SB Nation - Kevin Correia

Season Ticket Holder Night at Petco Park

jbox — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 05:44:48 -0000

Jon and I snuck into the Season Ticket Holder event tonight at Petco. There was a huge line at the entrance, probably 300 people or more, all wearing Padres gear. The reason for the line was that every Padre that lives in San Diego in the off season was out front shaking hands and talking to all the Season Ticket Holders. Bud Black, Heath Bell, Tony Gwynn Jr., Adrian Gonzalez, Kevin Kouzmanoff, David Eckstein, Everth Cabrera and Kevin Correia.

As we approached the entrance I saw President and COO Tom Garfinkel, so I gave him a wave and in return he gave me a hearty handshake. We wished each other a Happy Holiday season and moved on through the line.

I gave Everth Cabrera a good handshake and told him I was a big fan, he thanked me. Then I saw Brett and Josh from Padres Media Relations and we exchanged pleasantries. Last we spoke of them Dex was calling Josh a "bastard" in jest because he's a Red Sox fan, I'm glad they didn't take it out on me.

Next on the left was Kevin Kouzmanoff. I'll tell you something I'm not the biggest fan of his, but he was super friendly and seemed really sincere when he thanked us for coming out and he was glad to meet us. He's got to be the most popular player on the team right now, he was cheered every time his named was mentioned tonight. People were walking around with "Keep Kouz" signs, he's a phenomenon.

Padres Employees and Players applaud the Season Ticket Holders

As we entered the gates, it was really surreal. There was just about everybody from the Front Office lining the sides of our path applauding us and thanking us for being Season Ticket Holders. I mean these employees were looking us right in the eye and saying it sincerely. I'll tell you something I was really moved. They had been doing it for about an hour and they still seemed just as genuine and thankful as if we were the first people through the gate. I felt kind of ashamed for walking through and not being a Season Ticket Holder, but I was glad that I could see it.

At that point Dex called and I'm like "I'm shaking hands with David Eckstein right now, hold on" and then he tells me that he probably won't be able to get out of work to make it down to Petco. I'm like "Sorry, I missed that last part because I was shaking hands with Adrian Gonzalez." I swear to you he has the softest hands I've ever felt. It was like spanking a new born baby's butt with cotton candy. It was that soft.

As soon as we walked in, there were people from concessions offering us free food and drinks. All the Padres gear was 40% too. We shopped for some Padres caps then grabbed some free pizza, drinks and pulled pork sandwiches.

Moorad wants to bring an All Star Game to San Diego

Once we found our seats Mark Neely came out to emcee the event. He first introduced Chairman and Owner Jeff Moorad. Moorad said a few words and I was kicking myself for not having a camera, a phone or anything to take notes with. Seriously I'm the worst blogger. He did say that his second biggest goal was to bring an All Star Game to San Diego, following only a World Series title in importance.

Moorad also mentioned that he understands how connected fans get to their favorite player, his favorite is Everth Cabrera. I wonder if that gets awkward at all. I imagine it something like Michael Scott's crush on the temp, Ryan, in The Office.

Throwback Thursday, Batting Practice Viewing and Lower Beer Prices

Next up was Tom Garfinkel, who told a joke about Hoyer wearing a jacket that made him look like Ron Burgundy. Nobody laughed. Garfinkel made some announcements: Every Thursday Game is now "Throwback Thursday" the Padres will be wearing Brown and Yellow and the Park will only be playing organ music! "No YMCA!" I was so excited I was clapping my little heart out. I remember when I had that idea back in 2006.

Garfinkel then announced that Dick Enberg would be the new TV voice of the Padres and that Enberg couldn't be at the Park tonight because he was being inducted into the Broadcaster's Hall of Fame. A video message of Enberg showed on the screen and he thanked the Padres fans and told them that he took this job because his first love was always baseball and he's always followed the Padres. He also gave us a preview of his home run call "Touch 'em all!" Jon wasn't impressed with the call.

