SB Nation - Will Venable

NL West in Review: Center Fielders

Poseidon's Fist — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:00:29 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

Don't forget about this guy.

Matt Kemp was a beast this season, but that doesn't mean the Dodgers had the best CF spot last season. For the second straight week, Los Angeles surprisingly gets pushed to second place by a team without a primary starter.

San Diego started the season with Scott Hairston and Jody Gerut platooning in center field, but by the All-Star break, both had been jettisoned, with the only returning position player being their new center fielder who had been in AAA all season to that point.

But don't let Petco Park and the constant new faces fool you. The Padres were strong in center field last season.


Teams	Players	Avg	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG	wOBA*	WAR
1. San Diego	6	.292	17	65	.356	.445	.358	5.37
2. Los Angeles	4	.292	24	98	.350	.472	.371	4.97
3. San Francisco	4	.266	17	79	.305	.419	.332	2.76
4. Colorado	4	.269	17	58	.345	.451	.341	2.14
5. Arizona	5	.219	17	61	.288	.379	.291	-1.18

Hairston saved almost all his San Diego offense for his CF starts, posting a ridiculous .458 wOBA in 148 PA. His eventual replacement, Tony Gwynn Jr, had the best OBP in the division outside of Hairston matched with fantastic defensive play. That was enough to supersede the Dodgers, who had neutral defense and just a 13 point wOBA* edge. This can teach us two things - it is indeed a team game, and don't discredit the Padres' offense, as Petco Park can mask a lot.

All the proof and stats are under the fold.

Here's your visual breakdown, with the CF positional RAR set at +2.5. The Dodgers' team UZR is indeed included; however, it is equal to exactly zero:

The bottom three slots of the NL West's 23 center fielders are occupied by Diamondbacks. For the full player rankings, click here.

For the raw data and calculations, check this Google Docs link.

Arizona

2009 in Review

Chris Young was supposed to be an anchor to a Diamondbacks lineup with visions of a division title. Instead second worst defensive CF in the division (via UZR) and battled the Mendoza line most of the season. Given his performance in recent years and underwhelming showings from his replacements, Young was given a long leash, one in which he finally turned into a strong(er) finish, highlighted by a 3 HR performance at Coors Field.

Chris Young

#24 / Center Field / Arizona Diamondbacks

Height: 6-2

Weight: 200

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Sep 05, 1983

2010 in Preview

In reality, Young's disappointing 2009 didn't come out of left field. He might have been one of the more overrated hitters in the game before the season; taking park adjustments into account, he has just as many above league average (wRAA) hitting seasons as I do - zero. His OBP marks in his three seasons plus 2006 callup are as follows: .306, .295, .315, .311. He is an ultimate hit or miss hitter, and the reality is he might not be longterm answer. Unfortunately for Arizona, he just finished out the first year of a 5-year $28mil extension expiring after the 2013 season. The 26 year old will make $3.25mil next year and will be given a shot to show he can be more consistent and effective.

Colorado

2009 in Review

As expected, the Rockies appear to have a pedestrian showing due to Dexter Fowler's epicly low UZR score. This is a good time to mention UZR's apparent disdain for Rockies' CFers, as Willy Taveras has two seasons with a UZR lower than +8. Both came with the Rockies, and both were below negative two. Fowler had an uneven but nonetheless impressive season for a prospect who surprisingly leapt from AA to start Opening Day. Carlos Gonzalez put up big numbers in CF, much coming when Fowler was injured late in the year. Despite far less PA, CarGo produced more overall for the Rockies than Fowler (remember the UZR thing).

Carlos Gonzalez

#5 / Center Field / Colorado Rockies

Height: 6-1

Weight: 215

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: Oct 17, 1985

2010 in Preview

Fowler was pegged as a great defensive player in the minors, so it will be interesting to see how UZR treats him in the future. While some of his poor score may be typical UZR hootenanny, he did have his uneven moments that could be improved. As it stands now, he will get the majority of reps in center, but if Brad Hawpe isn't traded, Carlos Gonzalez could cut a good portion of ABs from Fowler with Smith starting in left.

Los Angeles

2009 in Review

Matt Kemp should have been an All-Star. He earned the NL Silver Slugger and Gold Glove for center fielders, so unsurprisingly he trounces the division individually. He is truly a five tool player, and he could easily post a .300-30-100 season with 30+ SB's next year. An absolute beast, or Bison, as he is called. It really makes you wonder what Joe Torre was looking at when penciling him in the bottom three spots in the lineup 70 times last season.

Matt Kemp

#27 / Center Field / Los Angeles Dodgers

Height: 6-2

Weight: 230

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Sep 23, 1984

2010 in Preview

Kemp will be in center field nearly every day next season, probably higher than seventh in the lineup. He just missed being arbitration eligible via being a Super Two, so he will be quite the bargain again in 2010.

San Diego

2009 in Review

As outlined above, a tag team of Scott Hairston in the first half and Tony Gwynn Jr in the second half made the Padres quite formidable. Will Venable also raked the ball to the tune of a .468 wOBA over 53 CF PA.

