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Peoria Javelinas Won Their Final Game of the Season

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Javelina season ended today.

There will be no championship this year. In fact, the Peoria Javelinas played to make sure they do not finish with the worst record in the Arizona Fall League. That's rough.

Last year, the Javelinas were champions of the AFL and today, they sent out their squad for one final game this fall.

Padres prospects Austin Hedges, Cory Spangenberg, and Tommy Medica all started today. After the game was over, the Javelinas were officially in 5th place overall in the AFL. Their 3-0 win gave them a record of 12-19 to avoid last place. Though, they still would have avoided it because the other team down there, who was 1 game worse before today, lost their game today to finish 10-21.

For one of the 3 Padres prospect starters, this fall has been a tough time under the sun for them in a Javelinas uniform.

Tommy Medica

The AFL has not treated him nice. Medica, who debuted with the Padres this September, made his presence known immediately. In 19 games this September, he batted .290 in 69 at-bats over 19 games. His 3 home runs and 10 RBIs gave us some sort of glimpse into the future for Medica.

Unfortunately, Medica had major struggles at the plate. In 66 at-bats this fall, he batted a dismal .121 with only 8 hits in 20 games. His 2 doubles and zero RBI are very disappointing to see, especially after the impact he made with the Padres. One must hope that this may just be a rough patch. Fortunately, he will have the offseason to prepare for Spring Training 2014 when the way he swings the bat will truly begin to matter.

Austin Hedges

Hedges had himself quite a nice outing in the league. His defense has been spectacular and his offense numbers were just as good. In his 15 games with the Javelinas, Hedges had 15 hits in 55 at bats. His .273 batting average along with 6 RBI made him a very productive member of the team. He finished 2013 with the San Antonio Missions so he will be one to watch for once Spring Training rolls around next year.

Cory Spangenberg

Spangenberg played extremely well in the AFL. He led the team with a .308 batting average, 12 runs scored, an OPS of .849, and has the 2nd most SB on the team with 7. He also tied for the team lead in hits with 20. Cory brought his A-game this fall and his regular season stats were just as good. His overall BA over the regular season was .292 and racked up a total of 150 hits over 513 at-bats. His 36 stolen bases is an indication of the type of threat he is on the base paths. He finished 2013 with the Missions and will be another prospect knocking on the Petco Park doors in 2014.

Padres Pitching Prospects

I would be remiss of I didn't at least mention the Padres pitching prospects with the Peoria Javelinas. Keyvius Sampson, Adys Portillo, Dennis O' Grady, Johnny Barbato, and Joe Wieland each took the mound this fall.

Portillo struggled in his 9 appearances giving up 11 ER in 11.1 innings for an ERA of 8.74. Granted, 8 of those ER occurred in only 2 of the 9 games, but it is still a troubling statistic.

Barbato gave up 9 ER in his 14 innings pitched.

O'Grady gave up zero ER in his 9.1 innings pitched.

Prior to today, Wieland made a single appearance for the Javelinas going only 1 inning and giving up 2 hits and 1 ER while recording 1 strikeout. It was his first game since undergoing Tommy John surgery in June 2012. This afternoon, he took the mound and threw a shutout inning, giving up only 1 hit and using only 11 pitches.

Sampson has been the gem of the 3 pitchers. In his 11.1 innings pitched, he allowed only 8 hits and 1 ER for an ERA of .79. He spent most of the time working out of the bullpen, making only 1 start over his 9 games. He finished the regular season a bit rough in Tuscon so it is nice to see him have some good outings in Peoria.

About halfway through this I realized that I should have let jodes produce gifs from some underground double secret footage of these games or something in a final farewell to the Javelinas. At least until next year when Max Fried and Hunter Renfroe lead them to the title.

It was a valiant effort for the Javelinas, but it was just not to be. Goodbye, Arizona Fall League. Though the seasons will change, your name will stay the same.

More from Gaslamp Ball:


Dave Roberts To Be The Next Padres Bench Coach

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Dave Roberts takes over the bench coach position left behind by former coach Rick Renteria

Looks like we’ve got ourselves a bench coach. According to Jay Paris, Dave Roberts will take over the bench coach position for the Padres next season.

I love the choice. They keep it in-house with a guy who knows the players, knows the game extremely well, and is just a great person all around. Plus, it’s always nice when TTG is right about something.

But, now what happens at first base? Do they go with one of the Marks they have hanging around? Of course I’m talking about Mark Kotsay and Mark Loretta. They already know the way to the stadium so they wouldn’t get lost on their first day on the job. Kotsay still has the uniform. My choice? Trevor Hoffman.

Imagine that visual. I call it...

Hoffman At The Corners

That is the dream. Both Hoffman brothers manning their posts on opposite sides of the field. Trevor sending runners to older brother Glenn. It could create some sort of baseball rivalry between the two. I would love to see it. However, that probably won't happen. But, a guy can dream.

So, what are your thoughts? Is Roberts the right guy for the job? Should we petition the Padres for Hoffman At The Corners? Is there someone else out there you'd like to see at 1st base?

Bud Black talks to Marty Caswell about the Padres off-season

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Marty Caswell caught up with Padres manager Bud Black at the SDSU basketball game and asked him a number of questions.

My notes:

  • Black is following local sports teams but also keeping tabs on Padres players.   He's been talking to the Padres Baseball Operations staff to get ready for next season.
  • Both GM Josh Byrnes and A-GM A.J. Hinch have been to Arizona several times to look at players in the Arizona Fall League.
  • Joe Wieland is feeling good, he's pitched twice.  Austin Hedges and Cory Spangenberg had good fall league performances.  Tommy Medica did not.
  • As far as injured players, Carlos Quentin is feeling better.  Corey Luebke had a few setbacks but he's felt better the last 6 weeks. He'll be throwing this weekend in San Diego.  Cameron Maybin is on the mend.
  • Black thinks that instant replay is going to happen in 2014.  He's a proponent.  He thinks with today's technology that you have to use it.
  • Black says his wish list for next season includes starting pitcher, a bat and maybe an outfielder, in that order.  Bats are tough to find, so it's better to develop them, like Jedd Gyorko.

Minor League Ball Gameday, November 15th

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Mesa clinches the AFL East division and will take on Surprise for the championship.

Good afternoon everyone. It went down to the wire, but the Mesa Solar Sox barely edged out the Salt River Rafters for the Eastern division title. The Sox finished 19-11-1 while the Rafters came in with a 19-12 record. The championship game will be played Saturday the 16th at 3:10 PM EST at Scottsdale Stadium. Starting pitchers have not been announced as of yet.

Final League Standings

TEAMWINLOSSTIEGB
AFL EAST
Mesa Solar Sox19111-
Salt River Rafters19120.5
Scottsdale Scorpions10219.5
AFL WEST
Surprise Saguaros18121-
Glendale Desert Dogs131624.5
Peoria Javelinas12196.5

Game Recaps

Mesa 9 - Glendale 3

Tyler Collins and Zach Borenstein combined to drive in seven of the nine Mesa runs yesterday. Collins was 1-3 with a home run, two walks, two runs, drove in four and struck out once. Borenstein came in a defensive replacement and was 1-2 with a walk, home run, three RBI's and a run scored. Kris Bryant crossed the plate three times, going 1-3 with two walks. CJ Cron kept up his hot hitting going 2-4 with a double, RBI, sac fly and a run scored with an error. In Cron's last 10 games he's been hotter than the desert, hitting .486/.545/.757 with two homers, four doubles, eleven RBI, seven runs, four walks and four strike outs. Brian Goodwinscored once, hit a double and walked with two punch outs. Devon Travis went 2-5, and Addison Russell walked, stole a base and struck out twice. Sammy Solisthrew great, winning his league leading fifth game, allowing just a run on six hits with four strike outs and a pick off in five innings. He was followed by two innings from Omar Duran where he gave up two runs on two hits, a walk, wild pitch and two strike outs. Cam Bedrosian worked a clean inning with a strike out and RJ Alvarez worked around two hits and one strike out.

