaping the Padres: Let’s Make a Deal (or Three)

On Thursday, we examined what the Padres have and what they need. Now we turn to the question of which teams might make good trade partners and then consider some possible scenarios. As of this writing, about half the teams in baseball appear to be in contention. Some will fall of the pace, although it’s [...]

Reshaping the Padres: What Have We Got?

With hopes for 2008 all but gone, I’ve turned my focus to reshaping the Padres so that they can return to the competitive levels we’ve grown accustomed to since the club moved to Petco Park in 2004. I attacked the problem as follows: Take inventory of organizational strengths and weaknesses Identify potential trade partners based [...]

Those Who Snooze Don’t Always Lose

We were walking west along J Street, just past Fire Station 4, when the crowd erupted. Cardinals fans seem to travel with their team, so we assumed that the visiting team had extended its seemingly insurmountable 2-0 lead. I was in a lousy mood before we even got to the ballpark — I forget why, [...]

Shadow Puppets

For those of you who might have “missed” Monday night’s game, here is a quick recap: The Cardinals scored their first runs of the game on a fly ball to deep left that Scott Hairston dropped into the stands for a two-run homer. They scored their next run on a bases-loaded HBP to Yadier Molina [...]

The Shape of Things to Come

Top of the ninth, two on, one out. Adrian Gonzalez steps to the plate. Braves manager Bobby Cox summons ex-Padre Royce Ring, who promptly hangs a breaking ball. Gonzalez swats it high and deep down the right-field line. He, catcher Brian McCann, and plate umpire Wally Bell all watch as it sails into the Atlanta [...]

Winning Is Better Than Knitting

Winning is so much more fun than losing, n’est ce pas? Every starter except Jim Edmonds and Chris Young collected at least one hit on Wednesday in the Padres’ 4-2 victory over Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park. Tadahito Iguchi broke out of a season-long slump with four hits, while Adrian Gonzalez and Kevin Kouzmanoff each [...]

Gee, I Still Don’t Understand Sample Size

The Padres need to go out and get more hitters. I know this is true because I keep hearing it. I also know it’s a complete load of garbage. What they really need is for the hitters they already have to start performing up to their capabilities. Padres Hitters: 2008, 2007, Career     2008 [...]

Monkeys on Roller Skates

Thanks to reader Lance for hooking us up with seats two rows behind the visitors dugout on Wednesday night. First time I’ve been anywhere near that close at Petco Park, and it’s a whole different experience. For a guy like me who lives in nosebleed, just, wow. Also, belated welcome to all the folks at [...]

Series Preview: Jim McLennan Talks Diamondbacks

Yeah, it’s Friday, but we’ve got something way cooler than links. We’ve got Jim McLennan, of AZ Snakepit fame, with us, and he’s going to give us the dirt on this year’s Diamondbacks. Ducksnorts: I picked Arizona to win the NL West in 2007 on the strength of its good young position players. The team [...]