Tony Gwynn

#18 / Center Field / San Diego Padres

Height: 5-11

Weight: 195

Bats: L

Throws: R

Born: Oct 04, 1982

2010 in Preview

In my opinion, the Padres made a trade for Gwynn that put them in a difficult spot, a la Dan Hawkins. How do you get rid of the son of a Hall of Fame franchise hero if he doesn't cut it? Luckily for San Diego, Gwynn did cut it last season, and the Friars should be confident putting him in center full time in 2010. The 27-year old barely has a year of MLB service time, so he is still under complete team control for cheap.

San Francisco

2009 in Review

Aaron Rowand was an All-Star and received MVP votes in 2007 with Philadelphia. Brian Sabean promptly overpaid to bring Rowand in. He has been overwhelmingly average in his tenure by the bay - in fact, Fangraphs crowned him the third most average hitter in 2009.

Aaron Rowand

#33 / Center Field / San Francisco Giants

Height: 6-0

Weight: 220

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Aug 29, 1977

2010 in Preview

With three years and $36million remaining on that bad contract, Rowand is sufficiently entrenched in center field in the near future. He had a complete no-trade clause last season, but has a "limited no-trade clause" each of the three years. I'm fine if he stays in San Francisco until 2012.

San Diego Padres Predictions from the Bill James Handbook 2010

Dex — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 05:41:12 -0000

More photos » by Denis Poroy - AP

"I was looking at the Mayan calendar, and 2010 is our year. 2012, not so much." (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

Browse more photos »

I've got a sneak peak at the new Bill James Handbook 2010 and I want to go through and check out what we can look forward to next season. Bill James has been putting these handbooks together forevs and I always look at them with an eye towards who might do what, but also an eye towards pretending that I have an even better predictive model using the guts of a chicken splayed out over a burning Ouija board.

Let's check it...

	Age	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	R	RBI	RC	RC27	BB	SO	SB	CS	SB%	Avg	OBP	Slg	OPS
Alfonzo,Eliezer	31	64	189	49	10	0	7	19	25	23	4.27	6	48	1	0	1	0.259	0.286	0.423	0.709
Blanco,Henry	38	82	228	51	11	0	6	22	23	23	3.38	20	52	0	0	0	0.224	0.286	0.351	0.637
Blanks,Kyle	23	142	524	145	23	3	25	79	93	89	6.07	66	140	3	2	0.6	0.277	0.362	0.475	0.837
Cabrera,Everth	23	145	545	146	29	11	3	90	44	74	4.68	67	117	37	12	0.76	0.268	0.353	0.378	0.731
Eckstein,David	35	128	444	120	21	1	3	57	35	49	3.91	34	40	4	2	0.67	0.27	0.337	0.342	0.68
Giles,Brian	39	92	292	77	17	1	7	40	36	43	5.18	47	36	2	1	0.67	0.264	0.371	0.401	0.772
Gonzalez,Adrian	28	161	614	171	37	2	35	97	106	117	6.87	87	127	1	0	1	0.279	0.372	0.516	0.888
Gonzalez,Edgar	32	63	112	30	6	0	3	13	13	15	4.7	11	22	1	1	0.5	0.268	0.344	0.402	0.746
Gwynn,Tony	27	88	212	56	8	2	1	29	14	24	3.9	22	32	10	4	0.71	0.264	0.336	0.335	0.671
Headley,Chase	26	149	528	150	36	3	17	72	72	87	5.94	63	129	8	3	0.73	0.284	0.365	0.455	0.819
Hundley,Nick	26	84	264	60	14	1	10	30	38	31	3.93	25	64	3	1	0.75	0.227	0.297	0.402	0.698
Kouzmanoff,Kevin	28	144	512	141	32	2	20	59	84	74	5.17	29	95	1	1	0.5	0.275	0.327	0.463	0.79
Rodriguez,Luis	30	95	244	62	13	1	2	27	20	27	3.84	28	21	1	1	0.5	0.254	0.331	0.34	0.671
Salazar,Oscar	32	88	246	72	16	1	9	31	40	40	5.94	18	33	1	1	0.5	0.293	0.341	0.476	0.817
Venable,Will	27	120	395	99	18	2	13	53	48	50	4.36	34	95	7	2	0.78	0.251	0.313	0.405	0.718

OK. So what does all of this mean? I'll tell you. It means we're effed.

I mean, maybe we aren't effed-effed, but still. Didn't this team feel faster in August and September? Didn't it feel more powerful? Was that just an illusion?

If this is the projection for our hitters, what does our starting lineup looking like at this point?

Is that really it? Doesn't it look weird to look at?

Bright Spots:

Everth Cabrera and Kyle Blanks both are predicted to up their production and both are young dudes. Everth is especially exciting for his speed and Kyle is exciting for the power. It's like Mantle and Maris! Blanks will probably end up protecting Adrian before the year is out, but probably not to start the season.
Adrian Gonzalez, while not predicted to put 40 over the fence next year, is still slated for another 100+ RBI season with close to 100 runs. Also, the doubles total bodes well for producing runs, but not so well for the needy children, dependent on these sadistic charities who will only donate money when Adrian puts a home run charge in the ball.

