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Chris Denorfia, Seth Smith, and the power of playing time

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Two Padres outfielders were expected to be only fill-ins in the preseason, but when you fill in for oft-injured guys, you fill in A LOT.

With his eyesight and health both on the serious decline, I end up driving my dad around a lot. Like, a lot a lot. Like, I had to beg off of driving the 45 minutes each way to pick him up to go shopping this afternoon because I needed to write this piece, and I felt genuinely bad for leaving him hanging. Maybe it's groceries or maybe it's a doctor's appointment, but my dad needs lots of chauffeuring.

I mean, it's not a big deal. He's my dad, he drove me around for 16 years, I can do it once every week or so if need be. And he's a huge baseball fan like me, so there's a guaranteed conversation topic (sandwiched around him saying "Oh, I like this song!" for every new track on the Pandora Ernest Tubb station I created just for the drives) the entire time. Even though my dad doesn't play fantasy, he likes to hear about my leagues and my rosters - or, at least, he humors me while I talk about them. Pretty much the same thing.

I told my dad different versions of the same story about one of my teams a few different times during spring training - not intentionally, but I talk a lot, you know? - and I included the same funny comment every time. See, I'm part of the Fake Teams Dynasty League, which is in its inaugural season right now. It's a 20-team league with 30-man big-league rosters and a minor-league system as well. If you aren't owned in that league, you are probably Izzy Alcantara, and I think there's a rabid free-agent bidding process for him right now.

"And in that draft," I repeatedly told my dad, "I ended up with threePadres outfielders, and none of them is named Will Venable or Carlos Quentin!"

It was a shorthand way of saying this was a crazy deep league, and guys like Seth Smith and Chris Denorfia (and Cameron Maybin, but don't get me started on him, it makes me too sad) were viable, useful pieces who would go in the later rounds. I also had/have Austin Jackson, Leonys Martin, and Peter Bourjos (and Maybin, sigh) in my outfield, so Smith and Denorfia were just depth pieces, but ones I thought might have some value, since Quentin (and Maybin, sigh) are not exactly paragons of health.

(Lest you think "Dude, you have to start either Bourjos or a Padres backup on a fantasy team" with pity - which would be totally legit, don't get me wrong - I got Dee Gordon in Round 20 and Mark Buehrle Of The 0.86 ERA [his full name] in Round 27, so other things went well. I will not be mentioning Tanner Scheppers, Phil Hughes, or Felipe Paulino again, however.)

It's not that Denorfia or Smith were worthless a year ago, or ever, really. Denorfia put up a .279/.337/.395 slash line in 2013, with 10 home runs and 11 steals. No, he won't be rivaling Andrew McCutchen or Mike Trout, but as a super-late draft pick, someone who goes (or can go) 10-and-10 is nice. Meanwhile, Smith, in less regular playing time, hit .253/.329/.391. And they plied their 2013 trades in San Diego and Oakland, respectively, so we can at least say they weren't helped by their ballparks (though that problem has not abated in 2014, so we can't really boost their projections; it's still nice to acknowledge).

(Another parentheses here, as I just realized that I wrote about Luke GregersonWednesdayand Smith today, and the two were traded for one another in the offseason. It was unintentional. But hey, I did what I did.)

I've written several times about finding value in super-deep leagues just by finding at bats. You want solid rate stats when possible, sure, but, unlike counting stats, your rates in deeper leagues will be lower than in shallow leagues, and therefore, guys merely getting at bats are more valuable. It was why I promoted Juan Franciscolate last year, and why I thought (and think) Abraham Almontecould be useful this season.

The same is true of Denorfia and Smith. In 16 Padres games in 2014, Denorfia has played in 15, and started in nine, including six of the last eight. Smith, meanwhile, had played in every San Diego game on the young season before Wednesday, starting in all but the season opener. He was benched Wednesday and Thursday because the team faced a lefty opposing starter, and he's ... not great against southpaws (.583 career OPS against lefties versus .845 against righties).

The main point there is that Denorfia and Smith are, today, more "full-time" than we expected in the preseason. Yes, neither Maybin (sigh) nor Quentin has played yet, and both are moving toward their respective healthy returns, but in a combined 17 big-league seasons (eight for Maybin, nine for Quentin), those two have qualified for a batting title a total of four times and played more than 137 games in a season once. Let's just say I wouldn't be shocked if the Smith/Venable/Denorfia outfield was the team's most common one in 2014.

(Another parentheses I DIDN'T PLAN TO DO THIS THIS MUCH: One of my favorite all-time dumb jokes between my dad and me was about Chris Denorfia: Several years ago, one of the baseball broadcasts mentioned that Denorfia is the only major leaguer to have gone to the same high school as John F. Kennedy. My dad told me that, and I said "Denorfia is from New England? I guess that means his real name is actually Denorfi-er." You probably think that joke is dumb, because that joke is dumb, but I still giggle every time I think of it, because much of my family is from the northeast and I guarantee they all would pronounce it Denorfi-er.)

Right now, Seth Smith is hitting .262/.367/.476 with two homers. Denorfia is at .275/.293/.375 and has stolen three bases. If you're in a 10- or 12-team league, feel free to basically ignore them, or at least to only use them in desperate situations. I get it, and I don't blame you; I don't own either guy in my shallower leagues, either.

But once you get in deeper leagues, it's easy, but short-sighted, to look at Smith and say "Pssh, pinch-hitter against righties, not valuable enough." Or to see Denorfia and be hard-pressed to see how he gets significant playing time with the Venables, Quentins, Maybins, and, heck, Xavier Nady-types there to take his plate appearances. Remember, in the deepest leagues, a guy who comes to the plate 500 times is way more valuable than a guy who hits 20 points higher in half the at bats.

Now, if you'll excuse me, Pandora has just started playing Jim Reeves, and dad insists that I turn it up.


Instant replay good for MLB because fairness is pivotal

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Initial responses to the implementation of replay were mostly positive but early reviews are largely mixed. Still, fairness should be priority number one and instant replay puts us on the right track.

Instant replay is here to stay.

Most of the reaction I saw when it was first announced that MLB would be implementing an instant replay system were overwhelmingly positive, but after just a few weeks of regular season play the doubters have some fuel for their position.

It needs some fixing and fine-tuning as most new systems do, but it is still better than the alternative.

For an excellent counterpoint to the ones I'm about to make, read Chris Chrisman's brief article on the subject. He writes:

"By the end of Saturday's game, the 2014 season has amassed over 13,000 plate appearances, over 2,800 hits, over 9,100 put outs, and over 4,500 total bases, many of which contain at least one element that is now reviewable. Out of this assortment of plays, throws, catches, and batted balls, only 23 umpire calls have been overturned, a microbe in the cosmos of a season only two weeks old."

That might sound like a minuscule number when put in such a clever perspective, but 23 baseball plays that had to be overturned means that already this season there have been 23 plays that were called correctly that would have been called incorrectly in all seasons prior with zero chance of them being overturned.

To me, that is worth it already. I was watching the Chicago Cubs take on the St. Louis Cardinals during one of those 23, which was a runner called safe initially at first with two outs that allowed a run to score.

If the play had stood the Cardinals would have gotten a run in a close game (at the time) that they did not earn. This is exactly the kind of call that I had in mind when advocating for instant replay before its implementation.

