I was looking at Baseball Reference's page for the 2014 Padres for something completely unrelated when I noticed that Alexi Amarista and Will Venable have nearly identical offensive statistics this season. This says more about Venable than it does Amarista, because Alexi's year is what we expected from him, more or less. Venable, the 2013 team MVP, made the comparison possible with his dramatic drop-off.

Those lines are nearly indistinguishable. On top of that, Amarista has the edge in 9 of the 17 categories, with toss-ups in two of them. Who saw that coming in March?

Since I mentioned Amarista's last two seasons being similar and Venable's last two seasons being dramatically dissimilar, here are the numbers to bear it out:

Of course, there are still 11 games left in the season, so some of those negatives will become positives or at least washes. Venable, on the other hand...

Ouch. As you can see, he had astronomical drops across the board. The lone positive is that Venable has grounded into one less double play this year- and when you take into account that he had less chances to do so, and still might in the next 11 games, even that is soured.

I didn't expect Will Venable to replicate his 2013 numbers this year, but I definitely wasn't anticipating Tall Amarista. Shows what I know.

While some catchers are better at framing than others and some pitchers are better at exploiting that, we don't necessarily know who to credit. Still, we can determine which batteries have done best overall at getting extra strike calls.

Dave Cameron recently re-raised the issue of how to partition credit for framing between the catcher and pitcher. Knowing one is throwing to a good pitch framer could lead a pitcher to pitch just outside the zone a bit more often (or at the corners, as opposed to throwing a safer strike, in three ball counts). A pitcher with superior command could capitalize on his catcher, and pitchers who angle for more pitch framing opportunities would generate more value for their clubs than an ERA estimator like FIP might lead us to believe.

I am not attempting to rip apart pitcher and catcher from that kind of symbiosis, and I'm not sure either's contribution to framing could live on its own. Nor am I attempting to show which batteries are best at framing. Instead, I was interested to dig in on batteries that have been best at framing this season.

As a counting statistic, Baseball Prospectus's Framing Runs (calculated either by count or by call) naturally favors batteries with more framing chances (at least among the batteries with positive figures). Framing chances are largely dependent on innings pitched, but the correlation isn't perfect. Using chances to create a rate statistic doesn't tell us who the "best framing batteries" were, at least on its own; getting those chances is part of the skill. But looking at "extra strikes" per 100 framing chances yields some interesting results.

To make the corpus of 1847 batteries in the Baseball Prospectus database more manageable, I used a cutoff of 400 framing chances, leaving just 238 batteries. Why 400? It captures all top 30 results for framing runs by count (it also captured 29 of the top 30 results for framing runs by call, leaving out just the Alex Cobb-Jose Molina battery, which ranked 21st despite just 398 chances).

In illustrating his point, Cameron used Lohse as an example for how a pitcher can be partly responsible for good framing outcomes, and the data supports that premise.The pitcher who claimed the top result in extra strikes per 100 framing chances was indeed Kyle Lohse, but not with Jonathan Lucroy as his batterymate.

Some expected matches here, but a few surprises, as well. Wilin Rosario has a garbage reputation as a pitch framer, and despite these numbers with Juan Nicasio, Baseball Prospectus has Rosario at exactly zero extra strikes in 6,825 framing chances through September 16 (not solidly negative marks as in previous seasons). That's a glowing recommendation of the command or pitching style of Juan Nicasio.

The top 10 makes the Brewers and Maldonado look good, but how about Eric Stults getting two batteries in the top 10 out of 238? Might not be quite as impressive as what Juan Nicasio has done, as both of Stults's catchers have been quite good at getting extra strikes overall (Grandal, 99 extra strikes in 5073 framing chances; Rivera, 137 in 5792). Still, getting per-100 rates over 4 far surpasses both catchers' overall per-100 rates (Grandal, 1.95; Rivera, 2.37).

The top 10 does not include any of the 51 (of 238) batteries with at least 1,000 framing chances, and if you felt a little uncomfortable with some of the sample sizes above, you're not alone. When examining outliers such as those, the greater range of possible rate outcomes with smaller samples gets magnified. So what does the top 10 look like just for pitchers with over 1,000 chances? All ten of the batteries in the table below rank in the top 30 (of 238):

Big props to the framing tandem of Vogelsong and Posey, who also form the overall battery leader for extra strikes. Posey is no slouch; in addition to Vogelsong, his match with Madison Bumgarner has done well in extra strikes per 100 framing chances, with 2.73, and he has a 1.64 per-100 mark overall this season. Mike Zunino also excels with two pitchers, has positive per-100 marks for the other three batteries that have more than 400 framing chances (Felix Hernandez, 2.34; Fernando Rodney, 1.95; Chris Young, 0.51), and looks great overall (1.69 extra strikes per 100 framing chances).

How about Johnny Cueto? Brayan Pena has a great reputation behind the plate, and Cueto has clearly benefited from having Pena as more or less a personal catcher. But consider this: Pena's extra strikes numbers have actually been quite a bit worse when he's caught other pitchers. With Cueto, Pena has 49.5 extra strikes in 1415 chances; subtract that from Pena's overall numbers, and you get without-Cueto totals of -8.5 extra strikes in 1777 chances. Can we say that Cueto deserves some of the credit for his 7+ framing runs this season with Pena, then? For what it's worth, Cueto's per-100 mark with other catchers this season (384 framing chances) is just 0.08. But considering that Cueto has allowed just 59 ER in 227.2 innings this season, he might deserve more of his 2.33 ERA than his 3.29 FIP might indicate.

With no overlaps on the two top 10 lists, how impressed should we be on how the Brewers have taken six of the 20 spots? Pretty impressed. In fact, let's go ahead and pretend this entire post is about the Brewers — we'll even put in a link to Brew Crew Ball.

Outliers this extreme are often a combination of likely explanations, and for the Brewers to have this much success in pitch framing, we're probably talking about luck or savvy in targeting not just Lucroy but Maldonado; an emphasis on framing; and an emphasis on pitchers who succeed with command as one of their better tools. Milwaukee does not lead MLB in framing chances; it settles in at 8th in that regard with 11,952, a little closer to 1st (White Sox, 12,652) than to 30th (Giants, 10,858). The Brewers have done really well with extra strikes, however: 2nd, at 274. The Crew also fit in comfortably at second place in both Framing Runs by count (34.4) and Framing Runs by call (40.7).

Wait, second? Eric Stults leads the Padres among pitchers in terms of extra strikes (62.5), but he still co-owns just 17.5% of the extra strikes won by the Padres so far this season. The team's total of extra strikes (356.6) is a whopping 2.33 standard deviations off the mean, and all three of the catchers used by the Padres this season have made contributions. In addition to the 137 extra strikes tallied by Rene Rivera and 99 by Yasmani Grandal, Nick Hundley broke with tradition to put up a slightly positive extra strikes mark (instead of a horrendously negative one). In fact, if we turned our list of 238 batteries with at least 400 framing chances into a list of 875 batteries with at least 100 framing chances, Nick Hundley would co-own the best per-100 extra strikes mark with a ridiculous 9.11.

