SB Nation - Edgar Gonzalez

NL West in Review: 2nd Basemen

Poseidon's Fist — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:00:36 -0000

Felipe Lopez only got in a half season in the NL West, but was he good enough to be the best 2B in the division in 2009?

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Introduction

Before getting to the second base rankings, I thought I would touch on a peripheral discussion on the accuracy of WAR. It is important to understand that even the WAR found at Fangraphs isn't absolute. The methodology of chosen inputs can make the final numbers vary slightly, or in some cases, drastically. The best example of this is this year's season by Ricky Nolasco, who was a 4.0 WAR pitcher from Fangraphs, but just a 1.0 WAR pitcher via Rally's historical database. The quick explanation is that Fangraphs' input is FIP, while Rally's is more based on actual runs allowed and BABIP.

In my case, I'm using Statcorner's component park factors, while Fangraphs has their own methodology for park effects. That is why some of my numbers will vary some from Fangraphs' data. For instance, I have Orlando Hudson as a 2.52 WAR second baseman, while Fangraphs has him at 2.9 WAR. Which is right? I think it's a matter of preference.

A few weeks ago, Dave Cameron wrote an article entitled WAR: It Works, which defended their methodology by finding a 0.83 correlation between a team's total WAR and final record (for comparison, Pythageorean W-L has a 0.91 correlation). So it does a decent job, but there's some understandable noise in the data.

Method

See the full methodology as explained last week. Last Monday, I omitted stolen bases and caught stealings from my value calculations. It turns out Fangraphs' positional splits are accurate to positional at-bats, and Baseball Reference's positional splits are not accurate for stolen bases and caught stealings. As it turns out, first basemen don't steal much, so that omission made practically no difference.

However, second basemen do tend employ the running game, so I did the extra legwork of utilizing ESPN.com's positional splits to extract SB/CS data. It didn't make a great deal of difference. Four teams saw their team wOBA* increase by .001, while the Rockies dropped by .001. Clint Barmes, who led all NL West 2B in caught stealings with nine, was the only prominent player to be affected, who dropped one slot in the rankings.

Read the results after the jump.

Results

No NL West team had complete personnel consistency at second base, but that didn't stop Arizona from far surpassing the rest of the division with some surprise production from their second-sackers.


Teams	Players	Avg	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG	wOBA*	WAR
1. Arizona	4	.298	15	49	.372	.448	.362	5.97
2. Los Angeles	6	.283	12	77	.356	.424	.347	3.19
3. Colorado	5	.231	31	98	.281	.441	.301	0.80
4. San Francisco	7	.236	17	80	.281	.329	.281	-0.26
5. San Diego	5	.246	2	58	.315	.314	.292	-1.04

Brendan Scolari's calculations had Arizona projected to be the weakest team at second base this season, but the other four teams fell in line as expected from there.

Your graphical plot of the RAR for all five teams, with the positional RAR set at +2.5.

The second base position was exceedingly interesting, in my opinion. To wit: the most valuable player was also the fifth least valuable fielder; the worst and best fielders came from the same team; the man with the third most homers was the fourth worst second baseman; and, one team had four second basemen in the top seven in the division:

There were 27 total second basemen, and you can view the complete rankings and data here in Google Docs. Here are the top and bottom five:

Rank	Player	Team	PA	Avg	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG	wOBA*	UZR	WAR
1	Orlando Hudson	LAD	627	.285	9	62	.359	.420	.345	-3.7	2.52
2	Felipe Lopez	AZ	375	.305	6	25	.366	.417	.351	3.8	2.25
3	Ryan Roberts	AZ	199	.303	7	16	.374	.506	.383	2.3	1.65
4	Clint Barmes	COL	551	.238	22	69	.286	.437	.301	7.0	1.60
5	Juan Uribe	SFG	131	.274	6	15	.331	.538	.380	3.5	1.25
~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~
23	Edgar Gonzalez	SDP	54	.234	0	3	.315	.319	.289	-2.1	-0.17
24	Ian Stewart	COL	73	.235	8	26	.274	.632	.349	-7.5	-0.39
25	Luis Rodriguez	SDP	102	.200	1	7	.294	.256	.266	-4.1	-0.48
26	Emmanuel Burriss	SFG	220	.238	0	13	.292	.267	.265	-3.7	-0.53
27	Eugenio Velez	SFG	106	.198	1	8	.226	.287	.231	-4.7	-0.80

Arizona

2009 in Review

Felipe Lopez barely played half a season for the Snakes, but his stellar first half offensively and plus glove defensively kept him in position to finish second best in the division. Ryan Roberts had the best rate stats of any divisional player with over 100 PA (he surpassed Clint Barmes for WAR when I added the SB/CS factor), and he was joined in the top seven by Augie Ojeda and Rusty Ryal, who led the entire team in wOBA in a small sample. All four players had positive UZR scores.

