Can we please get more reverb on the lead vocal? Game starts at 10 p.m. PT. Channel 4SD, XM 178.
Friday Links (14 Mar 08)
Quick reminder for those of you in the Ducksnorts 2 fantasy league: We’re drafting Friday at 7 p.m. PT. Be there or be stuck with a crappy team.
To the links:
- MB at Friar Forecast continues his interview with Padres front office staffer Chris Long. My favorite part:
Then the robots kill all humans, but hopefully they’ll still play baseball.
Excellent. As a fellow robot, I very much look forward to this day.
- According to the U-T Padresblog, Greg Maddux is fine after getting drilled by a line drive off the bat of Derrek Lee (he sure hates our pitchers, doesn’t he?). Quoth Maddux:
It’s a minor contusion. No worries — for me, anyway. I ain’t worried about it. Perfect spring training injury. It’s got me out of running the next couple of days.
- Tom Krasovic at the San Diego Union-Tribune notes that pitching coach Darren Balsley has made a minor adjustment to left-hander Randy Wolf’s delivery (hat tip to LynchMob in the comments). Wolf, for his part, says his arm feels great, while manager Bud Black likes what he’s seen of the veteran’s change-up.
- Anthony DiComo at MLB.com wonders who has the best rotation in baseball (hat tip to Phantom in the comments). His conclusion? The Padres. Look, I love my team, but this is asinine. San Diego’s rotation might be top 5, but #1? As much as I want it to be true, there’s just no way.
- Krasovic talks about minor-league outfielder Will Venable (hat tip to Phantom in the comments). The Padres are higher on him than many outside observers. As for whether development time lost due to playing another sport will affect him, maybe we should ask Joe Borchard, Drew Henson, Ryan Minor, etc. Yeah, I did wake up on the curmudgeonly side of the bed; thanks for asking.
- According to Padres.com, right-hander Tim Stauffer is having shoulder troubles (hat tip to LynchMob in the comments). Poor kid.
- Speaking of shoulder injuries, Baseball America lets us know just how damaging they can be (hat tip to LynchMob in the comments).
- Meanwhile, the Padres are in China (U-T, hat tip to Matthew Thompson in the comments). Well, some of them are, anyway.
- Steve Henson covers the trip for Yahoo! (hat tip to Phantom in the comments). As Sandy Alderson says, “There is only one first.” Some folks wonder whether this trip will affect the Padres’ preparation for Opening Day. It’s a valid concern, although one hopes that a team possesses the ability to overcome obstacles. It comes in handy over the course of a long season.
- Corey Brock is there and has the photos to prove it.
- For those who care about spring stats, they’re available at USA Today (hat tip to LynchMob in the comments).
- Jason at sdpadrefan.com has posted his All-Time Padre Rookie Team.
- We’ve talked about Royals left-hander Brian Bannister here before, but now Yahoo!’s Jeff Passan is hip to the cat (hat tip to FriarFanDan in the comments). Quoth Bannister:
One thing sabermetrics and statistics have allowed me to do is relax. I know the odds. I know percentages. I know that three out of every 10 batted balls should go for hits, and I deal with it. It’s helped me be a better player
Passan, meanwhile, is linking to actual blogs. It’s just one giant lovefest, really.
- Jonathan Hale at Baseball Digest Daily examines the relationship between weather conditions and hitting, and then follows up with a look at the conditions of parks around the league.
Whew. That was too many. Is there such a thing? On second thought, it was just the right amount. Happy Friday!
Tell everyone to buy the book. I don’t want to work anymore. 
Everywhere but Here
I’m all over the place today:
- How to Quit Your Job and Write a Book (Or Two) (BallHype). I posted this in the comments on Wednesday, but here’s a little “behind-the-scenes” look at the process of writing the Ducksnorts Baseball Annuals.
- Arizona Dreaming (Baseball Digest Daily). In spring training, what happens before the game is at least as interesting as what happens during the game.