It was a bad, struggling team on the road against a paragon of National League baseball and one of the game's best pitchers (Adam Wainright) who was cooking. Caught up in the momentum and the exceptional defensive effort (compared with the lackluster play of the Cubs all day) the umpire assumed the close play went to the better team.

I have seen this burn the Rockies so many times it hurts and as soon as the umpire signaled "out," I leaped to my feet and yelled "this is getting overturned, that run is coming off the board, and this inning is over!"

Having that feeling instead of the cold resignation that my team just got hosed and there is literally nothing anyone can do about it is worth all the wait time in the world.

It's completely secondary that the Cubs went on to lose that game in blowout fashion. Every team and every player deserves the best proximity of fairness possible; otherwise sports lose their soul, the box score is the great equalizer.

A lot has been said about the time factor. I admit it's not operating at optimal levels yet, but I would be interested to know what price of time detractors of replay would find reasonable to making sure that calls are made correctly.

Games (and perfect games) often hinge on plays like the one I saw go against -- and then for -- the Cubs. The kind of replay that exists now could have given the Rockies a close game or maybe even two in the 2009 NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies.

I can't remember which TBS announcer made the comment that Jim Tracy had argued for the cycle in that series; a bad missed call at each base, all of which would have been overturned easily under the new system and taken way less time. The arguments go on even longer in playoff games.

Let's not be blind of the new systems weaknesses, however. We have already seen that it does not eliminate arguments altogether. It can definitely create an even more flammable situation when replay is used and the call is still missed.

And also balls and strikes are still being called (at an alarmingly poor rate) by human beings and that is bound to lead to some yelling here and there.

There are additionally unintended consequences due to the way the rules have been written and are being interpreted early on. As Matt discussed in this video -- which became immediately very relevant that night when Padres first baseman Yonder Alonso dropped a ball on purpose trying to take advantage of this oddity -- MLB has perhaps accidentally created a whole new age of how baseball works.

The same way no one had ever heard the term "through the process" before NFL replay -- and the same way certain catches in the NFL that almost certainly would have been ruled catches before replay are now being overturned (Calvin Johnson) -- the nature of "call on the field," "inconclusive evidence," and now baseball's own version of "through the process" are muddying the discourse a bit.

The only way to justify the way the Alonso play was called is in a new baseball world where the call on the field holds way more weight than any potential overturn. The umpire determined (correctly) in real time that Alonso intended to drop the ball to create a double-play and immediately ruled a catch.

Because his intention would also be clear on replay, it doesn't really matter that other calls have been overturned in the opposite direction (transfers originally ruled catches and overturned to drops) because in those scenarios it was not the intention of the fielder to drop the ball on purpose making the gray area between a catch and a drop a bit wider.

This still needs to be shored up with some specific language on what does or does not constitute a completed catch when it comes to transfers.

It is also at issue with Chris' statistics above. I have already seen a number of calls that weren't overturned because camera angles were bad and/or because MLB and the umpires (and their uber-powerful union) purposefully want as few overturned calls as humanly possible.

But, of course, for some this will always come back to the time delay issue. Chrisman again:

Alas, the "instant" nature of instant replay also has proven aspirational. According to Nick Groke in this morning's Denver Post, the 71 replays so far have taken an average of 2 minutes 15 seconds. That's 159 minutes. Carry that out over the course of the season, and that makes for 33 hours of waiting on umpires, with no assurance that they'll correct wrong calls. And as anyone who watched Friday night's Rockies game knows, the 2:15 average is over-conservative, since it doesn't include the time it takes for managers to slow-walk out to the field, stalling until they get word from the dugout over whether or not to challenge a play.

He is absolutely right that these measurements are underselling the delays and that there is no guarantee the right call will be made. But so far I'm unconvinced the delays are any more extensive than the screaming fits they have (mostly) replaced that we weren't measuring with stopwatches before.

Furthermore, all of these issues can be solved with some minor adjustments and over the natural course of time. The ultimate purpose of these rules is to prevent a kind of baseball "tragedy" where an important game is swung on a pivotal missed call. We are still in the very small sample size stage of instant replay in baseball and a 2:30 second delay -- hell a 5:00 delay -- won't mean anything for the no-hitter that is preserved or the team that deserves to advances in the playoffs.

I have made my opinions on the "problem" of overlong baseball games known. I would also like to offer Al Leiter's solution to solving it: calling the high strike. This is something I've always had issue with, but never considered in this context.

If umpires just called the bottom-of-the-letters strike all the time, games would speed up quite a bit. I found it fascinating when former Rockies pitcher Jason Hirsh told the Purple Dino Podcast guys that his biggest adjustment from the minor leagues to the big leagues was getting used to the much lower strike zone.

Or we could impose a one-foot-in-the-box-at-all-times rule.

My point is that we shouldn't create a false dichotomy between getting more calls right (no matter how many, we are getting more calls right) and having non-excruciatingly long baseball games. There are other ways to solve the issue of long games without sacrificing a vital aspect of instilling fairness.

So I ask the detractors again, to what extent should we prioritize brevity and convenience? When will instant replay have proven itself? Is it really that difficult to fix and refine the system?

If I've taken one non-Rockies specific thing away from the most recent road trip, it's that umpiring needs the aide of more technology not less. The inconsistent strike zones in San Francisco and San Diego were, quite frankly, embarrassing for MLB. Or at least they should be.

We can review you. We have the technology! And we can't go back now. We have already entered into the world where we admit that umpires make mistakes that can, and should, be overruled by technology. Is it imperfect? Of course. But now is the time for making it more perfect now that we have finally broken down the most important barrier.

We should not run scared at the first sign of a few glitches and anomalies.

We should debate what needs to be fixed and how. The time for debating whether or not instant replay is good for baseball has come and gone. We won. And the next Armando Galarraga will go into the history books as a triumph and not a tragedy.

Isn't that worth waiting for?

Cashner on cardboard: The new stuff

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I finally got around to getting some 2014 baseball cards yesterday, albeit due to no effort on my part. A few showed up in my mailbox yesterday thanks to my pal Marcus. Along with four Joey Cora cards, an assortment of older Padres, and a couple of guys with the same elbow tattoo as me, he included these two Andrew Cashner cards from this year.

The first card is Cashner's card from Donruss's Breakout Pitchers insert set. Panini Brands revived the Donruss name this year after nearly a decade. The set has its limitations, most obviously the lack of logos and team names due to Topps' monopoly on MLB's blessing. It actually doesn't look so bad here, since he's angled in such a way that you don't see glaring blank spots on his hat and jersey.

The one on the right is the red parallel of Cashner's 2014 Topps base card. It's one of a ridiculous twelve parallels Topps has churned out this year. Next year they'll probably invent new colors just to give us junkies 82 borders to chase. Marcus himself has already tracked down 11 of the 12 parallels and made a cool gif of them one after the other.

The backs of both cards are basic, without photography, but provide interesting information for the casual fan. They each make a point to mention his first complete-game one-hit shutout, which he has since matched.

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One feature of this year's Topps set that made some ripples is their inclusion of WAR amongst the stats on the back. Some of us thought it was long overdue, while others called their grandchildren to bemoan the basement-dwelling mama's-boys destroying our beautiful game with this acronym nonsense. Can't please 'em all, I suppose.

