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Why Dean Anna Has Not Been Called Up

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For those not familiar with Dean Anna he was the Padres' 26th round pick in 2008, he's 26 years old, an infielder with experience at 2B, 3B and SS and was the 2013 Pacific Coast League Batting Champion. The last two facts are what has been getting him the most attention recently. The Padres are currently playing veteran mercenary Ronnie Cedeno at SS and also had to deal with Chase Headley recently being sidelined with back issues. Dean Anna would seem like a logical minor leaguer to come in and provide relief for one of those two issues.

However, the first thing to know about Dean Anna is he is not considered much of a major league prospect. Allow me to borrow from John Kochuro's Hardball Times feature Trapped in the minors: Dean Anna:

(John) Sickels is arguably the best prospect analyst in the business. His 2013 book profiles 1,210 players, including 40 who were born in 1986 (Anna’s birth year) or earlier. So it’s not like Anna missed some sort of age cutoff—he’s just so underrated that he didn’t make it into the book.

And please don’t think I mean to pick on Sickels. I searched the Baseball America website for "Dean Anna" and got two hits—both from before the 2008 draft. Bottom line: nobody knows who this guy is—not even John Sickels or Baseball America.

I'd disagree with that last point. It is not that they do not know who he is. They know. They talk to scouts including, I assume, Padres scouts who evaluate their own minor league system. There just is not a lot of buzz about Anna becoming a successful major leaguer. Especially because he is already 26 years, which is old for a prospect who is experiencing his first real breakout. At his age, that breakout is probably just a career year not a sign of things to come. Does that mean if he were given a chance he is guaranteed to fail? No, of course not. But, it is certainly a strike against him when considering all the factors.

So, what other factors are there? The main one is the 40 man roster. The Padres just used up the last available slot on that roster by adding Tommy Medica to it. Medica was about to become Rule 5 draft eligible in the offseason. Last year the Padres lost now Oakland Athletic Nate Freiman by exposing him to the draft. They did not want to take the same risk with Medica and in order to protect a player who has been in the minors as long as Medica has the team has to put him on the 40 man roster. They will later have to do the same for Keyvius Sampson. Anna, on the other hand, has been Rule 5 eligible the last two seasons and no team has selected him. So it is not just the Padres that are not willing to take a chance on him.

The other deadline that looms with minor leaguers is the free agent deadline. Seven years after they are drafted they can enter free agency. Since Anna was drafted in 2008, he will not be eligible until after the 2014 season. So assuming that once again he is passed over in the rule 5 draft, he will still be a Padres minor leaguer for another year where he can prove himself.

Getting back to the 40 man roster, maybe you figure someone on there is expendable and the Padres should just open up a spot (A Ronnie Cedeno DFA would be an option with Anna getting his starts at SS) and give this guy a chance. Well, that works for this season but there are future ramifications. Currently being hidden from the 40 man roster are players the team has put on the 60 day DL. All those guys with major injuries who will not be free agents next year (Casey Kelly, Cory Luebke, Clayton Richard, Joe Wieland, Yasmani Grandal) will need to go back on the 40 man roster after the season ends. That is already going to require releasing a few players since by my count 44 players will be on that roster plus, as I mentioned before, Sampson. There are a few easy candidates to release from those 44/45, but the last couple get hard. Adding Dean Anna only further complicates that.

All that being said, there is nothing here that definitely says that Anna should not be given a shot. It just illustrates the complexities and the risks and rewards of the scenario. The upside here is that Anna is a utility infielder with a useful bat and the downside is that he is a PCL career year mirage. Either way (or somewhere in between) it costs you the release of someone on the fringe of the 40 man roster this offseason (perhaps even Anna himself if his trial is an absolute failure). If the team were in contention, then perhaps you take the risk to try to increase your pennant chances much like the Padres did with Brian Myrow in 2007 when they were desperate. However, that is not the Padres' current situation. They need to keep around as much talent as they can so as to prepare for some future year where they are in contention.  In the end though, the risks versus rewards of the whole thing are all pretty small potatoes. Nobody should be calling foul over whether or not he gets a chance in the majors this season.


Padres With 1st Career Homers Off Cy Young Winners

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Yesterday, Tommy Medica made his first career start and hit his first career home run to become the 357th person to hit a home run in a Padres uniform when he hit it over the left field wall off Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee. Soon after, it was pointed out that Lee is a former Cy Young Award winner and it got me thinking "How many players have hit their first career home run as a Padre off a Cy Young winner?" The answer to that question took me much longer than I thought it would. I scanned through the archives, searched through the tombs, and have found what I was looking for.

As of today, 13 Padres players have hit their first career home runs off Cy Young Award winners. Though, only 10 of those players hit the home runs off pitchers who had already won the award. The other 3 players had their first career home runs off pitchers who would go on to win the award. In fact, Joe Lansford and Benito Santiago had their first career home runs off future Cy Young Padre pitcher Mark Davis. Lansford had his first (and last) in September 1983 and Santiago collected his in September 1986. The other player to strike before the Cy Young is awarded was John Kruk with his home run off Dennis Eckersley in May 1986.

The first Padre to hit his first career home run off a Cy Young award winner was Fred Kendall when he took the 2-time (and reigning) Cy Young award winner Bob Gibson deep in July of 1971. Dave Hilton had his home run off of 1971 winner Ferguson Jenkins in April 1973. The Cy Young winner from 1974 Mike Marshall gave up a home run to Jerry Turner in June 1976. Bob Davis had his first career homer in May of 1977 off 4 time Cy Young winner Steve Carlton in what became the year of Carlton's 2nd Cy Young Award.

