Saturday, June 30, 2012

Time Away to Get it figured out

The title could easily be talking about me, as its been several weeks since I have posted. However, tonight's posting is regarding the news that Padres catcher Nick Hundley has been optioned to AAA.  Honestly, there should only be one reason that such a move comes as a surprise. That is you might be surprised Hundley still had options.  Baseball people that I've asked have told me he's out of options, so I have been waiting for that "injury" so Hundley could get things worked out.  Let's face it. He's hitting worse than 1 for 6.  For a starting catcher with a new $9 million extension, that's just not cutting it.  I want to make one thing clear. I do like Nick Hundley as a catcher and thought he was worthy of the extension that he signed. I truly hope and believe he will get his offensive woes worked out. As Bob Scanlan addressed in his blogpost about this news earlier tonight, Hundley is at a point where its simply not helpful to him or the team to contine to play at this level.  


I've heard the argument that Hundley's defense makes him the best catcher on the Padres. I agree that Hundley's defense has been superb.  Unfortunately, his offense is soooo bad~How bad is it? It's so bad that it completely wipes out any defensive advantage he has.  I believe Hundley has much more talent than Baker.  However, this year, Baker has been ...average.  Not terrible. Average. What one would expect from a backup catcher.  But when your backup catcher is outplaying your starting catcher, and make no mistake, he IS outplaying Hundley, it's not a good thing.  Don't believe me that Baker has outplayed Hundley? Let's just compare the stats, courtesy of fangraphs.  Hundley has been 3.9 Runs BELOW replacement as a catcher, which lands him dead last among all major league catchers. All of them. Every single one.  Including Baker, since you can't be worse than last, but if you need to see it, fine Baker is 3.0 Runs ABOVE Replacement level, or average.  


If you're still believing that Hundley should not have been sent down, I really have no idea what else to tell you. I can point to the several metrics that show his lack of offense is completely dismantling his defense. I can point to the stats that show his plate discipline is the worst it has been in his career, and his swinging strike percentage is significantly higher than in the past.  This is a guy that's completely lost at the plate, and his defense can't keep him afloat.  But he has the talent. So lets welcome Yazmani Grandal, and wish Mr. Hundley the best of luck and hope he finds his bat, and soon.  And let his play actually show he's truly a better player, not just what we may hope and believe to be to be the case against all evidence. 

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Why the Hate?

"He sucks.  He's terrible.  I hate when he's playing.  I can't stand him." Any or all of this quote can be attributed to many fans of the Padres this year in regards to a number of players.  With a season approaching the vacuum that is the Black Hole of Suck and Ineptitude, it could be fair to say it of any or all players.  I keep believing that the season will get better, but I must admit, I'm questioning that belief.  Losing really does suck.  To compound that problem, is when you see the opening quote to this blog post about almost any player being repeated ad nauseum in message boards and on twitter.  One player in particular who I've seen almost universally scorned has been today's starting pitcher, Edinson Volquez.

I'm not the biggest Volquez fan. Some might not believe that, as I have defended him from criticism's on many occasions.  My problem is, that for this season, much of that criticism has been based on a perception that might not be the same as reality.  Does Volquez walk too many people? Absolutely.  But would you believe that at 4.7 BB/9 entering today's game, he has his lowest walk rate since 2008?  He gives up a lot of HR!! Actually he doesn't, giving up 0.5 HR/9 IP.  He strikes out 7.6 per 9 IP, which, like his walks, is his lowest since 2008.  Volquez has a 3.49 ERA, a 3.59 FIP, and an xFIP of 4.15 which is the low end of average.  In other words, he doesn't really suck..he's just ...average.

I've come to believe that a big reason many fans don't like him, is because of how the Padres acquired him.  Many fans were sad to see Mat Latos traded. Count me among them.  I don't have direct evidence of it, but I'm getting a feel that people don't like Volquez because he's not Mat.  IT reminds them of the "stupid decision" to trade away Latos.  Well, like I said, I was sad to see Mat traded.  But when I take an honest look at the return, I'd be more upset if I found out Byrnes didn't make the trade.  Especially when you compare Latos to Volquez straight up, and don't even factor in the emergence of Yonder Alonso as a legitimate hitter, Grandal waiting in AAA and Boxberger, whom I must admit, I still don't know much about.

Latos- 4.35 ERA, 3.83 BB/9 8.36 K/9 1.05 HR/9 3.99 FIP and 4.23 xFIP

Volquez has thrown more innings this season and has a slightly better xFIP, and is outpacing by 1/2 a run better in FIP, and more than 1/2 a run better in ERA.  Are Volquez stats sustainable? maybe not. He has a lower than league average BABIP, that could start driving his ERA higher should that regress.  But as for now, Volquez isn't the WORST PLAYER EVER. He's not even pitching worse than whom he was traded for.

So can we tone back the hate on him, or at least explain rationally why he's hated so much?

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

SOTTJ Continues, and other thoughts

As most of my readers probably know, I was part of the "Sisterhood of the Traveling Jersey." In my post regarding my first Padres trip of the season, I included pictures with the then current Jersey Holder, GLBer "padscharg". Today, "padscharg" wrote his SOTTJ Post, in which I was compared, in good nature, to the Lord of the Rings characters Bilbo and Gollum. Given how much I love those novels and movies, I thought it was a great comparison.  Well Played, man, well played.

I don't want to take away from anyone's moment with the Jersey though, believe it or not, I really do wish to promote the project as a whole. It is an amazing idea and concept and has taken off to levels I never imagined.  So go read his post if you haven't done so already, be sure to Rec him, and leave comments.  And if you're not signed up and want to be, let jbox know you're interested. You never now.

**********

In today's game, the Padres fell short again, despite remaining tied up until the 5th inning or so. The same old story really- Plenty of unrealized chances.  No wonder this is my team- They waste opportunities like I have in life.  (Don't read too much into that- It's more of a past tense thing for me).  Postives? Venable nearly had a Cycle again. Not sure if AvengingJM could have handled it if Venable had been successful.  Cabrera got hits 1 and 2 of the season. I'm not sold on him being the answer, but, hey it'd be nice

**********

In Minor League action, I'm hearing that Forsythe is raking, and the T-Pads, consisting largely of last years AA Missions (with Cody Decker being the most recent promoted player) seem to be doing well.  This gives me hope for the future. The guys playing now have been winning on every level.  I'm believing in the future!

**********

I'm in the midst of making plans for the weekend of June 2-3. If I had a couch to crash on, or even good close friends or family, it'd be all 3 days, but looks like I'm hoteling it and to avoid total team broke, its just 1 night and two games.  Have a couple people I'm joining for sunday's games, and making plans for Saturday's too, and would love to hang out with anyone up for it Saturday night.  Especially if you have a cheap place to crash, or a windowless van lol! Also, if you have decent tickets you're looking to unload for either game (2 for Sat, 3 for Sun) let me know. I may be interested! A shot in the dark, I know, but I've got to try right?


Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Neglect

I've neglected this blog far too long. The last time I wrote, or "wrute" Hudson was a Padre, Bartlett was "healthy" and I was just coming off a whirlwind trip to San Diego. Well, some things don't change.  I got to take another trip to America's Finest City on Saturday, in a very whirlwind fashion. After the Preakness Stakes horse race, which "I'll have another" won, I decided, a trip to San Diego? Why, I'll have another indeed. I decided to go, and figure out tickets later. Fortunately, I was hooked up with one within seconds of deciding to go. It was a great seat, and it was A seat, as the game was sold out. I basically flew to San Diego.  Not a lot of pictures, and this is just intended to be a quit blog to get the writing juices flowing.  I've felt neglected lately.  I probably have zero reason to feel that way.  I realize this world isn't about me.  I've been neglecting to write here, so there's an ironic lesson.  I believe every writer who desires a strong audience has a narcissistic streak in them. It comes with the territory.  That includes me in a large way.  This post has no real point, no real flow, not even much about baseball.  It is what it is. Just like the Padres Season this  year.  Why do you expect me to be good at writing? Why do we expect the Padres to be good at baseball? Well, maybe you don't expect me to be good. And maybe you don't expect the Padres to be good either.  Can't say I blame you on either count....