Andrew Heaney put up a solid start as well, working three innings allowing a run on four hits and two walks with three punch outs. Somehow he was still tagged with the loss. AJ Achter walked a man then allowed a two-run homer to Borenstein in an inning. Craig Stem got worked for four runs on four hits with an inning, allowing a three-run shot to Collins. Colby Suggs struck out one and walked one in an inning before Edgar Olmos came in and walked three, allowed two hits and two runs while getting just one out. Jarrett Martin struck out the next two to get out of the inning stranding three men. Nick Wittgren struck out one, setting the side down in order then Trevor Maydid the same minus the punch out. Brian Cavazos-Galvez knocked three doubles with a run scored and an RBI. Corey Seagerand Colin Moran were both 2-4 with Seager scoring once and Moran striking out twice with an error. Eddie Rosario saw some time in left and got on base twice, walking and hitting a single with a run scored, strike out and was picked off. Travis Mattair knocked in one with a sac fly and struck out once.

Salt River 3 - Scottsdale 2

Kyle Crick may have out-pitched opposing starter Aaron Sanchez today, but Sanchez and his Salt River squad took home the W. Sanchez allowed one run on six hits and two walks with three strike outs and a wild pitch in five innings. Mike Montgomery threw two perfect innings, setting all six men down in order with two strike outs mixed in. Lee Stoppelman gave up a run in his inning on a walk and a hit. Jake Barrett earned the save working around two hits with a strike out. The Rafters got the most out of their three hits, also walking seven times. Dustin Garneau hit a solo shot and caught both runners that tried to steal on him behind the plate. Kyle Parker doubled and struck out, and Stephen Piscotty got the other hit with a single, RBI, walk, run scored and a strike out. Kenny Wilson scored on a walk with two strike outs. James Ramsey walked twice and struck out, Jake Lamb walked once and struck out twice, Nick Ahmed walked once and Mike Freeman knocked in one with a walk.

Crick did not allow a hit in three innings with two walks and five punch outs. John Cornely walked two and gave up a hit resulting in a run in his one frame. Brett Gerritse took the loss with a disastrous outing, allowing two runs on two hits, two walks, an error and a strike out with a home run allowed. Zach Thornton, Juan Jaime, andFred Lewis threw shut out frames a piece. Thornton walked one, Jaime struck out one and Lewis struck out two, neither of the three allowed a hit. Andrew Susacwas 2-3 with a walk, Mason Williams was 2-3 with a double, run scored and was caught stealing. Alen Hanson and Addison Maruszakboth singled, struck out and drove in one but Hanson also walked and was caught stealing as well. Alex Dickerson and Robby Hefflinger both singled once as well while Dickerson struck out once and Hefflinger went down twice. Gift Ngoepe finished with the second lowest batting average of all position players at .085 by going 4-51. Pratt Maynard took those honors home by going 0-4.

Peoria 3 - Surprise 0

Peoria's pitching staff was on point, striking out 13 with just one walk and four hits allowed to the West division champs. It started with Matt Heidenreich going four innings with just one hit allowed and six strike outs. Joe Wieland and Kyle Hunter worked an inning a piece, both allowing a hit but Hunter also struck out one and walked a batter. Dennis O'Grady put the side down in order before Austin Wright did the same striking out the side. Ken Giles got the save striking out the side as well but with a hit mixed in as well. Cameron Perkins got the only RBI with a double in three at bats. JonathanMeyer doubled as well with a single and a run scored. Cory Spangenberg scored twice with a walk and a sacrifice. Delino DeShields hit two singles, was caught stealing and struck out once. Chris Taylor also knocked a single with a strike out.

Will Roberts gave up three runs (only one earned) on five hits, two walks and seven strike outs in five innings. It was his third loss but lowered his ERA to 6.67. Jason Gurka followed with a scoreless frame, striking out one. Kevin Shackelford worked around a walk and a hit but didn't allow a run. Nick McBride also threw an inning, striking out one. DH Joe Wendle led the offense with two singles and a strike out. Brett Nicholas doubled in three at bats, and Jason Rogerssingled with a strike out and threw out a runner at home. Short stop Tony Wolters worked the only walk, struck out and was caught stealing. Third baseman Ryan Rua and second baseman Jonathan Schoop both came up empty two of three times up and both made a throwing error. Rua also booted a ball for his fifth and sixth errors of the fall.

Final League Leaders

HITTERS (min 40 PA)

CATEGORYPLAYERTEAMPOS
AVG.413CJ CronLAA/MSS1B
OBP.507Andrew SusacSF/SCOC
SLG.774Michael OhlmanBAL/SURC
OPS1.250Michael OhlmanBAL/SURC
wOBA.535Michael OhlmanBAL/SURC
wRC+225Michael OhlmanBAL/SURC
H39Tyler NaquinCLE/SURCF
R22Tyler NaquinCLE/SURCF

22Kris BryantCHC/MSS3B
2B9Kyle ParkerCOL/SRR1B
3B3Stephen PiscottySTL/SRRRF

3Cory VaughnNYM/SCORF
HR6Kris BryantCHC/MSS3B
RBI24Mitch HanigerMIL/SURRF
SB12Kenny WilsonTOR/SRRCF
BB17Garin CecchiniBOS/SUR3B
17Richie ShafferTB/SRR1B
K4Tommy La StellaATL/SCO2B
ISO power.484Michael OhlmanBAL/SURC

PITCHERS (min 10 IP)

CATEGORYPLAYERTEAMPOS
ERA0.00Derek LawSF/SCORHRP

0.00Fred LewisNYY/SCOLHRP

0.00Chasen BradfordNYM/SCORHRP
WHIP0.59Nick WittgrenMIA/GDDRHRP
WINS5Sammy SolisWAS/MSSLHSP
IP32Bo SchultzAZ/SRRRHSP
H6Shawn ArmstrongCLE/SURRHRP
6Chasen BradfordNYM/SCORHRP
6Nick WittgrenMIA/GDDRHRP
6Shae SimmonsATL/SCORHRP
ER0Derek LawSF/SCORHRP
0Fred LewisNYY/SCOLHRP
0Chasen BradfordNYM/SCORHRP
BB1Chasen BradfordNYM/SCORHRP
1Dominic LeoneSEA/PEORHRP
K29Sammy SolisWAS/MSSLHSP
BB/90.75Dominic LeoneSEA/PEORHRP
K/913.94Ken GIlesPHI/PEORHRP
K/BB15.0Dominic LeoneSEA/PEORHRP
FIP1.08Nick WittgrenMIA/GDDRHRP
BAA.130Nick WittgrenMIA/GDDRHRP
HR6Will RobertsCLE/SURRHSP
SV6Dominic LeoneSEA/PEORHRP
LOSS5Aaron NorthcraftATL/SCORHSP
GP13Jarrett MartinLAD/GDDRHRP
13Nick WittgrenMIA/GDDRHRP
K%38.8Nick WittgrenMIA/GDDRHRP
BB%2.0Dominic LeoneSEA/PEORHRP

Links

****Behind the paywall at BP, Doug Thorburn is continuing his Bush League series, highlighting Noah Syndergaard of the Mets.

****Over in the fanposts, Dalman is handling the Community Ratings of this past year's rookie class. #2 went to Yasiel Puig and #3 is up for voting now.

****The Internet Baseball Awards coincided with the official Cy Young voting with Max Scherzerwinning the AL and Clayton Kershaw taking home the hardware for the NL.

****In the MVP category, the IBA also announced their winners. Mike Trout edged Miguel Cabrera out for the AL crown and Andrew McCutchen bested Paul Goldschmidt for the NL award.

