Based on the last blog post and the subsequent 3-0 sweep of the Marlins, the Padres are now an amazing 45-30 on the season.
I again went through Baseball Reference and I could only find one better start in Padres history, 1998. You know what happened then. Even the World Series season of 1984 saw the Friars at 44-31 after 75 games.
What I really like is I think they've compiled their great mark without necessarily being their best. GM Jed Hoyer could add a hitter at some point. No one is playing above their heads. RF Will Venable is hot at the plate this past week -- what if it's a trend instead of a guy being streaky? What if SS Everth Cabrera makes up for his injury-plagued first half with a solid last three months? What if 3B Chase Headley recaptures his April form? Things can get even better.
It was interesting how this coincides with a newspaper article that wonders whether fans will start noticing. I think they will, particularly with the Rockies in this week. Attendance is down nearly 2 percent from last season. If you really want to see an attendance increase, add a hitter. Show the fans the franchise is serious about contending.
In fact, Venable's surge of the past week, in which he hit three tie-breaking, game-winning homers, shows just how important another hitter can be to the Padres. With their pitching, they only need a little more offense, not a lot. That's how close they are to maybe being favored in this race.
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Did the World Cup really create that much excitement around here or is it just a media fiction?
I'm actually leaning toward the latter, seriously. I have yet to talk to, or overhear others in conversation, about the quadrennial soccer championship. Not once. Sure, people gather at sports bars to watch the games but they always do every four years. This is a big town, so there will be soccer fans and they'll be excited but that doesn't make it new. Those in the media who say the win over Algeria that put the USA in the knockout round was some sort of classic forget that NO ONE WAS ABLE TO SCORE until a rebound came out in front of Landon Donovan. Any U8 player in AYSO could have converted that goal opportunity.
I'm sorry, but the World Cup is an absolute waste of my time and I didn't buy into the over-hype of the past week.
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Two things have me very concerned about what the restructuring of The San Diego Union-Tribune is going to mean to the future of local sports coverage.
1. The most recent round of layoffs included the sports editor and two reporters, Nicole Vargas, the lone remaining specialist in high school sports, and Hank Wesch, who handled USD basketball in addition to horse racing. I since saw a Wesch horse-racing column, so it was either something already in the can or he returned to the paper at half his former salary (an offer extended to several of those recently laid-off, and accepted by a few). Who is going to cover these important facets of the local sports scene now, and are they going to know what in the heck they're writing about?
2. The brass has sold their recent moves to the public with the line of "we're really going to offer extensive coverage of the main areas of interest in local sports -- the Padres and Chargers." What about San Diego State, which could have two ranked basketball teams and which could demonstrate this fall whether the football program is on the rise? What about the paradise sports of golf and tennis? The extreme sports popular with the younger audience?
Call me confused and worried.
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Local tennis buffs should be concerned about Jelena Jankovic retiring from a Wimbledon match early Monday (our time) because of a back injury. The Serb, ranked third in the world, is the highest entrant so far in the Mercury Insurance Open at La Costa next month. Samantha Stosur is not going to sell tickets, no matter how well she played in Paris.
The list of player commitments has few recognizable names at this point and almost no Americans. The biggest missing name is that of Venus Williams, a frequent champion at La Costa in the tourney's older forms. I'm sure most of the big-name players are waiting to see how things play out at Wimbledon before committing to their summer schedules, which are basically precursors to the U.S. Open. Look for a lot of them, including one Williams sister, to be in Carlsbad by the end of July.
Showing posts with label chase headley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chase headley. Show all posts
Monday, June 28, 2010
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
"Wholesale Changes" For Padres Cut to the Bone
An angry Padres' General Manager Kevin Towers threatened to make wholesale changes to the roster after yet another loss Monday night as several players passed by where he was talking to reporters.
I would bet that part of this was a ploy to motivate the players -- make them worry about their jobs -- or that they'd have to spend the summer in Cincinnati rather than Southern California. If not, then maybe wholesale changes are really coming.
Here's my analysis for what that means.
First, as always for a team considering roster changes, you have to list the untouchables. I count three: Jake Peavy, Chris Young and -- for sentimental reasons only -- Trevor Hoffman.
Second, the players you'd rather not lose if you don't have to are Adrian Gonzalez, Kevin Kouzmanoff and maybe Shawn Estes. You don't get better by losing your young talent in the first two instances. In the latter, Estes has gone through so much in the past two years as a Padres property that it would be nice for him to get his payoff with the team that stayed with him.
Finally, the bubble, the players you'd rather not lose but very well might are Heath Bell and Khalil Greene. Sure, Bell has struggled this season after throwing a ton of innings in 2007 but he's better than anyone else in the bullpen. Teams aiming for a pennant race will love a right-handed setup man who has the ability to close when called upon. Greene's mental approach -- by far his biggest problem in my book -- could change outside Petco Park so he would be tantalizing to a ballclub in a pennant race with needs at short.
Everyone else, including minor leaguer Chase Headley, is up for grabs. My bet is that only those listed above, plus a still sometimes effective Greg Maddux and maybe, maybe, Randy Wolf, would return someone worth having.
The Padres front office really needs to keep their eyes on the ball, their long-term plan to rebuild the organization top to bottom. No sense trading minor league talent for a major leaguer to help in this lost cause of a season. I'd much rather see Towers package a couple big leaguers for a quality minor league prospect.
With the Padres being set for the future at the top of the rotation, I'd like to see Towers acquire a young pitcher with number three starter potential, and a couple of position prospects.