Dodgers 4/18/14 minor league report - Chris Anderson pitches well

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Chris Anderson was chased before he could finish the first inning of his Cal League debut but on Friday, he pitched 6 scoreless innings, giving up 2 hits, 4 walks and 7 strikeouts

Minor League Player of the DayChris Anderson (A) - 6 IP, 0 R, 2 hits, 4 BB, 7 K'sChris Anderson pitched 6 innings and did a nice job in his longest outing of the young season.  Honorable mention:  Isotope catcher Griff Erickson had a great game going 4 for 4 with 3 doubles and a home run.

AAA– The Isotopes took a 9 - 1 lead over El Paso (Padres) and they eventually won the game 10 to 6.Red Patterson had a solid start going 7 innings, giving up 2 runs, 6 hits and 4 strikeouts.  Griff Erickson was 4 for 4 with 3 doubles and his first home run.  Joc Pedersonwent 3 for 5, Nick Buss was 2 for 4, and Clint Robinson had 2 hits.

AA – Chattanooga was shut out 6 - 0 by Suns (Marlins). Starter Garrett Gould pitched 5 innings gave up 6 hits, 5 runs, 1 walk and 7 strike outs.  The Lookouts had 5 hits, no one had more than one and no hitter in the lineup is batting higher than .237.

HiA – The Quakes led 4-0 after 6 innings but the Rawhide (Diamondbacks) was able to mount a rally and won the game 7 - 4.  Chris Anderson put 6 solid innings of work and left the game with the lead but Jharel Cotton's first game of the year was memorable for the wrong reason as he gave 4 runs in one inning of work.  Matt Shelton had held teams scoreless for 9.1 innings but he gave up 3 runs in the 8th to provide the margin of victory.  Corey Seagerhit his first home run of the season.  Adam Law went 1 for 3 with 2 RBI.

LoA– The Loons scored 2 in the top of the first but then gave up 5 to fall behind by 3.  But a 5-run 4th inning and a solid bullpen effort notched win number 10 with a 7 - 6 victory over the Timber Rattlers (Brewers)Luis Chirinos started and got the win but it was the bullpen (Michael Johnson, Victor Araujo and Jacob Rhame) that pitched the last 4 innings and gave up just 1 run.  Malcolm Holland stole 2 bases giving him 14 for the year (with no caught stealing), Jacob Scavuzzowas 3 for 4 with a doubleand Joey Curletta had 3 hits.

Coming upJulio Uriaswill be making his first road start of the season for the Quakes, Greg Harris will be on the mound for the Loons, and Carlos Frias will try to continue his good start to the season for the Lookouts.  Stephen Fife will pitch for the Isotopes

Minor League Transactions – A:  Pitcher Jharel Cotton was activated from extended spring training, Pitcher Jack McGeary was assigned from Great Lakes, Pitcher Arismendy Ozoria was placed on the disabled list.  LoA:Pitcher Victor Araujo was assigned from Ogden

Albuquerque Isotopes Box Score (AAA)

Chattanooga Lookouts Box Score (AA)

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Box Score (HiA)

Great Lakes Loons Box Score (LoA)

Minor League Central - Daily Dodger Recap

Padres crush Giants 2-1 in first meeting of the season

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I went to the game last night. I was at Phil's BBQ and missed some exciting Chris Denorfia action in the first inning.  I'm watching the condensed game on the MLB app right now to figure out what I missed out on.

Denorfia started the Giants half of the inning with a diving play that resulted in the a ground rule double, but pitcher Tyson Ross was able to escape without any further hits.  In the Padres half of the first, Denorfia smoked a ball to right center, getting to third on what looked like an errant throw.  He scored soon after when Matt Cain threw a wild pitch to Yasmani Grandal, giving the Padres a 1-0 lead that would last most of the game.
0418_deno_scores_on_passed_ball_medium

I made it to my seats soon after in section 323, my new hangout.  Tyson Ross and Matt Cain dueled forever, the crowd could be heard audibly begging for something to happen.  I ate a disgusting veggie dog as penance for missing the first inning.

In the seventh inning Ross allowed two base runners on a hit and a walk, but Everth Cabrera started a double play that got the Padres out of the jam.  There were pretty big cheers from the crowd after that play, even from the Giants fans around me who weren't paying attention and just clapping because everyone else was.

Grandal hit a solo shot giving the Padres a much needed insurance run, since Huston Street would later give up a meaningless homer to Brandon Belt.  Padres win!
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In the Game Thread jodes0405 led Gaslamp Ballers in the number of comments and recs, getting a buttload of the latter.  She put on a clinic in there.

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04/19 Padres Preview: Game 18 vs. Giants

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Our offense is off to a rocky start this season, but some lights-out pitching lately has kept them afloat. Eric Stults hopes to keep that trend going tonight in the second game of the series.

Stults surrendered four runs on nine hits in a five-inning start over the Rockies on Monday. The Padres went on to win in a crazy comeback but Stults got a no-decision, so he will still be seeking his first victory of the season when he takes the mound this afternoon. He is 0-2 on the season, giving up five runs in four innings against the Marlins in his 2014 debut, then getting the tough-luck loss against the Indians after allowing only two runs (one earned) in 5 2/3 innings.

Last year Stults led the team in both innings pitched and wins. Two of those wins came against the Giants, whom he saw six times in 2013. He also lost twice against them and posted a 5.91 ERA in those six starts. He especially struggled against Hunter Pence, who hit 6-for-17 with two home runs off him last year. Pablo Sandoval has also given Stults trouble in the past, batting a lifetime 12-for-22 against the left-hander.

While Stults tries to keep the Giants at bay, Tim Hudson will try to build off the strong start to his 2014 season. The righty has pitched into the eighth inning in each of his three starts. Over 23 innings, he's kept opponents to seven runs and a .185 batting average, collecting 16 strikeouts while not issuing a single walk. The Giants pitching staff as a whole currently have the fewest walks allowed in the majors. Hudson has been successful against the Padres, going 5-1 with a 1.75 ERA in his last eight starts against them.

See if Eric Stults can lead the Padres to a victory tonight to clinch their second series win of the season.  The action starts at 5:40 PDT.

Padres beat Giants 3-1, improve to .500 record

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Aside from a Mike Morse home run to centerfield, Eric Stults didn't give the Giants much to hit tonight.  He kept his team in the game for 6 innings and as luck would have it everything came up Padres. They slashed and dashed their way to a second consecutive win over the Giants, a .500 record and 7 wins in the last 10 games.

In the second inning Seth Smith hit a single and was driven in by Yonder Alonso giving the Padres an early lead.  As previously mentioned Morse tied the game in the 5th. The tie didn't last long however.  Everth Cabrera hit an RBI triple in the Padres half of the the 5th to put them back in the lead for good. The Padres added a showoff run in the 8th when Chris Denorfia laid down a squeeze bunt that scored Will Venable. Joaquin Benoit came in to close out his first save of the year and his first ever in the National League.

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MLB news: Home plate collision, transfer rules likely to change

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Which changes are being made to two of baseball's most maligned rules? How much longer does Kevin Towers have as Diamondbacks GM? What is Dontrelle Willis looking to do now that his career is essentially over?

With complaints emanating from nearly every corner of the sport, two highly controversial rules -- those regarding home plate collisions and transfer rules for fielders -- will likely be tweaked before playoff races begin in earnest, according to Fox's Ken Rosenthal.

