petco park

Air Supply or Suicide?

Friday, June 27, 2008
by Geoff Young

Reader Didi and I had an excellent time in Section 214 (prime foul ball territory) on Thursday afternoon... well, except for the whole losing thing. It was good to be reminded that hanging out at the ballpark and enjoying a big-league game with friends is way more fun than just whining about the team all the time, which isn't particularly productive or even interesting. I'm preparing for my trip up to Oregon, so this will be brief. Three quick items: I'm happy to note that long-time Padres minor-league observer Peter Friberg (he did the reports here in 2007) has relaunched his blog. Be sure to check it out when you have a moment. Another friend and colleague of mine, Eric Seidman (of ...

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Posted in Notes and Links | 115 Comments »

Chatting with Sandy Alderson (Part 1)

Monday, June 16, 2008
by Geoff Young

This is the first of a three-part interview with San Diego Padres CEO Sandy Alderson. Big thanks to Mr. Alderson for taking time out of his busy schedule to make himself available, and also to his assistant, Dayle Tedrow, for her indispensable assistance in making this happen. Sandy Alderson has been CEO of the San Diego Padres since May 2005. Before then he served as general manager of the Oakland A's from 1983 to 1997, where he led that franchise to a World Series title in 1989 and mentored one of today's more noteworthy GMs, his successor, Billy Beane. After leaving Oakland, Alderson went to work at the MLB offices in New York, where his duties included, among many other things, finding ways to speed up ...

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Posted in Interviews | 56 Comments »

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Notes on a Victory

Wednesday, May 28, 2008
by Geoff Young

Satisfying win on Tuesday night. The last two games I've attended have followed the exact same pattern: Randy Wolf serves up a two-run homer in the first, settles down, and watches his teammates play long ball late. To the bullet points: Hard to complain about a victory, but I'll do it anyway. The Pads really should have put Shawn Hill away early. He had zero command. I love watching Adrian Gonzalez play first base. Aaron Boone hit a grounder down the line at third to start the sixth. Kevin Kouzmanoff made a nice backhanded grab, then fired across the diamond well ahead of Boone. The throw came ...

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Posted in Game Recaps | 63 Comments »

Reshaping the Padres: What Have We Got?

Thursday, May 22, 2008
by Geoff Young

With hopes for 2008 all but gone, I've turned my focus to reshaping the Padres so that they can return to the competitive levels we've grown accustomed to since the club moved to Petco Park in 2004. I attacked the problem as follows: Take inventory of organizational strengths and weaknesses Identify potential trade partners based on their needs Seek scenarios based on the above two parameters that might benefit both parties We'll take inventory today, and then turn to potential partners and trades on Friday. Strengths The Padres are deep at catcher, particularly in the high minors. Nick Hundley is a potential future regular, while Colt Morton and Jose Lobaton could be big-league reserves. Further down, Mitch Canham shows promise. At the top, Josh Bard and Michael Barrett ...

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Posted in Baseball | 104 Comments »

IGD: Padres vs Cardinals (19 May 08)

Monday, May 19, 2008
by Geoff Young

Padres (16-29) vs Cards (26-20) Wil Ledezma vs Todd Wellemeyer 7:05 p.m. PT Channel 4SD AM 1090, FM 105.7, XM 187 MLB, B-R It is difficult to remain optimistic when there is no obvious reason for hope. Even if I continue to believe that the Padres' true level of ability is 85 wins, that gives them 61 wins the rest of the way, which puts them at 77-85 to end the season. Obviously that doesn't fit anyone's definition of a contender. Assuming the Padres continue on their present course (or even improve some) and finish with their first sub-.500 record in ...

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Posted in In-Game Discussion | 69 Comments »

Series Preview: Larry Borowsky Talks Cardinals

Monday, May 19, 2008
by Geoff Young

After a long and miserable road trip, the Padres return home and try to remain relevant in 2008. Their first opponent is the St. Louis Cardinals, who visit Petco Park for three games starting Monday night. To learn a little more about the Cards, I chatted with Larry Borowsky of the excellent Viva El Birdos. Ducksnorts: Last year was the Cardinals' first losing season of the century; this year the team is off to a strong start. What has changed, and do you see them remaining in contention? Borowsky: Aside from the obvious changes (no [Walt] Jocketty, no [Jim] Edmonds, no [Scott] Rolen, no [David] Eckstein, etc.), the big difference has been the performance of the starting rotation. This year's group is as rag-tag as ...

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Posted in Interviews | 67 Comments »

Three Pitchers and a Former GM

Wednesday, May 14, 2008
by Geoff Young

I'm kinda winging it today. We'll see what happens... This has been floating around for a few days now, but Paul DePodesta has a blog. I've added it to the ol' blogroll as well as to PadreBlogs.com. One of DePo's first posts concerns the effects of Petco Park. The entire post is well worth reading, but here's one passage that stands out to me: In each of the past 4+ seasons, the Padres have had a higher OPS than our opponents while playing in Petco. The total line since the opening: .246/.321/.379 for the Padres and .243/.303/.376 for the opposition. Over 342 ...

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Posted in Notes and Links | 109 Comments »