Garfinkel also announced that Season Ticket Holders would be able to enter the park a half hour early to watch batting practice. That's what they call "added value" in the bizness.

Then to finish off on a strong note he announced to much applause that they would lower beer prices by a considerable amount, along with hot dogs, drinks other concessions.

Next up was Jed Hoyer. He came out and went through his standard schtick about how the weather is different between Boston and San Diego and that he can't believe he was standing outside without a jacket on. The crowd ate it up. We love hearing about how great San Diego is.

Bud Black came out next and said a few words. Neely introduced him as being a very even keeled manager, Mr. Steady. Black said a few words but I nodded off to the sound of his voice so I missed them.

Question and Answers

The first question was about people who didn't have Cox and couldn't view the Padres game. Garfinkel and Moorad said this issue was one of their biggest priorities and admitted that they are still under contract with Cox for another two years. They were negotiating to see if they can work something out for 2010. Moorad thinks it's ironic and sorta funny that John Moores can't watch Padres game from his home in Rancho Santa Fe.

There was another suggestion that there be a day where Season Ticket Holders can all donate their tickets to the Military so that they can have nice seats for a game. Ticket Holders said with applause that they'd like to do this. Garfinkel said he'd make it happen.

Another guy complained that there should be a net over the centerfield fence protecting the babies and children digging in the sand box beyond the fence. The Padres don't think it is necessary at this time because nobody has been hurt yet. Instead they will only get players that cannot hit home runs.

Moorad mentions Gaslamp Ball

Another lady asked a real general question about if they thought there should be a salary cap in baseball. Moorad
decides to field that question and starts off by asking if there is any media in attendance. He looks around and says "This is off the record to the media... and to Gaslamp Ball" At the mention of us, Jon starts cheering and clapping, he's the only one. I honestly didn't even hear his answer to the question because we were laughing and tickling each other at the very mention of the site. Can somebody tell us if he was in favor of the cap or not? I think he was not in favor, who knows.

Somebody else got up and said that it's nice to have Jed Hoyer because he's easy on the eyes and that his wife had a crush on him. He questioned Hoyer about what he was going to do to keep Gonzalez in San Diego? His question got the most cheers of the night. Hoyer blushed at being the focus of the crush and talked about what a great player Adrian is.

That's all I really remember but I didn't have a pen to take notes. The Padres then raffled off the players jerseys and let the fans walk out on the field. Jon and I frolicked on the grass.

I talked to Warren from Media Relations and was introduced to Padres VP Dan Migala who was friends with Dex back when he was in North Carolina. He claims that he and Hoyer invited us to get beers but that Dex never replied to his email. He was also proud to be the target of some ribbing on Gaslamp Ball.

On the way out we grabbed a ton of leftover souvenirs from the season that will probably fill my trunk for the rest of the year. Really fun night.

Monday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:18:55 -0000

by Jim Prisching - AP

Craig Counsell is expected to re-sign today.

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Some things to read while John Tesh rocks the NBA on NBC theme (h/t Amy K. Nelson).

Randy Wolf is expected to undergo a physical this morning and once he does, expect his contract to become official sometime later today. That might not be today's only announcement, though: the Brewers are also expected to finalize a deal with Craig Counsell today. With Counsell, Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, Alcides Escobar, Mat Gamel and Casey McGehee all on the roster, the Brewers' Opening Day infield is probably set, barring injury or trade.

Meanwhile, Mike Rivera is surprised to be looking for work after being non-tendered over the weekend. He thought the decision not to retain Jason Kendall would give him an edge as the only returning catcher familiar with the Brewer pitching staff.

As of this writing, roughly 4% of voters in the poll on your right listed the decision to offer Dave bush a 2010 contract as the one Brewer move from this weekend they would change. That's not exactly a large chunk of the fanbase, but In-Between Hops is taking on that vocal minority, making the case that the Brewers made the right move by giving Bush another shot.

If you missed Morineko's Weekend Mug, follow the link over to it for full coverage of the Brewers' arbitration decisions, and a link to this list of all the non-tenders leaguewide.

