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.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
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.
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.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
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.
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.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
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.
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!
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.
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.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Complete Game Shutout for Correia
Friday September 25, 2009
Kevin Correia threw a complete game shutout and the San Diego Padres defeated the last place Arizona Diamondbacks 4-0 tonight at Chase Field.
Correia allowed just 6 hits and 1 walk while striking out 7 on 109 pitches for his first career shutout and the first for a Padres pitcher since 2006. It was an awesome performance by a guy I have pegged as a mediocre pitcher on occasion.
Correia has been outstanding the last 2 months going 5-2 with a 2.54 ERA in his last 11 starts and has lowered his era from 4.75 at the end of July to 3.89 after tonight's game. In fact he has not given up a run since the 2nd inning of a Padres loss to these same Diamondbacks on September 14th, a stretch of 20 innings.
Folks I love being wrong about things like that.
Padres are now 15-7 in September.
Kevin Correia threw a complete game shutout and the San Diego Padres defeated the last place Arizona Diamondbacks 4-0 tonight at Chase Field.
Correia allowed just 6 hits and 1 walk while striking out 7 on 109 pitches for his first career shutout and the first for a Padres pitcher since 2006. It was an awesome performance by a guy I have pegged as a mediocre pitcher on occasion.
Correia has been outstanding the last 2 months going 5-2 with a 2.54 ERA in his last 11 starts and has lowered his era from 4.75 at the end of July to 3.89 after tonight's game. In fact he has not given up a run since the 2nd inning of a Padres loss to these same Diamondbacks on September 14th, a stretch of 20 innings.
Folks I love being wrong about things like that.
Padres are now 15-7 in September.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Padres continue to take it to division foes
Thursday September 24, 2009
The San Diego Padres came back from an early 3 run deficit to defeat the Colorado Rockies 5-4 tonight at Coors Field in Denver. The victory gave the Padres their 4th series win in the last five against division foes.
Padres starter Clayton Richard was shaky in the 1st inning allowing a 3 run home run to Tulowitzki after and Everth Cabrera throwing error and a Todd Helton single put men on 1st and 2nd.
Richard settled down after that to throw 5 scoreless innings, but did not get the decision. His line on the night: 6 innings, 7 hits, 3 runs, 2 earned, 2 walks, and 2 strike outs.
Luke Gregerson rebounded from giving up his first runs in the last 2 months in his last outing to throw 1 2/3 innings and record his first ML save. Adam Russell got the win for recording a single out in the 7th.
Cabrera's error was his 19th of the season. It sure seems that Cabrera only commits errors when the play is totally routine and the play tonight was about as routine as they come.
The Padres 6-7-8 hitters went 7 for 12 with 3 rbi and 4 runs scored to pace the Padres offense. Actually, Salazar (2-4 including a triple), Hundley (2-4 with his 8th HR of the year and a stolen base in the 8th inning), and Gwynn (3-4 with the game winning rbi in the 8th) pretty much WERE the Padres offense. Eckstein was his usual pesky self going 2-4 with a sac fly and Headley hit a single in the 8th, advanced to 2nd on a Venable sac bunt and scored on a Hundley single.
The sac bunt by Will Venable was a thing of beauty and I expressed on twitter at the time that I hoped he would teach Gwynn how to follow suit.
The Padres should give an assist to Rockies center fielder Dexter Fowler for a total lack of hustle on a shallow hit to center in the 8th that allowed Chase Headley to score the tying run. Fowler jogged in on the ball hit in front of him and then made a lackluster toss to second base instead of trying to gun down Headley at the plate. Even if he hustled the play would have been close with Headley running from 2nd, but to not make any attempt was inexcusable.
Rockies starter Jason Hammel went 6 1/3 innings giving up 2 runs on 6 hits with no walks and 6 k's. Reliever Joe Beimel took the loss.
The Padres have now taken 2 series against the Rockies and one against the Dodgers and Giants in the month of September. All three are playoff contenders.
In fact the only team to take a series from the Padres this month are the last place Diamondbacks.
I really like what I have seen from the Padres in the 2nd half of this season. With 8 games to play the Padres are now 71-83 on the season. 8 games better than 2008. Playing .500 ball the rest of the way will the Padres 75 wins, an even dozen games better than 2008.
That has GOT to make you feel good about the prospects of a winning season in 2010 if the Padres go out and get a decent bat and one innings eating pitcher in FA or in trade.
The San Diego Padres came back from an early 3 run deficit to defeat the Colorado Rockies 5-4 tonight at Coors Field in Denver. The victory gave the Padres their 4th series win in the last five against division foes.
Padres starter Clayton Richard was shaky in the 1st inning allowing a 3 run home run to Tulowitzki after and Everth Cabrera throwing error and a Todd Helton single put men on 1st and 2nd.
Richard settled down after that to throw 5 scoreless innings, but did not get the decision. His line on the night: 6 innings, 7 hits, 3 runs, 2 earned, 2 walks, and 2 strike outs.
Luke Gregerson rebounded from giving up his first runs in the last 2 months in his last outing to throw 1 2/3 innings and record his first ML save. Adam Russell got the win for recording a single out in the 7th.
Cabrera's error was his 19th of the season. It sure seems that Cabrera only commits errors when the play is totally routine and the play tonight was about as routine as they come.
The Padres 6-7-8 hitters went 7 for 12 with 3 rbi and 4 runs scored to pace the Padres offense. Actually, Salazar (2-4 including a triple), Hundley (2-4 with his 8th HR of the year and a stolen base in the 8th inning), and Gwynn (3-4 with the game winning rbi in the 8th) pretty much WERE the Padres offense. Eckstein was his usual pesky self going 2-4 with a sac fly and Headley hit a single in the 8th, advanced to 2nd on a Venable sac bunt and scored on a Hundley single.
The sac bunt by Will Venable was a thing of beauty and I expressed on twitter at the time that I hoped he would teach Gwynn how to follow suit.
The Padres should give an assist to Rockies center fielder Dexter Fowler for a total lack of hustle on a shallow hit to center in the 8th that allowed Chase Headley to score the tying run. Fowler jogged in on the ball hit in front of him and then made a lackluster toss to second base instead of trying to gun down Headley at the plate. Even if he hustled the play would have been close with Headley running from 2nd, but to not make any attempt was inexcusable.
Rockies starter Jason Hammel went 6 1/3 innings giving up 2 runs on 6 hits with no walks and 6 k's. Reliever Joe Beimel took the loss.
The Padres have now taken 2 series against the Rockies and one against the Dodgers and Giants in the month of September. All three are playoff contenders.
In fact the only team to take a series from the Padres this month are the last place Diamondbacks.
I really like what I have seen from the Padres in the 2nd half of this season. With 8 games to play the Padres are now 71-83 on the season. 8 games better than 2008. Playing .500 ball the rest of the way will the Padres 75 wins, an even dozen games better than 2008.
That has GOT to make you feel good about the prospects of a winning season in 2010 if the Padres go out and get a decent bat and one innings eating pitcher in FA or in trade.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Bell gets 40th Save in Colorado
Wednesday September 23, 2009
Will Venable was red hot on a cold and drizzly night in Denver, driving in 4 runs on his 12th home run and a 3 run double, to lead the San Diego Padres to a 6-3 win over the Colorado Rockies tonight at Coors Field.
Starter Tim Stauffer was wild early, walking 4 in the 1st two innings, but after a dressing down on the mound by manager Buddy Black in the 2nd, Stauffer took a no hitter into the 5th inning before surrendering 2 runs.
More than anything, Stauffer's pitch count, 101 pitches, ended his night early. His final line: 4 2/3 innings pitched, 3 hits, 2 runs, 5 walks and 3 strike outs.
Stauffer didn't get the win, but he did contribute a single and scored a run on Venable's 3 run double in the 5th.
Reliever Ryan Webb came in and bailed out Stauffer with 2 on and 2 outs in the 5th to get his first major league win.
Heath Bell got his NL leading 40th save of the season. Bell became only the 3rd Padres pitcher to get 40 saves. Mark Davis had 44 saves in his Cy Young season in 1989 and Trevor Hoffman had nine 40 save seasons as a Padre.
Jason Marquis took the loss for the Rockies and saw his record fall to 15-12. After going 11-6 with a 3.65 era in the first half, Marquis has gone 4-6 with a 4.48 ERA in 12 starts in the 2nd half.
The Rockies lead in the Wild Card standings is now 4 games over the Atlanta Braves and division foe San Francisco Giants with 10 games to play for all three teams.
The Padres record improved to 70-83. With 9 games remaining on the Friars schedule, 5 at home, they have a shot at ending the season with 12 game improvement over 2008 by taking 5 of 9 against division foes.
Will Venable was red hot on a cold and drizzly night in Denver, driving in 4 runs on his 12th home run and a 3 run double, to lead the San Diego Padres to a 6-3 win over the Colorado Rockies tonight at Coors Field.
Starter Tim Stauffer was wild early, walking 4 in the 1st two innings, but after a dressing down on the mound by manager Buddy Black in the 2nd, Stauffer took a no hitter into the 5th inning before surrendering 2 runs.
More than anything, Stauffer's pitch count, 101 pitches, ended his night early. His final line: 4 2/3 innings pitched, 3 hits, 2 runs, 5 walks and 3 strike outs.
Stauffer didn't get the win, but he did contribute a single and scored a run on Venable's 3 run double in the 5th.
Reliever Ryan Webb came in and bailed out Stauffer with 2 on and 2 outs in the 5th to get his first major league win.
Heath Bell got his NL leading 40th save of the season. Bell became only the 3rd Padres pitcher to get 40 saves. Mark Davis had 44 saves in his Cy Young season in 1989 and Trevor Hoffman had nine 40 save seasons as a Padre.
Jason Marquis took the loss for the Rockies and saw his record fall to 15-12. After going 11-6 with a 3.65 era in the first half, Marquis has gone 4-6 with a 4.48 ERA in 12 starts in the 2nd half.
The Rockies lead in the Wild Card standings is now 4 games over the Atlanta Braves and division foe San Francisco Giants with 10 games to play for all three teams.
The Padres record improved to 70-83. With 9 games remaining on the Friars schedule, 5 at home, they have a shot at ending the season with 12 game improvement over 2008 by taking 5 of 9 against division foes.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Gonzalez hurt in Padres Loss in Colorado
Tuesday September 22, 2009
Got your attention? Good.
Now for the "good" news. It was Edgar Gonzalez that that got hurt.
Egon, who was playing right field for some unknown reason, partially dislocated his left shoulder while diving for a Barmes line drive. Gonzalez failed attempt at the ball led to an inside the park home run for Barmes.
