More Gonzalez Trade Rumors

Wednesday December 30, 2009

There are more Adrian Gonzalez trade rumors floating around and this time they involve the Chicago Cubs in a 3 team deal with the Boston Red Sox.

The rumor seems to have started when Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune posted the following on the 27th of this month:

"Worth watching: If the Red Sox wind up with Matt Holliday or Jason Bay, the Cubs immediately would make a major effort to land Jacoby Ellsbury to fill their center field/leadoff hole, according to sources.

That scenario helps explain why the Cubs have been so patient in studying their options. The best way to do such a trade might be for GM Jim Hendry to facilitate a three-team deal that sends first baseman Adrian Gonzalez from the Padres to the Red Sox by packaging a group of prospects, possibly including one or two of their top ones, such as third baseman Josh Vitters, shortstop Hak-Ju Lee and pitchers Andrew Cashner and Jay Jackson."

There have been several blogs including Bleacher Report that have talked about Ellsbury going to the Cubs and Adrian Gonzalez to the Red Sox and the Padres getting multiple stupid packages. Almost all of the trades I have seen in those blogs involve both Anderson and Vitters, both of who the Padres don't need.

I have read a couple of  trade propositions on a Cubs blog that I thought the Padres might just say yes to.
They included :

Cubs getting Ellsbury and Lars Anderson.

Red Sox getting Adrian Gonzalez from the Padres and Jay Jackson or John Gaub from the Cubs

Padres getting Buchholz, Kelly, and Kalish or Westmoreland from the Red Sox and Cashner or Samardzija, and Hak-Ju Lee or Castro from the Cubs.

This trade probably has WAY too many moving parts to ever get done, but it would make sense for all 3 teams.

Buchholz moves into the Padres starting rotation immediately. Blanks then moves to 1B for the Padres. As far as the other pieces go, Castro could be a Padre before the end of 2010, but Kalish, Kelly, Cashner and Lee are all several years away from being major leaguers.

Ellsbury fills the Cubs hole in CF and gives them a true leadoff hitter. Anderson provides the heir apparent for Derrek Lee.

The addition of Adrian Gonzalez makes the Red Sox the favorite to win the AL East.

Is this a trade you think the Padres brass would move on?

Do you think a package of those players would improve the Padres team enough to justify moving Adrian Gonzalez now instead of at the trading deadline?

Padres trade for catcher of the future?

Monday December 21, 2009

Did the Padres just get their fans an early Christmas present? Is Ryan the Catcher of the Future?

Maybe I should back up and let you know what I am talking about.

Today the San Diego Padres traded for Detroit Tigers catcher Dusty Ryan. 

Ryan, 25,  is a very good defensive catcher with a strong arm and some power at the plate, but he has never really hit very well. In 2009 he hit 257/.359/.455/.814 in 62 games in AAA with 63 strike outs in 202 abs and a robust.154/.267/.192/.459 in 26 games for the Tigers.

Sound familiar Padres fans?

That is not just my opinion of Ryan. John Sickels of Minor League Ball said this about him in his Detroit Tigers Top 20 Prospects for 2009.

"Strong arm, has power...he’s never been a good hitter."

In all fairness, Ryan has hit .257 in 72 abs over 2 seasons for the Tigers, but he was passed up by Alex Avila in the pecking order of prospects an so was expendable. In fact he was designated for assignment on December 10th as a result of the Granderson trade.

The Padres didn't give up much for him. A little cash or a player to be named later. Normally that means a schmo from the depths of the minors.

At least Hoyer is doing SOMETHING to try to fill the holes in the roster and the system as a whole with his two moves this off season.

Nothing of a spectacular nature yet. Not even a player that will be a starter on the 2010 Padres squad. But now he has at least made some moves.

Good News for Padres Fans

Sunday December 20, 2009

Merry Christmas!

In the best news of the off season so far, San Diego Padres fans were given a gift today. The team decided to lower prices on beer, food and parking according to an article by Bill Center in the UT.

Now all we need is some exciting players to watch while we are enjoying our cheaper but still expensive food and beer.

In the article by Center, Padres President Tom Garfinkel  said that the first priority is building a winning team. We have yet to see any moves by the team towards that end and we have heard that the team will not be active in any major FA signings.What we are getting is signs that they are going to wait to see what is left on the garbage heap after all the top 2 tiers of players are signed.

The Padres took huge strides towards giving fans an exciting team in the 2nd half last season. Whether they can win in 2010 is still in question. Most of the media and even local fans and blogs are writing them off for next season.

So while cheaper food is nice, a decent center fielder would be nicer. I will gladly pay for an $8 beer if it means having a CF that can hit 20 home runs while playing exceptional defense. I will happily pay 7.75 for a Randy Jones dog if that means the Padres can afford to field a team with more than the cast offs they have signed as free agents in recent years.

Hoyer the next step is yours. Fill out the roster with some players that will give fans a reason to show up, a winning team.

Then I will buy your concessions at whatever price you choose to charge.

Should Padres trade Gonzalez? If so When?

Friday December 18, 2009

Should Padres trade Gonzalez? If so When?

I think the following post on a Padres message board expresses the sentiment of most fans and media around the league.

"The idea is that the Padres must trade Adrian Gonzalez. They can't afford him and trading Adrian would make the Padres a better team compared to signing him long term."

I don't think that was ever in question. Eventually the Padres will have to trade Gonzalez.

Small market teams like the Padres simply cannot afford to hold on to any individual player that could make $20-22.5 million per season and that would take up 30++% of their total payroll.

In fact, no team can carry a single player that takes up that much of their payroll regardless of the size of the payroll. A team like the Yankees could no more afford a single player that made $60-65 million per year on their $200 million payroll than the Padres can afford a $20-22.5 million player on the $70 million payroll Moorad is promising is on the way for this team. For that matter a team with a $40 million per year payroll, like the Padres will have in 2010, can't afford to carry a $13-15 million player either.

I don't think there is any question Adrian Gonzalez is a valuable player and will bring a great value to any team that trades for him. Adrian Gonzalez is among the Top 10 hitters in baseball today, an exceptional fielder at his position, and is still in his prime at 27. The Padres should garner a bevy of great players in return when he is traded.

The question is when will Adrian Gonzalez bring the Padres the greatest return?

In the Media and the Blogosphere they are talking about a trade that could reportedly bring the Padres 4-5 top prospects in return for Adrian Gonzalez if they were to trade him this offseason.

To me it seems logical that at the trading deadline contending teams would give more in return for a push to the playoffs than during the off season when there are many more players available to fill positions of need to that team.

The likely hood is the Padres will not be in contention at the All Star break in 2010 so a trade of Gonzalez would not be depriving them of a spot in the playoffs and they could then load up on players to help the team contend in 2011 and beyond.

If the Padres are still in contention come the All Star Break in 2010, then they hold on to Gonzalez until the end of 2010.

His value will be slightly diminished, but will still be exceptional both in terms of return on the trade and in his 2010 production at bat and in the field.

One year of .280-300/.400/.550/1.000 with 40+ home runs (Gonzalez would likely hit closer to 50 in Fenway) is worth a lot more than the $5.5 million Gonzalez will make in 2011.  Fangraphs had Gonzalez WAR at 6.3 for 2009 which equates to about $28.4 million on the free agent market.

There will undoubtedly will still be teams lining up and salivating at the thought of having player of that caliber playing 1B and hitting in the middle of the lineup for them in the off season after the 2010 season. We are still talking about a deal that would probably include 3 of the top ten prospects in any teams system and probably either another prospect or a young ML player.

Past that point his value diminishes greatly. You cannot expect to get a 4-5 for 1 deal that includes only top10 prospects at the 2011 Trading Deadline. The Padres have much less leverage when you are talking about just 2 months and the playoffs, but even a 3 month rental of Adrian is worth some good prospects in return since at bat like Adrian's in the middle of the lineup could turn a good team into one that can make a deep run in the playoffs.

If you don't think the Red Sox would still give up a top prospect like Kelly or Westmoreland for Gonzales to give them a shot at beating the Yankees and going to the World Series in 2011, you are not paying attention. NO prospect is as valuable as a World Series ring.

I guess you could say that no matter when the Padres trade Gonzalez they are going to either have earned incredible return on him by having that much production from so inexpensive of a contract on a contending team or they will get a tremendous haul of prospects for him in trade that will help rebuild the team.

Padres sign CF of the future?

Thursday December 17, 2009

Jed Hoyer finally did something!

According to mlbtraderumors.com and a twitter post by Corey Brock of MLB.com the Padres signed CF Chris Denorfia to a minor league contract.

Denorfia, 29, (you are excused for saying WHO? No one else knows who is he is either.) has 208 career  abs in parts of 4 seasons for the Reds and A's. He hits for middlin' average (.279), has no power (3 hr), and is a below average fielder.

Denorfia DOES bat right handed and plays CF, so is he the player Hoyer is bringing in to platoon with Gwynn?  Or is he just organizational filler?

Lets hope he is just filler and Hoyer has a rabbit up his sleeve.

Padres moves in the coming weeks?

Sunday December 13, 2009

With just 37 players on the roster, I started wondering about what moves the Padres will make in the coming weeks.

FA signings? If they do I would suspect it will be for non tendered players that would still be under team control for a couple of years.

Trades?  Kouzmanoff and Bell are the obvious trade options. If he shows well in spring training, Chris Young could be another player the Padres could consider trading, although he is more likely to be traded closer to the deadline in July.