****Jim Callis broke down the Crick v Sanchez match up in more depth.

****Mark Sheldon looked at Billy Hamilton and his trip to the Puerto Rican winter league.

****MiLB.com did a Q&A with defensive specialist Austin Hedges of the Padres.

****The Aberdeen Ironbirds will be changing their uniforms and dropping the blue for a straight orange and black look like their parent club.

Top Prospect Lists

****The Miami Marlins were the subject of FanGraph's next Top 15 prospect list. They also did a Q&A with #1 on their list, left hander Andrew Heaney. Carson Cistulli brought the STEAMER projections for the Top 15 to the party.

****The guys over at Bullpen Banter revealed their Top 10 Indians ProspectsFrancisco Lindor leads the pack and they also note six other players to keep an eye on.

****Baseball America released the Milwaukee Brewers Top 10 Prospects. In a system bereft of any impact talent, Jimmy Nelson takes the top spot. A chat with list maker Tom Haudricourt and detailed reports are after the paywall.

****Baseball Prospectus let their Top 10 for the Chicago White Sox out of the bag. Prof Parks and company tabbed Erik Johnson as the #1 prospect in the system.

Padres and Red Sox Sign Each Other's Former Relievers

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Padres sign former Red Sox minor league reliever Anthony Carter to a minor league deal while the Red Sox sign former Padres relief pitcher Tommy Layne

The San Diego Padres, according to Corey Brock, have signed Anthony Carter to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training.

Carter has spent his 8 years as a pitcher in the minor league systems of the Chicago White Sox and the Boston Red Sox. The right-hander was drafted by Chicago in the 26th round of the 2005 MLB draft. From 2006-2012, he played in every level of the White Sox organization. He began his career as a starter until 2010 when he became a reliever. In 2013, he signed with the Red Sox organization and spent the season with Boston's AAA team in Pawtucket.

Carter has a minor league career ERA of 4.58 and is coming off his best year in which he sported a 3.47 ERA in 52 games pitched. As Brock stated in his tweet, Carter had a 11.4 K/9, which he compiled last year. That mark was  highest throughout his career.

As I said earlier, the Red Sox picked up former Padres reliever Tommy Layne.

Layne was designated for assignment when Cory Luebke and Joe Wieland were reinstated to the Padres 40-man roster last month. The left-hander spent 40 games with the Padres over his 2 seasons on the majors, though the majority of 2013 was spent in the minors with Tucson.

The signing of Carter brings another potential arm to the Padres bullpen in 2014. We will see what the future holds for Carter. For now, welcome to the Padres organization.

More from Gaslamp Ball:

Archi Cianfrocco On Film

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The man. The myth. The legend.

I was going to break this post into two separate posts but I didn't want anyone going "Two posts about Archi Cianfrocco?" Plus, if I broke them up into 2 posts, I don't think I could bring out the best in myself to talk about the same person twice in a short amount of time using videos from the past about Archi Cianfrocco without feeling like I'm forcing Cianfrocco on everyone. It's a matter of principle. It's just how the cookie crumbles or some other strange cliche that I'm trying to remember but just can't. Everyone still there? Haven't abandoned me with my post of treasures yet? Great!

Archi Cianfrocco. Go ahead. Say it out loud. Don't be shy. I've heard that if you say it 3 times fast on a baseball diamond, nothing happens. What, you thought something cool would happen? Please. Archi Cianfrocco has better things to do than give you sage advice in a vision while you stand around with your bat in your hand.

Why all this Archi Cianfrocco talk? I really don't know. How this came about though? That's easy. I was looking for a Padres video and saw some Cianfrocco. And this is not just some regular Cianfrocco. This is Cianfrocco at his finest. I think.

Also, I searched the best I could to see if these videos have ever been posted around these parts before and came up empty handed. So, if there was someone out there who has posted these videos, come out of the woodwork and tell me that I'm copying your idea. Alright, now that I got that out of the way, to the video player!

First video is very simple. It's pretty much him doing whatever he wants while the camera is rolling. Archi Cianfrocco, master thespian.

See that? Ball players can have fun too. Now, the next video. It's, uh, it's something else. I really don't know what could ever possess him to do this, but he... You know what, just watch the video.

Yeah. The good ol' Cianfrocco special. Putting the juices right into the noggin for optimal performance. I wish I knew what game that was so I could see how he did that particular day. Baseball historians, I call to you! What stadium is that? I know it wasn't Qualcomm/Jack Murphy/The Q/Concrete Jungle. They are in their away uniforms. My guess is Cincinnati and Riverfront Stadium.

Okay, well that's it. No more Archi Cianfrocco. That is all I have for you. I just need to at least try one last thing before I go.

Archi Cianfrocco! Archi Cianfrocco! Archi Cianfrocco!

See, I knew nothing would hap

Birthday Card: Dan Briggs Turns 61

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Today is Dan Briggs's sixty-first birthday. Briggs played in 104 games for the 1979 Padres, and in parts of six other seasons with four other teams. The left-handed Briggs played first base and all three outfield positions during his year in San Diego, but was used mostly as a pinch-hitter.


This is the part where I would usually hammer out a fistful of paragraphs about his career before, during, and after his time with the Padres, but as I was researching him I found a great post doing just that. It's from a 1980 Topps set blog, and the author really covered all the bases. It's a good read, but if you want the "tl;dr" summary, here it is: He was great in the minors, made Mario Mendoza look like Ted Williams in the majors, and wasn't much better in Japan.

That post also noted that Briggs was the head baseball coach at Denison University the entirety of the 1990s. It still bugs me every time I see that job title. Why aren't they called managers in college? Anyway, after that, he opened a baseball school in Worthington, Ohio. I found a blog post written by someone who was under the tutelage of Briggs. To say it didn't paint him in a positive light would be an understatement.

One thing we remember about Briggs, actually a couple things. One, he was a loose cannon. Very squirrely. At any moment something would set him off, he’d go apeshit, and he’d disappear for 20 minutes of the lesson. He’d return and act like nothing ever happened.

One time at his baseball camp a fellow camper was walking to his spot in the outfield. The kid showed up in Airwalks. He was there because his parents made him be. He wasn’t enjoying it. Mr. Briggs had to know this. But when Danny boy saw this guy trotting to his spot (we were probably 13 or 14 at the time) Dan yelled in a furious but quick voice "Jesus Christ! HEY! YOU! Break a fucking trot!" and was incensed in the dugout during the entire scrimmage because of it.

Well, then. Here I was, trying to wish the guy a happy birthday, and now I don't feel like wishing him a happy anything. Ehh, maybe he's mellowed with age. Or maybe that account was just one person's perception of a couple of isolated incidents. Briggs could have been going through some personal stuff at the time, let it bleed into his professional life at a time of weakness, and now really regrets how he dealt with things. Who knows? Not me.

Jack Howell - Top 100 Angels #69

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This is the FOURTHHalos Heaven offseason Top Angels list we have compiled. We did a Top 100 Angels list after the 2005 season (LINK) and another one after the 2008 season (LINK) and we published a book after 2010, the fiftieth season of Angels baseball (LINK) of the Top 50 Angels of the first 50 seasons. With analytics being radically more sophisticated, look for this offseason's list to measure advanced metrics and traditional stats balanced with where a player rests in the hearts of every Halo Fan.

#69 - JACK HOWELL, 3B

After the 2008 season we compiled our Top 100 Angels List and on it, Jack ranked 54th after having placed 67th on our post-2005 season Top 100 Angels List (LINK).

This trip down memory lane that is compiling the Top 100 Angels of all time is a pleasant nostalgia journey lots of the time, a fascinating series of discoveries in the troves of historical record and often can be a chance to revise actual memories. Our memories are vague, squishy, malleable and ultimately unreliable.

There was a time I would scoff at the mention of Jack Howell, considering him to be a big bust. But looking back at all he accomplished in two tours of duty as an Angel makes a critic scratch his head. How did he look so bad, or at least, become seared into my mind that way.

