Hey, how ’bout a sweep at Coors Field? There’s still time for the Padres to knock the Rockies out of fourth place (c’mon, pretend that’s a worthy goal). I especially like that Anthony Bass needed just 25 pitches to get through the entire Colorado lineup once and 52 to get through 5 innings. Efficiency is [...]
Tag Archive for ‘arizona diamondbacks’ 
Me, Elsewhere: San Diego Padres, Scoring Machine
My latest at Baseball Prospectus ($) examines the topsy-turvy NL West, where the formerly front-running San Francisco Giants have played poorly (.405 Pythagorean winning percentage) since the All-Star break and the formerly cellar-dwelling Padres have done the opposite (.600 Pythag). Heck, the Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks are the only two teams in the division with [...]
Me, Elsewhere: Baseball as a Three-Act Play
My latest at Baseball Prospectus ($) breaks down NL West teams’ run scoring and prevention tendencies in three-inning increments. Surprisingly, the Padres are easily the best (+18 run differential through July 31) from the seventh inning onward — this despite being outscored by 13 runs in extra frames. Of course, when you are getting obliterated [...]
Me, Elsewhere: Alchemist at Work
My latest at Baseball Prospectus (free!) focuses on the efforts of former Padres GM Kevin Towers on behalf of his new team. The Arizona Diamondbacks, much as his old team did in 2010, are surprising everyone this season with their strong play. Although much of the groundwork was laid by his predecessors, Towers has added [...]
It’s the Most Improbable Time of the Year
A few random thoughts on Tuesday night’s 6-0 victory over the Dodgers in LA…
Pressure: You’re Soaking in It
Really? Is this how it’s going to be? I guess a pennant race isn’t complete without at least one irritating stretch. Welcome to it. The Padres came out strong against Arizona lefty Joe Saunders on Monday night, with Miguel Tejada launching a first-inning bomb to left-center. They had a 2-0 lead before Saunders even recorded [...]
What Happened in Phoenix, Stays in Phoenix
Dropping two out of three to the Diamondbacks in Arizona over the weekend wasn’t part of the plan. On the bright side, the Giants did the same in Atlanta (and but for the left side of the Braves infield forgetting how to play defense in the ninth inning on Friday, the Giants would have been [...]
Thoughts on Frieri
When Mike Adams landed on the disabled list just before the All-Star break, the Padres summoned right-hander Ernesto Frieri from Triple-A Portland. Signed as a free agent in January 2003, Frieri is the longest-tenured player in the entire Padres organization, beating fellow right-hander Tim Stauffer by about six months (thanks to my pal Keith for [...]
Nine Thoughts for Nine Losses
by Geoff Young on Sep 05, 2010 (9) Comments
I Losing nine straight down the stretch stinks. There is no other way to put it. Despite their current two-game lead in the National League West, the Padres find themselves teetering at the edge of an uncomfortable precipice. As I said earlier in the week, when the streak was a more manageable six games, “…if [...]