Sorry I haven't posted lately, but I've been traveling or really busy here.
There is no news on the Chargers downtown stadium front, which is good news in itself. I talked today to a source involved in what's going on with the planning, and he says things remain on course, though they do take awhile. The next hurdle to actually building the thing is the possible 2011 lockout of players by NFL owners. The source said that could put the whole deal on hold.
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The Padres are on one of the best runs in the history of local sports after their 5-3 win over the Cubs Thursday. The Friars have won nine of their last 10 games and are 13-5 in August, adding to what has become a huge season, and they now threaten to run away with the NL West. Mat Latos, Jon Garland and Wade LeBlanc were all dominant at Wrigley, and Kevin Correia was pretty darn good although the bullpen allowed a bunch of runs in late ... Shut Latos down now. If you're worried about his young arm like the front office seems to be, this would be a good time to maybe start him every other time through the rotation, then work him on his regular cycle in the second half of September to get him ready for the playoffs ... Oh, yeah, add Chris Young back to the rotation. October is shaping up to be a lot of fun ... The level of play between the Padres and the Cubs was majors to low minors.
My confidence in the upcoming San Diego State football season, that they will compete for a 6-6 bowl, is ebbing just slightly on reports that their running back corps is taking hits from injuries and academic issues. Presumptive starter Ronnie Hillman seems okay, but Walter Kazee is coming back from an injury that cost him spring practice and freshman sensation Ezell Ruffin has been struggling after what seemed to be a non-concussive head injury. Add to that an injury to freshman Adam Muema suffered before he reported, and freshman Dwayne Garrett and Deonte Williams becoming academic casualties, and a deep, talented group has been whittled down significantly. That nailing of seemingly every guy in a unit has killed the Aztecs in past seasons. I remember the last time SDSU was actually favored by some to win the Mountain West Conference, like 2001 or something, and practically the entire offensive line went down ... Head coach Brady Hoke has got to do something about the academic side of things. None of the academic issues involving Hillman last year, Garrett or Williams appears to be the fault of the kid, rather school administrators at State or the player's previous school. I'd be raising hell ... I like the MWC adding Fresno State, though Nevada doesn't thrill me ... BYU's threats to go independent in football are the death-knell to the conference's television contract. The Mtn. seemed like a good idea at the time, but the Y's actions this week strike me as being a referendum on the future of the league's cable TV network, and it was not good ... Love how the MWC pulled the rug out of the Cougars plans to join the WAC in other sports. That conference might whither and die.
We'll learn a lot more about the Chargers this Saturday against the Cowboys than we did last week against the Bears, but the Bolts did appear deep ... LB Shawne Merriman comes in to camp late, tries to catch up, goes down with his chronic Achilles heel injury. There's a shock for you ... If someone had told you two years ago that Malcom Floyd was the Chargers top receiver, what would you have thought?
Showing posts with label padres. Show all posts
Showing posts with label padres. Show all posts
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Sunday, August 08, 2010
Aztecs Pre-Season Camp Preview, Padres Concern
Pretty good preview of San Diego State's football training camp in The San Diego Union-Tribune Sunday. Thorough, but here's a couple points to add:
1. A major position battle is brewing at safety, where Coach Brady Hoke has constantly mentioned the names of redshirt freshmen Gabe Lemon and Nat Berhe, who will push incumbents Darryn Lewis and Brandon Davis. He's also talked a lot about redshirt freshman Khalid Stevens, who is penciled in at the Aztec position on the latest depth chart behind presumptive starter Andrew Preston.
2. While the article stated the running game would improve with the presence of Ronnie Hillman, Hoke has been hyping true freshman Dwayne Garrett.
3. Jose Perez and Leon McFadden are listed as starters at cornerback, but I'm wondering if Josh Wade can finally break through in his third college season.
4. Hoke praised the conditioning of DE Jake Tauanuu, who is listed as second on the depth chart behind under-performing starter BJ Williams. That could be another position battle.
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Let me be the first to say I'm worried about the Padres all of a sudden. I can't, off the top of my head, think of a stretch of this season in which they've played more poorly. They really miss 2B David Eckstein, their sparkplug, and he's reportedly another week at least from being able to play. Ever since the Thursday afternoon 9th inning win over the Dodgers 10 days ago, they've gone downhill.
Maybe they angered the baseball gods by playing a little too fast and loose with the disabled list, which they've used since the All-Star break to keep their roster at 25.
1. A major position battle is brewing at safety, where Coach Brady Hoke has constantly mentioned the names of redshirt freshmen Gabe Lemon and Nat Berhe, who will push incumbents Darryn Lewis and Brandon Davis. He's also talked a lot about redshirt freshman Khalid Stevens, who is penciled in at the Aztec position on the latest depth chart behind presumptive starter Andrew Preston.
2. While the article stated the running game would improve with the presence of Ronnie Hillman, Hoke has been hyping true freshman Dwayne Garrett.
3. Jose Perez and Leon McFadden are listed as starters at cornerback, but I'm wondering if Josh Wade can finally break through in his third college season.
4. Hoke praised the conditioning of DE Jake Tauanuu, who is listed as second on the depth chart behind under-performing starter BJ Williams. That could be another position battle.
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Let me be the first to say I'm worried about the Padres all of a sudden. I can't, off the top of my head, think of a stretch of this season in which they've played more poorly. They really miss 2B David Eckstein, their sparkplug, and he's reportedly another week at least from being able to play. Ever since the Thursday afternoon 9th inning win over the Dodgers 10 days ago, they've gone downhill.
Maybe they angered the baseball gods by playing a little too fast and loose with the disabled list, which they've used since the All-Star break to keep their roster at 25.
Friday, August 06, 2010
Hoke Challenges Fans, Padres and Bolts Notes
San Diego State football coach Brady Hoke ended his annual pre-training camp media day Friday with a challenge for the community and alumni to support his Aztecs this fall, a normal comment for someone in his position to make around now but one that is particularly relevant in these lean times.
Quite frankly, there has been no drearier place in town on a fall Saturday in recent years than Qualcomm Stadium when SDSU is playing. The Q is like a giant morgue when the red and black is on the field. I think the last time there was any sustained interest in the Aztecs among prospective fans was 1999, coming off the previous bowl season. There were sporadic moments of fun under Tom Craft, none under Chuck Long, under whom the program struck bottom.
Hoke and especially his fine staff have done what appears to be an excellent job of revitalizing the program, but I can tell you that until I'm blue in the face. You're not going to believe me until the Aztecs win some football games. That's how it should be after all this time. I think they'll get their share of victories, but I'm still not ready to say they're ready to take off. They should win enough to get into a bowl game. However, the average fan who has not shown up the past 10 years was right, and the rest of us who showed up for the weekly drudgery were wrong.
There's not much Hoke can do but win games and put together a few successful seasons in a row. A name-brand star a la Marshall Faulk will help. He might have two this year in QB Ryan Lindley and WR Vincent Brown. They're not Faulk but they could be darn good. They're also not household names. I've yet to hear anyone say they're willing to part with their time and money to watch those two play the way they did when Faulk was around. I'm not sure that you want to keep marketing in mind when you're developing a game plan, but if Hoke can find a way to have Lindley throw for 300 yards and have Brown catch 200 of them and grab three or four TD passes, that would be a good start. Ordinarily, you want to sit your starters early against the likes of Nicholls State, but he might not have such an option.
San Diegans might eventually respond to Hoke's call, but they'll want to see what cards he's holding first. Local college football fans aren't just twice-burned, they are more like 15 to 20 times-burned. They might take the coach seriously, but they won't act that way toward his team until he puts some big numbers into the W column.
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Okay, I love watching Padres OF Chris Denorfia. Hands down my favorite Padre now that 2B David Eckstein is on the DL ... Here's to hoping what we've seen the last week or two out of P Kevin Correia really means something positive. They need that one more solid starter and maybe he's the answer ... I was thinking of Eckstein as my team MVP, but with him being out so long now I'm leaning more toward C Yorvit Torrealba.
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Does the Chargers training camp strike you as being boring? Who cares about the damn holdouts anymore? And there aren't many real position battles ... Interesting how SS Steve Gregory is suddenly having a great camp now that he's got real competition for his job, in one of the fights for jobs that does exist ... LB Larry English beating LT prospect Brandyn Dombrowski like a drum does nothing for me unless pads are on.
Quite frankly, there has been no drearier place in town on a fall Saturday in recent years than Qualcomm Stadium when SDSU is playing. The Q is like a giant morgue when the red and black is on the field. I think the last time there was any sustained interest in the Aztecs among prospective fans was 1999, coming off the previous bowl season. There were sporadic moments of fun under Tom Craft, none under Chuck Long, under whom the program struck bottom.
Hoke and especially his fine staff have done what appears to be an excellent job of revitalizing the program, but I can tell you that until I'm blue in the face. You're not going to believe me until the Aztecs win some football games. That's how it should be after all this time. I think they'll get their share of victories, but I'm still not ready to say they're ready to take off. They should win enough to get into a bowl game. However, the average fan who has not shown up the past 10 years was right, and the rest of us who showed up for the weekly drudgery were wrong.
There's not much Hoke can do but win games and put together a few successful seasons in a row. A name-brand star a la Marshall Faulk will help. He might have two this year in QB Ryan Lindley and WR Vincent Brown. They're not Faulk but they could be darn good. They're also not household names. I've yet to hear anyone say they're willing to part with their time and money to watch those two play the way they did when Faulk was around. I'm not sure that you want to keep marketing in mind when you're developing a game plan, but if Hoke can find a way to have Lindley throw for 300 yards and have Brown catch 200 of them and grab three or four TD passes, that would be a good start. Ordinarily, you want to sit your starters early against the likes of Nicholls State, but he might not have such an option.
San Diegans might eventually respond to Hoke's call, but they'll want to see what cards he's holding first. Local college football fans aren't just twice-burned, they are more like 15 to 20 times-burned. They might take the coach seriously, but they won't act that way toward his team until he puts some big numbers into the W column.
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Okay, I love watching Padres OF Chris Denorfia. Hands down my favorite Padre now that 2B David Eckstein is on the DL ... Here's to hoping what we've seen the last week or two out of P Kevin Correia really means something positive. They need that one more solid starter and maybe he's the answer ... I was thinking of Eckstein as my team MVP, but with him being out so long now I'm leaning more toward C Yorvit Torrealba.
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Does the Chargers training camp strike you as being boring? Who cares about the damn holdouts anymore? And there aren't many real position battles ... Interesting how SS Steve Gregory is suddenly having a great camp now that he's got real competition for his job, in one of the fights for jobs that does exist ... LB Larry English beating LT prospect Brandyn Dombrowski like a drum does nothing for me unless pads are on.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Padres Moves in August, Aztecs Changes Are Real
The Padres aren't done with the trade market. Thursday's acquisition of Miguel Tejada from the Orioles will enhance their playoff chances. The next step will be to win in the post-season, and for that they're going to want another strong starting pitcher.
Note that I used the word "want" instead of "need." I don't think another starting pitcher will be necessary for playoff success, but I still worry about sending Wade LeBlanc up against the Phillies lineup with Roy Oswalt on the mound. Maybe LeBlanc or Jon Garland gets hot, but I'd rather not take my chances with doing nothing.
I might be putting the cart before the horse, but a look at the standings shows the Padres are well-positioned to make the playoffs. They're five games in front of the Phils and Cardinals in a potential wildcard race, six games in the all-important loss column. That is by no means safe, but of all the contenders, I see the two-time defending NL champs as the only team likely to get hot down the stretch. Also, the Padres have shown a great knack of avoiding slumps, so I think they're in the race to the wire.
So the Padres don't need to get their big starter quite yet. In August, you can still trade for players as long as they clear waivers, and there are indications that other teams aren't going to be messing with the waiver wire next month.
The question is who? GM Jed Hoyer might be able to pry Brett Myers (8-6, 3.10 in a hitter's park) out of Houston or Livan Hernandez (7-7, 3.22) out of Washington. Maybe Ryan Dempster (8-7, 3.71) can be taken from the Cubs. But that's about it. As bad as their teams are, I can't see the Mariners giving up Felix Hernandez or the Royals parting with Zach Greinke for anything other than a king's ransom. The good pitchers are with the good teams. So talking about acquiring a solid starter for the playoffs is much easier than actually getting once.
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Changes are afoot with the San Diego State football program. I attended an event Thursday night in which coach Brady Hoke talked and he said the players are all bigger and stronger thanks to dedicated off-season conditioning -- stuff we hear every year about this time.
Here's what convinces me that improvement is coming at SDSU. I talked with a longtime local high school football coach who deals with plenty of Division 1 prospects and he told me the difference between the current staff and the previous one is "night and day." That is good to hear because, ultimately, to have a good football program you need the best players. If local football coaches are comfortable in recommending the Aztecs to their kids, then Hoke is going to start bringing in high-quality recruits.