How about on the other end of things? The very worst battery in terms of extra strikes per 100 chances — 1,000 framing chances or more — is Tom Koehler and Jarrod Saltalamacchia (-3.51 extra strikes per 100). 900 chances or more: Nathan Eovaldi and Jarrod Saltalamacchia (-3.91). And back to the 400-chance cutoff we started with: Brad Hand and...drum roll, please...Jarrod Saltalamacchia (-6.63).

Think Jose Fernandez was impressive again this year before succumbing to his UCL tear? He put up mediocre Framing Runs totals with Salty, and in our set of 238 batteries with at least 400 framing chances, Fernandez ranked just 205th in extra strikes per 100 framing chances. But although Henderson Alvarez didn't do much worse than Fernandez, taking Salty's five entrants as a group makes Fernandez look good again. Unless Salty was dealt an incredibly terrible staff of pitchers command-wise (which might be partly true), we might infer that Fernandez isn't to blame for his native framing numbers. Had Fernandez been given a league-average framer, would he have had even more success?

As noted above, by using framing chances as the denominator in making up a rate statistic for extra strikes, we don't give ourselves a complete picture on who the best framing tandems have been this season. Some of the framing-effectiveness-proof is in the chances pudding, insofar as racking up a large number of chances could be largely to the pitcher's credit. But even without accounting for how particular batteries came to have as many chances as they did, it seems clear that some pitchers are better able to capitalize on framing than others.

. . .

All statistics courtesy of Baseball Prospectus.

Ryan P. Morrison is a writer and editor at Beyond The Box Score, and co-author of Inside the 'Zona, a site offering analysis of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Follow him on Twitter: @InsidetheZona.

Slinging statistics side-armed to strike you out.

The 2014 Cincinnati Reds have been as offensively inept as at any point in recent memory, at times being so bad that it's hard to even look at them.

No, seriously.  Being that bad means they don't even fit on the same page as the headers in most cases.

On the season, the Reds rank 29th out of the 30 MLB teams in OPS at .662, bested only by the lowly San Diego Padres and their rather impressive .631 mark (and remember, if you will, that a good portion of the Padres' offense is championed by former Reds farmhands that would otherwise be plying their trade under the lights at GABP 81 times a season).  The Reds have hit a collective .238 (tied with the New York Mets for second worst in baseball), have a mutual .298 OBP (which ties them with the Chicago Cubs for second worst in baseball), and have a .364 slugging percentage as a team despite playing in a home stadium that ranks as the third most dinger friendly of the 30 on the continent (which is good for just third worst in baseball ahead of both the Mets and Padres).

Of course, the Reds have spent all of the last two months without their usual offensive battleship in the lineup and much of it without one of their usual key cogs.  Joey Votto has been sidelined with a thigh injury since July 5th, and Brandon Phillips shredded his thumb just four days later to rob the team of two perennial All-Stars just one week before the actual All-Star break.

The slide since the Reds sat 51-44 at the break has been tremendous.

Since beginning the 2nd "half" of the season on July 18th, the Reds rank last in the majors in runs scored (183), last in hits (422), last in total bases (624), last in RBI (172), tied for last in extra-base hits (with the Padres at 116), last in batting average (.221), last in OBP (.279), last in SLG (.327), and, of course, last in OPS (.606).  They have, however, grounded into the fewest double plays in the game since then (30), though that can be largely attributed to them never, ever being on base to present that scenario as a possibility.

That's left the Reds at just 20-38 since the break and dropped them nearly to the bottom of the NL Central standings despite often being backed by otherworldly starting pitching.

As for some of the individuals that have taken the batter's box this year, well, let's look at some of statistical oddities of the two everyday regulars who have managed to stay on the field and healthy for most of the season.

Billy Hamilton

The speedy Reds leadoff hitter was in large part the reason for writing this whole shebang in the first place, as he's managed to carve out several distinct hitting patterns, the worst of which have torpedoed his overall season numbers.  Through 592 PA in 2014 so far, Hamilton has hit .256/.298/.364 (.662) with 6 dingers and a .311 BABIP, sturdy yet not spectacular numbers for the young man's first full season in the big leagues.

How those numbers add up is the funny part, however.

Hamilton entered the All-Star break at a healthy .285/.319/.423 mark, having stolen 38 bases (with 15 times being caught), 5 dingers, and a .338 BABIP in 359 PA.  Since the break?  Oof.  He's hit just .211/.265/.272 (.538), has stolen just 18 bases (and been caught 8 times), has just a single dinger to his name, and has seen his BABIP plummet to a stinky .267 given his top-flight speed.  That's an awful 233 PA in any context.

Equally as strange are Billy's Home/Road splits, as for some reason he's been unable to have much of any success while playing in GABP.  On the road he's hit a .288/.312/.391 (.703) with a .362 BABIP, but in the friendlier confines of home he's hit a poor .219/.281/.332 (.613) with a near impossible .252 BABIP.

He's been a damn fine pinch-hitter, though, having gone 4 for 7 with a double.  So there's that.

Todd Frazier

Frazier has anchored the Reds offense through their successes and struggles in 2014 and has put together the kind of season that will go a long way towards making him a ton of money in the near future.  The primary 3B and sometimes 1B has hit .277/.337/.454 (.791) with 26 dingers this season, and with Devin Mesoraco's two DL stints and routine days off factored in, Frazier has been the one real threat in the Reds lineup on a day-in, day-out basis.

He, too, has some freaky deaky splits, though.

Frazier has mauled pitching at home this season, whacking 18 of his dingers and hitting .291/.349/.521 (.871) in 312 PA in GABP, but he's struggled to replicate the power numbers in his road gray uniform.  Away from the smokestacks, Frazier has hit just .264/.324/.389 (.713) with 8 dingers in 315 PA.  He's also fallen victim to the 2nd half woes, as the .853 OPS and 19 dingers he hit to earn an All-Star nod have slipped to just a .683 OPS and 7 knockers since returning on July 18th.

Also odd - at least in the context of his previous seasons - is that Frazier has managed to hit RHP with great force while struggling (relatively) against LHP.  Against righties, Todd has mashed 22 dingers and slashed .283/.338/.466 (.803), but against lefties he's slipped to just .258/.331/.411 with just 4 dingers launched.

★★★

As former fearless leader Slyde once never said (but probably thought at least once), "numbers never lie, unless you want them to."

There are numerous ways in which the 2014's offensive offense scuttled what could have been historic seasons from Johnny Cueto, Mike Leake, Aroldis Chapman, and poor, poor Trevor Bell, but they've been bad to the point where there's really no way to spin them positively.  In reality, it's best we flush these from our memory and hope that the collective 2014 was the bad split next to a 2015 that will balance it all out, and hope that Joey Votto returns to striking fear into opposing hurlers.

I didn't mention Jay Bruce in any of this on purpose because, oh man, poor Jay Bruce.

It's officially the 11th-to-last game of the year for our Padres tonight after they were mathematically eliminated from the 2014 postseason last night.  With this last week and a half, our Padres will do their best to ruin everything for their remaining opponents and end their season with some good moments.