Part of Howell's legacy-limitations are that he arrived as a full time player at the precipice of disaster - his first year as a starter was 1987 and he played a majority of the games that the mediocre 87 and 88 team played. The also-ran great '89 team would have been a Wild Card team had that slot existed - In those seasons Jack Howell had over 500 Plate Appearances as an everyday 3B and put up an OPS+ of 110, 110 and 103 respectively. Now, those are not superstar numbers, but they are not ... well they are not Doug DeCinces numbers either and that was the man Howell replaced. Add the underwhelming teams fielded fresh off the sad finish to the franchise's first golden era and the animosity, blame and contempt get focused on the promising golden boy who was supposed to carry the franchise forward.

He was Dallas McPherson before Dallas McPherson except he was much better than D-Mac at the major league level. But he wasn't Doug DeCinces and it cost Jack Howell the love that Anaheim wanted to give him.

When Jack hit 23 home runs and had a .790 OPS in 1987 did they rename Anaheim "Jackie World"? Nope. Everyone loves a winner and Jack's best years were stuck with an also-ran team when it wasn't just a flat out losermobile cruising through season seat holders whose corporate bosses hadn't yet realized Carew and Reggie were long gone.

With 9.8 Offensive Wins Above Replacement, Jack Howell did his fair share in his 2,720 Plate Appearances as an Angel. His .747 OPS ranks 27th in club history and his .428 Slugging is 22nd highest. He is one of 23 Angels with over 1,000 total bases accumulated and one of sixteen with at least 100 home runs wearing a Halo.

Jack was traded during the 1991 season to the Padres for Shawn Abner. He ended up playing in Japan and was as superstar. The Angels re-signed him for the 1996 season as a free agent and he played thru 1997 for them, becoming one of the few players to have been a California and Anaheim Angel. In all, he played a total of nine seasons as an Angel.

Here is a detailed interview from 2009 with Jack (LINK) from the late, great 3 Days of Cryin' Angels blog.


Gary Sheffield Birthday Cards: Ten Cards of Number Ten

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This is the second time in about three weeks that I've compiled a ten-card post on the birthday of someone who wore number 10 with the Padres. Bip Roberts got the treatment for his fiftieth birthday, and now it's Gary Sheffield's turn in honor of his forty-fifth.

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1. 1993 Upper Deck #828

I always liked the team checklists in early-'90s Upper Deck sets, and this one is no different. It, like all the others, was painted by one Vernon Wells. And before you ask, yes, he's the father of the outfielder with the same name. On a side note, I have two copies of this card and each of the ones listed on the back: one for my Padres collection and one for the '93 Upper Deck set that I'm building.

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2. 1993 Hostess #6 of 32

These cards were included with packages of Hostess Baseballs, which were half-sphere chocolate snack cakes covered in shredded coconut. I never tried them (because eww, coconut), but I ended up with a lot of the cards anyway. Former Friars John Kruk and Benito Santiago were also included in the set, pictured with the Phillies and the Marlins, respectively.

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3. 1993 Topps #140

One of my favorite card blogs is 1993 Topps. Kevin, the proprietor of the awesome Orioles Card O' The Day, is card-blogging the set, starting with the first card and continuing in order. He's at card #108 right now, so he hasn't quite made it to this memorable issue of Sheffield yet.

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4. 1993 Topps Black Gold #18

1993 was right around the time that inserts were becoming "a thing". Each line had one or two to chase at best, as the collecting world hadn't gone completely nuts yet. I remember the Black Gold cards being a particularly big deal; if I recall correctly (big 'if') they were distributed via the use of redemption cards.

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5. 1993 Donruss #444

I tried to determine the exact moment the picture on the back was taken by looking at Sheffield's 1992 gamelog and checking the box scores and play-by-play from each game at home against St. Louis. It's a shame we can't see the umpire, because I'm not sure if Felix Jose is safe or out here. If he's safe, it's a triple he hit on July 6. If he's out, he got nailed tagging up on a fly ball to center field later in the same game.

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6. 1993 Mother's Cookies Padres Team Set #2 of 28

Here's another card distributed by a snack food company. I've written about Mother's team sets before; they were released both with cookies and as ballpark giveaway sets.

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7. 1993 O-Pee-Chee #317

Well, according to this, calling runs "points" means you're speaking French. I always like O-Pee-Chee cards just for the novelty, even though I've never once cared to speak French. As far as bilingual cards go, I'm a much bigger fan of Pacific and their inclusion of Spanish.

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8. 1992 Upper Deck #745

I've always considered this a classic. I'm not sure why; maybe because most of his cards show him batting so this one sticks out. He appears to be beginning a 6-4-3 double play, but he could be looking a runner back to second while preparing his feet to throw over to Fred McGriff at first base.

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9. 1993 Fleer Atlantic #22 of 25

This card was from a promotional set distributed by Atlantic, a chain of gas stations. The cards were made by Fleer and had the same design as that year's Fleer set. One difference is that the borders are a goldish color instead of the regular Fleer card's gray.

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Snapshot_201303261_1321_medium
10. 1993 Topps Stadium Club Member's Choice #300

I feel like Sheff was ahead of his time with that goatee. This was back in the dark days of mustaches dominating baseball; the chinpiece didn't come en vogue until later in the decade. Gary Sheffield: Trendsetter.

Happy birthday, Sheff! And many more...


Quiz: Players who were both Rays and Padres

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Since the Tampa Bay franchise came to life in 1998, there have been 38 players who have played for both the Padres and (Devil) Rays. How many can you name?

This is a fairly difficult quiz, so I set the timer to eight minutes and incorporated a number of clues. I included the position(s) played and each player's last year in San Diego. I figured that would help out more than anything Rays-related. Another thing that might help is knowing that the names are arranged in alphabetical order. I'm not telling you how to live your life or anything, but I'd recommend knocking out the ones you know and then guessing names that fit between them accordingly. Also, as always, you can save time by entering just last names.

When you're done, be sure to log your results in the poll below. Leave a comment on how you did while you're at it, but don't forget to use the black-bar spoiler alert feature.


Poll
How many did you get?

  8 votes |Results

Wally Joyner joins Brad Ausmus in Detroit

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Another former Padres player is headed to Detroit's bench. Wally Joyner will be the new hitting coach on one-time teammate Brad Ausmus's staff. Bless You Boys has all the details.

Joyner served as the Phillies' assistant hitting coach during the 2013 season and was the team's first base coach after Charlie Manuel was fired in August. Joyner was the hitting coach for the San Diego Padres in 2007 and 2008. He served as a roving hitting instructor in their farm system from 2003 to 2007.

You may recall that Wally resigned from the Padres' hitting coach job with about a week left of the 2008 season. He cited a differing approach between himself and the organization, but Brian Giles said that Joyner was made a scapegoat and elbowed out.

I heard Harold Reynolds talking about the hiring earlier this morning on MLB Network's Hot Stove show. Reynolds related that he and Joyner go way back and were in fact winter ball roommates. Wally won the Triple Crown, but better than that, he made french toast every morning.

In the aforementioned Bless You Boys article, the author names who Wally will be joining.

Joyner joins Gene Lamont, Jeff Jones, and Dave Clark on the Tigers' staff. A first base coach has not yet been named.

Well, they can't have ours. Joke's on them; we don't even have one.

Biogenesis part 2 - Projecting Cabrera and Grandal

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There is never a good time to get suspended for PEDs, but the worst time is probably after a breakout season on the cusp of a player's physical peak. Everth Cabrera and Yasmani Grandal were two of the rising stars taken down in the Biogenesis scandal. How much of their brilliant breakout seasons can we expect to see in the future with both players devoid of chemical enhancement?

