Padres skipper Bud Black started Alberto Gonzalez at first base on Friday evening against the Dodgers. The results were predictably awful, as Ted Lilly and three relievers proceeded to blank the home club on four hits. With Kyle Blanks and Jesus Guzman nursing injuries and a lefty on the mound, Black’s options were limited. He [...]
Tag Archive for ‘jason bartlett’ 
Missing Mark Loretta
by Geoff Young on Aug 29, 2011 (8) Comments
Although no single point of failure can explain this year’s Padres (the departure of Adrian Gonzalez makes for an easy target, but they lost 99 games with him in 2008), it’s worth noting that the team has gotten almost nothing out of the no. 2 hole. That is the usual spot for Jason Bartlett, who [...]
Thursday Links (11 Aug 11)
by Geoff Young on Aug 11, 2011 (9) Comments
Despite Kyle Blanks having his string of multi-hit games snapped at five (he singled and walked), Wednesday was a good day for the Padres. Will Venable knocked four hits out of the leadoff spot, Jesus Guzman drove in his 30th run to pull within two of active team leader Jason Bartlett (Cameron Maybin also has [...]
Facts of No Particular Consequence
by Geoff Young on Aug 10, 2011 (14) Comments
I am a furious note taker. I scribble quotes, reflections, and factoids with reckless indiscrimination, so that “An island is a ship without sails” (from page 209 of Deborah Tall’s The Island of the White Cow) immediately follows a chart showing Chris Denorfia’s sudden decline: Months PA BA OBP SLG Mar-Jun 208 .301 .359 .446 [...]
Wednesday Links (20 Jul 11)
by Geoff Young on Jul 20, 2011 (32) Comments
In honor of his latest opus, we’ll kick off today’s links with a look at Padres ace Tim Stauffer, work our way through a long-forgotten pitcher from the turn of last century, and finish up with a brilliant quote from one of the Padres’ reserve infielders. Good times…
Forget Wins, Just Focus on Self-Respect
by Geoff Young on Jul 09, 2011 (26) Comments
Things started so well in San Francisco. Those first two wins against the Giants at PhoneCo Park lulled us into a false sense of competence.
Do the Padres Trade Away Their Stars?
by Geoff Young on Jun 30, 2011 (60) Comments
A debunking? Moi? Why, I’d love to give it a go… Reader Peter Thomas writes: I keep reading on message boards and hearing on Hacksaw [San Diego radio personality Lee Hamilton] “react to me” that the Padres are constantly trading away All-Star players and that there’s no reason to root for a team that is [...]
Bartlett Blows Moseley’s Shot at Immortality, Hawpe Just Blows
by Geoff Young on Apr 21, 2011 (12) Comments
Jason Bartlett gave his best effort, but sometimes effort alone isn’t enough. Had he realized his ninth-inning fly ball to center field off Cubs closer Carlos Marmol would drive home the game’s tying run, Bartlett might have taken a different approach. He could have hit the ball a little shallower or, like so many of [...]
Me, Elsewhere: Things to Fear in the West
by Geoff Young on Apr 19, 2011 (2) Comments
My latest at Baseball Prospectus ($) looks at the crazy hot starts of Jonathan Herrera and Troy Tulowitzki in Colorado, and Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier in Los Angeles. Kemp and Arizona’s Justin Upton are of particular concern because both are young and talented, and both seem to have figured out the strike zone. The [...]
Hoyer Learning to Love the Sludge
by Geoff Young on Sep 06, 2011 (18) Comments
Jed Hoyer’s predecessor, Kevin Towers, was known as “The Sludge Merchant” for his ability (born out of necessity) to pick up discarded scraps and turn them into functioning parts. Claiming Scott Linebrink off waivers and flipping him for Joe Thatcher after five great seasons, stealing Heath Bell from the Mets, signing Brian Sikorski from Japan [...]