Tonight, for instance, we'll get to see a guy who has missed a majority of the season working his way back from an elbow injury. Robbie Erlin will make his first start since May 17th and second appearance since returning to the big league club. He didn't have the best outing his last time on the mound, allowing three runs in two relief innings. on September 7th. He gets the start tonight in place of Tyson Ross, who experienced some soreness after his latest outing. Erlin made nine starts at the beginning of the season, going 3-5 with a 4.53 ERA. Tonight's matchup will be the second of his career against the Phillies. He first faced them in June of last year and gave up three runs (two earned) and four hits  in 6 1/3 innings at home, but didn't factor into the decision.

Going against Erlin will be Kyle Kendrick, who hopes to continue the strong finish to his season (and possibly his career with the Phillies. In his last start, he kept Miami to just one run in 6 1/3 innings. In his last five appearances, he's gone 4-1 with a 3.86 ERA. He pitched against our Friars once this season prior to tonight, allowing just two runs (one earned) through six frames.

Game time for this series finale is set for 6:10 PT.

The Cubs are moving to Oregon.

And the affiliation shuffle comes to an end.

BREAKING: Eugene Emerald sign 2-year deal as affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. End 14-year relationship with San Diego.

— Steve Mims (@SteveMims_RG) September 19, 2014

As expected, the Cubs signed a two-year deal with the Northwest League team the Eugene Emeralds, leaving Boise after 14 seasons. Ironically, this is a homecoming for the Cubs who called Eugene their home in the Northwest League in 1999 and 2000 before leaving for Boise.

The reason for this move is simple. Eugene build a top-notch stadium in 2010, right next to the Oregon Ducks' Autzen Stadium. You can read about PK Park here and I can assure you that it is much nicer than Memorial Stadium in Boise, which was built in 1989. Additionally, the Emeralds have two road trips under two hours, to Salem-Keizer and Hillsboro. The shortest bus trip for the Boise Hawks was over four and a half hours to Tri-City.

It does mean that the Cubs stay in the Northwest League, so they will continue to have a presence on the West Coast. Plus, Eugene is in the same four-team division as the Boise Hawks, so fans in the Treasure Valley (or ones that visit a lot, like me) will still be able to see Cubs farm hands on regular basis.

Boise was good to the Cubs with a very strong supporters group and an excellent network of host families for the players. The Cubs stuck around as long as they did in hopes that they could get a new stadium built. But with plans for a stadium stalled and with no hope of new facilities in the near future, the Cubs could no longer put up with the outdated stadium.

The Rockies are moving into Boise, so at least they are getting a team with some regional connection. The Padres, who moved into Eugene when the Cubs left in 2001, are heading to the Rockies former home in Tri-City.

As I said, this ends the affiliation shuffle. The Cubs moved all three of their lower affiliates, which was as radical a shift as possible. The last time the Cubs changed three affiliates in the same year was before the 1985 season.

The Phillies fell punchlessly against the offensive dominance of the San Diego Padres, losing only their second series ever at PetCo Park.

The Phillies wrapped up their four game series in San Diego by dropping three to the Pirates, losing only their second series, ever, at PetCo Park.

Gee, guys, thanks.

Kyle Kendrick started off in his usual fashion, with two walks and a hit in the first, but strangely, no runs allowed, thanks to catching Cory Spangenberg in an attempted steal of second. Kendrick would finish his night with three runs allowed over five innings, on six hits and five walks, against only two strikeouts. Not a great outing for the K-man.

For the Padres, Robbie Erlin was very sharp, allowing only a single run over six innings, with no walks and five scattered hits, while striking out four. The Phils' lone run off Erlin came in the fourth, when Darin Ruf struck a one out double, moved to third on a wild pitch and scoring on a Domonic Brown single to left to tie the game at 1-1.

The Padres would answer back immediately, when Alexi Amarista hit a bases loaded sac fly. The Phils managed to get two outs on the play, as while Yasmani Grandal was scoring, Seth Smith unwisely attempted to take third and was gunned down by Brown.

San Diego would add insurance runs in the fifth, chasing Kendrick; and in the sixth off Antonio Bastardo. Into the eighth, then, with the score 4-1, the Phillies had a golden chance to close the gap. Ben Revere led off with a single to center, and stole second. Freddy Galvis then singled, moving Revere to third. The Pads' Dale Thayer rebounded quickly, striking out Marlon Byrd, Ruf and Maikel Franco to end the inning.

In the bottom of the eighth, then, the Padres lit up Cesar Jimenez for three runs, breaking the game open.

The Phils mounted a brief rally in the ninth, with Brown's leadoff double and an RBI single by Cesar Hernandez. Hernandez was later driven in by a Revere single. That would be it, though, as Lean Cuisine Stauffer induced a strikeout of Grady Sizemore and got Chase Utley to ground out weakly ending the game.

Taking a step back, in the third inning, Jedd Gyorko (apparently pronounced Jerko?) laced a liner to left that Brown was just able to grab, making an outstanding catch in the process. Watching the replay, it's almost a wonder he didn't break his arm, the way he rolled over on it.

Between that and the throw to third, Brown made some very good defensive plays tonight, and seems to be turning a corner. He still isn't hitting well, but, to my eye, at least, his defense is much improved.

Tonight's punchless performance was, incidentally, the 75th time this year that the Phils have been held to three runs or less. They have played 153 games. That's very nearly half the time that they are unable to break the three run barrier. Surprisingly, though, that dismal-sounding stat is good for a four-way tie for 12th most in baseball. Teams that have more? The Braves, Mets and Marlins, for three, at 86, 76 and 76 respectively. Anyone want to guess who had the most?

Anyone?

Bueller?

The Padres, at 92.

With the loss, the Phils' record falls to 70-83, three games behind the Mets for last in the NL East. Tomorrow night, the Phils go to Oakland, sending David Buchanan to the hill against Jon Lester, in a 9:35PM ET start time. Oakland has seemingly fallen off a cliff, and will be looking to salvage a seemingly lost season despite having doubled-down with some major trades. CF Larue has offered to take tomorrow night's recap, so I want to thank you folks for staying up late with me this week.

Good night everybody.

Earlier today, TheThinGwynn detailed how Alexi Amarista and Will Venable are basically the same person this season, and it seems he was being a bit prophetic. Venable went 1 for 5 with 3 RBI, while Amarista went 2 for 3 with 2 RBI. Oh, and they both hit homers. Those were kind of important. And it wasn't just the offense that excelled tonight. In his first start since May, Robbie Erlin went 6 innings, allowing just one run on 5 hits while striking out 4.

The Little Ninja got the Padres on the board in the second inning, hitting a home run to the Jack Deck that was a near carbon copy of his go-ahead blast from Tuesday night. The Phillies briefly erased that lead in the fourth. With one out, Darin Ruf hit a double to left field. He advanced to third on a passed ball (the official scorer called it a wild pitch; the official scorer is wrong), though it didn't really matter. Domonic Brown's two-out single would have easily scored Ruf from second.