I would love to see the Padres move Kouzmanoff to the Twins for AA catcher Wilson Ramos and another prospect or two. As far as Bell goes, it seems to me that the Phillies and the Tigers are the two best fits. Maybe Bell & a low level prospect to the Phillies for Michael Taylor and another prospect like Freddy Galvis. Or Bell and a low level prospect to the Tigers for Ryan Perry and Wilkin Ramirez.

So who will the 3 people be that take up those roster spots?

Here are a few I would like the Padres to at least take a run at.

Kelly Johnson - 2B - Was non tendered by the Braves after making $2.825 million in 2009, his first year of arbitration eligibility. He only hit .224/.303/.389/.692 with 8 hr in 303 abs while battling a wrist injury in 2009 after hitting .287/.349/.446/.795 in 2008. He could be a bargain bin find.

Johnny Gomes - OF - Earned $600k on a minor league deal in 2009 in his 2nd year of arbitration eligibility. Hit 267/.338/.541/.879 with 20 hrs in 281 abs last year. While he did play his home games in a launching pad, Gomes could be the power hitting RHB the Padres are looking for to platoon in the outfield.

Miguel Olivo - C - The Royals declined Olivo's $3.3 million option for 2010. He had earned $2.7 million in 2009 while hitting .249 with 23 home runs while playing most of his games in a tough park to hit for power in. He would be a perfect mentor for Hundley and RH power bat off the bench, although his free swinging ways (126 SO in 390 ABS) are not the type a Sabermetrician like Hoyer is probably looking for.

Padres non-tender Worrell and Quezada

Saturday December 12, 2009

The San Diego Padres declined to offer contracts for 2010 to Jackson Quezada and Mark Worrell.

Both Quezada and Worrell spent the entire 2009 season on the DL.

Quezada, 23, was the closer for FT Wayne in 2008 and was once considered a top relief prospect in the Padres oganization and Worrell came to the Padres from St Louis in the Khalil Greene trade.

Padres sign Correia to a 1 Year deal

Saturday December 12, 2009

Looks like the Padres avoided arbitration or having to non-tender starting pitcher Kevin Correia by signing him to a 1 year $3.6 million deal.

The deal was initially reported by Marty Caswell of XX 1090 in a Twitter post and later confirmed by Corey Brock of MLB.com in his Twitter post.

Correia, who is a San Diego native, led the Padres in wins, innings and other pitching categories after signing a minor league deal with the Padres last season for a below market $750k with a promise he would be a starter. He had turned down larger offers elsewhere to pitch in a relief role.

Now he will be a Padre for at least one more season.

Barry Axelrod, Correia's agent has said the neither the Padres nor Correia had asked for a second season as had been widely reported in the media and blogs. Correia will be in the Padres control for 2 more seasons after 2010 before becoming a free agent.

Correia will likely take a spot in the middle of the Padres rotation behind Chris Young and Mat Latos in 2010.

Padres New GM does nothing at Winter Meetings

Thursday December 11, 2009

Padres GM Jed hoyer did nothing at the MLB Winter Meetings in Indianapolis this week.

No Trades, No Arbitration Eligible players offered contracts, No FA Signings, No Rule V Players Drafted, No Minor League Signings. Nothing.

And he seems happy about that. He said he is going to wait and pick over the garbage heap that is left later in the offseason.

While other teams were active in signings, trades and more, the Padres new GM locked himself and his team in their suite.

Please Jed Hoyer. Live up to the hype. Make this team better.

The All Decade Team - Websoulsurfer Style

Wednesday December 9, 2009

The Websoulsurfer All Decade Team 2000-2009

We have come to the end of a decade - 2000-2009.

That got me started thinking about who were the best players of the decade. The best hitters, the best pitchers, the best by position. I decided to put together a team of the best players.

Let me start by saying that anyone tainted by steroids is not included, regardless of their stats. To be on MY all decade team you have to be a player worth rooting for, and cheaters are not worth rooting for in my book.

I also did not include a DH. In my opinion, to be considered as a great BASEBALL player you have to play the field.You don't have to be the BEST fielder at your position, but you have to be a good enough player to HAVE a position in the field.

Here is my team:

1B - Albert Pujols    - 172 OPS+ 366 HR 1112 RBI .334/.427/.628 3230 TB    
No one else even comes close. When his career is over he will probably start on my All Time Team.

2B - Jeff Kent         - 130 OPS+ 216 HR 850 RBI .300/.371/.518 2462 TB
Most Home runs by a 2B ever. Was at his peak during those years and retired after 2008.

SS - Derek Jeter    - 121 OPS+ 161 HR 727 RBI .317/.387/.456 2793 TB 219 SB
While I don't like the Yankees as a whole, Jeter has been the best SS in the last decade.

3B - Chipper Jones    - 147 OPS+ 273 HR 921 RBI .311/.413/.547 2700 TB
Only 3 players hit more HR & only 2 had a better OPS+ in the decade. Enough said.

LF - Brian Giles     - 136 OPS+ 209 HR 806 RBI .289/.400/.494 2543 TB
136 OPS+ puts him in rarified air. 209 hr while playing 6+ years in Petco. Amazing player.

CF - Ichiro Suzuki     - 118 OPS+ 84  HR 515 RBI .333/.378/.434 2646 TB 341 SB
6 seasons leading league in hits. 9 straight 200 hit seasons. Gold Glove fielder.

RF - Vladimir Guerrero    - 146 OPS+ 315 HR 1037 RBI .323/.392/.569 3080 TB
Vlad the impaler lead AL outfielders in HR and RBI in the decade. 4th best OPS+

C  - Ivan Rodriguez    - 110 OPS+ 161 HR 643 RBI .298/.335/.477 2207 TB
Best defensive catcher since, well, maybe ever. AND he can hit.

RHP - Pedro Martinez    - 112 Wins  3.01 ERA  .691 win %  152 ERA+
LHP - Johan Santana      - 122 Wins  3.12 ERA  .670 win %  143 ERA+

Closer - Trevor Hoffman - 363 Saves 2.77 ERA 8.8 K/9 4.22 SO/BB 90% Saves
466 GF. 403 Save opportunities of 546 appearances. Only 18% of inherited runners scored

On this one I am a little biased. Ok, a lot biased.
What Trevor did on a weak Padres team that won only 606 games in his 9 seasons as a Padre is astounding. 363 saves on two teams that only had 4 winning seasons in 10.
363 saves when your teams only won 686 games.
Hoffman entered 365 of 466 games in high levereage situations. (Rivera only 389 of 589 games.)

Honorable Mention

At some positions it was either very close or the player I chose was head and shoulders better than the next best choice so I have added an Honorable Mention category.

1B - Todd Helton     - 145 OPS+ 260 HR 981 RBI .331/.436/.569 3021 TB
2B - Chase Utley    - 129 OPS+ 161 HR 585 RBI .295/.379/.523 1730 TB 2003-2009
SS - Miggy Tejada    - 116 OPS+ 251 HR 1046 RBI .297/.347/.481 3010 TB
3B - Scott Rolen    - 124 OPs+ 201 HR 832 RBI .285/.368/.497 2321 TB
LF - Lance Berkman     - 148 OPS+ 309 HR 1026 RBI .300/.413/.559 2887 TB
CF - Jim Edmonds    - 140 OPS+ 261 HR 768 RBI .280/.389/.548 2175 TB
RF - Bobby Abreu    - 132 OPS+ 216 HR 993 RBI .297/.402/.492 2851 TB 295 SB
C  - Mike Piazza    - 127 OPS+ 187 HR 567 RBI .285/.360/.512 1667 TB 2000-2007
C  - Jorge Posada     - 124 OPS+ 208 HR 849 RBI .283/.386/.878 2177 TB

RHP - Roy Halladay      - 139 Wins  3.40 ERA  .668 win %  133 ERA+
LHP - Randy Johnson    - 143 Wins  3.34 ERA  .647 win %  137 ERA+

Closer - Mariano Rivera - 397 Saves 2.08 ERA 8.4 K/9 4.88 SO/BB 90% Saves
589 GF. 437 save situations of 651 appearances. 32% of inherited runners scored
Awesome. Simply awesome, but his team won 965 games. They never had a losing season.

An Outfielder for the Padres?

Wednesday December 9, 2009

Marlon Byrd?

Looks like the Rangers are going to let Byrd walk. Byrd is a free agent after making $3,060,000 in 2009

Byrd, 32, hit .283/.329/.479/.808 with 20 home runs in the band box they call Rangers Ballpark.

Is he the Right Handed outfield bat the Padres are looking for? Could they afford him with a $40 something million payroll?

Why the Padres CAN compete in 2010

Wednesday December 9, 2009

The Padres had a pretty good team in 2009 that was decimated by injuries. I believe that with a few key additions the Padres can compete in the NL West in 2010.

This is pretty stream of consciousness, but I think once you see my argument, you will at least have to think twice about writing off the Padres in 2010.

The Padres played .527 baseball the 2nd half of the season and .596 baseball from July 27th on. That after playing .500 baseball in both April and May.

Throw out a stretch from June 1st to the All star break when the Padres went 11-27 and the Padres played 64-60 baseball the rest of the year.

No way around it, that is good baseball from a group of young baseball players. No mirage there. The mirage is the 11-27 stretch in the middle of the season when the starting rotation was devastated by injuries.

Now the pitching staff has incredible depth to deal with the inevitable injuries, but no real veteran top of the rotation guy in there.

We don't know how Sheets will respond once he returns from this latest injury, but his career averages are enough to put him at or near the top of the Padres current rotation. 27 starts and double digit wins for maybe $5 - $7 million on a 1 year deal.

Same can be said for Rich Harden although he may get closer to $7 million on a one year deal and he has averaged only 20 starts over the last 6 seasons.