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Light a match, and watch the bridges burn

The San Diego Padres baseball team may have the best pitching staff on the DL.  Stauffer (who's due back soon) Luebke, Moseley, Owings, and now Joe Wieland.  I'm glad they didn't say "only expected to miss one start" and put him on the DL right away. That actually gives me hope we might see him again soon.  Every other pitcher who has been reported as being likely to just miss a start has had a significant long term injury.  So, rest up Joe, and get back here. 

There has been some speculation that Josh Byrnes has been so busy dealing with injuries to the Padres, particularly at pitcher, that he hasn't had time to think about getting rid of Bartlett.  I'm of the mind that if Andy Parrino was playing better, Bartlett would be gone by now.  I know its beating a dead horse to keep asking for his release. So my next question is, why is he still here? The answer? no other options and I think the team may be afraid of burning that bridge before they have too.  But they are approaching the point of no return with Bartlett, namely the vesting option based on plate appearances. Too bad its not based on At Bats, since sacrifices (which is all he seems to do anymore) don't count.

Kind of a weird stretch here. Day game Wednesday that I didn't get to see or pay attention to, followed by an off day tomorrow, makes for about 69 hours between watching the Padres.  Coming home tonight, I was struck by how much baseball does consume my life.  I had no plans, and no one to talk with. Pretty boring lifestyle I lead. Maybe I should have started writing, but I wasn't particularly in the mood.  Oh well. Its here now.  Until next time, KTF

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

I am not a good writer

Im really not.  And it will be made harder by the fact that my Y key on my keyboard is sticking/broken.  That last sentence took me a long time to write.  I'm not the smartest person. I don't have any recognizable profitable talents.  I like to think I have a big heart, but I know I'm short with people sometimes, and don't always treat them the way I would like to be.  I don't know where this is going. I'm not even sure I can tie it to baseball.  Sometimes, I may venture outside of baseball, and word vomit.  Four years ago today (and we'll call Tuesday today, although its technically wednesday) I gave the most difficult speech of my life, when I spoke at my Grandpas funeral.  I did as I've always done when giving speeches- I spoke extemporaneously. I don't like to write out my speeches. I prepare, yes.  I may jot important keynotes, and I'll research important quotes or facts.  But mostly, I like to speak from the heart.  My writing isn't the best, because, its not as formal as its "supposed" to be.  I make several grammar errors that I know would make certain copy editors scream.  What you will get from me, though, are words from the heart. And sometimes that means baseball isn't the central theme. Sometimes theres no theme at all.  Some days I'm going to my computer, with less of a clue on what to do than Jason Bartlett does with a bat in his hands. Because baseball is such a passion of mine, most of my thoughts do eventually turn back there.  I don't know what I would do if it wasn't for this great game.  I hate the thought of no baseball in my life. But my life isn't centered on it. I have many interests.  I love the Lord of the Rings.  I like cooking, even though I'm not always good at it.  I can listen to music from Eminem, to Garth Brooks, to Mozart, but give me 50s rock and I'm just as, if not more happy.  Speaking of Music, To those that are going to Wednesday's game- I'm jealous.  Bobby Cressey is on the organ, its Tony Gwynn's birthday, and I will miss it all. Work beckons.  It's late. I'm not even going to tweet out this post tonight, so I'll be surprised if anyone reads this. If you do, let me know you did. And Thank you, in advance.

I hope I have something of significance tomorrow.

Monday, May 7, 2012

Something strange going on

Either my last post regarding my visit to Petco was really well read, or Blogger is lying about how many read.  If that many of you really did read, thank you.  I had more page views on that than any other post, by far. UPDATE: After Posting this, I saw that Gaslampball promoted me...twice. Once in a fanshot, the other in their amazing as always stories in regards to their experiences from Fridays game which I met them. Dex and Jbox are seriously awesome. I also want to thank Friarhood for including me in their daily roundup, and GhostofRAK, RJsFro, and several others whom I know have retweeted my posts.  You guys seriously rock for that. I never imagined I would be having so many people read or pass along to read my #wruting.  

The other strange thing is, hey, the Padres won!!! They didn't need a come back to do so, and the bullpen did its job well.  Brad Brach's stuff was filthy. His strikeout in the bottom of the sixth was one of the best looking pitches I've seen and it was good to see him throwing strikes in the seventh-- and getting to face multiple batters.

There was some talk tonight about Volquez hitting a wall and staying one batter to long.  I agree, he was in perhaps a tad to long, but honestly, I can't say I would have played it differently.  He struggled a bit in the third inning but then mowed through the Rockies lineup in the 4th and 5th innings.  In the 6th he seemed to hit that wall again. Here's where many would take him out, but when I asked the question on twitter "Who would you trust to replace him" I didn't get a consensus answer other than "Good Point"  It's not that the bullpen has been bad. In fact, they have been , on the whole, pretty good with the 4th best ERA, and second in Batting average against.   Its just that none of them have been guaranteed lock down. Given the number of innings and the lack of health on the staff, I was hoping, as I'm sure Black was, that Volquez could finish the inning and not have to use the pen yet.  But alas, before Brach's appearance, Joe Thatcher came in as the LOOGY and got Helton out.

Ah, the role of the LOOGY. Pitch to one guy and call it a day.  I know it exists in baseball, but sometimes I wish it didn't.  It would be nice to not burn guys like that, especially given our lack of depth in the pen, and the inordinate number of innings (4th most in the NL) the Padres have thrown, it would be a good idea not to waste an arm on one pitch.  But, I don't get paid the modest salary to manage a team.  Nor have I spent my entire life in baseball, so I might be missing something completely.

I guess I shouldn't complain. The Padres won, and on Jeremy Nash's birthday.  Happy Birthday Jeremy!

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Sometimes, Just start writing

Today is one of those days I absolutely have no motivation or theme behind what I am writing. It clearly is a free flowing session.  To begin, I must acknowledge the date, May 6.  It is on this date 4 years ago that my grandfather lost his battle with cancer.  He is one of several close people in my life that have battled that horrible disease.  I miss him tremendously.  The anniversary of his death could be one of the reasons I have been in such a funk today.  There are other reasons I can pinpoint, but I choose not to disclose them here.

A little back history to me for those that haven't been aware.  I lost my fiance to cancer in November.  That too is a daily battle for me.  Some days are easier than others.  When I took my spring training trip, it was my first time going out and doing anything since I lost her.  I did most of the trip alone, but I never was alone. I felt her spirit with me, as she too was a huge baseball fan. She was a Chicago area native that loved the Cardinals, so forgive me for not hating too much on the Cards. Anyways, I always felt her watching the spring games with me, even as I went to each of of them on my own, not meeting any friends or going with any friends in particular.  I am a shy person by nature, but still try to say hi to strangers and I will gladly talk baseball with anyone that will listen, so going alone was no big deal for me.  The trip was a blast.  But even though I spent the nights at friends houses, and got to spend a little time with them here and there, the trip was still a solo adventure.

Fast forward to this weekend.  I have been following a number of people on twitter, and conversing with many of you on different blogs, usually Gaslampball.  2 of the people I converse regularly with invited me to watch the game with them when I announced my intentions to come Friday.  After finally securing tickets for three (and that is an adventure on secondary ticket markets) in an area suitable for a certain ticket snob, my excitement level was among the highest it has been in the last six months.

Friday morning after work, I hit the road, daring military convoys and windmills to stop me. I am a "wruter" afterall and if those windmills got in my way, well I would fight them. Bonus points to anyone who gets that reference.







Creepin on a Ghost,
an Avenger,
and a "Girlie"
 from San Diego





Upon arriving to San Diego, I checked into twitter and discovered that a couple other bloggers were eating at Lolita's across from Petco Park. They were creeping on the FSSD Girls, so I had no problem creeping on them, and since I was standing 20 yards from the restaurant, I decided to do just that. And when I entered, sure enough I saw the brains behind 3 of the blogs I follow (smart ones out there, figure it out!!)

I joined them while I had my tacos, and waited for the rest of my party to arrive.  When they did, I parted ways and made my way towards the entrance, and met with Colleen of "Green Grass Love Affair" and Kaity of "Unfinished Business"
We then headed to the Party at the Park, where I was sorely disappointed when they didn't have margarita mix when I went to the front of the line.  Not cool, Party Organizers. Not Cool.  While in the Park though, I once again saw the Ghost and the Girlie, and introduced them to Colleen and Kaity. While we all chatted, other twitter Padres fans started gathering, including Wonko from GLB, BCline, Charisma.  It was so weird seeing people for the first time, yet already feeling like I knew them. I guess because, basically, I do know them.  While chatting with Wonko (Sean) he noticed something down the hill...