The Friars didn't let the game stay tied for long. Yasmani Grandal led off the inning with a walk. A pair of singles from Seth Smith and Tommy Medica loaded the bases for Amarista. He picked up his second RBI of the night with a sacrifice fly. Smith got caught trying to take third on the throw, which killed the rally, but he made up for it the very next inning. With two outs in the fifth, Jedd Gyorko singled. A walk to Grandal moved him into scoring position, and brought Smith to the plate to redeem himself. An RBI single is solid redemption. At this point, the whole one run thing was becoming a pattern. Cameron Maybin led off the sixth with a double down the right field line (and he looked like he really wanted to stretch it into a triple). Cory Spangenberg brought him home with a single.

But then Will Venable had to go and ruin the curve. After Amarista and Maybin started the eighth with back to back singles. Cesar Jimenez retired the next two batters, but America's Finest City's Sweetheart (are we still calling him that?) put the game away with a home run to dead center.

Tim Stauffer came in to finish things up in the ninth. He allowed a couple of runs, but with a lead like that, who cares?

The Giants come to town tomorrow night. Odrisamer Despaigne will remind them that we ruin everything at 7:10 PM.

abara led the comments with 24 and picked up the sole rec.

Ryne Sandberg resisted the urge to focus on the now and, in last night's game in San Diego, decided to let the future have a crack at it.

In baseball, some stories are better than others. And unless you stayed up until the very early hours of Friday morning, you likely missed the one I'm about to tell you.

It was the top of the eighth inning, with the Phillies down 4-1 to the Padres, and right-handed reliever Dale Thayer came in to pitch for San Diego. He allowed a single to Ben Revere, who stole his 47th base. Freddy Galvis then hit a bunt single down the first base line, putting runners on 1st and 3rd with no out.

Marlon Byrd followed with a strikeout, which brought up Darin Ruf, a right-handed hitter who was playing in place of Ryan Howard last night.

Manager Ryne Sandberg had a decision to make. Would he pull Ruf and replace him with the left-handed hitting Howard, in an obvious RBI situation? Remember, the team has been trying to get Howard to 100 RBI, and the Big Piece is stuck on 92.

Had this game meant something in the standings, it's a certainty that Sandberg would have pulled the inexperienced right-handed hitter and substituted Howard in a run-producing spot. After all, Thayer is one of the Padres' best relievers, with a 2.03 ERA in 62 innings this season, and in 210 career innings, right-handers have hit just .239/.282/.366 against him.

Of course, this game was totally meaningless, so Sandberg did something he wouldn't have done even a couple weeks ago.

Sandberg let Ruf hit.

He let the young guy with a career .813 OPS in 428 career plate appearances take a shot at a tough right-hander, in a late-game situation, with a chance to draw the Phils to within two, or tie the game up with a homer.

This story would have ended a whole lot better if Ruf would have jacked a dinger. Or gotten an extra base hit. Or a single. Or heck, even a walk.

Unfortunately, Ruf struck out.

But that was not the end of the youth experiment. With two outs, Maikel Franco, another young right-hander, got a shot at Thayer, but he struck out as well. After the game, Sandberg admitted he wanted to see what the young guys could do.

"...It was a chance to see these guys (Ruf and Franco) in that situation. We were just looking for some contact."

And while the manager didn't get the contact he was looking for, it was encouraging to see the manager finally give the young guys a chance to do something.

Howard sat for the second game in a row last night, with Sandberg saying after the game he wanted to let Ruf get a few more at bats. Ruf had a double, a single and two runs scored in Wednesday night's win, and also had a double and a run scored early in last night's 7-3 loss.

Last night, Ruf wasn't able to come through. Neither was Franco. But allowing them the opportunity to try gives them a better chance of coming through the next time a similar situation arises.

The future. The Phils are begrudgingly accepting it.

The Padres played the first of their remaining 6 games against the Giants tonight, and they reminded them that we ruin everything. The leader in tonight's ruining? Odrisamer Despaigne. He was lights out tonight, giving up just a pair of hits and a walk while striking out six in his seven shutout innings. He got plenty of backup from his offense, too.

The Friars' bats hammered Tim Hudson early. Yangervis Solarte knocked a single up the middle to open the night. Another single by Jedd Gyorko put runners on the corners with one out, and then Yasmani Grandal drew a single to load the bases. Hudson tried to squirm out of the jam he'd gotten himself into, getting Seth Smith to hit a fly to right. That got him to two outs, but the third would prove elusive. Alexi Amarista continued his hot week by hitting a 2 RBI double. Cameron Maybin followed that up with two RBIs of his own, which gets him off the hook for getting caught trying to steal second and ending the inning.

Gyorko got on board again to start the third when Pablo Sandoval airmailed the throw to first. Smith came up to the plate with one out and a runner in scoring position and nailed an RBI double into the right field corner to send him home. That was the last of the Padres' 5 runs for the night. After that, it was just O-Des and the bullpen doing their thing and shutting down a team desperately trying to avoid having to play the dreaded wild card game.

Andrew Cashner will continue the ruining at 5:40 PM tomorrow night. Stay after the game for a concert by OAR. Or, you know, do absolutely anything else.

Friar Fever had a thread-leading 30 comments, but TheThinGwynn went for quality picking up 3 recs on just 4 comments.

Trevor Hoffman is no stranger to great baseball cards. He's been pictured signing, bunting, and wearing catcher's gear, among other things. Hoffman's 1998 Upper Deck Collector's Choice All-Star card might be the best of the bunch. Trevor seems to be enjoying himself immensely, which makes me wonder even more what he's focusing in on. There's a nearly-endless array of possibilities, but in honor of his uniform number I'll narrow it down to my 51 best guesses as to what he's snapping pics of.

1. Teammate and fellow All-Star Tony Gwynn
2. A kid. The scoreboard does note that it's Kids Day.
3. Fellow All-Star pitcher and pro photographer Randy Johnson.
4. The San Diego Chicken
5. The Swinging Friar
6. Greg Vaughn, in his first full season with the Padres
7. Legendary broadcaster, former player, and war hero Jerry Coleman
8. Gary Coleman
9. The photographer whose camera that is
10. His wife Tracy
11. Former Friar and fellow 1997 All-Star Joey Cora
12. A locally stationed member of the Marine Corps.
13. Then-current San Diego mayor Susan Golding
14. Chargers legend Junior Seau
15. Padres owner John Moores
16. Padres manager Bruce Bochy
17. A local businessperson trying to impress a client
18. Then-Padres broadcaster Rick Sutcliffe
19. Ron Burgundy
20. The Padres' dugout
21. The opposing team's dugout
22. Thirteen-year-old San Diego resident Cole Hamels
23. Harry the Heckler
24. Hall of Famer and former Friar Willie McCovey
25. Padres beat writer Bill Center
26. The press box
27. ESPN loudmouth Chris Berman
28. Archi Cianfrocco looking for his first baseman's mitt among his five other gloves
29. Elvis
30. Tupac
31. Joan Embery from the San Diego Zoo
32. Former Vice President Dan Quayle
33. Sugar Ray lead singer Mark McGrath with two groupies
34. The grounds crew
35. Clean-shaven rookie first baseman Derrek Lee
36. California governor Pete Wilson
37. Beach Boys member Brian Wilson
38. Occasional Beach Boys member John Stamos
39. Teammate Joey Hamilton signing autographs
40. Teammate Ken Caminiti eating a Snickers bar
41. Winners of a local radio contest
42. Fernando Valenzuela serving as a translator for a younger teammate
43. Weighted bats in the on-deck circle
44. Third base coach Tim Flannery tying his shoes
45. Rickey Henderson stretching
46. A security guard catching someone trying to sneak onto the field
47. Bullpen coach Greg Booker working with Tim Worrell on his grip
48. Local golfer Phil Mickelson
49. Two visiting Giants fans smoking a joint while another one watches out for security
50. An usher showing people to their seats
51. Outfielder Ruben Rivera trying to sell Archi Cianfrocco's first baseman's mitt