The MLB instituted its first real drug policy in 2004. Since then we have a sample of 67 major leaguers who have been suspended for PED use, not to mention then-minor leaguers like our friends Clay Hensley, Matt Whiteside, Kevin Frandsen, and Jesus Guzman. Despite this, there isn't a huge list of comparables for guys like Everth Cabrera and Yasmani Grandal. Positive tests are not a representative sample for many reasons. A lot of PED users are not included because of changes in drug policy, like when Ryan Klesko stopped using ephedrine before the MLB banned it. Among players who were caught and continued to play we have to consider that the sample includes players recovering from catastrophic injury, since they have great incentive to use PEDs. PED use can also coincide with a once-great player's natural decline - the old guys and Viagra effect. Also, many on-the-bubble players on the cusp of the major leagues despite glaring flaws are tempted by PEDs.

Clay Hensley is a good example as one of those players. If you've forgotten about Clay Hensley, consider yourself the average Padres fan because there was virtually nothing memorable about his career other than giving up a big home run to some other guy who definitely, absolutely, did not maybe take steroids accidentally hey I thought that was a flu shot. Hensley was an 8th round pick out of college. In 2003 he was traded for Matt Herges, but eventually his confidence recovered. He was a middling prospect with average stuff, perhaps a bit too soft to stick in the majors. Hensley's velocity suddenly took a tick upwards, landing his sinker in the meaty 90-92 mph "hard sinker" range and he had a breakout year in 2005 for the AAA Portland Beavers, that same year he was suspended just 15 games for violating the PED policy. Hensley's velocity stayed in that effective range until he was in his 30s and natural decline began to set in. In exchange for that 15-game penance, a projected "AAAA player" like Hensley was able to use his newfound velocity to carve out a reasonably successful MLB career, hanging around for 7 years - which is 7 years longer than you've played, little buddy.

Img_0104_medium

In addition to serving as an example of the pointlessness of the old MLB drug policy, Hensley's case illustrates the cumulative effect of anabolic steroids. I.e. with diet and training, athletes don't immediately lose the strength and muscle gains they made on steroids. Strength is the body's most general physical adaptation, and building muscle is very "expensive" in terms of using the body's resources. That's why it is a lot more difficult to build strength and muscle tissue than maintain it. The point being, there haven't been any examples of active players withering away and losing their strength after presumed cessation of PED use, though that cultural trope persists. Is this about batman?

Strength vs. Athleticism

Strength, being a very generalized physical adaptation, helps athletes in almost everything they do. That's why every athlete participates in strength training. However, it is important to differentiate strength from power. Power is the ability to generate force quickly, and is usually determined by a combination of strength (which is trained) and natural athleticism, or explosiveness (which is almost entirely inherited). This inborn ability is determined by a person's neuromuscular efficiency - nerve conduction velocity, ability to freely recruit fast-twitch muscle fibers, and other things that we don't really have a way of training. That's why a small guy like Billy Wagner can still throw a ball 100 miles an hour, or how 5'7 Spudd Webb can slam dunk. That's also why an incredible natural athlete like Will Venable hits for so much more power than the much bigger and stronger Yonder Alonso.

This distinction is central to talent evaluation in baseball. Ever wonder how scouts peg players like Rymer Liriano to have middle-of-the-order power when he's never hit more than 12 home runs in a season? That's his natural athleticism and captivating smile they are drooling over. Why do NFL scouts make quarterbacks perform the vertical jump test at the combine when you will never see Peyton Manning leap into the air on Sundays? Because the vertical jump is the best indicator of innate athleticism when you control for height and weight. An athlete who starts at 135lbs can probably double their squat with some hard work and coaching, but it is extremely rare to train more than 3-4" to a person's vertical jump. The vertical jump measures the output of the fabled "triple-extension" of the ankles, knees, and hips, fundamental to virtually every athletic activity - sprinting, jumping, tackling, throwing a punch, swinging a bat, etc.

0609_maybin_homer_medium

Now, Everth Cabrera and Yasmani Grandal were both highly regarded for their athleticism as prospects. Shortstops are almost always superior athletes by the very nature of their position. Cabrera possesses great speed, awesome lateral quickness, and arm strength that makes you forget he's the smallest guy on the field whenever Alexi Amarista isn't playing. These aren't things you can fake with steroids. Grandal is just as innately talented. The first round of every MLB draft is full of athletic freaks of nature (many of whom never figure out the baseball part). As per his twitter, Grandal is also an avid boxer and crossfit athlete. Go ahead and watch it on mute if you don't want to be exposed to crossfad broscience.

Everth Cabrera

It's pretty safe to assume Everth Cabrera used HGH. As we've discussed before he admitted to using just prior to spring training to recover from injury. He didn't test positive for anything despite the fact that he was tested during spring training just like every other major leaguer. As we know HGH is undetectable under current MLB testing protocols, which means the "biogenesis products" E-Cab was suspended for must have been HGH or some unknown, undetectable PED.

At the risk of being naïve, I'm going to believe that Cabrera was a first-time user. Given the sincerity of his apology and genuine-seeming remorse, coupled with his diminutive stature and the fact that we've been watching him since he was a young Rule V draftee, I just can't see Everth as someone who has been using a PED like HGH in the long term. For the sake of offseason prognosticating, let's assume that he has come clean about all of his usage.

To determine whether or not his presumed cessation of HGH use will affect his success we need to determine what made him successful in 2013 versus his prior seasons in the big leagues.


Batting linebb%k%ISOGB/FBLD%Chase%Whiff%Swing%Contact%BABiP
2009-2012.240/.321/.3279.6%22.4%.0862.818%25.5%7.8%40.9%80.4%.318
2013.283/.355/.3819.4%15.9%.0973.1920.627%5.4%40.1%86.5%.337

The most noticeable changes are that he's hitting the ball more and striking out less. Credit the muscle between his ears for selecting better pitches to swing at and the hitting coaches for helping him clean up and shorten his swing. He is putting a lot more balls on the ground and he's hitting slightly more line drives as well. All this is huge for a guy whose offensive game revolves around footspeed. "But chicks dig the longball," says the Damian Jackson you didn't know was reading this over your shoulder.

Unnamed_medium
He wrote "Don't come to your senses, swing for the fences" on the other side of this, then disappeared.

As we've discussed before, HGH is a relatively weak anabolic agent in comparison with other PEDs. Athletes favor HGH because of its regenerative properties and the fact that it is easily accessible while being impossible to detect in a traditional drug test. HGH is still heavily associated with bodybuilders and strength athletes despite the fact that it does very little to build strength in trained athletes. Its use in those sports is thought to be an accessory for heavy training regimes in tandem with other anabolic agents. Outside of the recovery effect, HGH is favored by endurance athletes and was allegedly administered to American cyclists before the Tour de France.

In light of this, it's hard to say Cabrera will experience a significant drop off in performance based on the physical effects of HGH cessation. The two most well-documented athletic uses for HGH are injury recovery (as cited in the Mitchell Report) and a general increase in stamina and endurance. I don't think anyone is going to claim Cabrera was using PEDs during the season since the Biogenesis story broke so early. Muscle gains made on HGH are relatively permanent, though it doesn't look like Everth has gained a whole lot of mass since 2009, certainly not an unnatural amount for an athlete in his prime years. Based on what we know about the effect of HGH and what we've seen on the field, it appears relatively safe to take Everth at his word - that he took PEDs to recover from an injury and that his 2013 is less of a drug-induced fever dream and more a young player reaching maturation and finally staying healthy. Does that mean we should expect another all-star performance from Cabby? I think we're seeing the talent that was always there, but it's going to be an uphill battle for any not-quite-established player in his position. I think the questions surrounding Cabrera's 2014 season are less about the physical effects of steroids and more of the traditional "breakout or career year" type storyline.