As bad as his defense was, Egon was not responsible for the Padres loss. That falls on the shoulders of the pitching staff that threw 2 wild pitches that resulted in runs and even balked in a run. Never mind that they gave up 14 hits and walked 8 in one of the sloppiest games I have seen from the Padres this season.
In the 6th, 7th and 8th the Rockies scored a run on respectively: a wild pitch, a missed play by Egon in RF, and a wild pitch.
The Padres tried to overcome a 5 run deficit in the 9th inning drawing 4 walks and hitting two singles, but came up a run short.
Mujica started his third game for the Padres and gave up 6 runs on 8 hits and a walk in just 2 2/3 innings. Cesar Ramos took the loss for the Padres in his 3rd major league appearance.
Reliever Matt Belisle got the win for the Rockies after starter jorge De La rosa went only 2 1/3 innings giving up 6 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks.
Got your attention? Good.
Now for the "good" news. It was Edgar Gonzalez that that got hurt.
Egon, who was playing right field for some unknown reason, partially dislocated his left shoulder while diving for a Barmes line drive. Gonzalez failed attempt at the ball led to an inside the park home run for Barmes.
As bad as his defense was, Egon was not responsible for the Padres loss. That falls on the shoulders of the pitching staff that threw 2 wild pitches that resulted in runs and even balked in a run. Never mind that they gave up 14 hits and walked 8 in one of the sloppiest games I have seen from the Padres this season.
In the 6th, 7th and 8th the Rockies scored a run on respectively: a wild pitch, a missed play by Egon in RF, and a wild pitch.
The Padres tried to overcome a 5 run deficit in the 9th inning drawing 4 walks and hitting two singles, but came up a run short.
Mujica started his third game for the Padres and gave up 6 runs on 8 hits and a walk in just 2 2/3 innings. Cesar Ramos took the loss for the Padres in his 3rd major league appearance.
Reliever Matt Belisle got the win for the Rockies after starter jorge De La rosa went only 2 1/3 innings giving up 6 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks.
Do the Padres WANT Milton Bradley?
Tuesday September 22, 2009
Today we heard rumors from Buster Olney of ESPN that a possible landing spot for Milton Bradley is with the San Diego Padres.
According to Olney the Cubs will have to eat all but $2 - $3 of the $21 million Bradley is owed over the next two seasons in order to move him.
Olney also said that the Texas Rangers apparently are not interested in having Bradley back at any price. After he hit .321 with 22 home runs in a Rangers uniform in 2008, the fact that they don't want him back says volumes about both the Bradley the player and Bradley the teammate.
This leads to a slew of questions.
Bradley has hit.257/.378/.397/.775 in one of the league's best hitters park this season. His time in SD was much too small of a sample size to draw anything concrete from.
For his career Bradley has hit .277/.371/.450/.821 on 7 teams in 10 years. Good but not great.
Headley has hit .266/.342/.408/.750 in THE hardest park in baseball to hit in. For his career Headley has hit.266/.340/.410/.750.
Blanks has only played in 54 games at the ML level, so the sample size is too small to infer to much, but it is pretty widely held that Blanks is the best hitting prospect in the Padres system and has 30+ home run power. To say he can hit at least .257 with 12 home runs is a pretty easy leap of faith.
Bradley has played more than 100 games in the field only twice in 10 seasons.
Headley has never been on the DL and has played in 145 games this season and 91 in 2008.
Blanks is currently on the DL with plantar fasciitis. How he will fair physically cannot be guessed, but playing in as many games as Bradley is not hard, considering he has only started 885 games in 10 seasons.
So to answer question #3, Bradley would not be much if any upgrade over the players already on the Padres roster.
The Answer to question #3 pretty much answers question #2.
If Bradley would not provide much if any upgrade over the players currently on the team offensively, then his performance would not e enough to overcome his detrimental effect on team chemistry.
And that leads to the logical answer to question #1.
NO. The Padres should not trade for Bradley regardless of the cost.
The Cubs could give him to the Padres for Chadd Hartman and pay 100% of Bradley's salary for the next two seasons and it would still not help the Padres be a better team in 2010 or 2011.
That's my take, now what do you think?
Today we heard rumors from Buster Olney of ESPN that a possible landing spot for Milton Bradley is with the San Diego Padres.
According to Olney the Cubs will have to eat all but $2 - $3 of the $21 million Bradley is owed over the next two seasons in order to move him.
Olney also said that the Texas Rangers apparently are not interested in having Bradley back at any price. After he hit .321 with 22 home runs in a Rangers uniform in 2008, the fact that they don't want him back says volumes about both the Bradley the player and Bradley the teammate.
This leads to a slew of questions.
- Regardless of price, do the Padres really want a guy that has so clearly demonstrated on team after team that he is NOT a team player?
- With a young Padres team, would Bradley's contribution with the bat be enough to overcome his damage to team chemistry?
- Would Bradley be an upgrade over Blanks or Headley offensively?
Bradley has hit.257/.378/.397/.775 in one of the league's best hitters park this season. His time in SD was much too small of a sample size to draw anything concrete from.
For his career Bradley has hit .277/.371/.450/.821 on 7 teams in 10 years. Good but not great.
Headley has hit .266/.342/.408/.750 in THE hardest park in baseball to hit in. For his career Headley has hit.266/.340/.410/.750.
Blanks has only played in 54 games at the ML level, so the sample size is too small to infer to much, but it is pretty widely held that Blanks is the best hitting prospect in the Padres system and has 30+ home run power. To say he can hit at least .257 with 12 home runs is a pretty easy leap of faith.
Bradley has played more than 100 games in the field only twice in 10 seasons.
Headley has never been on the DL and has played in 145 games this season and 91 in 2008.
Blanks is currently on the DL with plantar fasciitis. How he will fair physically cannot be guessed, but playing in as many games as Bradley is not hard, considering he has only started 885 games in 10 seasons.
So to answer question #3, Bradley would not be much if any upgrade over the players already on the Padres roster.
The Answer to question #3 pretty much answers question #2.
If Bradley would not provide much if any upgrade over the players currently on the team offensively, then his performance would not e enough to overcome his detrimental effect on team chemistry.
And that leads to the logical answer to question #1.
NO. The Padres should not trade for Bradley regardless of the cost.
The Cubs could give him to the Padres for Chadd Hartman and pay 100% of Bradley's salary for the next two seasons and it would still not help the Padres be a better team in 2010 or 2011.
That's my take, now what do you think?
Monday, September 21, 2009
Padres win a wild one in 11
Monday September 21, 2009
The Padres overcame the first runs given up by Gregerson in more than a month and the 3rd blown save by Heath Bell in his last 7 appearances to take an 11-6 win over the Pirates in 11 innings tonight at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.
And it all came down to an improbable five run top of the 11th for the Padres. The Padres had scored more than 1 run in a bonus inning just once all season, despite playing in 16 extra inning games.
The Padres broke loose against Jeff Karstens and Denny Bautista for 5 runs on 4 hits, 2 intentional walks and a sac fly. The Padres attack in the 11th was paced by doubles from Chase Headley and Oscar Salazar.
Karstens took the loss for the Pirates.
Headley had a career high 5 hits in 6 at bats and drove in 2 runs, Tony Gwynn went 3 for 5 including an RBI single in the 11th, Salazar and Nick Hundley both drove in 3 and every Padres position player had at least one hit.
Adrian Gonzalez hit his 39th home run of the season. He is just one from having the only non Steroid enhanced 40 home run season in Padres history. Vaughn(50), Caminiti(40), and Nevin(41) are the only Padres to have hit 40 or more home runs.
Wade LeBlanc had his 4th straight good outing since being recalled giving up just 1 run in 5 innings on 5 hits and 3 walks, but did not factor in the decision.
The Padres overcame the first runs given up by Gregerson in more than a month and the 3rd blown save by Heath Bell in his last 7 appearances to take an 11-6 win over the Pirates in 11 innings tonight at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.
And it all came down to an improbable five run top of the 11th for the Padres. The Padres had scored more than 1 run in a bonus inning just once all season, despite playing in 16 extra inning games.
The Padres broke loose against Jeff Karstens and Denny Bautista for 5 runs on 4 hits, 2 intentional walks and a sac fly. The Padres attack in the 11th was paced by doubles from Chase Headley and Oscar Salazar.
Karstens took the loss for the Pirates.
Headley had a career high 5 hits in 6 at bats and drove in 2 runs, Tony Gwynn went 3 for 5 including an RBI single in the 11th, Salazar and Nick Hundley both drove in 3 and every Padres position player had at least one hit.
Adrian Gonzalez hit his 39th home run of the season. He is just one from having the only non Steroid enhanced 40 home run season in Padres history. Vaughn(50), Caminiti(40), and Nevin(41) are the only Padres to have hit 40 or more home runs.
Wade LeBlanc had his 4th straight good outing since being recalled giving up just 1 run in 5 innings on 5 hits and 3 walks, but did not factor in the decision.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Is Headley Capable of Playing Third Full time?
Saturday September 19, 2009
Should the Padres trade Kevin Kouzmanoff
to make room for Chase Headley at Third Base?
There has been quite a bit of debate on the message boards and amongst fans and media about whether the Padres should keep both Kevin Kouzmanoff and Chase Headley.
Headley is a defensive liability in LF and many have argued that because he is younger, he should be moved to third base and Kouzmanoff traded.
The rationale is that because Headley was once an average fielder at third base, that he can adequately replace Kouzmanoff's defense at third base and Kouzmanoff's offense.
Kouzmanoff has played nearly flawless defense this season, with just 3 errors and a .990 Fielding percentage. Both would rank as MLB records for the position if the season ended today.
Headley committed his 5th error at the position today in his 16th start of the season. Since Kouzmanoff went down with an injury on September 8th, Headley has committed 2 errors in 9 games.
5 Errors in 16 starts is a 50 error pace for a season and simply unacceptable. 2 errors in 9 starts is a better rate, a 36 error per season pace, but it is still not good. If Headley were somehow able to cut that in half by playing daily, it is still 18 errors per season. Many too many for a player with Headley's limited range.
In fact, cutting his error rate of the past 9 games in half would still leave Headley as nearly the worst full time 3B in the league defensively over a season.
Headley is nearly three years younger than Kouzmanoff and has 1 1/2 less seasons at the major league level, so in fairness that does have to be taken into account.
So that leads to the question, will Headley improve enough over the next 1 1/2 seasons to overcome the difference in defense? Will Headley's home run totals nearly double over the next year and a half? Can he drive in 50% more runs?
Headley demonstrated better power numbers in his first season than in 2009. The sub .400 slugging percentage and lack of home run power (he is hitting just 1 hr every 42 abs) does not bode well for a player at a Corner Infield (or Outfield) position that is expected to be a run producer.