After a Beerfest bathroom break last night I suggested we stop by the Right Field Mission where the Dancing Friar and his Merry Monks get crazy at just about every home game.  They're an interesting group of fans, who take Padres fandom to another level by donning robes and becoming friars. They perform chants, cheer and generally root for their team in a very extroverted way.

Look, if we're being honest, sometimes when you're among them you're not sure if you're at a baseball game or in a mental ward.  They're that crazy, but I sincerely like that about them.  Baseball can use a few more characters, but make no mistake they stand in stark contrast to the those who mildly sit in their seat and munch on Cracker Jacks, like me.

When we arrived in their section, we saw and heard something new and novel.  The friars had drums.

Hanging with the right field mission. They now have drums! @DancingFriar

— Gaslamp Ball (@gaslampball) September 20, 2014

For those that don't know, instruments aren't normally allowed at the ballpark.

PETCO Park Entry Policies | padres.com: Ballpark

NOISE-MAKING DEVICES

Musical instruments or any type of noise-making device may not be brought into PETCO Park. Any exceptions will be at the discretion of the San Diego Padres.

But this was a special case.  We were told, and as you can see in the tweets below, that Padres Marketing VP Wayne Partello and the Pad Squad brought the drums to the Right Field Mission and presented them to those in robes prior to the game.  The only rule set for them was to keep the drums quiet while the batter was in the box.

@Padres drum their way to victory last night and beat on #VaGiants con mas ritmo! Thanks @WaynePartello You get us! pic.twitter.com/gyPVSI577u

— The Abbot Costello (@DancingFriar) September 20, 2014

@WaynePartello we are simply amazed!! 5runs!! @Padres show #RFM some love tonight as #PadSquad supplied us with luv pic.twitter.com/6qpMKE4ypj

— The Abbot Costello (@DancingFriar) September 20, 2014

The monks were banging the sh_t out of the drums for the entire time we were there.  Sometimes it was done in rhythm with the score board music, sometimes timed with the claps of the crowd and most of the time at random.

Security arrived shortly after us.  Fans were complaining and wanted the friars to take a vow of silence.  The monks of the mission dropped Wayne Partello's name and after a few radio calls they were allowed to continue, much to the dismay of the annoyed fans.  At one point another Padres employee begged them to use their new toys  sparingly.  The speech didn't go over well and didn't seem to have much of an affect.  We left shortly thereafter for unrelated reasons.

Today I got some text messages from a fan sitting in right field.

When fans sitting in right field are annoyed by noise that tells you something, because they sit in the noisiest section of the ballpark.  Not only are the fans rowdier but the PA system WILL create hearing loss.  It's unbearable to sit there for long.  I had to leave my seat earlier this season because of the jolt each song would give my innards.

@kevhilge I notice my voice is raw after games from trying talk over music. I almost lost bowel control in right field, seems louder there.

— Gaslamp Ball (@gaslampball) August 20, 2014

I wasn't really bothered by the drumming while I was in attendance yesterday, but I rarely sit in right field, for the reasons stated above and I knew I wouldn't be there long.  If I had season tickets in that section I can totally understand the annoyance.  Handing out instruments to non-muscians rarely ends well for the listener.  I like the effort by the marketing department.  I want to see fans participating but maybe the friars stick to dancing, they've got a good thing going there.

@gaslampball players loved it. A few fan complaints and an equal amount that stopped me when I was out there to say they loved it.

— Wayne Partello (@WaynePartello) September 21, 2014

Andrew Cashner didn't just dominate the Giants tonight, he did it with the bat, too. Cashner's impressive line (8+ IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 7 K) only tells half the story. He was the only Padre the San Francisco pitching staff couldn't get out, drawing a walk and hitting a triple and a bunt single in his three plate appearances.

Abraham Almonte got the offense started with a ground rule double to right to start the third inning. Unfortunately, he came up lame after rounding third, and would exit the game with a sprained left inning. After striking out Cameron Maybin, Yusmerio Petit gave up a walk to Cashner, bringing Yangervis Solarte up with one out. Solarte hit a grounder to second baseman Joe Panik that should have been a textbook double play, but Panik botched the throw to second. Venable, pinch running for Almonte, scored easily to put the Friars on the board.

Our boys added on a couple more in the sixth inning. Yasmani Grandal hit a one out double to right field, and somebody on the Giants thought it would be a great idea to intentionally walk Seth Smith to get to Rene Rivera. Rene must have taken offense to that, because he drilled a bases clearing double that would end up deciding the game.

Cashner, meanwhile, just kept on dealing. After 8 innings, he had allowed only 2 hits and a walk (he'd also picked up 2 hits and a walk of his own). Even though he'd thrown 102 pitches, Bud Black rolled the dice and sent him back out for the ninth. But Cash was gassed. Hunter Pence led off the inning with a solo shot to left field, his 20th of the season. When Panik followed that up with a single, Black yanked his starter and brought in Kevin Quackenbush. Quack got Posey to fly out. The mission bell rang once. Pablo Sandoval hit a single, putting the tying run on first. The tying run got considerably faster when Bruce Bochy sent in a pinch runner. Unfazed, Quackenbush rallied and got Brandon Belt to strike out looking. The mission bell rang a second time. Gregor Blanco hit a tiny bloop to second. It was enough to score Panik, and it put the tying run in scoring position. That brought up Brandon Crawford, who worked a 3-1 count before finding a pitch he liked. He made good, solid contact, sending a line drive to left field... straight into Seth Smith's glove. The mission bell rang for a third, triumphant time.

Ian Kennedy will go for the sweep tomorrow at 1:10 PM.

Friar Fever led the thread with 22 comments while daveysapien scored the only two recs of the night.

When I saw that Andrew Cashner's triple last night was the first by a major league pitcher this season, it got me wondering whether there have been any seasons in which only one pitcher hit a triple. With only roughly a week left in the season, there's a good chance that could happen this year. I fired up the ol' Baseball Reference Play Index tool and looked up all pitchers who have tripled, grouped by year to see, and there have been no such seasons.