The transfer rule is seen as especially problematic by many, with officials from the players' union already meeting with league executives to voice their frustrations with the implementation and interpretation of the new rule.

According to Rosenthal, they will be introducing "a less strict interpretation of the transfer rule, in which umpires would rule on catches the way they did in the past, using more of a common-sense approach rather than following the letter of the law." As it stands now, a clean transfer from glove to throwing hand is required for a "catch," which is felt -- almost across the board -- to be too restrictive, especially when used in conjunction with instant replay.

The other rule change will mostly seek to clarify where catchers can stand and what rights the baserunner has when there's a play at the plate. As Rosenthal explains it, the change would be, "at minimum, a guideline in which catchers will be asked to give the runner a lane to the plate in their initial positioning, further reducing the possibility of collisions at home plate."

There's currently no specific timetable regarding whenthese changes will be officially decided upon or implemented, but look for it to happen sooner rather than later.

D'Backs general manager on hot seat?

It's unclear when exactly public support of one's job performance became the quickest way to recognize that said job isn't secure, but the dreaded vote of confidence has reared its ugly head in Arizona according to AZCentral columnist Dan Bickley.

In an extended interview, longtime Diamondbacks executive Ken Kendrick fully backed manager Kirk Gibson, doing so while repeatedly calling him "Gibby." But Gibson's boss -- general manager Kevin Towers -- wasn't as lucky. Kendrick made clear his desire to begin relying more on the data-driven decisions made by his previous general manager, current Padres boss Josh Byrnes. And that's not exactly Towers' forte.

"When we look at where we are and where we were, I can compare two regimes," Kendrick said. "I don't want to say polar opposites - that's too strong - but there was a pretty significant reliance on data with Josh than with Kevin. I always hoped for, with each, more balance. It's easy to say, but not always easy to achieve. I think we know we don't have the balance I still think is the right way to go, and I think we need to recognize (that)."

While a change might not be imminent, Towers may want to update his resume just in case.

Dontrelle Willis' future plans?

It appears Dontrelle Willis will try to make it as a pitching coach, according to Jon Heyman of CBS.

Mr. Walk-Off No-Hitter

Bartolo Colon, Simply the Best

Of all the wonderful things that Bartolo Colon has brought into the game of baseball, this GIF may be his greatest contribution yet.

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(Don't worry Mets fans, it could be worse.)


SnakeBytes 4/20: Back to losing edition

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Mike Bolsinger and the D'backs lost a 4-0 lead on Saturday to drop their record to 5-15.

Quotables

"First time through the order was good," Bolsinger said. "But I kind of got away from my game plan a little bit. I left some balls up and when you do that up here, there's consequences."

- Mike Bolsinger on his start against the Dodgers.

"Michael started off really good," D-backs manager Kirk Gibson said. "Really hitting his spots, staying on the corners. "The fifth inning just got away from him," Gibson said.

- Kirk Gibson on Bolsinger's outing.

Daily D-backs

After quick start, Bolsinger hits road block in LA | MLB.com ARI Recap

The D-backs hoped that their 12-inning win over the Dodgers on Friday night would give them some momentum to turn around their sagging fortunes. It looked like that might just be the case when they led the Dodgers, 4-0, through three innings Saturday night. Things, though, went horribly wrong for the D-backs in the fourth and fifth innings as the Dodgers rallied for an 8-6 win in front of a packed house at Dodger Stadium.

Early lead disappears quickly in D-backs' loss to Dodgers | FOX Sports

Andre Ethier hit a three-run homer and the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied from an early four-run deficit to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-6 on Saturday.

Cahill uses adrenaline, thinks less in first relief outing; Relaxed Thatcher attacking hitters out of bullpen; Worth nothing | dbacks.com: News

Desperate to get right-hander Trevor Cahill on the right track, the D-backs shifted him to the bullpen in hopes the change of scenery would help him. The results Friday night against the Dodgers were encouraging. Joe Thatcher this season is pitching like the pitcher D-backs GM Kevin Towers thought he was getting last year when he acquired him from the Padres.


From Yahoo Sports: It appears ownership isn't feeling too well about the direction Arizona is going, which at this point is nowhere.


Diamondbacks are searching for answers, while their owner hints they need to be like the Suns.


For years, some scouts have believed Diamondbacks right-hander Randall Delgado's best role might be in relief. The early returns of his bullpen existence have helped justify that line of thinking. In three outings since being bumped from the starting rotation, Delgado has thrown four scoreless innings, giving up just two hits and two walks while striking out six.


Every March, baseball fans descend upon the Valley of the Sun for MLB Spring Training. While on the surface it seems like the experiences should all be similar, they most certainly are not. From the greatness of Salt River Fields (named the 22nd best stadium experience in the U.S. and Canada last year by Stadium Journey), to the ultra-crowded Maryvale Baseball Park, the Cactus League offers all kinds of experiences for every baseball fan.


In a day and age where the game of baseball has slowly but surely welcomed increasing forms of new-age analytics and technology, an old-fashioned mentality still has it's place. Look no further than the Arizona Diamondbacks' Tony Campana.


04/20 Padres Preview: Game 19 vs. Giants

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Our Padres close out both the series with the Giants and their homestand this afternoon as they go for their first sweep of the season.

Last night's encouraging win put our Padres at .500 on the season. Today they'll get their first chance this season to play for a series sweep and send the Giants packing with nothing to show for their time in San Diego.

Padres pitching has been phenomenal and instrumental in the team's success lately. The staff ranks in the top of the majors with a collective 2.68 ERA this season, and a 1.93 mark in the last 11 games. In that span, the team has gone 7-4 to fight their way back to .500, just two games out of first place. Starting pitchers specifically have posted a 2.26 ERA in those 11 games, a stretch that began two outings ago for today's starter.

Robbie Erlin will get the call in the series finale and will try to build off a decent start to his 2014 season. The lefty was added to the rotation after already pitching a scoreless 2/3 of an inning in relief at the beginning of the season. And he's making sure to take advantage of his opportunity in Josh Johnson's absence. Erlin kept the Indians to one run in six innings in his first start of the season, April 9th in Cleveland. He allowed only four hits and no walks while striking out six. His last time out he struggled a bit against the Rockies, yielding three runs on six hits and a walk in just 4 2/3 innings, though he struck out seven batters along the way. In Erlin's only career outing against the Giants, last September at Petco Park, he gave up two runs in 5 1/3 innings as the Padres went on to win 3-2.

Pitching for the Giants will be Tim Lincecum, who hopes to keep improving on his rocky start to the season. He was decent in his most recent start, giving up just one run on five hits and striking out five through five innings. But his two starts prior to that were not so smooth. He surrendered 11 runs total through 10 innings in two outings against the Diamondbacks. The righty is 7-3 in 14 starts all-time at Petco Park, including last season's no-hitter. Hopefully our Padres can put up a better fight this time around.

Tune in at 1:10 PDT to see if our boys can pull off a sweep and take us back over .500 for the first time since the 1-0 start to the season.

Giants beat Padres 4-3 to avoid sweep. A Haiku.

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The Padres came into Sunday looking for their first series sweep of the season. The rival Giants stood in their way.

