IGD: Padres @ Devil Rays (14 Jun 07)

Thursday, June 14, 2007
by Geoff Young
Game #65 time:9:10 a.m. PT tv:none sp:Justin Germano (4-0, 2.75) vs J.P. Howell (1-0, 4.85) pre:Padres.com, SI.com Wake up, fall out of bed, drag a comb across your head. There's a game on this morning, and the Padres have a chance to take another series. Nobody likes a four-game losing streak, but a 9-0 win sure makes everything better -- at least for a little while. And, hey, both Kevin Cameron and Justin Hampson got into Wednesday night's game. This reminds me, I may have stumbled onto a way to maximize a 12-man pitching staff: Percentage of Appearances in Low-Leverage Situations  G+/-4Pct Stats ...
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Posted in In-Game Discussion | 197 Comments »

IGD: Padres @ Devil Rays (13 Jun 07)

Wednesday, June 13, 2007
by Geoff Young
Game #64 time:4:10 p.m. PT tv:4SD sp:Jake Peavy (7-1, 1.97) vs Edwin Jackson (0-7, 7.39) pre:Padres.com, SI.com The good news is that despite losing four straight, the Padres still own a share of first place in the NL West. The better news is that Jake Peavy gets the start Wednesday evening. A four-game slide doesn't break a season any more than the preceding five-game winning streak made it. By my count, the Padres have 99 games remaining on their schedule. Single footsteps and what-not...

Posted in In-Game Discussion | 142 Comments »

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Philosophy Makes My Head Hurt

Wednesday, June 13, 2007
by Geoff Young
My degree is in English (hey, it's my native tongue), but I minored in philosophy. I finished six units shy of a double major. Then, just before my senior year, my head exploded. We're speaking in metaphors here. I'm okay, thanks for asking. Philosophy isn't without its uses. As a discipline, it can be a tremendous tool in developing one's critical thinking skills, learning how to poke (and close) holes in arguments, and avoiding members of the opposite sex. It also gets pretty esoteric at times, and not in the "I can cite Kurt Bevacqua's 1979 VORP from memory" kind of way. That said, I learned some valuable lessons while studying philosophy. Here are a few of them: If you quote Hume, Kant, ...
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Posted in Baseball, Minors | 60 Comments »

IGD: Padres @ Devil Rays (12 Jun 07)

Tuesday, June 12, 2007
by Geoff Young
Game #63 time:4:10 p.m. PT tv:4SD sp:Greg Maddux (5-3, 3.82) vs Scott Kazmir (4-3, 3.92) pre:Padres.com, SI.com A few things stand out to me when looking at Scott Kazmir's splits: he is much more effective at home (.234/.319/.354 for his career) than on the road (.260/.349/.418), he does better work with runners on (.230/.311/.335) than with the bases empty (.264/.357/.435), and he destroys lefties (.212/.280/.290). That middle one is problematic. First off, why should anyone pitch better from the stretch than from a windup? Guys may or may not "bear down" in pressure situations, but the mechanical advantage gained by working from a full windup would ...
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Posted in In-Game Discussion | 134 Comments »

Do You Know the Way to Tampa Bay?

Tuesday, June 12, 2007
by Geoff Young
Burt Bacharach never wrote a song about Tampa, of course, but "What's New, Pussycat?" might work for the Devil Rays as a team. There is some serious young talent down there: B.J. Upton, Carl Crawford, the troubled Elijah Dukes, Delmon Young, Scott Kazmir, James Shields, Raul Casanova. Six Years o' Blogging Happy Anniversary to me. Long-time readers of Ducksnorts know that we celebrate two anniversaries around here, one for the web site in September and one for the blog today. I guess six years is a pretty long shelf life for a blog. We've come a long way since that inaugural entry on the College World Series and former Padres prospect Jake Gautreau. Anyway, it's been a great ride; thanks for continuing to ...
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Posted in Baseball, Minors | 35 Comments »