Padres wave Baek, Hill and Floyd

Thursday October 8, 2009

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Columnists Start to Chime in on Towers/Padres

Saturday October 3, 2009

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

It has been pretty consistent.

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

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

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

"But it is time for a change."

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

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

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

Correia gets pounded

Saturday August 22, 2009

Kevin Correia once again demonstrated that he is what he is, a decent #4 or #5 pitcher on most major league staffs.

Even playing half his games in spacious Petco Park he is still giving up far too many home runs with men on base and his 4.46 ERA reflects that. He is league average in a park that favors pitchers. Not a good combination.

Hopefully next season he will learn to control his follow through so that he can be more consistent in his delivery and will be able to help Chris Young anchor a rotation that should include future ace Mat Latos, Tim Stauffer and Clayton Richard.

(That little pop to the left that his plant foot does on his follow through makes it harder to repeat his delivery and contributes to his pitches being up. Watch the replay of the game on the home runs and see if his left foot turns sharply towards 1st base as he is following through. I would be willing to bet it does.)

Tonight Correia gave up 5 earned runs on 10 hits and 2 walks with 2 home runs to the St Louis Cardinals in 5 innings pitched.

The Cardinals defeated the Padres for the 11th time in 12 games behind Chris Carpenter's 7 shut out innings of 3 hit ball. Matt Holliday's 3 run blast in the top of the 1st proved to be all the offense the Cardinals would need as they shut out the Padres for the 2nd time in 3 games.

The Padres offense, which had shown signs of improvements in games against other teams since the all star break, has been more anemic against the Cardinals than they have been overall this season.

6-6, SIX FOR SIX!

Tuesday August 11, 2009

Adrian Gonzalez went 6 for 6 and the Padres 3-4-5 hitters went 12 for 16 to lead a 22 hit attack to defeat the Milwaukee Brewers 13-6 tonight at Miller Park.

It was a season high for hits and runs and Adrian entered the Padres record book by becoming one of only 4 to ever have a 6 hit game.

Of Padres starters, only David Eckstein did not have multiple hits. Will Venable continued his hot streak going 2 for 5 with a solo blast in the 2nd.

The newest Padre, Clayton Richard finally went 6 full innings to earn the win tonight.
His line: 6 IP, 6 hits, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K and 2 HR. His ERA is now 4.15, but an error by Gwynn was later changed and 2 runs added to his tally or his ERA would be lower.

Newest Padre carries No Hitter into the 5th

Saturday August 1, 2009

The newest Padres pitcher, Clayton Richard, carried a no hitter into the 5th inning against the Milwaukee Brewers before having it broken up by a 1 out single by Mike Cameron.

He also had a shutout through 5 2/3. Then with 2 out in the 6th, Fielder crushed a ball to RF and that was all for Richard. His line: 5 2/3 IP, 2 hits 3 BB, 5 k and 1 run.

All in all he did very well in his Padres debut.

Then the bullpen came in and it took one whole pitch to blow it.

I don't know if anyone noticed, but the left handed Richard threw as hard or harder than Peavy, hitting 94-96 consistently with his fastball. How long has been since a Padres lefty threw mid 90's ?

Dont Look Now, but the Padres are on a Win Streak

Thursday July 30, 2009

After today's 7-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds at the Great American Ballpark, the San Diego Padres have won 3 straight games.

Its the first winning streak of 3 games or more since the end of their 9 game winning streak that ended on May 25th.

Today Tim Stauffer went 7 strong innings allowing 7 hits, 2 walks and just 1 run for his first win since 2006.

With Stauffer pitching well in his 4 starts this season, Mat Latos showing that he may be a front line type pitcher and the addition of the promising 23 year old Sean Gallagher, the 2010 rotation is really shaping up to be both a young and a good one with Peavy and Young leading the way.

Padres trade Meredith for Salazar

Monday July 20, 2009

I have no problem with the Padres in essence dumping Cla Meredith for a utility infielder. In fact I am pretty happy with the Padres getting so much for a highly ineffective reliever.

Meredith has a decent ERA, but among relievers with at least 30 ip this season, he is among the bottom 30 (of 131) in LOB%. More than half of the guys who have done a poorer job of stranding base runners have spent significant time in the minors this season or are rookies.

He has also allowed 45% of inherited runners to score this season and 50% to score last year. As a starter you would cringe if you knew Meredith was coming in to try to clean up your mess. Chances are he is going to allow a runner to score if you left 2 on the bases.

By comparison for Padres pitchers,
Bell has allowed only 13% of inherited runners to score this season.
Greg Burke - 9%
Luke Gregerson - 20%
Edward Mujica - 27%
Even Joe "Becky" Thatcher has only allowed 30% to score.

League average is 32%. So 45% to 50% is not what you are looking for in a 7th or 8th inning reliever. In fact it is simply not acceptable performance for any major league reliever.

Meredith has also blown all 6 of the save opportunities he has had over the past 2 seasons. 100%. You just cannot get any worse than that in clutch situations.