Erlin took the hill

Came out a bit wild and off

Posey took one deep


Cabby's leadoff hit

Spoils any repeat no-no

For Tim Lincecum


Wildness plagues Erlin

Resulting jam ends with runs

Down four after two.


Padres would strike back

Bases got loaded in third

Headley hit scored two


Replay stopped rally

X called safe at home then out

Could have been 3 runs


Erlin settled in

Giants shut down for next 4 frames

No walks and no hits


With the Giants held

The Pads could get a run back

Hundley blast did that


Now game was close late

Home team was showing some fight

But was sweep in cards?


Looked iffy in 8th

Vincent's offerings flew deep

Posey got Petco'd


And a Blanco fly

Made Nady faceplant the wall

No worries ball caught


'Pen let in no runs

From inning 6 through frame 9

Torres, Vicent, Stauff


Pads needed their bats

In the 9th facing Romo

Work needed doin'


Headley drew a walk

Got to second on wild pitch

But stranded he was


Padres got no sweep

This one barely got away

Just get 'em next time.


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Avoiding Revisionist History on Jason Bartlett

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If you didn't know better, you'd think Jason Bartlett was loved by everyone in the organization from Day One.

Nearly 12 years ago, on July 12, 2002, the Twins acquired Jason Bartlett from the Padres in exchange for Brian Buchanan. Buchanan was a first round pick by the Yankees in '94, and came to Minnesota (along with Cristian Guzman, Eric Milton, and Danny Mota) in the trade that sent Chuck Knoblauch to New York. He was supposed to mash, and kind of did, but not really. His 2001 season was fine, but Buch was thoroughly lackluster in 2002.

Basically, the Twins were giving their outfield at-bats to Jacque Jones, Torii Hunter, Dustan Mohr, and Bobby Kielty, but they also wanted to call up Michael Cuddyer. Cuddyer, in his first taste of Triple-A, was killing it for Salt Lake City: .309/.379/.594 to be exact. As the organization's top prospect and with the Twins trying to avoid fading down the stretch like they did in '01, the team needed to give him a shot.

And that, as it turns out, might have been a little ironic. Because reversing course past the history lesson and getting back to Jason Bartlett, the organization quite clearly wasn't as willing to give him the same credence.

In 2004, Bartlett hit .332/.414/.470 as a 24-year old in his first taste of Triple-A baseball. The Twins called him up for a cup of coffee in September, and it was assumed going into 2005 that this flashy Californian kid with speed and a nice eye at the plate would get his opportunities.

To be fair, he did get his chance. Bartlett made the team out of spring training and started at short on Opening Day. But he was struggling at the plate, hitting just .242/.310/.374 through the middle of May, and he was returned to Triple-A to work things out. It's a standard tactic.

Gardy and the Twins gave shortstop to Juan Castro and Nick Punto. Castro, 33, held a career OPS+ of 56. He wasn't any better than Bartlett, hitting .257/.279/.386 on the season. In Bartlett's absence, from May 14 through the end of July, he hit .260/.270/.408. But Bartlett's development as a Major League asset was deemed less important than trotting out a career utility man with a reputation for soft hands, who was backed up by the all-effort and all-hustle Nick Punto - who hit .239/.301/.319 in 2005.

Bartlett, meanwhile, tore the cover off the ball in Triple-A. In 61 games for the Red Wings he crushed it, to the tune of a .332/.405/.459 triple slash. Minnesota promoted him for August 1, and he started 32 of the team's final 40 games. It was all justifiable and it was method-as-expected. It was certainly frustrating to see Bartlett get sent down for half the season, but he did struggle and he did get recalled when he proved there was nothing left for him to learn in the minor leagues.

Then came 2006, and this is where we need to really think about how highly Bartlett was regarded within the organization. In spite of Bartlett's impressive showing with the Red Wings for the prior two seasons, and in spite of Terry Ryan announcing "he's got nothing more to prove at Triple-A", Bartlett didn't make the team out of spring training. He hit .375 with a .450 on-base percentage, the Twins were giving third base to Stonewall Tony Batista, and they still gave short to a now 34-year old with diminished range in Castro. The mantra from the front office was that Bartlett wasn't doing the "little things good enough" and that they wanted him to act more like a leader.

Batista lasted one day longer on the team than did Castro. Minnesota cut their losses on their fading shortstop after 50 games and a .231/.258/.308 performance. Jason Bartlett started every single game at shortstop for the rest of the season, rewarding the team with a .309/.367/.393 performance.

Bartlett would spend just one full season as the team's everyday shortstop before being shipped off, along with Matt Garza, in the ill-fated Bill Smith trade that brought Delmon Young to Minnesota.

In December of 2012, Gardenhire would tell Rhett Bollinger that "he was never in favor of sending Jason Bartlett to the Rays". When news came out last week that Bartlett was retiring but had interest in coaching, the front office made it sound like they were hopeful they'd find a spot for him in the future.

Where and when did this change of heart take place? The Twins organization jerked Bartlett around pretty good over the course of three or four years, culminating in his trade to Tampa Bay. In terms of getting sent down and getting called up, we all know how active Gardy is in that process so it's also difficult to pin the blame on just the manager or just the front office. But apparently, at somewhere in the sordid history of one of the best shortstops the Twins never barely had, Bartlett gained a fan club.

It was time for Bartlett to leave the game as a player. We saw it in spring training, and although he gave one hell of an effort, his last game really spelled it out: two diving attempts made on fly balls at an unfamiliar position, ending in two belly flops.

He had one great offensive season, and for four or five years he was also a good defensive shortstop - all things this team could have used. I'm glad that, in the end, the organization had an appreciation for Bartlett, and that Bartlett, in turn, holds no ill will towards the Twins. It's good to see the kind words and the positive personal reviews. I'm glad that the chapter is closed.

In some ways, I think the sentiments mean more by remembering the journey that brought us here. Good luck, Jason. I'm sure we'll see you around.

Head-to-Head Risers and Fallers: Devin Mesoraco, Khris Davis and More

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Identifying risers and fallers in head-to-head points' leagues for Week 4, including Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco and Brewers outfielder Khris Davis.

Risers

Devin Mesoraco, C, Reds

Since coming back from an oblique injury, Mesoraco has a hit in all nine contests, going 17 for 33 at the dish with three home runs and six doubles. He leads the team with 11 RBIs in just nine games, and he's already been worth 1.2 WAR, according to FanGraphs -- only four players have been worth more. No longer restrained by Dusty Baker's veteran-biased shackles and the shadow of Ryan Hanigan, Mesoraco is set for full playing time in Cincinnati. The 25-year-old won't be a negative in the strikeout department, with a respectable 17.7 percent strikeout rate in his career. It's really quite simple: more playing time equals more stats equals more points. Despite his league-leading 48 points at the catcher position, he's available in 50 percent of Yahoo leagues and 40 percent of ESPN leagues. Mesoraco could pass as a viable option in 12-teamers, with the chance to hit .270 with 15 home runs and 60-70 RBIs. He won't stay this hot forever (.583 BABIP), but he looks legit after being selected after the likes of A.J. Pierzynski and Travis d'Arnaud on draft day.