Yep, it is the Sisterhood of the Traveling Jersey!!! So I made my way down to see it. As I approached, I was recognized immediately as Nater Tater before I could say a word.  It's an interesting feeling being recognized by a stranger.  I chatted with them briefly and got a couple of pictures and admired the new patches sewn on so beautifully by the Chief's Ma.

The game was ready to begin, and I discovered that Kaity is just as superstitious as I am...actually more superstitious than I am..about being in the seat before the game starts. We hustled our way to sit in our "highroller" section behind home plate in what was clearly the best seat I've ever had at Petco

The Game itself started off poorly.  The Marlins scored 5 quick runs in the first inning, and I thought, "Well at least I have good company." The Padres started making a little noise in the third inning, and in the middle of the rally, these two ladies showed up
FSSD Girls
The Fox Sports San Diego Girls arrived and chatted with us, since they had heard (because I may have tweeted them and said so) I had made the drive from Yuma for this game.  They were clearly good luck because the Padres scored 6 runs, including Bass' bases clearing "triple" to take a short lived lead.  The FSSD Girls took a picture with the group of us and went on their way
Me with a Pad Squad member,
 who like me, has Arizona roots.
 She however, was not the one
 who gave me the ball,
 nor the one who wore the SOTJ
during the Spring Training. 

During the 7th inning stretch, the Pad Squad was standing near my section, and because I am an animated person and part time umpire, I was giving the out signal on the "you're out" part of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" It impressed Pad Squad enough to give me a ball! Thanks Pad Squad

Kaity, with a souvenier
I gave the Ball to Kaity, because earlier I lost the battery to her camera so, it was small penance.  
Shortly after that,  I tweeted that this game was one of the best I've ever attended, and it was.  The game itself was pretty fun, despite the eventual loss (and the loss of my voice) but because of all the people I had met.  At that point, Dex and/or JBox from Gaslampball asked me where I was, and started creeping on me. As I looked over a strange looking fella with a ski mask (I might be lying about that part) looked towards me and pointed.  Under most circumstances, I would find this odd, and I still found it between 6.19 and 31.3551% odd.  But in 4.2 seconds, a code was flashed to me (bonus to those who can figure it out) like a secret handshake, and I saw Dex, so I knew it was the guys.  I wanted a picture, but apparently the seat nazis at Petco don't like you standing in an aisles. It also appears I am quite hugable

Like I said, the game itself was very fun and exciting, despite the loss that would probably have left me frustrated if I was sitting at home seeing the blown opportunities and 16 runners left on base.  The comeback on Heath Bell in the 9th was awesome.  It is too bad the Padres lost and have gone on to lose the next two as well, but it felt damn good watching baseball with so many that I do consider friends.  I was really sad to leave, because I love 2 things almost more than anything on earth: Baseball, and San Diego. Thus it makes great sense that I love San Diego Baseball.  I did not want to leave the cooler weather, the ballpark atmosphere, and most of all I did not want to leave people of a kindred spirit.  There is a bond with Padres fan that is unique.  So I think that explains part of the funk I've been in. I'm missing friends and companionship. I'm feeling alone.  Retelling these experiences helped me recapture that joy. So in that regards, writing, on a night I felt no motivation to do so, was very good thing to do. 

Until next time, KTF. 

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Blah

Maybe its a continuation of the post trip hangover. I'm just in a down mood today, and feeling completely unmotivated to write, post pictures or talk about the weekend in the way I want to talk about it.

Also, something is eating at me at a personal level, that I need to work through.  Life. Gotta love it.

The Post game hangover

I'm calling this post the post game hangover, not because of alcohol (I didn't drink , with all the driving I had) but because my brain cells are still sleepy. I finally woke up at 10:30 am after getting home around 4:30. I hope my thoughts come out somewhat making sense. I won't promise interesting.  Last nights game was a blast, despite the loss.  I enjoyed the comebacks with Bass' "Triple" (from my seat it looked to be a basehit and error) and the rally off Bell in the 9th. I enjoyed having bonus baseball.  The fact that I was at the game, enjoying being in San Diego, at the stadium with new friends, while meeting so many people that I've talked with a plenty, but never have met was a huge thrill.  So being there probably negated at least partially the frustration of stranding 16 runners, of Street getting hurt, and ultimately, the loss. Even in losing , the Padres put the tying runner on, and Guzman's final out was a line drive that was just a few feet too low.

My brain is still tired.  I can't articulate what I want to say about just enjoying being at the game with friends and the experiences I had last night , which made it among my most enjoyable, memorable experiences I've had a game.  I'm going to post more later, with Pictures and maybe some better story telling- But for now I just want to make sure you all know I'm alive and home safe and not tied up in a windowless van, or lying in a roadside ditch.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Exit Sandman

Okay, so I stole that line from a tweet from Eddie Carifio, the sports Editor of the Yuma Sun.  I'm sure others have said it too.  Mariano Rivera, the career saves leader, who enters to the song "Enter Sandman" tore his ACL in perhaps the freakiest way imaginable.  Shagging Fly balls. Seriously.  Like if i was cruel (and I can be) and trying to play a joke on someone, I'm sure I would say dude x just tore his ACL shagging flyballs. And they would know I'm joking because, who the hell gets hurt doing that?  Like I said, I can be cruel.  My first thought, upon hearing the injury news, was "Wow that sucks for him" My second thought was, why couldn't this have happened a year ago? Or at least 7 saves ago, leaving him at 601, 1 save shy of Trevor Hoffman's previous record.  I just tweeted how its probably inappropriate to think that, but, I'm a Padres fan first and foremost.  I know there are more of you out there thinking the same thing, whether or not you will admit it.  Another follower of mine responded saying it is terrible, but was thinking the same. He then pondered if Trevor could come out of retirement after the Padres trade Street. My mind dismissed the thought at first. But then I thought, why not? Couldn't Trevor get 7 more saves?  Think of the implications. When Hell's Bell's plays, we can preface it with "Ask not for whom the bell tolls, Marino, it tolls for you!!" (which pigtails off my first thought of how that would have been some form of headline or trolling tweet if Rivera had got hurt at 601 or earlier) Alas, Its all just pipe dreams. Trevor is much classier than that.  The day Trevor comes out of retirement just to get his record back is the day Orlando Hudson mows his own lawn. Or I become a #wruter for ESPN. Speaking of which, I have this idea for a sports comedy site....

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Junior Seau

I didn't post anything about Junior Seau and the heartbreaking tragic news from this morning.  Frankly, I was stunned when I saw the reports.  I am not a Chargers fan.  As a kid, I rooted for the Raiders, on account of my dad, and somewhere when I was in 6th or 7th grade I hopped on the Packers bandwagon.  I've always hated the Chargers.  That said, Junior Seau was one of the athletes I greatly respected and admired.  He was as classy off the field as he was ferocious on it.  I've never had a chance to meet him, but I wish I had. I heard nothing but great things about him.  It is said his death is being investigated as a suicide.  If true, it makes the story all the more sad.  Its amazing how much turmoil, grief, and demons can be hiding in someone who appears so well adjusted.  My prayers go out to his family and friends. To anyone wrestling with those thoughts themselves, I pray for you as well. My ears are always open.  Be well friends.  Mr. Seau, you will be missed.

Finally

Its finally happening. I will get to watch my first regular season Padres game of the season Friday, barring unforeseen circumstances.  Been blessed with getting the car repair for cheaper than anticipated, cheaper car rental that I would have figured, a job promotion, and an opening in the schedule.  So I will be planning on leaving Yuma at 1 on Friday, and arriving to San Diego around 4.  I will be meeting with Colleen and Kaity of Green Grass Love Affair and Unfinished Business.  GhostofRAK and Ashley of Diosvagina are threatening to creep on me and throw me in a windowless van with a connection to Chase Bank servers while snapping pictures of Lions from the San Diego Zoo.  Whatever. Its a place to sleep I suppose.

Okay in reality, unless an unknown relative or trustworthy stranger with candy or an ESPN writer with a covert background and an Indian accountant offer me a place to crash, I'll be driving home after the game. A quick trip, sure, but one I've made a number of times, and hope to do more of this year.  So if you're at the game, tweet me @bigtaterz1021 and try to find me.  Looking forward to it.  Go Padres!