And he was allowing a ludicrous Batting Average Against of .324!!
.324 is the stuff of Hall of Famers...HOF Batters that is.

So to get Salazar, a utility guy that has hit .321 in 112 abs coming off the bench for the Orioles to take the place of Edgar Gonzalez in the Padres lineup, for Meredith is a bonus. I would have been happy if the Padres got 10 bats or a A ball schlub for him.

So I will not shed tear one for Cla Meredith.

If the Orioles are lucky he will learn how not to choke in pressure situations in the AL East. I highly doubt it, but anything is possible.

And the Joke is on you!

Sunday July 19, 2009

Have you ever wondered how a AAA team would hit at the major league level?

Wonder no more. You got to see it tonight at Petco.

Here is what it looks like:

• .234
• .295
• .248 - and this is the best hitter on the team? Too bad he is hitting under .130 in July. He has plain given up.
• .239 - with 9 home runs = the cleanup hitter.
• .227
• .238
• .205
• .111

Add a AA starting pitcher and you have the Padres lineup for July 19, 2009

Folks, that is a joke. A bad joke, but a joke nonetheless. And the joke is on you.

Can the PTBNL help the Padres win?

Thursday June 9, 2009

Sitting here watching tonight's game and after the third showing of the Bikini Burger commercial from Carl's Jr. my mind is wandering again.

So I find myself wondering, do the A's have a PTBNL that can help the Padres win more games right now?

Would Sean Gallagher or Gio Gonzalez or Dana Eveland or any of their other pitching prospects make one bit of difference in how this season turns out?

Yes, I know that the Hairston trade was supposed to be about the future and building up pitching depth in the system, but will any of the players make any positive impact on the win column this season?

The eternal optimist, I still believe the Padres can win 75 games this season. So is it possible for this trade to somehow makes the Padres better now?

Obviously Italiano won't. Single A is a long way away. Ryan Webb won't make much impact as a middle reliever. That leaves the PTBNL.

So my question to you is, which of the possible PTBNL available from the A's in the Hairston trade will make the biggest (or any) impact on the Padres win-loss record in 2009?

The Definition of Pathetic

Wednesday June 17, 2009

.316
.249
.269
.237
.236
.198
.143
.236
.125
.213

So what are those numbers?

Those are the batting averages of the non pitchers that came to the plate for the Padres tonight.

Wow! That is scary.

Not scary good or scary to the opposing pitcher, just scary. I cannot honestly say I have seen a more pathetic group of batting averages ever. It may well be the worst collection in any game in post WWII baseball.

Yes, I know that Petco depresses batting averages. In fact I have made that argument many times before myself.

But there is no excuse for having no one on the active roster that has more than 100 abs hitting over .270. NONE!

I like that Kouzmanoff is starting to hit with some power and that he is hitting .270+ in June.
I like that Junior is still hitting over .300 after 72 abs. Its not going to last long, like Venables hot streak last season, but I like it right now.
I like that Hairston will be back in a week or so. Hairston was hitting WAY above his career averages and is likely to fall off, but if he returns to his pre-injury form it would be great!

But it is inexcusable to have 6 players STARTING that are hitting under .250.

It is unexcusable for a team that supposedly preaches patience at the plate to have 4 players on pace to strike out more than 100 times.

It is inexcusable for a team to have a slugger like Adrian Gonzalez with so little protection in the lineup that opposing teams have walked him 19 times already this month.

Where is the outrage from management? We fans are all feeling it. We are tired of watching this team underachieve. When is KT, or Moorad or Moores or someone going to step up and publicly say this is unacceptable?

I don't want to hear some meely mouth garbage that "If we fall completely out of this thing in the next month than I think you're going to see a lot of younger players getting the AB's" . That is a defeatist pile of garbage. It is a self fulfilling prophecy.

What I want to hear from SOMEONE in managment is:
"This level of play is unacceptable. We are going to make changes to help this team be more competitive right now. If for some reason we are unable to turn the season around sufficiently, new players and possibly a new coaching staff are on the way. Its time for this team to step up."

Bud Black's JOB is to figure out a way to get talented players to do their jobs at least marginally well.

He has failed.

No the poor pitching is not his fault. That is almost entirely on injuries. When you have 6 or 7 pitchers on the DL and 8 members of your pitching staff that should be in the minors, you are not going to win many games.

What is his fault is a total lack of hitting. He can't swing the bat for them, but he damn well better figure out a way to get them to hit better than this. Maybe he needs to put the fear of God in them. A angry meltdown from the mild mannered Black would sure shake up things. Maybe more time in the cage or watching video. A different hitting coach. A different hitting philosophy. Or maybe just stop trying to change how guys hit and let them do what got them here.

I don't know. It is not my JOB to know. It IS his job.

What I do know is what he is doing is not working.

I don't expect this pitching staff to keep the Padres in enough games to have a winning record.

I DO expect at least half of the starters to at least hit .250. I do expect to see improvement and adjustments as the season goes on. Is that asking too much?

Apparently it is from this bunch so far this season.

Ok. My rant is over, at least for now.

I have had my say. Now what do you think?