Headley is still only 25 and may develop more power, but I think over the past two months we have been seeing pretty much the best we can expect from him in the future.
He has hit .296/.367/.400 with 11 doubles and 2 home runs in 159 at bats.
Is that enough?
Should the Padres trade Kevin Kouzmanoff
to make room for Chase Headley at Third Base?
There has been quite a bit of debate on the message boards and amongst fans and media about whether the Padres should keep both Kevin Kouzmanoff and Chase Headley.
Headley is a defensive liability in LF and many have argued that because he is younger, he should be moved to third base and Kouzmanoff traded.
The rationale is that because Headley was once an average fielder at third base, that he can adequately replace Kouzmanoff's defense at third base and Kouzmanoff's offense.
Kouzmanoff has played nearly flawless defense this season, with just 3 errors and a .990 Fielding percentage. Both would rank as MLB records for the position if the season ended today.
Headley committed his 5th error at the position today in his 16th start of the season. Since Kouzmanoff went down with an injury on September 8th, Headley has committed 2 errors in 9 games.
5 Errors in 16 starts is a 50 error pace for a season and simply unacceptable. 2 errors in 9 starts is a better rate, a 36 error per season pace, but it is still not good. If Headley were somehow able to cut that in half by playing daily, it is still 18 errors per season. Many too many for a player with Headley's limited range.
In fact, cutting his error rate of the past 9 games in half would still leave Headley as nearly the worst full time 3B in the league defensively over a season.
Headley is nearly three years younger than Kouzmanoff and has 1 1/2 less seasons at the major league level, so in fairness that does have to be taken into account.
So that leads to the question, will Headley improve enough over the next 1 1/2 seasons to overcome the difference in defense? Will Headley's home run totals nearly double over the next year and a half? Can he drive in 50% more runs?
Headley demonstrated better power numbers in his first season than in 2009. The sub .400 slugging percentage and lack of home run power (he is hitting just 1 hr every 42 abs) does not bode well for a player at a Corner Infield (or Outfield) position that is expected to be a run producer.
Headley is still only 25 and may develop more power, but I think over the past two months we have been seeing pretty much the best we can expect from him in the future.
He has hit .296/.367/.400 with 11 doubles and 2 home runs in 159 at bats.
Is that enough?
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Congratulations to the Tin Caps!
Thursday September 17, 2009
Congratulations to the Ft. Wayne Tin Caps on their Midwest League Championship!
The Tin Caps are the Padres Low A farm team.
Led by 2008 1st round pick Jaff Decker and starting pitcher Michael Watt, the Tin Caps won game three to complete a sweep of the championship series over the Burlington (VT) Bees.
Decker went 3 for 5 including a 2 run home run in the 5th and scored a run.
Watt went 5 1/3 innings allowing 3 runs, only 1 earned, on 4 hits while striking out 2.
Closer Brad Brach pitched a perfect 9th and struck out 2 for his 3rd save of the post season.
The win was the Tin Caps 101st of the season, best in professional baseball.
Congratulations to the Ft. Wayne Tin Caps on their Midwest League Championship!
The Tin Caps are the Padres Low A farm team.
Led by 2008 1st round pick Jaff Decker and starting pitcher Michael Watt, the Tin Caps won game three to complete a sweep of the championship series over the Burlington (VT) Bees.
Decker went 3 for 5 including a 2 run home run in the 5th and scored a run.
Watt went 5 1/3 innings allowing 3 runs, only 1 earned, on 4 hits while striking out 2.
Closer Brad Brach pitched a perfect 9th and struck out 2 for his 3rd save of the post season.
The win was the Tin Caps 101st of the season, best in professional baseball.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
A total cluster on defense by Padres results in a win
Wednesday September 16, 2009
Today was a complete cluster for the Padres.
In addition to committing 3 errors, two by Cabrera who just did not have his head in the game, there were at least 5 of the Diamondbacks 11 hits that should have been outs.
Several normally good players made bad plays and several bad fielding players proved why they should never play the field.
But they won 6-5 in 10 innings over the Diamondbacks this afternoon at Petco.
The Padres pulled it out, but by all rights, they should have lost that game.
Adrian Gonzalez crushed his 38th home run of the season, a pinch hit 2 run shot with 2 out, to tie the game up at 5 in the 9th. Then Cabrera atoned for his mental mistakes by squibbing a seeing eye single to right to drive in Luis Durango for the winning run in the 10th.
Durango, who was called up from AA on Monday, was one of the few bright spots in the game going 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored and a sac. He demonstrated that he is not the best fielding LF in the league, but he looked relaxed at the plate and showed off his blazing speed with 2 bunt singles and an infield single then by swiping his first bag on his first attempt to get himself into position to score the winning run.
Mujica went 4 2/3 giving up 2 runs on 6 hits with no walks. Really should have been just 1 run, but Black treated him like a regular starter, not a guy that has started just one game since 2004 and left him in too long.
Black really seems to have no concept when a pitcher is done. He just does not recognize the signs. Which is strange, since he was a pitcher himself.
Bell got the win for the Padres. I guess it was because he shaved off his goatee and not because he finally started locating his pitches.
Yusmeiro Petit took the loss for the Diamondbacks.
The Padres climbed to 66-81 on the season with the win. They still have a mathematical shot at .500 ball.
The last place Diamondbacks fell to 64-83.
Today was a complete cluster for the Padres.
In addition to committing 3 errors, two by Cabrera who just did not have his head in the game, there were at least 5 of the Diamondbacks 11 hits that should have been outs.
Several normally good players made bad plays and several bad fielding players proved why they should never play the field.
But they won 6-5 in 10 innings over the Diamondbacks this afternoon at Petco.
The Padres pulled it out, but by all rights, they should have lost that game.
Adrian Gonzalez crushed his 38th home run of the season, a pinch hit 2 run shot with 2 out, to tie the game up at 5 in the 9th. Then Cabrera atoned for his mental mistakes by squibbing a seeing eye single to right to drive in Luis Durango for the winning run in the 10th.
Durango, who was called up from AA on Monday, was one of the few bright spots in the game going 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored and a sac. He demonstrated that he is not the best fielding LF in the league, but he looked relaxed at the plate and showed off his blazing speed with 2 bunt singles and an infield single then by swiping his first bag on his first attempt to get himself into position to score the winning run.
Mujica went 4 2/3 giving up 2 runs on 6 hits with no walks. Really should have been just 1 run, but Black treated him like a regular starter, not a guy that has started just one game since 2004 and left him in too long.
Black really seems to have no concept when a pitcher is done. He just does not recognize the signs. Which is strange, since he was a pitcher himself.
Bell got the win for the Padres. I guess it was because he shaved off his goatee and not because he finally started locating his pitches.
Yusmeiro Petit took the loss for the Diamondbacks.
The Padres climbed to 66-81 on the season with the win. They still have a mathematical shot at .500 ball.
The last place Diamondbacks fell to 64-83.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Ditto
Tuesday September 15, 2009
Read about yesterdays game and that is all you need to know about today's game. The only difference is that Heath Bell came in and gave this one away.
Padres lose 4-2 to the Diamondbacks tonight at Petco.
That's about all I have to say about this one.
Read about yesterdays game and that is all you need to know about today's game. The only difference is that Heath Bell came in and gave this one away.
Padres lose 4-2 to the Diamondbacks tonight at Petco.
That's about all I have to say about this one.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Padres give one away to Diamondbacks
Monday September 14, 2009
The San Diego Padres gave a game away to the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight at Petco Park, leaving the bases loaded twice and men in scoring position 2 other times.
They also looked like minor leaguers against a pitcher, Billy Buckner of the Diamondbacks with a 7.30 ERA coming into this game.
Kevin Correia went 6 1/3 and gave up 2 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks with 7 so. Adam Russell gave up 2 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks in the 10th to take the loss.
Tony Gwynn went 3-5 but disappeared when it counted, twice failing to even be able to put a bunt on play. It was a sad display of ineptness at bunting. If you cannot hit for power or average you BETTER be able to bunt.
Drew Macias went 2 for 2 with a walk to raise his average to .226 on the season.
We got to see both Sean Gallagher and Aaron Poreda pitch tonight. Gallagher was wild while facing just 2 batter in the 9th. Poreda threw just 1 pitch to get the final out in the 10th.
The San Diego Padres gave a game away to the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight at Petco Park, leaving the bases loaded twice and men in scoring position 2 other times.
They also looked like minor leaguers against a pitcher, Billy Buckner of the Diamondbacks with a 7.30 ERA coming into this game.
Kevin Correia went 6 1/3 and gave up 2 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks with 7 so. Adam Russell gave up 2 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks in the 10th to take the loss.
Tony Gwynn went 3-5 but disappeared when it counted, twice failing to even be able to put a bunt on play. It was a sad display of ineptness at bunting. If you cannot hit for power or average you BETTER be able to bunt.
Drew Macias went 2 for 2 with a walk to raise his average to .226 on the season.
We got to see both Sean Gallagher and Aaron Poreda pitch tonight. Gallagher was wild while facing just 2 batter in the 9th. Poreda threw just 1 pitch to get the final out in the 10th.
Padres win 6th Straight Series
Monday September 14, 2009
The San Diego Padres rebounded from an opening game loss to the Colorado Rockies to take the next two games and win their 6th straight series and 8 of 10 over the last month.
Only the St Louis Cardinals have been able to take a series from the Padres during a stretch that saw them play 5 contending teams and 2 others that entered the season expected to contend. Only the Nationals were a sub .500 team over that stretch.
That HAS to give both players and fans confidence in this young team going into 2010.
Sunday the Padres scored a run in the 2nd only to see starting pitcher Clayton Richard get wild in the 4th and give up 3 runs on 2 walks followed by 2 hits. The Padres clawed and scraped to get a single run in the 5th to narrow the gap to 3-2 and then Rockies starting pitcher Jason Marquis suffered from his own bout with wildness in the 6th, walking 4 (1 intentional) and giving up 2 hits, and the Padres were able to put 3 runs on the board in that frame to take a 6-3 lead that they never relinquished.
Oh, You want to know what happened offensively? Adrian Gonzalez went 3-5 and Will Venable went 2-5 with his 11th home run of the season, a solo shot in the 2nd.
Adam Russell, who joined the Padres in the Peavy trade, got the win. Richard, who was pulled in the 5th for pinch hitter Edgar Gonzalez, did not figure in the decision.
Jason Marquis took the loss for the Rockies, his 11th of the season against 15 wins.