In April of 1981, pitcher Tim Lollar hit his first career home run off 3-time award winner Tom Seaver. Another Padres pitcher, Calvin Schiraldi, got his first home run off 1981 award winner Fernando Valenzuela in September 1989. Tom Lampkin took 1986 award winner Mike Scott deep in July of 1990.Tom Glavine, a 2 time Cy Young Winner, gave up a home run to Mike Colangelo in May 2001.Justin Huber got his first home run off 5-time Cy Young award winner Randy Johnson in April of 2008

Last night, Tommy Medica became a member of this club with his home run off 2008 Cy Young award winner Cliff Lee. However, Medica does hold one advantage over the rest. His home run came off Lee in his Major League debut, a feat no other Padres player achieved. Congratulations to Tommy and hopefully he keeps moving up that list of Padres career home run leaders.

Also, if you can find someone I missed, please let me know in the comments. I don't want to have to go back into the tombs.

What To Watch For in the Season's Final Weeks

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2013 has been an up-and-down year for Padres fans.  The team that looked to be in shambles during the season's first month has since put together long stretches of quality play broken up by periods of prolonged helplessness, leaving the team's future uncertain.  The club that initially planned to compete for playoff spots in earnest starting in 2014 thought for a time that their playoff window might have come early by midseason, only to have their hopes dashed by poor play and the surging Los Angeles Yasiel Puigs.  Still, the team has managed a 24-24 record since the season's midpoint and look to finish strong while evaluating both new and current talent.  Although the playoff push may not come this season, there are still plenty of players to get excited for with respect to 2014 and beyond.  A lot of guys are playing with chips on their shoulder, and these may be the most interesting among them.  Here are 14 Padres to watch closely at season's end, along with a goal each player might seek to accomplish as they finish the season.

Yonder Alonso

2013 has been a struggle for the former hurricane. He's battled injuries, including the semi-mysterious hand injury that is currently keeping him off the field. Scans reported no structural damage but Yonder hasn't been able to swing the bat. No player wants to finish the season with an injury, especially a guy who showed promise by hitting .281 before his first DL stint, and never found his rhythm upon his return. Alonso has always been a hitter with a great approach, but without overwhelming physical abilities. He's always going to want to get as many reps in as possible.

Key to success: Getting enough at bats to develop a consistent rhythm and make adjustments to his approach

Chase Headley


As we all know, Chase has had a very frustrating season. He's been derailed by injuries from the beginning and like Alonso, has never gotten himself in rhythm. Fortunately, the second half of 2013 has been a moderate return to form for Chase. He's hit .272 and turned in a slugging percentage of .424 since the all-star break. Coupled with his typically excellent defense and patience at the plate Headley is looking like an above average regular once more. He's been on a tear so far this month and continuing his good play should help him regain the confidence you want in a middle of the order hitter.

Key to success: Regaining the confidence that made him Chase G*****n Headley in 2012

Jedd Gyorko


Its been an up and down year for the Padres top rookie. He scuffled out of the gate to start the year and battled a month long midseason slump where he went 5-for-50 and didn't draw a single walk. Being able to consistently draw walks has been the most conspicuously absent part of Gyorko's game so far this season, walking about half as often as he did as a minor leaguer. The good news is that in spite of all this, Jedd has looked like a quality MLB regular. Since struggling in the April, the WVU product has altered his approach to be more aggressive in early counts so that pitchers can't abuse him with breaking stuff out of the zone. This approach has helped him tee off on early fastballs, but we've still yet to see Gyorko showcase his patience as an offensive weapon. It'll be interesting to see whether he continues to be aggressive to close out the season or reverts to the more patient approach he has used before his mini-breakout.

Key to success: Staying aggressive in early counts without chasing pitches out of the zone.  Also keeping the Jerkstore well stocked.

Logan Forsythe


He's had a tough go of things this season. After delaying his season debut until June due to plantar fasciitis, the Aristocrat started off swinging a hot bat, looking like he was picking up where he left off at the end of 2012. The rest of his season has been incredibly disappointing. Though he's provided a lot of positional flexibility, capable of playing corner outfield in addition to all the infield spots, he just hasn't been able to hit the ball in any consistent and meaningful way. As a utility Jerry Hairston Jr.-type, its important for Logan to hit with an exploitable platoon split. Although he's a career .286 hitter against lefties, he's managed only .194 this season. If he finishes the season unable to mash lefties, then he's going to have a much more difficult time making the opening day roster next season. If the entire team was healthy there would be almost no reason to play him over Alexi Amarista, who is a stronger and more flexible defender.

Key to success: Punishing mistakes against left-handed pitchers

Will Venable


Much has been written about Max Venable's basketball playing son and his quasi-breakout year. We've seen Will play like an all-star for long stretches before, only to fizzle out and completely forget how to approach an at bat for dozens of games. He's cooled considerably since the start of September since an unconscious July-August stretch, but if he were to finish strong it would represent the longest stretch of above average play in his 5 seasons with the team.

Key to success: Maintaining an immaculate hairline and assertive approach at the plate

Tommy Medica

is he a prospect? Can he stick on a big league roster without a position? The 25 year old former catcher with two bad knees and one bad glove already reminded us why he deserves a September audition - he can flat out hit.  His wRC scores through the AA level indicate a guy who produces nearly 2/3rds more runs than the average hitter in the potent Texas League.  He does this with a healthy combination of power and patience.  Unfortunately for him, he's old for a prospect and his offensive numbers may not be as strong as you'd like for a guy who is basically a one-way player at this point in his career.  Still, if he manages to bring his productive offensive game to the big club he could challenge Jesus Guzman for a spot as a pinch-hitting bench bat.  Typically guys like that carve out a niche by being able to cream good fastballs, or mash lefty relievers.  Its too early to know what kind of a hitter Medica will be, but he's going to get a few chances to show everyone over the next few weeks.

Key to success: Staying alive in tough counts and punishing pitcher's mistakes

Reymond Fuentes


Carlos Beltran's cousin has burst back onto the scene this year after nearly falling off the prospect map in 2012. Fuentes came back in a big way, earning himself a September call-up and a lot of opportunities with the Padres missing their regular CF. He's flashed a decent speed and defense combo so far, but those were never in question when he was a prospect. The major corner he turned in the minors this season was improving his ability to make consistent contact and drive the ball - cutting down on strikeouts while preserving a respectable walk rate. He's going to need to continue to improve his contact skills and ability to hit the ball with some level of authority. In honesty, a few September ABs aren't going to tell you a whole lot about a 22 year old former first-round pick, but if he is able to put some spank against MLB-caliber fastballs he can do a lot to quell the fears that he will turn out to be another Luis Durango.