2010 in Preview

AJ Hinch will most likely choose either a starter from the pool of Ryan Roberts, Rusty Ryal and Tony Abreu going forward into next season. It is possible that an unnamed free agent would be thrown into the picture, but I personally don't expect it. The fact that the hands down best team at 2B in 2009 has such a question mark going into 2010 with only Lopez subtracted speaks to the relative weakness of the position in the NL West.

Colorado

2009 in Review

Clint Barmes had a heck of an enigmatic season. He was easily the most valuable defensive 2B and had more than twice the home runs of any other player. However, his Ryan Howard impression was completed by having a poor average and batting average, and he led the division in caught stealings, helping Roberts to surpass him. Ian Stewart was third in the division in home runs, but he posted the worst UZR by far, completely negating Barmes' defensive contributions, at least statistically. Omar Quintanilla contributed enough defensively to stay out of the bottom five despite a 2-for-28 mark with the bat.

2010 in Preview

Rumors abound that Dan O'Dowd is going to lock Barmes down to a multi-year contract, so it appears he will have the position locked down going into spring training, though Eric Young Jr could provide a completely different toolset.

Los Angeles

2009 in Review

Orlando Hudson had an All-Star first half, but his defense has slipped and Ronnie Belliard (who had a strong stretch in his own right by finishing8th in just 42 PA) of all people took starts from him down the stretch. Blake DeWitt, Juan Castro and Mark Loretta provided negligible negative value.

2010 in Preview

Hudson will be a Type A free agent and probably won't be retained by the Dodgers. By trading Tony Abreu for Jon Garland, Ned Colletti gave up his best internal option for the position going forward. There's no way they go with Loretta or Castro full time, and Blake DeWitt seems to have regressed after perhaps playing over his head in 2008. Los Angeles could go with Belliard, but second base is certainly on Colletti's offseason shopping list.

San Diego

2009 in Review

Grit is not an input for WAR, so almost all of David Eckstein's value goes unchecked. He combined his light hitting with the second worst UZR in the division. Oscar Salazar and Chris Burke played a small role, but Luis Rodriguez and Edgar Gonzalez really hurt the team, as both were in the bottom handful both with the bat and glove. As a team, the running game was essentially non-existent, as the Padres only stole four bases from second base. All five second basemen posted negative UZR scores.

2010 in Preview

Kevin Towers extended Eckstein through 2010 with a $1 million deal in August, so he is unequivocally the starter going forward, especially with signs pointing towards very minimal free agent spending this offseason

San Francisco

2009 in Review

The position looked to be weak going into the season, and it was. Freddy Sanchez was unable to get on the field consistently after being acquired, but Juan Uribe picked up the slack by not only performing well (his wOBA* at second was just four points behind the best in the division for those with 100+ PA) but having a career season overall. Emmanuel Burriss and Eugenio Velez each got a well deserved Simon Cowell treatment for their poor auditions, and the team seemed that Kevin Frandsen is not the answer. The Giants' combined wOBA of .281 was by far the worst in the division.

2010 in Preview

As Rox Girl noted yesterday morning, the Giants signed Sanchez to a 2-year deal on Friday, paying him $6million/year, more than he's ever made in his career. On the surface, Sanchez is not much of a threat in the division, as he has regressed due to age in recent years and he dealt with a multitude of injuries of late. In 2008, he provided just $1.8million in value, and though he provided the Giants almost no value in 2009, he did have $10.1million total. And after seeing the terrible play at second and need to validate the Tim Alderson trade, it's no surprise Brian Sabean decided to go this direction. At any rate, barring injury to The Mole, the Giants will be much improved at second base in 2010.

Padres GM Towers comments on Heath Bell's fitness level, Wade LeBlanc's cutter and Colorado's home grown talent