Marcell Ozuna, OF, Marlins

Ozuna is off to a scorching start for the Flying Fish, slashing .333/.382/.522 with three home runs, 12 runs, 10 RBIs and two steals in 18 contests. Ozuna has put together monster seasons in the minors before (23 home runs in 2011, 24 in 2012), but he's forever been a free swinger with lofty strikeout rates. Through nine games, Ozuna has refined his approach at the plate with just 13 strikeouts in 76 plate appearances (17.1 percent strikeout rate), in addition to six walks. He's still swinging and missing at too many balls outside of the strike zone, but as FanGraphs' Jack Weiland points out, he's flailing at fewer pitches in the dirt. Ozuna is currently inside the top-20 outfielders in points' leagues, and he's still available in over 70 percent of Yahoo leagues. He's hit safely in 15 of 18 games, and he could approach 20 home runs over the course of a full season. If his improved plate discipline lasts, Ozuna could be a sneaky No. 3 outfielder.

Fallers

Khris Davis, OF, Brewers

Davis was a popular sleeper on the heels of 11 home runs and a .316 ISO in 56 games a year ago -- but so far, the power is missing (one home run in 17 games). His batting average is fine at .258 (no one expected him to hit .280 again), but he's struck out in 29.1 percent of his plate appearances; through 63 at-bats, Krush has 20 strikeouts and one walk. His O-Swing% is all the way up to 39 percent, and he's making contact at a dismal 65.5 percent clip. Davis won't be able to sustain any value in points' leagues unless he becomes more selective at the plate. In 73 career games, he's walked just 12 times. Additionally, Krush hasn't attempted a steal on a team that led the National League in thefts last season. It's still early, but Davis is looking like a liability outside of deep roto leagues.

Everth Cabrera, SS, Padres

On the surface, Cabrera's 2014 season is off to a fine start. The shortstop is hitting .329 after many thought he over performed with a .283 BA in 2013. With a .300-plus batting average, you'd expect Cabrera to be blazing the base paths -- but that's not the case. After stealing 37 bags last season, he's just 2 for 5 in stolen base attempts to start the year. Furthermore, Cabrera's .329 is deceiving. His batting average is being supported by a .444 BABIP, and he's succeeding despite an ugly 19:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio atop San Diego's batting order. It would be hard to dump Cabrera given the current state of the shortstop position, but he could be someone to lump in a trade for a bigger name acquisition. I'd hold if I owned Cabrera, but expect his batting average to come down significantly over the course of the next month.

Anthony Carter signs with Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters

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There are conflicting reports of the ins-and-outs of it, but what is known is that left-handed reliever Anthony Carter is now a member of the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball, Japan's highest level of play. I first saw the news via a tweet by Corey Brock, which stated that the Padres sold his rights to the Fighters (contrary to the belief of some, the team is named the Fighters and are sponsored by Nippon Ham; they aren't some mythical samurai swine).

It seemed pretty cut-and-dry until I saw a tweet from Dennis Lin saying that Carter had been released by the Padres organization last Friday. I have no idea if this was the case, but it sounds like it might have been part of a handshake deal.

I did a bit of Googling, and found only a Japan Times blurb that didn't clear anything up. Then I checked the El Paso Chihuahuas' official site, and the last mention I could find of him was from ten days ago. Apparently he was sent to the short-season Eugene Emeralds in a shuffle move when Bobby LaFromboise rejoined the team. It's possible this deal was in the works and they just parked him there while they specifics got parsed. He never appeared in any games with Eugene, ending his tenure in the Padres organization with just three innings over three games with El Paso.

Either way, he was around and now he isn't. A minor-league free-agent signing by the Padres last November, Carter has a 37-37 record with a 4.59 ERA in nine seasons on the farm. He spent full seasons in AAA for both pairs of Sox since 2011, but has never received "the call". If all goes well in Japan, he might get another crack at his dream next spring.

Brewers vs Padres series preview: Holy Pitching!!!

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Hot off a series win against the Pirates, including 3 straight, the Brewers return home for a 3 game set against the 9-10 Padres.

Since last year I keep thinking the Padres are better than most people give them credit for. Thus far I've been proven mostly wrong. Their main problem is that they're an unbalanced team. They're pitching is actually pretty solid. It currently ranks 5th in all of baseball, right behind the Brewers, by fWAR. The problem is their offense lags behind quite significantly. As a team they have an 80 wRC+ which is tied for 26th worst in baseball. For reference, the Brewers currently possess a 99 wRC+ which ranks 16th. The Padres have the 7th highest strikeout rate and 4th lowest walk rate. Hopefully that will benefit Brewers pitching.

Monday, April 21 7:10 PM CT: Wily Peralta vs Andrew Cashner

Wily Peralta has been pretty decent so far this season. His 17.3% strikeout rate is up from last year's 16.1% which is encouraging. Also encouraging is that his walk rate is down from 9.1% last to 6.7% this year. Hopefully those numbers are a sign of things to come.

Andrew Cashner is awesome. Sorry, I know he's the opposing pitcher, but I kind of love him. He's basically what I think Wily Peralta could be if his strikeout numbers jumped. Cashner throws in the mid to high-90s, currently averaging 93.5 mph (Peralta throws harder), and he induces lots of ground balls. In fact, he's currently sporting a 60.8% ground ball rate. Yikes! He's also adept at getting strikeouts. Last year he had an 18.7% strikeout rate and so far this year it's at 24.3%. Yikes again. I won't lie, this looks like a tough outing for the Brewers offense.

Tuesday, April 22 7:10 PM CT: Yovani Gallardo vs Ian Kennedy

Last time I wrote about Gallardo abandoning his previous strikeout model and adopting a new pitch to contact, ground ball approach. So, of course, Gallardo struck out 6 in 6 innings and induced only a 26.7% ground ball rate. I think this is less a reemergence of his strikeout ways and more a random event. Though I do think we can expect a solid amount of strikeouts again because of the Padres offensive profile.

Ian Kennedy's 4.13 ERA looks deceptive to me. He's had a 24% strikeout rate and 5.9% walk rate so far this season. He's not giving up a lot of home runs either with a 0.38 HR/9. His batting average against is .220, his WHIP is 1.04, and his BABIP is .284. Seriously, how did he give up so many runs? Nothing jumps out at me so I have to assume he's been supremely unlucky. Hopefully that bad luck stays with him and the Brewers win 1-0 off a pinch hit home run from Jeff Bianchi.

Wednesday, April 23 7:10 PM CT: Kyle Lohse vs Tyson Ross

Kyle Lohse had another solid outing last time around when he faced the Pirates. They did put up 3 runs against him, but 2 were unearned. He struck out 5 in 6.1 innings pitched which is solid. I wouldn't be surprised to see his new found (and likely temporary) ability to get strikeouts, sticks around for this game. Unless something wacky happens I expect another strong outing.

Tyson Ross is another guy that has a great strikeout rate. His current 23.4% strikeout rate is almost identical to his 23.6% from last year so we know it's not a fluke. He does have an issue with walking people. His current 10.3% rate is a few ticks higher than last year's 8.7%. Still, the Brewers have the lowest walk rate in baseball so I'm not expecting this to be an issue

Prediction

I still think the Padres are better than most people give them credit for. I also think the Brewers are the better team, but damn if the Padre's pitching staff this series doesn't look sexy. Runs might be few and far between this entire series for both teams. I'm going to guess the Brewers take 2 out of 3 with tonight's match-up being the toughest.

Statistics courtesy of Fangraphs


Runs in April at Petco Park at a shortage for the Padres

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I saw this tweet from Craig Elsten the other day about the Padres poor run production in April during the Petco Park era.