Mehs:

Kevin Kouzmanoff's numbers look kinda nice and I'm sure he'll total pretty close, but (sorry Kouz fans) I'm also thinking that a lot of the numbers will be put up in garbagy, unclutchy ways.
Wouldn't it be nice to have a catcher?
Something about Tony Gwynn's line looks really depressing.
Brian Giles is still on the team? How is he predicted to have so many ABs? Am I reading this right?

Tomorrow, let's look at pitchers. That should be scary fun.

In the meantime, the handbook is available for preorder. It would be rad of you to purchase the book through us. Maybe let's take some time right now to make really super bold predictions and then rub them in Bill James's face when ours turn out terrific.

Rockies 3, Padres 6: Will Venable pounces on Jason Marquis, leads Padres to victory

Russ Oates — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 04:36:16 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

Sometimes you give up a run and then go right back out to pitch. And sometimes, as Jason Marquis saw tonight, that same guy who drove in the first run drives in three more a little later.

Browse more photos »

If there's anything to learn from tonight, it's that discussing history is more fun than following a game the Rockies wind up losing.

So, Jim Tracy used seven pitchers in the game. Jason Marquis started and allowed six runs in 4 2/3 innings. Six more pitchers entered the game after that and allowed a total of one hit. Bud Black had Tim Stauffer go 4 2/3 innings, who allowed two runs. He also didn't allow any hits until the fifth inning. You know, Tim Stauffer. Both starters walked five batters.

Oh, and I dislike Will Venable after his solo home run, three-run double night to put the Rockies to rest.

It's a loss. Play ball tomorrow.

86 - 66

Games Back: 5

Streak: Lost 1

Games Left: 10

via www.fangraphs.com

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Rox host hot Friars to kick off final homestand

Poseidon's Fist — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:02:04 -0000

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

For the last month, San Diego has been as hot as a team can be without having even one 5-game win streak.

Browse more photos »

As I mentioned ad nauseum in the NL West Report yesterday, the Padres have managed to go four consecutive weeks without suffering a losing week. Look at the roster and the schedule, and you had better respect that. In fact, San Diego has won 10 of their past 13 series (and 12 of 16), with two of the losses coming against the mighty Cardinals. Four of the wins came against playoff contenders on the road.

Their pitching has stabilized dramatically, but also, as with many young teams, some of the youth in the lineup has started to figure things out at the plate. Chase Headley, Everth Cabrera, and Will Venable have all been steadily improving. You could point to their 30-45 record on the road as a big weakness, but I wouldn't let you without understanding that they are 17-14 on the road since the ASB, including being winners of 11 of 16 away from PetCo.

Then consider Kevin Kouzmanoff could finally return this series, meaning Bud Black doesn't have to use guys like Edgar Gonzalez in the outfield. Is there reason to be optimistic? Well, duh. The Rockies are much better team, they dominate at home (especially lately), and Colorado has the starting pitching edge in each game. Plus, San Diego was busy playing an extra inning game in the eastern time zone while the Rockies sat comfortably through an off day in Denver following a day game. Rest is on our side. I just wanted to worry you a little. We really ought to win this series, San Diego's recent history be damned.

In light of Rox Girl's article this afternoon, I'll leave out the Scoreboard Watch that debuted last week, but I will remember to include the link to Gaslamp Ball.

San Diego Padres (69-82, W3, 4th, 21.5 GB)

Friday-Sunday: 3-game series at Coors Field

The Bats: D+

As I mentioned last time, the Padres do not appear to be a good offensive club statistically. They are at or near the MLB cellar in batting average, runs, stolen bases and wOBA. But even the Yankees and Phillies would look terrible playing in PetCo Park. The team just scored 11 runs yesterday on the road - a game in which youngster Chase Headley had five hits - and their 94 team OPS+ almost makes them an average NL offense.

The return of the Kouz could help. He has been out since September 8th with a calf strain but took batting practice and was given an "outside shot" to return to the lineup yesterday. He did not, but I infer that means he should be back this series. The return of the third baseman would allow Chase Headley to slide back to left. Here's the lineup:

LINEUP	Avg	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG	wOBA	OPS+
Everth Cabrera - SS	.267	2	30	.352	.377	.330	102
David Eckstein - 2B	.264	1	45	.321	.338	.295	83
Adrian Gonzalez - 1B	.273	39	92	.398	.557	.398	161
Kevin Kouzmanoff - 3B	.257	17	84	.304	.421	.313	99
Chase Headley - LF	.266	12	61	.342	.408	.333	107
Will Venable - RF	.270	11	33	.337	.463	.349	119
Nick Hundley - C	.233	7	27	.309	.401	.309	95
Tony Gwynn Jr - CF	.266	1	17	.344	.333	.302	89

That's not an intimidating lineup, but they aren't really pushovers either. Judging from the multitude of stats, A-Gone is a bona fide All-Star while Will Venable is a very strong MLB starter. Headley and Cabrera are competently average if not slightly stronger, and Nick Hundley is young an improving to the average area. Gwynn and Eckstein are below average, but they aren't dragging the offense down as much as most lineups we have seen recently.