Key to success: Flashing the talent that made him promising enough to deal with Eric Patterson

Huston Street


With his well-documented early struggles this season, Street has been digging his ERA out of a hole since the all-star break. The good news is that Street has been dominant since the ASB. He's shutting hitters down with a 0.47 ERA in the second half of the season, and more importantly he's allowed just one home run, versus the 10 long balls he served up in the first half. Street Is a heavy user of a hard-breaking slider. When the slider is working, Street has put a stranglehold on opposing hitters. When he doesn't have a feel for the slider, his accurate-but-not-overpowering fastball is not enough to put away hitters, especially when he's facing late game pinch-hitters who tend to be fastball-hitting specialists. With all the small sample size caveats that go along with evaluating relievers, it will be encouraging for next season if Street is able to continue his dominant run and renewed comfort with his out-pitch.

Key to success: Continuing to throw the slider with confidence

Anthony Bass


Bass has pitched like the Will Venable of pitchers this season. He flashes excellent stuff, with a hard slider and a fastball that touches the mid 90s, but he's been maddeningly inconsistent. Along with his inconsistency the knock on Bass has been his lack of an MLB-quality third pitch. The spotty nature of his changeup has kept him out of the starting rotation and it seems both Erlin and Smith have leapfrogged him in the organizational depth chart. He will probably also be buried behind prospects Joe Wieland and Casey Kelly next season unless he turns a corner with his third pitch. Let's see if he starts mixing it in more this season or in winter ball. If we don't see a lot of changeups it's probably a safe bet that the team is grooming him to be a reliever.

Key to success: Continuing the develop his changeup and changing his intro music to the D.O.C.'s "Let the Bass Go"

Robbie Erlin


After being shuttled back and forth for much of 2013, Erlin is finally getting an extended look without fear of being demoted after a bad outing. Erlin is a crafty, deceptive lefthander in the vein of an Eric Stults or Sterling Hitchcock type. The keys to his success are limiting the free passes, painting the corners, and keeping hitters off balance with his off-speed repertoire. Like Stults, pitch sequencing and location are absolutely critical for Erlin's success. Erlin has a plus changeup that is said to be a potential swing-and-miss offering, but the young southpaw hasn't been getting in enough two-strike counts to showcase the pitch. As mentioned before, lefthanders that rely on deception to get outs tend to have a much slower development path than pitchers with dominant fastballs. Cliff Lee, Al Leiter, Sterling Hitchcock, Kenny Rogers, Chuck Finley, and even our own Cory Luebke and Eric Stults were relatively late bloomers by starting pitcher standards. The precarious part of Erlin's position is that a lot of control-and-deception lefties tend to fizzle out. Major league hitters are often too good to fall for the smoke and mirrors. Fortunately for Erlin his velocity is a cut above many other pitchers in his mold and he appears to have a very high pitching acumen. He's got his work cut out for him, but given his youth, skillset, and potentially long development path, it's going to take more than a few poor September starts to write him off as another Wade Leblanc.

Key to success: Showing the "pitchability" factor that got him noticed as a prospect

Burch Smith


Smith is basically bizarro Robbie Erlin. He's had a meteoric rise through the Padres farm system and made his major league debut with only around 200 professional innings under his belt. More of a "thrower" than a pitcher at this point, Burch relies on a low-to-mid 90s fastball with incredible movement. He also mixes in a change and curveball to set up his fastballs. Many feel he was rushed to the show, though it is possible that the organization wanted to do some trial-by-fire to force Smith to trust more in his secondary offerings as MLB hitters can square up on most anybody's heater when you allow them to sit on a fastball. The encouraging news is that he is still getting whiffs, despite general ineffectiveness - 13.2% swinging strike rate shows potent stuff, even in a small sample.  If his additional offerings never fully develop there is a good chance that he has a future as a high-leverage relief pitcher.  Smith is not ready to contribute yet and the odds of him making the rotation out of ST next year are pretty slim, but this is an interesting teaser and showcase of his talent. I will be looking to see if he can work through the jitters and exhibit enough confidence to work in his secondary offerings enough to keep hitters honest. It could be an incredible opportunity for growth and development.

Key to success: Exhibiting more confidence in his secondary pitches to set up his fastball

Tyson Ross


Ross has shown a lot to love in the last several weeks. Arguably, no Padre has more to gain from finishing strong than Ross. He's consistently flashed the mid-90s fastball and incredible slider that made him an early draft pick in 2008 and an intriguing prospect ever since. At 26 years old, he's having his longest stretch of success as a major leaguer. Crediting Bud Black and pitching Coach Darren Ballsley for refining his unorthodox pitching motion and re-focusing his fastball repertoire Tyson has made the most of his extended audition in the starting rotation. As a guy who has been on the cusp of contributing for so long, Ross is probably going to need to be dragged off the field once this season is over. At this point the thing to watch for in Ross' starts is whether he starts to implement his rarely-used changeup more, as hitters could adapt to his reliance on hard stuff in the future. Other than that, it feels like we're watching a guy figure things out for the first time in his mid-20s.