Yasmani Grandal

Grandal has received markedly less fan support than Cabrera since the breaking of the Biogenesis story. Grandal is obviously newer to the Padres organization and has been decidedly less vocal about the details of his suspension, even to the point of appearing standoffish. Coupled with the fact that he was acquired in exchange for the erratic but well-liked Mat Latos, Padres fans have been hard to please when it comes to the Cuban catcher. All this despite the fact that he has flashed all-star caliber potential at the big leagues and has raked at every level in the minors.

Grandal tested positive for testosterone, which has markedly different effects than HGH. As discussed, testosterone is allegedly the most popular illicit PED because of its long-term effect on energy levels, strength, muscle mass, stamina, endurance, and recovery from training and injury. All of these translate far more directly to athletic performance than HGH. That in and of itself should make Padres fans more nervous about Grandal's 2014 than Cabrera's. More strength means the ball will travel with more speed off of Grandal's bat when he makes contact, but it is an incremental gain.

Swinging a bat is an explosive movement that recruits explosive triple-extension of the hips, knees and ankles, with this force applied through the leverage of the arms and bat. The most common way to load and train explosive triple-extension is Olympic-style weightlifting, which is a prominent training modality in sports as diverse as baseball, football, sprinting, throwing, boxing, et al. Grandal can even be seen performing Olympic weightlifting variations in the video above. Olympic weightlifting itself is basically the sport of generating maximum athletic power in the classical lifts - the snatch and the clean & jerk. It is also historically rife with steroid use in a profound way. For these reasons, it is a great prism with which we can understand the effects of steroids on baseball players.

If you hate accordion music and fun, go ahead and skip the first minute of the video and watch a textbook example of and Olympic clean by medalist and former world champion Dmitry Klokov. Obviously, you're looking at a very strong athlete; however, the true separation between elite level weightlifters isn't the strength they possess, but the speed with which they can perform the triple-extension and pull themselves under the bar. Klokov is actually much stronger now than he was in the prime of his career, but with age came a natural decline in explosive athleticism. This phenomenon is also well-established in the MLB where explosive home run power is the first quality to fade in sluggers, even if the player puts on strength and muscle mass. In the 90s and 2000s, aging sluggers got around this by massively overcompensating the strength aspect of their training with powerful anabolics to the point of looking more like pro wrestlers than pro ballplayers.

What does this example mean for Yasmani Grandal? I think it means that you can expect some dropoff in his power (and the speed of his line drives and grounders), but nothing dramatic. Grandal's swing seems to have retained a lot of its good batspeed in 2013. Couple that with the fact that he's never been much of a power hitter and that the strength of his offensive game is really patience and strike zone management and I think you're still looking at a guy with a lot of offensive value.

"But 2013, that was a disaster! Doesn't that prove that there is a just God and cheaters never prosper?" In 2012, the ball was flying off of Grandal's bat - leading to an ultimately unsustainable .376 batting average on balls put in play. That number dipped dramatically to an awful .257 in 2013. That drop is probably not as dispositive as you think. BABiP is extremely prone to flukey variance, especially in tiny 100 PA samples. Like Leo DiCaprio in that movie about extremely slow-moving vans, we need to go deeper. The statistical batted-ball profile normalizes much sooner than BABiP because it generates much more descriptive data from a similarly sized sample. Generally a high BABiP hitter will also exhibit a very good line drive% and/or ground ball%. Extreme fly-ball hitters like Jose Bautista tend to also have very low BABiP numbers because they often give defenders a chance to camp under their balls, creepy Boy Scout leader.

Here's a comparison of Grandal's 2012 and 2013:

GB%LD%FB%Popup%Home run ratio
201253%17%30%9%17% of fly balls were home runs
201348%24%28%5%5% of fly balls were home runs

Clearly, he continued to hit the ball with the meaty part of the bat, but apparently right at defenders. His batting average was backup-prom-date ugly. The numbers don't match up in a way that would seem sustainable. If he put up that kind of batted ball profile over the course of a full season he'd be a good bet to put up a solid batting average. The other good news is that Grandal's strike-zone management is otherworldly. He's drawn a walk in almost 15% of his MLB plate appearances, and has done a pretty good job of limiting strikeouts for a player who sees so many deep counts. If he had enough plate appearances to qualify, his walk rate would make him the 14th most patient hitter of the last decade. In his bizarre 2013 he had as many walks as strikeouts. There just is no record of someone with that good of a batting eye and hitting acumen fizzling out and becoming a below average hitter.

Grandal is not only a good athlete, but his game revolves around skills that are not directly aided by testosterone use, namely pitch recognition and anticipation. We know that testosterone use in healthy men actually inhibits spatial abilities. PEDs or not, it isn't fair to ask Grandal to repeat his unreal 2012 season. However, I don't think cessation of PEDs are going to derail Grandal's long-term career prospects - there's just too much to like. I'm more interested in seeing how he recovers from knee surgery and deals with all the negative fan and media attention.

MLB trade rumors: Padres 3B Chase Headley is available. Are Indians a fit?

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Should the Indians be looking to upgrade at 3B by acquiring one rumored to be on the trading block?


Third basemen Chase Headley of the Padresis said to be on the trading block. Meanwhile, the Indians have struggled at the position in recent years (The last 3B to start even two thirds of the games in a season (108) for the Indians was Casey Blake in 2007).

Is Lonnie Chisenhall the answer? I don't know, and neither do you. Neither does Chris Antonetti, for that matter. After both 2009 and 2010 Chisenhall was one of the top 50 prospects in baseball, at at one point he was the prospect in the Indians organization. He has more than 200 Major League games to his name, but he's never really produced at the big league level to this point, with a tepid .244/.284/.411 batting line (which is better than his 2013 numbers alone). Having just turned 25 in October, I'd argue it's still too early to give up on him, especially as he's probably still two years away from arbitration, but I also think that for a team with hopes of another playoff appearance in 2014, Chisenhall seems like a weak spot.

Headley is headed into his final season before free agency. This means the Indians wouldn't make making (or getting) a long-term commitment if they acquire him. With Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn already locked in for big money through 2017 and the Indians possibly looking to extend Justin Masterson this offseason, the short-term nature of his acquisition would probably appeal to the Tribe, especially because they could be in line for a compensatory draft pick in 2015.

Here are Headley's numbers from recent seasons with the Padres:

YearAgeGPAH2B3BHRSBCSBBSOBAOBPSLGOPSOPS+
20112711343911028141325292.289.374.399.773120
2012281616991733123117686157.286.376.498.875145
201329141600130352138467142.250.347.400.747116

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com

Headley is a switch hitter, with better numbers against lefties, but without a massive split (that is to say, he doesn't need to be platooned). He is also a solid defender, with decent range for the position and very sure hands. All together, he's been a very good player, an MVP candidate even in 2012 (he finished 5th), before settling back down a bit but still putting up ~3.5 WAR in 2013 (when looking at his hitting numbers, keep in mind that he's played half his games at Petco, one of the strong pitchers' parks in baseball).

Entering his last season of arbitration eligibility, Headley is likely to earn $11M or so in 2014. Even if he didn't rebound at all from his relatively down 2013, he'd be worth that price (and it would represent the best season by a Cleveland 3B since Blake in 2004), and if he settled in half-way between his 2012 and 2013 numbers, he'd be a bargain, and one of the team's two or three best players. Coming off a fairly modest season, and only a year away from free agency, it's not as though the Padres are in a position to ask for a huge return, and with their eyes on the future, it's a solid prospect (or two) they'd be looking for.

Yesterday on Twitter, @tribescribe brought up Shin-Soo Choo as a comparison point, as someone traded a year before free agency. Choo was coming off a similar season to Headley's 2013, in terms of overall value, and was the same age (29). If anything Choo's season seemed better than Headley's, since the offensive numbers were stronger. The Reds gave up SS prospect Didi Gregorious and OF Drew Stubbs in order to and Choo. Gregorious was one of the Reds' top five prospects, on the edge of overall Top 100 lists a year ago. The closest match in the Indians system would probably be Dorssys Paulino.