Drew Macias (.174, 1, 6) and Luis Durango (4-for-6) are the backup OF, though Oscar Salazar (.310, 3, 8) and Edgar Gonzalez (.205, 4, 13) are IFs that have also recieved starts in the outfield. Luis Rodriguez (.211, 2, 16) joins Salazar and Gonzalez as IF relief options while Eliezer Alfonzo (.180, 2, 8) and Henry Blanco (.236, 5, 13) fill the roles as the typical September backup catcher duo.

Hop after the jump for the scouting report on the arms, the D, the pitching matchups, the hot/cold players and injuries.

The Arms: D+

I feel like I'm having serious de ja vu. First, we face Lincecum/Zito/Cain in order in a series twice in two weeks. Now we're facing Mujica/Stauffer/Richard in order. Again. The last time it happened, the Rockies eeked out one additional win the second go-round. If they do it again, that means a series win.

The above phenomenon points to something San Diego hasn't had much this season - stability, and that's always a plus. They still have a staff tRA north of five, but as we saw last time, they can still be a threat. Mujica, Stauffer and Richard held the Rockies to just 4 runs on 8 hits over 15 IP. Past that, the bullpen is improving its stability and talent as well. They just got setup man Mike Adams back, finally. Of the 13 pitchers in the bullpen, only 3 have ERA+'s south of 100. Take of that what you will.

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Heath Bell	6-4	64	0	0	0	39	5	65.2	49	21	21	3	22	72	2.88	1.08

Wade LeBlanc (95 ERA+), Joe Thatcher (155), Cesar Ramos (3.0 IP, 0 ER) and Aaron Poreda (0.2 IP, 0 ER) are Bud Black's left-handed options, a rich goodie bag that will help against a left-handed dominant Rockies team. The right side of the pen is inhabited by Mike Adams (434 ERA+), Luke Gregerson (127), Adam Russell (100), Greg Burke (86), Ryan Webb (100), Luis Perdomo (81), Ernesto Frieri (has not appeared), and Sean Gallagher (5.0 IP, 0 ER).

The D: C-

San Diego's 87 errors places them right in the middle of the NL, but they have the second-worst UZR only to the Mets. Fangraphs' UZR based rating system places them just shy of average. Should Kouzmanoff return, he'll provide a boost defensively on the infield, but Headley isn't an asset at Coors in LF.

Probable Pitchers:

Tonight, 6:40 pm MDT

W-L G GS CG SHO SV BS IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP

2009 - Edward Mujica 3-4 65 2 0 0 2 1 85.2 85 37 32 12 16 68 3.36 1.18

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Edward Mujica	3-4	65	2	0	0	2	1	85.2	85	37	32	12	16	68	3.36	1.18

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Jorge De La Rosa	15-9	30	29	0	0	0	0	174.2	162	86	81	20	77	179	4.17	1.37

W-L G GS CG SHO SV BS IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP

2009 - Jorge De La Rosa 15-9 30 29 0 0 0 0 174.2 162 86 81 20 77 179 4.17 1.37

Mujica will be making his third career start, his first coming the last series the teams met. He has yet to pitch into the fifth inning, but that's mostly because he hasn't been stretched out after 63 big league relief appearances this year. He went over 70 pitches his last time for the first time in his career, allowing 2 ER in 4.2 IP against Arizona, a solid start after his scoreless debut vs Colorado. This will be a rematch of the first game of the last series, the game Colorado scored four times off Heath Bell in the ninth. De la Rosa dominated that start, allowing one run in seven innings, part of a September that has just been on fire for him. He has allowed just three runs total in his four September starts (3-0, 1.04 ERA). That has dropped his ERA 55 points to a season low 4.17, giving him a shot to fall below 4.00. Inconceivable! Favors: ROCKIES very strongly

Wednesday, September 23, 6:40 MDT

W-L G GS CG SHO SV BS IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP

2009 - Tim Stauffer 4-7 13 13 0 0 0 0 68.1 68 29 27 8 29 50 3.56 1.42

W-L G GS CG SHO SV BS IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP

2009 - Jason Marquis 15-11 35 30 2 1 0 0 201.1 199 92 86 14 69 105 3.84 1.33

Stauffer is quietly studly. He was off in his last start in Pittsburgh more than any start this year, allowing 3 runs in 3 IP. But in 13 starts this season, he has held his opponent to 3 ER or less, including his last four starts. He has been Mr. Consistency all season, with his only "blowups" being two consecutive 4 ER outings vs the Cards. The labrum surgery survivor was the 4th overall pick in 2003's draft. Marquis has gone from annoying me to outright pissing me off. The Rockies have lost 4 of his last 5 starts. His "best" start of those four came last time out, when he allowed 4 ER on 6 hits and 5 walks in 6 innings. His ERA hasn't been this high since June, when he finished that complete game shutout in Los Angeles. Favors: ROCKIES slightly

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Tim Stauffer	4-7	13	13	0	0	0	0	68.1	68	29	27	8	29	50	3.56	1.42

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Jason Marquis	15-11	35	30	2	1	0	0	201.1	199	92	86	14	69	105	3.84	1.33

Thursday, September 24, 6:40 MDT

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Clayton Richard	4-2	10	10	0	0	0	0	51.0	52	28	27	6	29	44	4.76	1.59