Previous SDSU coach Chuck Long spoke frequently of putting a fence around San Diego, but it turned out to be so much lip service. You'd hear comments every so often from people connected to area high school powers that they never saw Long or his staff. Hoke and his guys actually go out and do something about it.
I don't know if the change will show up in this year's won-loss record. I still hold to challenging for a 6-6 bowl. But the program finally appears to be on the right track. Let's hope local fans take notice and start showing up again.
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I like Torrey Pines High's Nick Kerr committing to the USD basketball team. The son of longtime NBA star Steve Kerr was not a high-profile recruit, but the Toreros have been very successful with three-point sharpshooters in the past. Here's hoping Kerr becomes the best of them.
Note that I used the word "want" instead of "need." I don't think another starting pitcher will be necessary for playoff success, but I still worry about sending Wade LeBlanc up against the Phillies lineup with Roy Oswalt on the mound. Maybe LeBlanc or Jon Garland gets hot, but I'd rather not take my chances with doing nothing.
I might be putting the cart before the horse, but a look at the standings shows the Padres are well-positioned to make the playoffs. They're five games in front of the Phils and Cardinals in a potential wildcard race, six games in the all-important loss column. That is by no means safe, but of all the contenders, I see the two-time defending NL champs as the only team likely to get hot down the stretch. Also, the Padres have shown a great knack of avoiding slumps, so I think they're in the race to the wire.
So the Padres don't need to get their big starter quite yet. In August, you can still trade for players as long as they clear waivers, and there are indications that other teams aren't going to be messing with the waiver wire next month.
The question is who? GM Jed Hoyer might be able to pry Brett Myers (8-6, 3.10 in a hitter's park) out of Houston or Livan Hernandez (7-7, 3.22) out of Washington. Maybe Ryan Dempster (8-7, 3.71) can be taken from the Cubs. But that's about it. As bad as their teams are, I can't see the Mariners giving up Felix Hernandez or the Royals parting with Zach Greinke for anything other than a king's ransom. The good pitchers are with the good teams. So talking about acquiring a solid starter for the playoffs is much easier than actually getting once.
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Changes are afoot with the San Diego State football program. I attended an event Thursday night in which coach Brady Hoke talked and he said the players are all bigger and stronger thanks to dedicated off-season conditioning -- stuff we hear every year about this time.
Here's what convinces me that improvement is coming at SDSU. I talked with a longtime local high school football coach who deals with plenty of Division 1 prospects and he told me the difference between the current staff and the previous one is "night and day." That is good to hear because, ultimately, to have a good football program you need the best players. If local football coaches are comfortable in recommending the Aztecs to their kids, then Hoke is going to start bringing in high-quality recruits.
Previous SDSU coach Chuck Long spoke frequently of putting a fence around San Diego, but it turned out to be so much lip service. You'd hear comments every so often from people connected to area high school powers that they never saw Long or his staff. Hoke and his guys actually go out and do something about it.
I don't know if the change will show up in this year's won-loss record. I still hold to challenging for a 6-6 bowl. But the program finally appears to be on the right track. Let's hope local fans take notice and start showing up again.
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I like Torrey Pines High's Nick Kerr committing to the USD basketball team. The son of longtime NBA star Steve Kerr was not a high-profile recruit, but the Toreros have been very successful with three-point sharpshooters in the past. Here's hoping Kerr becomes the best of them.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Padres Get Tejada
The news breaking Thursday is that the Padres traded for Orioles SS Miguel Tejada, a former slugger who is batting .269 with 7 HR and 39 RBI. The lineup around him is bad and he would probably be a poster child for the post-steroid era, not that I'm insinuating anything.
My reaction is hmmmm. I wish I could say more. The Tejada of a few years ago might have excited me. His lineup around him in San Diego will be just as bad as that in Baltimore. He will be playing in a pitcher's park. On the other hand, he will be better than Everth Cabrera and the change of scenery and participation in a pennant race might do him some good.
It sounds like the Orioles, with the worst record in baseball, were looking to add by subtracting an under-performing veteran. They accepted from the Padres, in return, AA P Wynn Pelzer, and sent cash to help pay Tejada's inflated salary. Pelzer, 24, was 6-9, 4.20 in San Antonio. Fortunately, the Padres didn't spend too much to get him, so they could still be in the market for a staring pitcher. If there is anything to say about the trade, its that shortstop has improved from well below-average to mediocre.
By the way, I'm highly disturbed that the Dodgers stole Scott Podsednik from KC for next to nothing. The Padres could have had him and I know he's productive. Podsednik is a guy I targeted early, and I'm disappointed he will be playing for a key rival.
My reaction is hmmmm. I wish I could say more. The Tejada of a few years ago might have excited me. His lineup around him in San Diego will be just as bad as that in Baltimore. He will be playing in a pitcher's park. On the other hand, he will be better than Everth Cabrera and the change of scenery and participation in a pennant race might do him some good.
It sounds like the Orioles, with the worst record in baseball, were looking to add by subtracting an under-performing veteran. They accepted from the Padres, in return, AA P Wynn Pelzer, and sent cash to help pay Tejada's inflated salary. Pelzer, 24, was 6-9, 4.20 in San Antonio. Fortunately, the Padres didn't spend too much to get him, so they could still be in the market for a staring pitcher. If there is anything to say about the trade, its that shortstop has improved from well below-average to mediocre.
By the way, I'm highly disturbed that the Dodgers stole Scott Podsednik from KC for next to nothing. The Padres could have had him and I know he's productive. Podsednik is a guy I targeted early, and I'm disappointed he will be playing for a key rival.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Aztec Jinx Holds on for Dear Life, Strasburg and Latos
That dark cloud that hovers over San Diego State athletics is showing renewed strength this week after word of two key injuries to star players and two others becoming academic casualties.
It is typical SDSU that a team heads into a season with high hopes, only to be knee-capped by injury, poor schoolwork or criminal misconduct. That has happened to women's soccer, which will enter the Fall 2010 semester with high hopes following a Mountain West Conference Tournament championship and NCAA playoff victory. Cat Walker, the scoring sensation entering her senior season as a team leader, tore the ACL in her right knee earlier this month and is scheduled for surgery in early-August to determine the extent of the damage, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. There remains hope the midfielder can rest for now and play some in her final season, but I think by now we know where this story is going to go.
The Aztecs have high hopes for 2010 and accordingly fashioned a strong schedule that includes defending national champion North Carolina on the Aztec Sports Deck on Sept. 12 and perennially strong Santa Clara. The Aztecs return seven starters, but it would be nice to have their clutch goal-scorer among them.
The other injury -- breaking news credit goes to Internet message boards and Facebook, not the U-T -- was also a knee injury to incoming freshman footballer JJ Whittaker, the Oceanside High star who was snatched by coach Brady Hoke out of Arizona's grasp. Whittaker was one of the two or three recruiting coups of February's class, a Pac-10 quality receiver or cornerback who might have contributed this fall as a true freshman. The word is Whittaker's knee was ripped up so badly that there is no way he plays in 2010.
JC transfer offensive lineman Joe Unga failed to quality academically and there's talk that an incoming freshman receiver also didn't make the grade.
Now, soccer teams and football squads lose players to injuries and academics. It's the nature of the sports and college life. Isn't it typical for SDSU, though, that the dagger falls on such critical members of the rosters? I've written in the past that whatever dark cloud hangs over Montezuma Mesa appears to be dissipating, but it is not entirely gone.
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The media that covers the MWC figures Hoke's bunch will finish sixth in the upcoming season. That's a safe choice. I understand being rated behind TCU, Utah, BYU and Air Force. From there, it is a bit of a crap-shoot.
The preseason poll lists Wyoming fifth before SDSU, with Colorado State, UNLV and New Mexico bringing up the rear. The Cowboys get the Aztecs in Laramie, giving them an advantage in the head-to-head match, but the Pokes could be beat-up before the Red & Black arrives because of a difficult early-season schedule. Plus, SDSU will have vengeance on their minds after the Cowboy's comeback win at Qualcomm Stadium last year all but knocked them out of bowl consideration.
I still see the Aztecs as challenging for a 6-6 bowl game but they're still a year away from a major turnaround. Anything better will be dessert.
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The shoulder inflammation suffered by former Aztec Stephen Strasburg before his start Tuesday for the Nationals against the Braves should serve as a warning for the Padres brass, which planned going into this season to limit the innings thrown by P Mat Latos.
The prized Padres youngster has pitched just once since the All-Star break thanks to the infamous stifled sneeze -- I've got some property in East Village to sell you if you believe that one -- and is set to throw Thursday and Tuesday against the Dodgers. He is currently on pace for more than 200 innings, when manager Bud Black and GM Jed Hoyer had planned to keep him to around 180 frames or less.
It's tempting to keep throwing your best starter out there every six days when you're in a race for a division title but word of Strasburg's injury is going to give them pause.
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Lefty P Joe Thatcher was ready in the bullpen when Andre Ethier stepped up to the plate in the seventh inning of Tuesday night's 2-0 loss to the Dodgers. Thatcher has allowed left-handed hitters a .152 batting average this season, compared to the .274 mark of starter Jon Garland. Ethier is batting .234 against southpaws. Why Black left Garland in the game is beyond me.
It is typical SDSU that a team heads into a season with high hopes, only to be knee-capped by injury, poor schoolwork or criminal misconduct. That has happened to women's soccer, which will enter the Fall 2010 semester with high hopes following a Mountain West Conference Tournament championship and NCAA playoff victory. Cat Walker, the scoring sensation entering her senior season as a team leader, tore the ACL in her right knee earlier this month and is scheduled for surgery in early-August to determine the extent of the damage, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. There remains hope the midfielder can rest for now and play some in her final season, but I think by now we know where this story is going to go.
The Aztecs have high hopes for 2010 and accordingly fashioned a strong schedule that includes defending national champion North Carolina on the Aztec Sports Deck on Sept. 12 and perennially strong Santa Clara. The Aztecs return seven starters, but it would be nice to have their clutch goal-scorer among them.
The other injury -- breaking news credit goes to Internet message boards and Facebook, not the U-T -- was also a knee injury to incoming freshman footballer JJ Whittaker, the Oceanside High star who was snatched by coach Brady Hoke out of Arizona's grasp. Whittaker was one of the two or three recruiting coups of February's class, a Pac-10 quality receiver or cornerback who might have contributed this fall as a true freshman. The word is Whittaker's knee was ripped up so badly that there is no way he plays in 2010.
JC transfer offensive lineman Joe Unga failed to quality academically and there's talk that an incoming freshman receiver also didn't make the grade.
Now, soccer teams and football squads lose players to injuries and academics. It's the nature of the sports and college life. Isn't it typical for SDSU, though, that the dagger falls on such critical members of the rosters? I've written in the past that whatever dark cloud hangs over Montezuma Mesa appears to be dissipating, but it is not entirely gone.
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The media that covers the MWC figures Hoke's bunch will finish sixth in the upcoming season. That's a safe choice. I understand being rated behind TCU, Utah, BYU and Air Force. From there, it is a bit of a crap-shoot.
The preseason poll lists Wyoming fifth before SDSU, with Colorado State, UNLV and New Mexico bringing up the rear. The Cowboys get the Aztecs in Laramie, giving them an advantage in the head-to-head match, but the Pokes could be beat-up before the Red & Black arrives because of a difficult early-season schedule. Plus, SDSU will have vengeance on their minds after the Cowboy's comeback win at Qualcomm Stadium last year all but knocked them out of bowl consideration.
I still see the Aztecs as challenging for a 6-6 bowl game but they're still a year away from a major turnaround. Anything better will be dessert.
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The shoulder inflammation suffered by former Aztec Stephen Strasburg before his start Tuesday for the Nationals against the Braves should serve as a warning for the Padres brass, which planned going into this season to limit the innings thrown by P Mat Latos.
The prized Padres youngster has pitched just once since the All-Star break thanks to the infamous stifled sneeze -- I've got some property in East Village to sell you if you believe that one -- and is set to throw Thursday and Tuesday against the Dodgers. He is currently on pace for more than 200 innings, when manager Bud Black and GM Jed Hoyer had planned to keep him to around 180 frames or less.
It's tempting to keep throwing your best starter out there every six days when you're in a race for a division title but word of Strasburg's injury is going to give them pause.
