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Series Preview: El Lefty Malo Talks Giants

Monday, April 7, 2008
by Geoff Young

The Padres embark on their inaugural road trip of 2008. First stop is San Francisco, where long-time Padres skipper Bruce Bochy calls the shots but long-time Padres nemesis Barry Bonds no longer calls home. We caught up with veteran Giants blogger El Lefty Malo to chat about the upcoming series between these two NL West rivals. Ducksnorts: Let's start with the elephant in the room: What does Barry Bonds' departure mean to the Giants franchise and the city of San Francisco? El Lefty Malo: In the context of everything else that's happened this winter, it means the Giants should have the worst offense in the major leagues this year. They were just about there with Bonds, and adding Aaron Rowand isn't going ...

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Posted in Interviews | 28 Comments »

Prospects, Meetups, and Fantasy League

Thursday, February 21, 2008
by Geoff Young

Uh-oh, another post full of bullet points. I am so jonesing for actual games... I'm seriously stuck in the past. The latest installment in my re-examination of the top prospects of '98 is up at Knuckle Curve. Padres relevance? Rafael Medina checks in at #72, Ramon Hernandez at #74. Turning the clock back another decade, I've written a brief retrospective of the 1988 Pacific Coast League over at Hardball Times. Padres everywhere in this one: Sandy Alomar Jr., Greg Harris, Jerald Clark, Ken Caminiti, Shane Mack, Gary Lucas, Bruce Bochy, Darrel Akerfelds, Kevin Towers. Fun stuff. Ben B. points us to a ...

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Posted in Baseball | 49 Comments »

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OBG08: Chase Headley

Thursday, January 31, 2008
by Geoff Young

Before we get started, I've got a new article up at Hardball Times that takes a look back at what Bill James once predicted for the future of Barry Bonds. As they say, it's interesting if you're interested in that sort of thing. Moving on, let's talk about Chase Headley. Far be it from someone named "Geoff" to run smack on another person's name, but doesn't "Chase Headley" sound like a soap opera character? He would wear cardigan sweaters, hunt pheasant, and say things like, "Do fetch me some champagne, dear boy." Anyway, the real Chase Headley ...

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Posted in Projections | 70 Comments »

Hey Buddy, Can You Play the Outfield?

Wednesday, January 16, 2008
by Geoff Young

Dan Hayes at the North County Times reports that Chase Headley, Matt Antonelli, Scott Hairston, and Chad Huffman will be working out at Petco Park this week to improve (or learn) their outfield skills. The switch-hitting Headley, a third baseman by trade, is blocked by Kevin Kouzmanoff and may get a look in left field this spring. Antonelli, who already has moved from third to second base in his brief professional career, will get some reps in center field, as will Hairston. Quoth GM Kevin Towers: It's probably the biggest challenge for Headley, with him having never really played outfield at all. But if he's able to do it he'll be ...

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Posted in Minors, Spring Training | 28 Comments »

Do Everything

Wednesday, January 2, 2008
by Geoff Young

The idea was that I'd take some time off between Christmas and New Year to relax before pushing hard to finish the book. The reality was that I found myself involved in three other projects: I'm honored to announce that I'll be writing at Baseball Digest Daily in 2008. Joe Hamrahi and company do awesome work over there, and I'm proud to call myself a member of their team. This doesn't take the place of any of my current projects, but rather augments them all. When in doubt, do both, or in this case, do everything. Houston Astros outfielder Hunter Pence is now blogging at Inside ...

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Posted in Off-Topic, Open Thread | 11 Comments »

Friday Links (15 Nov 07)

Friday, November 16, 2007
by Geoff Young

Wait, didn't we already do a link post this week? Marketing spin: Two for the price of one. Yeah, that's it... Padres build top bullpen through smart shopping (SI.com, via Brett in the comments). Tom Verducci has noticed what we've long known: that Kevin Towers has a gift for acquiring cheap arms. It's weird that Verducci doesn't dismiss the phenomenon as a function of Petco Park. Isn't that pretty much a requirement these days? Speaking of potential cheap arms, here are a few minor-league free agents with interesting statistical profiles (don't know anything about their repertoire, etc.): Lee Gronkiewicz, ...

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Posted in Minors, Notes and Links | 48 Comments »

Movies, Playoffs, and Other Junk

Wednesday, October 22, 2003
by Geoff Young

Is thing still on? Oh, hey. Didn't see ya there. How's it going? Busy over here. Been working and re-working (and possibly killing) the melody to a song I'm writing. Ended up dropping the whole thing an octave so I don't sound like a really horrible version of Stephen Bishop. Been watching a bunch of movies, both in the theater and on DVD. Here's a quick rundown: Cradle 2 the Grave (aff link). The Jet Li fight sequences are brilliant (though I still much prefer his old Hong Kong stuff). Gabrielle Union is hot. Tom Arnold is, well, Tom Arnold. If you liked Romeo Must Die, you'll probably like this one. ...

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Posted in Notes and Links, Playoffs | No Comments »