Would he be enough? I don't know. As I mentioned, Choo cost Stubbs as well. Perhaps Chisenhall is sent in the deal too. After all, none of San Diego's top 20 prospects play 3B and they'll need someone there. I think it would be nice to keep Chisenhall, even if Headley were acquired. Let him play another year in Columbus (he has one option remaining) and then give him one more crack at the job when Headley leaves in a year (he'd still only be 26 come Opening Day 2015). If Paulino isn't enough, maybe there's a different piece with him, but either way, Dorssys would be the centerpiece.

The other issue with such a trade (if the Padres would go for it), is that the $11 million or so Headley would cost would cut pretty far into the Tribe's available budget. By most reports, they aren't going to go too far above 2013's $80 million. If they go to $85 million for 2014 they've only got ~$12M to play with this winter, unless they trade someone else away in a deal that saves money. Is the upgrade from Chisenhall to Headley bigger than the upgrade from "in-house SP #5" (Trevor Bauer? Josh Tomlin? Carlos Carrasco?) to "free agent SP #5?"

It's an interesting possibility, and it would provide the Indians with an even better lineup than they had this year (withso many switch hitters...), but unless the Indians are comfortable going above $90 million on payroll next season to really go for it, and would sign a solid pitcher in addition to dealing for Headley, I'm not sure he's a fit.

More from Let's Go Tribe:

Poll
Would you trade Dorssys Paulino and a second, less valuable player/prospect for Chase Headley?

  70 votes |Results

Quiz: Padres with 50 or More Home Runs

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There have been 27 players to hit at least 50 home runs while wearing a Padres uniform. Interestingly, 27 is also the number of players in MLB history who have hit 50 homers in one season. But this quiz isn't about them. Well, it isn't about 26 of them.

There are five minutes on the clock and no clues because I have faith you can do this without any help. I'm expecting to see at least a couple of perfect scores. As always, disregard first names in the interest of time, and be sure to log your score in the poll below. We all know about using spoiler bars by now, so I can stop saying that, right? Okay.


Poll
How many did you get?

  35 votes |Results

The Padres' last games in first place for each season

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I was going to post this data table and see if you could guess what it is, but instead I'll just tell you.

This is a list of the last games that the Padres were in first place in their division for each season.  Those seasons that aren't listed are those that the Padres were never in first place after the first game. There's quite a few of them.

I can tell you this, it feels like a long time since April 5th, 2011.

Last Game in First

Year

Game Number

Game Date

Number of Games in 1st

1969

3

Apr 10

1

1972

1

Apr 15

1

1973

3

Apr 8

3

1975

16

Apr 26

13

1976

1

Apr 9

1

1979

1

Apr 5

1

1980

3

Apr 12

3

1981

2

Apr 10

2

1982

16

Apr 27

1

1983

3

Apr 8

3

1984

162

Sep 30

133

1985

86

Jul 12

70

1986

11

Apr 17

4

1989

25

Apr 29

3

1991

29

May 10

27

1992

51

Jun 1

14

1995

5

Apr 30

1

1996

162

Sep 29

128

1997

7

Apr 7

7

1998

162

Sep 27

156

2000

4

Apr 7

1

2001

48

May 25

3

2004

84

Jul 7

32

2005

162

Oct 2

123

2006

162

Oct 1

64

2007

138

Sep 4

43

2008

6

Apr 5

5

2009

12

Apr 18

7

2010

154

Sep 25

131

2011

4

Apr 5

3


Josh Johnson Is A Padre And I Like It

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Johnson signed a 1-year deal worth 8 million dollars with some bonuses attached for 2014 and a possible deal for 2015.

Seriously. This signing. I like it. Nay, love it. Yeah, I'm loving it. And not because I semi-jokingly predicted it 2 weeks ago.

Yeah, you're welcome, San Diego.

Or that in prior threads I've talked about how he would be a great pickup if the price was right. Granted, I was giving him a 2-3 year deal, but this deal is very good.

I love this signing because it gives us a new face on the mound. We have had 1 year deals with guys like Jon Garland, but signing Josh Johnson is a different kind of deal. It's a deal that makes me feel good to see happening to the team right now. I could throw some statistics at you about how he has had a down year or two. His struggles with injuries are another factor, but it has always been something that I personally choose to ignore on occasion. It's a bit more freeing that way sometimes, especially in a moment like this. Plus, if he does run into some troubles, there may be an interesting plot twist in the story.

According to Jeff Passan, Johnson is guaranteed to make 8 million dollars next year. Signed, sealed, delivered. It's his. If he makes 26 starts, he could make 1.25 million more. But, and this is a huge but, if he makes fewer than 7 starts, the Padres hold a 4 million dollar option for Johnson in 2015. Now that is some clever contracting. The Padres are banking on having Johnson around for 2014, but if 2014 is not nice to Johnson, he may be back with the Padres in 2015 for half the money. Worst case scenario, we may have signed Josh Johnson to a 2 year deal worth 13.25 million dollars. That's craziness. Plus, this type of deal for this kind of money could be good sign for the Padres off-season that many felt would fall flat.

This type of signing may be a signal that there is more to come. Maybe there is a hitter or another pitcher on the fence about where he should go and the signing of Josh Johnson could sway him towards America's Finest City. Johnson wanted to come here, so who's to say someone else might not have that same desire. ESPN reported that a source said that he turned down more money in a one year deal from other teams to come to San Diego. That's a guy I want to spend all next year rooting for.

Well, I think it's time for me to step away from the keyboard now anyways. It's not safe to get too excited on November 19th, 2013. Yet, this excitement will be a good thing to have when we see him in a Padres uniform very soon.

I CAN'T WAIT

I wish Josh Johnson the best of luck when Spring Training rolls around and we get a look at hopefully a full season of great pitching from him.

More from Gaslamp Ball:

Poll
How Good Is This Signing?

  118 votes |Results

Josh Johnson is signing with the Padres

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Jeff Passan at Yahoo sports is reporting that Josh Johnson has agreed on a $8 million guaranteed contract with $1.25 million in incentives with the San Diego Padres. The Padres have a $4 million team option for 2015,  that will trigger only if Josh makes fewer than 7 starts in 2014. That is  a cool idea..

I figured $8 million was going to be the magic number.

San Diego is a good choice for Johnson, a big ball park, a tough place to hit home runs. As you likely remember (if you are like me, you remember everyone of them) Josh gave up 15 home runs in 81.1 innings as a Blue Jay. 11 of those home runs were hit at Rogers Centre. So you can understand why he would want to pick somewhere else to pitch. I would point out that Josh had a 7.59 ERA on the road and a 5.29 ERA at Rogers. But it would be tough to find a bigger park than Petco

Josh is intent on building up his value for 2015, when he'll be a free agent again (provided he makes at least 7 starts), so there was no way he would have signed a similar contract with the Jays. Pitching in a huge park, in the NL, He might have been able to get more money from some other team, but he does want to maximize his stats this year. It is likely a smart move for Josh.

Bye Josh, I wish I could say it was fun, but it was about as far from fun as you could get.

Josh Johnson signs with the San Diego Padres

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After a very poor year north of the border, Johnson has signed with San Diego.

The San Diego Padres have inked Josh Johnson to a one-year, $8 million deal with a very interesting option: if Johnson makes fewer than seven starts in 2014, the Padres get a team option for 2015 at $4 million. That's a pretty neat insurance policy, reminiscent of the vesting option the Red Sox held on John Lackey when he had Tommy John surgery.

Formerly the Marlins' ace, Johnson really struggled in sixteen starts this year while playing for the Blue Jays. His strikeout rate (9.18 per nine) was better than his career mark, but he gave up 1.66 home runs per nine innings, and alarmingly high number. Former Mets ace R.A. Dickey struggled with home runs after the move to Toronto, too, but managed to do much better than Johnson's 6.20 ERA for the season.

