Websoulsurfer

Kouzmanoff - Defensive Record but no Gold Glove

noreply@blogger.com (WebSoulSurfer) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:43:00 +0000

Wednesday Novermber 11, 2009

Kouzmanoff was robbed.

The Gold Glove award is not a defensive award and it hasn't been for a very long time. They give these awards to anyone who hits well and plays decent defense for a team that gets press.

They gave the Gold Glove to Rafael Palmiero in a year played 28 games at 1B and another to Barry Bonds in a year he led the league in errors in LF.

Zimmerman hit .292 with 33 hr and 106 rbi. He does make alot of Web Gems, but he also blows alot of plays as evidenced by 17 errors. Only 4 players had MORE errors at 3B.

Kouzmanoff just makes every play. But he didn't hit 30+ home runs or play in Washington DC so he didn't get the press Zimmerman did.

Kouzmanoff's Web Gems weren't shown on SportsCenter because his games started after the 10pm EST SportsCenter started.

So the press didn't SEE him play. They simply don't know what he did.

And for those pushing UZR, did you know that it doesn't take into account ballpark or positioning? It doesn't take into account if you have someone playing next to you like Cabrera who makes a lot of plays deep in the hole. Actually it penalizes you if the guy playing next to you is a great player and gets to some balls in the bordering zone.

All it takes into account on range is whether a player made a play on a ball hit into a zone in which 50% of other players touched the ball in.

And I don't even want to go into the entire argument about the number of TC Zimmerman had versus how many Kouzmanoff had. I did two entire articles on that. Suffice to say the stats show it had much more to do with more IP by LHP and a higher ground ball percentage against those pitchers than with getting to balls farther away from the players original positioning.

Kinda sad when the supposed defensive award goes to a guy that is close to the worst at making errors rather than the guy who set a NL record for being the best.

Yankees buy World Series title #27

noreply@blogger.com (WebSoulSurfer) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:58:00 +0000

Wednesday November 4, 2009

Congratulation New York Yankees!

You have proven that if you spend $200 million, $80 million more than your opponent, $60 million more than any other team in baseball and nearly 10 TIMES as much as the lowest payroll team, you can buy a World Series title.

By taking game 6 over the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3, the New York Yankees claimed the 27th World Series title in the franchise's storied history.

The Yankees World Series win and the fact that all but one of the teams that made the playoffs had a season ending payroll of over $100 million, has shone a 200 million candlepower spotlight on the fact that the business of baseball is broken.

It has revealed in a crystal clear manner no amount of spin can obfuscate that money is truly the only thing that matters when it comes to a franchises success in baseball.

It is time to make some changes before another generation of fans in Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Milwaukee and many other small market towns wake up on opening day knowing they have no chance to watch their team play a playoff game.

Padres outright Edgar Gonzalez to minors

noreply@blogger.com (WebSoulSurfer) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:01:00 +0000

Wednesday November 4, 2009

According to a report by Bill Center in the San Diego Union Tribune, the San Diego Padres have dropped Edgar Gonzalez, the older brother of Padres All Star 1st Baseman Adrian Gonzalez, from the 40 man roster and outrighted him to the AAA Portland Beavers.

Gonzalez, who spent 9 years in the minor leagues before getting a shot with the Padres in 2008, has chosen free agency instead of accepting the demotion and we have likely seen the last of him in the Padres organization.

I have been one of EGon's biggest critics in the blogosphere this season and am not surprised that he has been dumped to make room on the 40 man roster for one of the good young players that have emerged (or been traded for by Kevin Towers) in the Padres organization in 2009.

Over 478 abs in 193 games, Egon has hit .255/.312/.381/.693 with 11 hr and a 112/36 K to BB ratio. In 2009 he hit an anemic .216/.278 while making 28 starts over 82 appearances.

I am quite sure neither his bat nor his defense will be missed.

Regardless of my thoughts on Edgar Gonzalez the player, it has been heartwarming to see the two brothers play together.

I hope Edgar lands on his feet with another team.

Report on the Padres farm hands in the AFL

noreply@blogger.com (WebSoulSurfer) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:52:00 +0000

Wednesday November 4, 2009

From Uber-Prospect Central, the AFL!

The Arizona Fall League is the place for teams to showcase the skills of their top prospects.

This is the place we get to come to and watch Uber prospects get a chance to go head to head against the best of the best the minor leagues has to offer.

Well ... most of the Padres players in the AFL are having a rough go of it against the best prospects in baseball, combining on a 4.91 ERA and a .223 batting average and .297 OBP.