Mulder, who is 32 years old, was a #1-#2 starter before injuries set in.  No one knows how well he will pitch in 2010, but certainly he is worth bringing in on a incentive laden 1 year deal, just like Prior was. If you win, you win big. If you lose it doesn't cost you much.

Uggla is available in trade and the Marlins will be looking for only prospects and young, controllable player in return. The Padres have Kouzmanoff and lots of good young prospects they could trade for him. He is also a 30 HR RHB at 2B. How many of those are there? One other, Chase Utley.

That move also gives the Padres a chance to move Eckstein to a middle infield utility position that the team does not have now.

It adds 25-30 home runs at a non run producing position and shores up the bench at the same time.

Add a decent power hitting catcher like Miguel Olivo and you have a solid team that can make a run at the NL West.

The Dodgers will be lucky to resign Wolf (update - Wolf signed with the Brewers today) and its doubtful they will be in the running for any major FA with the impending divorce there. Their pitching was suspect in 2009 and they may be losing Belliard, Hudson, Loretta, Thome, Garland, Padilla, Wolf and Weaver.

The Diamondbacks sunk, when most expected they would get better and they are going to be without Webb, Davis, Garland, and Petit to start 2010. Their OPS+ in 2009 was among the lowest in the league(while the Padres was above league average). They made a huge trade yesterday giving up two good young pitching prospects in Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth for Edwin Jackson of the Tigers and Ian Kennedy of the Yankees. In my opinion they have made a marginal improvement in their pitching staff for a huge leap in costs.

The Rockies will be cutting payroll with Marquis and his 15 wins, Josh Fogg, Joe Beimel, Garret Atkins, Yorvit Torrealba,  Alan Embree, Herges and possibly Rafael Betancourt  leaving the team.  They will still be good and will probably be contenders in the NL West as well.

The Giants will still have great pitching, Lincecum's marijuana bust not withstanding, but their offense was the worst in baseball in 2009 and it would take several huge signings to make it any good.

With a big bat to protect Adrian in the batting order and a #2 starter added to a core of good young players the Padres should be able to contend in a weakened West.

What do you think? Who would you sign? What trades would you make to help the Padres contend in 2010?

The 2009 San Diego Padres - an above average hitting team

Wednesday December 9, 2009

The 2009 Padres were an above average hitting team.

I keep seeing all these articles and postings that claim the Padres are a poor hitting team.

I just don’t follow the logic.

Yes the Padres hit poorly in Petco, but EVERYONE hit poorly in Petco.

Padres in Petco
.219 .313 .342 .655

ALL teams hitting in Petco
.229 .315 .351 .666 (Petco is Hell for hitters)

NL teams hitting in Petco
.227 .313 .348 .661

http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/split.cgi?t=b&lg=NL&year=2009#site

http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/split.cgi?t=b&lg=NL&year=2009#SAN02

OPS+ is a stat that neutralizes park factors. When you look at OPS+, the Padres at 96 are above league average.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL/2009-standard-batting.shtml#teams_standard_batting::21

Padres CAN win in 2010, Padres DID win 4 of 6 months in 2009

Wednesday December 9, 2009

Its amazing how many people are writing off the San Diego Padres in 2010, even so called Padres fans.

I guess in all their negativity they missed the fact that the Padres played .500+ baseball in 4 of 6 months in 2009. April, May, August, and September.

Only in two horrid injury filled months of June and July did the Padres fall under .500. Now in those two months they did go a misearable 17-37, but it was just those two months where they were below .500.

The last two months they went 32-23. Why are fans, blogs and the media not looking at those months when they make their prognostications?

Tell me why do they think the Padres can't win in 2010?

I am hoping that Jed Hoyer is much smarter than the average Padres fan, blogger and media member and can see the talent on the team and the potential for a winning season in 2010 with just a few additions and changes.

Moving Headley out of LF and replacing him with Kyle Blanks will add more just in the defensive upgrade than the difference between him and Kouzmanoff at 3B both offensively and defensively.

So Kouzmanoff should be traded.

Package Kouzmanoff and Bell for Taylor and a couple of good prospects from the Phillies and you have filled two holes and only created one, closer.

Adams, Gregerson or Poreda could fill that position.

Or send Kouzmanoff to the Twins for Wilson Ramos and a prospect like Shooter Hunt and you have the catcher of the future and a high upside pitching prospect.

Then send Bell & a prospect to the Phillies for Taylor & a couple of other prospects. Now you have your power hitting centerfielder.


I believe the holes can be filled and the Padres can win in 2010.


So tell me what YOU think it will take for the Padres to both win and contend in 2010

C in Padreland

December 9, 2009

Possible Catchers in the Padres future?

With the Marlins declining the $2.6 million option on LH hitting Ross Gload would he make a good backup for Hundley?

With the Rockies declining the $4 million option on Torrealba would he make a good backup in SD?

The Royals declined the $3.3 mil option on Miguel Olivo. He has the best power of the bunch. Would he be a good fit returning to SD?


The Padres could also make trades that could bring back a good young catching prospect.



I have listed the top catching prospects below. Not all are available in trade and some may not be what the Padres are looking for in a catcher. Several play for teams that stand in need of players at positions the Padres have players available to trade.


Minnesota, Philadelphia, and other have a need for either a Closer/Late inning reliever or a Third Baseman.

What trades do you think are possible or coming?

Top prospects at the Catcher position

CARLOS SANTANA - Indians 22     - AA
J.P.ARENCIBIA - Blue Jays 24    - AAA
JASON CASTRO - Astros 22    - AA
WILSON RAMOS - Twins 22        - AA
LOU MARSON - Phillies 23    - MLB
TAYLOR TEAGARDEN - Rangers 26    - MLB
MAX RAMIREZ - Rangers 25    - AAA
KYLE SKIPWORTH - Marlins 19    - Low A
TYLER FLOWERS - White Sox 24    - MLB
JESUS MONTERO - Yankees 19    - AA

A look forward at a possible 2010 Padres Roster

December 9, 2009

A Look Forward at the San Diego Padres 2010 Roster and Payroll

I thought I would get a head start on what the 2010 Padres roster would look like.

What follows is the players currently on the roster and their projected salaries. Arbitration eligible players salaries are in ranges and include what I would offer or do in paranthesis.

There are many question marks and much that may change in the next few days at the Winter Meetings.

Position Players
1B - Adrian Gonzalez     - $4.75 million
2B - David Eckstein     - $1.0 million
SS - Everth Cabrera     - 0.4000 million
3B - Kevin Kouzmanoff     - $3.0 - $4.0 million (Trade)
LF - Chase Headley    - 0.4115 million
CF - Tony Gwynn/    - 0.4050
RF - Kyle Blanks    - 0.4000
C  - Nick Hundley    - 0.4044

Bench
Will Venable        - .4023
Oscar Salazar        - .4000

Starting Pitching
Chris Young        - $6.250 million
Mat Latos        - 0.400
Kevin Correia        - $2.5 - $3.5 million (Sign to a 2 year $6 million deal with a team option)
Clayton Richard        - 0.405
Aaron Poreda/Sean Gallagher/Wade LeBlanc/Tim Stauffer/Cesar Carillo/Cesar Ramos

Bullpen
Heath Bell        - $3.5 - $4.5 million (Trade or sign to 2 year $7 million deal)
Edward Mujica        - 0.404
Luke Gregerson        - 0.400
Joe Thatcher        - 0.404          
Adam Russell, Greg Burke, Luis Perdomo, Ryan Webb, Mike Ekstrom and possibly Mark Worrell.

Payroll without trades or signing outside organization - $26.3362 - $29.362 million

$ the Padres have to spend with a $43 million payroll = $13.5 - $16.5 million

Needs
Middle infielder/Utility - especially one that can play SS
Catcher
Starting Pitcher



What Do I think Will/Should happen for 2010

If the Padres trade Gonzalez they will be signaling they are giving up on the 2010 and quite possibly the 2011 season completely and will not bring in a fairly expensive FA like Cameron who will command $7 million plus. Gonzalez makes a very reasonable $4.75 million in 2010.

The Padres will not bring back enough in trade to offset the loss of fan support/goodwill and local revenue and production from Gonzalez to make a trade worthwhile for at least two seasons. For those reasons alone he will probably not be traded..

If the Padres retain both Chris Young and Adrian Gonzalez and Kouzmanoff, Correia and Bell all get the $2.5 - $3.5 million they are expected to get in arbitration the Padres are still $13.5 million under their $43 million payroll level at the beginning of the 2009 season.

Moorad and Hoyer have said  the Padres payroll will begin with a 4. In other words $40-49 million

I would think a trade of Bell and Kouzmanoff is much more likely than a trade of Gonzalez.

The Padres would save $7 - $9 million in 2010 and probably double that in 2011 by trading Bell and Kouzmanoff.

Trading both would also bring in 3+ good prospects.

So lets recap.

The Padres trade Gonzalez they save $4.75 million in 2010 and $5.5 million in 2011 and get 4-5 prospects.

If the Padres trade Kouzmanoff and Bell they will save $7-9 million in 2010 and $14-18 million in 2011.

If Hoyer is any good he will not have to trade Gonzalez to build the Padres into a contender in 2010 or 2011.

Henry Blanco a Met

December 7, 2009

Henry Blanco signed a 1 year $1.5 million deal to be the back up catcher for the New York Mets today.

The 38 year old Blanco spent the 2009 season with the Padres hitting .235 with six homers and 16 RBI in 204 at-bats while catching 60 games.

Many writers, including those on this blog, felt he would return to the Padres in 2010 to continue to mentor the Padres young starting catcher Nick Hundley.


Instead he will be mentoring Josh Thole, a great catching prospect in New York.

