Those Who Snooze Don’t Always Lose

Wednesday, May 21, 2008
by Geoff Young
We were walking west along J Street, just past Fire Station 4, when the crowd erupted. Cardinals fans seem to travel with their team, so we assumed that the visiting team had extended its seemingly insurmountable 2-0 lead. I was in a lousy mood before we even got to the ballpark -- I forget why, but it seemed important at the time. The game wasn't helping any. In the bottom of the first, after Jody Gerut drew an eight-pitch walk to lead off the inning, Tadahito Iguchi rapped into an easy 6-4-3 double play and I just smiled. It wasn't the smile of a happy man, mind you, more like the thing Jeff Kent does right ...
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Posted in Game Recaps | 130 Comments »

Padres Farm Report (5 May 08)

Monday, May 5, 2008
by Geoff Young
Before we get to Sunday's games, here's a brief chat I had with John Conniff, of MadFriars.com, about his impressions from a recent trip to Portland: Ducksnorts: The big names at Portland, of course, are Chase Headley and Matt Antonelli. How do they look so far this year? Conniff: Obviously by the numbers that they are putting up not that great. The big difference that I could see from them this year from last at San Antonio is they are both having trouble adjusting to the fact that Triple-A pitchers can throw strikes early in the count with their secondary pitches and have better fastball command than Double-A. Consequently they are both hitting behind in the count it seems nearly every time and are ...
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Posted in Future Friars, Interviews | 2 Comments »

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Howlin’ Wolf and Friends Take the Fifth

Wednesday, April 16, 2008
by Geoff Young
Randy Wolf's final line looks fantastic, and he pitched a beautiful game, but it didn't seem dominant while I was watching. The Rockies hitters probably have a different opinion. Because my job is to pick nits, I found myself wondering why Wolf needed to throw so many pitches. He walked four and fanned nine, which explains some of it, but he also had a couple of plate appearances last a bit longer than they should have. Wolf jumped ahead of Rockies right fielder Brad Hawpe, 0-2, to start the second inning before issuing a walk. Then in the fourth, Wolf got to the same count against left fielder Matt Holliday, who eventually struck out swinging, but not until the 10th pitch of the at-bat. As I said, ...
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Posted in Game Recaps | 34 Comments »

I’ll Trade You Box Scores for a Time Machine

Sunday, March 2, 2008
by Geoff Young
Actual games, eh? Nice. The Padres lost on Friday and won on Saturday. Rookie Chase Headley, bidding for a spot in the San Diego outfield, homered and drove in four runs in the victory. Be sure to read a lot into that. Hey, I like having box scores to look at again, but seriously, it's March 2. Randy Wolf had a "rough start" Saturday, throwing 30 pitches in the process. Friday's starter, Shawn Estes, threw the same number in his outing. Why is Estes a candidate for the #5 spot in the rotation? On a related note, has anyone invented a time machine yet? I was pretty good in 1997, too... at something, I'm sure. Wolf was good this century, so he's ...
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Posted in Spring Training | 24 Comments »

OBG08: Kevin Kouzmanoff

Monday, January 28, 2008
by Geoff Young
Didi, Sandra (Mrs. Ducksnorts), and I checked out FriarFest on Saturday. We couldn't stay long, but it was nice to get out of the house for a while. (The book project is making me completely mental, I must say.) I'm happy to report that when I threw a pitch in the visitors bullpen, it arrived in the catcher's mitt without first stopping to bounce in the dirt. I felt proud and somewhat pathetic, all at the same time. I also lost my cell phone. Big thanks to a gentleman named Scott who found and returned it to me on Sunday. It's troubling how dependent I've become ...
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Posted in Projections | 43 Comments »

Hey Buddy, Can You Play the Outfield?

Wednesday, January 16, 2008
by Geoff Young
Dan Hayes at the North County Times reports that Chase Headley, Matt Antonelli, Scott Hairston, and Chad Huffman will be working out at Petco Park this week to improve (or learn) their outfield skills. The switch-hitting Headley, a third baseman by trade, is blocked by Kevin Kouzmanoff and may get a look in left field this spring. Antonelli, who already has moved from third to second base in his brief professional career, will get some reps in center field, as will Hairston. Quoth GM Kevin Towers: It's probably the biggest challenge for Headley, with him having never really played outfield at all. But if he's able to do it he'll be ...
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Posted in Future Friars, Spring Training | 28 Comments »

Fifteen Singles

Wednesday, December 26, 2007
by Geoff Young
Did you know that the Padres once broke double digits in runs without the benefit of an extra-base hit? Yep, it happened against the Atlanta Braves at the Murph on September 20, 1985 (box score). Garry Templeton went 4-for-4 out of the leadoff spot, scoring four runs and driving in two. Tony Gwynn added three hits and drove in four runs, as the Padres cruised to an 11-1 victory on the strength of 15 singles and 6 walks. Right-hander LaMarr Hoyt spun five shutout innings to win his 15th game of the season. Southpaw Gene Walter worked the final four to pick up his third save. The Padres held a ...
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Posted in Baseball | 21 Comments »