Key to success: For the love of god, don't get Tommy John Surgery

Andrew Cashner


Although Cashner hasn't looked as dominant as some hoped for this season, he has quieted a lot of doubters with his unexpected durability. For September, Bud Black has gone to a 6-man rotation in hopes of getting Cashner some extra rest and getting more reps for Erlin and Smith. The interesting part of this is that it opens up the opportunity for him to go deeper into games and be less ginger with his fastball. Early in the season Andrew credited Darren Ballsley for helping him preserve his fastball velocity deeper into games. Though he wasn't throwing in the triple digits with any regularity, the big Texan was able to save some of his bullets for late innings. In his last two starts (with extended rest) Cashner has been able to dial up the heat a little bit higher than we've been used to seeing this season, and he's still taking the rock deep into games. It will be interesting to see whether he can keep up this combination of velocity and stamina to close out the season. The other point of interest in Cashner's season is that he's been throwing far fewer sliders in "out" counts than he has in the past. Although he's left the pitch up in a few bad outings recently, Cashner has shown a lot more comfort with the changeup since his transition to the rotation. This is a good sign, since the change is thought to put less stress on a pitcher's elbow and doesn't have as significant of a Left/Right platoon split as a hard slider, though one would think that Cashner's strikeout number would increase if he goes back to using the slider more on two-strike counts.

Key to success: Improving his 2-strike offerings and promising to never shave his beard again

Brad Boxberger


The oft-forgotten piece in the Mat Latos trade, Boxy is funky, deceptive reliever with closer potential. He's always struggled with command and control, but his strikeout numbers are hard to ignore. So far, Major League hitters have also had a hard time picking up the ball out of his hand and the changeup has been working for him, leading to an impressive whiff rate. Other than late-career Trevor Hoffman there isn't much precedent for a changeup specialist with middling fastball velocity having success in a late-inning role, but Boxberger's unorthodox delivery and great ability to hide the ball might give him a slight advantage against hitters who aren't used to seeing him. He's playing for a full time bullpen role next season, but to earn that he's going to have to continue to limit the walks and show how hard he is to hit.

Key to success: Being around the plate enough that hitters chase the offspeed pitches that actually are out of the zone

Tommy Medica Joins An Even More Exclusive Club In Padres History

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San Diego Padres rookie Tommy Medica added to his career batting record with a single and a double tonight as well another RBI. He faced Roy Halladay, his second straight night facing a former Cy Young pitcher. After 2 games, he has 3 hits and 2 RBI off of Cy Young award winning pitchers.

While his home run last night placed him in an exclusive club, his double tonight puts him into a more exclusive club in Padres history. Only two other players have had their first double and home run come off of former Cy Young award winners. Benito Santiago had his first double in his first career game against 1986 Cy Young winner Mike Scott on September 14th, 1986. That was also his first career hit. As you know, 3 days later, he hit his first career home run off future Cy Young winner and future Padre Mark Davis. Santiago also had his first RBI come off of 1971 Cy Young award winner Vida Blue in this game with his 2nd coming off of Davis on a walk off home run in the bottom of the 10th.

The other Padres player to have their first double and home run off of a Cy Young award winner is pitcher Tim Lollar. What makes him different is that both hits came off the same pitcher, Tom Seaver. While Lollar collected his first career hit, a home run, in April of 1982, he had to wait until he faced Seaver in August of 1982 to get his first career double.

The more Medica plays against Cy Young pitchers, the more exclusive his place in Padres history becomes. Should he get his first triple off a Cy Young award winner, he’ll become the first player in team history to get the cycle of career firsts solely off of Cy Young pitchers.

Will Venable is Two Stolen Bases Away From the Tenth 20/20 Season in Padres History

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With his eighteenth stolen base of the season Thursday night in Philadelphia, Will Venable inched one step closer to another milestone in his breakout season. Two more steals, when combined with his 22 homers, will give Venable just the tenth 20/ 20 season in Padres history.

The nine 20/ 20 seasons by Padres have been achieved by seven players; two players did the trick twice. Dave Winfield was both the first to do it and the first to do it twice. He had 24 HR and 21 SB in 1978, and went 20/ 23 in 1980.

After Winfield's second, it would be ten seasons before Padres fans had another 20/ 20 season. Joe Carter went 24/ 22 in 1990, and was joined three years later by Derek Bell and his 21/ 26 season. In 1996, Steve Finley had the first 20/ 20 season for the Padres with one component reaching the 30-mark. He hit exactly 30 homers and stole 22 bases. Reggie Sanders joined the club three years after that with 26 home runs and 36 steals, the closest any Friar has come to a 30/ 30 season.

Ryan Klesko became the sixth Padre to go 20/ 20 in 2000, with a 26/ 23 season. One year later, he put his name in the books as the first to do it in consecutive years. The next, and most recent time it has happened was in 2006 when Mike Cameron went 22/ 25.

In addition to the 20/ 20 club, Will is also likely to join the 20/ 20/ 20 club. He is currently sitting on 19 doubles. The Padres' 20/ 20/ 20 club consists of everyone in the 20/ 20 club except for Derek Bell, who hit 19 doubles in his 1993 season.

If for some reason Venable doesn't steal another base the rest of the season, he will still be in select company. As it stands now, this season is one of only 13 in team history by a player with 20 HR and a minimum of 18 SB. Along with the 20/ 20 guys, a young John Kruk had 20 homers and 18 steals in 1987. Ruben Rivera was 23/ 18 in 1999, nearly giving the Padres their first season with two members of the 20/ 20 club. Mike Cameron followed up his 2006 season with a 21/ 18 showing in 2007. He likely would have made it to 20 steals again if Milton Bradley hadn't stepped on his hand in the process of everything that could go wrong going wrong at the end of that season.

...but that's a story for a completely different day (or not; I'd just as well forget about it) so, uh, go Will!

Chris Denorfia Has Worn 13 for the Padres Longer Than Anyone Else, Ever

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Since today is Friday the thirteenth, I thought I'd write something about all the players who have worn 13 for the Padres over the years. I was wondering if Chris Denorfia was the all-time leader in games wearing the number since the 13s I could recall didn't stick around for long.

Luckily for me, Baseball Reference has made looking up this sort of thing extremely easy. It wasn't that convenient as recently as a few years ago; if one wanted to know this sort of thing they'd have to sift through each year. As it turns out, Denorfia has a commanding lead in games played over the other 16 players who have worn 13 for San Diego. In fact, no one else has even worn it for more than two seasons, a number eclipsed by Norf's four and counting.