Drew Macias now a Diamondback

December 7, 2009

Well, we wont be seeing Drew Macias being used like a yo yo by the Padres to fill spots in the outfield as he is now the property of the Arizona diamondbacks.

Macias was called up and sent down 9 times in 2009 by the Padres when injuries struck. He is widely regarded as the best defensive outfielder in the Padres organization, but had never hit well enough to stick at the ML level.

He was signed to a minor league contract by the Diamondbacks with an invitation to spring training.

Lots of Articles Coming

December 9, 2009

I have had two major trips in the last two months, the latest back home to New Mexico for one of the happiest occasions, a family wedding.

I have been keeping track of the goings on in baseball, but my wife said NO LAPTOP on this trip!When the boss speaks, I listen.

I have written a ton during that period and I will try to get them all up over the next two days. Bear with me if some of the articles seem dated. They probably are.

Padres 2009 - A Tale of Two Seasons

Monday November 30, 2009

The Padres played two distinct seasons in 2009.

One defined by injuries, the other by the young players.

The Padres started the 2009 by playing .500 ball for the first two month despite injuries to Cha Seung Baek, Shawn Hill, Jae Kuk Ryu, Mark Worrell, Mike Adams, Cliff Floyd, Walter Silva. Everth Cabrera (60 day on 4/20), and Luis Rodriguez.

So during the last weeks of spring training and the 1st two months of the season the Padres lost 3 starting pitchers for the season, 3 relievers, both shortstops for extended periods, and the big bat off the bench for what turned out to be the season.

Yet they still played .500 ball.

In June injuries continued to mount as Scott Hairston, Jake Peavy, Luis Perdomo, Luke Gregerson all spent time on the DL and season ending injuries to Chris Young, Brian Giles and Cliff Floyd crippled the team.

July saw injuries to Edgar Gonzalez, Henry Blanco and David Eckstein and the 7/5 trade of Scott Hairston. It also saw the trade of Jake Peavy at the end of the month.

All this led to an influx of young players.

Tony Gwynn Jr. coming in a trade for Jody Gerut in late May.
Blanks and Venable being called up to stay in June.
Everth Cabrera taking over the starting position when he returned from his injury in June.
Mat Latos and Tim Stauffer coming up in July.
Wade LeBlanc returning and pitching effectively in late August.

Here are some of the stats that illustrate the two seasons:

Runs Scored
1st Half - 88 games 334 runs - 3.795 runs/gm  614.8 pace

2nd Half - 74 games 304 runs - 4.108 runs/gm  665.5 pace

.313 runs/gm more in second half


Runs Allowed
1st Half - 88 games 444 runs - 5.045 runs/gm  817.3 pace

2nd Half - 74 games 325 runs - 4.392 runs/gm  711.5 pace

.653 runs/gm less in 2nd half


By Season Half
Split        W    L    RS    RA    WP
First Half    36    52    334    444    .409
Second Half    39    35    304    325    .527


Home/Road
Split    W    L    RS    RA    WP
Home    42    39    278    321    .519
Road    33    48    360    448    .407


Second Half Record
    W    L    WP
Home    19    19     .500
Road     20    16    .555

Now the question becomes which of those seasons will the Padres follow up with in 2010.

Record injuries or .500+ ball?

Angels vote Adenhart a full playoff share

Monday November 30, 2009

How much is the memory of Nick Adenhart worth to Arte Moreno and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim?

$138,039

That is what a full playoff share comes to for the Angels and the amount they gave Adenhart's estate.

Moreno and the Angels players just keep endearing themselves to baseball fans everywhere by the class with which they have carried themselves in regard to Adenhart and his untimely death this season and this may have been the classiest thing they have done.

Actions like this renew my faith in the basic goodness of people, even baseball team owners.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving.

Yes I know thanksgiving the day was over a few minutes ago, but after a long day spent with friends and family, I wanted to take a moment to share some of the things I am most grateful for.

On this day we set aside to show our thanks, I want to publicly express my gratitude.

Express my gratitude to God, a gracious, kind and loving heavenly father, for the great bounty of love, friends, and family he blessed me and my family with.

I am grateful for my beautiful wife. She is truly all a man could ever hope for and I am thankful everyday that she chose to say yes.

I am grateful for my good health. After all I have put my body through in nearly 50 years on this planet, God has chosen to still bless me with good health and for that I am grateful every day.

I am grateful for the prosperity I have experienced in my life. I have always had those things I have stood in need of most - a roof over my head, food in my belly and love. I have been very blessed and I am thankful for those blessings.

I am grateful to live in the greatest country in the world. We may complain about our politicians, our economy or even our health care system, but of all the places I have ever been this country is still the best one on earth.

I am grateful to live in the nearly perfect paradise that is San Diego. It was 82 today in Scripps Ranch. 82! Incredible.

I am grateful for baseball, which has been at various times my passion, my vocation and my outlet from stress.

I am grateful to live in a city where I get to watch Major League Baseball, the greatest game there is.

I am grateful for the people who read this blog. Thank you all for reading my rants and raves.


May God continue to bless us all with love, prosperity, and freedom.

- Web

Report from the Caribbean

Monday November 23, 2009

The annual whirlwind Caribbean trip is over.

4 countries, 9 games, more than 24,000 air and road miles and 16 days later and finally back to San Diego.

This year we were accompanied by some old friends from college. Go Lobos!

As usual we got to see some great talent, fun baseball with fanatic fans, and a great swath of beautiful third world countries.


Here is a short list of players I was impressed with and some names to remember.

From Liga Mexicana del Pacifico

- Thomas Diamond of Aguilas de Mexicali. On our first stop we saw this absolutely dominant reliever . A low to mid 90's fastball with tremendous movement and a devastating curve. He's a 26 year old former 1st round pick and uber prospect who is a minor league free agent after pitching for Frisco and OKC in the Rangers system last season. Tommy John surgery in 2007 cost him the entire 2007 and a part of the 2008 season and it looks like he's back.

- Local boy Mike McCoy. He just may be the fastest white boy I have ever seen. He went 1st to 3rd on an infield single. Let me say that again. He is so fast he went from 1st to 3rd on an infield single to the right side. Amazing! He is a SS and not a great fielder so we may never see him in a Blue Jays uniform, but he is sure fast.

Padres farm hand Jesus Lopez is really not getting any playing time on the veteran laden Algodoneros de Guasave. I don't know if that is by design, Padres wishes or because of injury. Wanted to see him play and then he was not in the lineup. Instead we saw Luis Borges who cannot hit his way out of a wet paper bag.

Another Padres farm hand, Gabe Dehoyos, has continued to be the best closer in the Pacific league this season. He leads the league with 11 saves and a 2.25 era in 15 appearances, He has 17 SO in 16 IP while walking just 3. DeHoyos will be 30 early in the 2010 season and he doesn't have an overpowering fastball, but he just seems to miss bats consistently.


From our sleepless stay in the land of Catchers, the Liga Venezuela Beisbol Profesional

- Catcher Josh Thole of the New York Mets farm system and the league leading Leones de Caracas. Not only did he hit for average, he had a .508 OBP with a 8/23 K/bb rate. Thats right, nearly 3 times as many walks as strike outs.

- Catcher Wilson Ramos of the Twins farm system and the Tigres de Aragua. While Thole has been the quintessential contact hitting catcher Ramos has shows incredible power hitting 6 home runs while having a .374/.434/.635/1.069 line. Ramos did allow 2 steals in two attempts in the two games we saw him catch, but drove in 3 runs.

Love to see the Padres trade for either of those two.

We didn't get to see Sean Gallagher play, but from what we heard he has not gained his control. walking as many as he struck out. Padre utility man Oscar Salazar is also playing in Venezuela this winter as well but he plays for the Tiburones de La Guaira. He is hitting .298/.358.


Welcome to the República Dominicana. Our longest stop and the only one in which we took a day off from baseball when we weren't flying from place to place. What incredibly warm and beautiful beaches and people this place has!

- Conor Jackson of the Arizona Diamondbacks has seemed to overcome Valley fever, a disease frm fungus in dust, while playing for the Leones del Escogido in the decidedly un-dusty Liga Beisbol Dominicano. He has completely dominated the league hitting more than 50 points higher than the next highest batter with a .425/.561/.589/1.150.

- Wesley Wright is a 5'10" (maybe 5'11" in cleats) whisp of a pitcher who can bring it. He mowed down 10 in 5 innings for the Toros del Este in the game we saw him pitch while allowing just 2 hits. He should find a starting spot on the Astros club next season.

- Carlos Gomez was part of the trade from the Twins for JJ Hardy. If what we saw was any indication of his skills, this is a totally one sided trade in the Brewers favor. This 24 year old kid can cover some serious ground in the outfield. WOW!

We came here hoping to see Simon Castro and Jackson Quezada of the Padres pitch, but only Castro has seen any time on the mound here and he has had only one appearance all season. Another Padre we also expected to see play, Felix Carrasco, has not seen an time either. Felix has had the misfortune of playing behind the hottest player in the league, Conor Jackson.

The only Padres farm hand we did get to see was Luis Durango. In the game we saw he went 1 for 3 with a BB and a SO and he played CF. I think he will get a shot at being a platoon player in the Padres outfield.


Our last stop was Puerto Rico. 2 days, 2 games and on to Miami and San Diego. We got there just a couple of games into the season so we did get to see most of the kids we were looking to see.

- Remember this name. Giovany Soto. No not the catcher. This kid is a lefty pitcher for Lobos de Arecibo and the Detroit Lions farm system and he is good. He is a beanstalk (6'4" and 150 lbs dripping wet), but at just 18 years old he showed poise and great stuff. As he begins to put some meat on his bones his low to mid 90's velocity should improve and time in professional ball should improve his control. Look for him to be pushing for a starting spot in the Tigers rotation in 3-4 years.