Johnson would have been an interesting buy-low candidate, though the Mets might not have been able to do anything to persuade Johnson to pitch somewhere other than California. And as Jeff Kopman pointed out in our free agent profile of Johnson, the Mets might not have wanted to take the risk on Johnson.

More from Amazin' Avenue:

Padres offseason: 5 most pivotal players

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Well, it's tradin' season and that means it's time to take inventory. Not just time for general managers to do that, but also time for us baseball-starved fans to, just for lack of any actual games to pay attention to.

Guys on a baseball roster generally fall into one of the five following categories:

  • Must Keep -- this player should not be discussed in any trade scenario.
  • Should Keep -- this player should only be discussed at the highest premium.
  • Neutral -- this player is valuable to your team as-is but could also bring a nice return.
  • Should Trade -- your team should trade this player while there's still value.
  • Must Get Rid Of -- Do whatever it takes.

Being tasked to find one Padre that best represents each category was quite a chore for me because (A.) I'm notoriously indecisive, and (B.) I love them all and don't want to think about losing them *sniffle*. But I'll give it a shot. These are just my personal thoughts; I speak for no one else and look forward to reading your respectfully differing opinions in the comments. Your not-so-respectfully differing opinions, too. Those are always fun.

  • Must Keep -- Oh, Alexi Amarista most definitely. "But, he looks lost in center... his numbers..." LALALALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU. It took me five minutes to start this sentence because I got lost just thinking about his eyes. I hate it when people say I have a "man crush" on him. That just isn't true. It makes it sound like I want to drink beer and go fishing with him. Far from it; I want to drink red wine and put parts of myself inside parts of him watch a movie or something with him. But crushes aside, I'd say Andrew Cashner fits this category best seeing as how he's a genuine ace in the making.
  • Should Keep -- I want to say "Um, just about everybody" but I'll go with the catching tandem of Nick Hundley and Yasmani Grandal. Grandal's value is at an all-time low, as his 2013 was wrecked by suspension and injury.
  • Neutral -- Chase Headley could fit into any one of these categories depending on who you ask and when you ask them. I'm sick of hearing about the whole thing and was leaning toward "Should Trade" but the Josh Johnson signing got me all optimistic about 2014. Let's see how it goes and worry about 2015 in 2015. Or maybe in July if the whole season goes up in flames.
  • Should Trade -- A young pitcher or two and some prospects. Lemme see dat lefty bat.
  • Must Get Rid Of -- Cody Decker. Send him to Detroit for whatever, just so he can play for Brad Ausmus.

Not to sound like a phone commercial, but who's in your five?

More from Gaslamp Ball:

Padres signing of Josh Johnson is FRESH!

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I've been scouring the internet this morning for first reactions to the Padres' signing of free agent SP Josh Johnson.  While most all of the media and bloggers like the acquisition there's quite a few angry fans from Toronto who hate him, which is somewhat understandable after his performance last season.


Josh Johnson

Toronto Blue Jays San Diego Padres

6-7

250

Jan 31, 1984


Myself, I'd never heard of him until about two weeks ago when his name started popping up in Padres rumors.  I don't watch or follow American League games or if I'm being honest any games except those involving the Padres.  In theory I like anytime the Padres buy themselves a new player, you know, new blood and all.  The contract seems reasonable and I like that the Padres get a $4 million option in 2015 if he pitches less than 7 games in 2014.

Today we like the trade, but maybe someday we'll be comparing Johnson to Edinson Volquez. When we do we'll know that Geoff from Ducksnorts did it first.  I'm not quite sure how to interpret his tweets on Johnson?  Sarcastically optimistic?  I had to ask Dex if Geoff's tweet was fresh or rotten.  Dex says it was "FRESH!" but "the worst kind of fresh", like it's about to turn at any moment.  He also wanted me to tell you to see Walt Disney'sFrozen which coincidentally is also 100% fresh on the Tomatometer, just like the Josh Johnson signing.

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Apologies to RottenTomotes.com

Here's the reaction from the media and bloggers.  I'll add more when I see them.  Leave me links in the comments if you come across a review of the signing.

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Peter Gammons
Josh Johnson @$8M is a bargain sign for Padres.

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Josh Johnson signs one-year deal with Padres - Yahoo Sports
The upside for the Padres is enormous. Should Johnson recapture his success of years past – his career ERA is 3.40, even after the unsightly 6.20 last year – he becomes one of three things: an important piece of a contending San Diego team, a great trade chip come July or a player worthy of a qualifying offer who fetches San Diego a draft pick if he signs elsewhere.

Fresh_medium

Discounted Josh Johnson Is Low Risk, High Reward For Padres: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com
There's still considerable upside for the Padres in this deal, though, as Johnson's earnings top out at $9.25MM for 2014. The going rate for a #3-4 type starter is around $14MM, and Johnson certainly has that capability for the Padres.

Fresh_medium

Josh Johnson’s Creative Contract With the Padres | FanGraphs Baseball
If Johnson can get his mechanics and elbow in order, he’s very likely to be worth much more than this contract. If he pitches half of the season and then gets hurt again, he’ll probably still be worth close to $8 million. If he misses the season getting healthy, the Padres can get him for even cheaper next year. Hard to dislike this for the Padres.

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Buster Olney
It's just a one year deal and if he comes in and he's an effective pitcher then you get pretty good production for a relatively low salary.

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Padres take a smart chance by signing Josh Johnson | The Strike Zone - SI.com
San Diego has set itself up nicely to not only compete but also potentially trade some surplus, while Johnson is in the right place for a turnaround.

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Josh Johnson agrees to 1-year free-agent deal with San Diego Padres - MLB News | FOX Sports on MSN
Johnson could become the veteran leader of a promising rotation that includes Ian Kennedy, Andrew Cashner and Tyson Ross. At the very least, Johnson should find it much easier to perform in a pitcher-friendly National League West ballpark than at Toronto’s Rogers Centre, a homer haven in the American League East. If Johnson returns to his 2009-2010 form — 26-11, 2.80 ERA — then he might get his big payday after all, just one year later than expected.

Fresh_medium

@619Sports
Will he be successful, or just hurt again? Either way, Josh Johnson for 1 year/8 mil is a decent gamble for the .

Fresh_medium

@WoeDoctor
Morning-after reaction to the Josh Johnson signing: still like it. Definite warning signs, but the Padres HAVE to sign flawed players...if they're unwilling/unable to spend big. Even with regression, the contract isn't a huge knock and provisions provides wiggle room.

Fresh_medium

@MickeyKoke
Potential legit ace when healthy. This could be huge!!!  Get a big bat and you're playoff bound, . Props to ownership early on for taking a shot. Low risk, high reward.

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@Ducksnorts
I don't hate the Johnson signing, but the level of excitement among fans says a lot about recent off-seasons.

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@Steve_Adler
Johnson, if healthy give the Padres a legit Ace. JJ, Cashner, Ross, Kennedy, and 14 other guys competing for fifth spot.

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Would You Have Wanted AA to Offer JJ That Contract? - Bluebird Banter
The contract is a pretty big win for the Padres as they minimize risk with the cheap 2015 option if Johnson doesn't deliver in 2014. They also were able to keep the base salary very low and even with the 26 start bonus of $1.5 million, the contract is very affordable. An $8 million contract should provide somewhere between one and two wins, which Johnson has accumulated in six of his seven major league seasons with more than 15 starts. In short, if Josh Johnson's 2013 campaign was a blip instead of a warning sign, then this contract is a bargain for the San Diego Padres.

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Josh Johnson, lets enjoy the ride | Padres Public
There’s probably a whole lot of bad luck wrapped up in that gnarly 6.20 ERA last season. We should expect him to snap out of it in San Diego.

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