In baseball news, the Padres are on a 2 game winning streak again, so naturally, an off day tomorrow.They face the Miami Marlins. Forgive me if I call them Florida. Also forgive me if I no longer post because I have gone blind from their uniforms.  The Marlins come into town with a host of characters that make Heath Bell seem like a normal low key guy.  Speaking of Heater, his decline, which I counted on happening in part, seems to have hastened in a big way. He blew another save tonight against the Giants, giving him somewhere in the neighborhood of 482 blown saves this year. Or 5. Or I just double checked the box score and he couldn't record an out and was lifted for another reliever who officially blew the save. But the 2 runs were on Heater. Pitching decisions are goofy.  So naturally, he will probably find his groove in San Diego. I hope not.  At least not on Friday.

Sarah Phillips

The latest story in the world of sports is this "Sarah Phillips" writer who contributed 10 columns to an ESPN affiliated website. Deadspin.com had an outstanding feature breaking down the story and the events surrounding it.  

Looking back, I'm sure many parties saw opportunities where they could have avoided being scammed.  However, one opinion that I've seen expressed alot is this "How could ESPN have hired a writer they never met" Simple. They never Hired HER per se. They paid her for the stories that she (or whomever it was) generated.  Her column was generating buzz on another website, (although its in question how much of that was legit.)  I have a suspicion if there wasn't a fraud element to this story, and it was simply a case of a writer using a assumed name and picture, ESPN may have still paid for "her" stories.  

Granted, I'm not ESPN. But to the left of my blog, I have snippets of several other blogs. I have not met any of them, but I find what they have to say interesting.  ESPN never met "Sarah Phillips" but liked what "Phillips" had to say, I suppose, or at least enough people did that it justified putting the column on their site.  Would it have been in there best interest to be better aware of how their brand was being represented by Phillips on Twitter? absolutely.  But I'm not as incredulous as some on how an writers works could be published on a site. Its always been my belief that freelance is exactly that. Paid for the particular works.  Sadly, I feel this could only make it more difficult for legit freelance writers to find a larger platform.  

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Amazing what a single HR can do

I was in a pretty cranky mood tonight.  Seeing the news that Jeff Suppan was replacing Cory Luebke for tomorrow's start certainly played a role in that.  Reports are that Bud Black thinks it will be just one start. I wish I had faith in that.  Problem is, I feel like I've heard that before.  2 weeks ago, top prospect Casey Kelly was supposed to just miss 1 start.  His elbow still isn't right.  Stauffer was supposed to just miss a start at the beginning of the season.  He's finally making rehab starts.  Seeing our best pitchers in the organization have injuries is always scary.

The bad mood was exacerbated by Jason Bartlett committing yet another error on the second batter of the game.  He compounded that in the bottom of the second by grounding into a double play.  I continue to say it-- He is completely useless.  Why can't he have the bad elbow?  The Padres put runners in scoring position in 5 of 8 innings tonight.  But it was looking like the lack of offense was once again going to screw the Padres.  Volquez continued to improve, as he pitched 7 shutout innings on just 3 hits with 2 early walks to go with 4 strikeouts in another great performance. He also had some defensive help, with Chris Denorfia making a couple good defensive reads on flyballs and line drives at the fence.

It's amazing what one big hit can do to change the mood. After Will Venable (ViLl WeNAblE?!) snuck a basehit through the middle, Mark Kotsay came on to pinch-hit for Chris Denorfia in the bottom of the 8th inning.  A homerun that appeared no-doubter (yet barely cleared, hitting off the top of the scoreboard along the wall) giving the Padres a 2-0 lead. It was all Huston Street needed as he struck out 2 en route to his 4th save of the season.  Go Padres!

Monday, April 30, 2012

Shut Up Dick

So as if the Ryan Braun Home Runs weren't bad enough, now Dick Enberg is "hoping to see Milwaukee get a few baserunners, so we can see Braun again" No Dick. No. No true Padres fan wants to see this. None of them.  We'd prefer to see the ball go somewhere in his face. Or, like most of baseball, prefer to see his cheating ass serving a 50 game suspension.  Or more.

I'm disappointed. It had seem Enberg was making progress, coming around to actually showing distaste for the Dodgers and getting a bit excited for the Padres win. I have defended him often the last month.  I can't defend that.  Do us a favor Dick. Retire. Let Andy Masur take over from here.  Maybe you and Ryan go take a few (say, 50?) games off together on some romantic getaway.  I don't care. Just get it way from here.

Bitter

All I can do now is just laugh at the absurdity of this game, and the utter failure on just about every front from the Padres so far this season.  Ryan Braun, at the time of this writing (game still in progress) has hit 3 HR, 2 of them among the farthest seen at Petco at night. Can't tell me he's clean. No Way.  Not with THOSE shots.  Stupid FedEx.

Bitter Post is Bitter.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Watching is Fun- So is Winning!

The biggest perk of my new job is getting to be home at nights (well most of them, anyway) for Padres games. Tonight was my first game getting to watch from first pitch to last this season.   I also had the chance Sunday, but slept to late and missed the first inning. But same result- WIN. Clearly, I must watch the games more often.

It looked like typical 2012 Padres again today, with a strong pitching performance seemingly go to waste. Edinson Volquez pitched 7 innings, and had 7 Strikeouts, just 1 walk, 3 Hits, with one bad pitch resulting in a Jason Werth HR that landed near Kaity and Colleen.  Through the first 7 innings, the Padres stranded 10 runners, including an awful stranding of runners on second and third with no outs in the 4th inning after a Hundley single and Alonso's second double of the night. His first double, incidentally, also landed near Kaity and Colleen. Hudson followed the double with a strike out, before Maybin was walked intentionally to face auto-out Bootlett ...er...Bartlett, and then Volquez grounded out to end the innning.  I've ranted before about the importance of scoring when you have no outs and a runner on third. It is simply unacceptable not to score in that situation. Period.  Hudson had a triple in his next at bat. As great as that is, it stings that he struck out when it mattered most.

Fortunately, the Padres didn't give up.  They got runners on base with 1 out in the bottom of the 8th, when Pinch Hitter Mark Kotsay ripped a double in the right-centerfield gap, scoring 2 runs, changing the mood at Petco Park.  I've seen a great deal of dislike for Kotsay among Padres fans. Yes, he's not a good player anymore, and is aging, but he's a threat off the bench.  It might be a small sample, and perhaps it will be his only good thing he does this year, but I'm glad to have him aboard.  Especially tonight.

Next up for the Padres is a three game set in San Francisco.  Cory Luebke faces Eric Hacker, making his first start for the gints.  Also going to San Francisco is Avenging Jack Murphy, and the traveling Jersey for the Sisterhood of the Traveling Jersey.  In other SotTJ news, GLB user "IPutTheYinTony" logged his journey to the latrine.

Changes

I haven't written in awhile, and this will also be a short post.  My running diary of the season is a short post to say we've lost 3-1, and 7-2 in the first two games against a Washington Nationals team that looks like it could be VERY good, facing two of the best young pitchers in the game in Gio Gonzales and Jordan Zimmerman. Yes, our hitters were shut down, and looked downright craptacular yet again, and our defense is terrible. Our worst offenders seem to be Jason Bartlett and Will Venable.  At least Venable is partially redeeming himself at the plate. Bartlett, has been nothing short of useless this year.  At least Hudson is on a hitting streak, going 9 for his last 29 and homering today, while playing solid defense.  Bartlett has committed several errors, and has done nothing at the plate as of late.  He needs to get it together, or get going.  Our bullpen had been pretty decent this year, holding the NL's lowest ERA. However, they gave up 5 Runs today, taking us completely out of the game. Joe Wieland had another solid start, going 6, allowing 2 Runs with 4 Ks and 3BBs (one of them Intentional) I hear there were some long fly balls, so Petco may have saved him a bit.  Still want to move those fences in?

Bud Black came out today in favor of bringing in the fences, saying it eats at the players.  I'm not sure the fences are the answer to better offense. In fact, I'm pretty certain that even if or after the fences come in, the offense will be just as bad, or possibly worse, as it will supress doubles and triples while adding just a marginal amount of homeruns.  The biggest problem is the environment- Or so I've seen a few "experts" say.  We shall see. With the talk about it, I would probably be surprised if they AREN'T moved before 2013.