Looking back at last week, Jon Heyman ranked the Brewers among the Winter Meeting winners. Meanwhile, Marc Hulet of The Baseball Analysts listed Rule 5 selection Chuck Lofgren in the "Why Bother?" category.

The more I think about it, the more I think Lofgren will have a tough task ahead of him if he's going to make the team out of spring training. With Trevor Hoffman, LaTroy Hawkins, Todd Coffey, Claudio Vargas and Mitch Stetter back, there's only two bullpen spots left that are potentially available (barring injury), and Chris Smith, John Axford, Chris Narveson, Zach Braddock and now Lofgren fighting for them. I like Lofgren's potential and hope the Brewers will get an opportunity to realize it, but right now he might be the third or fourth best lefty in the bullpen competition.

If you have a vague interest in Brewer baseball, but wish there was less analysis and more profanity on this site, then Miller Park Drunk's RUNNING series might be just the ticket for you. Follow these links for bad Prince Fielder jokes, some fan fiction involving Ryan Braun trying to rap, and a vague musical reference to Rickie Weeks.

In the minors: Baseball Intellect has video footage of some at bats featuring Cameron Garfield, Cutter Dykstra and Josh Prince from a Pioneer League game back in July. They're pay-only, but there are worse ways to spend $2.95.

If you were gone this weekend, you didn't miss the opportunity to help select a center fielder and catcher for the BCB All Decade Team. Voting closes at 4 pm today for center fielders and 4 pm tomorrow for catchers. We'll open the voting for the final starting outfield spot later today.

Around baseball:

Blue Jays: Signed catcher John Buck to a one-year deal worth $2 million, signed Joey Gathright to a minor league deal,
Braves: Signed Matt Diaz to a one year, $2.55 million deal, avoiding arbitration.
D-Backs: Re-signed infielder Augie Ojeda to a one year deal, and avoided arbitration with Blaine Boyer.
Dodgers: Signed pitcher Josh Towers to a minor league deal.
Giants: Signed shortstop-turned-pitcher Tony Pena Jr. to a minor league deal.
Indians: Re-signed pitchers Adam Miller and Anthony Reyes to minor league deals.
Marlins: Signed catcher Ronny Paulino to a one-year deal, avoiding arbitration.
Nationals: Re-signed Scott Olsen to a one year deal. Also signed pitcher Ryan Speier to a minor league deal.
Padres: Signed pitcher Kevin Correia to a one year deal, avoiding arbitration.
Pirates: Signed Ronny Cedeno to a one year, $1.125 million deal, avoiding arbitration.
Rangers: Signed infielder Esteban German to a one year deal, avoiding arbitration.
Rays: Avoided arbitration with catcher Dioner Navarro and pitchers Grant Balfour, Rafael Soriano, Lance Cormier and Randy Choate.
Royals: Avoided arbitration with pitchers Brian Bannister and Kyle Davies. They also signed pitcher Bruce Chen and catcher Vance Wilson to minor league deals.
White Sox: Signed J.J. Putz to a one year deal.

Meanwhile, the market heated up immediately for Yankees non-tender Chien-Ming Wang, with Ken Rosenthal reporting that six teams have already expressed interest. He doesn't list the teams, but I wouldn't be surprised to discover the Brewers are one of them.

I promise, I'm not going to mention it every time someone says something new about Jason Kendall. In fact, I might try to go the rest of the week without mentioning him at all. With that said, I thought these three links about him were interesting:

Joe Posnanski has a look at the potential Opening Day lineup for the 2010 Royals, now including Kendall.
He also compares Kendall to a superball on the field at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
Reminding us all how far and how fast Kendall has fallen, Where Have You Gone, Andy Van Slyke? named Kendall the Pirate Catcher of the Decade.

Weeks ago I linked to a post from minor league veteran Garrett Broshuis, mentioning the challenges in finding quality, healthy food in minor league clubhouses. It looks like that problem may be on its way to being resolved: After discussing it at the Winter Meetings, several teams are making an effort to provide healthier options, and remove the constant flow of junk.