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Jason Hammel	9-8	31	28	1	0	0	0	163.1	188	88	79	14	41	117	4.35	1.40

Clayton Richard took a nice stride by allowing just one unearned run in his last start, on the road, but that was vs Pittsburgh. Before that he was 1-2 with a 10.69 ERA away from Petco Park with San Diego, averaging just 4.0 IP per start. How does that sit with you? Okay, so it's just four games, and he was a better road pitcher with Chicago...All things considered for the season, he has been...average. At the time of this writing, Jason Hammel is the scheduled starter for this game, though Jim Tracy has hinted he may go with some combination of Jose Contreras and Aaron Cook. Assuming it's Hammel, it would probably surprise you to know the Rockies are 10-3 in Jason Hammel's starts at Coors Field this year, but it's true. In fact, Colorado is 9-1 in his last ten at home. Sure, his ERA is north of 5 at Coors, but look at that record! Earlier on, he battling the hit-bug, but in his last eight starts, he has a WHIP of 1.14. Favors: ROCKIES moderately.

Adrian Gonzalez has five home runs this month, including one yesterday. Chase Headley, Nick Hundley, Oscar Salazar and Will Venable each have two, with the H-men hovering around .300 for the month of September. Everth Cabrera is working a modest six game hit streak. Luke Gregorson, Aaron Poreda, Joe Thatcher, Mike Adams, Sean Gallagher, Ryan Webb and Cesar Ramos have combined to allow just 3 ER over their combined 41 September appearances.

Heath Bell blew another save last night in Pittsburgh, giving him three blown saves in his last five chances. He seems to be the only reliever getting hit around these days. In fact, he is. Only he (6.00) and Adam Russell (4.05) have a Sept ERA higher than 4. Luis Rodriguez is hitless in 14 straight AB's.

Outfielders Brian Giles and Kyle Blanks are on the 15-day DL, though neither will return this season. 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff is questionable for tonight's game with a calf injury. RHP's Cha Seung Baek (forearm), Chris Young (shoulder), Shawn Hill (elbow) and Mark Worrell (elbow) are on the 60-day DL along with Cliff Floyd (shoulder).

Poll

Ryan Webb has apparently unleashed Tinkerbell's pixie dust on his teammates. Can pixie dust survive at altitude?

Of course it can you idiot...pixie dust is for flying. The Padres will sweep.

6 votes

Enough. I don't see why we're any better off than the teams the Padres have steamrolled lately. They'll take two games

10 votes

Yorvit's magic touch is stronger. Or maybe it's just our starting pitching. Rox win the series.

65 votes

You kidding? This team smells blood. There will be no mercy this time. Rox sweep

54 votes

135 votes | Poll has closed

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

GM Towers: "We're going to be okay next year."

jbox — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 22:56:18 -0000

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

Towers on the Padres getting out of last place: "I'd be lying if I didn't say we had our eye on the Diamondbacks." The Padres are trying to feel good about themselves going into the off season.
The Pads have played .500 or better if you take out June and July. Towers personal goal was to win at least 70. It looks like the Pads might win 73. "We want to get back to winning divisions again." The Padres have made a statement within the NL.
The players want to win as many games as they can. "I assure you that clubhouse is about as good a clubhouse that I've been in, in a long time." Different guys are contributing each game. The Padres are finding out they are really liking a lot of their players. The starting pitching is the biggest weakness going forward. "We're going to be okay next year."
Towers thinks he has a grasp on his every day line up. He likes the infield the way it is. Kouz has established himself at third and had his best year from an RBI stand point. Everth Cabrera hasn't missed an inning since he's been off the DL. Eckstein does the little things right. Adrian Gonzalez is having a career year. Nick Hundley is getting better with the bat since the injury. Will Venable has been the big bright spot this season. Kyle Blanks was hitting well before the injury. Tony Gwynn has been nice.
The Pads maybe need one more bat to improve the bench. They are 2 or 3 pieces away to make it real interesting in 2010.
Venable is starting to establish power. He has struggles vs. lefties. He plays good center and right. "The more he plays the better he's going to get." Towers thinks there is untapped potential for Venable. "He might be one of those Steve Finley types."
Kouzmanoff is day to day. He'll be out at least a week. It will give Chase Headley time at third base and Oscar Salazar playing time.
Towers absolutely thinks that if they judge Kevin Kouzmanoff strictly on defense than he deserves the Gold Glove. The problem is that they tie offense to the award too. "He's probably played as good of third base... since Ken Caminiti." He's the best Towers has ever had that can handle the slow roller. Cami didn't have great range.
Towers wouldn't be surprised if the Rockies catch the Dodgers and win the NL West leaving the wild card to L.A.
Towers thinks the playoffs in the NL will consist of the Cardinals, Phillies, Rockies and Dodgers.