Speaking of Changes, I've had a key one on the personal front. Starting Monday (officialy), I will be the Recreation Program Coordinator for Youth Instructional programs with the City of Yuma Parks and Recreation division.  It comes with a significant pay increase, and will give me a great chance to expand horizons, and actually get to be home most evenings, and start SEEING some Padres games. It's been exciting for me and has been a anchored buoy in a storm of negativity.  The Padres season looks like it could be long and will certainly test the faith.  That will make the wins that much sweeter, and I'm not giving up that they can turn this around and approach respectability.

Monday, April 23, 2012

Not talking about off days.

I just got home from working, and as has become custom logged on to blogger and got ready to "wrute" It was an off day for the Padres (literally, they were off. Not figuratively saying they were off because they committed 3 errors and struck out 13 times or something) and as I looked on the sidebar to see what other blogs had blogged about, nearly all of them had made reference to being a day off. So guess what. I'm not going to talk about it being an off day. Nope. Not at all.

Okay, maybe a little. Truth is, I work evenings during most games, and I like to follow on my At-Bat app, and talk with fellow fans on twitter. It helps the night go quicker, even on days the Padres really are laying an egg.  It was tonight that really drove home the point harder why I like following baseball so much; the camaraderie.  Talking or tweeting with other fans, or posting on GLB's open threads, are always fun.  Tonight, so many that I tweet with weren't as active or were talking about things I had little to know knowledge and/or interest in.  Made for a long evening, with a couple notable exceptions.

Joe, aka TheThinGwyn, and author of friarsoncardboard, tweeted about Eric Show.  It was the second time in a week I had thought about Show. When the Padres lost to Jamie Moyer, I was saying how it wasn't a big deal, as he will likely get more wins this season, and be older in doing it. Someone had reminded me it will be the win people remember because its the one in which he passed the milestone. That's when I likened it to Pete Rose, and although he ended with several more hits than Ty Cobb, people remember him getting the record breaker off of the Padres and Eric Show.  TTG invited me to write about different past Padres sometime, so on one of these off days (or maybe a game day) I'm going to go through my card collection, and see what I can dig up on a Dennis Rassmussen, Bruce Hurst, or Andy Hawkins.  Or someone I'm not even thinking of now.

Also tonight, Padres organist extraordinaire, B Cres, Bobby Cressey (bobbycressey.com) had discussed how he was bummed when blogs he liked to follow stopped updating. I invited him to check this one out, and in the course of discussing it, I had to admit, it's easy to start and keep going the first few days- Then Life happens, one gets busy, they hit a writing bloc, or they just feel like no one is really reading or caring.  I've hit these obstacles often in just the short period I've been reading, so my challenge is to keep chugging along.  So I'll try not to bum you out B Cres. Or any of you other readers that may enjoy coming here. It's not always easy. Some days I have zero motivation, and some days the words just won't come out the way I want them.  And then there are Off Days.


It wasn't the cleanest game, at least at the start of it, but the Padres ended up dominating the Phillies, winning 6-1, with a 2 run homer from Nick Hundley capping off the scoring.  Hudson tripled, once again showing signs of life, giving credence to the idea that the DFA talks have lit a fire under him. The Padres struck out a season low two times today (1 each from Kotsay and pitcher Anthony Bass) and despite 3 errors, looked like a team poised to compete.

I've liked seeing the intensity and all around better baseball the last 2 games. It seems as if they are a different team then has played the previous 2 weeks.  They have a day off Monday, followed by a 3 game set against the Nationals. I'm hoping to see more of what we've seen this weekend.  The Padres have won only 5 of their first 17 games this season, but their Pythagorean theorem suggests they should have won 3-4 more games thus far.  They have been in most games this year, but sloppy play and little contribution from certain areas (that means you Bartlett, Hudson) have led to early futility. Lets hope what we have seen from them this weekend is what we will see more of.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

You never know...

Baseball is certainly a funny game in which anything can happen.  On a day when Philip Humber threw Major League Baseball's 21st Perfect Game (earlier in a season than any other Perfect Game in history) for the White Sox, the Padres were going up another hurler who had thrown a pefrecto himself in Roy Halladay. It's no debate that Halladay is one of, if not the best pitcher in the game.  The Padres are one of, if not the worst offense in baseball, particularly in their home yard.  Throw in the fact that the Phillies had beaten the Padres the previous 13 times at Petco Park, it seemed highly unlikely that the Padres would muster much, if any offense, and many would have assumed this another loss, especially considering our middle infield was another Hudson and Bartlett day.  A funny thing happened on the way to that loss. They Won.

The Padres got on early with the help of some uncharacteristic wildness from Halladay, as he walked 3 players in a row for the first time in his career, followed by an RBI groundout from Hudson in the bottom of the 2nd inning. While some would assume this would be the last chance at striking richness, they would have assumed incorrectly, as the Padres got the bats working with a two out rally in the third with singles from Chase Headley and Nick Hundley, followed by an RBI Double from Yonder Alonso.  The Padres also added 3 runs in the bottom of the ninth with surprise contributions from the middle infielders. The whole team hit, top to bottom, with the only starters not to get a hit were Kotsay, who reached on a walk, and pitcher Cory Luebke.  Luebke was the star of the night, throwing 8 innings of shut out ball yielding just 2 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 5. He mixed his 2-seam and 4 seam fastballs well, with an occasional breaking pitch and a changeup that's been improving.

I cannot say enough about Luebke. He dominated tonight.  He is demonstrating Ace stuff, and has been a bright spot in a season sorely missing them.  THis was overall the best win of the year so far. They approached a game that 99% of baseball fans, including Padres fans, would assume the Friars would lose. I admit, I too wasn't very confident about this game.  I'm not going to say this WILL be a turning point. It could be.  It could be a shiny coat of wax on an otherwise junky car.  I think its somewhere in the middle. The team isn't as bad as they've been playing, and they're also not as good as we would want them to be, or hoped they would be. But It's baseball. Anything really can happen at any given time. If tonight wasn't proof of that, I don't know what is.  So don't despair Padres fans. There is always hope.

Trade ya?

Cole Hamels alienated Padres fans in Feburary by stating that he'd have no desire to play for a team whose fan's only show up "between the third and sixth innings"

In an attempt to clarify those remarks, or save a little face on the PR battle, he attempted to cast blame upon the front office for making it difficult to be a fan. To back up those remarks, he brought up the Padres trading away Fred McGriff. The merits of his comments has been hotly debated on Gaslampball, and I'm not here to add much more to that discussion, other than to say it must not have alienated him to badly, as he claimed to root for the Padres in the 98 Series.  5 years after McGriff was traded.  Basically he's a fairweather fan that rooted for whomever was good, mostly the Dodgers.

I somewhat understand where he's coming from and understand the frustration of the fan when it seems there aren't any players you can see play for a long time in this city. But as I discussed recently, the team hasn't exactly traded away stars for the sake of saving money, other than Gonzalez. I don't have a problem with the Padres trading him, but I understand the frustration, as I too was initially upset.  I was also disheartened when I heard Sheffield and McGriff had been traded as well in 1993. That was a rather difficult year for me as a Padres fan, as it was also the last year the Padres conducted Spring Training in Yuma. I was angered at the front office more for ripping my team away from me than I was for taking away the players.

These discussions got me wondering who McGriff was traded for. I discovered he was traded to Atlanta for three players, the most notable being Melvin Nieves, with none of the three having noteworthy success in the majors.  When searching for the trade history, I ran across this gem from 2009, calling the "worst trade in Padres history" All Star SS Khalil Greene was sent to the Cardinals for minor league right-handed pitcher Luke Gregerson.  I remember being dismayed at Greene being traded. I also remember thinking, let someone else deal with his fragile , well, everything.  I remember when Gary Sheffield was traded to Florida for some relief pitcher who used to play SS at the University of Arizona (Bear Down, Arizona!) how terrible that one was too. But I Stuck with my team, for better or worse, and 598 saves later (mostly with the Padres) Trevor Hoffman turned out to be pretty danged good.

The point is we can think a trade is great, or a trade is bad at the time. But only history and time for all the parties to play out can ever tell us truly if it was a good trade.  We all want our next Tony Gwynn, the great player that fans will come to see in good seasons and in bad, for the next generation.  Perhaps we might see that in Luebke, Maybin or Hundley (although with the catching depth behind Hundley, that would surprise me) whom all received extensions this offseason.  Perhaps we'll never see it again.  But I will always root for the Padres, whomever is in those uniforms. Because I hold out faith that the collection of young talent coming up will eventually form a championship team.  And If they don't? I'm sure my heart will be broken over the loss of another player, and there will be more weeping and gnashing of teeth as we endure another ownership group and wonder about the direction they are taking the team. And I will root, root, root for the Padres all the way through.