Of the 16 Padres previous to Denorfia, only five wore 13 on their back longer than one season. They were infielder Fernando Gonzalez (1978-79), pitcher and sideburn enthusiast Juan Tyrone Eichelberger (1981-82), noted Gwynn-hater Mike Pagliarulo (1989-90), arrogant drunk driver Jim Leyritz (1998-99), and Schilling-killer Ben Davis (2000-01). Davis wore 25 in 1999, taking 13 when Leyritz was traded to the Yankees in the offseason.

The remaining 11 players who wore it in only one season are pinch-hitter Ramon Webster (1971), the awesomely-named Dick Sharon ('75), future manager and clown Bobby Valentine ('77), former All-Star Bobby Tolan ('79), future Cy Young Award winner Mark Davis ('87), one at-bat wonder Todd Steverson ('96), journeyman Jorge Velandia ('97), future drug-aided All-Star Gary Matthews ('03), reliever Antonio Osuna ('04), jack of all corners but master of none Robert Fick ('05), and infielder Oscar Robles ('07).

Before joining the Padres, Denorfia wore number 19 with both the Reds and the Athletics. If you don't know why he wasn't able to wear that number in San Diego, well, I just don't know what to say.

Series Preview: Atlanta Braves vs. San Diego Padres

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Welcome to the Show, David Hale.

The 25-year-old righty will make his MLB debut for the Braves in the opening game of a three-game series with the visiting San Diego Padres, whose 25 road wins are the second-fewest in the Majors.

The Braves make a brief pit stop at home before heading back out on the road again, by which time they (hopefully) should have the division clinched; their magic number currently stands at six with 16 games remaining.

San Diego has lost two in a row after winning six of seven and appears to be on its way to a third straight losing season, entering this series at 66-79. Will Venable has been one of the few bright spots for the Padres. Venable leads the offense with 22 home runs and 52 RBI and just signed a two-year extension earlier this month. He's also a .296 career hitter in 26 games against Atlanta, but he's hitting just .125 in eight games at Turner Field.

Everth Cabrera leads the team in steals, but since he was named in the Biogenesis report, he is currently serving his suspension. As insurance for Cabrera, San Diego signed Ronny Cedeno, who's hitting .310 in 27 games with the Padres. Cedeno has actually been San Diego's hottest hitter lately, batting .379 in September. Venable, meanwhile, has hit just .206 this month. Chase Headley is hitting .292 since missing six games with a back ailment.

Ian Kennedy has seen modest success with his new team: he's allowed no more than two runs in five of his seven starts with the Padres. Kennedy has seen the Braves twice this year and has allowed seven runs and nine hits in 9.1 innings. He is the only familiar face the Braves will see among the starters in this series; they'll be getting their first looks at lefty Robbie Erlin and righty Burch Smith who both made their MLB debuts this year. Neither has been spectacular, but both have been given looks due to season-ending injuries to Clayton Richard and Jason Marquis along with the trading away of Edinson Volquez.

The Braves didn't see closer Huston Street in San Diego due to injury, and he was performing very poorly at the time. Since June 26, however, Street has allowed just one run in 23.1 innings with 22 strikeouts.

Friday, September 13, 7:30 p.m. ET - FOX SportsSouth

David Hale

#62 / Pitcher / Atlanta Braves

6-2

205

R

R

Sep 27, 1987

Ian Kennedy

#22 / Pitcher / San Diego Padres

6-0

190

R

R

Dec 19, 1984

W-LERAWHIPKBB
2013 - Ian Kennedy (with Padres)3-13.761.384122

Saturday, September 14, 7:10 p.m. ET - FOX SportsSouth

Kris Medlen

#54 / Pitcher / Atlanta Braves

5-10

190

B

R

Oct 07, 1985

W-LERAWHIPKBB
2013 - Kris Medlen13-123.461.2813941

Robbie Erlin

#41 / Pitcher / San Diego Padres

5-11

190

R

L

Oct 08, 1990

W-LERAWHIPKBB
2013 - Robbie Erlin2-25.561.472312

Sunday, September 15, 1:35 p.m. ET - FOX SportsSouth

Julio Teheran

#49 / Pitcher / Atlanta Braves

6-2

175

R

R

Jan 27, 1991

W-LERAWHIPKBB
2013 - Julio Teheran12-73.051.2015445

Burch Smith

#26 / Pitcher / San Diego Padres

6-4

215

R

R

Apr 12, 1990

W-LERAWHIPKBB
2013 - Burch Smith0-19.172.042211

09/13 Padres Preview: Game 147 @ Atlanta

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After dropping two of three in Philadelphia, the Padres continue their second-to-last road trip of the season with a series in Atlanta. The series opener against the Braves will pin veteran right-hander Ian Kennedy against rookie right-hander David Hale, who is making his major league debut.

Kennedy is making his eighth start in a Padres uniform, and so far things have gone pretty well for the right-hander. He has already matched his win total in his 21 starts as a Diamondback this season, going 3-1 with a 3.67 ERA while accumulating 41 strikeouts in 40 2/3 innings of work for San Diego. He most recently threw five innings against the Rockies, allowing two runs (one earned) and collecting seven strikeouts. He was pulled after only 87 pitches, but Bud Black indicated that the move was more an opportunity to give some of the September callup pitchers a look than a reflection on Kennedy's performance. In five career starts versus the Braves, Kennedy is 2-0 with a 3.64 ERA, though he has yet to win at Turner Field. He's also had some recent struggles against them, posting a 5.79 ERA and issuing seven walks while pitching 9 1/3 total innings in his two previous meetings with them this season.

The Braves hope to take advantage of Kennedy's past struggles at Turner Field as they turn to Hale in the absence of Paul Maholm. Hale is a Georgia native and pitching prospect drafted out of Princeton in 2009. He was called up last week and gets the spot start tonight a sore elbow keeps Maholm sidelined. In 20 starts and 2 relief outings at Triple-A Gwinnett this season, Hale went 6-9 with a 3.22 ERA.