The playoffs were never in the cards this season, though I don't think anyone outside radio talk show host Lee Hamilton -- let's give credit where it's due -- foresaw how bad things would get. Towers and the rest of the front office were blindsided, that we know. I just hope that all the losing doesn't force any desperation moves.
I would bet that part of this was a ploy to motivate the players -- make them worry about their jobs -- or that they'd have to spend the summer in Cincinnati rather than Southern California. If not, then maybe wholesale changes are really coming.
Here's my analysis for what that means.
First, as always for a team considering roster changes, you have to list the untouchables. I count three: Jake Peavy, Chris Young and -- for sentimental reasons only -- Trevor Hoffman.
Second, the players you'd rather not lose if you don't have to are Adrian Gonzalez, Kevin Kouzmanoff and maybe Shawn Estes. You don't get better by losing your young talent in the first two instances. In the latter, Estes has gone through so much in the past two years as a Padres property that it would be nice for him to get his payoff with the team that stayed with him.
Finally, the bubble, the players you'd rather not lose but very well might are Heath Bell and Khalil Greene. Sure, Bell has struggled this season after throwing a ton of innings in 2007 but he's better than anyone else in the bullpen. Teams aiming for a pennant race will love a right-handed setup man who has the ability to close when called upon. Greene's mental approach -- by far his biggest problem in my book -- could change outside Petco Park so he would be tantalizing to a ballclub in a pennant race with needs at short.
Everyone else, including minor leaguer Chase Headley, is up for grabs. My bet is that only those listed above, plus a still sometimes effective Greg Maddux and maybe, maybe, Randy Wolf, would return someone worth having.
The Padres front office really needs to keep their eyes on the ball, their long-term plan to rebuild the organization top to bottom. No sense trading minor league talent for a major leaguer to help in this lost cause of a season. I'd much rather see Towers package a couple big leaguers for a quality minor league prospect.
With the Padres being set for the future at the top of the rotation, I'd like to see Towers acquire a young pitcher with number three starter potential, and a couple of position prospects.
The playoffs were never in the cards this season, though I don't think anyone outside radio talk show host Lee Hamilton -- let's give credit where it's due -- foresaw how bad things would get. Towers and the rest of the front office were blindsided, that we know. I just hope that all the losing doesn't force any desperation moves.
Friday, May 09, 2008
Padres Release Edmonds; Make Room For Chase
The Padres, as expected, cut ties Friday with CF Jim Edmonds, the free agent pickup who was batting just .178 with a home run and 6 RBI through yesterday. They promoted Jody Gerut from AAA Portland, where he was batting .308 with 5 dingers and 18 RBI.
That much you probably already know.
Here's the real news. Clear room in LF for Chase Headley. He's coming soon.
Headley, as mentioned several times in this blog, got off to a rotten start in Portland, coming off a 2007 when he was the AA Player of the Year. Forget the bad start. As recognized in Baseball America, Headley is hitting .516 in May after a 5-for-5 performance Thursday. The hot streak includes 3 doubles and a home run.
The Padres still should keep him in the minor leagues as long as possible, if some sort of Paul McAnulty/Scott Hairston platoon can be productive in left field. Unless those two drop deeper into the tank, the Friars can probably afford to keep him in the minors until the end of May. But June 1 is kind of a marker in baseball, akin to the trading deadline and deadline for playoff rosters. Unless PMac or Hairston go on a tear, look for Headley in left in Petco in time for a June 2 contest against Chicago.
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All the talk lately has been about the moves the Padres have to make to keep from worsening the majors' worst record. Besides the release of Edmonds and the upcoming promotion of Headley, don't look for much else.
No other minor leaguers appear to merit promotion at this time. Only Kenny Lofton appears enticing as a free agent. And with a lot of baseball teams hovering around the .500 mark, the Padres are the only franchise in the trade market. Even if the trade market was more active, the Friars really have nothing of value to offer. The majors team stinks, and the promising youngsters are either in AA or just hit AAA this season.
The Padres will make some adjustments on the 2008 roster where they can, but will otherwise stick to their long-term plan. That's the correct course given their circumstances. As for me, when do the Chargers and Aztecs preseason camps start?
That much you probably already know.
Here's the real news. Clear room in LF for Chase Headley. He's coming soon.
Headley, as mentioned several times in this blog, got off to a rotten start in Portland, coming off a 2007 when he was the AA Player of the Year. Forget the bad start. As recognized in Baseball America, Headley is hitting .516 in May after a 5-for-5 performance Thursday. The hot streak includes 3 doubles and a home run.
The Padres still should keep him in the minor leagues as long as possible, if some sort of Paul McAnulty/Scott Hairston platoon can be productive in left field. Unless those two drop deeper into the tank, the Friars can probably afford to keep him in the minors until the end of May. But June 1 is kind of a marker in baseball, akin to the trading deadline and deadline for playoff rosters. Unless PMac or Hairston go on a tear, look for Headley in left in Petco in time for a June 2 contest against Chicago.
---
All the talk lately has been about the moves the Padres have to make to keep from worsening the majors' worst record. Besides the release of Edmonds and the upcoming promotion of Headley, don't look for much else.
No other minor leaguers appear to merit promotion at this time. Only Kenny Lofton appears enticing as a free agent. And with a lot of baseball teams hovering around the .500 mark, the Padres are the only franchise in the trade market. Even if the trade market was more active, the Friars really have nothing of value to offer. The majors team stinks, and the promising youngsters are either in AA or just hit AAA this season.
The Padres will make some adjustments on the 2008 roster where they can, but will otherwise stick to their long-term plan. That's the correct course given their circumstances. As for me, when do the Chargers and Aztecs preseason camps start?
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