jbox — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 22:20:38 -0000

XX Sports Radio: Kevin Towers Interview (MP3) with Darren Smith

Edgar Gonzalez had a similar injury with his shoulder popping out and back in during college. He said it took him a few days to feel better.
In the final 10 games, the Padres are trying to keep momentum going into the off season. The Padres have only lost 3 series in the last 2 months. They want to perform well against the division leaders. Towers wants to continue to evaluate the young guys. The players never give up and are playing hard. Towers thought Nick Hundley's drive was going to drop last night, "We very easily we could have one that ball game."
Colorado is pretty good. It's great that the players are all home grown. When they played in Petco, every single guy came through their system. Offensively they are one of the better teams in the NL, Philadelphia and St. Louis are also good. "Offensively they are very, very good."
Everth Cabrera still does things to help the Padres win games. Cabrera talked to Towers about wanting to play winter ball. Towers thinks he needs a break.
Wade LeBlanc has developed a cutter, which works against right handed hitters. He needs fastball command to be successful. He has a Trevor Hoffman like change up, but the only way it will work is if he develops his fastball. Towers saw great things from him in college. His velocity has dropped though. After a bad few outings, sometimes you want to give up on them but they battle back and you have to be patient.
Towers says Heath Bell will keep getting the opportunity to make saves. "He certainly hasn't had the success in September that he's had in the last 5 months." Towers thinks the work load has robbed him of some of his velocity.
Darren Smith wonders if Heath Bell's physical size and fitness level has caused him problems. Towers says Bell does a lot of Wii conditioning in the off season and that "his big strong lower half" makes him successful. He doesn't do a lot of running, but he rides the exercise bike and elliptical. The Padres don't have a Wii in the club house.
Jeff Moorad and Tom Garfinkel is going to continue to evaluate the front office and baseball operations.'
"The way we've played in the last 6 weeks, I'm kind of enjoying watching these guys play. Hopefully we finish strong."

Edgar Gonzalez won't wear new protective batting helmet until he gets one that fits

jbox — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 20:45:34 -0000

More photos » by Denis Poroy - AP

5 months ago: Fans look on as San Diego Padres Edgar Gonzalez, center, is taken from the field after Gonzalez was hit in head with a pitch during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies Saturday, July 18, 2009 in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

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Mark Neely and Mark Grant mentioned today that Edgar Gonzalez wasn't wearing the new protective batting helmet. I hadn't noticed, but apparently he stopped wearing the bigger helmet after it popped off when he tried to avoid a pitch from Dan Haren earlier in the week.

I was so quick to judge Edgar before knowing the whole story. I thought vanity had reared it's ~~ugly~~ pretty head again, but as usual I was wrong. Edgar threw insults at the ill fitting helmet on Sign on San Diego:

It wasn't Haren's pitch that bothered the Padres.

It was what happened when Gonzalez jumped back. His new helmet, the one designed to give him more protection, flew off his head. Replays showed the helmet was coming off Gonzalez's head as Haren's fastball sailed by.

"That can't be good," Gonzalez said. "The problem is that it doesn't fit and it sits too high. My hat size is 7 1/8 and the helmet says for sizes 7¼ to 7 3/8. What kind of protective helmet fits several sizes?"

Padres trainer Todd Hutcheson made some changes to the helmet overnight.

"Once it fits properly, Edgar will have more protection," Hutcheson said. "But it rides too far up on his head. It needs to be seated lower and better. It's not his size."

It still strikes me as odd that a Major League Baseball team can't get a helmet that fits the player correctly. They only got one helmet? They didn't order it in his size? They couldn't just put a chin strap on that sucker and get it back in action?

I still think every Padres player should be wearing these new helmets.

Padres Anagrams

jbox — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 22:29:12 -0000

Dex was just showing me this website that figures out an anagram for your name. I decided to do it for each of the Padres. Surprisingly in some cases the anagram actually describes the person. It's remarkable!

NAME	ANAGRAM
Jeff Moorad	MAJOR OF FED
Tom Garfinkel	GNATLIKE FORM
Kevin Towers	I'VE NETWORKS
Paul DePodesta	UP PLEASED TOAD
Grady Fuson	FURY GONADS
Bud Black	BALD BUCK
Heath Bell	HELL! BATHE
Greg Burke	KRUGER BEG
Kevin Correia	CROAKIER VEIN
Sean Gallagher	HAS LARGE ANGEL
Luke Gregerson	OK GREENER SLUG
Mat Latos	AM TOTALS
Wade LeBlanc	CLEAN BAWLED
Edward Mujica	DRAW MAD JUICE
Luis Perdomo	I'M PROUD LOSE
Aaron Poreda	POOR AND AREA
Cesar Ramos	OR MASSACRE
Clayton Richard	A CONTRARY CHILD
Adam Russell	SMALL AS RUDE
Tim Stauffer	MATURE STIFF
Joe Thatcher	HA! REJECT HOT
Ryan Webb	BRAWN BYE
Eliezer Alfonzo	RAZZLE OF ONE LIE
Henry Blanco	LYNCH ON BEAR
Nick Hundley	UNKINDLY CHE
Everth Cabrera	BRAVER CHEATER
David Eckstein	KINDEST ADVICE
Adrian Gonzalez	DAZZLING ON AREA
Edgar Gonzalez	NAG DAZZLE OGRE
Kevin Kouzmanoff	KNAVE FUNK IF ZOOM
Luis Rodriguez	GURU IDOLIZERS
Oscar Salazar	ALAS! CZAR OR AS
Anthony Gwynn Junior	JOY! NOW HURTING NANNY
Chase Headley	ELSE HEADACHY
Drew Macias	A WEIRD SCAM
Will Venable	WELL! EVIL BAN
Gaslamp Ball	SMALL BAG PAL

NL West Report: Home of MLB's best pitching

Poseidon's Fist — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 22:53:20 -0000

More photos » by Gus Ruelas - AP

Clayton Kershaw is one of many pitchers who have emerged this season to make the NL West a force once again.

