The Padres did their usual thing on draft day, and thats pick a bunch of high schoolers that have proven nothing but that they are better than their 18 year old counterparts. I jumped to ESPN to read about their first pick of the draft, the third overall, and noticed another high schooler, followed by this in the commentary: "They're bad at this."
Of course, the Matt Bush signing will be hard to overcome, especially after this weekend when the guy that the Padres could have and should have signed, Jared Weaver, throws a complete game shutout against the Pads.
In the end, the Padres have a new batch of talent, and hopefully some of it pans out. John Coniff over at MadFriars.com got Jim Callis' opinion on the draft and it was better then my initial thoughts, so take a look. Also, from mlb.com we have the final list of all the draft picks in 2009.
By the end of the weekend, the Padres had come to terms with 22 of their picks, as outlined in the Padres official site.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
Adrian Gonzales on Pace to Hit More Home Runs Than Anyone Not on Steroids
After 50 games in the 2009 season, Adrian Gonzales leads the league with 20 home runs. That would be impressive on any team (obviously since its tops) but to do so on a Padres team that can find offense a bit challenging at times, that is incredible.
To put the number in prospective, he is on pace to hit 65 home runs. Of course its early, one-third of the way through the season, but it is something to chew on none the less. We all know home runs can be much more difficult at the end of the year, when pennant races get close, and home run hitters tend to get more bases on balls, but again, this is nuts.
I'm impressed and so too should you.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Padres Win 9 Straight
Welcome Back Kooz!
After two games and a 1-1 record, I joked that this may be the last time the padres were at .500. Then they surprised us all by winning 9 of their first 12 games. The pitching was better than expected and the bats were living up to and probably above expectations.
Then it all fell apart. The Pads just couldn't put it all together in one game. If the pitching was good (which it rarely was) they did give the run support. We also saw a lot of games where 5, 6 and even 7 runs weren't enough to win...not typical Padre baseball.
Over the last ten days, however, every pitcher on the staff has been incredible. The hitting hasn't been spectacular, but it has been enough...every single night. The Padres opponents have averaged 1.78 runs per game over the last ten days, including only 8 runs over the last 7 games. They had two wins in their last at bat, and capped it all off today with a 7-2 whooping of the Chicago Cubs.
Most of the credit should be given to the pitching staff, but you still can't win without runs, and thanks to Kevin Kouzmanoff finally coming out of a season long slump, the Padres scored just enough, and what do you know it, they are back to .500 again, on fourth of the way through the season.
After two games and a 1-1 record, I joked that this may be the last time the padres were at .500. Then they surprised us all by winning 9 of their first 12 games. The pitching was better than expected and the bats were living up to and probably above expectations.
Then it all fell apart. The Pads just couldn't put it all together in one game. If the pitching was good (which it rarely was) they did give the run support. We also saw a lot of games where 5, 6 and even 7 runs weren't enough to win...not typical Padre baseball.
Over the last ten days, however, every pitcher on the staff has been incredible. The hitting hasn't been spectacular, but it has been enough...every single night. The Padres opponents have averaged 1.78 runs per game over the last ten days, including only 8 runs over the last 7 games. They had two wins in their last at bat, and capped it all off today with a 7-2 whooping of the Chicago Cubs.
Most of the credit should be given to the pitching staff, but you still can't win without runs, and thanks to Kevin Kouzmanoff finally coming out of a season long slump, the Padres scored just enough, and what do you know it, they are back to .500 again, on fourth of the way through the season.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Padres Win 7th in a Row
The San Diego Padres have now won 7 straight, after Jake Peavy's second straight gem, and get back to sole posession of 2nd place in the NL West (behind the Dodgers with the best record in MLB).
The day after rejecting a trade to the Chicago White Sox, Jake Peavy through 6 innings, giving up no runs on two hits and striking out 10 Cubs to beat Carlos Zambrano. Petco Park has been great to the Pads over the last week, holding their opponents to an average of 1.85 runs per game...pretty amazing.
You have to give credit to every pitcher on the roster, and the hitters at least get credit for doing enough. That includes saving the day on Thursday night when Heath Bell gave up his first earned run of the season (not bad 42 games through the year) by scoring to runs in the ninth to turn a loss into a win.
Good job by the swinging friars, and lets home this keeps up through the weekend.
Josh Geer takes the ball tonight vs the Randy Wells of the Chicago Cubs.
The day after rejecting a trade to the Chicago White Sox, Jake Peavy through 6 innings, giving up no runs on two hits and striking out 10 Cubs to beat Carlos Zambrano. Petco Park has been great to the Pads over the last week, holding their opponents to an average of 1.85 runs per game...pretty amazing.
You have to give credit to every pitcher on the roster, and the hitters at least get credit for doing enough. That includes saving the day on Thursday night when Heath Bell gave up his first earned run of the season (not bad 42 games through the year) by scoring to runs in the ninth to turn a loss into a win.
Good job by the swinging friars, and lets home this keeps up through the weekend.
Josh Geer takes the ball tonight vs the Randy Wells of the Chicago Cubs.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Padres Acquire Tony Gwynn Jr.