- Brian Bogusevic of Indios de Mayaguez and the Houston Astros can rake. Not only that, but he is a VERY good in centerfield. It does not seem that he will have the power to break the starting lineup for the Astros, but a combination of a good eye, a high BA and real good speed should give him the chance to be a platoon player. At 26, he is a little old for a top prospect, but expect him to get some time in the Astros roster in 2010.

- Nate Schierholtz of the Gigantes de Carolina will probably start the 2010 season as the starting RF for the SF Giants. He was really hot in the game we saw and the scouts we sat with said he was working on staying back on pitches to gain a little more time to hit the ball the other way.

We did get to see one Padres farm hand play her, Emmanuel Quiles of the Lobos de Arecibo who came in to pinch run late in the game and then took his place behind the plate for the final 1/2 inning. Can't really say much about his play. Talked to his manager, long time minor league catcher Pat Kelly, and several scouts about him and they say he is a great kid with a real passion and head for the game. I would not be surprised at all to see him make the Padres lineup in 2012-2013.

I know that I have been neglecting this blog while I was gone, but any trip through 4 countries and 8 cities over 16 days is by necessity a hectic event.

You will see more posts over the coming days including several I wrote on the road. So if you see something that seems a little dated, it is. I probably wrote it in some hotel in Caracas or Ponce or whatever airport we were in at the moment.

I feel very lucky to be able to make the annual pilgrimage to the Caribbean and glad to be back in the paradise we call home - San Diego.

- Web

Kouzmanoff - Defensive Record but no Gold Glove

Wednesday Novermber 11, 2009

Kouzmanoff was robbed.

The Gold Glove award is not a defensive award and it hasn't been for a very long time. They give these awards to anyone who hits well and plays decent defense for a team that gets press.

They gave the Gold Glove to Rafael Palmiero in a year played 28 games at 1B and another to Barry Bonds in a year he led the league in errors in LF.

Zimmerman hit .292 with 33 hr and 106 rbi. He does make alot of Web Gems, but he also blows alot of plays as evidenced by 17 errors. Only 4 players had MORE errors at 3B.

Kouzmanoff just makes every play. But he didn't hit 30+ home runs or play in Washington DC so he didn't get the press Zimmerman did.

Kouzmanoff's Web Gems weren't shown on SportsCenter because his games started after the 10pm EST SportsCenter started.

So the press didn't SEE him play. They simply don't know what he did.

And for those pushing UZR, did you know that it doesn't take into account ballpark or positioning? It doesn't take into account if you have someone playing next to you like Cabrera who makes a lot of plays deep in the hole. Actually it penalizes you if the guy playing next to you is a great player and gets to some balls in the bordering zone.

All it takes into account on range is whether a player made a play on a ball hit into a zone in which 50% of other players touched the ball in.

And I don't even want to go into the entire argument about the number of TC Zimmerman had versus how many Kouzmanoff had. I did two entire articles on that. Suffice to say the stats show it had much more to do with more IP by LHP and a higher ground ball percentage against those pitchers than with getting to balls farther away from the players original positioning.

Kinda sad when the supposed defensive award goes to a guy that is close to the worst at making errors rather than the guy who set a NL record for being the best.

Yankees buy World Series title #27

Wednesday November 4, 2009

Congratulation New York Yankees!

You have proven that if you spend $200 million, $80 million more than your opponent, $60 million more than any other team in baseball and nearly 10 TIMES as much as the lowest payroll team, you can buy a World Series title.

By taking game 6 over the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3, the New York Yankees claimed the 27th World Series title in the franchise's storied history.

The Yankees World Series win and the fact that all but one of the teams that made the playoffs had a season ending payroll of over $100 million, has shone a 200 million candlepower spotlight on the fact that the business of baseball is broken.

It has revealed in a crystal clear manner no amount of spin can obfuscate that money is truly the only thing that matters when it comes to a franchises success in baseball.

It is time to make some changes before another generation of fans in Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Milwaukee and many other small market towns wake up on opening day knowing they have no chance to watch their team play a playoff game.

Padres outright Edgar Gonzalez to minors

Wednesday November 4, 2009

According to a report by Bill Center in the San Diego Union Tribune, the San Diego Padres have dropped Edgar Gonzalez, the older brother of Padres All Star 1st Baseman Adrian Gonzalez, from the 40 man roster and outrighted him to the AAA Portland Beavers.

Gonzalez, who spent 9 years in the minor leagues before getting a shot with the Padres in 2008, has chosen free agency instead of accepting the demotion and we have likely seen the last of him in the Padres organization.

I have been one of EGon's biggest critics in the blogosphere this season and am not surprised that he has been dumped to make room on the 40 man roster for one of the good young players that have emerged (or been traded for by Kevin Towers) in the Padres organization in 2009.

Over 478 abs in 193 games, Egon has hit .255/.312/.381/.693 with 11 hr and a 112/36 K to BB ratio. In 2009 he hit an anemic .216/.278 while making 28 starts over 82 appearances.

I am quite sure neither his bat nor his defense will be missed.

Regardless of my thoughts on Edgar Gonzalez the player, it has been heartwarming to see the two brothers play together.

I hope Edgar lands on his feet with another team.

Report on the Padres farm hands in the AFL

Wednesday November 4, 2009

From Uber-Prospect Central, the AFL!

The Arizona Fall League is the place for teams to showcase the skills of their top prospects.

This is the place we get to come to and watch Uber prospects get a chance to go head to head against the best of the best the minor leagues has to offer.

Well ... most of the Padres players in the AFL are having a rough go of it against the best prospects in baseball, combining on a 4.91 ERA and a .223 batting average and .297 OBP.

Top Padres catching prospect Mitch Canham is hitting a robust .036. 1 for 28 over 8 games. After seeing him bat against several good young pitchers in the AFL, I am not so sure we are watching a great hitting catcher. Canham's defense is suspect, so he is not very valuable as a prospect if he can't hit at a high level.

Cedric Hunter, one of the younger players on the Peoria Saguaros team at 21, is holding his own with a .288 BA, but his .304 obp with no home runs is a little disconcerting for a player expected to have a shot at being the Padres CF of the future.

SS Lance Zawadski is hitting .259 with a .389 slg %. I don't think a mediocre batting average and slugging percentage under .400 is what the Padres were looking for from Zawadski.

Of the 4 pitchers the Padres sent to the AFL, Only Evan Scribner is having what you could call a good performance. His 2.84 ERA in 7 appearances is 7th on his team in ERA, but he has only been used in mop up at the end of games (no holds or saves) so he has only thrown 6.1 innings while giving up just 3 hits and 2 earned runs. his 5 BB/5 K ratio is not promising though.

Mark Demark (one of the oldest players in the league at 26) has a 7.71 ERA over 6 appearances with a 7.0 IP/8 Hits/7 Runs/6 Earned Runs/5 BB/6 K as a line. Too old to really be a top prospect and getting crushed by the true prospects.

The MLB.com beat writer for the Padres posted an article praising the performance of Steve Garrison who returned this season from a long layoff after surgery.

Garrison has started 4 games and thrown 11.1 innings so far. After getting roughed up in his first start, giving up 4 runs in 2 innings, Garrison has rebounded to post a 3.97 ERA, giving up 5 runs on 13 hits and 4 walks while striking out 5.

The other Padres pitcher, Brandon Gomes, has a 5.40 ERA in 6 middle relief appearances. He has given up a .294 BAA. Ouch!

Not exactly stellar performances from the players the Padres have sent to the AFL.

I guess I should cut the Padres some slack. Almost all of their top prospects above High A Lake Elsinore played at the major league level this season.

In a typical year in a typical organization players like Mat Latos, Luis Durango, and Ernesto Frieri would more than likely be showcasing their skills as part of the Padres contingent on an AFL roster, not the September roster for the big league squad.

I guess we should be glad that we got to see some of the future in San Diego, instead of Arizona and that for the most part they played well and showed promise.

3 computers later and we are back

Wednesday November 4, 2009

After 3 separate computer failures and many hours of gnashing teeth as we tried unsuccessfully to to recover several hundred gigabytes of data from multiple computer hard drives, Websoulsurfer is back in business.

I would like the thank The Chip Merchant in San Diego for all their help in getting our computers operational.

We lost more than a dozen articles that had been written for this blog and other publications, but we are working to catch up.

Expect to see a flurry of articles on the Padres recent actions here.

Hoyer new Padres Gm?

Saturday October 24, 2009

The rumors are that Jed Hoyer has been hired by the Padres as their new GM.

Peter Gammons Twittered that that the Red Sox had a going away party for Hoyer several days ago and Bernie Wilson is reporting that Hoyer has already been hired. but no word from PadreVille.

The North County Times is saying that Hoyer has been hired and there will be a press conference Monday afternoon to confirm it, but the Padres have not yet officially called a press conference.

They have until Tuesday to announce it, as major league baseball won't allow announcements during the World Series.

As of Wednesday October 21st Moorad was saying "I'm doing some phone follow-ups and close to making a decision."

I have started to distrust the Padres new CEO Jeff Moorad, and its not just the lies about ticket prices. Moorad said on October 3rd, that he had interviewed 3 candidates and was close to making a decision. He didn't interview Hoyer until Thursday October 15th after the Red Sox were eliminated from the playoffs. He interviewed Ng two days later.

Moorad said he wanted someone with better organizational leadership skills and that was strategic planner.

