geoff_blum

Review the Preview: Hitters

Thursday, October 4, 2007
by Geoff Young

Back in April, I wrote my annual "Looking Forward to..." piece on the Padres over at Baseball Think Factory. In the interest of holding myself accountable, and maybe learning something in the process, I thought we should do a quick review. We'll cover the position players today and the pitchers on Monday. Marcus Giles, 2B What I said: "...he should provide the Padres with a nice mix of on-base skills and gaps power. On balance, Giles probably is no worse an option than last year's starter, Josh Barfield." What happened: Technically this last statement was true, but only because Barfield had a disastrous season in Cleveland. Giles hit .229/.304/.317 and eventually lost ...

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Posted in Baseball | 82 Comments »

Cassel’s Made of Sand (and Blue)

Tuesday, September 18, 2007
by Geoff Young

Dude, what's the name of that one taco shop we used to eat at on Convoy? One game out of first with 13 remaining? I'd say that's a good place to be. Just bullet points today: Congrats to Jack Cassel on picking up his first big-league victory on Monday night. He scared the heck out of me on several occasions (only when he was pitching), but he got the job done. Khalil Greene hit his 23rd homer of the season and just missed his 24th. Greene crushed a ball to dead center in the fifth that probably would have left any other ballpark. The Pirates batted a kid named Nyjer Morgan ...

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Posted in Game Recaps, Minors | 60 Comments »

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I Love It When a Plan Comes Together

Wednesday, September 12, 2007
by Geoff Young

If Tuesday night's opener provides any indication, this series in Los Angeles is going to be tough. Sure, the final score was 9-4, but the Dodgers just would not go away. The Padres even had to get Trevor Hoffman up and warming at the end. Jake Gets It Done Jake Peavy came back strong after last week's disastrous start in Phoenix. He served up a two-out solo homer to James Loney in the third, and worked out of a couple tough jams. In the second, with a 4-0 lead, Peavy allowed a leadoff single to Jeff Kent. Then, after jumping ahead in the count, 0-2, Peavy walked nemesis Luis Gonzalez on seven pitches. After a Russell Martin groundout to first moved runners to second and third, ...

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Posted in Game Recaps, Minors | 29 Comments »

Road Trip to Cooperstown: Knoxville to Durham

Tuesday, August 7, 2007
by Geoff Young

I don't want to talk about David Wells, do you? Good, let's move on, then, and pretend we're still on the road. After driving 873 miles on 4 1/2 hours of sleep and missing the Smokies game on Wednesday night, I ventured from the interstate and into the Smoky Mountains (ah, they take their name from the local baseball team). I was expecting a nice, quiet drive in the country, and eventually that's what I got, but not before passing through Sevierville (named after Tennessee's first governor), Pigeon Forge (home of Dollywood), and Gatlinburg (named after the owner of a general store). ...

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Posted in Minors, Travels | 33 Comments »

IGD: Padres vs Mariners (9 Jun 07)

Saturday, June 9, 2007
by Geoff Young

first pitch: 7:05 p.m. PT television: Channel 4SD matchup: David Wells (4-3, 4.79 ERA) vs Jeff Weaver (0-6, 14.32 ERA) previews: Padres.com | SI.com We've seen what happens when we talk smack about Geoff Blum. I'm not saying a word about Jeff Weaver. Go Padres!

Posted in In-Game Discussion | 183 Comments »

Blum, Bocachica, and a Slice of History

Thursday, June 7, 2007
by Geoff Young

Eight series wins in a row? Really, I had no idea. Greg Maddux brought his A-game on Wednesday night (recap | boxscore), and Geoff Blum and Hiram Bocachica led the offense en route to a --- Say what? Blum and Boca-who-ca? Yep. Blum drove in four runs on the evening, doubling his season total. All four came batting right handed. That's four more than he collected from the right side in 2006. I diss him because I love him. You know, anything I can do to help and all that. Or whatever. I have no explanation for Bocachica. His name is fun to say, and he ...

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Posted in Draft, Game Recaps, Minors | 276 Comments »

Opportunity Knocks, but It Can’t Come In

Wednesday, May 30, 2007
by Geoff Young

Not a lot to say this morning that hasn't already been beaten to death. The Padres had opportunities Tuesday evening (recap | boxscore) but failed to cash in on them. Loading the bases and making a guy throw 34 pitches in the first inning is great; leaving all three runners stranded, not so much. David Wells pitched okay. Not great, but okay. Well enough to win most nights. He certainly isn't the focus of my frustration. What I do find irritating is the continued absence of a right-handed bat off the bench (Geoff Blum? Rob Bowen? Jake Peavy? Greg Maddux?). Terrmel ...

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Posted in Game Recaps, Minors | 41 Comments »