- Where Are They Now: Top Prospects of ’98, #41-50 (Knuckle Curve). The latest installment in my look back at the top young players from a decade ago includes ex-Padres Derrek Lee and Ben Davis. Ugh, Ben Davis.
Meanwhile back at the ranch, the Padres (well, some of them) are in China. Corey has photos. Over on this side of the pond, Chase Headley’s future appears to be in left field (i.e., the experiment worked).
On a more general note, I’m trying to keep up with game scores and individual performances, but the stories lack intrigue. Seems to me the only positions up for grabs are backup infielder, backup outfielder, fifth starter, and mopup guy. Be still, my beating heart:
- INF: Callix Crabbe, Edgar Gonzalez, Marshall McDougall, Brian Myrow, Oscar Robles, Luis Rodriguez, Craig Stansberry. Anyone care? I didn’t think so.
- OF: Chip Ambres, Jeff DaVanon, Robert Fick, Jody Gerut. Okay, Gerut is kind of interesting.
- SP: Shawn Estes, Justin Germano, Glendon Rusch. Yawn.
- RP: Michael Gardner, Edgar Gonzalez, Carlos Guevara, Jared Wells, Mauro Zarate. I liked what I saw of Zarate in a very limited sample, but still…
I’m fired up for the season, but these spring training “battles” just aren’t doing much for me.
How to Start Your Very Own Crazy Rumor
We’ve been hearing some crazy rumors this spring. As a public service to those who haven’t been able to concoct one of their own, here’s a little template that might help:
Hey, I noticed that [small- or mid-market team] just lost [position player, pitcher, etc.]. Looks like he’ll be out [multiply actual expected time by two or three, depending on taste], and they could really use [crappy guy on large-market team who plays same position]. What about [small- or mid-market team's best prospect] for [crappy guy]? That would totally make sense. That would be wicked pissah!
You’re welcome.
IGD: Padres vs Rangers (10 Mar 08)
First night telecast of the year. Game starts at 7:05 p.m. PT. Channel 4SD, of course.
Quick Thoughts from Peoria
Just bullet points this morning:
- Bud Black, Wally Joyner, and Rick Renteria all threw during the big-league session we watched. Darrel Akerfelds pitched to minor leaguers over at the next field.
- Tadahito Iguchi had a nice batting practice session on Sunday. He showed more power than I’d expected.
- Tony Clark’s kid scored 13 goals in two soccer games on Saturday. Relevant? Probably not, but that’s the kind of thing you learn while watching guys take batting practice. Some lady asked, and he answered. Rock on.
- Colt Morton is a big dude. I already knew this, but it bears repeating. He also scalded a ball during Sunday’s game against the White Sox, right back through the middle.
- Randy Wolf looked good on the mound. I didn’t see any gun readings, but his fastball appeared to have good life.
- Wade LeBlanc gave up a mammoth home run to the first batter he faced, Brad Eldred, but settled down and pitched well after that. He appeared to pick up velocity in his second inning of work, and his vaunted change-up had more bite. He made Brian Anderson look silly chasing balls that bounced well in front of the plate. Not that Anderson is a great hitter, but the guy has about 450 big-league plate appearances to his credit.
- Luis Rodriguez made a couple nice plays at shortstop. He doesn’t look like a hitter at all, though. During one at-bat, he took very defensive swings at 2-0 and 3-1 fastballs. He slapped a single later in the game on a pitch that many guys would have hammered.
- Scott Hairston and Chase Headley didn’t seem comfortable at the plate. After what Hairston did on Friday and Headley did on Saturday, we’ll cut ‘em some slack.
- Mauro Zarate looked terrific out of the ‘pen. Lance thought he threw the hardest out of anyone we saw on Sunday (including Octavio Dotel). Perhaps more importantly, Zarate seemed to have a clue.