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Pitching wins championships.

At least that's what they say. If that's the case, pitching wins games too. It should be no surprise then that the rise of the NL Worst to the NL Best has centered around strong pitching. We'll just take a simple look at Wins Over Replacement, taking a look at the top 8 in MLB. Choosing the top 8 is partially a novelty for the number of playoff teams and partially a good cleavage point for the argument.

Here's the deal: The NL West has 4 of the top 5 pitching staffs in the National League in WAR, as well as 4 of the top 8 in MLB.

Team	Pitching WAR
Red Sox	19.6
Rockies	19.0
Braves	18.6
White Sox	18.6
Giants	18.2
Blue Jays	15.8
Diamondbacks	14.9
Dodgers	14.7

Of the other five divisions, the NL Central has zero, the NL East has one, the AL West has zero, the AL Central has one and the AL East has two. Only Arizona and Toronto are out of contention for the playoffs.

NL West Report

Arizona (55-70, 4th, W1, 19 GB)

Last Week: 1-6. 0-1 @ Braves. 0-3 @ Phillies. 1-2 @ Astros. Yesterday's win in Houston broke a season-long 7 game losing streak.

Pace: 71-91.

Divisional Change: Lost 3.0 games.

This Week: 3 game road series @ Giants, 3 game home series vs. Astros.

News: The biggest question this offseason for Arizona will be whether Brandon Webb's extension will be picked up. Via Steve Gilbert's twitter, Josh Byrnes says:

"If [his recovery is] close, he'll probably get the benefit of the doubt."

Other than Arizona's season-long losing streak, the storyline of the week was whether Jerry Dipoto would be fleeced from their front office to be the Nationals' new GM. Yahoo! Sports and CBSSports.com both reported that DiPoto got the job, but their reports proved premature. Washington turned down the opportunity to hand over their front office reins to the former Rockies closer, instead naming interim GM Mike Rizzo the full-time general manager.

P Jon Garland cleared waivers. He's not a good value, but he might be the most effective starting pitcher available through waiver trade.

Jon Garland

#52 / Pitcher / Arizona Diamondbacks

Height: 6-6

Weight: 210

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Sep 27, 1979

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Jon Garland	7-11	4.48	1.46	78	51

Jon Heyman at SI.com wrote that Doug Davis remains in Arizona because Milwaukee offered nothing more than salary relief after claiming him on waivers.

Transactions: RHP Daniel Cabrera assigned to AAA Reno. Called up 1B Brandon Allen from AAA. Allen was the prospect Arizona received in the trade for Tony Pena. Optioned 1B Josh Whitesell to AAA.

Injuries: Conor Jackson saw a disease specialist Aug 19. He might miss the rest of the season. Justin Upton will start a rehab stint in Single-A tonight in an attempt to return in a couple weeks.

Arizona Diamondbacks Injuries

Probable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Stephen Drew	other-excused	08/24/2009

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Eric Byrnes	hand	06/26/2009
Scott Schoeneweis	other-excused	08/10/2009
Justin Upton	oblique	08/06/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Conor Jackson	pneumonia	05/12/2009
Brandon Webb	shoulder	04/07/2009

News on the other three divisional teams after the jump.

Los Angeles (74-51, 1st, L1)

Last Week: 4-3. 1-2 vs Cardinals. 3-1 vs Cubs.

Pace: 96-66.

Divisional Change: Lost 1.5 game lead to COL.

This Week: 3 game road series @ Rockies, 3 game road series @ Reds.

News: As we all know by know, the slim division margin doesn't faze LA. If the Rockies can manage a sweep in the series, they will be tied in the loss column with the Dodgers. Losing a series to Colorado at Dodger Stadium would make it impossible for Los Angeles to maintain their confident mantra.

Also, as we all know, Joe Torre finally got that starting pitcher addition. The Dodgers signed Vicente Padilla, who will start Thursday against the Rockies. True Blue LA reaction.