Next up - the Arizona Diamondbacks
In other Padres News:
Today the Padres called up RHP Ernesto Frieri and OF Luis Durango from AA San Antonio after the Missions were eliminated from the Texas League playoffs.
The San Diego Padres rebounded from an opening game loss to the Colorado Rockies to take the next two games and win their 6th straight series and 8 of 10 over the last month.
Only the St Louis Cardinals have been able to take a series from the Padres during a stretch that saw them play 5 contending teams and 2 others that entered the season expected to contend. Only the Nationals were a sub .500 team over that stretch.
That HAS to give both players and fans confidence in this young team going into 2010.
Sunday the Padres scored a run in the 2nd only to see starting pitcher Clayton Richard get wild in the 4th and give up 3 runs on 2 walks followed by 2 hits. The Padres clawed and scraped to get a single run in the 5th to narrow the gap to 3-2 and then Rockies starting pitcher Jason Marquis suffered from his own bout with wildness in the 6th, walking 4 (1 intentional) and giving up 2 hits, and the Padres were able to put 3 runs on the board in that frame to take a 6-3 lead that they never relinquished.
Oh, You want to know what happened offensively? Adrian Gonzalez went 3-5 and Will Venable went 2-5 with his 11th home run of the season, a solo shot in the 2nd.
Adam Russell, who joined the Padres in the Peavy trade, got the win. Richard, who was pulled in the 5th for pinch hitter Edgar Gonzalez, did not figure in the decision.
Jason Marquis took the loss for the Rockies, his 11th of the season against 15 wins.
Next up - the Arizona Diamondbacks
In other Padres News:
Today the Padres called up RHP Ernesto Frieri and OF Luis Durango from AA San Antonio after the Missions were eliminated from the Texas League playoffs.
Ichiro Breaks "Unbreakable" Record
Monday September 14, 2009
One of the most amazing baseball feats was accomplished on Sunday.
Was it the lead story or even a major story on the national sports media? Nope. It was mentioned just as if it was an everyday event.
Jeter passing Lou Gehrig to take over the lead in hits for the Yankees was frontline story on ESPN and Fox Sports and the MLB Channel, but this story wasn't even mentioned until more than 10 minutes into Baseball Tonight. On Sportscenter it came after they talked about Donovan McNabb's injury about midway through the program. An afterthought almost. It seems that all the national sports outlets are interested is how big is the media market the record was broken in, not the magnitude of the record broken.
Its a shame, because the MLB record broken has stood for more than 100 years. It was one of those "unbreakable" records because no one had even come close since.
What record am I speaking of?
Wee Willie Keeler's record of 8 straight seasons with 200 plus hits.
How tough was it to break? Think of it in these terms, Tony Gwynn had five 200 hit seasons in his career, Albert Pujols has had one, in 15 seasons Derek Jeter has had six, Ty Cobb only had eight in his career and hits record holder Pete Rose had only nine in his 24 year career. Wade Boggs, a human hitting machine, was the only player to even come remotely close to breaking it with a seven season run with 200 hits. He never had another season with 200.
So who broke it? Ichiro. Possibly the greatest pure hitter the major leagues has seen since Ted Williams. The only other players that really come close are Albert Pujols and Tony Gwynn.
Earlier this week Ichiro passed 2000 hits for his incredible 9 season career in MLB after 1,278 in Japan. He already holds the MLB record for most hits in a season with 262 hits.
Considering Ichiro is still only 35 years old, he has a pretty good shot at getting 3000 hits in MLB to add to the 1278 he had in Japan. (Remember, through 2000 they only played 130-135 games a season.)
The major media should be praising him loudly and at the front of every broadcast, but instead their silence is deafening. Hopefully they are not so quiet when it comes time to vote him into the Hall of Fame.
One of the most amazing baseball feats was accomplished on Sunday.
Was it the lead story or even a major story on the national sports media? Nope. It was mentioned just as if it was an everyday event.
Jeter passing Lou Gehrig to take over the lead in hits for the Yankees was frontline story on ESPN and Fox Sports and the MLB Channel, but this story wasn't even mentioned until more than 10 minutes into Baseball Tonight. On Sportscenter it came after they talked about Donovan McNabb's injury about midway through the program. An afterthought almost. It seems that all the national sports outlets are interested is how big is the media market the record was broken in, not the magnitude of the record broken.
Its a shame, because the MLB record broken has stood for more than 100 years. It was one of those "unbreakable" records because no one had even come close since.
What record am I speaking of?
Wee Willie Keeler's record of 8 straight seasons with 200 plus hits.
How tough was it to break? Think of it in these terms, Tony Gwynn had five 200 hit seasons in his career, Albert Pujols has had one, in 15 seasons Derek Jeter has had six, Ty Cobb only had eight in his career and hits record holder Pete Rose had only nine in his 24 year career. Wade Boggs, a human hitting machine, was the only player to even come remotely close to breaking it with a seven season run with 200 hits. He never had another season with 200.
So who broke it? Ichiro. Possibly the greatest pure hitter the major leagues has seen since Ted Williams. The only other players that really come close are Albert Pujols and Tony Gwynn.
Earlier this week Ichiro passed 2000 hits for his incredible 9 season career in MLB after 1,278 in Japan. He already holds the MLB record for most hits in a season with 262 hits.
Considering Ichiro is still only 35 years old, he has a pretty good shot at getting 3000 hits in MLB to add to the 1278 he had in Japan. (Remember, through 2000 they only played 130-135 games a season.)
The major media should be praising him loudly and at the front of every broadcast, but instead their silence is deafening. Hopefully they are not so quiet when it comes time to vote him into the Hall of Fame.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Padres rally with a Walk off Walk!
Saturday September 12, 2009
Colorado Rockies reliever Franklin Morales, who had 6 straight saves since Huston Street was injured, was wild in the 10th, walking 3 to give the Padres the win 3-1 on a walk off walk tonight at Petco Park.
Heath Bell blew his 2nd straight save at home and 3rd straight against the Rockies, giving up the key hit to Yorvit Torrealba in both games.
Tim Stauffer had another good outing giving up just 1 run on 3 hits and 4 walks in 6 innings. Sean Gallagher got his first win as a Padres with a scoreless 10th.
Esmil Rogers made his first major league start for the Rockies giving up 2 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks over 4 innings.
With the win tonight the Padres surpassed their win total from 2008 with 19 games left in the season.
The rubber match is tomorrow at 1:05pm.
Clayton Richard takes the mound for the Padres against Jason Marquis.
Colorado Rockies reliever Franklin Morales, who had 6 straight saves since Huston Street was injured, was wild in the 10th, walking 3 to give the Padres the win 3-1 on a walk off walk tonight at Petco Park.
Heath Bell blew his 2nd straight save at home and 3rd straight against the Rockies, giving up the key hit to Yorvit Torrealba in both games.
Tim Stauffer had another good outing giving up just 1 run on 3 hits and 4 walks in 6 innings. Sean Gallagher got his first win as a Padres with a scoreless 10th.
Esmil Rogers made his first major league start for the Rockies giving up 2 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks over 4 innings.
With the win tonight the Padres surpassed their win total from 2008 with 19 games left in the season.
The rubber match is tomorrow at 1:05pm.
Clayton Richard takes the mound for the Padres against Jason Marquis.
Bell blows 2nd straight at home
Saturday September 12, 2009
San Diego Padres Closer Heath Bell came in and blew his 2nd straight game against the Colorado Rockies. Of 5 blown saves this season, 3 are against the Rockies. He just cannot hold a lead against them.
San Diego Padres Closer Heath Bell came in and blew his 2nd straight game against the Colorado Rockies. Of 5 blown saves this season, 3 are against the Rockies. He just cannot hold a lead against them.
Giants roll over and play dead
Saturday September 12, 2009
After getting spanked by the Dodgers 10-3 yesterday at Alphabet Soup Park in San Francisco, the Giants are once again rolling over for the Dodgers tonight.
With the 9-1 loss tonight, the Giants shot at a wild card position have pretty much evaporated.
Its too bad. I personally would have liked to see the Giants at least show up for this home series and make the Dodgers sweat out the division title down the stretch.
After getting spanked by the Dodgers 10-3 yesterday at Alphabet Soup Park in San Francisco, the Giants are once again rolling over for the Dodgers tonight.
With the 9-1 loss tonight, the Giants shot at a wild card position have pretty much evaporated.
Its too bad. I personally would have liked to see the Giants at least show up for this home series and make the Dodgers sweat out the division title down the stretch.
Bell blows first save at home
Saturday September 12, 2009
The San Diego Padres lead every inning going into the 9th.
Closer Heath Bell came in and it looked like the Padres would continue to be hot and take the 1st game of the series with Colorado.
And then the unthinkable happened. Heath Bell couldn't find the plate and walked two of the first 4 batter and gave up 4 runs for his first blown save of the season at Petco Park.
Game over. Padres lose 4-1 to the Colorado Rockies.
A bevy of Padres relievers had pitched 8 scoreless innings prior to Bell's appearance. Led by Mujica who threw 4 scoreless innings and two effective appearances by Sean Gallagher and Adam Russell.
Then Joe "Becky" Thatcher was brought in to face the lefties in the 7th and nearly gave the game away. Thatcher hit Helton, struck out Hawpe, and then gave up a double to Hawpe. How he got a "hold" for that one I don't know. For Thatcher's second straight appearance and third in his last 5, Gregerson had to come in and pull his fat out of the fire.
Regardless of the hype from Corey Brock at mlb.com, Thatcher has just not been effective in pressure situations. In 21 opportunities he has just 4 holds.
Sometimes stats like ERA just don't tell the real story. Thatcher has a great ERA. Mostly because he only allows other pitchers runs to score and he is taken out of the game after he fails to get out his batters out like last night, but without giving up a run. Others are left to clean up his messes and luckily for the Padres, Gregerson and others have been able to on a consistent basis.
When Gregerson or other relievers come in and pick him up, Thatcher's ERA doesn't go up even though he was totally ineffective, like his last 3 of his last 5 appearances.
Even holds can be a deceiving stat. 2 of Thatchers 4 holds have been in situations where he came in for a single batter. Last night he was totally ineffective, hitting a batter and giving up a double before being pulled, but he still got a hold.
Since being called up on July 20th he has 3 appearances in which he failed to even record an out and another 6 in which he was pulled mid-inning. In other words in 25 appearances since he was recalled from the minors, he has failed to get the job done 36% of the time including 3 of his last 5 appearances, but did it without giving up an earned run. So Thatcher's stats look good, but he still failed at his job. Someone else, namely Luke Gregerson lately, had to come in and saved his worthless behind.
Do you get the idea I don't like Joe "Becky" Thatcher? Well you would be correct. What I don't like even more is the media campaign by Brock and others to push this loser on the fans of San Diego.