Friday, April 20, 2012

The next statement may surprise people (well at least surprise people who know me and my encouragment of optimism).  THE PADRES ARE NOT VERY GOOD.
At least they are not playing well.  Top to bottom they are not a conistent team. There are some talented players that are inconsistent, and there are some players whom simply should not be playing anymore.  They are now, also, a 3-12 team.  They've had some bad luck for sure. But they're run differential suggests they should be about a 5-10 or 6-9 team.  Still bad, but a little more respectable.  Defensively, they've largely been playing better of late.  The Pitching, except for Richard's start at Colorado, has been acceptable this week.  Problem is, this team is simply not hitting.  4 runs over the last 27 innings.  That won't win games no matter how good the rest of the team may be playing.

I saw some positives tonight. Strikeouts were down. They got some hits and put together some decent looking at bats against Cole Hamels.  Hamels was on the ropes a few times early, getting out of some bases loaded jams.  I hate to say it, but good pitchers like Hamels is, tend to get out of trouble, especially against teams, like the Padres, that aren't hitting. Hamels has made better teams look worse.  The Padres didn't turn in an embarrassing performance tonight.  They didn't strike out 15 times like some predicted.  They didn't get no-hit like others predicted.  Volquez kept them in the game, allowing 0 runs for his first 6 IP. Unfortunately, the Padres allowed 5 straight hits enroute to 3 runs for the Phillies in the 7th.  Hey, the Phillies got hits. I'd be more frustrated if they were kicking the ball around, or walking everyone. They didn't. That's baseball I guess. Volquez's final line was 6+ IP 3 R 3 ER 3 BB 5 K and that will win more games then not.

I saw some more criticism of Bud Black tonight over a double switch that allowed Jason Bartlett to come into the game, and brought out Andy Parrino.  As much as I have criticized Bartlett and Hudson, I would have made the same move at that point.  Some may call it a stupid move, at the time of the switch, the Pitchers spot was coming up first.  They were playing to protect a one run lead.It was going to be one of the Hudson or Parrino to come out and Hudson is the better defensive option.  I understand the frustration. I understand not wanting Bartlett to play at all, and wanting to see more of the kid. I get it.  But let's put the hyperbole and emotion aside and it really was a defensible move.  

I really don't know where I'm going with this. I'm frustrated. I realize the team isn't that good.  Its being demonstrated.  They are also not THIS bad.  Its just getting harder to realize that.  Harder to find the ways to prove it, when the bottom line really is WINNING.

Fan Posts

If you haven't read Gaslampball and the fanposts recently from sixpakfrombelgium, and london_ballin, I highly recommend you do so.  Both fans from across the atlantic took time to write about how they became Padres fans, and stuck with them through some difficult years!

Also on that site, check out the Sisterhood of the Traveling Jersey Series. I took part in it and wrote about it in February, while RJsFro had a go at it after that.  Padsquad Erin also took a turn, while JustGWynnBaby just brought the jersey back from Mexico.  Still awaiting the adventures from IputtheYinTony as he took the Jersey to Dodger Stadium. Occasionaly, the person with the Jersey may tweet about. The hashtag that has been used is #SOttJ.  Follow along if you aren't already!

Padres Gumbo


Joe Wieland gave the Padres what they expected and more, pitching 6 innings, giving up one run while giving up 5 hits, striking out 6 batters and allowing 1 free pass, a leadoff walk to start the game. Unfortunately, that one walk and early hits were enough to qualify him for the loss as the anemic offense couldn’t muster a single run in the game against the Phillies.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Wruting Part Two

Ghost of Ray Kroc picked up on the Wruting Meme and referenced my blog in his latest Rant. Also, it's a good read altogether.  It's just part one and I am looking forward to part 2.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Wruting

NEWSFLASH!!! I SOMETIMES SUCK AT WRUTING!!!

Yes, I misspelled writing in the headline. No I am not going to change it.  Some of my vast number of readers (hey I have more readers than Jason Bartlett and Orlando Hudson have base hits, COMBINED!) may have read my previous post about my (not so brief) history of being a Padres fan. I took my laptop with me to the softball fields (where I work) and was writing my post while also following the Padres game on my phone.  I could tell I had many mistakes and there were often times I was unsure on the syntax, word choice and basic grammar of a sentence or paragraph. I was also hitting a wall, stumbling upon the old writer's block.   One of the people I follow (and apparently she follows me) is a copy editor for a college newspaper.  I sent a tweet to her telling her I may be in need of her editing services.  However, with my fat fingers and trying to figure out exactly how to word it, autocorrect didn't work and the tweet came out looking like this:

Yep. "Wruting" I didn't even notice, as at the same time I was checking out the game, and doing real work. Well, doing what I was paid to do. Not sure one could call it work.  However, my favorite comedian and all around jerk (I kid, I kid...or Do I? Who else has a gorilla flipping everyone else? Awesome Avatar I must say) Eromsnud Ttocs (@homersapien619), chimed in as well

I have to admit, I was getting a little bit frustrated at this point.  It really was an honest typo.  I was getting frustrated with where my article was going, feeling like a complete failure at my blogging endeavor.  The Padres just lost to an man older than my mom (that is the truth) and now I was being treated on the internet as a talentless hack that I was beginning to believe I was (and may still be).  When Colleen told me this, I knew it was a joke, but I was about to lose it
Failing Miserably.  Exactly.  I really wanted to quit right then and not even bother anymore. I lost any desire to continue.  What was the point? What is the point? 

A funny thing happened. I smacked myself out of my pity party and remembered it was silly to get offended. I remembered I was doing this for me, and I could let the mistakes and criticisms bring me down, or I could learn from them, and laugh at them.  As the banter continued, we discovered that #wruting could become the next internet meme.  

Earlier today, @homersapien619 and I had few exchanges involving some internet meme's including some which are San Diego based. I was familiar with them all, but I guess he was making sure, as he sent me a link to this article on Avenging Jack Murphy which explained them all as well. The article gave me the idea that I pitched to "Homer" that we should coordinate with Colleen and explain the #wruting meme.  A 3 part narrative that will be more epic than Star Wars!!! Okay Lord of the Rings? Twilight? Okay so its not that epic, but I wrote my part.  

One of my goals with this blog is to become not only a better writer, but a better person. Learning to utilize the lessons I learn from the game of baseball and a less than stellar team. Part of that means putting myself out there and learning to take criticisms, and take a joke.  And turn an honest mistake into  a fun running gag. So my skills as a scribe might still be crap.  I still need to get better, and keep practicing.  I'm only going to get better, if I keep on #wruting.  


Tuesday, April 17, 2012

My not so brief History as a Fan


Padres Baseball has often been difficult to watch this year, and I don’t just mean from the quality of play.  The saga of Fox Sports San Diego not being available for Time Warner or AT&T U-Verse subscribers is well told and documented.  Personally, I made the switch to DirecTV at the beginning of the season upon discovering it was available to me.  Earlier today, it was reported that Tim Sullivan of UT San Diego was looking for people, like me, who had made the switch. I had a quick interview with him, and my name appeared in the UT  One of the questions asked was if watching Padres baseball was important to me.  As a lifelong fan, naturally, it was.  However, I started thinking- how many games do I actually get to watch? When did actually WATCHING the games become important to me?