If you're a fan of sabermetrics, or just want to learn more about them, I've got two links for you today:

TangoTiger has a look at OPS+, and some minor adjustments that could be made to it to make it more useful than some other advanced metrics.
That post links to this one, Big League Stew's beginner's guide to wOBA. I learned a fair amount by reading that one.

Gorman Thomas celebrated a birthday over the weekend, and while this probably isn't what he had in mind for a gift, David Chalk of Seventh Inning 'Stache has inducted him into the MLB Mustache Hall of Fame.

On this day in 1998, the Brewers acquired Alex Ochoa from the Twins for a minor leaguer named Darrell Nicholas. Ochoa spent one season as a Brewer, hitting .300/.404/.466 before being traded to the Reds for Mark Sweeney after the season.

Happy birthday today to:

Former Seattle Pilot and 1970 Brewer Greg Goossen, who turns 64.
Dave Nilsson, who appeared in 837 games as a Brewer and turns 40.
Marcus Jensen, who appeared in 18 games over two tours as a Brewer and turns 37.

Sean Forman, founder of Baseball Reference, is also celebrating his birthday today. You can help him celebrate by sponsoring a page. I know someone around here will want this one.

Drink up.

Report: Tampa Bay Rays Were Interested in Dealing for Padres' Kevin Correia

R.J. Anderson — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 20:31:03 -0000

More photos » by Pat Sullivan - AP

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This comes from the North County Times:

Axelrod said Hoyer gave him no guarantees the deal isn't a sign-and-trade, but he believes that isn't the case. Sources said the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays both showed interest in trading for Correia, had the Padres not signed him.

Correia signed a one-year deal last night, worth $3.6M. He's a 29-year-old righty who had a career best season in 2009 in large part due to the Padres park. He posted a 4.2 xFIP, which eclipses his previous career best by about 0.2 runs per nine. It's unknown what role Correia would've been used in -- although throughout his career he has appeared in 203 games, with 79 coming as a starter and he's pitched better as a starter lately, albeit in a much larger sample size than his work from the pen - or the interest level that remains.

An acquisition of Correia would solidify the Rays monopsony on arbitration eligible swingmen whose names involve the ‘COR' sound, as Correia's phonetic pronunciation is COR-ay-ah. He throws in the low-90s and has a reverse split despite throwing a slider as his secondary pitch, although neither hand has an OPS above .750 against him over the last three years.

More on the idea tomorrow, but don't be shocked if the Rays acquire another reliever - either via trade or free agency - especially in light of the non-tenders.

Friday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 14:27:44 -0000

More photos » by Lenny Ignelzi - AP

Kevin Correia: 2010 Brewer?

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Some things to read while having Twilight explained to you.

And I'm back. I hope everyone had a great holiday. If you weren't around the web yesterday (and the site stats would suggest you weren't), here's some of the Thanksgiving stuff you missed from around the web:

Wisconsin Sports Tap has a list of Wisconsin sports people and things they're thankful for, including Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Miller Park and Doug Melvin.
The Ghost of Moonlight Graham says Brewer fans should be thankful for Mark Attanasio, and he's absolutely right. Mark A. probably deserves more credit than anyone for creating a winning culture in Milwaukee.
Meanwhile, I had three posts here, with two things I'm thankful for and a Thursday Thinker.

And, once again, thanks to all of you for reading and continuing to check back here as well. Traffic is up over 50% from last November, when the Brewers were coming off a playoff appearance. Actually, we've also seen more visitors in November than we did in all of September, when the Crew was still playing most days. Thanks for helping make this one of the best places on the web to read about and discuss the Brewers.

It's a slow day for Brewer news coming off the holiday, but there are a couple of things I missed this week. First of all, Adam McCalvy had a conversation with John Halama about his attempted return to the major leagues, which Roguejim also noted in this FanPost. Halama is spending the offseason pitching for Licey in the Dominican Winter League, so hopefully we'll be able to monitor his progress in future Winter League Updates.