Ok enough of my influenza influenced tirade.
The San Diego Padres lead every inning going into the 9th.
Closer Heath Bell came in and it looked like the Padres would continue to be hot and take the 1st game of the series with Colorado.
And then the unthinkable happened. Heath Bell couldn't find the plate and walked two of the first 4 batter and gave up 4 runs for his first blown save of the season at Petco Park.
Game over. Padres lose 4-1 to the Colorado Rockies.
A bevy of Padres relievers had pitched 8 scoreless innings prior to Bell's appearance. Led by Mujica who threw 4 scoreless innings and two effective appearances by Sean Gallagher and Adam Russell.
Then Joe "Becky" Thatcher was brought in to face the lefties in the 7th and nearly gave the game away. Thatcher hit Helton, struck out Hawpe, and then gave up a double to Hawpe. How he got a "hold" for that one I don't know. For Thatcher's second straight appearance and third in his last 5, Gregerson had to come in and pull his fat out of the fire.
Regardless of the hype from Corey Brock at mlb.com, Thatcher has just not been effective in pressure situations. In 21 opportunities he has just 4 holds.
Sometimes stats like ERA just don't tell the real story. Thatcher has a great ERA. Mostly because he only allows other pitchers runs to score and he is taken out of the game after he fails to get out his batters out like last night, but without giving up a run. Others are left to clean up his messes and luckily for the Padres, Gregerson and others have been able to on a consistent basis.
When Gregerson or other relievers come in and pick him up, Thatcher's ERA doesn't go up even though he was totally ineffective, like his last 3 of his last 5 appearances.
Even holds can be a deceiving stat. 2 of Thatchers 4 holds have been in situations where he came in for a single batter. Last night he was totally ineffective, hitting a batter and giving up a double before being pulled, but he still got a hold.
Since being called up on July 20th he has 3 appearances in which he failed to even record an out and another 6 in which he was pulled mid-inning. In other words in 25 appearances since he was recalled from the minors, he has failed to get the job done 36% of the time including 3 of his last 5 appearances, but did it without giving up an earned run. So Thatcher's stats look good, but he still failed at his job. Someone else, namely Luke Gregerson lately, had to come in and saved his worthless behind.
Do you get the idea I don't like Joe "Becky" Thatcher? Well you would be correct. What I don't like even more is the media campaign by Brock and others to push this loser on the fans of San Diego.
Ok enough of my influenza influenced tirade.
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Don't Look Now
Wednesday September 9, 2009
Don't look now, but the Padres could very well finish the 2009 season with a better record than the Mets.
As it stands tonight the surging Padres have a 63-78 record (.447) and the slumping Mets have a 62-77 record (.446).
While the Padres went 15-14 in August and have won 6 of their last 8 games, the Mets went 12-17 in August (1-3 against the Padres) and have lost 5 of their last 8 games.
Ouch. Do you think Omar Minaya should keep his job if that happens? After all the Mets were widely picked to win the NL East over the World Champion Phillies before the season started.
Yes, the Mets have been struck by a Padre-like run of injuries this season, but with a payroll north of $130 million, is there any excuse for having a worse record than the Padres and their $36.7 million payroll?
Don't look now, but the Padres could very well finish the 2009 season with a better record than the Mets.
As it stands tonight the surging Padres have a 63-78 record (.447) and the slumping Mets have a 62-77 record (.446).
While the Padres went 15-14 in August and have won 6 of their last 8 games, the Mets went 12-17 in August (1-3 against the Padres) and have lost 5 of their last 8 games.
Ouch. Do you think Omar Minaya should keep his job if that happens? After all the Mets were widely picked to win the NL East over the World Champion Phillies before the season started.
Yes, the Mets have been struck by a Padre-like run of injuries this season, but with a payroll north of $130 million, is there any excuse for having a worse record than the Padres and their $36.7 million payroll?
2nd straight good outing from LeBlanc in Pads win
Wednesday Sept 9, 2009
Happy 9/9/9!
Looks like Wade LeBlanc was celebrating the day as he collected his 2nd straight victory in the San Diego Padres 4-2 win over the San Francisco Giants at Alphabet Soup Park.
LeBlanc pitched a heck of a good game too allowing just 2 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks. 2 of those walks came to start the 8th inning, but Luke Gregerson came in with 2 on and no outs and shut the Giants down.
Adrian Gonzalez provided all the offense the Padres would need driving in 3 runs on a single in the first with Everth Cabrera on 3rb base and a booming home run to left field, his 37th of the season, in the 3rd inning.
Oscar Salazar added an insurance run in the 6th with a solo shot of his own.
Cabrera stole his 22nd and 23rd bases of the season to move him into 4th place on the Padres list for rookies behind Ozzie Smith, Alan Wiggins and Roberto Alomar. 1 more SB and he will tie Alomar's total amassed over 143 games in 1988.
The Padres have now won FIVE straight series including 4 on the road and put up double digit hits for the 4th time in 8 games this month.
Barry Zito took the loss for the Giants going 5 innings and giving up 3 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks with 2 k's.
Happy 9/9/9!
Looks like Wade LeBlanc was celebrating the day as he collected his 2nd straight victory in the San Diego Padres 4-2 win over the San Francisco Giants at Alphabet Soup Park.
LeBlanc pitched a heck of a good game too allowing just 2 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks. 2 of those walks came to start the 8th inning, but Luke Gregerson came in with 2 on and no outs and shut the Giants down.
Adrian Gonzalez provided all the offense the Padres would need driving in 3 runs on a single in the first with Everth Cabrera on 3rb base and a booming home run to left field, his 37th of the season, in the 3rd inning.
Oscar Salazar added an insurance run in the 6th with a solo shot of his own.
Cabrera stole his 22nd and 23rd bases of the season to move him into 4th place on the Padres list for rookies behind Ozzie Smith, Alan Wiggins and Roberto Alomar. 1 more SB and he will tie Alomar's total amassed over 143 games in 1988.
The Padres have now won FIVE straight series including 4 on the road and put up double digit hits for the 4th time in 8 games this month.
Barry Zito took the loss for the Giants going 5 innings and giving up 3 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks with 2 k's.
Washington Post readers have such class
Wednesday September 9, 2009
Judging by all the anonymous comments I have received yesterday and tonight full of cursing and spewing hatred at me for daring to say Ryan Zimmerman is not a runaway candidate for the Gold Glove and all the click throughs from voices.washingtonpost.com, Websoulsurfer must have made the Washington Post website.
Sorry folks, sailor speak and sounding like a right wing pundit is not going to make me change my mind. I still believe that 3 errors is better than 15 and that Zimmerman is not more deserving of the Gold Glove award than Kouzmanoff.
Come back and put your name on the comment, don't use any foul language, and present a coherent argument as to why you think Zimmerman should win the Gold Glove and I will be glad to post your comment.
Until then, enjoy living in our nation's capital and watching the Nationals play.
Judging by all the anonymous comments I have received yesterday and tonight full of cursing and spewing hatred at me for daring to say Ryan Zimmerman is not a runaway candidate for the Gold Glove and all the click throughs from voices.washingtonpost.com, Websoulsurfer must have made the Washington Post website.
Sorry folks, sailor speak and sounding like a right wing pundit is not going to make me change my mind. I still believe that 3 errors is better than 15 and that Zimmerman is not more deserving of the Gold Glove award than Kouzmanoff.
Come back and put your name on the comment, don't use any foul language, and present a coherent argument as to why you think Zimmerman should win the Gold Glove and I will be glad to post your comment.
Until then, enjoy living in our nation's capital and watching the Nationals play.
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
New Padres show mettle & bats come alive
Tuesday September 8, 2009
One Padres rookie and one new Padre showed that they could get the job done in a pressure situation tonight against the San Francisco Giants at Alphabet Park.
Luke Gregerson has shown in many situations this year that he can be counted on to protect a lead and tonight was only different in that he earned his first major league win by pitching 2/3 perfect innings, but this was the 1st time we have seen Ryan Webb in a close game and he looked very good with his fastball topping out at 96 and his slider popping.
Kevin Correia had another quality start giving up 3 runs on 8 hits and 1 walk in 6 innings. After an outstanding outing in his last start, Correia struggled with his control at times tonight, had to pitch from the stretch in each inning except the 6th. He ended up throwing 115 pitches to get through 6 innings in earning a no decision.
Chase Headley, Kevin Kouzmanoff hit solo home runs off Giants rookie Madison Bumgarner and Will Venable crushed a solo shot to deep center to lead the charge for the power charge for the Padres. Headley drove in the winning run with an opposite field single in the 8th.
Headley went 3-4 and looked very good at the plate, stroking a ball out over the plate for a home run to LF in the 1st and fighting off inside pitches for both singles.
Kouzmanoff went 2-5 before leaving the game with a left calf strain after an at bat in top of the 9th. If the season ends today for Kouzmanoff, he will have enough Total Chances to qualify for the MLB record for fielding percentage by a 3B.
On his 26th birthday, Nick Hundley closed out the game playing left field, that's correct left field, and caught a fly ball from Eugenio Velez for the final out of the game. It was the first time Hundley has ever played the outfield professionally.
The Padres now have 18 games with double digit hits in their last 36 games.
Bumgarner got a no decision for San Francisco in his first major league start, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits and 1 walk with 4 k's in 5 1/3 innings pitched. All in all, a very good showing for the Giants top prospect.
One Padres rookie and one new Padre showed that they could get the job done in a pressure situation tonight against the San Francisco Giants at Alphabet Park.
Luke Gregerson has shown in many situations this year that he can be counted on to protect a lead and tonight was only different in that he earned his first major league win by pitching 2/3 perfect innings, but this was the 1st time we have seen Ryan Webb in a close game and he looked very good with his fastball topping out at 96 and his slider popping.
Kevin Correia had another quality start giving up 3 runs on 8 hits and 1 walk in 6 innings. After an outstanding outing in his last start, Correia struggled with his control at times tonight, had to pitch from the stretch in each inning except the 6th. He ended up throwing 115 pitches to get through 6 innings in earning a no decision.
Chase Headley, Kevin Kouzmanoff hit solo home runs off Giants rookie Madison Bumgarner and Will Venable crushed a solo shot to deep center to lead the charge for the power charge for the Padres. Headley drove in the winning run with an opposite field single in the 8th.
Headley went 3-4 and looked very good at the plate, stroking a ball out over the plate for a home run to LF in the 1st and fighting off inside pitches for both singles.
Kouzmanoff went 2-5 before leaving the game with a left calf strain after an at bat in top of the 9th. If the season ends today for Kouzmanoff, he will have enough Total Chances to qualify for the MLB record for fielding percentage by a 3B.
