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Chatting with Dirk Hayhurst

Friday, September 26, 2008
by Geoff Young

The Padres selected right-hander Dirk Hayhurst in the eighth round of the 2003 draft out of Kent State University. Before Hayhurst made his big-league debut earlier this September, he was known by many fans for his off-beat and sometimes poignant stories of life in the minors. I recently had the opportunity to "talk" with Dirk via email. He graciously responded to my questions mere hours after being treated rudely by the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine. Big thanks to Dirk for taking time out of his busy schedule to chat with us and to represent with class even in defeat. Ducksnorts: You've worked as both a starter and reliever throughout your career. What are the differences in terms of preparation? Which do you prefer, and why? Hayhurst: Actually, I ...

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Posted in Interviews | 9 Comments »

Partly Focused, with a Ten Percent Chance of Useful

Thursday, September 11, 2008
by Geoff Young

Like that new Metallica song, I'm scattered and unfocused today, with hopefully a touch of good stuff in there somewhere... Folks have been singing the praises of Cha Seung Baek because his fastball actually creeps into the mid-90s. I look at his track record and apparent disinterest in attacking hitters, and have concerns, but Monday night against the Dodgers he made Manny Ramirez look terrible twice. In the fourth inning, Baek kept pounding fastballs in on Ramirez, who eventually popped weakly to the right side of the infield. Then in the sixth, on a full count, Baek got Ramirez to chase a fastball out off the plate. ...

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Posted in Notes and Links | 14 Comments »

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One Less Reason

Wednesday, August 20, 2008
by Geoff Young

As you are no doubt aware by now, the Padres have traded Greg Maddux to the Dodgers for two minor-league players to be named later or cash. According to Tom Krasovic at the U-T, "By Oct. 15, the Padres will choose two Dodgers minor leaguers from a list of five already agreed upon by the two clubs." Cash apparently is an option that "would come into play only if injuries weaken the identified trade list." Thoughts? Yeah, I have a few... I'm thrilled for Maddux. He's a class act who has ...

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Posted in Roster Notes, Trade Analysis | 41 Comments »

IGD: Padres vs Dodgers (12 Jun 08)

Thursday, June 12, 2008
by Geoff Young

Padres (29-38) vs Dodgers (31-34) Jake Peavy vs Hiroki Kuroda 12:35 p.m. PT no television AM 1090, FM 105.7, XM 184 MLB, B-R My latest article at Hardball Times deals with the limits of our knowledge and understanding in a baseball context. It's a bit esoteric, even by my standards, but maybe you'll enjoy it... * * * Meanwhile, back at the ballpark, Peavy makes his first start since May 14. He's 1-3 with a 4.71 ERA over his last five starts. Here's hoping the rest will have done him ...

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Posted in In-Game Discussion | 130 Comments »

IGD: Padres vs Dodgers (11 Jun 08)

Wednesday, June 11, 2008
by Geoff Young

Padres (28-38) vs Dodgers (31-33) Randy Wolf vs Chad Billingsley 7:05 p.m. PT Channel 4SD AM 1090, FM 105.7 MLB, B-R Billingsley has faced the Padres 11 times in his career and worked 44 innings, more than against any other team. He's posted a 2.05 ERA and fanned 53 batters. As a team the Pads are hitting .224/.290/.279 against the 23-year-old right-hander. How irritating...

Posted in In-Game Discussion | 52 Comments »

IGD: Padres vs Dodgers (10 Jun 08)

Tuesday, June 10, 2008
by Geoff Young

Padres (28-37) vs Dodgers (30-33) Greg Maddux vs Clayton Kershaw 7:05 p.m. PT Channel 4SD AM 1090, FM 105.7, XM 183 MLB, B-R The 20-year-old Kershaw makes his fourth big-league start. The 42-year-old Maddux makes his 721st. Only three pitchers in history have started more games: Don Sutton (756), Nolan Ryan (773), and Cy Young (815).

Posted in In-Game Discussion | 107 Comments »

One Way Teams Can Connect with Fans

Monday, April 28, 2008
by Geoff Young

In the middle of April, something pretty cool happened about 100 miles north of San Diego: The Dodgers invited several people who blog about the team to hang out in a luxury suite with staffers during a game. Reaching out to folks who talk about them constantly -- almost obsessively -- in a public forum was a shrewd move on the part of the Dodgers. Geoff @ StatSpeak The good folks at Statistically Speaking have invited me to participate in their latest roundtable discussion. In it, we talk about Trevor Hoffman, ...

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Posted in Baseball | 57 Comments »