Earlier in the week, McCalvy also had notes on two pitchers the Brewers might pursue: Justin Duchscherer and Kevin Correia. The Grand National Championships has weighed in in favor of those moves, and says they would go a long way towards restoring his trust in Doug Melvin.

Apparently I'm going to mention McCalvy in every paragraph today: He also has a great look at Brewer Charities under the leadership of new executive director Cecilia Gore.

Speaking of Brewer charities, a while back I mentioned the Brewer Wives' 2010 Pet Calendar, but we weren't sure if it would be available online. It is, as it turns out, so you can help support the Wisconsin Humane Society, even if you can't make it to Milwaukee.

Around baseball:

Blue Jays: Signed shortstops Alex Gonzalez and John Mcdonald to deals for 2010.
Mariners: Infielder Josh Wilson has refused an outright assignment to the minor leagues and is now a free agent.
Red Sox: Acquired infielder Tug Hulett from the Royals for a PTBNL or cash.

His name doesn't come up as often as the likes of Doug Davis or Jarrod Washburn, but Erik Bedard is another pitcher the Brewers might be pursuing this offseason. If they do decide to make an offer, though, they might be competing with the Orioles for his service. Baseball Musings has a look at what could be a great move for the Orioles: trading two years of Bedard for five players, then getting him back before they were ready to contend anyway.

If you're ready to start filling out a wish list for the Rule 5 Draft at the Winter Meetings, BuccoFans.com has scouting reports of available players from 23 teams. (h/t Crawfish Boxes)

I couldn't find a Brewer birthday today (it's a surprisingly slow day for baseball birthdays overall), so instead I'll wish an early happy birthday to Carlos Villanueva, who turns 26 tomorrow.

Oh, and I do my best to stay as baseball-relevant as possible here, but one fact remains: If you serve mac and cheese at Thanksgiving, and you post a picture, you make the Mug.

Drink up.

Wednesday's Late and Brief Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:15:03 -0000

More photos » by Eric Risberg - AP

Justin Duchscherer is a potential 2010 Brewer. That means I probably need to learn to spell his name...or assign him a clever nickname that catches on. Suggestions?

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Some things to read while finding eternal life.

Thanks for bearing with me this week. The Mug will return to its normal format and schedule on Friday. In the meantime, here's the crash-course version of today's notes:

Adam McCalvy has two more names for you to consider as the Brewers head into hot stove season: Justin Duchscherer and Kevin Correia. Meanwhile, ESPN has a story about clinical depression that Duchscherer has battled in the past. I don't think the depression has anything to do with the fact that his name is impossible to spell.
Caitlin Moyer has a look at the offseason work of Brewer Grounds Crew leader Gary Vanden Berg, who recently finished putting Miller Park's field to bed for 2009.
Mike Cameron might be one of the best free agent position players on the market this offseason, but Bleed Cubbie Blue is comparing him to Marlon Byrd.
In the minors, Baseball America used Pitch F/x to gather average and max fastball speeds for pitchers that appeared in the Arizona Fall League. Zach Braddock, Mark Rogers, Josh Butler and Omar Aguilar all check in somewhere in the low-mid 90's.
In transactions: the Padres claimed starting pitcher Radhames Liz off waivers from the Orioles.
The White Sox signed Andruw Jones to a one year deal.
Shelley Duncan elected for free agency after the Yankees outrighted him off their 40-man roster.
I'm still hoping the Brewers will sign Yorvit Torrealba, but the Blue Jays are also rumored to have interest.
Today's Faces feature over at Lookout Landing features another former Brewer: Ben Ford.
Yesterday I mentioned a few of them, but Royals Review has a look at the five dumbest NL MVP votes.
Speaking of awards: on this day in 1969, Lou Piniella won the AL Rookie of the Year. Piniella started the season as a Seattle Pilot, but was traded on April 1 for pitcher John Gelnar and OF Steve Whitaker. Gelnar posted a 3.78 ERA over three seasons as a Pilot and Brewer. Whitaker spent one season with the Piolts and was done in the majors by 1971.
On this day in 1981, Rollie Fingers became the first relief pitcher ever to win the AL MVP. Fingers picked up 15 of the 28 first place votes and edged out Rickey Henderson by 11 points.
I wasn't able to find a Brewer birthday today, so we'll have to settle for wishing a happy birthday to Tony Brewer, who turns 52.
Oh, and if you're looking for something to do tonight, Keith Law has updated his list of the top ten board games.