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Lefty P Joe Thatcher was ready in the bullpen when Andre Ethier stepped up to the plate in the seventh inning of Tuesday night's 2-0 loss to the Dodgers. Thatcher has allowed left-handed hitters a .152 batting average this season, compared to the .274 mark of starter Jon Garland. Ethier is batting .234 against southpaws. Why Black left Garland in the game is beyond me.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Chargers, Padres, Aztecs
AJ Smith and Norv Turner would have you believe that the Chargers can compete for a Super Bowl this season without most of their best players from last year. As training camp opens, I wonder just how stupid they think we are. The answer is probably "very," because fans will continue to sell-out Qualcomm Stadium and take time out of their valuable Sunday afternoons to watch on television -- just like always. So they're probably justified. As long as we're willing to pay, either in person or TV ratings, they're successful in operating their business.
I just don't see how this team will be as good when your best receiver, best offensive tackle and most disruptive defender are sitting out. That's on top of losing a running back and nose tackle who were arguably the decade's best at their positions, and a cornerback who was inconsistent but often made game-changing plays. I understand that with LaDainian Tomlinson and Jamal Williams all good things must eventually come to an end, and I think rookie Ryan Mathews has a chance to be a very solid ball-carrier in LT's sted. A second season of the "Make Shift" in place of Williams, however, doesn't thrill me. Antoine Cason for Antonio Cromartie doesn't do much for me, either.
What happens with the contracts for holdouts Vincent Jackson, Marcus McNeill and Shawne Merriman, I have no idea. To suggest that Jackson can be replaced by a ready-to-break-out Buster Davis after all these years is laughable. I don't think McNeill is more than a mid-level NFL left tackle, but he's what we have and I don't know if Tra Thomas can be an adequate replacement at the age of 35. Larry English is a better linebacker than an unhealthy Merriman, but if the incumbent is well it would be a shame to waste him for a season.
Some of the changes we lament were coming no matter what, so it's true when Smith and Turner say they have to move on with the players they have. The trouble is a lack of concern of what that means. This is a team that was physically beat-down at home by the Jets in their first playoff game, and there is nothing among the departures or arrivals that makes me think the 2009 performance will be improved upon this fall. They are lucky they perform in the AFC West, where the competition is still weak. They should make the playoffs and there probably won't be a major dropoff. However, it's doubtful they'll move deeper into the post-season.
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You've got to applaud the Padres for their 7-2 record and two series sweeps coming out of the All-Star break. The players have pleaded for some time now not to break them up in search of better hitting because they've formed a tight bond, and their work in the second-half of July lends them considerable credence. As much as I'd like a power bat in the lineup -- and as much as I've written about such a desire -- I'm no longer sure where GM Jed Hoyer would go to get one in this Year of the Pitcher. This team, for the most part, is working as is and shows it with a record now 19 games above .500.
My priorities for Hoyer are now:
1. Starting pitcher -- the brass wants to keep resting young Mat Latos, their lone stopper. Championships are won with such pitchers. If I'm allowed to think ahead to clinching the NL West and advancing in the playoffs, they need another guy to step up or Hoyer needs to acquire someone. I'd put Latos against anyone in the playoffs, but I'm not sure the other starters are ready to go up against a top opponent backed by a decent lineup. Remember 1998? They had a pure #1 in Kevin Brown, but the reason the Friars reached the World Series was because of Sterling Hitchcock. They need that second guy and can repeat the '98 excitement if they find him.
2. Shortstop -- It happened a few times in recent years in which the Padres got a Rule V player who looked sharp in his first season and then was like an over-his-head minor leaguer a year later. Everth Cabrera fits the mold. This position is now the weak link in the chain.
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San Diego State's football training camp doesn't begin until the first week of August, but coaches are gathering on campus for preparations beginning this week. Word from an insider is that everyone is healthy with the possible exception of DB Dey Juan Hemmings, who is coming along after suffering a severe injury last season, but not might be 100 percent yet. Also, RB Walter Kazee, who missed spring practice with an injury, is reported to be running at full speed.
I just don't see how this team will be as good when your best receiver, best offensive tackle and most disruptive defender are sitting out. That's on top of losing a running back and nose tackle who were arguably the decade's best at their positions, and a cornerback who was inconsistent but often made game-changing plays. I understand that with LaDainian Tomlinson and Jamal Williams all good things must eventually come to an end, and I think rookie Ryan Mathews has a chance to be a very solid ball-carrier in LT's sted. A second season of the "Make Shift" in place of Williams, however, doesn't thrill me. Antoine Cason for Antonio Cromartie doesn't do much for me, either.
What happens with the contracts for holdouts Vincent Jackson, Marcus McNeill and Shawne Merriman, I have no idea. To suggest that Jackson can be replaced by a ready-to-break-out Buster Davis after all these years is laughable. I don't think McNeill is more than a mid-level NFL left tackle, but he's what we have and I don't know if Tra Thomas can be an adequate replacement at the age of 35. Larry English is a better linebacker than an unhealthy Merriman, but if the incumbent is well it would be a shame to waste him for a season.
Some of the changes we lament were coming no matter what, so it's true when Smith and Turner say they have to move on with the players they have. The trouble is a lack of concern of what that means. This is a team that was physically beat-down at home by the Jets in their first playoff game, and there is nothing among the departures or arrivals that makes me think the 2009 performance will be improved upon this fall. They are lucky they perform in the AFC West, where the competition is still weak. They should make the playoffs and there probably won't be a major dropoff. However, it's doubtful they'll move deeper into the post-season.
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You've got to applaud the Padres for their 7-2 record and two series sweeps coming out of the All-Star break. The players have pleaded for some time now not to break them up in search of better hitting because they've formed a tight bond, and their work in the second-half of July lends them considerable credence. As much as I'd like a power bat in the lineup -- and as much as I've written about such a desire -- I'm no longer sure where GM Jed Hoyer would go to get one in this Year of the Pitcher. This team, for the most part, is working as is and shows it with a record now 19 games above .500.
My priorities for Hoyer are now:
1. Starting pitcher -- the brass wants to keep resting young Mat Latos, their lone stopper. Championships are won with such pitchers. If I'm allowed to think ahead to clinching the NL West and advancing in the playoffs, they need another guy to step up or Hoyer needs to acquire someone. I'd put Latos against anyone in the playoffs, but I'm not sure the other starters are ready to go up against a top opponent backed by a decent lineup. Remember 1998? They had a pure #1 in Kevin Brown, but the reason the Friars reached the World Series was because of Sterling Hitchcock. They need that second guy and can repeat the '98 excitement if they find him.
2. Shortstop -- It happened a few times in recent years in which the Padres got a Rule V player who looked sharp in his first season and then was like an over-his-head minor leaguer a year later. Everth Cabrera fits the mold. This position is now the weak link in the chain.
---
San Diego State's football training camp doesn't begin until the first week of August, but coaches are gathering on campus for preparations beginning this week. Word from an insider is that everyone is healthy with the possible exception of DB Dey Juan Hemmings, who is coming along after suffering a severe injury last season, but not might be 100 percent yet. Also, RB Walter Kazee, who missed spring practice with an injury, is reported to be running at full speed.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Coryell Reminder, Padres at the Break
Just a reminder, the memorial service for former Aztecs and Chargers football coach Don Coryell is Monday at 2pm at Viejas Arena. Should be an interesting event with greats like John Madden, Joe Gibbs and Dan Fouts speaking.
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The Padres are more or less where I expected them to be at the All-Star break, contending for an NL West title behind strong pitching that carries a rather weak offense. That was a reasonable preseason prediction that I bet a lot of us made. However, I doubt any of us realized the won-loss record would be as good as the 51-37 mark that is just a game behind Atlanta as the best in the league, or that the pitching would be this strong or the hitting this bad.
Needless to say, with the Rockies heating up, I still think a hitter needs to be brought aboard, and pitching depth will be tested again because Mike Adams pulled on oblique muscle on Sunday. I don't know if we can expect the Friars to keep pulling out low-scoring games in the eighth or ninth innings the way they have so far.
Here are some quick mid-season grades:
1B Adrian Gonzalez gets an A for a .298-18-56 first half, powered by a month of June that saw him raise his batting average by 34 points.
2B David Eckstein also deserves an A for flawless fielding, literally, and clutch batting at the end of games that made the difference several times.
SS Everth Cabrera and Jerry Hairston rate a D, which mainly reflects the starters ineffectiveness at the plate and constant injuries. Hairston has actually done fairly well as a backup, but here might be a good position to add a hitter via trade. Yes, good luck with that.
3B Chase Headley gets a B- for his amazing April that had him hitting .340 by May Day and his solid fielding at the hot corner. However, he has only 6 HR and 29 RBI, numbers that need to be more than doubled if the Padres are to win the division.
In the OF, Kyle Blanks obviously gets an incomplete. I give a C to Scott Hairston, Tony Gwynn and Will Venable because of their defense and late contributions to a few wins. Gwynn will never hit better than he does now, while Venable is too in-love with his power swing. I love minor league call-ups Aaron Cunningham, who should now start every day, and Chris Denorfia. Both are gamers.
C Todd Hundley and Yorvit Torrealba bring an A home to mama because if the pitching is that good, the guys behind the plate are doing a fine job. Hundley has won several of those games late with the bat, and Torrealba has at times been the only guy besides A-Gon who has a clue in the batter's box.
Pitchers get an A. Duh. We've received far more than expected from Mat Latos, Wade LeBlanc and Luke Gregerson, probably not as much from the ill-fated Kevin Correia and Edward Mujica.
I was worried by the four-game losing streak before Sunday's 9-7 win in Denver that pushed the Rockies two games behind in the standings, but I think the Padres will hang in there well into September -- more so if GM Jed Hoyer brings in a bat. The Rockies, however, scare me. They've got the same mojo as the past couple of years, so this might not be just a race to the finish, but a very long sprint.
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The Padres are more or less where I expected them to be at the All-Star break, contending for an NL West title behind strong pitching that carries a rather weak offense. That was a reasonable preseason prediction that I bet a lot of us made. However, I doubt any of us realized the won-loss record would be as good as the 51-37 mark that is just a game behind Atlanta as the best in the league, or that the pitching would be this strong or the hitting this bad.
Needless to say, with the Rockies heating up, I still think a hitter needs to be brought aboard, and pitching depth will be tested again because Mike Adams pulled on oblique muscle on Sunday. I don't know if we can expect the Friars to keep pulling out low-scoring games in the eighth or ninth innings the way they have so far.
Here are some quick mid-season grades:
1B Adrian Gonzalez gets an A for a .298-18-56 first half, powered by a month of June that saw him raise his batting average by 34 points.
2B David Eckstein also deserves an A for flawless fielding, literally, and clutch batting at the end of games that made the difference several times.
SS Everth Cabrera and Jerry Hairston rate a D, which mainly reflects the starters ineffectiveness at the plate and constant injuries. Hairston has actually done fairly well as a backup, but here might be a good position to add a hitter via trade. Yes, good luck with that.
3B Chase Headley gets a B- for his amazing April that had him hitting .340 by May Day and his solid fielding at the hot corner. However, he has only 6 HR and 29 RBI, numbers that need to be more than doubled if the Padres are to win the division.
In the OF, Kyle Blanks obviously gets an incomplete. I give a C to Scott Hairston, Tony Gwynn and Will Venable because of their defense and late contributions to a few wins. Gwynn will never hit better than he does now, while Venable is too in-love with his power swing. I love minor league call-ups Aaron Cunningham, who should now start every day, and Chris Denorfia. Both are gamers.
C Todd Hundley and Yorvit Torrealba bring an A home to mama because if the pitching is that good, the guys behind the plate are doing a fine job. Hundley has won several of those games late with the bat, and Torrealba has at times been the only guy besides A-Gon who has a clue in the batter's box.
Pitchers get an A. Duh. We've received far more than expected from Mat Latos, Wade LeBlanc and Luke Gregerson, probably not as much from the ill-fated Kevin Correia and Edward Mujica.
I was worried by the four-game losing streak before Sunday's 9-7 win in Denver that pushed the Rockies two games behind in the standings, but I think the Padres will hang in there well into September -- more so if GM Jed Hoyer brings in a bat. The Rockies, however, scare me. They've got the same mojo as the past couple of years, so this might not be just a race to the finish, but a very long sprint.
Thursday, July 01, 2010
Coryell, Padres All-Stars
Don Coryell epitomized nostalgia in San Diego. The legendary football coach, who died Thursday at 85, took both San Diego State and the Chargers to great heights that, years later, left fans crying out for a return to the good old days.
Chargers fans had two waits of about a decade each, from Coryell's glory years of the beginning of the 1980s to coach Bobby Ross' Super Bowl season, and then again until coaches Marty Schottenheimer and Norv Turner along with GM AJ Smith, brought about the relative success of recent seasons. Both waits through seasons of 1-15, 4-12 and 5-11, were extraordinarily frustrating.