Finally, here was my favorite sequence on Sunday. White Sox starter Jose Contreras brushed Kevin Kouzmanoff off the plate, and Kouz responded in the best way possible by knocking Contreras’ next pitch out of the park (click on the photos to see hi-res versions):
More photos at Flickr. We’ll have our second IGD of the spring for Monday evening’s game. First pitch is 7:05 p.m. PT.
IGD: Padres vs White Sox (9 Mar 08)
[Blows into microphone.] Hello, is this thing on?
Game starts at 1:05 p.m. PT. Channel 4SD.
Cactus League Photos
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.
See full photo set at Flickr.
How cool was Friday’s game? I’m talking about all the Ducksnorters, of course. I hung out with Lance all day, and met up with LynchMob, Bruce (and dad), and Aaron at various points. I’d say that was pretty cool. I even managed to catch a foul ball off the bat of Luis Rodriguez. First time I’ve ever caught a foul ball at a game.
For whatever spring training performances might be worth, our Chris Young looked terrific. Scott Hairston hit the ball hard every time up, resulting in a homer and a double. He also got the start in center — didn’t do anything to distinguish himself either way, which I suppose is a good thing, especially in light of the inevitable Jim Edmonds injury that is expected to keep him out 2-3 weeks.
Second baseman Craig Stansberry is going to China next week. Judging from the way he played on Friday, the Padres just might decide to leave him there. First he got plunked on a throw from right field to third base. Somehow with a guy on second and less than two outs, he didn’t expect a throw to third base. I don’t know how that happens, but it apparently rattled him. The next inning, Stansberry sailed an easy throw to first, pulling Edgar Gonzalez off the bag. Then he dropped a pop fly. That last one was a tough play — he had to go back on the ball quite a ways, and there were no clouds in the sky. Fortunately he and the Padres were saved by the infield fly rule.
Poor kid. I felt terrible for him…
Friday Links (7 Mar 08)
Greetings from Peoria (well, presumably I’m there — I’m doing the ol’ fake-a-rooni today and posting in advance; blogger’s best friend, yo). Hey, look, here are some links:
- Our friends at Gaslamp Ball note that Jerry Coleman has written a book. It’s called An American Journey: My Life on the Field, in the Air, and on the Air
(aff link), and it’s coming out April 28. You know the Colonel has some stories to tell.
- Tom Krasovic chats with Padres owner John Moores, who likes the direction his club is headed (hat tip to Steve C. in the comments). Some people will be pleased with what Moores has to say, others not so much. In other words, business as usual.
- Krasovic also has written about the Padres’ new Dominican training facility, scheduled to open in April. Krasovic is keeping busy these days: he also has articles up on Greg Maddux and Callix Crabbe.
- Over at Friar Forecast, MB looks at the Padres outfield defense, which appears to have been improving in recent years. Guess we’ll see how much of that was due to the presence of Mike Cameron.
- Randy Wolf isn’t pitching well. In related news, these games don’t count. As long as he stays healthy, I don’t care what his Cactus League ERA is. Seriously, Chris Young sends his regards:
Chris Young, 2006: Spring vs Regular Season IP ERA H/9 HR/9 BB/9 K/9 Statistics are courtesy of The Baseball Cube. Fake 20 9.45 13.05 1.35 6.30 4.95 Real 179.1 3.46 6.72 1.41 3.46 8.23 Yawn, wake me when the season starts. If Wolf is having problems in May or June, then we’ll talk. Until then, I’ll assume he’s going to pull things together when it matters.
- Baseball Prospectus’ Kevin Goldstein ranks the Padres farm system #12 in MLB (hat tip to Pat in the comments). That’s up from #29 last year. Still not great, but moving in the right direction and fast.
- Speaking of prospects, the latest installment from right-hander Dirk Hayhurst is up at Baseball America (hat tip to Schlom in the comments). Good stuff, as always. It’d be sweet if we could access all of his entries from a single point. This will do for now, I suppose.
Happy Friday!
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