On his 26th birthday, Nick Hundley closed out the game playing left field, that's correct left field, and caught a fly ball from Eugenio Velez for the final out of the game. It was the first time Hundley has ever played the outfield professionally.
The Padres now have 18 games with double digit hits in their last 36 games.
Bumgarner got a no decision for San Francisco in his first major league start, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits and 1 walk with 4 k's in 5 1/3 innings pitched. All in all, a very good showing for the Giants top prospect.
Padres facing Rookie tonight.
Tuesday September 8, 2009
The Padres will be facing rookie starting pitcher Madison Baumgarner in his first major league start tonight instead of Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum tonight in San Francisco.
Will Lincecum being pulled from his scheduled start tonight give the Padres a better shot at winning? The Padres have not done well against Tim Lincecum, who is 4-2 with a 1.67 era in 11 starts against them.
Against rookies the Padres are up and down. Either they get no hit like they did against Bud Smith a few years back or they crush them. There doesn't seem to be any in between.
We can hope that the Padres make Baumgarner's 1st major league start is a rude welcome.
The Padres will be facing rookie starting pitcher Madison Baumgarner in his first major league start tonight instead of Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum tonight in San Francisco.
Will Lincecum being pulled from his scheduled start tonight give the Padres a better shot at winning? The Padres have not done well against Tim Lincecum, who is 4-2 with a 1.67 era in 11 starts against them.
Against rookies the Padres are up and down. Either they get no hit like they did against Bud Smith a few years back or they crush them. There doesn't seem to be any in between.
We can hope that the Padres make Baumgarner's 1st major league start is a rude welcome.
Monday, September 07, 2009
More on how good Kouzmanoff's defense has been
Monday September 7, 2009
Myron over at Another Padres Blog brought up some points about how good Kevin Kouzmanoff's defense has been this season that I want to speak about a little bit.
One of the things that he brings up is that because Ryan Zimmerman has more total chances, he is supposedly a better fielder than Kouzmanoff.
Let me say this first, Total Chances has as much to do with the pitchers as with the range of the player.
To say either Kouzmanoff or Zimmerman is a better fielder because he has more chances without also finding out what percentage of the balls were actually hit to the left side is disingenuous. Common sense tells us that if you face a larger percentage of RHB, you will have more balls hit to the left side.
To say either is a better fielder without knowing what percentage of the balls hit were ground balls makes that argument faulty as well.
So lets take a look at those and let me give a few examples.
Overall the Washington Nationals pitchers induce ground balls at a higher rate (44.8 %) than Padres pitchers (43.2 %). That MUST be taken into account.
5437 total PA x 1.6% = 86 more ground balls induced by Nationals pitchers.
A great example -
If Chris Young is pitching, then nearly twice as man of the balls hit will be fly balls than if John Lannan is pitching.
The number of right handed batters faced must also be taken into account.
Overall Zimmerman faced 6% more RHB. As we stated above, RHB are more likely to hit the ball to the left side than a left handed batter.
The Nationals have faced a much higher percentage of RHB (3077 vs RHB, 2270 VS LHB) than the Padres have (2721 vs RHB, 2632 vs LHB) which means more hits to the left side of the infield.
3077 -2721 = 356 more PA by RHB.
In 74% of the plate appearances by RHB the ball was put in play and 41% of those were hit to what THT defines as the 3B zone, then 108 additional balls were hit to the 3B zone against the Nationals than were hit to the 3B zone against the Padres. Zimmerman has 106 more total chances than Kouzmanoff. I simply do not see any benefit that came from Zimmerman's supposed greater range.
So the fact that Nationals pitchers induce a higher percentage of ground balls and face more batters overall and more RHB accounts for, at the very least, a huge portion of the 106 additional chances that Ryan Zimmerman has had in 2009.
Now in his article, Myron quotes THT stats that say Zimmerman has gotten to 51 more out of zone (OOZ) balls than Kouzmanoff has, but Zimmerman has thrown away 12 of the 51 balls THT claims that his slightly larger range has allowed him to get to. (Myron, 84-33=51, not 45)
I am not sure that THT's stats are correct since what the zone is is totally subjective, but assuming they are, were the additional 38 balls reached worth the 12 additional errors?
Those 12 additional throwing errors by Zimmerman resulted in 27 unearned runs scored. So how many games were lost because of those 27 additional runs? Did the 38 additional outs save 27 runs? Until you can answer that question you cannot quantify the benefit of Zimmerman getting to 51 more supposed out of zone balls.
Is additional range a benefit? Certainly. IF you can convert those balls into outs.
If the season ended today would I take a guy for the Gold Glove with slightly more range that commits 5 TIMES as many errors? No Way.
I would take the guy that knows his limits and simply does not commit throwing errors.
I would take the guy that converts 20% more of his DP opportunities.
I would take the guy who set a major league record for fielding percentage.
I would take Kouzmanoff.
* Stats taken from Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet, except where noted.
Myron over at Another Padres Blog brought up some points about how good Kevin Kouzmanoff's defense has been this season that I want to speak about a little bit.
One of the things that he brings up is that because Ryan Zimmerman has more total chances, he is supposedly a better fielder than Kouzmanoff.
Let me say this first, Total Chances has as much to do with the pitchers as with the range of the player.
To say either Kouzmanoff or Zimmerman is a better fielder because he has more chances without also finding out what percentage of the balls were actually hit to the left side is disingenuous. Common sense tells us that if you face a larger percentage of RHB, you will have more balls hit to the left side.
To say either is a better fielder without knowing what percentage of the balls hit were ground balls makes that argument faulty as well.
So lets take a look at those and let me give a few examples.
Overall the Washington Nationals pitchers induce ground balls at a higher rate (44.8 %) than Padres pitchers (43.2 %). That MUST be taken into account.
5437 total PA x 1.6% = 86 more ground balls induced by Nationals pitchers.
A great example -
If Chris Young is pitching, then nearly twice as man of the balls hit will be fly balls than if John Lannan is pitching.
The number of right handed batters faced must also be taken into account.
Overall Zimmerman faced 6% more RHB. As we stated above, RHB are more likely to hit the ball to the left side than a left handed batter.
The Nationals have faced a much higher percentage of RHB (3077 vs RHB, 2270 VS LHB) than the Padres have (2721 vs RHB, 2632 vs LHB) which means more hits to the left side of the infield.
3077 -2721 = 356 more PA by RHB.
In 74% of the plate appearances by RHB the ball was put in play and 41% of those were hit to what THT defines as the 3B zone, then 108 additional balls were hit to the 3B zone against the Nationals than were hit to the 3B zone against the Padres. Zimmerman has 106 more total chances than Kouzmanoff. I simply do not see any benefit that came from Zimmerman's supposed greater range.
So the fact that Nationals pitchers induce a higher percentage of ground balls and face more batters overall and more RHB accounts for, at the very least, a huge portion of the 106 additional chances that Ryan Zimmerman has had in 2009.
Now in his article, Myron quotes THT stats that say Zimmerman has gotten to 51 more out of zone (OOZ) balls than Kouzmanoff has, but Zimmerman has thrown away 12 of the 51 balls THT claims that his slightly larger range has allowed him to get to. (Myron, 84-33=51, not 45)
I am not sure that THT's stats are correct since what the zone is is totally subjective, but assuming they are, were the additional 38 balls reached worth the 12 additional errors?
Those 12 additional throwing errors by Zimmerman resulted in 27 unearned runs scored. So how many games were lost because of those 27 additional runs? Did the 38 additional outs save 27 runs? Until you can answer that question you cannot quantify the benefit of Zimmerman getting to 51 more supposed out of zone balls.
Is additional range a benefit? Certainly. IF you can convert those balls into outs.
If the season ended today would I take a guy for the Gold Glove with slightly more range that commits 5 TIMES as many errors? No Way.
I would take the guy that knows his limits and simply does not commit throwing errors.
I would take the guy that converts 20% more of his DP opportunities.
I would take the guy who set a major league record for fielding percentage.
I would take Kouzmanoff.
* Stats taken from Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet, except where noted.
How good is Kouzmanoff's defense?
Monday September 7, 2009
I have been hearing alot about Kevin Kouzmanoff's defense and I wondered how he compared to the greats of my youth and more recent years. The guys that are enshrined in the Hall of Fame and others that simply known as great defenders.
I started with THE greatest defensive Third Baseman the game has ever known.
Brooks Robinson.
He won 18 Gold Gloves and is in the HOF today primarily because of his glove. Well, some might argue that last point since he got 2848 hits in 23 seasons in the majors, but lets just say he was KNOWN for his glove, not his bat.
Brooks Robinson's best season was 1967. He had a .980 fielding percentage and a 3.52 RF/9 with 11 errors.
The second player I wanted to see how Kouzmanoff compared to was my personal favorite, Mike Schmidt.
Schmidt won 10 Gold Gloves and some argue that he was the best NL 3B ever.
His best defensive year was 1986 when he had a .980 fielding percentage and a 2.59 RF/9 with 6 errors, although his best year for range was 1977 when he had a 3.49 RF/9.
I also looked up a couple of more recent 3B are known as great defenders, Eric Chavez for the A's, and Scott Rolen of the Phillies and Cardinals.
In Padres past we had one player that most people think of as a great 3B, Ken Caminiti.
Eric Chavez's best year defensively was 2006 when he had a .987 fFielding percentage and a 2.98 RF/9 with 5 errors.
Scott Rolen's best season defensively was 2004 when he had a .977 fielding percentage and a 3.06 RF/9 with 10 errors.
And Caminiti's best season, although it was not the one for which he won the Gold Glove for the Padres, was 1994 as an Astro when he had a .969 fielding percentage and a 2.72 RF/9 with 9 errors. Caminiti's best season for range was 1997 as a Padre when he had a 3.07 RF/9 but a .941 fielding percentage and 24 errors.
So there are the other commonly accepted greats with the glove at 3B.
How does Kouzmanoff's season in 2009 compare?
Fielding Percentage - .990 Best in MLB History.
RF/9 - 2.34 (Last season he had a 2.64 RF/9)
Errors - 3
In other words he is Schmidt like in his range and better once he touches the ball.
So he may not get to as many balls as some players like Robinson, but when he does, he gets an out.
Some people are saying that Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals should win the Gold Glove because he has so much better range than Kouzmanoff, but his RF/9 is only 3.06. That type of range certainly does not place him among the greats of the game like Robinson.
And when Zimmerman gets to the ball he is only converting that chance to an out in .963 percent of the time.
By a combination of his range and the pitchers he is playing behind, Zimmerman has 404 TC to Kouzmanoff's 298 TC to date, and yet he has just one more double play turned. In other words Kouzmanoff has been much more efficient at turning the double play.
