There are several intriguing stories in the Padres minor-league system — the emergence of Beamer Weems (giving up switch-hitting was a good idea, huh?) and international signee Luis Domoromo, the sudden glut of third basemen, the signing of first-round pick Cory Spangenberg — but today we’ll focus on a few items I’ve been tracking…
Tag Archive for ‘cedric hunter’ 
Thoughts from Tucson, Part 2
The minor leagues can be funny. In Albuquerque, I saw a fly ball kick out of the glove of Dodgers prospect Trayvon Robinson and over the left-field fence for a home run. I saw former Padres right-hander Tim Redding face San Diego native (Hilltop High School) Mike Jacobs.
Musical Outfielders
The Padres have optioned outfielder Will Venable to Triple-A Tucson and recalled outfielder Blake Tekotte from Double-A San Antonio. I don’t know what is wrong with Venable (.224/.293/.291 in 151 PA this year) or how to fix it, but he vows to improve his approach. At his best, Venable is a useful if flawed piece [...]
Gardenhire’s Cat
As you may have surmised from the title of this blog, I’m a big fan of quirky baseball terminology. With that in mind, I’ve got an idea for a phrase we should start using. Physics has Schrodinger’s cat. Baseball should have Gardenhire’s cat. This term would be used to describe seemingly irrelevant details provided in [...]
Mailbag: Gwynn and the Dodgers
Today’s letter comes from Brian C., who writes: Just read that the Dodgers signed Tony Gwynn Jr. to a contract and it made me barf a bit in my mouth. Your reaction? Well, that could be a medical condition. You might want to see a doctor. Oh, the signing… my bad. Of course, why would [...]
Cameron Maybin: When a Player’s Perceived Value Plummets, That’s the Time to Grab Him
I heard about the Cameron Maybin trade while I was in Arizona, taking in some AFL games (more on that later in the week). I thought about it a lot on the drive home and shared the gist of my conclusion on Twitter: Even if Maybin ends up stinking, so what? Webb and Mujica can [...]
Tuesday Links (31 Aug 10)
So, yeah… Keeping Score: The Number Beyond M.V.P. Numbers (New York Times). Sean Forman likes Adrian Gonzalez in the National League. Stephen Strasburg Has ‘Significant Tear’ in Elbow Ligament, Will Need Surgery (FanHouse). Human body 1, Rob Dibble 0. Here’s hoping Strasburg can make a full recovery (history would seem to be on his side) [...]
Midseason Minor-League Promotions 2010: Hitters
A few weeks back, we examined Drew Cumberland and Blake Tekotte. Both were excelling at Lake Elsinore. Both have been promoted to Double-A San Antonio. Cumberland hit .365/.404/.542 in 60 games for the Storm, so it’s not like California League pitchers were teaching him much. One noteworthy item, however, is that his strike-zone judgment has [...]
Free Download: Excerpts from Ducksnorts 2009 Baseball Annual
I am pleased (and relieved) to announce that excerpts from the Ducksnorts 2009 Baseball Annual are now available as a free download (PDF, 226k). The download is 24 pages long and includes the following: From “Player Dashboards” — An explanation of what these things are, some league context, and dashboards for Adrian Gonzalez and Jake [...]
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