Hoyer is known as a sabremetric wiz kid and has worked in the major league player personnel and contract negotiation, but has no experience with managing subordinates or with player development. Hoyer has never run a department of his own.

Ben Cherington handled the draft and player development for the Red Sox and oversaw all minor league scouting.

All those things point to the fact that Moorad was either been turned down by one of his earlier candidates or by the commissioners office.

What I find most interesting is that in his time as the CEO of two different clubs, Jeff Moorad has already chosen one guy who learned from Epstein and is now rumored to have hired another, while Epstein himself learned his craft from Kevin Towers.

That is kind of like hiring the assistant coach of a guy that used to be the assistant coach for John Wooden, when you have John Wooden on your staff already.

If Hoyer was hired by the Padres, and it appears from the consistent rumors that he was, then we will see how he does on a team with a low budget. His entire career he has helped negotiate contracts for a team that had nearly an unlimited payroll.

Now he will be working for a small market team with a $40 million payroll in 2010 and a payroll that has averaged in the bottom third in baseball over the past 15 years.

Ng interviewed by Padres?

Saturday October 17, 2009

In a twitter post tonight, Corey Brock of MLB.com says that the San Diego Padres have interviewed Los Angeles Dodgers Assistant General Manager Kim Ng.

Ng is one of two women to hold an Assistant GM position in MLB and the first to interview for a general manager position.

In her official BIO on the Dodgers website, Ng's primary responsibilities are to assist General Manager Ned Colletti in player acquisitions and contract negotiation.

She oversees the Dodger's arbitration efforts, player development, and professional scouting departments and manages the day-to-day operations of the baseball department.

Is she the strategic planner with leadership skills that Moorad is looking for?

As of yesterday, Moorad was saying he had interviewed four candidates and would most likely interview one more.

Ng was interviewed today so Moorad's interviewing process is complete. Now we will have to wait and see who he picks and who the other candidates were.

Edit:
Additional sources on Yahoo Sports confirm Corey Brock's Twitter post from earlier this evening regarding NG's interviewing with the Padres.

Utley contracts deadly Sax Disease?

Friday October 16, 2009

What in the name of Steve Sax is going on?

After committing just 4 throwing errors in 155 games during the regular season and none in 4 postseason games against the Rockies in the NLDS this year, Philadelphia Phillies 2nd baseman Chase Utley now has two throwing errors in 2 games in Chavez Ravine.

Has Utley succumbed to Sax Disease? Has he caught the dreaded Knoblauch flu?

On two routine double plays, Utley has thrown in the ball away. Only a great play by Howard saved him from having his another throwing error in the first game. Tonight's error ultimately cost his team the game.

Call the CDC, bring on the men in the spacesuits. Chase Utley has caught Sax disease in Chavez Ravine.

Padres finally get permission to interview Hoyer

October 15, 2009

According to an article from Adam Kilgore and Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe on Tuesday October 13th, now that the Boston Red Sox have been eliminated from the playoffs the Padres have finally received permission to interview Jed Hoyer of the Boston Red Sox.

While there have been rumors up to now that he was a candidate, Tuesday was the first time it became a reality.

The Red Sox had been adamant that no one would be interviewed during the playoffs. Most thought that was in response to the Indians interest in pitching coach John Farrell, but it obviously also extended to Hoyer and other staff.

Whether Hoyer has been interviewed in the past 2 days is still in question, but Jeff Moorad has been quoted as saying that he has now interviewed four candidates and may still interview a 5th.

Is Jed Hoyer the next Padres General Manager? Only time will tell.

NL Rookie of the Year - The BBA Version

Thursday October 15, 2009

NL Rookie of the Year Award

As I spoke about earlier this week, the Baseball Bloggers Alliance is doing their own version of the BBWAA end of season awards.

We have chosen as a community of bloggers to vote using the same criteria as the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The BBWAA has two writers for each team vote on the awards. We want to give the fans of the teams we represent an alternative voice on these awards while holding ourselves to the same standards and criteria for voting. Websoulsurfer is one of the blogs that gets an opportunity to vote.

The San Diego Padres chapter of the BBA elected to have all 5 members vote and have the combined votes count for both votes. Votes were counted on a first place-3 points, second place-2 points, third place-1 point system.

For Rookie of the Year Award, the San Diego Padres chapter votes were:

First Place: Andrew McCutchen (PIT)

Second Place: Tommy Hanson (ATL)

Third Place: Chris Coghlan (FLA)

The Websoulsurfer Votes:

NL Rookie of the Year

Normally pitchers get no love for Rookie of the year and my picks are no exception for 2009. I do feel that two rookie pitchers deserve at least a mention here.

J.A. Happ of the Phillies and Tommy Hanson of the Braves.

Happ went 12-4 with a 2.93 ERA in 23 starts for the defending World Champion Phillies while filling in ably for Brett Myers and an ineffective Moyers on an injury decimated staff.

Hanson was a #5 for a strong staff led by Lowe, Vasquez, Kawakami and Jurrjens and went 11-4 with a 2.89 ERA in 21 starts. While he was not asked to step in and fill big shoes, Hanson still had an exceptional rookie season.

Now counting down my picks:

• 3 - Everth Cabrera – My Homer Vote – Jumped from Low A to the majors after being the Padres Rule V draft pick and hit .255 with 25 SB. His defense was erratic, he was spectacular when ranging far but often blew the routine play, but the promise of exceptional D is there.
  
  
• 2 - Andrew McCutchen - .286/.365/.471/.836 with 12 HR and Gold Glove quality defense in CF. McCutchen came up in Early June to take McClouth's place in the lineup and never looked back. So who will he be playing for in 2012?
  
  
• 1 - Chris Coghlan - 321/.390/.460/.850 with 9 HR playing LF. Coghlan got absolutely no love from the media. This was mostly because they never got to see him play. His team was never on TV. Left coast or Marlins. Either way you are pretty much invisible.

The rest of the Chapter voted as follows:

The Sacrifice Bunt

First Place: Andrew McCutchen

Second Place: Tommy Hanson

Third Place: Garrett Jones

Friar Forecast

First Place: Andrew McCutchen

Second Place: Tommy Hanson

Third Place: Colby Rasmus

NL Manager of the Year - The BBA Awards

Monday October 12, 2009

The End of Season Awards - BBA Awards Voting

It’s an honor to be included in the Baseball Bloggers Alliance voting on the major awards in baseball.

Acording to the BBA website at baseballbloggersalliance.com, "The Baseball Bloggers Alliance was formed in 2009 to foster communication and collaboration between bloggers across baseball."

"The BBA has, as a secondary aim, the goal of producing year-end awards in a similar fashion to the Baseball Writers Association of America. These awards can be found here in October with links back to the voters, ensuring transparency and, most likely, the onset of some good baseball arguments."

To find a complete list of links to the member BBA Blogs, click here

We have chosen as a group to vote using the same criteria as the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The BBWAA has two writers for each team vote on the awards. We want to give the fans of the teams we represent an alternative voice on these awards while holding ourselves to the same standards and criteria for voting.

The San Diego chapter of the BBA elected to have all 5 members vote and have the combined votes count for both votes. Votes were aggregated on a first place-3 points, second place-2 points, third place-1 point system.

The Padres chapter assigned both of our votes for 2009 National League Manager of the Year in the following manner:

• First Place - Jim Tracy
• Second Place - Tony LaRussa
• Third Place - Joe Torre

Because I blog mostly about the San Diego Padres and the NL West, I have limited the explanations of my voting to the National League, the league I get to watch on a regular basis and the league I feel like I have more of a voice on.

Over the coming days I will be posting my picks for the NL Manager of the Year, NL Rookie of the Year, NL Cy Young and the NL MVP.

I hope you enjoy reading my take or at least are prompted to send me a nasty note asking why your favorite was not included.

Web

You can look forward to the San Diego BBA members voting on -
Manager of the Year: Monday, October 12
Rookie of the Year: Thursday, October 15
Cy Young Award: Monday, October 19
Most Valuable Player: Monday, October 26


2009 NL Manager of the Year

Manager of the year was perhaps the easiest award for me to vote on. To start the year I watched a terrible Rockies team struggle against division foes with a 6-9 record in April. Then Tracy took over and the team almost immediately changed their character and they started winning. No other manager had as much of an impact on a team.

Honorable Mention – Fredi Gonzalez – Marlins
Directed the lowest budget team in baseball to an 87-75 record. Good enough for 2nd place in the NL East and just 5 games out in the Wild Card.

3 - Bud Black - Padres
For not losing 100 with this group.

2 - Tony LaRussa - Cardinals
LaRussa once again took a team that was projected to be middle of the pack and with the addition of 1 player is in the playoffs.

1 - Jim Tracy -
Took over an 18-28 team and got them to play some of the best
baseball in the NL from that point on and win the NL Wild Card

Padres Adams has historic season

Friday October 8, 2009

I wish I could say I wrote it, but this article about Mike Adams points out something not even the biggest Padres honk has pointed out yet.

Namely that Mike Adams has had a historically great season.

In 37 innings pitched over 37 appearances Adams had a 0.73 ERA, a 0.59 WHIP, 45 K (10.95 K/9) and a .111 BAA.

Yes you read that right.

That is the 8th best ERA in history and the best WHIP EVER for a pitcher with 35+ innings pitched.

As Padres fans this season we were privileged to witness two of the greatest performances in history from Adams and Kouzmanoff. How many do you think realize it even now?

Padres wave Baek, Hill and Floyd

Thursday October 8, 2009

Today the San Diego Padres announced that they have waived Pitchers Cha Seung Baek, Shawn Hill and Outfielder/Pinch Hitter Cliff Floyd.