With Atlanta owning the best record in the league and an 11-game lead over the rest of the NL East, there isn't too much pressure on Hale. But with a magic number of six, the Braves could clinch the division title, a feat they haven't accomplished since 2005, as early as Sunday. The Padres, on the other hand, have been officially mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. But that hasn't stopped them from going on a late season surge. They are 6-3 in their last nine games and, as the past has indicated, San Diego has never been a team to just lay down when they have no postseason hopes to play for.

Follow along as the series in Atlanta gets underway at 4:30 this afternoon.


Andrew Cashner was a guest on MLB's Intentional Talk

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Andrew Cashner was recently a guest on Intentional Talk and gave a little background on his acting exploits.

Cashner's story

Cashner was asked about his Luchador mask commercial.  He admits that he didn't want to do the commercial but once he was persuaded he tried to have fun with it.  He said the best part of the commercial was when he told the Friar not to be jealous.  It was a piece of impromptu dialogue he improv'd in the moment.  The commercial itself only took 15 minutes to film.

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My friend's story

The idea of filming in a luchador mask reminds me of a story that happened to a college friend of mine last year.   He's an "actor" and traveled to Prague to film a soft core movie for Skinemax.  His pregnant wife at home didn't seem to mind.

So anyway, he shoots the whole movie and finds out later that they edited out his simulated sex scene with the lead actress because he was apparently to doughy and not as fit as the other actors who he says were "cut more than cheap cocaine".  He finds out that the producers had another "actor" re-shoot the scene.  The thing was they obviously couldn't show the other actor's face for continuity reasons.  I think you see where I'm going with this...

So another friend of ours, curious to see how the producers solved the character swap problem, found the movie on-demand and watched it.  Apparently my "actor" friend is lead off screen by the lead actress prior to their sex scene. It's then that  you hear his character's voice (not his voice) ask "Do I really need to wear this?" coming from the bathroom.  When his chiseled character (not him) enters the bedroom he's only wearing a luchador mask and the two proceed to make sweet love.

See so that story isn't so different from Cashner's, they both involve luchador masks.

I digress....

The answers to the Rapid Fire Questions posed to Cashner:

  1. Cashner carries around 300 bucks on average in his money clip.
  2. His worst nightmare is getting attacked by snakes.
  3. His weirdest teammate is Ian Kennedy.
  4. Dave Roberts is nicer than Bud Black.
  5. He receives jock strap wedgies all the time.

Huston Street Becomes Sixth Pitcher in Padres' History to Record 30 Saves in a Season

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After Huston Street tied a bow around San Diego's win last night with his thirtieth save, I got to wondering how many other Padres closers have reached that mark. I imagine they mentioned it on the postgame show, but living out here in Jedd's neck of the woods I'm not privy to such fine programming so I had to look it up.

Before I fired up the trusty ol' Baseball Reference Play Index, I made a mental list of the guys I thought had saved 30 games as a Padre. I came up with seven names. Turns out I got them all but I was still wrong. There have only been six. Much to my surprise, Goose Gossage never got 30 saves in any of his three years in San Diego.

The six pitchers in the club have combined for 21 seasons of 30 saves, led by exactly who you'd expect to top the list. Here's the leaderboard:

13. Trevor Hoffman (1995-'02, '04-'08)
3. Heath Bell (2009-'11)
2. Rollie Fingers (1977-'78)
1. Mark Davis (1989)
1. Randy Myers (1992)
1. Huston Street (2013)

San Diego has been without a 30-save man only three out of the past 20 seasons. Trevor saved 20 games in 1994, his first year easing into the role. When he lost nearly all of 2003 to injury, the late Rod Beck led the team with 20 saves. Most recently, Street finished with 23 last season due to some injury issues of his own.

The Padres' 40-Save Club is even more exclusive, consisting of just Hoffman, Bell, and Davis. Trevor did it nine times, Bell did it all three seasons he held the closer role in San Diego, and Davis did it in his Cy Young season. I look forward to adding Street's name to that list roughly a year from now. Or, hey, if things go really well in 2014, Huston could join Hoffy in the 50-Save Club.

09/14 Padres Preview: Game 147 @ Atlanta

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After a win in Game 1 yesterday, the Padres look to secure the series victory over the Braves today. Southpaw Robbie Erlin will get the ball in Game 2, making his first appearance since September 3rd. Since being recalled, Erlin has made two solid starts, going 1-0 while giving up just three runs total in 11 1/3 innings. It's an improvement from his first six outings (four starts) this year, over which he went 1-2 with a 7.15 ERA. Most of Erlin's struggles, however, have been on the road, where he's posted an 8.62 ERA in three starts and two relief appearances.

Pitching opposite Erlin will be Kris Medlen, who had a rough start to his season but has since come back and been a big help to the Braves down the stretch. He's been especially hot lately, going 7-2 in his last nine games while posting a 2.75 ERA. That includes winning each of his last three starts while keeping opponents to just three combined runs. Today he'll try to build on that, as well as his career success against San Diego. In six outings (two starts) against the Padres, he is 2-2 but has posted a 1.33 ERA in those games. Both of his starts against them were phenomenal, as he combined for 17 scoreless innings.

See how Erlin fares against the NL East leaders and whether or not Medlen can keep the Padres scoreless once again. Game time is set for 4:10 this afternoon.

Medlen wins fourth straight start, Freeman homers as Braves beat Padres 2-1

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Leave it to Kris Medlen to stop Atlanta's losing streak to the Padres.

Medlen has undeniably been Atlanta's best starter of late, and he pitched into the eighth inning while Freddie Freeman had himself a three-hit night as the Braves finally beat the Padres in 2013 by a final score of 2-1.

Just like yesterday, Atlanta broke the scoreless tie in the fourth inning, but it was Chris Johnson who delivered the run-scoring hit with two outs against Robbie Erlin.

Medlen continued his stellar pitching, allowing just three singles in seven innings and also received support in the form of a Freddie Freeman home run in the sixth; Freeman also had singles in the first and fourth innings. Medlen finished with five strikeouts and four hits allowed in 7.1 innings and has yet to give up a run to the Padres in three career starts covering 24.1 innings.