I wanted to see just how bad the run production was so I did some simple math and created some tables.  At first I wasn't quite sure if Elsten meant only at home games at Petco Park or all games in April since 2004, but once I started crunching numbers it was pretty obvious he meant home games at Petco Park.

First let's look at the Padres run total and average runs for all of their games.  They average 4.02 runs per game overall.

Overall Run Production

Games

Padres Runs

Padres Average

Opponent Runs

Opponent Average

7185

28854

4.02

31401

4.37

At home games the Padres average drops to 3.82

All-time Home Totals

Games

Padres Runs

Padres Average

Opponent Runs

Opponent Average

3598

13743

3.82

14522

4.04

Now to look at the monthly totals.  When you toss out March and October for their small sample size, you find April and July are practically tied in terms of average runs per game and not too far off the 3.82 average.

All-time Monthly Totals at Home

MonthGamesPadres RunsPadres AverageOpponent RunsOpponent Average
Mar39362
Oct381393.661594.18
Apr53820253.7621784.05
Jul57921793.7623854.12
Sep59422513.7923884.02
Jun63424193.8226184.13
May63024263.8525654.07
Aug58222953.9422233.82

Prior to Petco Park April wasn't bad at all.  In Mission Valley, April was one of the better months for run production.  They scored 3.9 runs on the road in this period.

Monthly Totals from 1969 to 2003

Month

Games

Padres Runs

Padres Average

Opponent Runs

Opponent Average

Mar

1

2

2

5

5

Jul

461

1735

3.76

1834

3.98

Sep

464

1753

3.78

1936

4.17

Jun

485

1866

3.85

2012

4.15

May

493

1912

3.88

2097

4.25

Apr

398

1545

3.88

1649

4.14

Oct

33

128

3.88

145

4.39

Aug

440

1744

3.96

1708

3.88

In the Petco Park era, April is clearly the worst in terms of run production for the Padres when you toss out October and March for their small sample sizes. April produces .28 less than June.  They scored an average of 4.3 runs on the road since 2004.

Petco Park Monthly Totals

Month

Games

Padres Runs

Padres Average

Opponent Runs

Opponent Average

Oct

5

11

2.2

14

2.8

Apr

140

480

3.43

529

3.78

Mar

2

7

3.5

1

0.5

Jun

149

553

3.71

606

4.07

May

137

514

3.75

468

3.42

Jul

118

444

3.76

551

4.67

Sep

130

498

3.83

452

3.48

Aug

142

551

3.88

515

3.63

So in conclusion, Elsten was right.  The Padres do suck at scoring runs at Petco Park in April.

Petco Park Era April Winning %

Month

Year

Wins

Games

Win %

Apr

2010

9

11

81.82

Apr

2004

10

14

71.43

Apr

2005

7

10

70

Apr

2009

6

10

60

Apr

2007

6

12

50

Apr

2014

6

13

46.15

Apr

2013

5

12

41.67

Apr

2008

5

14

35.71

Apr

2012

5

15

33.33

Apr

2006

4

15

26.67

Apr

2011

4

15

26.67

Padres pitchers stingy with runs in first 19 games

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Here's another interesting tweet, this one from Geoff Young of Ducksnorts.

As Geoff says, in 19 games the Padres pitching staff has only allowed 60 runs.  They did that once before in 1972, but only once eclipsed that total when they allowed 58 in 1985.

Also notice that the 2014 Padres are tied for 6th worst with the least number of runs scored (53).  If only the offense and defense could click at the same time.

Runs scored and allowed in the first 19 games

Year

Games

Padres Runs

Padres Average

Opponent Runs

Opponent Average

1985

19

64

3.37

58

3.05

1972

19

46

2.42

60

3.16

2014

19

53

2.79

60

3.16

2011

19

60

3.16

64

3.37

1986

19

60

3.16

65

3.42

1982

19

98

5.16

67

3.53

1988

19

48

2.53

69

3.63

2002

19

53

2.79

70

3.68

1970

19

54

2.84

72

3.79

2010

19

84

4.42

72

3.79

1976

19

85

4.47

73

3.84

1975

19

66

3.47

74

3.89

1997

19

86

4.53

74

3.89

2007

19

85

4.47

75

3.95

1980

19

63

3.32

75

3.95

1992

19

70

3.68

75

3.95

1990

19

90

4.74

77

4.05

1969

19

46

2.42

78

4.11

1996

19

114

6

79

4.16

1998

19

109

5.74

79

4.16

1973

19

55

2.89

79

4.16

1978

19

60

3.16

80

4.21

1984

19

97

5.11

80

4.21

2012

19

63

3.32

81

4.26

2008

19

62

3.26

82

4.32

2005

19

85

4.47

82

4.32

1991

19

78

4.11

82

4.32

1993

19

79

4.16

82

4.32

1981

19

44

2.32

85

4.47

2004

19

97

5.11

87

4.58

1989

19

58

3.05

89

4.68

1987

19

49

2.58

90

4.74

1999

19

81

4.26

91

4.79

2013

19

64

3.37

92

4.84

2006

19

78

4.11

93

4.89

1977

19

91

4.79

93

4.89

2009

19

82

4.32

97

5.11

1983

19

95

5

97

5.11

2000

19

104

5.47

98

5.16

1971

19

54

2.84

99

5.21

2003

19

76

4

99

5.21

1994

19

71

3.74

100

5.26

1979

19

88

4.63

103

5.42

2001

19

93

4.89

106

5.58

1974

19

56

2.95

116

6.11

1995

19

105

5.53

125

6.58

04/21 Padres Preview: Game 20 @ Brewers

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Padres begin a three-game series this afternoon against the team with the best record in baseball.

Coming off a successful homestand, our Padres hit the road for ten more games to close out the month of April. The Padres didn't lose any of the three series they played at home over the last ten days; starting with a series win against a tough Tigers team, then a four-game set which they split against the Rockies, and finishing with their second series win over the Giants.

The ten-game stretch on the road begins in Milwaukee for three games against the BrewersAndrew Cashner will kick off the series tonight and try to continue being one of the more dominant pitchers in the league. Dating back to 2013, Cashner has kept opponents to two runs or less in each of his last ten starts. In his four appearances this year, he's only allowed four earned runs in 28 1/3 innings, including 9 scoreless innings en route to a one-hit complete-game shutout on April 11th. He has been quite successful against the Brewers in the past. In eight career outings (two starts) spanning work with the Padres and the Cubs, he is 2-0 with a 2.40 ERA against Milwaukee.

The Brewers might be one the toughest teams Cashner will face this season. They come into this series having won three of four against their division rival, the Pirates, and boasting the best record (14-5) in the majors. Today's starter, Wily Peralta, has been a big part of their success this season. He's allowed eight runs over his three starts (18 1/3 innings) this year, though only four of those runs were earned, and the Brewers have gone on to win each of those outings. His last time out he stopped the Cardinals' four-game winning streak, giving up just one run in 6 1/3 innings of work.

First pitch at Miller Park is at 5:10 PDT. Join us in the game thread later and see how Cashner fares against the surging Brewers.

Padres sign Billy Buckner to minor league deal

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Per Corey Brock, the Padres have signed pitcher Billy Buckner to a minor league deal.