All three players spent most if not all of the 2009 season on the DL.

Baek injured his forearm in Spring Training and injured his elbow during a rehab assignment in July. He never pitched for the Padres during the 2009 regular season.

The oft injured Hill was signed by the Padres on March 23rd and made just 3 starts before injuring his elbow against Pittsburgh on April 25th. He went under the knife for his 2nd Tommy John procedure and 5th over all surgery in June and was lost for the season.

Floyd was signed by the Padres to be a left handed power bat off the bench and to be the DH in interleague play they have been missing in recent years. Instead he injured his leg in spring training and was on the big league roster for just 18 days and 16 at bats before tearing the labrum in his right shoulder and going back on the DL for the rest of the 2009 season on June 18th.

This move was certainly not unexpected as none were expected to return in 2010. Baek and Hill will likely still be rehabbing from surgery next season and an injury plagued 36 year old Floyd may have seen his last days in a major league uniform.

The move cleared room on the 40 man roster which the Padres used to add Eulogio De La Cruz.

In other Padres news reliever Greg Burke underwent debridement surgery on his right (throwing) shoulder to remove dead or damaged tissue in the hopes that would allow healthy tissue to heal faster.

Kouzmanoff All Time record holder at 3B

Sunday October 4, 2009

Congratulations Kevin Kouzmanoff!

San Diego Padres Third Baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff set two MLB record for fielding by a 3B.

Kouzmanoff's committed just 3 errors in 309 total chances and had a .990 fielding percentage.

The MLB record for fewest errors by a 3B with 300+ chances was previously 5.
In the AL Don Money for Milwaukee in 1974 and Eric Chavez for the Oakland Athletics in 2006. In the NL the record was 7 by Mike Lowell of the Florida Marlins in 2004.

The record for fielding percentage in the NL had been held by former Padre Vinny Castilla during his 2004 season with the Colorado Rockies and the MLB record was was held by Don Money at .989.

I had read that someone had a .990 fielding percentage in the AL, but I can't seem to find it.

The bottom line is Kouzmanoff had one of the best defensive seasons in major league history.

Congratulations and I hope to see you back in a Padres uniform in 2010 to continue your overall improvement as a player.

Ramos Knocked Around Early & Padres Lose Finale in Extra Innings

Sunday October 4, 2009

David Eckstein knocked in all three Padres runs on 2 run home run, his 2nd of the year, and a sac fly to 3B. Both were improbably plays.

Eckstein is not known for his power, but stroked a home run in the 6th inning off the Giants Jonathan Sanchez, the last pitcher to throw a no hitter against the Padres.

Then in the 8th he popped up a ball to the 3B side that Pablo Sandoval caught and then fell over the railing into the dugout. Ground rules say runners can advance one base and Nick Hundley scored to tie the game.

But the Padres lost the game on a Pablo Sandoval home run to lead off the 10th. The Giants offensive MVP swung at a fat first pitch fastball from Webb and crushed the ball to straight away center field.

The Padres season is over and now we start to look forward to next season.

Losing the last series is not how I would have liked to see the season end, but the Padres showed alot of promise in the 2nd half.

Unfortunately all the progression by the organization was cut short with the firing of Kevin Towers on Friday. Next season is now in limbo instead of being something to look forward to.

Pitchers and catchers report February 17th, 2010

See you in Peoria.

Padres LeBlanc blanks the Giants

Saturday October 3, 2009

Tonight the Padres Wade Leblanc did something I never thought he could, he threw 87-88 mph fastballs consistently and with control.

He also threw 7 innings of 2 hit, shutout ball while striking out 8 Giants in the Padres 2-0 victory at Petco Park. A dominant performance from the 25 year old lefty.

The bullpen came in and shutdown the Giants to complete the shutout capped by Heath Bells 42nd save of the season. It was the Padres 6th shutout in September and 9th on the season.

LeBlanc finished the season 3-1 with a 3.69 ERA in 9 starts. Considering how bad he looked earlier in the season, LeBlanc rebounded exceptionally well and finished the season on a high note. He certainly gave notice that he wants a spot in the 2010 Padres rotation by giving up a total of just 8 runs in his last 6 starts.

Adrian Gonzalez went 3 for 4 and drove in his 99 rbi of the season and Chase Headley drove in a run with a 1st inning single.

Matt Cain took the loss for the Giants. Cain ended the season with 14-8 record and a 2.89 ERA.

The Columnists Start to Chime in on Towers/Padres

Saturday October 3, 2009

We are starting to see some of the columnists chiming in on their thoughts on the Towers firing by Padres owner and CEO Jeff Moorad.

It has been pretty consistent.

Buster Olney of ESPN says - "A "Major League" move by the Padres"
As in Major League the movie, not as in big league. In other words, bush league.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports is not as nice - "GM Towers is better off out of San Diego"
I loved this line from his article, "

"Yes, we've turned around our season, going 36-24 since July 28. Yes, this is arguably Kevin's finest job in 14 years as GM. Yes, we might actually contend in 2010.

"But it is time for a change."

Scott Miller of CBS Sports said - "Amateur Hour again in San Diego"

None of these guys seem to understand why Towers was cut loose. All of them question Moorad's rationale.

"If the guy is so good and he has put the team in the position to contend in the future, why are you firing him?" seems to be the overriding question.

My take on the Towers firing

Saturday October 3, 2009

I gave myself a night to sleep on the firing of San Diego Padres GM Kevin Towers and VP of Player Personnel Grady Fuson and now I would like to throw in a little more well thought out version of my two cents on the matter.

First let me start by giving you a little background.

After moving to San Diego too late in the 1985 season to buy season tickets, I bought my first Padres season tickets in 1986. Section F16 Row 21.

I returned as a season ticket holder in 1995 after a one year hiatus following the firesale and purchased front row outfield seats. I sat in my seats at Qualcomm and Petco through Towers entire tenure.

As a fan one thing I could always count on from the Padres was Kevin Towers being honest with us.

The team wasn't always going to contend with the low budget constraints the team dealt with. As a Padres fan we already knew that, but we also knew Towers was a straight shooter and we could count on him to do all he could to give us a fun team to watch.

Moorad has shown that he plays everything close to the vest and cannot always be trusted to be honest if it does not give him an advantage. You can never seem to get a straight answer from him. He doesn't say "this is the way it is"

Maybe that is because he is a lawyer, not a baseball person. That means he is trained to hedge what he is saying and say whatever he can to obfuscate what is really happening.

I think many season ticket holders that were beginning to get excited about this team and now will be holding back to see what will happen under the new admin. We have our season ticket renewal packages in hand and we are waiting on your next move Mr. Moorad.

The garbage from Moorad in the Tim Sullivan article in the UT about taking a few weeks to interview candidates does not ring true. Moorad doesn't have much time to make his call on a new GM. He has to already have a guy not only in mind, but ready to step in.

Fans won't wait. Moorad has until October 23rd to impress the season ticket base here in San Diego with his choice for a new GM (and a new VP of Player Personnel) or we will simply take our entertainment dollars elsewhere.

If he hesitates to act, it will cost him more of his season ticket fan base after the team already lost a huge percentage in 2009. I do not think Moorad is that stupid.

Jerry Dipoto is a known quantity for Moorad so he makes perfect sense.

Yahoo said they have heard rumors of Pat Gillick.

At this point we know two things.

Moorad cannot have interviewed anyone under contract with a team or we would have heard about it. That means id he has done interviews, they are not currently with a team.

No one in the Padres organization will be the next GM.

I will update this post after the News Conference

Update:

Padres CEO Jeff Moorad said among other things that:
It was an organizational decision to fire Towers
He wanted a GM more involved in the draft and player development
He wanted more planning and discipline in scouting & player development
He wanted a GM that would do more "strategic" planning
(Just curious how that was possible in the ever changing and low budget environment that was the Padres organization?)
No internal candidates were/will be considered.
(he actually made both comments were and will be at different points.)

Then he hmmmed and hawed before answering the question about how many candidates he had already interviewed before saying "Three"

Pretty simple question. Should have been a simple answer. Sounded to me like he was not telling the entire truth. What did you think?

If he did interview anyone, it means they are not currently in baseball. That leaves a small group of people. Pat Gillick could be on that list, but at 72 years old he would be a short term fix. Hard to be doing strategic planning when you are only going to be there a couple of years at most.

The last time Moorad had a chance to interview people for a GM position, he chose a young (35 years old) and relatively inexperienced person in Josh Byrnes. Towers at 44 was the oldest and most experienced person interviewed for the Diamondbacks position in 2005.

Moorad's MO points to DiPoto or another Player Personnel person or an assistant GM that was tasked with player development.

As for Kevin Towers, I doubt he will be unemployed long.

With today's firing of Ricciardi in Toronto and the impending firing of Hendry in Cubs land, I can see two high profile jobs that Towers could fill.

DiPoto to be new Padres GM?

Friday October 2, 2009

Sources within the Padres are now saying that Jerry DiPoto, VP of Player Personnel for the Diamondbacks, is to take Kevin Towers place as GM of the San Diego Padres.

As of Friday morning the Padres had not been given permission by the Diamondbacks to talk to DiPoto, who is still under contract, about the job , but several people within the Padres organization have said that it is just a formality.

Dipoto, 41, a former major league relief pitcher with the Indians, Mets and Rockies, was a scout with the Boston Red Sox in 2003 & 2004 and became the head of scouting for the Colorado Rockies in 2006. When Josh Byrnes was hired as the GM of the Diamondbacks in 2007, he brought long time friend Dipoto along with him as the Director of Scouting and Player Personnel.