Even if another pitcher manages to leg out a three-bagger in the next eight days, Cashner will still be a part of history, as the current low for triples in a season by all pitchers is three. It was first set in 1991, then tied in 2010. Of course, it will be way cooler if Fast Money sets the record outright; that would make for a great trivia question for years to come.

In addition to being the first major league pitcher to hit a triple this season, Andrew Cashner is the nineteenth Padres pitcher to hit one. I feel like I'm overdoing it with posts about his triple, but it's interesting to me, and this angle on it is more team-history-oriented whereas that one framed it in the context of MLB history.

While Cashner is the nineteenth Padres pitcher to hit a triple, as I discovered with help as usual from the infallible and indispensable Baseball Reference Play Index, his was the twenty-third pitcher-triple in club history, thanks to a few guys doing it more than once. I'll get back to that and various other related facts but first, here's the list:

• Three pitchers have tripled more than once, led by professional hitter Tim Lollar with three, but none have done it more than once in a season.
• The Padres' longest stretch without a pitcher hitting a triple was the nearly six years between Dave Freisleben's second one on July 9, 1976, and when John Curtis hit his on May 7, 1982. They wouldn't have to wait that long for their next one; Juan Eichelberger hit his just 15 days later. As you might suspect, that is the club record for shortest time between occurrences.
• The team record for number of pitchers tripling in a season is three, set in that 1982 season. Along with Curtis and Eichelberger, Lollar hit his first. Three other seasons have seen a pair of pitchers hit triples.
• Of the 19, only seven of them also collected at least one of each other type of base hit during their time with San Diego: Cashner, Young, Peavy, Eaton, Hamilton, Dravecky, and Lollar.
• John Curtis was the oldest Padres pitcher to hit a triple, at age 34. Freisleben was the youngest, at 22 years old his first time around.
• Peavy hit his lone triple in the same game that Aaron Rakers made his sole appearance for the Padres.

The Padres wore their 1984 brown away uniforms last night and looked like themselves again, like the teams from our youth, when you could identify them at a glance and take pride in their appearance.  Each time these uniforms are worn I'm reminded what the Padres could be wearing everyday as opposed as to what they're actually wearing.  When that happens I get angry, throw a tantrum and mad cry.

I just punched a couch cushion. @PadresMikeDee@WaynePartello

— Gaslamp Ball (@gaslampball) September 19, 2014

I'm usually pretty mild-mannered about all things Padres, but this topic continually gets me fired up.  These colors of brown and gold will always be the team's true colors and they are destined to be worn again, it's just a matter of time and some leadership that cares more about the team than their personal preferences.

It'd be such an easy change that would reinvigorate the fan base, but ownership and management are so cautious as they study the subject to death and drag their feet, while making all other decisions quickly and haphazardly.  For God's sake, be bold Padres!  Wear brown and gold!  Be proud of who you really are.

Want Padres fans to come back? Bring back the brown uniforms. | UTSanDiego.com

Easy decisions are rare in a Major League Baseball front office, where calculated risks and educated guesses define the job. But this one here's a no-brainer.

There's no way to drown out the Giants fans on the third base line with their life preserver orange hats, in a sea of bland boring blue.  They'll always stand out until we pick an even bolder gold and sweet chocolate brown.

I can't handle the continuous tease, seeing these beautiful colors used to lure us back in and then abandoned time and time again.  No more studying, no more surveys, there is a right and wrong decision, make the right one, for the Padres, for us.

Partello added that uniform-research is imminent and that the organization will carefully consider the data for this "important decision."

UGH!  My couch cushion may not survive the off-season.

Ian Kennedy joined this weekend's parade of Padres pitchers dominating the Giants. In 6.2 innings on the mound, Kennedy picked up his 200th strikeout of the season and held the opposition to just 2 runs on 5 hits and a walk. For the first four innings, San Francisco pitching was looking equally potent. And then our bats dropped 8 runs on their heads.

The score doesn't tell the entire story here. The first half of the game was a tense pitchers' duel, with IPK holding the Giants hitless for 3.2 innings. Ryan Vogelsong held onto his no-no for even longer, with the Padres not picking up a hit until Seth Smith led off the fifth with a double. The difference between Kennedy and Vogelson? Kennedy didn't fall apart after allowing a hit. Rene Rivera followed Smith with a single, putting runners at the corners with nobody out. Alexi Amarista continued his Giant-slaying ways and brought Smith home with a sac fly.

The Padres bats really lit up in the sixth. Yangervis Solarte and Will Venable led off with a pair of single to put runners at the corners with nobody out. Jedd Gyorko followed that with a grounder to third. Pablo Sandoval tried to tag Venable returning to third and faiiled. Then he tried to throw Gyorko out and failed. With the bases loaded, Vogelsong was pulled and replaced with the not much better Javier Lopez. Yasmani Grandal hit an RBI sac fly off Lopez, and and then Smith drew a walk to reload the bases. That got Lopez replaced with George Kontos. Kontos, like Lopez, got the first batter he faced out, but allowed a run doing so. Rivera smashed a grounder to third, but Sandoval smothered it, getting Rivera at first and only allowing one run instead of two or three. Kontos intentionally walked Amarista to get to Cameron Maybin, who hit a two RBI single to put the Padres up 5-0.

The Giants finally got on the board in the top of the seventh. After getting the first two batters to strike out, Kennedy gave up a single to Brandon Crawford. Chris Dominguez followed that up with his first career homer, a bomb that ended up over by the Western Metal Building. That was it for Kennedy, who would be replaced by Frank Garces.

The Padres got those runs back and then some in the bottom of the seventh. Venable singled and Gyorko walked, leading up to a two run double from Grandal. Rivera would follow that up with a single to put the Friars up 8-2. Garces was joined by Nick Vencent and Joaquin Benoit to shut down the Giants and wrap up the sweep.

Eric Stults opens the final home series against the Rockies tomorrow at 7:10 PM.

abara led today's thread with 39 comments, and shared the rec title with daveysapien at 3 each.

(9/14 - 9/20) A weekly roundup of Padres performances. This past week has been much kinder for the Friars. Taking a 4-game series against the Phils and playing spoiler for the Giants.

With the season already starting to wind down having eight games left and being eliminated from playoff contention; the San Diego Padres are once again left with the antagonist role in Frisco's playoff race. And antagonize them we did. But not before leaving the desert with a loss off of the Diamondbacks to return for our final homestand of the 2014 season, the Padres blasted through the Phillies, outscoring them 15-12 with a two-hit shutout from Andrew Cashner.

Mathematically, we've been eliminated from the playoffs, but I think legally there's still a chance, physically. Don't let math nerds win!

— Gaslamp Ball (@gaslampball) September 18, 2014

The brown was brought back and the Friars ended the calander week with a series winning game against the Giants, the result of an O-Des shutout, followed up by being manhandled by our beard-n-mullet'd Ca$hner in more ways than one.

