My latest at Baseball Prospectus ($) examines the topsy-turvy NL West, where the formerly front-running San Francisco Giants have played poorly (.405 Pythagorean winning percentage) since the All-Star break and the formerly cellar-dwelling Padres have done the opposite (.600 Pythag). Heck, the Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks are the only two teams in the division with [...]
Tag Archive for ‘nl west’ 
Me, Elsewhere: Millwood in Denver, and Scoresheet Podcast
My latest at Baseball Prospectus ($) wonders why the lowly Rockies, a team that should be rebuilding for the future, would trade away 27-year-old right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez and insert 36-year-old Kevin Millwod into the rotation. The article also examines the difficulties in evaluating Pacific Coast League performance, an issue the Padres have experienced firsthand this [...]
Me, Elsewhere: Mets Series Preview, and NL West Two-Team Race
The good folks at SNY.tv were kind enough to have me on Monday’s edition of The Baseball Show to preview this week’s Padres/Mets series at Citi Field. My comments on Heath Bell probably sounded smarter before he helped his former team come back from a four-run deficit and kept his current team from its first [...]
Me, Elsewhere: Baseball as a Three-Act Play
My latest at Baseball Prospectus ($) breaks down NL West teams’ run scoring and prevention tendencies in three-inning increments. Surprisingly, the Padres are easily the best (+18 run differential through July 31) from the seventh inning onward — this despite being outscored by 13 runs in extra frames. Of course, when you are getting obliterated [...]
Me, Elsewhere: Kids in the NL West
My latest at Baseball Prospectus ($) explores the success of young hitters in Arizona and lack of same in Los Angeles. It also touches on the resurgence of old guys in Colorado, namely Jason Giambi and former Padres draft pick Todd Helton. Ah, Helton. I sometimes wonder what might have been had Tom Werner spent [...]
Me, Elsewhere: Extreme Ballparks of the NL West
My latest at Baseball Prospectus ($) revisits a familiar topic, with an added wrinkle. We know that the Padres, who play half their games in baseball’s least hitter-friendly environment, enjoy less of a home-field advantage than many other teams. Replace “least” and “less” with “most” and “more,” and we’re talking about the Rockies. The wrinkle [...]
Me, Elsewhere: Hawpe’s Future, Headley’s Homer
My latest at Baseball Prospectus ($) examines Matt Kemp’s dominance, Tim Lincecum’s slump, and other goings-on in the National League West. The Padres section, not surprisingly, focuses on Anthony Rizzo. It also touches on the question of what to do with Brad Hawpe, and when: The trouble with Hawpe (now back in right field thanks [...]
Me, Elsewhere: NL West May Recap
My latest at Baseball Prospectus ($) examines Arizona’s stellar month, Colorado’s not-so-stellar month, and various other shenanigans (including one Dodgers fan who dropped his child while attempting to catch a foul ball… don’t worry; he also dropped the ball). The Padres went 14-14 in May, although it was a bipolar month for the offense: Dates [...]
Me, Elsewhere: On Streaks, Jansen, and Posey
My latest at Baseball Prospectus ($) focuses on Arizona’s recent hot streak, the Padres’ recent (well, since April anyway) cold streak, the Rockies’ even colder streak, Kenley Jansen’s freakishly high ERA and strikeout rate, and Buster Posey’s season-ending ankle injury. From the article: Speaking of last year’s surprise team, the Padres appear to be on [...]
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