Bouncing Back

Dale Scott may have contributed to the Padres loss Sunday to the Dodgers, but they didn't let it keep them down. The Padres came into Denver to face the Rockies. The forecast at one time called for snow, and many may have expected the results of the weekend to snowball for the Padres.  It became clear that the only snowballing going on would be the offense as they smacked 7 doubles amongst their 14 hits enroute to a 7-1 win over the Rockies. Chase Headley led the way with 3 doubles, and Nick Hundley had 3 hits, and 3 RBI.  The only Friar batters not to collect a hit were Jeremy Hermida (whom according to Bud Black hit the ball "on the nose" but at people) and Cory Luebke, who still reached on an error , and knocked in a run almost had an RBI to help his winning effort (the initial scoring was an RBI. It apparently was later changed to know RBI

The offense was great and combined with clean defense (no errors!) and solid pitching, this was by far the best played game of the young season.  Luebke pitched 7 innings, scattering 7 hits and gave up just one run, showing signs of being the true ace of the staff, and worthiness of his spring training contract extension. Andrew Cashner came in the game in the 8th inning , and after giving up a walk and a hit, settled down and got out of the inning, before Micah Owings closed out the game with 9 pitches, 8 of them for strikes while collecting 2 strikeouts.  A solid performance all around from a team looking for them.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Dale Scott, Umpire

     In a season that Murphy is finding new ways to visit, the Padres saw yet another unique situation today. After the Friars admirably came back to tie the game at 4 against Cy Young award winner Clayton Kershaw, they had a chance to take a lead in the top of the ninth inning.  With no outs, and runners on first and second, Jesus Guzman was attempting to bunt when all dodgerstadium (aka hell) broke loose.  The ball appeared to hit both the bat and Guzman before bounding into fair territory.  If the ball hit Guzman, the ball should have been ruled foul. If you look at Dale Scott, Umpire, he appears to be giving the dead ball signal.  However, after the runners made their unfortunate decisions not to run out the play, the Doyers threw the ball around the horn. Dale Scott, Umpire, then changed his call pointing fair, and the Doyers completed the triple play. There are so many directions to go with this, that I am still trying to channel these into an organized fashion.  

Negativity..

I just posted  a fanpost on Gaslampball, as a response to the idea that fans aren't being critical enough.  To be honest, thats a new one on me, because I see mostly negativity and criticism when it comes to this team. Maybe that particular site doesn't have enough hard hitting critical opinion pieces, but to be fair, I don't think they have a great deal of opinion pieces that are positive either. The site is fan centered, as opposed to team centered. Does it talk about and discuss the news of the team? Yes.  But it focuses on the fans and their experiences. And I, for one, am thankful for a place of some place where I can find occasional optimism.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Keep the Faith

If a baseball game was a Subway sandwich, consider this one ran through the garden; it came with everything.  Padres looking hopeless at the plate en route to 18 strikeouts, including nine in a row at one point? Check.  An MVP candidate hitting what appeared to be a back breaking HR? Check.  Routine double plays going through the glove of a supposedly good defensive SS? Got that too.  The game featured the Padres twice rallying from 4 run deficits, including with 2 outs in the 9th inning when Chase Headley hit a HR to tie the game.  This game ended in the bottom of the ninth ,when after recording two quick outs, Andrew Cashner couldn't find the strike zone if it was painted in bright yellow and had flashing neon lights.  After walking three straight batters, Joe Thatcher was brought in with bases loaded, and proceeded to walk in the final run.  It was heartbreaking after such a great comeback, to give it away in such a fashion.

Early in the game, after the Padres bats were "out on strike" for nine consecutive batters, and Jason Bartlett committed an error on what should have been a double play ball allowing the inning to continue with four Dodger runs, I basically lost it.  I lost faith. I lost hope.  Gaslampball author Jodes posted on twitter that she was still keeping the faith.  My response to her was I was running out of things to believe. A team that can't hit, not even for outs, and can't play solid defense, will wear thin on most people.  I guess they heard my cry for something to believe, because Will Venable hit a home run, and the Padres scored three runs to make it a one run game. I tweeted it earlier but I'll say it again. I'm sorry I lost the faith, Padres.  I know its a long season.  

The bottome of the fourth inning nearly crushed that refound faith, as the Doyers went on to score four more runs, including the Kemp HR.  I really don't like him. At all.  I have a friend that roots for our rivals, who is in love with him.  She insists he's really humble and down to earth.  My response was along the lines of someone I was telling the story to earlier- She has boobs.  Of course the friend said she was with her BF when she met Kemp, which leads to one conclusion. Kemp is gay.  I digress. The Kemp HR in the 4th was actually the last Dodger basehit of any kind, and if it wasn't for the gift our relievers gave them in the bottom of the ninth, the game would be the third extra inning game in the Padres young season.  

That last sentence underscores two important points.  1) It's a young season. It was only game 8.  154 remain. At one time that was a full season.  2) The Padres have played 2 extra inning games this year.  They lost both of those, and of their other six losses, only one was a blow out in which they were completely out of the game.  With one key hit, or one fewer error in six of the eight losses, the results could be different.  The talent is there.  They are playing about as badly as a team can play, yet are right in these games. There have been some positive signs- Yonder Alonso has a 5 game hitting streak. Maybin has a hit in each of the last two games, and drew the walk ahead of Denorfia's go ahead home run in Wednesdays game.  Headley now has 2 HR, which is half of his 2011 HR total. The starting pitching has been pretty solid, save for a few hiccups.  The person who is projected to be our best hitter, Carlos Quentin, should be back in a few weeks, along with a legitimate threat off the bat in Mark Kotsay.  The team can get it going, but the defense needs to tighten up and soon. I believe they will*, no matter how rational, or irrational that may be. So in the words of @jodes0405 , Keep the Faith!

*except for our middle infielders. Hudson and Bartlett seem utterly useless and hopeless.  I hope I'm wrong

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Another Loss

Cameron Maybin tripled,  Will Venable singled to bring him in, then Chase Headley got on board with a single of his own.  The night started so promising getting to Ian Kennedy early.  Then the Guzman, Alonzo, and Hundley each went down on strikes.  Bartlett doubled in the 2nd, so offense still looked like a possibility, but it was not to be.  The rest of the night the Padres bats disappeared.  Not a great deal to talk about in this game. I didn't get to see the first 7 innings- When I tuned in Cashner was starting to pitch.  He gave up a HR to my least favorite D-Bag,and a top 5 current baseball player that I hate, Chris Young.  Seriously. I can't stand that guy.  My gut tells me he's not that good, but was reminded by Yuma Sun Sports Editor Eddie Carifio that Young was an all-star and team MVP. That surprised me. Really MVP over Upton? I conceded to Carifio that I was just bitter.  I'm trying to be optimistic, and remind myself its early.  But its getting hard to see the silver linings.  I guess one of them is no one has got on track yet to hit, yet they've still been in each of the last 5 games. If the Padres can get some offense out of , well, anyone, and the pitching can stay on track, they can remain competitive.  The defense needs to clean up. Another error tonight, and one more play that Guzman should have had.
Just a quicky post tonight, nothing particularly meaty, no real analysis.  A blah post, and a blah mood...

Joe Saunders...

The Padres edged out a win over the DBacks today, on the strength of a Chris Denorfia HR in the bottom of the 8th inning, driving in Cameron Maybin, who drew a walk before him.  The 2-1 Pitch was driven to center field and into the glove of Chris Young. The glove was not attached to Chris Young, however, so the hit was a Home Run. Huston Street came on in the ninth to get his first save as a member of the Padres.  It seemed like a pretty typical PETCO game, with neither team generating any offense.  The Dbacks got their run of of four Luebke walks (very rare for him to give so many let alone in one inning) while Joe Saunders stymied the Padres offense for 7 innings.

 The lack of offense prompted this tweet from Padres fan and author of websoulsurfer.com  I had argued that Saunders would be a #3 starter for San Diego.  I also questioned the #firephil . I understand the frustration but not sold , 1 week into a new season with a new coach, that he is to blame.  It's another argument altogether, but I would liken it to firing a teacher because their students all got Ds and Fs the first week of a long semester. THe students have always been D and F students, so why fire the teacher after 1 week of results that have been consistent with previous results after such a short time. I digress.  Websoulsurfer responded that Saunders would be a five arguing that his 4.16 career ERA and 4.65 FIP would make him a 5 behind Stauffer, Volquez, Luebke and Richard.  I was at work at the time, but now that I've had a chance to look at the numbers, I admit I was wrong about Saunders being a 3.  I would actually argue he would be the Padres 2 or Even the Ace.