In those five seasons, Buckner has appeared in just 43 games, split nearly down the middle between starting and relief. He set a career high with 16 games (13 starts) for Arizona in 2009. He got rocked to the tune of a 6.40 ERA, and was knocked around even harder in 2010, going 0-3 with a 11.08 ERA in three games. Buckner didn't get another shot in the majors until last year, when he got into seven games (including two starts) for the Angels. He was 1-0 with a 4.67 ERA in those 17.1 innings. According to Rotoworld, Buckner kept his arm in shape depite not going to spring training with any team. After his extended spring training, he'll most likely be headed to El Paso

Brewers win series opener against Padres 4-3

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Wily Peralta looked solid and the offense came up big against a tough starter in Andrew Cashner.

Winner: Wily Peralta

Loser: Andrew Cashner

SV: Francisco Rodriguez (8)

HR: Aramis Ramirez (3)

Boxscore

Until today Wily Peralta had never faced the Padres before. I learned that from Bill Schroeder on the broadcast. First time for everything indeed. Anyway, the Peralta was sharp in the first inning retiring the Padres in order with a strikeout, and two ground balls.

Andrew Cashner started off the bottom of the 1st inning by walking Carlos Gomez as we all knew he wouldn't!  Gomez then attempted to steal second base but wound up at third on a throwing error. Scooter Gennett grounded out but was unable to score Gomez. Ryan Braun was also unable to score on a grounder. Aramis Ramirez would fly out and the inning would end with Gomez standing at third base.

In the second inning Peralta struck out two batters before allowing a double to Yonder Alonso. It wouldn't matter as he got the next batter to hit a grounder back to him for the third out.

Jean Segura was able sneak a grounder past Cashner in the bottom of the second. He too would steal second. The throw was on target but the fielder dropped the ball. I think he was safe anyway, but with Cashner on the mound you'll take any help the Padres want to give. Just like the first time around, the Brewers were unable to drive the run in.

Peralta led off the third inning by hitting catcher Rene Rivera. Cashner bunted the runner over and would have reached base safely were it not for a nice stab by Scooter Gennett covering first. Up next was Everth Cabrera who would strike out for the second time. Peralta's pitch count was getting pretty high at this point so Will Venebal did him a solid by lining out on the second pitch of the at-bat.

Wily "I Was Originally an Outfielder" Peralta led off the bottom of the third inning with a line drive double. Gomez would advance the runner on a ground out, but it was unnecessary as Scooter Gennett followed that effort up with an RBI triple! Ryan Braun then drove him in on sac fly that I totally thought was home run off the bat. Aramis Ramirez then hit what I totally thought was a home run off the bat. That one did go out and the Brewers quickly found themselves with a 3-0 lead.

Seth Smith led off the fourth with a single and then Peralta issued a walk to Chase Headley. Jedd Gyorko scared the crap out of me when he hit a long loud out to center. Thankfully Smith misread the ball, didn't tag up, and had to stay put at second base. Gomez almost doubled him up with his throw to the infield. However Smith would come around to score on a single from Yonder Alonso. Chris Denorfia grounded out to shortstop and it looked like Gennett was going to be able to turn a double play. Unfortunately as Alonso slid into second his arm came up and made contact with Gennett's throwing arm. This allowed Headley to score. Gennett was assessed an error as the umpires ruled it incidental contact. Had they ruled it interference the inning would have ended without the second run scoring. I'm not familiar with the rule, but it didn't look like Alonso did anything intentionally. The final out would be made by Mark Reynolds on a popout in front of the Brewers dugout. Martin Maldonado almost pushed his glove out of the way also trying to catch the ball. After the snafu in Pittsburgh with Reynolds and Ramirez, I'm thinking Reynolds needs to work on his communication.

Peralta pitched a quick, clean 1-2-3 fifth inning, which is exactly what he needed since his pitch count was nearing 70. After yesterday's 14-inning marathon the Brewers really needed a deep start from Peralta.

In the bottom of the fifth Gomez laced a grounder down the third-base line for a double. Because Ron Roenicke is Ron Roenicke, he had Gennett lay down a bunt with 2 strikes. This time it worked and Gomez advanced the third base. Once again Braun would drive in the runner, this time on a single. He would get caught stealing almost immediately. I can't blame him for going though, they'd been pretty successful earlier in the game. Ramirez would ground out to end the inning.

Wily Peralta was going good in the top of the sixth. Seth Smith hit a long fly out and Chase Headley struck out. Gyorko hit a line drive single but it wouldn't matter as Yonder Alonso popped up. Peralta ended the inning having thrown 79 pitches, leaving him in good shape.

Nothing much happened in the bottom of the 6th for the Brewers offense, but Elian Herrera did get his first hit of the season.

The Padres would get a run back right away in the 7th as Denorfia hit a lead of home run. Nick Hundley, pinch hitting for Rivera, hit a double and it looked like the end was near for Wily Peralta. Tommy Medica pinch hit for Cashner and was able to reach on a wide throw from Jean Segura. It would have been close, but I think a perfect throw gets him. The runner did not advance on that play, but Everth Cabrera would advance them both on a sacrifice bunt. Will Smith would then take the mound in relief to face lefty Will Venable. The Padres would counter with Xavier Nady who drew a walk to load the bases. Thankfully Seth Smith would pop up for the second out and Chase Headley would strike out on 3 pitches to end the inning.

Lyle Overbay hit for the pitcher and lined a single. For some reason Gomez decided to attempt a bunt but hilariously bunted it way far and it was an easy out for the first baseman. Gennett then hit a single. Overbay successfully took the extra base and Gennett reached second on the throw. With first base open the Padres elected to walk Ryan Braun in hopes that Ramirez would hit into a double play. Ramirez obliged them...I still say it's a stupid call.

Tyler Thornburg came on for the 8th. He got Jedd Gyorko to ground out, but give a big assist to Scooter Gennett for making a great stab and throw to get the out. It was a tough play. Yonder Alonso would pop out on the first pitch and Thornburg quickly had 2 outs on 3 pitches. However Chris Denorfia was able to draw a walk and after getting Hundley to popup Thornburg would end the inning with 15 pitches. I thought maybe he'd be able to go out for a second inning after the second out, but it wasn't meant to be.

In the bottom half of the 8th Jean Segura was able to get his second hit of the night on a line drive. Elian Herrera would sneak a ground ball passed the second baseman and Segura would advance to third. With one out and runners at the corners Martin Maldonado was forced by Roenicke to bunt for a squeeze play. The first two bunts went foul but it wouldn't matter because Elian Herrera was caught stealing and then on the same play Jean Segura was caught in a run down. It was ugly. The Brewers would go to the 9th with a 4-3 lead.

Even though closers aren't things, Roenicke decided it was a good idea to put Francisco Rodriguez on the mound for the 4 game in a row. That made 5 appearances in the last 6 days. The first batter grounded out and then Everth Cabrera reached on a grounder. Yasmani Grandal came in to pinch hit for Nady. K-Rod got him to strikeout. Seth Smith flew out to shallow right to end the game. All said and done K-Rod threw 14 pitches. Hopefully his arm will be okay as 4 games in a row a lot to ask.

The Brewers win 4-3 and improve their season record to 15-5. Tomorrow will see Yovani Gallardo taking on Ian Kennedy. First pitch is at 7:10 pm CT.

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