1-0 win against Philadelphia

On Wednesday against the Phils, Cashner was looking hot. For somebody plagued by soreness mid-way through the season he has been coming back firing. Cash keeps flirting with no-hitters every other time he's on the mound. He posted his 17th start with two or fewer runs at home. Nobody in Padres history has been that hot at home, not even accounting the fact that it was 90°+ all week.

Gamerecap

7-3 win against Philadelphia

Another arm dealing flirting with the disabled list, Robbie Erlin went for 6 good innings only giving up one earned run. He didn't give up any walks, and threw more fastballs than anybody all week, which he kept at a low average at around 89 MPH, right around where junk-tossing Despaigne throws. He replaced Tyson that night who also suffered from that late-season soreness, and did a damn good job and will have another start next Tuesday against Colorado.

Game recap

5-0 win against San Francisco

A game not only capitalized by the monkey-wrench nature of a win against a WC-hunting NL West rival, but elevated by a return-to-form outing from the O-Des. Throwing seven shut-out innings, Despaigne fought hard for that 0 on the board, dealing almost 60 strikes in about 100 pitches. Dishing out a 62 and 68 MPH Eephus, the latter to strike out Pablo Sandoval and end the 1st inning with RISP. O-Des threw hard, and his offense backed him up with 5 unanswered runs from the likes of Little Ninja and Daddy Longlegs.

Game recap

Little Ninja's never-ending style

This season the Little Ninja has had to go from a lovable off-the-bench position player to total pint-sized heartthrob at shortstop, a baseball title we're apparently taking literally now. From leaping catches in the outfield, to clutch RBI's, to diving run-saving plays, it's really no surprise he has been populating almost every single weekly recap I've done. This week, though, he was on fire.

He has played over 6x as many innings at SS compared to 2013, and is showing the faithful that he can cover for Everth Cabrera, who has missed basically a third of the season now from injuries and antics. It's Amarista's on-field antics that are earning him an extra prefix to his title for Super Little Ninja.

Friar:Alexi Amarista
Games: vs Philadelphia, San Fransisco

Cashner still a nightmare at the plate

It's becoming more and more difficult for Cash to hide the fact that he's obviously splitting some of his duck hunting schedule for more time at the batting cages. In both of his starts this week Cashner has been absolutely physical in his plate appearances. His showcase last week against the Dodgers resulted in him reaching third base.

This week he hit the game-winning RBI in a two-hit shutout against the Phils, and ripped a triple off of Yusmeiro Petit (not before drawing a walk in his first at bat off of Petit, who previously had only given up 1 walk in all of September).

In San Diego our pitchers do it all.

Friar: Andrew Cashner
Game: vs San Fransisco

Seth guns a Byrd down in public

Something I've loved watching all season is opponents trying to run up on Seth Smith. At the beginning of this month Corey Dickerson got to feel Smeth's wrath. Earlier in the season Joey Vottofelt the Smethxy experience as well. This week Marlon Byrd learned all about Seth's college-quarterback arm when trying to tag-up a shallow fly ball. Lesson learned, Professor Smith.

Friars: Seth Smith, Alexi Amarista
Game: vs Philadelphia

Gyorkstore closes down shop

This month the Gyork' has been leading the club in a lot of ways. Plate apperances, BABIP, AVG, WAR, and has finished the most double plays in the entire league like it's his signature wrestling finish. Defensively this season he hasn't had too much opportunity to shine with the second-fewest innings played out of all qualifying second basemen, but when he is out there at second he sure knows how to put on smooth defensive action. The Gyorkstore has the right to refuse service, and Jedd exercised that right all week.

Friar: Jedd Gyorko
Games: vs Philadelphia, San Francisco

And some bonus moments from the week:

Liriano trips in the desert

After Rymer is left a little bit excitable on a wild throw past first base, he takes off for third. Not before being embarrassed in front of his whole team.

Despaigne tactically faceplants

Notorious speedster O-Des helps his own cause after a rocky start to record the first out of the inning. It was a clean dive, and luckily Despaigne's face caught the fall for the rest of his body.

Gwynn Jr. recieves Petco Park ovation

Returning to Petco Park the first time since the heart-crushing news hit Tony Gwynn Jr. and the world of baseball, fans give the former-Friar a warm welcome. Something that Phillies fans wrapped Gwynn Jr. up in on his first plate appearance after that day.

Luchadores de los Padres

Fiesta Padres night was treated to Lucha Libre wrestlers Tigrillo, Black Mamba, Kanalla, Dementor, Scream, Pensamiento Negro, Rey Horus, Animaniac, Zarco, and Xtorm.

Top September Week 3 Performances

Alexi Amarista

2 HR / 8 RBI / .320 ISO / .320 AVG / .640 SLG / .997 OPS / .421 wOBA / 176 wRC+ / 2.4 offensive rating / .4 defensive rating / .4 WAR

Andrew Cashner

17 IP / 1.06 ERA / 14 SO / 2 ER / 6 H / 1 CG / 7.41 K9 / 1.06 BB9 / 24.6 K% / 3.5 BB% / .47 WHIP / .109 AVG / .125 BABIP / 90.9 LOB%

• Yasmani Grandal was very very patient, drawing the most walks and showing the most plate discipline. He rarely swung outside the strike zone (21.4%), and barely swung the bat in general, (46.2% in the strike zone, 29.3% in general). He swung at strikes the most (12.9%). Also, when Yangervis Solarte swung at pitches inside the zone he made contact 100% of the time.
• Odrisamer Despaigne posted a great game against the Giants on Friday. Half of the balls hit against him this week were kept on the ground and nothing he threw left the park.
• Yangervis Solarte does not like striking out. In his 25 plate appearances he has struck out twice. He has also popped off the most singles in the club.
• Total runs for the Friars this week: 29. Earned off 59 hits (39 singles, 15 doubles, 2 triples, and 3 home runs). We allowed 20 earned runs and gave up 15 walks with 3 home runs.

Nearly six years after Sean Mulligan's lone major league plate appearance, Jason Pearson became the fourth two-game wonder in Padres history. Coincidentally, Pearson also became the fourth Padres player to wear number 59, the same number Mulligan wore. A left-handed relief pitcher by trade, Pearson was just a year and a half removed from playing independent ball in Fargo, North Dakota, and Moorhead, Minnesota, when the Padres promoted him from Portland on June 3, 2002.

Pearson made his major league debut the very next day. The Padres were trailing the visiting Giants 3-1 in the top of the ninth inning when he was summoned to face left-handed hitter J.T. Snow with one out and the bases empty. The veteran first baseman, who abandoned switch-hitting a few years earlier, worked the count to 2-1 before lining out to right fielder Bubba Trammell. Padres manager Bruce Bochy stuck with his rookie despite a right-hander being due up next. Pearson rewarded his skipper's faith by getting third baseman David Bell to ground out to his counterpart, D'Angelo Jimenez. Giants closer Robb Nen then took care of the Padres in the bottom of the ninth, and that was the ballgame.