Vicente Padilla

#0 / Pitcher / Los Angeles Dodgers

Height: 6-2

Weight: 220

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Sep 27, 1977

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Vicente Padilla	8-6	18	18	0	0	0	0	108.0	120	61	59	12	42	59	4.92	1.50

CBSSports' Scott Miller notes that Padilla is a "proven starter but also a combustible clubhouse presence."

Drew Silva at MLBTradeRumors poses the question: "What is the future for Orlando Hudson?" One place he suggests is Washington, where there has been a revolving door of second sackers all season. True Blue LA weighs in again.

In another TJ Simers piece for the LA Times, apparently Manny Ramirez shouted in the clubhouse "Hey, I'm going to be here next year!" Ramirez has struggled notably since he returned from his suspension.

Eric Stephen's Week in Review (True Blue LA)

Transactions: Placed Hiroki Kuroda on 15-day DL on Aug 19 retroactive to Aug 16. Called up Vicente Padilla Saturday. Recalled IF Tony Abreu.

Injuries: Jamey Loney is day-to-day with the flu, but may be available to start the series against the Rox tomorrow. Hiroki Kuroda threw 60 pitches from 60 feet with no issues Aug 20 in an attempt to come back in early September from that concussion.

Los Angeles Dodgers Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
James Loney	flu	08/24/2009

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Will Ohman	shoulder	05/28/2009
Jason Schmidt	shoulder	08/06/2009
Hiroki Kuroda	concussion	08/16/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Doug Mientkiewicz	shoulder	04/17/2009
Xavier Paul	ankle	05/21/2009
Eric Milton	lower-back	06/28/2009

San Diego (52-74, 5th, L2, 22.5 GB)

Last Week: 2-4. 2-1 vs Cubs, 1-3 vs Cardinals. That's a perfect inversion of how LA fared against the two NL Central foes.

Pace: 67-95.

Divisonal change: Lost 1.0 game.

This Week: 3 game road series @ Braves, 3 game road series @ Marlins. It's time to be a fan of the Padres.

News: San Diego extended David Eckstein through 2010 with a $1million deal.

Backup catcher Henry Blanco wants to return also.

San Diego is certainly showing earmarks of a rebuilding team. Instead of taking the originally reported PTBNL for Chad Gaudin, the Padres took $100k. They also traded AAA reliever Scott Patterson to Oakland for cash. What to do with the cash? Apparently, the Padres have invested $10million in amateur talent this season.

Rebuilding teams also build through the Rule 5 Draft. RJ Anderson at FanGraphs highlights the Padres Rule 5 Success, notably former Rockie farmhand Everth Cabrera.

Everth Cabrera

#1 / Short Stop / San Diego Padres

Height: 5-9

Weight: 170

Bats: B

Throws: R

Born: Nov 17, 1986

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Everth Cabrera	67	232	37	63	12	7	2	23	29	51	18	3	.272	.360	.409

Jayson Stark notes that Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell were withdrawn off waivers after several teams tried to claim them.

Top pick Donavan Tate made a very good impression when visited PetCo Park.

San Diego honored long-time announcer Ted Leitner.

Transactions: None.

Injuries: P Sean Gallagher threw a bullpen session Thursday and could return in early September. Kyle Blanks injured his heel Saturday and is day-to-day. Chris Young underwent successful surgery last Monday, and Edgar Gonzalez had a couple of hits in a Class A rehab start Saturday. He is attempting to return from the concussion Jason Hammel gave him.

San Diego Padres Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Kyle Blanks	heel	08/24/2009

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Brian Giles	knee	06/19/2009
Edgar Gonzalez	concussion	07/19/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Mark Worrell	elbow	03/27/2009
Cha Seung Baek	forearm	03/30/2009
Shawn Hill	elbow	04/26/2009
Chris Young	shoulder	06/15/2009
Cliff Floyd	shoulder	06/18/2009

San Francisco (67-57, 3rd, L2, 6.5 GB)

Last Week: 4-3. 1-0 @ Mets. 2-1 @ Reds. 1-2 @ Rockies.

Pace: 88-74.

Divisional Change: No change in NL West. Lost 1.5 games in Wild Card for the second straight week.

This Week: Final game of a four game set @ Rockies. 3 game home series vs Diamondbacks. 3 game home series vs. Rockies.

News: The Giants signed 1st-rounder Zach Wheeler for $3.3 Million last Monday

Bengie Molina wants to return to the Giants with a 2-year deal. This is in spite of him threatening to be one of the worst cleanup hitters in the last half century with prized prospect Buster Posey ripping up AAA.

Buster Posey

#28 / Catcher / San Francisco Giants

Height: 6-2

Weight: 195

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Mar 27, 1987

*AAA Stats	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Buster Posey	.294	.373	.500

Despite having a very successful season since being promoted to AAA, Posey won't be called up this season. He will instead be a possibility for next year's Opening Day roster. Molina believes there is enough room for them both on the MLB roster next year if he can be retained to mentor Posey.