Both Kouzmanoff and Zimmerman have the same number of fielding errors - 3, but Kouzmanoff has ZERO throwing errors while Zimmerman has 12 throwing errors.
All in all, if the question is who should win the Gold Glove, in my way of thinking Kouzmanoff wins.
I have been hearing alot about Kevin Kouzmanoff's defense and I wondered how he compared to the greats of my youth and more recent years. The guys that are enshrined in the Hall of Fame and others that simply known as great defenders.
I started with THE greatest defensive Third Baseman the game has ever known.
Brooks Robinson.
He won 18 Gold Gloves and is in the HOF today primarily because of his glove. Well, some might argue that last point since he got 2848 hits in 23 seasons in the majors, but lets just say he was KNOWN for his glove, not his bat.
Brooks Robinson's best season was 1967. He had a .980 fielding percentage and a 3.52 RF/9 with 11 errors.
The second player I wanted to see how Kouzmanoff compared to was my personal favorite, Mike Schmidt.
Schmidt won 10 Gold Gloves and some argue that he was the best NL 3B ever.
His best defensive year was 1986 when he had a .980 fielding percentage and a 2.59 RF/9 with 6 errors, although his best year for range was 1977 when he had a 3.49 RF/9.
I also looked up a couple of more recent 3B are known as great defenders, Eric Chavez for the A's, and Scott Rolen of the Phillies and Cardinals.
In Padres past we had one player that most people think of as a great 3B, Ken Caminiti.
Eric Chavez's best year defensively was 2006 when he had a .987 fFielding percentage and a 2.98 RF/9 with 5 errors.
Scott Rolen's best season defensively was 2004 when he had a .977 fielding percentage and a 3.06 RF/9 with 10 errors.
And Caminiti's best season, although it was not the one for which he won the Gold Glove for the Padres, was 1994 as an Astro when he had a .969 fielding percentage and a 2.72 RF/9 with 9 errors. Caminiti's best season for range was 1997 as a Padre when he had a 3.07 RF/9 but a .941 fielding percentage and 24 errors.
So there are the other commonly accepted greats with the glove at 3B.
How does Kouzmanoff's season in 2009 compare?
Fielding Percentage - .990 Best in MLB History.
RF/9 - 2.34 (Last season he had a 2.64 RF/9)
Errors - 3
In other words he is Schmidt like in his range and better once he touches the ball.
So he may not get to as many balls as some players like Robinson, but when he does, he gets an out.
Some people are saying that Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals should win the Gold Glove because he has so much better range than Kouzmanoff, but his RF/9 is only 3.06. That type of range certainly does not place him among the greats of the game like Robinson.
And when Zimmerman gets to the ball he is only converting that chance to an out in .963 percent of the time.
By a combination of his range and the pitchers he is playing behind, Zimmerman has 404 TC to Kouzmanoff's 298 TC to date, and yet he has just one more double play turned. In other words Kouzmanoff has been much more efficient at turning the double play.
Both Kouzmanoff and Zimmerman have the same number of fielding errors - 3, but Kouzmanoff has ZERO throwing errors while Zimmerman has 12 throwing errors.
All in all, if the question is who should win the Gold Glove, in my way of thinking Kouzmanoff wins.
Sunday, September 06, 2009
NEVER bring Joe Thatcher in with men on base!
Sunday September 6, 2009
Joe Thatcher on the season:
With the bases empty he is perfect - 0.00 ERA/0.90 WHIP/.189 BAA & just 4 walks in 20 innings pitched.
With runners on base - 5.94 ERA
With runners in scoring position - 8.71 ERA
With RISP and 2 outs - 13.50 ERA
With RISP he actually has as many walks as hits.
With RISP and 2 outs he has allowed only 3 hits, but has given up 5 walks in just 5.1 IP
And remember, this does not include the 6 inherited runners he has allowed to score.
So why would the Padres EVER bring him in or leave him in with men in scoring position, especially if there are two outs?
Joe Thatcher on the season:
With the bases empty he is perfect - 0.00 ERA/0.90 WHIP/.189 BAA & just 4 walks in 20 innings pitched.
With runners on base - 5.94 ERA
With runners in scoring position - 8.71 ERA
With RISP and 2 outs - 13.50 ERA
With RISP he actually has as many walks as hits.
With RISP and 2 outs he has allowed only 3 hits, but has given up 5 walks in just 5.1 IP
And remember, this does not include the 6 inherited runners he has allowed to score.
So why would the Padres EVER bring him in or leave him in with men in scoring position, especially if there are two outs?
Padres win 4th straight series
Sunday September 6, 2009
Happy Labor Day!
The San Diego Padres defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 tonight at Chavez Ravine to take their 4th straight series. Throw out the two series against the St Louis Cardinals, the best team in the NL right now, and the Padres have not lost a series for a month.
After a 15-14 August, their first winning month in 2 seasons, the Padres are now 4-1 in September.
Who would have thunk it?
Its fun watching these kids play. Sometimes you have to look between the fingers you have put over your eyes because you are not quite sure if they are going to get it done, but its still fun.
And you know they are going to make some mistakes, like the 3 errors in one game (and the error tonight) by Everth Cabrera and a bad pitch here and there from the young pitchers, but its still fun.
Tonight we saw a resurgent Tim Stauffer throw 6 2/3 innings of 1 run ball for his 4th win of the season and 3rd straight. In fact if Joe Thatcher had not come in with 2 men on and 2 outs and given up a double on the first pitch to the left handed Andre Ethier the Padres likely would have won this game 4-1. We saw rookie reliever Luke Gregerson come in and shut the Dodgers down for 1 1/3 perfect innings.
We also saw Kevin Kouzmanoff drive in 3 runs, his 81st, 82nd, and 83rd; and Adrian Gonzalez hit his 35th home run. Heath Bell got his 35th save of the season. We saw Cabrera score his 48 run in just 77 starts. That is a 100+ run pace.
Not one Padre I mentioned there is over 30 except 31 year old Heath Bell.
That folks, is exciting! I can't wait to see what these kids and hopefully a couple of key Free Agent or Trade acquisitions this off season can do in 2010.
Happy Labor Day!
The San Diego Padres defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 tonight at Chavez Ravine to take their 4th straight series. Throw out the two series against the St Louis Cardinals, the best team in the NL right now, and the Padres have not lost a series for a month.
After a 15-14 August, their first winning month in 2 seasons, the Padres are now 4-1 in September.
Who would have thunk it?
Its fun watching these kids play. Sometimes you have to look between the fingers you have put over your eyes because you are not quite sure if they are going to get it done, but its still fun.
And you know they are going to make some mistakes, like the 3 errors in one game (and the error tonight) by Everth Cabrera and a bad pitch here and there from the young pitchers, but its still fun.
Tonight we saw a resurgent Tim Stauffer throw 6 2/3 innings of 1 run ball for his 4th win of the season and 3rd straight. In fact if Joe Thatcher had not come in with 2 men on and 2 outs and given up a double on the first pitch to the left handed Andre Ethier the Padres likely would have won this game 4-1. We saw rookie reliever Luke Gregerson come in and shut the Dodgers down for 1 1/3 perfect innings.
We also saw Kevin Kouzmanoff drive in 3 runs, his 81st, 82nd, and 83rd; and Adrian Gonzalez hit his 35th home run. Heath Bell got his 35th save of the season. We saw Cabrera score his 48 run in just 77 starts. That is a 100+ run pace.
Not one Padre I mentioned there is over 30 except 31 year old Heath Bell.
That folks, is exciting! I can't wait to see what these kids and hopefully a couple of key Free Agent or Trade acquisitions this off season can do in 2010.
Saturday, September 05, 2009
Padres 2010 Draft Slot
Saturday September 5, 2009
As of today the San Diego Padres would receive the 7th pick in the 2010 draft.
At the All Star break the Padres would have received the 2nd draft pick behind the Washington Nationals.
At the pace they have been playing at since the All Star break, the Padres would finish with the 10th draft pick.
Are you happy that the Padres have started playing well and winning, or would you rather have seen them continue to play sub .400 ball and end up with the 2nd pick?
As of today the San Diego Padres would receive the 7th pick in the 2010 draft.
At the All Star break the Padres would have received the 2nd draft pick behind the Washington Nationals.
At the pace they have been playing at since the All Star break, the Padres would finish with the 10th draft pick.
Are you happy that the Padres have started playing well and winning, or would you rather have seen them continue to play sub .400 ball and end up with the 2nd pick?
Friday, September 04, 2009
Beat LA, Beat LA, Beat LA
Friday September 4, 2009
6 shutout innings from LeBlanc, a clutch 2 out single from Kouz, and Bell shuts them down in the 9th for his 34th save of the season - Beat LA
from websoulsurfer's twitter post
Twitter is fun, but that pretty much sums up this game.
Dodgers pitching held the Padres to just 5 hits, but Wade LeBlanc threw 6 innings of 2 hit, shut out ball and a 2 out single by Kevin Kouzmanoff drove in David Eckstein in the 1st inning for what proved to be the winning run.
The only other offense in this game came on a single by Oscar Salazar and two errors on a single play, a grounder to short by Nick Hundley, that allowed Salazar to score.
In the only really scary moment for the Padres, after hitting Russell Martin and giving up a single to Rafael Furcal bring the go ahead run to the plate, Joe Thatcher got a key out against Andre Ethier in the 7th to end the rally.
The Padres have now won 8 of their last 10 games.
6 shutout innings from LeBlanc, a clutch 2 out single from Kouz, and Bell shuts them down in the 9th for his 34th save of the season - Beat LA
from websoulsurfer's twitter post
Twitter is fun, but that pretty much sums up this game.
Dodgers pitching held the Padres to just 5 hits, but Wade LeBlanc threw 6 innings of 2 hit, shut out ball and a 2 out single by Kevin Kouzmanoff drove in David Eckstein in the 1st inning for what proved to be the winning run.
The only other offense in this game came on a single by Oscar Salazar and two errors on a single play, a grounder to short by Nick Hundley, that allowed Salazar to score.
In the only really scary moment for the Padres, after hitting Russell Martin and giving up a single to Rafael Furcal bring the go ahead run to the plate, Joe Thatcher got a key out against Andre Ethier in the 7th to end the rally.
The Padres have now won 8 of their last 10 games.
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Game Time Changes
Thursday September 3, 2009
For those of you who haven't heard, the Padres are changing the time games start for weekday day games and Saturday games.
Here is my take on it.
1st the day games during the week are being pushed from 12:35 to 3:35.
I like this change for many reasons, but lets start with the ones the Padres gave.