Wolf Wins #100

Brendan Scolari — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 09:54:49 -0000

by Francis Specker - AP

3 months ago: Los Angeles Dodgers' Andre Ethier (16), is greeted by manager Joe Torre in the dugout after hitting a home run off Padres pitcher Edward Mujica in the fourth inning of a baseball game in Los Angeles, on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009.(AP Photo/Francis Specker)

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The Dodgers beat the Padres 7-4 Saturday night, giving Randy Wolf his 100th career victory. The last palyer to win his 100th game in a Dodger uniform was Derek Lowe in the last few days of the 2006 season. Wolf pitched very well, allowing only 2 runs in 7 innings with 5 strikeouts and 0 walks. Wolf improved his record on the season to 10-6 and lowered his ERA to 3.22 (his FIP is 3.86). Wolf has certainly pitched well this year, probably better than anybody expected. In fact, David Ely of MLB.com writes in his recap that "cool-handed Randy Wolf" should be the Dodgers #1 starter in the playoffs. I think that player should be Chad Billingsley but Wolf is certainly making his case.

Anyway, back to the game. The Padres got one of their two runs off of Wolf in the first inning on a pair of singles. However the Dodgers answered right back in the bottom half of the inning with a pair of runs on a Rafael Furcal single, Juan Pierre walk, a couple of groundouts, and then an RBI single by James Loney.

The Dodgers added another pair of runs in the 2nd inning. Russell Martin and Furcal both walked and eventually scored on a single by Juan Pierre that Padres shortstop Everth Cabrera threw away. Both Martin and Pierre advanced a base in the inning on two balks by struggling starter Mat Latos. The two balks were the most in one game against the Dodgers since former Giants pitcher William VanLandingham had two balks on June 25, 1995. This was the 11th such occurence in LA Dodger history.

The Padres scored their only other run off of Wolf in the 3rd inning when Adrian Gonzalez singled home Everth Cabrera, who had hit a ground-rule double earlier in the inning. The Dodgers loaded the bases in the bottom half of the inning and while Latos was able to get out of the jam he was removed after that.

The Dodgers added two more runs in the 4th inning against reliever Edward Mujica. Andre Ethier hit a solo home run to center field and Matt Kemp scored on a James Loney single.The Dodgers added their seventh run of the game in the sixth inning when Furcal doubled to lead off the inning and Ethier doubled to plate Furcal.

The score stayed 7-2 until the ninth inning. James McDonald came into the game but allowed three straight singles without recording an out so Joe Torre decided to call on Jonathan Broxton to close the door on the Padres. Broxton allowed a single which plated two runs but then recorded his 32nd save by striking out Tony Gwynn Jr. and Will Venable and getting Everth Cabrera to ground out to short.

Broxton has now gone 12 straight appearances without allowing an earned run. For anyone who wants to question Broxton as the Dodgers closer, his 2.14 FIP is the lowest of any reliever in baseball and his 2.3 WAR is the highest of any reliever in baseball. In other words, he is awesome.

Here's the win probability chart for the game. It was all Dodgers:

via www.fangraphs.com

The win ties the Dodgers with the Cardinals for the best record in the National League at 81-56. The Phillies are two games behind at 77-56. Tomorrow the Dodgers will be on national television when they play the rubber match of this three game set against the Padres. Hiroki Kuroda (5-5, 4.08) will be going against righty Tim Stauffer (3-6, 3.76) at 5:10 PM.

WP - Randy Wolf (10-6): 7 IP, 4 hits, 2 runs, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts

LP - Mat Latos (4-5): 3 IP, 3 hits, 4 runs (2 earned), 5 walks, 4 strikeouts

SV - Jonathan Broxton (32): 1 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 2 strikeouts

Washington Nationals Drop 5th-Straight, 4-1 To San Diego Padres. Clayton Richard = Balker.

Ed Chigliak — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 07:57:33 -0000

by Lenny Ignelzi - AP

3 months ago: Washington Nationals' Josh Willingham makes the running catch in the left field corner on a ball hit by San Diego Padres Will Venable that saved a run and ended the the fifth inning in a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2009 in San Diego. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)

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Nationals Drop 5th-Straight, 4-1 to Padres.

Who here thinks Clayton Richard's pickoff move is a balk? MASN announcer Rob Dibble got out his MLB Rule Book last night to argue his point, and I'm pretty sure Elijah Dukes thinks it was a balk that resulted in his getting picked off first late in Tuesday's loss, but while you're asking Dukes about that, ask him where he was going when the Padres' starter picked him off first following a one-out walk in the seventh with the Nationals trailing 2-0 to San Diego. As luck would have it, one pitch after Dukes was caught leaning, Josh Bard ripped into a hanging slider and launched his 4th HR of '09 to left field for a solo shot that should have tied it. Instead, it's a 2-1 Padres' lead. DC starter J.D. Martin, who'd allowed just 2 runs, 1 earned through six, comes back out for the seventh after the Bard blast and throws a first-pitch slider to pinch hitter Oscar Salazar that goes out to left and just over the scoreboard Salazar collided with last night while robbing Willie Harris of extra bases. Salazar's HR makes it 3-1 Padres, and San Diego adds another run in the eighth when Washington right-hander Tyler Clippard gives up two two-out walks and an RBI single to Drew Macias to make it 4-1 Padres after eight and nine.

The Nationals lose their fifth straight, seventh of their last eight, and they're now 3-12 in their last 15...

Padres win, 4-1 final.

Miss The Game? The DC Faithful Were Watching?

