My latest at Baseball Prospectus ($) examines the topsy-turvy NL West, where the formerly front-running San Francisco Giants have played poorly (.405 Pythagorean winning percentage) since the All-Star break and the formerly cellar-dwelling Padres have done the opposite (.600 Pythag). Heck, the Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks are the only two teams in the division with [...]
Tag Archive for ‘san francisco giants’ 
Comps for Jesus Guzman
People have been asking me about Jesus Guzman, and for good reason. Since his recall from Triple-A in mid-June, Guzman has done nothing but hit, which makes him an anomalous figure on the 2011 Padres. This is exciting, of course, because who doesn’t love the occasional run? At the same time, Guzman is 27 years [...]
Me, Elsewhere: Baseball as a Three-Act Play
My latest at Baseball Prospectus ($) 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: Bruce Bochy and One-Run Games
My latest at Baseball Prospectus (free) examines San Francisco’s outstanding record (27-13 at time of publication) in one-run games this year. Bruce Bochy’s Giants aren’t historically great in that regard (current winning percentage of .675 would place them in a tie for 35th place all-time), but they’re pretty darned good. Bochy, in fact, has enjoyed [...]
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 [...]
Half-Baked Thoughts on the World Series
As someone who “missed” all but a half inning of the entire postseason (I saw Brad Lidge close out the Giants in one of the NLCS games but otherwise remained happily ignorant of the proceedings), I can’t comment on the action. This, however, doesn’t stop me from having and feeling the need to express opinions [...]
It’s the Most Improbable Time of the Year
A few random thoughts on Tuesday night’s 6-0 victory over the Dodgers in LA…
Pressure: You’re Soaking in It
Really? Is this how it’s going to be? I guess a pennant race isn’t complete without at least one irritating stretch. Welcome to it. The Padres came out strong against Arizona lefty Joe Saunders on Monday night, with Miguel Tejada launching a first-inning bomb to left-center. They had a 2-0 lead before Saunders even recorded [...]
Nine Thoughts for Nine Losses
by Geoff Young on Sep 05, 2010 (9) Comments
I Losing nine straight down the stretch stinks. There is no other way to put it. Despite their current two-game lead in the National League West, the Padres find themselves teetering at the edge of an uncomfortable precipice. As I said earlier in the week, when the streak was a more manageable six games, “…if [...]