It's been even worse for the remaining few SDSU fans who can remember undefeated seasons in the 1960s. Coryell turned over the reigns of the Aztecs in 1972 to Claude Gilbert, who mostly continued his predecessor's methods and took the program to arguably greater heights against far superior competition. But after SDSU football turned south in 1980, the nostalgia has gone mostly unrequited, save for a few bowl games and the Marshall Faulk excitement. SDSU frequently capitalized on Coryell's popularity by having him make special appearances at football games. If you can't win, bring back the coach who could, at least to say hello.
At both places, Coryell set the bar high, and his successors will always be measured against him. It is a blessing the Chargers are back at such levels. I worry that SDSU fans will sit on their hands and make coach Brady Hoke prove the Aztecs are back before they'll start coming to games again. I feel that way myself, even though I attend the home contests.
Now that he truly is Saint Don, we should all be thankful that he gave us such high standards to aspire to.
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The Padres will have more than one member on the National League All-Star team. Who deserves to go?
1B Adrian Gonzalez is a no-brainer pick for manager Charlie Manuel. But the Phillies' boss' selection of Padres skipper Bud Black as a coach could be a signal that a couple other players are under consideration.
If I were Manuel, my picks would be 2B David Eckstein and P Luke Gregerson.
Eckstein is simply the heart and soul of the roster that claims first place in the National League West and the best record in the senior circuit. Throw out his pedestrian numbers. He's the guy who makes this team go. It doesn't hurt that he's played 68 games at second base and has not made an error. Defense is a big reason why the Friars have been successful so far in 2010.
Gregerson's statistics are mind-boggling. He has thrown in 37 games as of this writing, allowing 16 hits in 39-plus innings, mostly the seventh. The ratio for hits to innings pitched for most pitchers is usually in the neighborhood of 1-to-1. Gregerson's is less than half. Another stunning ratio is 51 strikeouts to four walks. That's four (4)! Needless to say, batters are hitting .121 against Gregerson, who has compiled an ERA of 1.60.
The numbers of eighth inning regular Mike Adams are nearly as good, although I have to admit whenever he comes in when I'm watching, he gets popped. Closer Heath Bell has also done well and is certainly the most nationally-recognizable GAB member, but he might be responsible for too many gray hairs.
I would also consider Mat Latos, he of the sterling 8-4 record and 2.85 ERA, but in this Year of the Pitcher, Manuel won't have any shortage of starters to choose from.
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I had a couple of other items to throw in here today, but nothing else seems worthy all of a sudden, you know? Enjoy your July 4 weekend.
Chargers fans had two waits of about a decade each, from Coryell's glory years of the beginning of the 1980s to coach Bobby Ross' Super Bowl season, and then again until coaches Marty Schottenheimer and Norv Turner along with GM AJ Smith, brought about the relative success of recent seasons. Both waits through seasons of 1-15, 4-12 and 5-11, were extraordinarily frustrating.
It's been even worse for the remaining few SDSU fans who can remember undefeated seasons in the 1960s. Coryell turned over the reigns of the Aztecs in 1972 to Claude Gilbert, who mostly continued his predecessor's methods and took the program to arguably greater heights against far superior competition. But after SDSU football turned south in 1980, the nostalgia has gone mostly unrequited, save for a few bowl games and the Marshall Faulk excitement. SDSU frequently capitalized on Coryell's popularity by having him make special appearances at football games. If you can't win, bring back the coach who could, at least to say hello.
At both places, Coryell set the bar high, and his successors will always be measured against him. It is a blessing the Chargers are back at such levels. I worry that SDSU fans will sit on their hands and make coach Brady Hoke prove the Aztecs are back before they'll start coming to games again. I feel that way myself, even though I attend the home contests.
Now that he truly is Saint Don, we should all be thankful that he gave us such high standards to aspire to.
---
The Padres will have more than one member on the National League All-Star team. Who deserves to go?
1B Adrian Gonzalez is a no-brainer pick for manager Charlie Manuel. But the Phillies' boss' selection of Padres skipper Bud Black as a coach could be a signal that a couple other players are under consideration.
If I were Manuel, my picks would be 2B David Eckstein and P Luke Gregerson.
Eckstein is simply the heart and soul of the roster that claims first place in the National League West and the best record in the senior circuit. Throw out his pedestrian numbers. He's the guy who makes this team go. It doesn't hurt that he's played 68 games at second base and has not made an error. Defense is a big reason why the Friars have been successful so far in 2010.
Gregerson's statistics are mind-boggling. He has thrown in 37 games as of this writing, allowing 16 hits in 39-plus innings, mostly the seventh. The ratio for hits to innings pitched for most pitchers is usually in the neighborhood of 1-to-1. Gregerson's is less than half. Another stunning ratio is 51 strikeouts to four walks. That's four (4)! Needless to say, batters are hitting .121 against Gregerson, who has compiled an ERA of 1.60.
The numbers of eighth inning regular Mike Adams are nearly as good, although I have to admit whenever he comes in when I'm watching, he gets popped. Closer Heath Bell has also done well and is certainly the most nationally-recognizable GAB member, but he might be responsible for too many gray hairs.
I would also consider Mat Latos, he of the sterling 8-4 record and 2.85 ERA, but in this Year of the Pitcher, Manuel won't have any shortage of starters to choose from.
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I had a couple of other items to throw in here today, but nothing else seems worthy all of a sudden, you know? Enjoy your July 4 weekend.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Padres Won-Loss, Soccer, Newspaper Coverage
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.
---
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.
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.
---
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.
---
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.
---
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.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Torrealba's Truth, Leake, Utah
You've got to love a guy who speaks his mind, even when he knows it might cost him in the long run. Yorvit Torrealba is such a man.
After the Padres catcher was suspended for three games for inadvertently making contact with plate umpire Larry Vanover with the bill of his cap on Monday, he went off on the terrible state of officiating at major league baseball games this season.
Torrealba said Vanover was unfair and inconsistent with his strike zone, that umpires are baiting players and that this year has been by far the worst.
"This is the worst umpiring I've ever seen."
"I've never seen the umpiring so inconsistent."
"There is no strike zone. They make us swing at everything. No one knows what the strike zone is anymore." He went on to say that's the reason why hitters are struggling so much this season.
"I know there are some good umpires, but there are a lot of really, really bad umpires."
Torrealba is appealing his penalty and is wise enough to note that his comments might get his suspension increased, not lessened.
The thing is, he's right. You know. I don't have to go into detail. The blown call at first base that cost Tigers P Andres Galarraga a perfect game was only the tip of the iceberg. I watched a game on TV in April which was the worst home plate umpiring I've ever seen -- aside from an NL playoff game years ago -- confirmed by the pitch tracker graphic on the screen. Things apparently haven't improved since then.
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That NL playoff game? A 1-0 shutout thrown by Cardinals P John Tudor against the Giants in Game 6 of the NL Championship Series. Tudor, a junk artist, consistently threw the ball six inches outside all game long, and plate ump Bob Engel kept calling them strikes. Engel three years later was caught shoplifting baseball cards from two stores in Bakersfield and retired after pleading guilty.
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Memo to Reds P Mike Leake, entitled: Get With the Program
Mike:
Congratulations on your fine start to your major league baseball career with the Cincinnati Reds. Like other San Diegans involved in America's pastime, we like to see the local kids do well. The Fallbrook HS community has a lot to be proud of.
However,
you don't go around beating everyone else and then losing to the Dodgers. Especially in a game in which LA might take over first place. Your job in such a situation is to beat them. Your six-inning, nine-hit, five-run performance came up rather short in that regard.
Let me make myself clear. You beat the Dodgers from now on. Understand?
Thank you and good luck the rest of the season.
Jim
---
In my view, San Diego State's relative position in the spectrum of collegiate athletics has slightly improved in the past 10 days or so of conference reorganization in which the Mountain West gained Boise State but lost Utah. Until the Pacific-10 invited the Utes to become its 12th member, the Aztecs appeared well on their way to being part of a BCS conference with the Broncos becoming the 10th MWC member. Now they're almost back to where they started, with slight improvements.
1. Boise puts the MWC slightly closer to BCS AQ status than what Utah provided.
2. Boise was successful in overwhelming the WAC year-in and year-out. What happens when the Broncos join in 2011 and finish second? And then come in third in 2012? Does the bloom come off this year's possible Rose Bowl? Utah was in a pretty dominant position as one of the MWC's Big Three. Boise will start at such a level but whether coach Chris Peterson can sustain that success in new digs, like Utah would have, is questionable.
3. Utah is always a threat in mens and womens basketball, while Boise State is not. One easier game for Steve Fisher and Beth Burns. The Broncos men were 15-17 last season with a 5-11 WAC mark that placed them second-to-last. Records the preceding three seasons were 19-13 and 9-7, the high-water mark of 25-7 and 12-4, and 17-14 and 8-8. One good season in four years. The women were 19-12 and 8-8 last season but did have a pair of 20-win seasons recently. Still, they're no Utah.
The next two reasons are potentially huge.
4. I'm not sure the Big 12 can deliver on the TV contract promises that enticed Texas and its loyal followers to remain with the conference. Kansas, K-State and Missouri are possibly in play again a couple of years down the line and you only need three teams to hit the magic 12 mark for a conference championship game. Plus, the Pac-10's quick trigger finger on Utah means if the Big 12 does collapse, there's one more attractive school available for the MWC to snag. That means BCS.
5. Call me crazy on this one but hear (read) me out. The invitation to Utah puts San Diego State a step closer to the decades-long dream of Pac-8 -10 -11 -12 membership. The conference leadership now has no qualms of inviting Mountain West schools to join. A lot of conferences have been talking expansion in order to cash in on the Big Ten model of cable television channel ownership, so getting TV markets is critical. The Pac-10 will probably go down the same route. However, can they really do such a thing with two giant holes in their so-called conference footprint? San Diego and Las Vegas are two of the larger TV markets in the country. Sure, both markets do well in watching Pac-10 football, but they don't really own the market with the hometown schools in another league. Intriguing. Here's to hoping coach Brady Hoke can return the Aztecs to competitiveness quickly.
After the Padres catcher was suspended for three games for inadvertently making contact with plate umpire Larry Vanover with the bill of his cap on Monday, he went off on the terrible state of officiating at major league baseball games this season.
Torrealba said Vanover was unfair and inconsistent with his strike zone, that umpires are baiting players and that this year has been by far the worst.
"This is the worst umpiring I've ever seen."
"I've never seen the umpiring so inconsistent."
"There is no strike zone. They make us swing at everything. No one knows what the strike zone is anymore." He went on to say that's the reason why hitters are struggling so much this season.
"I know there are some good umpires, but there are a lot of really, really bad umpires."
Torrealba is appealing his penalty and is wise enough to note that his comments might get his suspension increased, not lessened.
The thing is, he's right. You know. I don't have to go into detail. The blown call at first base that cost Tigers P Andres Galarraga a perfect game was only the tip of the iceberg. I watched a game on TV in April which was the worst home plate umpiring I've ever seen -- aside from an NL playoff game years ago -- confirmed by the pitch tracker graphic on the screen. Things apparently haven't improved since then.
---
That NL playoff game? A 1-0 shutout thrown by Cardinals P John Tudor against the Giants in Game 6 of the NL Championship Series. Tudor, a junk artist, consistently threw the ball six inches outside all game long, and plate ump Bob Engel kept calling them strikes. Engel three years later was caught shoplifting baseball cards from two stores in Bakersfield and retired after pleading guilty.
---
Memo to Reds P Mike Leake, entitled: Get With the Program
Mike:
Congratulations on your fine start to your major league baseball career with the Cincinnati Reds. Like other San Diegans involved in America's pastime, we like to see the local kids do well. The Fallbrook HS community has a lot to be proud of.
However,
you don't go around beating everyone else and then losing to the Dodgers. Especially in a game in which LA might take over first place. Your job in such a situation is to beat them. Your six-inning, nine-hit, five-run performance came up rather short in that regard.
Let me make myself clear. You beat the Dodgers from now on. Understand?
Thank you and good luck the rest of the season.
Jim
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In my view, San Diego State's relative position in the spectrum of collegiate athletics has slightly improved in the past 10 days or so of conference reorganization in which the Mountain West gained Boise State but lost Utah. Until the Pacific-10 invited the Utes to become its 12th member, the Aztecs appeared well on their way to being part of a BCS conference with the Broncos becoming the 10th MWC member. Now they're almost back to where they started, with slight improvements.
1. Boise puts the MWC slightly closer to BCS AQ status than what Utah provided.
2. Boise was successful in overwhelming the WAC year-in and year-out. What happens when the Broncos join in 2011 and finish second? And then come in third in 2012? Does the bloom come off this year's possible Rose Bowl? Utah was in a pretty dominant position as one of the MWC's Big Three. Boise will start at such a level but whether coach Chris Peterson can sustain that success in new digs, like Utah would have, is questionable.