In a trade that probably looks like nothing to most everyone in the country, the Padres sent Jody Gerut (a platooning center fielder) to the Milwaukee Brewers for a AAA prospect. The reason it means anything to the Padres is that he happens to be the son of the most famous athlete in San Diego sports history. The moved loved for sure.
Tony Gwynn Jr. (preferably Anthony Gwynn) hopes to continuing following in Dad's footsteps following his career at SDSU into a succesfull major league career in SD. He is a solid prospect, a bit younger than Gerut, and a guy that will be instantly loved.
In his first at bat as a Padre, on a day he found out he was traded and flew from Portland to San Diego, he drew a walk, and a big one at that. He arrived in San Diego just in time to dress and make it out to the field for game time, but found himself as the pinch hitter with one out and a runner on second in the bottom of the ninth of a 2-1 game. A lot of young guys coming into a situation like this would be very anxious. The crowd went nuts for Mr. Padre's son, and I wouldnt have blamed him for swinging at some bad pitches and showing little patience, but he did the opposite, drawing a walk and eventually crossing home plate as the winning run.
Great start to hopefully a long stay. The problem could be the platoon. It doesn't make sense to have him split time with Scott Hairston in center, especially when Giles is hitting .160 over in right field. I saw Hairston splits time with Giles more than Anthony, and we get the two of them more at bats than our second highest paid player. Just because we are paying him a lot doesnt mean we have to keep playing him through mediocrity.
I'll tell you something else, it will be nice to have some speed on this team too.
Tony Gwynn Jr. (preferably Anthony Gwynn) hopes to continuing following in Dad's footsteps following his career at SDSU into a succesfull major league career in SD. He is a solid prospect, a bit younger than Gerut, and a guy that will be instantly loved.
In his first at bat as a Padre, on a day he found out he was traded and flew from Portland to San Diego, he drew a walk, and a big one at that. He arrived in San Diego just in time to dress and make it out to the field for game time, but found himself as the pinch hitter with one out and a runner on second in the bottom of the ninth of a 2-1 game. A lot of young guys coming into a situation like this would be very anxious. The crowd went nuts for Mr. Padre's son, and I wouldnt have blamed him for swinging at some bad pitches and showing little patience, but he did the opposite, drawing a walk and eventually crossing home plate as the winning run.
Great start to hopefully a long stay. The problem could be the platoon. It doesn't make sense to have him split time with Scott Hairston in center, especially when Giles is hitting .160 over in right field. I saw Hairston splits time with Giles more than Anthony, and we get the two of them more at bats than our second highest paid player. Just because we are paying him a lot doesnt mean we have to keep playing him through mediocrity.
I'll tell you something else, it will be nice to have some speed on this team too.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Peavy Rejects Trade.....
Yes, I am predicting Jake Peavy rejects his trade to the White Sox. He is going to make an announcement before the game and he is already dressed up in all his Padres gear and alluded to throwing tomorrow.
Peavy Trade Approved by Clubs and Possibly Jake Himself
It looks like Jake Peavy will go to Chicago after all, just not the Chicago team we all thought it would be. The Padres and White Sox have agreed on a deal that would send Peavy to Chicago for two young pitchers. The main piece looks to be 2007 first round pick Aaron Poredo who is 3-4 with a 2.54 ERA in Double A this year, and a potential front end starter. The other player is Clayton Richard who has thrown in 14 big league games this year, including two starts and 4.33 ERA.
What we don't know yet is how much of Jake's contract will be picked up by the Padres, but this apears to be a salary dump more than anything, with a top prospect in the mix to possibly (and this is a very thin possibility) replace the Ace of the Paderes staff.
This is interesting at this point with a five game winning streak, and the Padres currently owning a better record than the Chicago White Sox. Peavy hasn't officially accepted the trade, but the whispers are that he will be ok with it, even though it would move him over to the American League.
As a big fan of Jake Peavy, I can't accept this as a good move, but at least there is something of value in the trade besides the salary dump. Of course ticket prices don't go down with the lesser product, but they found a way to counter the lack of ticket income by cutting salarys...thanks for nothing.
Of course, Peavy still needs to approve the trade, and there is no guarantee. It doesn't fit his original requirements simply by being in the AL.
What we don't know yet is how much of Jake's contract will be picked up by the Padres, but this apears to be a salary dump more than anything, with a top prospect in the mix to possibly (and this is a very thin possibility) replace the Ace of the Paderes staff.
This is interesting at this point with a five game winning streak, and the Padres currently owning a better record than the Chicago White Sox. Peavy hasn't officially accepted the trade, but the whispers are that he will be ok with it, even though it would move him over to the American League.
As a big fan of Jake Peavy, I can't accept this as a good move, but at least there is something of value in the trade besides the salary dump. Of course ticket prices don't go down with the lesser product, but they found a way to counter the lack of ticket income by cutting salarys...thanks for nothing.
Of course, Peavy still needs to approve the trade, and there is no guarantee. It doesn't fit his original requirements simply by being in the AL.
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