Josh's Baseball Blog

Padres need to heat up this Summer if they want to be around for the playoffs

2007-05-13T10:42:00.001-07:00

Our starting pitching is intriqing. We have the best pitcher (Jake
Peavy) in the game as our ace. Check. Chris Young this year is not CY
last year, but I think he is a good number 2-3. Mad dog has been
essential to the team, keeping us in games and helping our younger
pitchers develop. And David Wells... well he is about to get the axe
soon. I don't think he prepared this offseason to play at all after
going on his hunting safari. I heard the argument is that he has a
rubber arm and doesn't need conditioning or prep because his arm will
never fall off. Will if it's not his arm then it's his eyes... The
Padres need to get down to the bottom of this, because his career can
be done soon if he doesn't find the problem and fixes it. Baseball can
be a cruel business... :(

Our hitting is good, but we are holding on to losers at a high cost.
(we traded Jack Cust who is starting to turn into Jason Bay II) Brian
Giles is getting paid to tan out in Right Field. This is a position we
need a lot of production from. Is he getting distracted by his younger
brother being on the team? Whever Brian gets his power source he needs
to rediscover it and start helping this team. Adrian has got no
protection whatsoever. Khalil is helping... Once we get old Brian back
this team will kill the Doggers. Oh and we need old Cameron back as
well.

I think are defense is fine. Not perfect but good enough to win if we
can shore up the other parts of our game.

Our bench needs improvement. Maybe we should go for Todd Walker...
lol. Robles and Blum are nice defensively, but we need more production
off the bench from our backup IFs

Big Mac homers and picks up a couple outfield assists

2007-03-12T23:32:00.001-07:00

That is what you get when you try to run against the man.

Looks like the battle for LF is heating up

2007-03-12T06:59:00.001-07:00

Who is it going to be in LF? Sledge Hammer, Big Mac, or Joser? They are all being given the chance to have the most at bats so newbie manager Bud Black can get a good sample of how well they will fare come this regular season. Sledge just recently hit a grand slam and is in the lead for the moment. But Pat McAnulty is also making a strong bid for the spot by hitting the ball hard and playing some tight defense.n They both get on bases almost half the time and are leading the team in OPS. If the season were to start at this very instant I say put Sledge out in left and keep big Mac hanging around. Do whatever it takes to keep him on the roster. Even if it means someone else has to go. We need that power off the bench. If Bud Black's coaching style is anywhere near Bochy's, then even the pinch hitters will get a lot of at bats as the season progresses. Hey maybe if we keep the left fielders around they will feel compelled to challenge and outdo each other and play top notch baseball. If everyone stays healthy this could make for a fun season.

Gwynn is in the Hall!

2007-01-10T10:55:00.001-08:00

It couldn't of happened to a more deserving person. He was the best Padre of all time. We were blessed to have him for his whole career on our team. He could of demanded more money and played elsewhere anytime he wanted, but he was faithful to us fans. He deserves high honors and respect from fans of San Diego and followers of baseball everywhere. The fact that some of the hall ballots were empty is disgraceful. What, just because they were playing in the tainted steriod-era? C'mon now!

Padres add Brian's little bro to team

2006-12-19T09:21:00.001-08:00

Sweet pickup for our team. We get a major league second baseman and Atlanta get's a draft pick. Marcus hasn't been doing too great last season, but I think he will rebound this season. If anything, his brother Brian can help him get through slumps and what not. I do believe he has more power potential than Todd Walker, but I am unsure about average. This will likely put Todd Walker into a dedicated bench role which I hope he excels at. I don't think we have downgraded from last season's Josh Barfield. I think it's a wash who is the better player, but only time will tell. Way to go for KT though for filling two spots in the infield by only trading one player. (second and third)

Maddux is a Padre

2006-12-06T20:24:00.001-08:00

Freaking sweet... cat like reflexes.. best defensive pitcher I have seen in the game. Future HoF-er and ace. Should be good for 200 innings +. I'm stoked to get mad dog. When you got him at #3, you know you're good.

Walker accepts arbitration so he most likely a lock for 2B. I wonder if Towers has got anything up his sleeve for the OF? IMO, our options are Klesko, platoon Jose Cruz/Termell Sledge, or make a trade for Manny (seems all trades have fell through for his services)

Free Agent outfielders are going fast...

2006-11-24T10:01:00.001-08:00

This year's crop of FA outfielders is going really fast and lucrative with deals of 4-5 years given to the likes of Juan Pierre and Gary Matthews Jr at around 40-50 million dollars. David Roberts should be able to score some good $$$ at this pace. The Padres have a glaring need for someone out in left. So what are the options? Bonds? This is starting to look like a more and more viable option, you can definitely count on not a whole lot of fan support for him though. Not after what he has done to us Padre fans... Why do I get this unsettling feeling that we probably should of held on to Klesko? If I am wrong for feeling this way, please let me know.

Big baller Padres and free agency...

2006-11-10T07:17:00.001-08:00

padres.com link .... Looks like the Padres want to be big ballers this off season. Why broadcast a message like this? It just ups the prices they pay for the players when they make bit stupid public announcements like this. Oh well. Hope they spend it wisely...

Padres trade Barfield!

2006-11-08T23:43:00.001-08:00

I was really starting to like the guy too... what the heck? The Padres
just traded a good homegrown talent that really tightened our defense
up the middle last season. He wasn't too shabby with the offense
either. I can see him becoming all star material someday. Oh well,
it's not like he is going to a division rival or other evil teams.
Hope he does well with the Indians..

This Kousmanoff guy looks promising, but i'm afraid with the departure
of the Doctor Dave Roberts and now Barfield our team just got slower.
I guess we still have Cameron... he can steal bases right? With Bar
gone, who will play second base?

A good preview of the managerial candiates written by UT's down Tim Sullivan

2006-11-05T07:38:00.001-08:00

Linky

On the rumor mill there is Marcus Giles? That would be tight and all, but we already have our future second baseman- Josh Barfield. Where would you put baby Giles? put in left field where this idea seems to have originated from?

Padres search for new manager...

2006-11-03T10:42:00.001-08:00

I have been hearing reports of the possibility of Dusty Baker being manager. Please don't let it be Dusty Baker! That guy is the opposite of Bochy. He overextends using his pitchers and doesn't know how to manage a bullpen. We need someone with a shorter leash than Baker, but a longer one than Bochy's. I thought Bochy could of let Chris Young finish up some games this year, but he kept on pulling him out.... He's a big guy, let him hang in there..

New Location of Josh's Baseball Blog

2006-10-29T01:48:00.000-07:00

This is the new location of my baseball blog... My other blog host modblog must of got shut down. Well I can definitely say I am not feeling so bad about losing to the Cardinals now that they have won the whole enchilada. I much would of rather saw a Padres-Tigers world series rematch however.

Bruce Bochy is now a giant and it looks, oh so wrong. I don't like how he stayed within the division. He knows our players in depth so this foresight will give the Gnats a huge advantage when playing us. I am interested in seeing how he manages Bonds next season. I wonder if they will get along? He is a "player's" manager. I will miss his mannerisms such as scratching his head when the Padres give up the lead...