3. Utah is always a threat in mens and womens basketball, while Boise State is not. One easier game for Steve Fisher and Beth Burns. The Broncos men were 15-17 last season with a 5-11 WAC mark that placed them second-to-last. Records the preceding three seasons were 19-13 and 9-7, the high-water mark of 25-7 and 12-4, and 17-14 and 8-8. One good season in four years. The women were 19-12 and 8-8 last season but did have a pair of 20-win seasons recently. Still, they're no Utah.
The next two reasons are potentially huge.
4. I'm not sure the Big 12 can deliver on the TV contract promises that enticed Texas and its loyal followers to remain with the conference. Kansas, K-State and Missouri are possibly in play again a couple of years down the line and you only need three teams to hit the magic 12 mark for a conference championship game. Plus, the Pac-10's quick trigger finger on Utah means if the Big 12 does collapse, there's one more attractive school available for the MWC to snag. That means BCS.
5. Call me crazy on this one but hear (read) me out. The invitation to Utah puts San Diego State a step closer to the decades-long dream of Pac-8 -10 -11 -12 membership. The conference leadership now has no qualms of inviting Mountain West schools to join. A lot of conferences have been talking expansion in order to cash in on the Big Ten model of cable television channel ownership, so getting TV markets is critical. The Pac-10 will probably go down the same route. However, can they really do such a thing with two giant holes in their so-called conference footprint? San Diego and Las Vegas are two of the larger TV markets in the country. Sure, both markets do well in watching Pac-10 football, but they don't really own the market with the hometown schools in another league. Intriguing. Here's to hoping coach Brady Hoke can return the Aztecs to competitiveness quickly.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Padres Proving Theories
On a fairly regular basis this season, in a newspaper account of a midweek Padres game, there has been a phrase similar to: "in front of the third-smallest crowd in the history of Petco Park" or "witnessed by the second-smallest crowd of the season."
The Padres of 2010 have gone a long way to prove out two of my pet theories.
1. Petco Park is in a terribly inconvenient location for most baseball fans, so those 8-10 visits to Qualcomm Stadium per season for many people are dropping to three or four.
2. The generally held theory of San Diego sports fans only supporting a winner is not valid.
I've already harped on the inconvenience of Petco Park's location already this year (check San Diego's Best Sports Values by clicking on April under "Blog Archives" to the right). When I did traffic reporting years ago, the traffic flow patterns before and after Padres games showed the fan base was in the North County. If you live there, you're not going downtown any more than you have to. The transportation, walking, ticket prices, dinner in the Gaslamp, all make a Padres game a major event. People don't do major events 8-10 times a year. Maybe three or four, and they'll wait until summer when it's more convenient.
On supporting a winner, I've always responded that what San Diegans will support is a quality product. It might seem like semantics, but there is a difference. Is watching the team fun? Is there hope that the team will become a contender? Remember those really dull teams that won the NL West a few years ago? That's when the attendance began to dip. People around here are either sitting on their hands waiting for GM Jed Hoyer to acquire a hitter or waiting for the roof to cave in. Padres games aren't a lot of fun this year. I'm actually partial to well-pitched, low-scoring baseball games, but not because I know they can't hit. The joy of great pitching is that they're shutting down big bats. I can't admire someone striking out Will Venable because I know half the high schools in town have hurlers who can K the guy.
Some of San Diego State's biggest football attendance years came when they were mostly hovering around .500, because there were star attractions in Marshall Faulk and, to a lesser extent, Dan McGwire and Darnay Scott. Then they started fiddling around and losing in strange ways, and when coach Ted Tollner picked up the pieces and fielded teams that won 8 games and challenged for the WAC championship, the attendance was generally smaller. The Chargers have had little trouble selling out games whether in last year's 13-3 or 2008's 8-8 mark because they're fun to watch.
I think the Padres attendance will pick up markedly in the next homestand, which is at the end of this month. School will be out, so fans will come based on their own convenience. Someone will report that the locals are starting to believe in this team. Nice.
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Local prep product P Sergio Mitre was quietly putting together a big year as a reliever --mainly -- for the Yankees before going on the disabled list this week with an oblique strain. He was 0-1 with a 2.88 ERA with just 16 hits allowed in 25 innings.
Monte Vista HS's Brooks Conrad is still performing heroically for the Braves, winning a game recently with a bunt single. He's at .275-3-12 in 51 at-bats, which is pretty good in this year of the pitcher.
Speaking of the Braves, Carlsbad HS's Troy Glaus is tied for second in the NL with 49 RBI and tied for eighth with 13 HR.
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Not a local kid, but what will baseball be like without Conrad's and Glaus' teammate, Chipper Jones? He'll leave a void.
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Note to Hoyer: the Diamondback's trade of disappointing OF Conor Jackson to the A's may have signaled the beginning of trade season.
The Padres of 2010 have gone a long way to prove out two of my pet theories.
1. Petco Park is in a terribly inconvenient location for most baseball fans, so those 8-10 visits to Qualcomm Stadium per season for many people are dropping to three or four.
2. The generally held theory of San Diego sports fans only supporting a winner is not valid.
I've already harped on the inconvenience of Petco Park's location already this year (check San Diego's Best Sports Values by clicking on April under "Blog Archives" to the right). When I did traffic reporting years ago, the traffic flow patterns before and after Padres games showed the fan base was in the North County. If you live there, you're not going downtown any more than you have to. The transportation, walking, ticket prices, dinner in the Gaslamp, all make a Padres game a major event. People don't do major events 8-10 times a year. Maybe three or four, and they'll wait until summer when it's more convenient.
On supporting a winner, I've always responded that what San Diegans will support is a quality product. It might seem like semantics, but there is a difference. Is watching the team fun? Is there hope that the team will become a contender? Remember those really dull teams that won the NL West a few years ago? That's when the attendance began to dip. People around here are either sitting on their hands waiting for GM Jed Hoyer to acquire a hitter or waiting for the roof to cave in. Padres games aren't a lot of fun this year. I'm actually partial to well-pitched, low-scoring baseball games, but not because I know they can't hit. The joy of great pitching is that they're shutting down big bats. I can't admire someone striking out Will Venable because I know half the high schools in town have hurlers who can K the guy.
Some of San Diego State's biggest football attendance years came when they were mostly hovering around .500, because there were star attractions in Marshall Faulk and, to a lesser extent, Dan McGwire and Darnay Scott. Then they started fiddling around and losing in strange ways, and when coach Ted Tollner picked up the pieces and fielded teams that won 8 games and challenged for the WAC championship, the attendance was generally smaller. The Chargers have had little trouble selling out games whether in last year's 13-3 or 2008's 8-8 mark because they're fun to watch.
I think the Padres attendance will pick up markedly in the next homestand, which is at the end of this month. School will be out, so fans will come based on their own convenience. Someone will report that the locals are starting to believe in this team. Nice.
---
Local prep product P Sergio Mitre was quietly putting together a big year as a reliever --mainly -- for the Yankees before going on the disabled list this week with an oblique strain. He was 0-1 with a 2.88 ERA with just 16 hits allowed in 25 innings.
Monte Vista HS's Brooks Conrad is still performing heroically for the Braves, winning a game recently with a bunt single. He's at .275-3-12 in 51 at-bats, which is pretty good in this year of the pitcher.
Speaking of the Braves, Carlsbad HS's Troy Glaus is tied for second in the NL with 49 RBI and tied for eighth with 13 HR.
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Not a local kid, but what will baseball be like without Conrad's and Glaus' teammate, Chipper Jones? He'll leave a void.
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Note to Hoyer: the Diamondback's trade of disappointing OF Conor Jackson to the A's may have signaled the beginning of trade season.
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Strasburg, Padres Notes
The dearly departed Washington Nationals announced Monday that former San Diego State P Stephen Strasburg will make his long-awaited major league debut against Pittsburgh on June 8, barring rainouts. The timing of his first big league start has been the subject of considerable discussion, and this date has been rumored for about a week. Now it’s as confirmed as it ever will be. Kind of funny that now only an act of God could derail the debut of someone the good Lord has so gifted.
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It was interesting reading the letters to the sports editor in the San Diego Union-Tribune Sunday, which expressed opposing views on whether the local baseball franchise was interesting to watch. One writer claimed the punchless Padres were boring, and another stated that Little Ball was fun to see.
My take is somewhere in the middle. I think Little Ball is indeed a lot of fun if executed well. The Friars execute Little Ball terribly. Except for David Eckstein and, in some cases, Tony Gwynn, these guys are only good on the basepaths. But it's more than running to execute Little Ball. Part II is at the plate, where they can't bunt or execute the hit-and-run. Sure, the guy on first might steal second, but the hitter can’t put wood on the ball for hit-and-run plays, sac flies or grounders to the right side of the infield.
I like the basic idea of Little Ball, but it's only fun if well-played.
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Before LF Kyle Blanks got hurt there was a lot of talk about whether he should be returned to AAA to regain his swing. My choice for a ticket to Portland after the weekend is RF Will Venable, who refuses to take the outside pitch the other way. He tries to pull EVERYTHING. In Sunday's game, he came up with runners on second and third and one out, and the National's pitcher fed him a steady diet of baseballs on the outside part of the plate and he was totally unable to poke anything toward left field. Sure, a grounder that direction might not have scored a run, but it could have.
Since that 4-for-5 game at LA that made such a big splash, he's 6-for-35, just under .200, with no extra base hits.
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My favorite Padre now, behind Eckstein, is OF Chris Denorfia. This guy is a gamer -- and a keeper. In about the same time period, he has three more hits than Venable, including a pair of doubles, and three more RBI. With Scott Hairston possibly coming off the DL in a couple of days, the Padres are going to have a big decision to make.
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Nick Hundley and Yorvit Torrealba are the co-MVP's of this team, by the way.
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Yes, I wrote that I wanted GM Jed Hoyer to start working to bring in an outfielder who can actually hit, and that remains the case. But it should also be noted that scoring and hitting is way off all around the major leagues, from the Phillies being shut out by the Mets three games in a row to the Padres doing nearly the same to the Giants every series and the two perfect games in about three weeks.
---
It was interesting reading the letters to the sports editor in the San Diego Union-Tribune Sunday, which expressed opposing views on whether the local baseball franchise was interesting to watch. One writer claimed the punchless Padres were boring, and another stated that Little Ball was fun to see.
My take is somewhere in the middle. I think Little Ball is indeed a lot of fun if executed well. The Friars execute Little Ball terribly. Except for David Eckstein and, in some cases, Tony Gwynn, these guys are only good on the basepaths. But it's more than running to execute Little Ball. Part II is at the plate, where they can't bunt or execute the hit-and-run. Sure, the guy on first might steal second, but the hitter can’t put wood on the ball for hit-and-run plays, sac flies or grounders to the right side of the infield.
I like the basic idea of Little Ball, but it's only fun if well-played.
---
Before LF Kyle Blanks got hurt there was a lot of talk about whether he should be returned to AAA to regain his swing. My choice for a ticket to Portland after the weekend is RF Will Venable, who refuses to take the outside pitch the other way. He tries to pull EVERYTHING. In Sunday's game, he came up with runners on second and third and one out, and the National's pitcher fed him a steady diet of baseballs on the outside part of the plate and he was totally unable to poke anything toward left field. Sure, a grounder that direction might not have scored a run, but it could have.
Since that 4-for-5 game at LA that made such a big splash, he's 6-for-35, just under .200, with no extra base hits.
---
My favorite Padre now, behind Eckstein, is OF Chris Denorfia. This guy is a gamer -- and a keeper. In about the same time period, he has three more hits than Venable, including a pair of doubles, and three more RBI. With Scott Hairston possibly coming off the DL in a couple of days, the Padres are going to have a big decision to make.
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Nick Hundley and Yorvit Torrealba are the co-MVP's of this team, by the way.
---
Yes, I wrote that I wanted GM Jed Hoyer to start working to bring in an outfielder who can actually hit, and that remains the case. But it should also be noted that scoring and hitting is way off all around the major leagues, from the Phillies being shut out by the Mets three games in a row to the Padres doing nearly the same to the Giants every series and the two perfect games in about three weeks.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Outfielders Update, Jene Morris
When the newspaper ran a sports section column on Padres GM Jed Hoyer evaluating whether to bring in an outfielder who can actually hit major league pitching, I counseled patience--at least through the weekend. That would give us time to see how Kyle Blanks, Tony Gwynn, Scott Hairston and Will Venable did against the rival Dodgers and Giants.
The Padres swept SF but were in turn swept by LA. It's not time to hit the panic button but, with the wins at AT&T Park coming almost entirely because of pitching, the way to lean is obvious. Thinking time is over. Doing something should be the new mode. As has already been reported, AAA is basically devoid of outfield talent because they're all up here -- and hitting like minor leaguers. Ouch!