Three days later, with the Padres across the country in St. Petersburg, Pearson was called on to protect an 8-3 lead. Before the eighth inning, he and Trenidad Hubbard entered the game in a double-switch, replacing Trammell and Brian Lawrence. Devil Rays first baseman Steve Cox greeted them both rudely, lining Pearson's second pitch right out of Hubbard's reach for a double. Thoroughly unfazed, Pearson proceeded to strand Cox at second by striking out Ben Grieve, Aubrey Huff, and former Friar John Flaherty. Nobody knew it at the time, but that was Pearson going out on a high note.

The next day, Pearson was placed on waivers, and was claimed by the Giants shortly thereafter. He spent the rest of the season with their AAA affiliate in Fresno without being called up to San Francisco, and signed with St. Louis as a free agent after the season. Pearson also pitched in two games for the Cardinals, and never returned to the majors after his disastrous second appearance in red.

...I'm sure the notoriously morally-superior-to-you Cardinals fans -- the best fans in baseball, just in case one of them hasn't told you lately -- had nothing but the nicest things to say about him after that.

This is the twelfth post in a series of 30 which, at the rate I'm going, should wrap up right around the same time Jedd Gyorko's contract does. The basic premise is that I look up players who played for both the Padres and their current opponent on Baseball Reference, then create a 25-man roster out of the good and not-so-bad. Of the dozen of these I've done so far, this team is one of the worst. It makes sense, since the Rockies have only been around since 1993, leaving a smaller pool of players to choose from.

Starting Lineup:

C- Sandy Alomar, Jr.
1B- Brad Hawpe
2B- Eric Young
SS- Vinny Castilla
3B- Jeff Cirillo
LF- Greg Vaughn
CF- Steve Finley
RF- Seth Smith

It pained me so much to write Brad Hawpe in at first base, but to quote W. Axl Rose in Civil War, "My hands are tied." He actually hit well for a spell in Colorado, but it's hard to look past his brief stay in San Diego. I know Vinny Castilla made his name and his money as a third baseman, but he started out as a shortstop, and it was either that or Desi Relaford.

Bench:

C- Yorvit Torrealba
IF- Todd Walker
OF/IF- Ron Gant
OF- Jay Payton
OF/1B- John Vander Wal

There's not much drop-off from the starters to the reserves. If this theoretical team were to play a season, all of these guys would get their fair share of starts, and then some.

Starting Rotation:

Bruce Hurst
Jon Garland
Andy Ashby
Pedro Astacio
Jason Marquis

Not the most exciting bunch of guys, but in their primes they'd keep you in the game.

Bullpen:

Alan Embree
Greg Harris
Matt Herges
Marc Kroon
Mark Grant
Steve Reed
Huston Street

Harris would be the long-man and spot starter. Herges had a solid, under-the-radar career, as did Reed to a greater extent in both regards. Kroon was largely unsuccessful in the majors, but was a superstar closer in Japan. Street would render every lead after eight a sure victory.

Who would you sit or start instead? Was there anyone I left in the minors who you'd call up?

As part of an ongoing effort to see how his predictions for the season went, Jason Hunt looks at his picks for players to target and avoid from the start of the year.

A key step each year for me is to look back at how some of my selections turned out. Here at Fake Teams we picked a player to target and a different player to avoid at each position while releasing our consensus rankings, so it gives me an opportunity to look at how those selections went and whether the thinking behind the selection ended up correct, even if the pick didn't.

Catcher

Target: Wilson Ramos
Avoid: Mike Zunino

Ramos has performed well, hitting 11 home runs with a .272 batting average. I noted that I thought he could be a 20+ home run hitter this year, which, if he could stay healthy for a full year, would be his pace since he has only played in 79 games this year. We just may never see that season at this point, as 79 is the high total since appearing in 113 games in 2011.

Zunino has hit 20 home runs this year, but it has come with a .194 batting average and a 9-to-1 strikeout-to-walk rate. He's probably best used as a flier at the end of drafts in 2015 given how bad the batting average is, but the power was nice and could lead him to be overdrafted next year.

First Base

Target: Mark Trumbo
Avoid: Eric Hosmer

Trumbo got off to a quick start in the power department, hitting seven home runs in his first 21 games of the year. Unfortunately, he missed two months with a stress fracture in his foot and has just two home runs since returning in mid-July.

Hosmer was the recipient of a lot of helium to start the season, and while the performance has was better in July, the overall numbers were not in line with the potential when he was drafted. A lot of owners got burned by him this year, so he may end up a bit undervalued in 2015.

Second Base:

Target: Howie Kendrick
Avoid: Martin Prado

Kendrick has had another season with a high batting average (.292), some power (7 home runs), some speed (14 steals), and generally been a very solid five-category contributor. Odds are that you got him later than the 8th second baseman off the board, which is where he ranks through 9/16 in 5x5 leagues.

I wrote that I thought Prado would be a reach given the additional position flexibility, and that appears likely to hold up with his season now over. He is currently the 15th ranked 2B in 5x5 leagues, but you likely had to grab him earlier than that to get him.

Third Base:

Target: Todd Frazier
Avoid: Aramis Ramirez

I liked Frazier simply to repeat what he did in 2013, but he went out and added even more value for his owners with 20 stolen bases to go with 26 home runs so far. It seems like this has the potential to be repeated in future years, making him a top 5 option at the position next year.

I argued that Ramirez would go in some drafts as the hitter that hit 25+ homers with a .300 batting average in the past, and that he wasn't coming back this year. Ramirez is hitting .296 but has just 15 home runs and has missed about 20 games this year as well. He's likely a second-tier option for 2015 at third base.

Shortstop:

Target: Xander Bogaerts
Avoid: Everth Cabrera

Sigh. The only prospect I picked out for these posts, and he just never got going this year. The Red Sox split him between third base and shortstop, which will be nice for his eligibility next year, and he remains a reminder that not all prospects come up and destroy the league like Mike Trout.

Cabrera performed about as I had anticipated at the time, that he would be an empty stolen base total and not provide much value otherwise. Add in some time missed with injuries and now apparently an arrest on suspicion of a DUI, and Cabrera owners cannot be happy with how this year turned out.

Outfield:

Target: Jacoby Ellsbury

Ellsbury is currently the 11th ranked outfielder, and has performed about as you were hoping when you drafted him (15 home runs, 38 steals, .271 batting average). The run total (69) hasn't turned out as well as expected, but with the Yankees' lineup held together with bubble gum and duct tape at times this year, it's not a huge surprise.

Starting Pitcher:

Target: Josh Johnson
Avoid: Jered Weaver

Well, that Josh Johnson selection went well. I liked the potential value, but the often-injured pitcher turned out to be injured again and did not make a single appearance this year for the Padres. The Padres do have a $4 million team option on Johnson since he didn't make at least seven starts, so he could be interesting again next year if he can stay healthy. (Hey, don't laugh, it could happen!)

Weaver has pitched well this year, but is still just the #35 ranked starting pitcher as a result of a lower strikeout total and a slightly elevated ERA from his norm. He's done about as we expected overall (he was our #36 starting pitcher in our consensus ranks at the start of the year), but if you went off the name, you probably drafted him earlier than that and didn't get back quite as much.