Drink up.

Bill James 2010 Projections: Padres Pitchers

Dex — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:35:11 -0000

More photos » by Lenny Ignelzi - AP

You want to know how Heath Bell lost so much body mass? It be called Wii Fit Plus. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)

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I've been sitting on the rest of these projections for the Padres because it's a pain in the ass to transcribe the PDF over to a table in HTML. Rather than do that, I'll just upload the set of projections from the Bill James Handbook and we can talk about them in a civilized manner here.

I will also note that, after reading through the book itself, it's tough to judge it just based on the projections. They mention especially with pitchers how difficult (and pointless) it is to try to project something like wins or ERA considering how many things beyond the pitchers' control goes into these things.

Also, if you're gonna buy the book, here's a link to Amazon.

Now some notes on the projections:

Heath Bell is projected to lead the league in saves yet again. Also projected to mention how the new Wii Fit Plus will allow him to drink that much more beer while maintaining his svelte physique.
Kevin Correia is projected to lead the team in wins with 11. Clayton Richard follows with 9. To be fair, there aren't a whole lot of Padres pitchers even projected to start games for us.
Luke Gregerson is projected to do well again. Maybe a holdover closer if we can get value for Heath Bell? Hmmmmm?

In any case, it will be good to revisit these numbers once we start settling in a bit as to who our pitchers will be, but if that happens, then we won't be able to transfer over the ERA and W/L projections, so maybe it'll be a little bit hopeless.

(Also, yes. This is another post with an Amazon link. I'm trying to save for the holiday season.)

Diamondbacks 0, Padres 4: Future Shock

Jim McLennan — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 05:16:13 -0000

More photos » by Rick Scuteri - AP

Kevin Correia visibly yawns after pitching a complete game shutout against Arizona.

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Record: 66-87. Pace: 70-92. Change on last season. -10

It would be nice for the Diamondbacks to finish the year strong, something to hold onto over the winter, and a glimmer of hope, looking forward into next spring. "2010 Opening Day Lineup, maybe?" said Muu before the first pitch of tonight's contest. Well, if that is indeed the case, and they play like they did tonight...boy, next year looks like it's going to be another long, painful season. Arizona lost for the sixth time in the last eight contests, largely because Kevin Correia - yes, Kevin freakin' Correia - became the first opposing starter this year to throw a complete-game shutout in Chase.

Let's just put that into context, shall we. Nobody did it in 2004, when we lost 111 times. Never mind a shut-out, Correia hadn't even gone past eight innings in his career. I don't think I've seen a team more obviously ready for the end of the season - frankly, any kind of "recap" is more than this deserves. Oh, alright. If you absolutely insist...

Tonight was the eightieth time an opposing pitcher against the Diamondbacks this season has gone six or more innings, with three or less earned runs. Now, some times, you just have to accept it - you're facing a good arm, say someone like Lincecum or Jimenez. However, the striking thing is how often Arizona have made mediocre pitchers look far more impressive. Kevin Correia has a career ERA+ of only 94 before tonight, but you wouldn't know it from the way he shut the Diamondbacks down tonight. And this was his fourth quality start of the year against us, in five attempts. Here are the journeymen who have managed multiple quality outings against Arizona this season

Four times
Kevin Correia, career ERA+ 94
Three times
Jorge de la Rosa, 88
Twice
Jason Hammel, 87
Jonathan Sanchez, 90
Ross Ohlendorf, 91
David Bush, 96
Johnny Cueto, 97
Vincente Padilla, 99