Here are the Career  Numbers from Each of those 5 Pitchers
             
Saunders Career: 4.16 ERA, 103 ERA+, 10.7 WAR
Stauffer   Career: 3.92 ERA,  94 ERA+,   3.7 WAR
Volquez  Career: 4.61 ERA,   93 ERA+,   3.2 WAR
Richard   Career: 4.14 ERA,  95 ERA+,   2.6 WAR
Luebke    Career: 3.50 ERA, 101 ERA+,  1.9 WAR

Saunders comes neck and neck with Richard for the number 3 and 4 ERA, but in terms of ERA+ Which adjusts for park factors and compares to the league average, Saunders edges out Luebke for the best numbers.  Career wise, his 10.7 War is Clearly the best over his 7 seasons, although his average of about 1.5 WAR per season is bested by Luebkes 2011. Speaking of 2011, Lets look at the numbers from that season

Saunders 3.69, 107, 2.4
Stauffer   3.73,  95, 2.0
Volquez   5.71,  68, -1.0
Richard   3.88,   92, 0.2
Luebke   3.29, 107, 1.8

Saunders is bested only by Luebke last year in terms of ERA, but has a higher WAR than Luebke. THey had identical ERA+.  Luebke posts better Strikeout, Walk and HR rates, so from that standpoint, I would give the ace nod to Luebke. To be fair to Websoulsurfer, I cant compare FIP. I'm fairly new at this and was unable to find the FIP numbers on each pitcher but when comparing by ERA+ or WAR, Saunders and Luebke would be battling out for the title of staff ace.  Do I think Volquez or Stauffer may have a better year than Saunders? I certainly believe they can.  But there is more to suggest that Saunders would benefit from playing in Petco, and have a better chance at being good than Volquez.  Saunders ERA is nearly the lowest in the bunch despite playing in Arizona, a hitters park.  Imagine how that number would look in Petco.

Maybe Saunders isn't our Ace. But he certainly wouldnt be our number 5 either.

UPDATE:
Part of this project for me is to learn even more about the game that I love.  I've always been somewhat of a stats nerd, but have not took the time to understand the more advanced metrics of baseball. It has become somewhat of an alphabet soup for me and when I don't see how a stat is calculated, it might take me a little bit to comprehend it.  After I originally posted the above, Websoulsurfer so kindly chastised me for the stats I used, and challenged me to use more advanced metrics, such as FIP(Fielding Independent Pitching) and xFIP (expected FIP.)  So, I took the time and read on Fangraphs how they are calculated. Not as complex as I thought, and also learned more about SIERA (Skill Indicative ERA.)  In brief, part of life is admitting you may have been wrong, and learning from mistakes.  Upon further research, it is possible Saunders would be a number 5 starter. His xFIP is Poor. Here are the numbers from 2011:

                                  FIP               xFIP              SIERA
SAUNDERS             4.85              4.38                 4.44
LEUBKE                  2.99              3.02                 2.89
STAUFFER              4.08              4.03                 3.92
VOLQUEZ                5.34              4.16                 4.25
RICHARD                4.28              4.49                 4.21

One of the things that stands out to me is Volquez's disparity from FIP to xFIP.  The difference between the two stats , from how I understand it, is that FIP factors in HR, while xFIP utilizes a comparison between a pitchers flyball percentage and the leagues average HR/Flyball rate.  In short, Volquez's pitching in a bandbox affected the FIP. His SIERA, more closely matches his xFIP and I believe he will benefit greatly from pitching in San Diego.  Stats are numbers that can be used as metrics when used properly.  One has to know which tool to apply in which scenario. Call me the brand new carpenter who is using a ruler when i needed a tape measure.  I'm still learning how some of these stats work, and how to best apply them, so I welcome feedback.  Hope you stay on this journey with me and bear with me on the way

Monday, April 9, 2012

Focus

     The Padres have began the season with more errors than a blooper reel in a rain delay.  8 errors through 4 games, and a number of mental breakdowns, baserunning errors, and badly timed walks have all contributed to the 1-3 start.  There are times the teams pitching staff has looked dominant.  Edinson Volquez zipped through the Dodgers lineup in the first three innings, the bullpen has been solid for the most part, and Clayton Richard allowed no earned runs over 7 IP. Then other times they can't buy a strike.  Cory Luebke's start on Friday represented best the dichotomy that has been the Padres early games.  In innings 1, 3 and 5 he gave up 2 runs a piece (1 of those was unearned) while in innings 2 and 4 he went 1-2-3.  I wanted to fault Mosely for losing focus, especially after not only failing to lay a sacrifice, but kicking the ball after laying a bunt down, but an injury seems to give at least some reason for his sudden missing of the strike zone in the third inning of Saturday's game, before giving up ultimately 5 runs in his outing. The Padres did the brave thing and walked right up to the challange...and kept on walking for 4 runs before an Orlando Hudson single tied the game. However that single also resulted in an out after a base running miscue caught Nick Hundley in a rundown.
     The play in the first three games was enough to make the casual fan turn away in disgust, and even make some of the truest diehard's cringe.  Sadly, I could almost predict this early season breakdown in focus. The fact that my Ford focus broke down enroute to this epic spring training trip may have been an omen, but the things I heard while on the trip gave me more reason for pause.  On my way home, Andy Masur and Bob Scanlan were discussing the "dog days of spring training" and singing the praises of manager Bud Black for keeping the players away from the monotony of routine.  That very well could be a good thing. But It could be a bad thing if the team isn't learning to stay focused or learning to adhere to routine when it is called for.  I may be way off base here, but certainly its an idea worth thinking about.
     I don't want to sound like I've given up on this team. Its early, and I've seen some encouraging signs, and even the supposedly great teams struggle (0-3 starts for the Yankees, Red Sox, and Giants, 1-3 for the Phillies) While the quality on the field has been cringeworthy way to often, its not time to jump off a bridge.  I do believe that things are likely to improve. For starters, maybe I should stop watching for reasons I explain in this Gaslampball thread.  The Pitching needs to be more consistent and the injuries (Stauffer, Mosely, Quentin, Kotsay all are already on the DL. Hudson, for better or WORSE is not) need to stop.  Getting Tim, Q,  Kotsay back will certainly help (although Hermida, who has had a great spring, and is hitting 2 for 4 in the first four games could make for some interesting roster decisions) Most importantly stepping back and realizing that this group isn't supposed to go to the World Series , or even the playoffs , this year and keeping a healthy mindset that there will be some lumps before the number one ranked farm system is ready for The Show will help one from going absolutely bonkers out there. I also think the excitement of opening week and the let down that happens from a poor start makes everything seem that much worse. After the offseason I had, including getting time with the traveling jersey, I was certainly pumped up for Opening Week.  So like I've said before, its one week. Its in the books, along with our first win. So relax, focus, and lets settle in for the ride. Until then, its time to go mow the lawn...

Opening Week, Opening Post


Hello and welcome to my corner of the Padres Blog Universe. Actually, since this is my first blog post on my own, and I'm certainly no superstar, I don't deserve a corner yet. So, Hello and Welcome to my cramped middle of the Instructional League locker room space in the Padres Blog Universe.

Saturday night, while watching the team play rather uninspiring baseball, I was ironically inspired to finally start a blog with an idea that was rattling around in this old (or not so old, depending on your perspective. 31 years) brain of mine. I even started out and had 5 good paragraphs in regarding the 0-3 start, the teams seemingly lack of focus, and whether or not Bud Black and his apparent aversion to routine were at least partially to blame. Then I hit a wall called 3 AM on 3 hours of sleep from the night before, and resolved to try again later.

So its later now. Or earlier , as its only 1:30 in the morning this time.  The Padres, as you are likely aware, have started 0-3, but the Savior (Headley) Saved on Easter with a Grand Slam, to cap off the Padres first win of the year. It certainly helped to ease the frustration that was slowly building in this normally optimistic fan.  It was also refreshing to be able to read my twitter feed with 84.98% less negativity (Percentage estimated with numbers of significance to those that can see it). It feels good to see the win.  0-3 sucks, 0-4 would have been worse. Season would have been OVER!!! Okay not over. But 0-3 teams all suck. All of them. That means you Boston. That means you New York!!! Or, actually, its a long season. There are 158 games remaining for the Padres.

158 more games. Some will be won. Some will be lost.  My expectations for the season are around .500 maybe a little worse, maybe a little better.  Along the way, I will attempt to be here with the thoughts that are in my head. I don't fully know what I will do with this blog yet. I will invite feedback, and conversation.  Some of my posts will be knee jerk reactions to the events of the day, while I hope to do a few posts where I research fully on a topic or subject that comes across.  I might even get back to the post about the Padres, and their early lack of focus. There were 3 more errors in today's game, bringing to 8 (I think) the number committed this season.  As I was attempting that subject before, I found a few stats that went against my initial hypothesis.  That's the thing about baseball-- Just when you think your on to something, something different seems to come along.

It's late tonight. This is just a start. A bad one. But its a long season. Stick with me will ya?