#1 - This time will bring more business into the Gaslamp Restaurants on Weekdays.
That is true, but how many of us will go out to dinner after sitting at a Padres game in the sun for 3 hours and probably having a dog and a beer or soda or two(or three or four) on a weekday?
#2 - more people will play hooky from work to go to a 3:35 game than a 12:35 game.
I think this is VERY true, but I still may play hooky from work at lunch time and go have lunch before a 3:35 game and I think that a lot of other season ticket holders AND downtown workers will be doing the same.
I really DO like the 3:35 weekday start time.
I just don't like the Saturday time change.
The Padres argument was that more people would go out after the game if it was earlier.
I don't think that it will make that much of a difference in bar traffic. Most of the people that go to the bars are going regardless of whether they went to the Padres game and most of the people that buy season tickets are older than the bar crowd.
I liked taking my family out during the day on Saturday, getting them home by 4-4:30 and still being able to catch dinner and the game on Saturday night.
Now I have to choose one or the other. The Padres are going to lose more often than not. Family comes first.
I don't do the bar scene anymore and since the average age of a season ticket holder is over 50, I doubt many of them do either.
Plus, a 5:30 start means that all the seats in the OF are now in the sun for an hour and a half. All you RF fans, how are you going to like staring into a setting sun for that long?
I have a feeling this will change back pretty quickly.
That is my take. Now what do you have to say about it?
For those of you who haven't heard, the Padres are changing the time games start for weekday day games and Saturday games.
Here is my take on it.
1st the day games during the week are being pushed from 12:35 to 3:35.
I like this change for many reasons, but lets start with the ones the Padres gave.
#1 - This time will bring more business into the Gaslamp Restaurants on Weekdays.
That is true, but how many of us will go out to dinner after sitting at a Padres game in the sun for 3 hours and probably having a dog and a beer or soda or two(or three or four) on a weekday?
#2 - more people will play hooky from work to go to a 3:35 game than a 12:35 game.
I think this is VERY true, but I still may play hooky from work at lunch time and go have lunch before a 3:35 game and I think that a lot of other season ticket holders AND downtown workers will be doing the same.
I really DO like the 3:35 weekday start time.
I just don't like the Saturday time change.
The Padres argument was that more people would go out after the game if it was earlier.
I don't think that it will make that much of a difference in bar traffic. Most of the people that go to the bars are going regardless of whether they went to the Padres game and most of the people that buy season tickets are older than the bar crowd.
I liked taking my family out during the day on Saturday, getting them home by 4-4:30 and still being able to catch dinner and the game on Saturday night.
Now I have to choose one or the other. The Padres are going to lose more often than not. Family comes first.
I don't do the bar scene anymore and since the average age of a season ticket holder is over 50, I doubt many of them do either.
Plus, a 5:30 start means that all the seats in the OF are now in the sun for an hour and a half. All you RF fans, how are you going to like staring into a setting sun for that long?
I have a feeling this will change back pretty quickly.
That is my take. Now what do you have to say about it?
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Padres on ROY candidate list?
Wednesday September 2, 2009
Tim Dierkes of MLBtraderumors.com has three Padres listed on his candidates for NL Rookie of the Year.
The list includes some players I expected to be on the list like Andrew McCutchen, Garrett Jones, Colby Rasmus, Gerardo Parra, Jake Fox, J.A. Happ, Randy Wells, and Tommy Hanson, but I never expected to see Padres Everth Cabrera, Will Venable and Luke Gregerson.
What do you think?
Tim Dierkes of MLBtraderumors.com has three Padres listed on his candidates for NL Rookie of the Year.
The list includes some players I expected to be on the list like Andrew McCutchen, Garrett Jones, Colby Rasmus, Gerardo Parra, Jake Fox, J.A. Happ, Randy Wells, and Tommy Hanson, but I never expected to see Padres Everth Cabrera, Will Venable and Luke Gregerson.
What do you think?
Correia has great outing
Wednesday September 2, 2009
Just in time to make me look like an idiot, San Diego Padres starting pitcher Kevin Correia pitched into the 8th inning for just the second time this season throwing 7 2/3 shutout innings to improve his ERA to 4.29 on the season.
After two straight mediocre outings in which he gave up double digit hits in each, Correia rebounded strongly to shut out the struggling Nationals on just 3 hits and 2 walks for the win over the worst team in baseball. It was Correia's 10th win of the season in 28 starts.
The Padres offense looked anemic to start the game,before busting out for 5 runs in the 6th inning against Nationals starter John Lannan.
Nationals pitchers walked 9 Padres with Lannan walking 5 and reliever Jorge Sosa walking 3 more.
Adrian Gonzalez led the charge with a double that drove in Everth Cabrera and David Eckstein with 2 outs in the 5th. After Kevin Kouzmanoff was intentionally walked, Chase Headley drove in Gonzalez and Kouzmanoff with a double to the gap in RF. Will Venable continued to be hot at the plate, going 2 for 4 with an RBI single in the 5th. He raised his batting average to a team high .275.
Just in time to make me look like an idiot, San Diego Padres starting pitcher Kevin Correia pitched into the 8th inning for just the second time this season throwing 7 2/3 shutout innings to improve his ERA to 4.29 on the season.
After two straight mediocre outings in which he gave up double digit hits in each, Correia rebounded strongly to shut out the struggling Nationals on just 3 hits and 2 walks for the win over the worst team in baseball. It was Correia's 10th win of the season in 28 starts.
The Padres offense looked anemic to start the game,before busting out for 5 runs in the 6th inning against Nationals starter John Lannan.
Nationals pitchers walked 9 Padres with Lannan walking 5 and reliever Jorge Sosa walking 3 more.
Adrian Gonzalez led the charge with a double that drove in Everth Cabrera and David Eckstein with 2 outs in the 5th. After Kevin Kouzmanoff was intentionally walked, Chase Headley drove in Gonzalez and Kouzmanoff with a double to the gap in RF. Will Venable continued to be hot at the plate, going 2 for 4 with an RBI single in the 5th. He raised his batting average to a team high .275.
Kouzmanoff on pace for record season
Wednesday September 2, 2009
San Diego Padres third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff is currently on pace for an NL record for fielding percentage at his position.
His .989 fielding percentage leads all of baseball in 2009. Vinny Castilla owns the current mark for fielding percentage by a third baseman at .984 set in 2004.
Kouzmanoff also has just 3 errors in 283 chances going into last night's game.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, no third baseman has had fewer than 6 errors in a season in which they had 300 total chances.
With 27 games left on the schedule, Kouzmanoff will certainly get to 300 total chances.
We could be watching history Padres fans.
San Diego Padres third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff is currently on pace for an NL record for fielding percentage at his position.
His .989 fielding percentage leads all of baseball in 2009. Vinny Castilla owns the current mark for fielding percentage by a third baseman at .984 set in 2004.
Kouzmanoff also has just 3 errors in 283 chances going into last night's game.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, no third baseman has had fewer than 6 errors in a season in which they had 300 total chances.
With 27 games left on the schedule, Kouzmanoff will certainly get to 300 total chances.
We could be watching history Padres fans.
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Padres win 4-1 over Nationals
Tuesday September 1, 2009
The San Diego Padres guaranteed their 3rd straight series win with a 4-1 victory over the Washington Nationals at Petco Park tonight.
The up and down Clayton Richard pitched a very nice game, giving up just 1 run on 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 6 over 6 2/3 innings for his 8th win of the season and 4th as a Padre. He is now 4-1 with a 4.50 ERA in a Padres uniform.
Will Venable made a great defensive play in RF to save a run in the 6th and stroked an RBI single to drive in Kevin Kouzmanoff in the 2nd. Kouzmanoff went 1 for 4 with a double, a sac fly to drive n a run and a run scored. Oscar Salazar continued his hot hitting off the bench with a pinch hit solo home run in the 7th.
The key play for the Padres may have been a pick off of Elijah Dukes in the 7th. With the score 2-0 Richard picked Dukes off 1st base for the 2nd out. The next batter, Josh Bard, crushed a home run to LF. It would have been a tie game with 1 out, but for that pick off play.
With the win the Padres improved to 58-76 on the season and the Nationals fell to 48-87.
The San Diego Padres guaranteed their 3rd straight series win with a 4-1 victory over the Washington Nationals at Petco Park tonight.
The up and down Clayton Richard pitched a very nice game, giving up just 1 run on 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 6 over 6 2/3 innings for his 8th win of the season and 4th as a Padre. He is now 4-1 with a 4.50 ERA in a Padres uniform.
Will Venable made a great defensive play in RF to save a run in the 6th and stroked an RBI single to drive in Kevin Kouzmanoff in the 2nd. Kouzmanoff went 1 for 4 with a double, a sac fly to drive n a run and a run scored. Oscar Salazar continued his hot hitting off the bench with a pinch hit solo home run in the 7th.
The key play for the Padres may have been a pick off of Elijah Dukes in the 7th. With the score 2-0 Richard picked Dukes off 1st base for the 2nd out. The next batter, Josh Bard, crushed a home run to LF. It would have been a tie game with 1 out, but for that pick off play.
With the win the Padres improved to 58-76 on the season and the Nationals fell to 48-87.
Say it isn't so
Tuesday September 1, 2009
Corey Brock of MLB.com said in an article today that the Padres may give Mat Latos one more start this season against the Dodgers on Saturday.
Why? What purpose does it serve?
Latos is already well past twice his innings pitched from last year, has been ineffective in 3 of his last 4 starts, it is obvious he is worn down and any additional starts only subjects him to injury.
The Padres are not going to catch the Dodgers or make the playoffs.
So why take the chance?
Lets hope they think better of it and sit him down for the month. Let him do his bullpen work and learn from watching from the bench.
Seems to me that Bud Black wants to atone for being a complete idiot in leaving Latos in too long and letting him get pounded in his last start and wants the Padres to compound his mistake by giving Latos another start vs the Dodgers.
I do hope that cooler and smarter heads prevail.
Corey Brock of MLB.com said in an article today that the Padres may give Mat Latos one more start this season against the Dodgers on Saturday.
Why? What purpose does it serve?
Latos is already well past twice his innings pitched from last year, has been ineffective in 3 of his last 4 starts, it is obvious he is worn down and any additional starts only subjects him to injury.
The Padres are not going to catch the Dodgers or make the playoffs.
So why take the chance?
Lets hope they think better of it and sit him down for the month. Let him do his bullpen work and learn from watching from the bench.
Seems to me that Bud Black wants to atone for being a complete idiot in leaving Latos in too long and letting him get pounded in his last start and wants the Padres to compound his mistake by giving Latos another start vs the Dodgers.
I do hope that cooler and smarter heads prevail.
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