The options are to sign someone who is currently not on a roster, which comes down to former White Sox OF Jermaine Dye, or trade surplus pitching. Signing Dye might be a quick process but it would be several days to get him ready to play a game. A trade could take days or weeks, and it is something you'd rather get right than wrong.
Here are how the current four outfielders fared over those big six games against the rivals:
Blanks - 0-for-11, 5 strikeouts
Gwynn - 2-for-15, 3 strikeouts and just 2 runs scored
Hairston - 3-for-11, 1 RBI and 1 run
Venable - 2-for-10, 4 strikeouts and an RBI
Now, it is unfair to judge players based on one week's worth of games, but this is actually just a microcosm of what's been happening over the past month with these players. Blanks had no hits and struck out in nearly half his at-bats. Gwynn struck out more times than he was safe on a batted ball -- not exactly living up to the family name -- and as a leadoff hitter he scored only twice. Hairston scored just once. Venable's .200 mark looked pretty good in comparison.
If you fault my analysis, then you're not only seeing things differently than me but also with manager Bud Black. In the past week, he gave three outfield starts to backup infielder Oscar Salazar and one to aging pinch hitter Matt Stairs. In the Bay Area finale, Hairston played all three outfield spots as Black juggled his unproductive lineup during the game.
In all fairness, the rest of the lineup didn't produce, either. 3B Chase Headley was 3-for-24 over that period and 1B Adrian Gonzalez was 4-for-23 with just 1 RBI on Friday's home run.
If, indeed, Hoyer and the front office choose patience, then that could mean the baseball guys don't see anything seriously wrong with the outfielders other than they are in a slump and need seasoning. They could be right. Of course, they won't get much money from fans until they're proven correct, and their careers could be short-circuited if they're wrong.
The Padres host the Giants again and then go to LA, both for 2-game series. Then they go to Seattle against the equally punchless Mariners. After that it's crunch time: they face the Cardinals, surprising Nationals, Mets and Phillies in the following two weeks. The time to make changes maybe hasn't come, but the moment has absolutely arrived to get the ball rolling in that direction.
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The beginning of the WNBA season hasn't been easy on former San Diego State G Jene Morris -- and boy, is it sad to include the "former" in front of her. In Indiana's season opener against Washington Saturday, the first-round draft choice played for more than 14 minutes, but missed her only two shots -- both threes -- and committed three turnovers. She also had a rebound and an assist.
In a 66-62 loss to Atlanta on Sunday, Morris played 5 minutes and 36 seconds, scored a hoop on her only shot, turned the ball over once and committed three fouls.
BTW, Morris made the roster in part by beating out Joy Cheek, the Duke forward who helped eliminate the Aztecs from the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.
The Padres swept SF but were in turn swept by LA. It's not time to hit the panic button but, with the wins at AT&T Park coming almost entirely because of pitching, the way to lean is obvious. Thinking time is over. Doing something should be the new mode. As has already been reported, AAA is basically devoid of outfield talent because they're all up here -- and hitting like minor leaguers. Ouch!
The options are to sign someone who is currently not on a roster, which comes down to former White Sox OF Jermaine Dye, or trade surplus pitching. Signing Dye might be a quick process but it would be several days to get him ready to play a game. A trade could take days or weeks, and it is something you'd rather get right than wrong.
Here are how the current four outfielders fared over those big six games against the rivals:
Blanks - 0-for-11, 5 strikeouts
Gwynn - 2-for-15, 3 strikeouts and just 2 runs scored
Hairston - 3-for-11, 1 RBI and 1 run
Venable - 2-for-10, 4 strikeouts and an RBI
Now, it is unfair to judge players based on one week's worth of games, but this is actually just a microcosm of what's been happening over the past month with these players. Blanks had no hits and struck out in nearly half his at-bats. Gwynn struck out more times than he was safe on a batted ball -- not exactly living up to the family name -- and as a leadoff hitter he scored only twice. Hairston scored just once. Venable's .200 mark looked pretty good in comparison.
If you fault my analysis, then you're not only seeing things differently than me but also with manager Bud Black. In the past week, he gave three outfield starts to backup infielder Oscar Salazar and one to aging pinch hitter Matt Stairs. In the Bay Area finale, Hairston played all three outfield spots as Black juggled his unproductive lineup during the game.
In all fairness, the rest of the lineup didn't produce, either. 3B Chase Headley was 3-for-24 over that period and 1B Adrian Gonzalez was 4-for-23 with just 1 RBI on Friday's home run.
If, indeed, Hoyer and the front office choose patience, then that could mean the baseball guys don't see anything seriously wrong with the outfielders other than they are in a slump and need seasoning. They could be right. Of course, they won't get much money from fans until they're proven correct, and their careers could be short-circuited if they're wrong.
The Padres host the Giants again and then go to LA, both for 2-game series. Then they go to Seattle against the equally punchless Mariners. After that it's crunch time: they face the Cardinals, surprising Nationals, Mets and Phillies in the following two weeks. The time to make changes maybe hasn't come, but the moment has absolutely arrived to get the ball rolling in that direction.
---
The beginning of the WNBA season hasn't been easy on former San Diego State G Jene Morris -- and boy, is it sad to include the "former" in front of her. In Indiana's season opener against Washington Saturday, the first-round draft choice played for more than 14 minutes, but missed her only two shots -- both threes -- and committed three turnovers. She also had a rebound and an assist.
In a 66-62 loss to Atlanta on Sunday, Morris played 5 minutes and 36 seconds, scored a hoop on her only shot, turned the ball over once and committed three fouls.
BTW, Morris made the roster in part by beating out Joy Cheek, the Duke forward who helped eliminate the Aztecs from the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Time to Find Out What Moorad, Hoyer and Hoke Have
We're pretty soon going to find out what Padres incoming owner Jeff Moorad, GM Jed Hoyer and San Diego State football coach Brady Hoke are made of, thanks to two interesting items in the newspaper today. One is on the lagging hitting of Padres outfielders and the other is about the lack of strength among San Diego State football players when coach Brady Hoke arrived in December 2008.
Good articles on what's going on in local sports. Let me bump them up a bit with the stakes involved.
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On the Padres outfield, it is worth noting that from left to right, Kyle Blanks' stat line is a measly .180-3-14, Tony Gwynn is at .211 with just 8 runs scored and Will Venable is .220-4-12. Scott Hairston's line is .243-6-13, and he deserves considerable credit for Tuesday's 3-2 win at San Francisco with an 11-pitch leadoff at-bat that exposed Giants P Barry Zito's stuff for the rest of the lineup. Hairston himself didn't do too much the rest of the game, but the guy right behind him, 2B David Eckstein, went 2-for-2 with three walks. I don't think that's coincidence.
But the main point of the newspaper article is now that we're into mid-May and the outfielders aren't producing at the plate, Hoyer has to decide whether to stick with the young kids or make a trade for some hitting. Tuesday's Giants game shows perfectly the problem. Their pitchers issued 12 walks, yet the Friars only cashed in with 3 runs. That's a problem. Blanks, Gwynn and Hairston were a combined 0-for-7.
Clearly, the outfielders need to start hitting--the sooner the better. Or did you not notice the Dodgers creeping up in the standings after a rotten start? Either the guys who are there have to produce, or someone needs to be brought in who will. This is not merely a challenge to see if the new ownership is willing to open its wallet to win a division, though that's part of it. The issue for Hoyer and his baseball people is do he, and they, have the touch for knowing when to make a move and when to stand pat? The decision-making they're faced with is as much art as science, experience as raw data. No one said it would be easy.
Here's my thinking, if I'm in Hoyer's shoes.
1. I'm in my first series in San Francisco and I haven't played the Dodgers at all. Let's get through the weekend before I start to worry about this stuff. Hey, the Padres are 4-0 against the Giants, their closest pursuers at the moment. In the sweep of SF at Petco, my primary outfielders were 6-for-19, a .317 clip.
2. If I still have an issue next Monday, I look at whose been proven and who has not. Gwynn is in his fifth major league season with a career .256 batting average and no sock. I like his speed and defense, but there is no longer any expectation of improvement from him (I feel like I've really been bagging on the Gwynns lately, and I don't mean to, but facts are facts in a performance-based industry). Hairston is in his ninth season as a .252 career hitter. He is also as good as he is going to get.
3. Blanks and Venable are in only their second big league seasons, and Blanks missed a lot of last year with his foot injury. They're both babies, so to speak. They will need time to develop. The question is where? This is when the baseball people come in. It might be best to continue to work against major league pitchers. It might be better to send them to AAA Portland to fix flaws that have developed or restore their confidence. Or would a return to the minors shatter promising young players? Big questions here.
4. The newspaper article suggested signing former White Sox slugger Jermaine Dye, who is available after not being re-signed following a bad second half of last season. This is where Moorad comes in. Dye might be a cheap alternative. Or do you go big? The Padres have pitching depth that has given Portland six hurlers with major league experience, eight if you count Cesar Ramos and Adam Russell, who were called up as replacements for the grieving Kevin Correia and ailing Tim Stauffer. Are you willing to package some young pitchers in exchange for CF Adam Jones of struggling Baltimore? The Morse High product slugged 19 homers and swatted 22 doubles last year and plays superb defense for a lousy team. How about getting the experienced Scott Podsednik from Kansas City, who has rejuvenated his career and appears to be his old self again at the age of 34? Baltimore could use some pitching, but KC is desperate for it. Right now, I'd say those are the two CFs most likely to be available for trade and helpful to the Padres cause.
I think we're a bit premature on all this, but the article came out now so I thought I'd respond. Hopefully on Monday I can post a "never mind."
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For Hoke, he appeared at an Encinitas gabfest and repeated his quote that his Aztecs were woefully weak physically when he arrived on Montezuma Mesa and his players were ready to pack it in mentally after the 2009 season-opening 33-14 loss to UCLA.
Rome wasn't built in a day, so to expect significant change in size and strength in Hoke's first season was not realistic and it didn't happen. But by the time SDSU opens the 2010 campaign, it will have been nearly two calendar years since he and his supposedly wonderful strength coach, Aaron Wellman, stepped on campus. Serious change is due.
If the Aztecs are stronger in the lines, then they will be better than everyone in the Mountain West other than the Big Three of TCU, BYU and Utah; and might be at least close to as good as Air Force. They have a pretty decent QB in Ryan Lindley and the best receiving corps in the conference. They could score a lot of points on the weaker opposition.
If Hoke and Wellman are all that, we should see the results as early as this fall. I don't want to see lines pushed backward. I want to see the skill talent freed to make plays. I still think the overall talent level is 6-6ish, but that's a longer term issue than less than two years.
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As long as we're on Aztecs football, here's another challenge for Hoke. He and QB coach Brian Sipe have yet to match predecessor Chuck Long--God it pains me to write those last three words--in one area, QB recruiting. One of the few things Long got right was bringing in Lindley. I don't think incoming freshman Adam Dingwell of Rockwall, Texas, is of the same caliber, though I might be wrong. I'm talking about a major recruit here, and as star-crossed as Lindley's career has been, he was a major recruit.
I don't see SDSU being ready yet to compete for Top 10 quarterback recruits yet and they've only gotten or really challenged for a handful over the years anyway. But a 15-25 guy nationally, like Lindley, needs to come in here for this program to take off.
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Wednesday post on SDSU football on Yahoo!'s Dr. Saturday blog. Pretty fair assessment.
Good articles on what's going on in local sports. Let me bump them up a bit with the stakes involved.
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On the Padres outfield, it is worth noting that from left to right, Kyle Blanks' stat line is a measly .180-3-14, Tony Gwynn is at .211 with just 8 runs scored and Will Venable is .220-4-12. Scott Hairston's line is .243-6-13, and he deserves considerable credit for Tuesday's 3-2 win at San Francisco with an 11-pitch leadoff at-bat that exposed Giants P Barry Zito's stuff for the rest of the lineup. Hairston himself didn't do too much the rest of the game, but the guy right behind him, 2B David Eckstein, went 2-for-2 with three walks. I don't think that's coincidence.
But the main point of the newspaper article is now that we're into mid-May and the outfielders aren't producing at the plate, Hoyer has to decide whether to stick with the young kids or make a trade for some hitting. Tuesday's Giants game shows perfectly the problem. Their pitchers issued 12 walks, yet the Friars only cashed in with 3 runs. That's a problem. Blanks, Gwynn and Hairston were a combined 0-for-7.
Clearly, the outfielders need to start hitting--the sooner the better. Or did you not notice the Dodgers creeping up in the standings after a rotten start? Either the guys who are there have to produce, or someone needs to be brought in who will. This is not merely a challenge to see if the new ownership is willing to open its wallet to win a division, though that's part of it. The issue for Hoyer and his baseball people is do he, and they, have the touch for knowing when to make a move and when to stand pat? The decision-making they're faced with is as much art as science, experience as raw data. No one said it would be easy.