Dipoto will take over a farm system and major league team stocked well with young talent by outgoing GM Kevin Towers and Director of Player Personnel Grady Fuson.

Kevin Towers Fired

Friday October 2, 2009

The Padres have called a press conference for tomorrow to announce the firing of General Manager Kevin Towers.

According to Corey Brock on Twitter,

@ FollowThePadres The #Padres will have a press conference on Saturday with CEO Jeff Moorad. No reference to Towers in the press advisory. Still not official

and earlier Brock said on Twitter,

@ FollowThePadres No official announcement from the team yet, but #Padres GM Kevin Towers is out. He was the longest tenured GM in the Major Leagues. #MLB

After spending 14 seasons with the Padres, Towers was the longest tenured front office person in baseball. He presided over the winningest stretch in Padres franchise history.

During Towers tenure with the team, the Padres won four NL West titles and reached the 1998 World Series.

Not many GM's that can say they have four division titles and a World Series appearance on a low - mid revenue team. KT will be missed.

I am certain that he will not be unemployed long.

Beat LA Part Two

Wednesday September 30, 2009

OUTSTANDING!

Can you think of anything better than watching the Padres keep the Dodgers from clinching the division for a night?

How about TWO nights in a row?

The Padres win tonight 5-0 and sweep the Dodgers in this short 2 game series.

I absolutely love it!

Clayton Richard threw 7 shutout innings giving up just 1 hit and 3 BB.

How did the Padres batters do?
Kevin Kouzmanoff hit a laser of a 3 run home run in the 3rd off Garland.
Nick Hundley went 3 for 4 to raise his average to .246 on the season.
Chase Headley went 2 for 4, drove in a run and scored a run.

And Loretta put a figure 4 leg lock on Everth Cabrera as he tried to get back to 3b in a 4th inning rundown and was called for obstruction. Cabrera scores!

The Padres have played very good baseball the 2nd half of this season and I am excited about their chances of contending in 2010.

Now lets see if the Rockies can go into Chavez Ravine, take 3 games from them in LA and complete the Dodgers humiliating end of the season.

Manny showing the effects of steroids

Wednesday September 30, 2009

Manny Ramirez cheated and took steroids prior to the 2009 season. His first month of the season was outstanding. He hit .348 with 6 home runs in 92 at bats. He had a .641 slugging percentage. He was Ruthian.

Since he has returned Ramirez has clearly demonstrated that steroids may have been a large part of his performance at the plate.

He has hit just .276 with 13 home runs in 250 at bats and has a .508 slugging. That is 40th in slugging in the league over that period and places him on par with Brad Hawpe or Torii Hunter in terms of his power numbers. His home run production dropped by nearly 30%.

Now he is certainly not a bad player, but without steroids Ramirez is no longer the elite hitter that he was in years past. In fact even rookie pitchers are now going after and striking out Manny, where in years past he would have been pitched around. Not anymore.

His batting results while playing on a very good Dodger team calls into question his previous results at the plate and may have completely ruined any shot he had at making the Hall of Fame.

If he had somehow returned and hit like he had in years past, Ramirez may have been able to say I did steroids once, they didn't help me, I paid my penalty, and I belong in the Hall of Fame.

Now we have ample evidence that they did improve his performance earlier in this season and probably in years past.

We can see that he is smaller physically and that his performance has suffered without the steroids.

We can say with some certainty that his past performance was enhanced by the use of illegal substances. (Yes, steroid use and possession is a felony and has been for decades.)

Manny being Manny has taken away his shot at immortality and instead has saddled him with infamy. His legacy will forever be as a cheater.

The only way Ramirez gets into the Hall of Fame now is the same way you and I would get in, buying a ticket.

Beat LA, Beat LA, Beat LA

Tuesday September 29, 2009

Regardless of records, I don't know if I enjoy anything more than watching the Padres beat the Dodgers.

Watching Manny go 0 for 4 helps makes the Padres victory over the Dodgers even sweeter.

And watching the Dodger fans walk out with their tails between their legs after they drove 4 hours through LA and Orange County traffic to get here hoping to see their team clinch a playoff spot is extremely satisfying.

Can it get any better than that?

Yes it can! The headlines on Yahoo and ESPN when I got home said Dodgers denied NL West title again & Dodgers fail to clinch again as Padres win!

Denying the Dodgers the chance to celebrate is sooooo nice to watch. Keep on lugging that Champagne around Dodgers. I do not want to see you spraying it around the visitors locker room here.

Am I gloating? Am I being mean spirited? Yes I am, but then its the Dodgers so it may just be justified.

So what happened in the game?

Cesar Ramos got his very first major league start. He was wild at times walking 3, but only allowed 1 run on 4 hits over 5 full innings while striking out 2.

Ramos did not get the win as the Dodgers got a run on a Cabrera error in the top of the 6th to tie the game. Ramos had given up a lead off triple to Orlando Hudson and then Everth Cabrera made a fielding error on a routine ground ball by Andre Ethier to allow Hudson to score.

I had not seen Ramos pitch before and I was surprised by his wicked curve ball, but he had trouble getting his fastball over consistently. The pitch speed signs were out in Petco, so I don't know how fast he was throwing. If I had to guess I would say low 90's judging by the swings and misses on high fastballs.

Tony Gwynn smacked a solo home run that hit the RF foul pole in the 3rd that proved to be the only hit the Padres would get off Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley until a run scoring single by Kevin Kouzmanoff in the 6th inning.

Billingsley did walk 5, which proved to be his undoing. He walked the bases loaded in the 6th and David Eckstein, who drew the lead off walk, scored on Kouzmanoff's single with 2 outs.

In the 7th the Padres got an insurance run without the benefit of a hit. Hundley walked, was sacrificed to 2nd by Cabrera, advanced to third on a ground out by Salazar, and then scored on a wild pitch.

4 Padres relievers shut out the Dodgers for the final 4 frames including Heath Bell, who pitched the 9th for his 41st save of the season.

On defense Cabrera had his 20th error of the season in the 6th, but also made a heads up play in the first inning that may have saved a run. After Ramos walked the first two batters, Andre Ethier grounded out to Eckstein and Furcal advanced to 3B, but Orlando Hudson got caught up in a rundown. Furcal advanced down the line towards home plate and Cabrera turned and gunned him down as he tried to return to 3B.

He also made a real nice stop in the 6th inning to rob Manny Ramirez of a single and turned it into a double play ball.

With the win the Padres improved to 73-85, 10 games better than 2008. The Padres are now 37-33 in the 2nd half of the season. They also have the 2nd best record in baseball since July 28th at 35-23.

After hearing Moorad say the Padres will maintain payroll at the $43 million they started 2009 at and possibly spend more in season if the Padres need it to get over the top, I am getting excited about the possibilities for 2010.

And it sure is nice to watch the Padres play the spoiler, so say it with me:

Beat LA, Beat LA, Beat LA.

Padres lose 4th in last 6 to last place D'Backs

Sunday September 27, 2009

I guess Kevin Correia knew something the rest of us had missed. The Padres bullpen just cannot get the job done against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Last night the bullpen came in and gave up a grand slam to give away the game.

Today at Chase Field in Phoenix, Edward Mujica, a guy who should still be part of the bullpen gave up 4 runs and the rest of his pen mates came in and gave up 3 more runs.

The Padres lose the game 7-4 and another series against the last place Diamondbacks.

In their last series against the Diamonbacks in San Diego both losses were on the bullpen (Heath Bell and Adam Russell).

In the series before that in Arizona in July two of the 3 losses were on the bullpen.

See a pattern here?

1st off, the Padres are having a real hard time beating one of the worst teams in baseball, going 7-11 against the Diamondbacks.

2nd, the bullpen is to blame for 7 of 11 losses. 2 losses are on Kevin Correia, one on Chad Gaudin, and the other on Jake Peavy.

A lesson for the Padres starting pitchers, make sure you pitch a complete game if you want a win against the Diamondbacks.

Padres come home to finish up their season with 2 against the Dodgers and 3 against the Giants.

On to 2010.

Cory Luebke / Team USA win World Cup over Cuba

Sunday September 27, 2009

Padres prospect Cory Luebke went 4 2/3 innings giving up 2 runs on 6 hits while striking out 7 as Team USA defeated Cuba 10-5 to win the Baseball World Cup Gold Medal in Nettuno Italy.

Dodgers top catching prospect Lucas May went 2-4 with a 3 run homer and 4 rbi overall to pace Team USA offensively.

Luebke went 11-4 with a 2.78 ERA over 23 starts for the Padres High A Lake Elsinore Storm and the AA San Antonio Missions minor league teams.

He is considered one of the Padres top 5 pitching prospects by most scouting organizations.

Congratulations Team USA!

Adrian Gonzalez becomes 4th Padre with 40 HR season

Sunday September 27, 2009

With a 2 run blast to Right Center off Diamondbacks starter Billy Buckner in the 4th inning, Adrian Gonzalez became the 4th San Diego Padre to hit 40 home runs in a season.

Gonzalez joins a list that includes Greg Vaughn (50 in 1998), Phil Nevin (41 in 2001) and Ken Caminiti (40 in 1996).

Considering the difficulty hitting for power in Petco Park, this may rank as one of the more impressive (and improbable) 40 home run seasons I have ever seen.

How hard is it to hit a home run in Petco? 27.4% less home runs have been hit there than in a league average ballpark and more than 50% less than places like Coors Field, the new Yankee Stadium, and Cincinnati's bandbox. For left handed hitters it is closer to 40% less home runs hit in Petco. Gonzalez is a left handed hitter.

Congratulations Adrian! I have really enjoyed watching you play baseball and I hope I get to watch you play in a Padres uniform for many years to come.