Tom Verducci goes into Tim Lincecum's potentially unprecedented contract.

The Giants claimed Gary Shieffield off waivers, but the Mets pulled him back.

Transactions: None.

Injuries: Freddy Sanchez is still listed as day-yo-day after missing six straight starts.

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Freddy Sanchez	shoulder	08/24/2009

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Rich Aurilia	ankle	08/12/2009
Andres Torres	hamstring	07/31/2009

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Randy Johnson	trapezius	07/06/2009
Noah Lowry	ribs	03/27/2009
Kelvin Pichardo	shoulder	06/28/2009
Henry Sosa	shoulder	08/05/2009

San Francisco Giants Injuries

Doubtful

Player Injury Type Injury Date

Freddy Sanchez shoulder 08/24/2009

15-Day

Player Injury Type Injury Date

Rich Aurilia ankle 08/12/2009

Andres Torres hamstring 07/31/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player Injury Type Injury Date

Randy Johnson trapezius 07/06/2009

Noah Lowry ribs 03/27/2009

Kelvin Pichardo shoulder 06/28/2009

Henry Sosa shoulder 08/05/2009

Poll

Do you buy that the Rockies have the second best pitching staff in MLB?

Yes. You just gave me proof by WAR. They have great traditional numbers as a team, and then there's the park effects.

57 votes

Not really. I think we've been good, but I don't trust WAR if it says we're THAT good.

76 votes

Not at all. WAR and SABR stats are bull. There's no way the Rockies one of the top pitching staffs in MLB.

12 votes

HAHA. Coors Field is a Little League park. It inflates numbers. You can't believe any stats. The pitching staff gets the benefit of Coors Field.

6 votes

I usually don't buy into mystical stats like WAR, but I'm going to tell all my friends we have the 2nd best pitching staff anyway.

27 votes

178 votes | Poll has closed

GM Towers hopes that Buddy Black will manage the Padres longer than Bruce Bochy

jbox — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 02:34:36 -0000

XX Sports Radio: Kevin Towers Interview (MP3) with Darren Smith

Towers has been with the AA club for the last 6 days. September call ups would likely be from the AA club, they've pretty much exhausted the AAA club.
Towers hopes that Randy Ready will be the batting coach going forward. He's a good communicator and he's closer in age to the players. Towers calls Ready "Spike". "Breath of fresh air for the players." Towers and Buddy pulled a few core players in to see what the feel of the club house was towards Lefebvre to help them make a decision.
Made a lot of progress with Donovan Tate, it's not done yet. Hopefully something will get done before the end of the weekend. "My sense we'll get quite a lot done in the next 4 or 5 days." The Padres anticipated Tate going to camp at UNC. He'll have to pass a significant physical because of the large signing bonus that he'll likely get.
Asked if the commissioners office gets upset if clubs give to much money to first round picks. The majority of MLB clubs stay in close contact so as not to over pay. It's helped in arbitration and in the amateur draft.
Gwynn has more experience so when he's playing he'll usually hit leadoff. Cabrera gives speed at the bottom of the order.
More than likely Chris Young will be shut down the rest of the year. He might be scoped to see what's going on in his shoulder.
Giles is probably a week or two from a rehab assignment.
Edgar Gonzalez gets slight vertigo when laying on his back. He's probably a ways away.
A year extension for Buddy Black was a comfortable length for Towers and Moorad. They didn't want to give him a multi-year contract. Towers is absolutely convinced that Buddy Black can bring this team back in contention. "Buddy is here for the long haul, that's my hope." They want him to be here as long as Bruce Bochy was. Black is certainly not on the hot seat by any means.
Towers thinks Strasburg will sign with the Nationals in a record deal. Towers guesses under $29 million deal.

Poll

Do you hope that Buddy Black will manage the Padres longer than Bruce Bochy?

No sir, that is the exact opposite of my hope

52 votes

Yes, I've placed a picture of Buddy on my hope chest

55 votes

107 votes | Poll has closed

Rawlings about to introduce safer batting helmet, baseball players may be too vain to wear it

jbox — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:47:45 -0000

More photos » by Denis Poroy - AP

5 months ago: San Diego Padres' Edgar Gonzalez grabs his head as Colorado Rockies catcher Yorvit Torrealba and home plate umpire Greg Gibson run to help him after Gonzalez was hit by a pitch during the sixth inning of a baseball game Saturday, July 18, 2009, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

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NY Times: Batting Helmet is Safer, but Players Hate the Look

It's about time that a real protective baseball helmet was introduced.. There is no reason that with today's technology that guys like Edgar Gonzalez should suffer a head injury due to an ineffective helmet. Edgar Gonzalez still feels dizzy when he lies down and it's been three weeks since his face to face meeting with a 93 MPH fast ball. Check out the FSN Sports Science video on the above link where they test the old helmet and find that it only reduces impact by 30%.

