Blast from the Past: Random Bits of November

Wednesday, November 12, 2008
by Geoff Young
Let's see, what were we talking about this time last year? Two years ago? Four years? Six? 2007 We were chatting with our pal Steve Poltz about music, baseball, and life: I have a song coming out on my new CD that's called "A Brief History of My Life." It starts off with us moving to Pasadena from Halifax and taking an oath that we wouldn't join the Communist party. That's the first thing I remember -- standing next to my dad, and him becoming an American citizen. Then later in the song, the chorus goes: We talked Hollywood and baseball in the car The voice of Vin Scully will travel real far The next chorus says, "The voice of Jack Buck"; the third one says, "The voice of Ernie Harwell"; ...
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Posted in Odds and Ends | 5 Comments »

The Perils of Projecting

Friday, September 5, 2008
by Geoff Young
Five years ago today I was extolling the virtues of one Sean Burroughs, noting the similarities between his second big-league season and that of Derek Jeter. It sounds ridiculous now, but the comparison seemed valid at the time: Sean Burroughs vs Derek Jeter, Sophomore Season  AgePABAOBPSLGOPS+ Statistics are courtesy of Baseball-Reference. Burroughs22578.286.352.402105 Jeter23748.291.370.405103 The key word here is "seemed." It's important to remember (and something I have to remind myself of constantly) that no two snowflakes are alike, even though they may look the same. It's also important to remember that there are no "sure things" when it comes to prospects. How does this apply to the current rebuilding project? Well, a lot of times -- ...
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Posted in Minors | 24 Comments »

Padres tickets  Chargers tickets  Sports tickets

OBG08: Chase Headley

Thursday, January 31, 2008
by Geoff Young
Before we get started, I've got a new article up at Hardball Times that takes a look back at what Bill James once predicted for the future of Barry Bonds. As they say, it's interesting if you're interested in that sort of thing. Moving on, let's talk about Chase Headley. Far be it from someone named "Geoff" to run smack on another person's name, but doesn't "Chase Headley" sound like a soap opera character? He would wear cardigan sweaters, hunt pheasant, and say things like, "Do fetch me some champagne, dear boy." Anyway, the real Chase Headley ...
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Posted in Projections | 70 Comments »

Greene Day

Monday, March 22, 2004
by Geoff Young
The big news, of course, is that Khalil Greene has won the shortstop job. Rey Ordonez abruptly and unexpectedly left camp, essentially giving Greene the nod. It should be said that Greene was making a strong claim on the position even before Ordonez left (which may also have been a contributing factor to Ordonez' departure). I think I speak for most Padre fans when I say that this is a terrific development. Greene had to come out and take the job this spring, and that's just what he did. The future at shortstop begins right now. And now, as the players stretch themselves ...
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Posted in Game Recaps, Spring Training | No Comments »

Least Surprising News of the Off-Season

Thursday, November 6, 2003
by Geoff Young
Sorry 'bout yesterday. Sometimes that happens. On the bright side, it did inspire some of you to write. I guess that whole Spam thing did come off as kind of a cry for help, didn't it? Anyway, I'm okay. The Padres re-upped Trevor Hoffman. After pulling in $9M for 2003, Hoffman is guaranteed $2.5M for 2004. Incentives could push that up to $3M and kick in a player option for as much as $6M in 2005. It goes without saying that this is a great move for the Pads. Not only do they keep the heart and soul of the club, but they also free up some money to go ...
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Posted in Baseball | No Comments »

Padres April Wrap

Monday, May 5, 2003
by Geoff Young
Why even bother with an official scorer? Xavier Nady hits a lazy fly ball to center in the 10th on Friday night that Ricky Ledee loses in the lights; ball clanks off Ledee's glove and it's ruled a hit. Then Saturday night, Mike Lieberthal hits a ducksnort to right that Nady has to run a mile to get to and he just misses making a terrific play. E-9. I guarantee that if this series had been played in Philly, Nady would have one less hit and one less error next to his name right now. Speaking of Nady, I ran into him and Sean Burroughs on the trolley back from the stadium Sunday evening. Yep, that's right, they take the trolley to work. Cool, huh? We'll finish ...
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Posted in Commentary, Minors | No Comments »