I won't go into all of those who have managed it once, but here are some "highlights": Jason Vargas (77), Manny Parra (83), Garrett Mock (82), Kevin Hart (82) and Wade LeBlanc, whose career ERA+ is 69. It seems to have been a far too common occurrence this season. Tonight, we managed only six hits and one walk. Justin Upton had two of them, and was about the sole participant in the evening's entertainment who did not appear to be in a hurry for another appointment, somewhere beyond the post-game buffet.

Everyone else was intent on hacking at whatever slop was thrown up there. You can see this from the total pitches by each side: the Padres made us throw 165, while Correia took only 109, despite facing just five fewer hitters. It wasn't like he was getting ahead early either, with first-pitch strikes to only half the 32 batters. But the Diamondbacks were just awful at choosing when to swing, and when they did, the results were lousy: Correia had 17 called strikes, 16 swinging strikes and only ten foul-balls. A mere five of 27 Arizona outs left the infield.

On the pitching side, it was a typical Max Scherzer outing: averaging higher than 20 pitches per inning, but with more than a strikeout per frame. He allowed three runs on five hits in five innings, but it was really the three walks that hurt Scherzer, with two of them coming around to score. He did strike out six in five innings, giving him 174 for the season, in 170.1 innings. Among pitchers his age, only Felix Hernandex and Yovani Gallardo have more K's this year. Tonight, he wasn't helped by his and Miguel Montero's inability to control the running-game, the Padres going 3-for-3 in attempts while Scherzer was on the mound.

Speaking of which, where has Arizona's running-game gone? We're a young team, with plenty of speed: yet it's something we don't seem to be using. Now, in meaningless late-season games, would seem the ideal opportunity to be stretching out the legs and testing our skills. Yet, in the past fifteen games, we have only two stolen-bases. While overall, our "extra-base taken" percentage - going first-to-third on a single, say - is a little higher than league average this year [42%-39%], it's something I think should be better. Same with infield hits: we have 23 fewer than the NL mean, not what I'd expect. We need to cut back on pickoffs too - our figure of 21 is beaten only by the Rockies in the NL. More fundamentals...

[Click to enlarge, at fangraphs.com]
Master of his domain: Max Scherzer (bat), +2.8%
God-emperor of suck: Mark Reynolds, -13.7%

Truly a collective vortex of gurgling suck, with our starting pitcher the most productive hitter on the team - Upton was the only other batter to make a positive contribution. One of the questions I asked Daron Sutton was how hard it was to keep enthusiastic for meaningless games like this at the end of a disappointing season. He said he had not trouble, but I think even this one would have been taxing. So a herd of kudos to those who showed up in the thread tonight, led by DbacksSkins, the only man to crack fifty Also present though, were soco, Muu, hotclaws, emilylovesthedbacks, AcucracK, Azreous, katers, Wailord, Zephon, pierzynskirules, NASCARbernet, RockiesMagicNumber, kishi and victor frankenstein.

Here's to better tomorrow. Seems a safe assumption, since it can't get much worse than being shut out by Kevin Correia. Oh, crap: just realized who it is we're facing tomorrow. Yep: Wade LeBlanc... I think I may be digging a bomb-shelter in the back-yard.

Fantasy Baseball: On the spot

Ian, yo — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:13:04 -0000

As we approach the end of the fantasy baseball season, you may be looking out for spot starts more than normal. Over the last few weeks, I've been spot starting and keeping an eye on matchups and it's been pretty successful. The basis of this strategy should be to start guys against offenses such as the Pittsburgh, Arizona, San Diego and the Kansas City's of the MLB. I'd also keep in mind where these matchups are taking place. I'm likely taking my chances of someone pitching in Petco Park in San Diego over someone starting at Coors in Colorado. For some stats on park factors, I recommend checking out this. Over the last week, I managed to get the following starts by using a combination of these strategies.