Thankfully Rawlings introduced the S100 helmet, named because it can withstand a 100 MPH fastball.

via graphics8.nytimes.com

Looks like every other batting helmet you've ever seen right? Maybe a bit bigger and it has two ear flaps, so it doesn't go flying off on contact.

Some baseball players are so vain that they refuse to wear it. Yes we're talking to about you Jeff Francoeur and Mark Teixeira.

"No, I am absolutely not wearing that," Mets right fielder Jeff Francoeur said with a laugh after seeing a prototype, as if he were being asked to put a pumpkin on his head. "I could care less what they say, I’m not wearing it. There’s got to be a way to have a more protective helmet without all that padding. It’s brutal. We’re going to look like a bunch of clowns out there."

First of all is just a little bigger, it's not like wearing a pumpkin on your head. Second, baseball players should never be giving anybody fashion advice. With their decade old taste in mullets, necklaces and double breasted suits. Third, Francoeur already looks like a clown without the helmet and now he's acting like one by not being a good role model.

Gonzalez is not among them. "After this happened to me, I would wear anything," he said. "I don’t care how goofy it is, as long as it could help protect me."

David Halstead the technical director for the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment says:

"Major league players do not play with a helmet that meets any standards," he said. "It’s remarkable to me. Once the earflap is removed, it can’t be certified."

Poll

Should MLB force players to wear more protective helmets?

Yes, players are too stupid to make the right decision

296 votes

No, let their narcissistic melons explode on contact like a Gallagher show.

103 votes

399 votes | Poll has closed

Tuesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:01:50 -0000

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

Jeff Karstens is stopped by umpire Chad Fairchild, right, and Jason Kendall from getting to Chris Smith after being hit by a pitch in the eighth inning on Monday. No players were ejected, and the Pirates won 8-5. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

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Some things to read while changing your misleading name.

Thanks to Tristarscoop for picking up the slack while I was away yesterday. Between getting married, honeymooning, buying a house, moving, being in another wedding and now a funeral, I feel like I've been away more than I've been home in the last two months, but (knock on wood) I should be back for the long haul now...at least through the end of the week.

Did you skip out early on last night's game? I almost went to bed in the seventh inning and would have missed the bench clearing incident involving Chris Smith and Jeff Karstens. Smith hit Karstens with a pitch in the eighth inning but later said the pitch wasn't intentional, which is probably the same thing Karstens said after hitting Ryan Braun in April. This HBP had some increased historical significance, being the 600th plunking at PNC Park.

Because the mess happened so late last night, possibly after many Brewer bloggers had gone to bed, there wasn't a lot of reaction to it on the web this morning. Don't be surprised, though, if Jason Kendall picks up a suspension of a game or two for his actions in the shoving match that followed. Kendall shoved Jeff Karstens down the first base line and was later involved in a shouting match with Pirates pitching coach Joe Kerrigan.

The incident also overshadowed the Brewer debut of Felipe Lopez. Lopez missed an early flight because he was waiting for his bats and would not have been in the starting lineup if not for the rain delay, but went 4-for-4 with a triple and a walk, becoming the first Brewer to record four hits in their debut since Chuckie Carr in 1996. TheJay sent me that link, and also this note:

By the by, it took Jody Gerut only 20 games (5 starts) over six weeks to reach four hits.

Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic discussed the D-Backs' reasons for trading Lopez. He (Lopez, not Piecoro) stands a good chance of being a Type B free agent this offseason, but had also been vocal about enjoying playing in Arizona. The D-Backs would have had to offer him arbitration to receive any compensation if he left, but weren't willing to pay him the $5-6 million he would have received if he accepted the offer. They also seem to think Roque Mercedes is similar in value to the compensation pick they could have received.

Manny Parra has allowed just 12 baserunners in 13 innings since returning from AAA and lowered his ERA from 7.52 to 6.37 in the process. Has he figured it out? Zach Sanders of Baseball Digest Daily seems to think so.