Here's my thinking, if I'm in Hoyer's shoes.
1. I'm in my first series in San Francisco and I haven't played the Dodgers at all. Let's get through the weekend before I start to worry about this stuff. Hey, the Padres are 4-0 against the Giants, their closest pursuers at the moment. In the sweep of SF at Petco, my primary outfielders were 6-for-19, a .317 clip.
2. If I still have an issue next Monday, I look at whose been proven and who has not. Gwynn is in his fifth major league season with a career .256 batting average and no sock. I like his speed and defense, but there is no longer any expectation of improvement from him (I feel like I've really been bagging on the Gwynns lately, and I don't mean to, but facts are facts in a performance-based industry). Hairston is in his ninth season as a .252 career hitter. He is also as good as he is going to get.
3. Blanks and Venable are in only their second big league seasons, and Blanks missed a lot of last year with his foot injury. They're both babies, so to speak. They will need time to develop. The question is where? This is when the baseball people come in. It might be best to continue to work against major league pitchers. It might be better to send them to AAA Portland to fix flaws that have developed or restore their confidence. Or would a return to the minors shatter promising young players? Big questions here.
4. The newspaper article suggested signing former White Sox slugger Jermaine Dye, who is available after not being re-signed following a bad second half of last season. This is where Moorad comes in. Dye might be a cheap alternative. Or do you go big? The Padres have pitching depth that has given Portland six hurlers with major league experience, eight if you count Cesar Ramos and Adam Russell, who were called up as replacements for the grieving Kevin Correia and ailing Tim Stauffer. Are you willing to package some young pitchers in exchange for CF Adam Jones of struggling Baltimore? The Morse High product slugged 19 homers and swatted 22 doubles last year and plays superb defense for a lousy team. How about getting the experienced Scott Podsednik from Kansas City, who has rejuvenated his career and appears to be his old self again at the age of 34? Baltimore could use some pitching, but KC is desperate for it. Right now, I'd say those are the two CFs most likely to be available for trade and helpful to the Padres cause.
I think we're a bit premature on all this, but the article came out now so I thought I'd respond. Hopefully on Monday I can post a "never mind."
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For Hoke, he appeared at an Encinitas gabfest and repeated his quote that his Aztecs were woefully weak physically when he arrived on Montezuma Mesa and his players were ready to pack it in mentally after the 2009 season-opening 33-14 loss to UCLA.
Rome wasn't built in a day, so to expect significant change in size and strength in Hoke's first season was not realistic and it didn't happen. But by the time SDSU opens the 2010 campaign, it will have been nearly two calendar years since he and his supposedly wonderful strength coach, Aaron Wellman, stepped on campus. Serious change is due.
If the Aztecs are stronger in the lines, then they will be better than everyone in the Mountain West other than the Big Three of TCU, BYU and Utah; and might be at least close to as good as Air Force. They have a pretty decent QB in Ryan Lindley and the best receiving corps in the conference. They could score a lot of points on the weaker opposition.
If Hoke and Wellman are all that, we should see the results as early as this fall. I don't want to see lines pushed backward. I want to see the skill talent freed to make plays. I still think the overall talent level is 6-6ish, but that's a longer term issue than less than two years.
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As long as we're on Aztecs football, here's another challenge for Hoke. He and QB coach Brian Sipe have yet to match predecessor Chuck Long--God it pains me to write those last three words--in one area, QB recruiting. One of the few things Long got right was bringing in Lindley. I don't think incoming freshman Adam Dingwell of Rockwall, Texas, is of the same caliber, though I might be wrong. I'm talking about a major recruit here, and as star-crossed as Lindley's career has been, he was a major recruit.
I don't see SDSU being ready yet to compete for Top 10 quarterback recruits yet and they've only gotten or really challenged for a handful over the years anyway. But a 15-25 guy nationally, like Lindley, needs to come in here for this program to take off.
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Wednesday post on SDSU football on Yahoo!'s Dr. Saturday blog. Pretty fair assessment.
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.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Padres Head Into Interesting Off-Season
If I had no morals, I would use the "delete" function offered by the blog host and just erase my predictions for the second-half of the baseball season. While my straight-out predictions proved wrong, I was correct in what turned out to be the Padres' downfall, as the starting pitching suffered from the sudden loss of effectiveness of David Wells, occasional struggles by Jake Peavy, and injuries to Chris Young and Greg Maddux.
So, into the off-season we go, and it should be an interesting one. Here are the priorities for the front office during the fall and winter months:
1. Coach the hitters - The Padres did not lose their play-in game in Denver because of Trevor Hoffman or a blown call at home plate. They lost because of a late-inning by late-inning failure to cash in on opportunities as every hitter but Brian Giles swung for the fences. Just putting the ball in play could have pushed a run across late in the game and Hoffman could have extinguished the Rockies while they were, too, shooting for home runs. Instead, the Rox clued in and did what the Padres should have -- took pitches consistently to the opposite field in the final inning of play.
If it looks like I'm picking on one game, I'm actually just using it as an example. The last home game I went to, a similar extra-inning loss to Colorado on the Friday night of the final series at Petco Park, saw similar bat work by the Padres. You can't have a team that only scores via the home run, but that's what the Friars were trying to do in a lot of games.
2. Sign Mike Cameron - Okay, I'm no big fan of his. But Brady Clark showed just how important center field defense is in large parks like Coors Field and Petco. Cameron struck out a horrifying amount of times, like 160, which is Bobby Bonds territory. But he stabilizes the outfield defense and injects much-needed speed into the lineup. Sign him and bat him seventh.
The trouble is that there is one guy who was smiling as he watched Clark struggle Monday night. That's Cameron's agent. Guarantee they're not coming off their asking price too quickly now when they negotiate with the Padres.
3. Fill the holes - Assuming that Cameron re-signs, then Kevin Towers has to fill left field, second base, and two starting pitching spots. Scott Hairston provided late lightning on four occasions this season, but he's not a consistent hitter and not a good enough defender to compete for a fulltime job, which is why Arizona was willing to let him go. He's a 2007 version of Jim Leyritz, the 1998 wonder who fell apart the next season. Keep Hairston as what he is, a good substitute. Maybe good enough to start in left if there's reason to think Milton Bradley will be ready to play by May.
Solutions are more likely to come from trades than the free agent market. The only free agents who fit Padres needs and are, IMHO, worth signing, are infielder Mark Loretta, pitcher Matt Clement and LF Adam Dunn. All have good and bad points. Loretta hit .287 and had 460 at bats for the Astros while only striking out 41 times, but had no power at all and will turn 37 next season. Clement has been a solid starting pitcher since leaving San Diego, but he's well into his 30s and did not pitch for the Red Sox this year because of an injury that limited him to just 12 appeances in 2006. Dunn had perhaps his best season overall with a his highest batting average (.264) since 2004, 40 home runs for the third year in a row and his fewest strikeouts over a full season in his career -- although that was still 165 and the Reds hold a team option for him.
So Towers' options are limited in free agency. Trades are another matter. As soon as you'd think other general managers would be leery of dealing with the man, someone shows up believing he can snooker him. Other teams, wary of how the relief-shy Mets collapsed, will be after bullpen talent, and the Padres have some short-inning arms to spare.
4. Evaluate the young pitchers - It's pitch or cut bait with young pitchers Tim Stauffer, Justin Germano, Clay Hensley and Mike Thompson. The brass has to decide once and for all whether they will make it as fulltime major league starters.
5. Closer reality - Trevor Hoffman is NOT DONE. However, it is becoming clear that Heath Bell, who many teammates and observers believe should be the team MVP, is the best pitcher in the bullpen. Hoffman has made adjustments before and will during this offseason, too. He will come out next spring and be an effective closer for a while. But as Hoffman pitches his first season north of 40 years old in 2008, he's going to need Bell to save some games for him, not the other way around. The sooner Bud Black is willing to be flexible in how he sets up his bullpen -- game by game or week by week or just going with the hot hand -- the better chance the Padres will have at winning ball games.
Overall, it was a pretty interesting and entertaining season. The Padres finished with a better record and were closer to the playoffs than a lot of people expected. They had their share of bad breaks and injuries but were able to plug on via spit and glue. They came up with a third baseman of the future in Kevin Kouzmanoff. They won an awful lot of games in the late innings. They played in October when most other major league teams did not. There are a lot of positives. But they can also stand improvement.
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NOTES: Sorry, I haven't posted in a while. Kind of the way it is ... I'd have written by now about the Chargers 1-3 start if I could figure it out. There seems to be something different every week, which leads me to think that there's some general weakness all over, from the general manager to the coaches to Philip Rivers to the offensive line, to the defensive line not tying up lineman, the linebackers being out of position and the secondary being just plain awful ... It won't show up in the stats, but the plays by Rivers that killed the Bolts chances against Kansas City were consecutive goal line situations late in the game in which Vincent Jackson was open in the back of the end zone and LaDainian Tomlinson was open in the flat and he ended up not throwing to either of them. The next play, Tomlinson was again open in the flat, and again Rivers couldn't even let the pass loose ... San Diego State might have the worst defense in the history of the school, and they had some pretty bad defenses in the early 90s. The secondary is patchwork, the linebackers are young and injured and the defensive line is not strong enough to stop a Pop Warner offense ... Chuck Long is building through young players, which takes time, but Aztecs fans have heard that song-and-dance repeatedly over the years, with payoffs only coming once per decade.
So, into the off-season we go, and it should be an interesting one. Here are the priorities for the front office during the fall and winter months:
1. Coach the hitters - The Padres did not lose their play-in game in Denver because of Trevor Hoffman or a blown call at home plate. They lost because of a late-inning by late-inning failure to cash in on opportunities as every hitter but Brian Giles swung for the fences. Just putting the ball in play could have pushed a run across late in the game and Hoffman could have extinguished the Rockies while they were, too, shooting for home runs. Instead, the Rox clued in and did what the Padres should have -- took pitches consistently to the opposite field in the final inning of play.
If it looks like I'm picking on one game, I'm actually just using it as an example. The last home game I went to, a similar extra-inning loss to Colorado on the Friday night of the final series at Petco Park, saw similar bat work by the Padres. You can't have a team that only scores via the home run, but that's what the Friars were trying to do in a lot of games.
2. Sign Mike Cameron - Okay, I'm no big fan of his. But Brady Clark showed just how important center field defense is in large parks like Coors Field and Petco. Cameron struck out a horrifying amount of times, like 160, which is Bobby Bonds territory. But he stabilizes the outfield defense and injects much-needed speed into the lineup. Sign him and bat him seventh.
The trouble is that there is one guy who was smiling as he watched Clark struggle Monday night. That's Cameron's agent. Guarantee they're not coming off their asking price too quickly now when they negotiate with the Padres.
3. Fill the holes - Assuming that Cameron re-signs, then Kevin Towers has to fill left field, second base, and two starting pitching spots. Scott Hairston provided late lightning on four occasions this season, but he's not a consistent hitter and not a good enough defender to compete for a fulltime job, which is why Arizona was willing to let him go. He's a 2007 version of Jim Leyritz, the 1998 wonder who fell apart the next season. Keep Hairston as what he is, a good substitute. Maybe good enough to start in left if there's reason to think Milton Bradley will be ready to play by May.
Solutions are more likely to come from trades than the free agent market. The only free agents who fit Padres needs and are, IMHO, worth signing, are infielder Mark Loretta, pitcher Matt Clement and LF Adam Dunn. All have good and bad points. Loretta hit .287 and had 460 at bats for the Astros while only striking out 41 times, but had no power at all and will turn 37 next season. Clement has been a solid starting pitcher since leaving San Diego, but he's well into his 30s and did not pitch for the Red Sox this year because of an injury that limited him to just 12 appeances in 2006. Dunn had perhaps his best season overall with a his highest batting average (.264) since 2004, 40 home runs for the third year in a row and his fewest strikeouts over a full season in his career -- although that was still 165 and the Reds hold a team option for him.
So Towers' options are limited in free agency. Trades are another matter. As soon as you'd think other general managers would be leery of dealing with the man, someone shows up believing he can snooker him. Other teams, wary of how the relief-shy Mets collapsed, will be after bullpen talent, and the Padres have some short-inning arms to spare.
4. Evaluate the young pitchers - It's pitch or cut bait with young pitchers Tim Stauffer, Justin Germano, Clay Hensley and Mike Thompson. The brass has to decide once and for all whether they will make it as fulltime major league starters.