Check Out The SB Nation's San Diego Padres Blog: Gaslamp Ball GameThread. (No one's watching the Padres either).

BACKPAGE:

• J.D. Martin Gets The DC Starter Treatment.

• E: 118.

• Hammer, Dunn, Horrible.

For The Completists, Full Game Report After The JUMP...

Nationals now 46-87. (Countdown To 100 Losses Stands At...13)

BACKPAGE:

• J.D. Martin Gets The DC Starter Treatment.

J.D Martin throws 104 pitches, 63 strikes to 27 batters, who ground out 7 times, fly out 6 times, strike out 5 times and collect 5 hits, 3 walks and 2 ER off Martin over 6.0 innings on the mound...Padres' lefty Clayton Richard, (W, 8-4), one of four pitchers San Diego got back in the Jake Peavy trade, tosses 96 pitches, 63 for strikes, and holds the Nationals off the board until Josh Bard's 7th-inning HR. That's the only run Richard allows, as he completes 6.2 IP, and surrenders just 4 hits through sixth, and, as mentioned, one in the seventh.

• E: 118.

The Padres scored a run in the second when Kevin Kouzmanoff and Will Venable connected on back-to-back hits off the Nationals' starter. Martin held San Diego to one run through the fourth, but the bottom of the fifth started with Everth Cabrera dropping a bunt in front of the mound. J.D. Martin got to the ball but bobbled it and couldn't even get off a throw to first. That's Martin's 3rd error of '09 and the Nationals' league-leading 118th. OUTCOME: Everth Cabrera scores two batters later on a sac fly by Kouzmanoff. E = Winning run.

• Hammer, Dunn, Horrible.

Let's just say, Adam Dunn, 0 for 3 with a walk and a K. Josh Willingham? 0 for 4, with 4, count'em, 4 K's. Justin Maxwell's 0 for 3 with a walk in his return to the major league lineup. Ryan Zimmerman (1 for 4) has 1 of the Nationals' 4 hits, Elijah Dukes (1 for 3, 1 BB), Alberto Gonzalez, (1 for 4), and, of course, Josh Bard (1 for 3, 1 HR) have the others. The Nationals have just 3 runs combined in their last 3 games, 2-1, 3-1 and 4-1 losses...Who's going to finally get the offense started again?

GAME REPORT:

Washington Nationals At San Diego Padres Game 133 Of 162.

Justin Maxwell leads off with a fly ball to San Diego right fielder Will Venable for the first out of the game. Alberto Gonzalez lines one off the pitcher’s backside and right to the second baseman David Eckstein. DC Hitting Coach Rick Eckstein’s brother catches the third out off Ryan Zimmerman’s bat and Clayton Richard has one scoreless...Everth Cabrera grounds out to Pete Orr at second. J.D. Martin throws a high two-strike fastball by David Eckstein. Adrian Gonzalez grounds out to second.

Adam Dunn grounds into the dramatic shift. Clayton Richard throws a fastball by Josh Willingham for a swinging K. Elijah Dukes grounds to short, slow over the grass, and Everth Cabrera rushes and throws it over first. Dukes takes second. Josh Bard ends the second with a groundout to short...Kevin Kouzmanoff bounces a long fly off the center field wall, and has to step on it to make it to second ahead of Maxwell’s throw. Will Venable lines a single to right to score Kouzmanoff, and Venable takes second on Elijah Dukes’ errant throw. 1-0 San Diego. Chase Hundley grounds out to move Venable to third. Nick Hundley goes down swinging at a full count slider. J.D. Martin walks Tony Gwynn, Jr. and gets a weak grounder from the opposing pitcher to end the second.

Clayton Richard breaks Pete Orr’s bat in half and gets a weak grounder to the mound. J.D. Martin K’s swinging. Justin Maxwell grounds sharply to second to end a quick third...Everth Cabrera gets a two-strike curve for a swinging strike three. David Eckstein grounds out to Adam Dunn. Two-out walk to Adrian Gonzalez, to bring up Kouzmanoff. Kouzmanoff flies to right on a full-count fastball, 1-0 Padres after three.

Alberto Gonzalez lines to short, Everth Cabrera drops it, but picks up and throws to first in time. Ryan Zimmerman doubles to right center and off the wall. Adam Dunn takes a one-out walk. Josh Willingham lifts his arms like he’s Kearns as he takes strike three on a fastball inside. Elijah Dukes grounds into a force at second...Will Venable gets the big bender from J.D. Martin for strike three swinging. Chase Hundley K’s swinging through a high fastball. Ryan Zimmerman makes a diving play to his backhand, but Hundley’s safe at first when Zim can’t come up with it for the throw to first.. Martin walks Tony Gwynn, Jr. with two down. Martin gets the pitcher again.

Josh Bard and Pete Orr strike out swinging and Clayton Richard gets a groundout from J.D. Martin to end his fifth scoreless...J.D. Martin fumbles the bunt from Everth Cabrera and the Padres have a leadoff runner on. Eckstein bunts his way on too, after J.D. Martin blows another. Adam Dunn makes a diving play on a grounder from Adrian Gonzalez. Kevin Kouzmanoff flies out to right to score Cabrera from third. 2-0 Padres. Willingham breaks for the corner and catches the third out off Will Venable’s bat.