Chase Headley proved himself to be a pest yet again with a home run off Craig Kimbrel, but Kimbrel sealed the win with a pair of strikeouts in the ninth.

The win, paired with the Nats losing (finally), shaved Atlanta's magic number to 4.

Win Expectancy Chart

Source: FanGraphs

Braves 2, Padres 1: No Coming Back In This One

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1st Inning

Will Venable has been pretty good on the offensive side of the game these days, right? But, it's been a while since we've seen his defense show itself. Well, America's Finest City's Sweetheart never aims to disappoint. On a hard hit ball to center, he goes horizontal for the 1st out.

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Eliot Johnson was not as psyched about the catch though.

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2nd Inning

Tommy Medica continues his successful streak of games. A single in the inning gives him a hit in each of his 4 career games. Pretty good start to this baseball job.

3rd Inning

With BJ Upton on 1st base, Robbie Erlin threw to 1st on pickoff attempt. The ball bounces on the base path. Medica drops to his knee, takes the ball off his chest hockey goalie style, picks it up, and throws it to 2nd to get Upton out stealing. Medica does it all.

4th Inning

Somebody has to start leading sometime. Like last night, the Braves struck first. After singles from Justin Upton and Freddie Freeman, Robbie Erlin was able to record 2 outs. However, Chris Johnson would not suffer the same fate. A single to left scores the first run of the ballgame.

Braves 1-0

5th Inning

The Braves were looking to add to the lead with runners on, but Chris Denorfia was not feeling that. A single by Justin Upton leads to The Norfia using his cannon to get Johnson out at home.

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6th Inning

Freddie Freeman homers to push the lead to 2 runs.

Braves 2-0

9th Inning

Comeback time? It nearly was. Like last night, Chase Headley was tasked to face a new reliever with the Padres on the brink. And like last night, he connects with a deep fly ball to right field for a home run. But, this time, there was no tie. Headley's home run puts a run on the board. Unfortunately, no one could come up with the winning hits before the 3rd out was recorded.

Braves 2-1

Tough game, but Robbie Erlin had a good outing. He went 6 innings and collected the quality start by only allowing those 2 runs on 8 hits. He walked only 1 batter while striking out 2. Tomorrow, the Padres look to take the 2nd series from the Braves this year when Burch Smith takes on Julio Teheran at 10:35am. Breakfast baseball for the masses. Win tomorrow, Padres!

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09/15 Padres Preview: Game 148 @ Atlanta

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The Padres will send another rookie to the mound this morning as they try to lock down the series in Atlanta. Burch Smith gets the ball in the series finale at Turner Field. The righty is in his fourth stint with the Padres this season and is still looking for his first major league win. So far his big league career hasn't been smooth sailing, as he's gone 0-1 with a 9.17 ERA in seven games (four starts). Tonight will be his first start since September 6th, when he pitched five innings of two-run ball while collecting seven strikeouts

Facing Smith will be Braves rookie Julio Teheran. The right-hander has been solid for Atlanta this season, compiling a 12-7 record and 3.05 ERA. He lost his only previous outing against the Padres back in June. He gave up five runs on six hits through six innings of work at Petco Park. But Teheran has excelled in his 14 starts at home, where he's 7-3 with a 2.62 ERA and an average of almost ten strikeouts per nine innings.

Mark Kotsay to retire after 2013 season

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After 17 seasons with seven different franchises, current San Diego Padres outfielder Mark Kotsay has announced that he will retire at the end of the 2013 season, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune.

"I know this is a good time physically and mentally for me to retire . . . these are my last games as a player," Kotsay said.

More Padres coverage: Gaslamp Ball

Kotsay, 37, began his career in 1997 with the then-Florida Marlins. Since his first call-up, he has played in over 1900 career games and hit .276/.332/.405 with 127 home runs, 720 RBI, and 353 doubles. Kotsay has spent the last two seasons with the Padres, the team he also played for from 2001-2003.

A herniated disc in his back suffered in 2003 caused Kotsay a series of pains throughout his career, requiring several epidural injections and, eventually, two surgeries. He did not have the first surgery until spring training of 2007, and played in just 233 games the three following years.

"The back definitely caused an interruption at the peak years of my career," he told the Union-Tribune. "The second surgery took away my ability to play every day. After that, I was done being an every-day center fielder or outfielder."

Kotsay had his best season in 2004, his first with the Oakland Athletics. In 148 games that year, he hit .314/.370/.459 and clubbed 15 homers. He finished 14th in the American League MVP race that year.

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Will Venable Reaches The 20/ 20 Mark

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Hey, you know how I mentioned a few days ago that Will Venable was on the cusp of just the tenth 20/ 20 season in Padres history? Well, cusp-be-gone because he just stole his twentieth base of the season to join Dave Winfield and six other guys who aren't in the Hall of Fame. Well, Joe Carter's bat and stuff are but whatever.

With one out in the top of the sixth inning of a scoreless tie against the Braves today, Venable singled his way on against Julio Teheran. One out later, he stole his way into scoring position and the record books. It accomplished exactly what stolen bases are supposed to do, as he was able to score on Jedd Gyorko's single for the first run of the game.

I imagine the 20/ 20 Club being a lot like the SNL Five Timers Club. He'll get handed a classy smoking jacket and a scotch, and then Steve Finley will show him the ropes and introduce him to Reggie Sanders and the rest of the guys.

Burch Smith chops up Braves offense, Padres win 4-0

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Atlanta's offense lately has been, well...offensive. So is it any surprise that the Braves get shut out by a rookie that has more or less been horrible this year?

Burch Smith allowed just three hits in seven innings as the Padres leave Atlanta with a 4-0 win in the series finale.

The pitching matchup clearly favored the Braves coming in. Opposing hitters were hitting .325 against Smith; Julio Teheran has been having a stellar rookie campaign with a 3.05 ERA and 154 strikeouts.