In the minors:

Cody Adams, the Brewers' second round pick from 2008, has been suspended for 50 games after testing positive for amphetamines. (Also noted in FanShot) Adams wasn't pitching well for the Timber Rattlers in the first place, but will now be set even farther back.
While the struggle to draw fans to games in Huntsville has drawn some negative attention this season, the Nashville Sounds are just happy the attention isn't on them. Despite making some improvements to Greer Stadium, the Sounds' attendance is down from last season, and ranks 15th in the 16-team PCL.
2009 draftee Josh Prince is the Prospect of the Week over at Between the Green Pillars. Battlekow interviewed Prince back on June 23.
The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers lost 15-1 to Lansing last night but still lead by two games in the Midwest League West Division Second Half Standings.
The Cub Reporter has a nice interview with Nashville hitting coach Sandy Guerrero, perhaps better known for being Prince Fielder's BP pitcher at the Home Run Derby.

Ever thought about attending a Brewer Fantasy Camp? Bill Schroeder has the sales pitch for you.

On rankings:

FanGraphs ranked Ryan Braun #8 in their Trade Value rankings, one spot ahead of Tim Lincecum. I love Braun, but if the Giants called and offered Lincecum I'd have a hard time turning it down.
The Brewers dropped four spots to 18th in WhatifSports' Power Rankings.

Around the majors:

Angels: Released reliever Rudy Seanez, who had been pitching in AAA. (h/t Diamond Notes)
A's: Placed Jason Giambi on the DL with a strained quad.
Mets: Placed starter Fernando Nieve on the DL with a leg injury.
Nationals: Placed Scott Olsen on the DL with a back injury and designated Julian Tavarez for assignment.
Orioles: Acquired reliever Cla Meredith from the Padres for infielder Oscar Salazar.
Padres: Placed catcher Edgar Gonzalez, who was hit in the head by a pitch over the weekend, on the DL.
Phillies: Designated reliever Tyler Walker for assignment.
Rangers: Placed Frank Francisco on the DL with a mild case of pneumonia.
Red Sox: Designated Julio Lugo for assignment.
Reds: Placed Ramon Hernandez on the DL with inflammation in his knee.
Tigers: Placed Joel Zumaya on the DL with a sore shoulder.
Twins: Signed Mark Grudzielanek to a minor league deal.

Last week I mentioned that I had participated in SBNation's NL Central Roundtable, and linked to part 1 of the conversation. Part 2 is up over at Viva El Birdos. It was written prior to the Lopez acquisition, but there's still some relevant stuff in there.

Happy birthday today to former Brewers Lance Painter (42), Geoff Jenkins (35) and CC Sabathia (29).

Oh, and I already knew Amy K. Nelson was a baseball writer, but discovering that she's also an old school video gamer made her infinitely cooler in my book.

Drink up.

Rockies Ineffectual Offensively, Lose 3-1 to Padres

Jabberwocky — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 05:37:56 -0000

More photos » by Denis Poroy - AP

Yeah, we lost to these guys tonight. Weak.

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Tonight's loss to the Padres was more disappointing than anything else. The Rockies' (49-42) offense was shut down by the Padres' pitching staff (only four hits), which this season is a pretty rare occurrence. Granted, Petco Park kept a couple of Colorado fly balls from being homers--which certainly would have been nice to have.

Altogether though, the Rockies just didn't have too many chances, and Brad Hawpe (who did double in the Rockies' only run in the first) grounded into two double plays to ruin those scoring opportunities.

Both Kevin Correia and Jason Hammel pitched well (though Jason did walk three and hit three--Edgar Gonzalez in the head) but neither got a decision. Those honors went to Greg Burke (2-1) and Joel Peralta (0-3)--who gave up a homer to Coloradan Chase Headley in the seventh. Peralta just didn't look good tonight--that's the danger of trusting Joel Peralta with anything of importance.

With the loss, the Rockies remained 0.5 GB in the Wild Card standings (SF also lost) and lost a game to LA (8 GB). The Rockies can still get a series win and 50 wins tomorrow against Padres prospect Mat Latos, who is making his major league debut, countering with Jason Marquis.

via www.fangraphs.com

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Joel Peralta (-.270), Brad Hawpe (-.196), Troy Tulowitzki (-.164)

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Edgar Gonzalez beaned in the head - carted off field

jbox — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 05:33:44 -0000

More photos » by Denis Poroy - AP

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Edgar Gonzalez carted off after scary injury | MLB.com: News

Gonzalez turned his right shoulder trying to get out of the way of the pitch when it hit him on the side of the helmet. Gonzalez went down in a heap as the Padres medical staff came rushing to home plate.

Buddy Black says that Edgar is getting a CAT scan at Scripps Memorial. He was conscious, but extremely dizzy and his ears were ringing. He was aware of what was happening. Adrian Gonzalez accompanied his brother to the hospital.

He had two hits prior to being hit.

FSN's Sports Science tells us that a 5 oz. bean ball hits with 2400 lbs of force. Watch how the helmet absorbs the pitch at 3:50. A helmet absorbs 30% of the force.