5. Closer reality - Trevor Hoffman is NOT DONE. However, it is becoming clear that Heath Bell, who many teammates and observers believe should be the team MVP, is the best pitcher in the bullpen. Hoffman has made adjustments before and will during this offseason, too. He will come out next spring and be an effective closer for a while. But as Hoffman pitches his first season north of 40 years old in 2008, he's going to need Bell to save some games for him, not the other way around. The sooner Bud Black is willing to be flexible in how he sets up his bullpen -- game by game or week by week or just going with the hot hand -- the better chance the Padres will have at winning ball games.
Overall, it was a pretty interesting and entertaining season. The Padres finished with a better record and were closer to the playoffs than a lot of people expected. They had their share of bad breaks and injuries but were able to plug on via spit and glue. They came up with a third baseman of the future in Kevin Kouzmanoff. They won an awful lot of games in the late innings. They played in October when most other major league teams did not. There are a lot of positives. But they can also stand improvement.
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NOTES: Sorry, I haven't posted in a while. Kind of the way it is ... I'd have written by now about the Chargers 1-3 start if I could figure it out. There seems to be something different every week, which leads me to think that there's some general weakness all over, from the general manager to the coaches to Philip Rivers to the offensive line, to the defensive line not tying up lineman, the linebackers being out of position and the secondary being just plain awful ... It won't show up in the stats, but the plays by Rivers that killed the Bolts chances against Kansas City were consecutive goal line situations late in the game in which Vincent Jackson was open in the back of the end zone and LaDainian Tomlinson was open in the flat and he ended up not throwing to either of them. The next play, Tomlinson was again open in the flat, and again Rivers couldn't even let the pass loose ... San Diego State might have the worst defense in the history of the school, and they had some pretty bad defenses in the early 90s. The secondary is patchwork, the linebackers are young and injured and the defensive line is not strong enough to stop a Pop Warner offense ... Chuck Long is building through young players, which takes time, but Aztecs fans have heard that song-and-dance repeatedly over the years, with payoffs only coming once per decade.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Padres - Tony Gwynn Memories
As a fan and one-time sports reporter, I have three memories of Tony Gwynn that stand out above the rest on this Hall of Fame induction weekend.
The first is something you may have seen, read about or heard about over the years since it's mentioned occasionally. And it really goes against the T. Gwynn stereotype. But the guy hit about the hardest home run I ever saw at Qualcomm Stadium. Early 90s maybe, maybe mid 90s. Don't remember the opponent or the pitcher. Just remember Gwynn swinging, the ball on a line, and it reaching the low rows of fans in right field. A frozen rope. Awesome.
(What's kind of funny, speaking of going against stereotype, but you know who I also saw hit one of the hardest home run balls at The Q? Quilvio Veras! Took it inside-out right down the third base line, and it hit the higher wall just inside fair territory.)
The second and third were a pair of chance meetings while I was reporting for my Sandiegosportstown.com web site earlier this decade.
Remember when former San Diego State baseball coach Jim Dietz was on the ropes, but then Athletic Director Rick Bay relented and let him stay? Gwynn, you'll recall, was a major Dietz booster and publicly supported him. The day that Bay announced his decision, the Padres had a game that I decided to cover, and when I went down to the first-base photographer well to get some pictures, I passed Gwynn in a hallway. A strange set-up at The Q, with players and the media sharing space! Knowing his interest in the subject, I whispered to him as he went by that Dietz was being retained. He said, "Really?" in kind of a drawn-out way. You generally don't engage players in conversation during a game, but I thought that was a good time for an exception.
The final moment was one of the last major events I covered for the web site in June 2004, the high school baseball finals at the park that had been named for him on SDSU's campus. I was in the press box, standing in the back and off to one side. Gwynn walked in and began engaging us in conversation. That was the day when it was announced that President Reagan had died, so I brought it up. I was amazed by his reaction. He was really crushed, really saddened by the Gipper's passing. Gwynn was not a guy who ever, to my knowledge, mentioned his politics -- and there's no question that Reagan made a monumental impact on our generation -- but I was kind of surprised.
Maybe it's that last story that best sums up the public persona of Tony Gwynn. He's a ballplayer and that's about it. You thought about him at the plate, in the batting cage and watching endless hours of videotape. Always working harder to get better. You never thought about him having political thoughts (unlike Curt Schilling) or needing a plumber or taking Tony Jr. to the dentist. He was a ballplayer through and through. And that's a big reason why he's in Cooperstown this weekend -- and for all of time.
The first is something you may have seen, read about or heard about over the years since it's mentioned occasionally. And it really goes against the T. Gwynn stereotype. But the guy hit about the hardest home run I ever saw at Qualcomm Stadium. Early 90s maybe, maybe mid 90s. Don't remember the opponent or the pitcher. Just remember Gwynn swinging, the ball on a line, and it reaching the low rows of fans in right field. A frozen rope. Awesome.
(What's kind of funny, speaking of going against stereotype, but you know who I also saw hit one of the hardest home run balls at The Q? Quilvio Veras! Took it inside-out right down the third base line, and it hit the higher wall just inside fair territory.)
The second and third were a pair of chance meetings while I was reporting for my Sandiegosportstown.com web site earlier this decade.
Remember when former San Diego State baseball coach Jim Dietz was on the ropes, but then Athletic Director Rick Bay relented and let him stay? Gwynn, you'll recall, was a major Dietz booster and publicly supported him. The day that Bay announced his decision, the Padres had a game that I decided to cover, and when I went down to the first-base photographer well to get some pictures, I passed Gwynn in a hallway. A strange set-up at The Q, with players and the media sharing space! Knowing his interest in the subject, I whispered to him as he went by that Dietz was being retained. He said, "Really?" in kind of a drawn-out way. You generally don't engage players in conversation during a game, but I thought that was a good time for an exception.
The final moment was one of the last major events I covered for the web site in June 2004, the high school baseball finals at the park that had been named for him on SDSU's campus. I was in the press box, standing in the back and off to one side. Gwynn walked in and began engaging us in conversation. That was the day when it was announced that President Reagan had died, so I brought it up. I was amazed by his reaction. He was really crushed, really saddened by the Gipper's passing. Gwynn was not a guy who ever, to my knowledge, mentioned his politics -- and there's no question that Reagan made a monumental impact on our generation -- but I was kind of surprised.
Maybe it's that last story that best sums up the public persona of Tony Gwynn. He's a ballplayer and that's about it. You thought about him at the plate, in the batting cage and watching endless hours of videotape. Always working harder to get better. You never thought about him having political thoughts (unlike Curt Schilling) or needing a plumber or taking Tony Jr. to the dentist. He was a ballplayer through and through. And that's a big reason why he's in Cooperstown this weekend -- and for all of time.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Padres - Linebrink Traded
It's one of those stories that make you think another story rests just below the surface. The Padres have traded set-up pitcher Scott Linebrink to Milwaukee for three minor league hurlers. That follows a streak of rough outings for the longtime Friars reliever.
The day before Linebrink was moved, Manager Bud Black told reporters that he was going to have Heath Bell and other relievers try the eighth inning slot to give the hardballer a chance to sort out his issues with pitch location. He said he had met with the pitcher to discuss his recent efforts.
The next thing you know, he's gone.
In the early months of this season, as it became clear that the lineup was not going to produce a barrage of runs, it appeared likely that Linebrink would be a highly sought-after reliever who would be moved by the trade deadline in exchange for a big bat. Three minor league pitchers weren't expected to be in that mix, for sure. But such are the fortunes of baseball.
Linebrink's local demise is unfortunate because he was a good guy and, for the most part, a good pitcher. The trouble is he would get into ruts where his fastball came in relatively straight and his breaking pitches flattened out. It happened every year. He'd blow a couple games, then he'd sort himself out and be effective. That history makes me wonder what else was going on that made the Padres decide it was better this time to move him and acquire people who aren't likely to help in the 2007 pennant race.
Meanwhile, as bad as the Padres are playing right now -- both on the pitcher's mound and at the plate -- they aren't falling behind in the National League West appreciably. Far from it. The Dodgers have cooled considerably following a hot start out of the All-Star break, and at this writing are still just a game ahead in the standings.
The day before Linebrink was moved, Manager Bud Black told reporters that he was going to have Heath Bell and other relievers try the eighth inning slot to give the hardballer a chance to sort out his issues with pitch location. He said he had met with the pitcher to discuss his recent efforts.
The next thing you know, he's gone.
In the early months of this season, as it became clear that the lineup was not going to produce a barrage of runs, it appeared likely that Linebrink would be a highly sought-after reliever who would be moved by the trade deadline in exchange for a big bat. Three minor league pitchers weren't expected to be in that mix, for sure. But such are the fortunes of baseball.
Linebrink's local demise is unfortunate because he was a good guy and, for the most part, a good pitcher. The trouble is he would get into ruts where his fastball came in relatively straight and his breaking pitches flattened out. It happened every year. He'd blow a couple games, then he'd sort himself out and be effective. That history makes me wonder what else was going on that made the Padres decide it was better this time to move him and acquire people who aren't likely to help in the 2007 pennant race.
Meanwhile, as bad as the Padres are playing right now -- both on the pitcher's mound and at the plate -- they aren't falling behind in the National League West appreciably. Far from it. The Dodgers have cooled considerably following a hot start out of the All-Star break, and at this writing are still just a game ahead in the standings.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Padres Second Half
As noted in the All-Star Game post, I think the Padres have to win five more games in the second half of the season than they did in the first half. The Dodgers appear to be the opponent most capable of going on a run, and the Padres are going to have to find a way to match them. Arizona remains in the hunt, and Colorado might be playing the best ball in the division right now.
Funny, but so far the upside for the 2007 Padres has been pitching, and that's what I'm worried about. The downside has been hitting, and I'm actually a bit optimistic that they'll improve at the plate.
On pitching, Greg Maddux has simply not been very good lately, with batters reaching him on their second and especially third turns around the order. Sure, he's been a good pickup overall, but both he and David Wells have been taxing the bullpen. And Justin Germano has tailed off of late. While Wells has put together a number of quality starts lately, with his age you have to wonder how long that will last. So you have anywhere from 2/5 to 3/5 of your starting rotation being questionable, and Portland has no one else to send to the bigs. Plus, the bullpen has been overused, by necessity of course.
On hitting, my causes for optimism are the additions of Milton Bradley and Michael Barrett, and the move of Brian Giles to leadoff. I wouldn't expect big power numbers from any of these guys, but so often where the Friars fall short is in coming up with the clean base knock with two outs and runners on. With their pitching, they don't need big boppers to bring home nine runs per game. But they have to capitalize with singles and doubles when the opportunities are there. And Giles, with his power loss but good eye at the plate, is a guy who should be able to create more opportunities than his strikeout-prone little bro'.
The additions also mean that you can have guys like Jose Cruz Jr. and Josh Bard coming off the bench, where they're stronger, instead of playing every day.
Prediction: I think the Dodgers will go on a run, but will carry the Padres with them and both will get into the playoffs.
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Just a hunch, but I bet that the reason Wells got such a long suspension for his run-in with the umpire last weekend was because of the way the Padres juggled Chris Young's suspension so that he didn't miss a start. The league office probably didn't so much want to nail Wells to the wall as to make sure he did, in fact, miss a turn in the rotation.
Funny, but so far the upside for the 2007 Padres has been pitching, and that's what I'm worried about. The downside has been hitting, and I'm actually a bit optimistic that they'll improve at the plate.
On pitching, Greg Maddux has simply not been very good lately, with batters reaching him on their second and especially third turns around the order. Sure, he's been a good pickup overall, but both he and David Wells have been taxing the bullpen. And Justin Germano has tailed off of late. While Wells has put together a number of quality starts lately, with his age you have to wonder how long that will last. So you have anywhere from 2/5 to 3/5 of your starting rotation being questionable, and Portland has no one else to send to the bigs. Plus, the bullpen has been overused, by necessity of course.
On hitting, my causes for optimism are the additions of Milton Bradley and Michael Barrett, and the move of Brian Giles to leadoff. I wouldn't expect big power numbers from any of these guys, but so often where the Friars fall short is in coming up with the clean base knock with two outs and runners on. With their pitching, they don't need big boppers to bring home nine runs per game. But they have to capitalize with singles and doubles when the opportunities are there. And Giles, with his power loss but good eye at the plate, is a guy who should be able to create more opportunities than his strikeout-prone little bro'.
The additions also mean that you can have guys like Jose Cruz Jr. and Josh Bard coming off the bench, where they're stronger, instead of playing every day.
Prediction: I think the Dodgers will go on a run, but will carry the Padres with them and both will get into the playoffs.
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Just a hunch, but I bet that the reason Wells got such a long suspension for his run-in with the umpire last weekend was because of the way the Padres juggled Chris Young's suspension so that he didn't miss a start. The league office probably didn't so much want to nail Wells to the wall as to make sure he did, in fact, miss a turn in the rotation.
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