Teheran retired 14 straight hitters after giving up a pair of first-inning hits, but those pesky Padres struck again when Will Venable singled in the sixth and scored on Jedd Gyorko's single. Chase Headley followed that with - surprise - a home run. Tommy Medica added a home run in the seventh.

The Padres couldn't figure out Teheran until the sixth inning, but none of Atlanta's hitters could figure out Burch Smith. The rookie struck out seven through four innings and didn't allow a hit until Teheran singled leading off the sixth. Smith finished with 10 strikeouts in seven innings.

Win Expectancy Chart

Source: FanGraphs

Josh Geer leads Missions to Texas League title, leads me to dig out an old baseball card of him

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Today Josh Geer got his name back in people's mouths for the first time in a while, as he pitched five shutout innings in the deciding game of the Texas League Championship. It's been quite a journey for Geer since 2009, when he last pitched in the majors. He's struggled in AAA, missed a season while kicking cancer's ass, struggled a bit more because he was rusty due to missing a season kicking cancer's ass, and then settled in to have a good season with San Antonio this year.

I was pretty sure I had a Josh Geer card around here somewhere, as his brief stay in San Diego was around the same time I was getting back into the hobby. Sure enough, I dug up his 2009 O-Pee-Chee card. Some of you might recognize the O-Pee-Chee name. They are best known for making the French-English bilingual versions of Topps cards back in the day. The following photograph is for reference purposes only, and absolutely not because I will look for any excuse possible to show off my Joey Cora collection:
Snapshot_201303261_1226_medium
There, now you know what I'm blathering on about. But by 2009, the O-Pee-Chee name had been bought by Upper Deck and converted into a standalone line. I really liked the design; it was old-timey without being derivative of anything in particular. The backs of the cards fit the same description:
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As you can see (Maybe? If you squint?), Geer had a very good small sample size in 2008 with the Padres. He was 2-1 with a 2.67 ERA in five starts. Unfortunately, he got lit up in '09, which led to the aforementioned struggles in AAA. See what I did there? Full circle like Pennywise. That's quality acceptable writing.

Headley wants to stay with Padres

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Padres star third baseman Chase Headley would like to stay in San Diego, writes ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. Headley, who is having a rather disappointing 2013 season following his breakout 2012 performance, is set to become a free agent following the 2014 season, and it remains to be seen how the Padres will deal with his impending free agency.

Headley told Crasnick that his "first priority would be to stay in San Diego" long term. "I love San Diego, and I've been with a lot of guys in this room for a long time. There are a lot of pieces here, and we're a lot closer [to contending] than people think," Headley added.

The Padres originally selected Headley in the 2nd round of the 2005 amateur draft. The University of Tennessee alumni spent just two years in the minors before making his big league debut in June of 2007. Headley earned the starting job mid-way through the 2008 season, and for the next four years was a steady producer in the Padres' lineup. At age 28, Headley finally broke out last season, slugging .286/.376/.498 with 31 home runs, a 145 wRC+, 7.2 WAR, and a league leading 115 RBIs. He won both a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Award while finishing 5th in NL MVP voting.

Unfortunately, Headley's overall production has slipped significantly in 2013, as he is currently hitting .243/.335/.380 with a 3.1 WAR in 126 games. Headley is still an above average offensive weapon with a 110 OPS+ this season, and his defense has continued to be phenomenal. However, Headley has seen both his strikeout rate increase and walk rate decrease, while seeing a significant reduction in his power output. He is on pace to finish with the same double and triple totals as last season, but his home run total has slipped from 31 bombs last season to just 12 this season, despite the Padres bringing in their fences before the season.

Headley suffered a thumb injury late in spring training, and it is very possible that lingering effects from the injury have hampered his play this season.

Considering Headley will probably be more valuable then a compensatory first round selection in the 2015 amateur draft, the Padres have two viable options for how to handle Headley's future with the team.

The first option would be to sign Headley to a contract extension this winter. While the option probably seems appealing to the Padres organization, as they could get a potential discount on a star-caliber player coming off a disappointing season, Headley's camp may prefer to delay the signing of a new deal until sometime during the 2014 season, in hopes that Headley can recover some of his lost stock.

The other potential path for the Padres would be to trade him sometime this offseason or before next summer's trade deadline. There should be a decent number of teams looking for a long term solution at third base, with the Dodgers and Angels being two possible suitors.

Whichever option the Padres decide on, Headley has made it clear that he would like to remain a Padre. If he can regain his 2012 production, then Headley could be a cornerstone for the next contending Padres team.

More from MLB Daily Dish:

Mark Kotsay announces retirement

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San Diego Padres outfielder/first baseman Mark Kotsay will retire at the end of the season, according to U-T San Diego's Bill Center. The 37-year old is known as a clubhouse leader, and told Center that he would like to get back into baseball in another capacity after he hangs up his cleats.

“The game is what I know and what I love,” said Kotsay. “I haven’t thought about a future direction at this point. There is no specific plan or time about when and how I get back involved.”

In 95 games with San Diego this season, Kotsay has hit just .190 with 1 HR and 12 RBI, signaling that it may be time for him to move on from the game. He has remained with the major league club all season, serving as a mentor to the many young players on the Padres' roster.

After being selected by the Marlins as the ninth overall pick of the 1996 draft, Kotsay spent four years with Florida before being traded to the Padres in 2004. He has always thought of San Diego as his home, and returned to the Padres before the 2012 season after spending time with five different teams between 2007 and 2011.

In 1,905 career major league games with the Marlins (1997-2000), Padres (2001-2003, 2012-2013), Athletics (2004-2007), Braves (2008), Red Sox (2008-2009), White Sox (2009-2010) and Brewers (2011), Kotsay is a lifetime .276 hitter with 127 HR and 720 RBI. His best season came in 2004 with Oakland, when he finished fourteenth in the voting for American League MVP after hitting .314 with 15 HR and 63 RBI.

Kotsay is one of three veterans to announce their retirement this week, joining Vladimir Guerrero and Todd Helton.

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