Kevin Correia @ Pittsburgh :7 IP, 1 W, 0 ER, 6 H, 5 K

Clayton Richard @ Pittsburgh: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 5 K

Brian Duensing vs. Oakland: 7 IP,1 W, 8 H, 0 ER, 6 K

Robinson Tejada @ Detroit: 5 IP, 1 W, 2 H, 1 ER, 5 K

Over the next week, you'll find a decent amount of matchups that could help you on your push to fantasy gold.

Jorge De La Rosa: I'm adding him in after some further thought. Post All-Star break, De La Rosa has put up an ERA of 2.89 while winning 9 of his 12 starts with 80 K's in 78 innings. I have hesitation due to his 4.77 ERA at home this season but I'll likely take my chances against a poor San Diego offense.

Bronson Arroyo: Not owned in a ton of leagues and over the last month has posted an ERA of 2.08 in 43.1 innings. He'll see the Pirates on Thursday the 24th and in his last start against them had a solid line of 8 IP, 4 H, 4 Ks.

Clay Buchholz: Buchholz Hasn't faced the Royals this season but has done a fairly decent job of shutting down better offenses this year. Over his last three starts, he's allowed fewer than one run against the Orioles and Rays and on the season has allowed less than two earned runs again the Orioles, Rays, Blue Jays, Yankees, Tigers and the Athletics. He's had two games where he gave up seven earned against the Orioles and White Sox but has been good overall. Buchholz's lack of experience against Kansas City could prove beneficial and allow him to be a solid spot start this week.

Hiroki Kuroda: In his 19 starts, Kuroda has had four games where he's given up more than three earned runs. Washington ranks near the middle of the pack in runs scored but Kuroda has put up decent numbers against some of the better offenses (St. Louis, Florida, Milwaukee, Chicago White Sox) so I have no huge concerns starting him. Just beware that the Washington offense is fairly underrated and could give anyone a hard time at any moment.

Brett Anderson: He'll get a Texas offense that ranks 10th in the AL in the month of September at home in a largely pitching favorable park in Oakland. Anderson has big K potential, striking out ten Indians on September 18th. Over the last month, Anderson's pitched 31 innings and 30 K with an ERA of 2.90 and WHIP of 1.10. He's not owned in many leagues and could easily be a successful spot starter for you.

Honorable mentions: Ryan Rowland-Smith @ TB, Wade Davis vs. SEA at home, Jonathan Sanchez @ AZ, Tim Wakefield @ KC, Brian Duensing @ CWS.

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

Giants Lose the Game, Series

Grant — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 22:48:12 -0000

by Marcio Jose Sanchez - AP

Adrian Gonzalez admires the flight of the Giants' season as it sails far, far away.

View full size photo »

Dropping two of three to the worst team in the division at home. Scoring five combined runs off Kevin Correia and Wade LeBlanc. Wasting your time. We're not in this thing.

The same post-Coors disclaimer applies: if you want to get technical, we're still in this thing. Maybe Colorado will lose three straight at the same time the Giants win three straight. And then we'll have hope again.

Because, really, I'm just geeked about watching Joel Piniero throw a complete game, 77-pitch shutout against Randy Winn, Eugenio Velez, Bengie Molina, and Edgar Renteria in the only playoff game at home this season. That's why I'm living and dying with the team. I just can't wait to watch this team against some real competition.

In five years, most of us will have mostly positive memories of this season. It was the season we weren't expecting, the season that was worth watching. That's because we're stupid. Really, really stupid.

And of course, the reason that the Giants lost this game was a failed bunt. THE LITTLE THINGS omg! Forget that even with runners on second and third with one out, a Velez strikeout and Sanchez popout wouldn't have done anything. Forget that the team was offensively inept for the rest of the game. The Giants can't execute THE LITTLE THINGS.

Screw it. I'm so not watching the game tomorrow. That's a promise. I'll probably come back on Friday, but there's no way I"m watching any baseball tomorrow.