Justin Maxwell flies out to center to start the sixth. Alberto Gonzalez lines to left field for a one-out single. Will Venable makes a diving catch to rob Ryan Zimmerman and he almost doubles up Alberto Gonzalez off first. Adam Dunn grounds weakly to second to end the top of the sixth...J.D. Martin vs Chase Headley. Justin Maxwell hustles to get in under a fly ball to center, one down. Nick Hundley flies out to center, and Tony Gwynn, Jr. just a little more to the right, Maxwell gets to them all.

Clayton Richard busts Josh Willingham inside with a two-strike curve. Elijah Dukes uses his Discernning Eye to draw a one-out walk. Josh Bard’s up, and Dukes gets picked on a balk. Seriously, it was a balk. Josh Bard destroys a low fastball, deeeep to left and GONE!! Solo HR, 2-1 Padres. Willie Harris gets a pinch hit appearance against Adam Russell. Harris lines out to right to end the top of the seventh...Oscar Salazar hits a solo shot to left and over the scoreboard wall. 3-1 Padres. Sean Burnett comes on for J.D. Martin. Everth Cabrera K’s swinging. David Eckstein tests Burnett’s glove with a liner to the mound. Burnett walks Adrian Gonzalez. Jason Bergmann comes on to face Kouzmanoff, who lines out to end the seventh.

Cristian Guzman hits against Luke Gregorson in the eighth. Guzman grounds out. Justin Maxwell walks and takes second on a groundout by Alberto Gonzalez. Ryan Zimmerman shoots a line drive to center and Tony Gwynn, Jr. robs him with a sliding catch to end DC’s eighth...Tyler Clippard vs Will Venable. Venable K’s when he can’t hold up. Chase Headley chases strike three out of the zone. Nick Hundley takes a two-out walk. Tony Gwynn, Jr. walks and Drew Macias doubles in a run 4-1 Padres. Everth Cabrera flies out to end the eighth.

Heath Bell vs Dunn, Hammer and Dukes in the ninth. Adam Dunn K’s swinging through a fastball outside. Heath Bell drops a full-count curve on Josh Wiilingham to get a backwards K. Elijah Dukes grounds out to third, Kouzmanoff’s throw ends it....

Nationals now 46-87.

Padres lose to Cardinals 5-2, Albert Pujols gets super mad

Dex — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 00:16:13 -0000

More photos » by Denis Poroy - AP

Albert Pujols picks a fight with Will Venable, knowing that there is a really big Mexican dude with a goatee lurking in the shadows, got his back case things go wrong. Sissy. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

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I think someone forgot to tell the Padres hitters that John Smoltz is real old. Taking nothing away from the guy, but he's old. Then again, it's the Padres and they're young and prone to being super impressed by old people.

I'm going to guess that if we had Kyle Blanks aka 8-Train out there today, we would've won the game, but that might be a bad guess.

There was a bit of a kerfuffle today where Albert Pujols, apparently mad that he hadn't physically assaulted any of our players lately, decided to try to fight Will Venable. Bud Black responded by breaking Kyle Blanks' foot. That's a humorous reference to when Bud Black took Milton Bradley out when Bradley got all fired up that one time. Chortle.

Did anything else happen? Probably not.

[UPDATE] Here's the video of Pujols getting all mad at Will Venable for having the audacity to kinda slide his shoulder to the side while running.

BREAKING: San Diego Padres to implement the Wildcat Formation

Dex — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 20:00:13 -0000

More photos » by Lenny Ignelzi - AP

San Diego Padres manager Bud Black directs his players as they implement baseball's first Wildcat formation. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)

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Gaslamp Ball has just received word from official sources that the Padres have decided to start practicing the Wildcat formation in an effort to turn things around for the team.

"The key to the Wildcat is surprise," said manager Bud Black. "We play the game how we normally play it, but you throw the Wildcat in there and it's anybody's guess as to what happens next."

GM Kevin Towers feels the Padres have been building towards the right mix of personnel to effectively implement the first Wildcat formation in Major League Baseball.

"I watch me a lot of football," Kevin Towers said Thursday. "And the thing that I see is that you need a few things to really pull off a Wildcat formation successfully."

First on the list is improving overall team speed, which Towers feels he is close to achieving with the play of Tony Gwynn, Will Venable, David Eckstein and Everth Cabrera.

"Those guys be fast," Towers noted.

Second on the list is having really big dudes who can run.

"A guy like Kyle [Blanks] is key to Wildcat. You need a guy who can run with the ball, throw the ball or lay down a critical block when needed."

Referencing Kyle Blanks' massiveness, Towers also noted, "You put 285 pounds of pure manimal in motion in front of a guy like Venable - who just happens to be lined up at QB - you do something like that? Something like that with Adrian lined up at tight end?"

Not completing the thought, Towers whistled appreciatively before wiping beads of sweat from his brow.

Tom Garfinkel was coy about the marketing implications of a major league baseball team running the infamous Wildcat formation.

"Let's just say that it's gonna be the next best thing since sliced bread," said Garfinkel. "The actual best thing since sliced bread being sliced bread with various breakfast items on top."