Top Padres catching prospect Mitch Canham is hitting a robust .036. 1 for 28 over 8 games. After seeing him bat against several good young pitchers in the AFL, I am not so sure we are watching a great hitting catcher. Canham's defense is suspect, so he is not very valuable as a prospect if he can't hit at a high level.

Cedric Hunter, one of the younger players on the Peoria Saguaros team at 21, is holding his own with a .288 BA, but his .304 obp with no home runs is a little disconcerting for a player expected to have a shot at being the Padres CF of the future.

SS Lance Zawadski is hitting .259 with a .389 slg %. I don't think a mediocre batting average and slugging percentage under .400 is what the Padres were looking for from Zawadski.

Of the 4 pitchers the Padres sent to the AFL, Only Evan Scribner is having what you could call a good performance. His 2.84 ERA in 7 appearances is 7th on his team in ERA, but he has only been used in mop up at the end of games (no holds or saves) so he has only thrown 6.1 innings while giving up just 3 hits and 2 earned runs. his 5 BB/5 K ratio is not promising though.

Mark Demark (one of the oldest players in the league at 26) has a 7.71 ERA over 6 appearances with a 7.0 IP/8 Hits/7 Runs/6 Earned Runs/5 BB/6 K as a line. Too old to really be a top prospect and getting crushed by the true prospects.

The MLB.com beat writer for the Padres posted an article praising the performance of Steve Garrison who returned this season from a long layoff after surgery.

Garrison has started 4 games and thrown 11.1 innings so far. After getting roughed up in his first start, giving up 4 runs in 2 innings, Garrison has rebounded to post a 3.97 ERA, giving up 5 runs on 13 hits and 4 walks while striking out 5.

The other Padres pitcher, Brandon Gomes, has a 5.40 ERA in 6 middle relief appearances. He has given up a .294 BAA. Ouch!

Not exactly stellar performances from the players the Padres have sent to the AFL.

I guess I should cut the Padres some slack. Almost all of their top prospects above High A Lake Elsinore played at the major league level this season.

In a typical year in a typical organization players like Mat Latos, Luis Durango, and Ernesto Frieri would more than likely be showcasing their skills as part of the Padres contingent on an AFL roster, not the September roster for the big league squad.

I guess we should be glad that we got to see some of the future in San Diego, instead of Arizona and that for the most part they played well and showed promise.

3 computers later and we are back

noreply@blogger.com (WebSoulSurfer) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:45:00 +0000

Wednesday November 4, 2009

After 3 separate computer failures and many hours of gnashing teeth as we tried unsuccessfully to to recover several hundred gigabytes of data from multiple computer hard drives, Websoulsurfer is back in business.

I would like the thank The Chip Merchant in San Diego for all their help in getting our computers operational.

We lost more than a dozen articles that had been written for this blog and other publications, but we are working to catch up.

Expect to see a flurry of articles on the Padres recent actions here.

Hoyer new Padres Gm?

noreply@blogger.com (WebSoulSurfer) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 02:49:00 +0000

Saturday October 24, 2009

The rumors are that Jed Hoyer has been hired by the Padres as their new GM.

Peter Gammons Twittered that that the Red Sox had a going away party for Hoyer several days ago and Bernie Wilson is reporting that Hoyer has already been hired. but no word from PadreVille.

The North County Times is saying that Hoyer has been hired and there will be a press conference Monday afternoon to confirm it, but the Padres have not yet officially called a press conference.

They have until Tuesday to announce it, as major league baseball won't allow announcements during the World Series.

As of Wednesday October 21st Moorad was saying "I'm doing some phone follow-ups and close to making a decision."

I have started to distrust the Padres new CEO Jeff Moorad, and its not just the lies about ticket prices. Moorad said on October 3rd, that he had interviewed 3 candidates and was close to making a decision. He didn't interview Hoyer until Thursday October 15th after the Red Sox were eliminated from the playoffs. He interviewed Ng two days later.

Moorad said he wanted someone with better organizational leadership skills and that was strategic planner.

Hoyer is known as a sabremetric wiz kid and has worked in the major league player personnel and contract negotiation, but has no experience with managing subordinates or with player development. Hoyer has never run a department of his own.

Ben Cherington handled the draft and player development for the Red Sox and oversaw all minor league scouting.

All those things point to the fact that Moorad was either been turned down by one of his earlier candidates or by the commissioners office.

What I find most interesting is that in his time as the CEO of two different clubs, Jeff Moorad has already chosen one guy who learned from Epstein and is now rumored to have hired another, while Epstein himself learned his craft from Kevin Towers.

That is kind of like hiring the assistant coach of a guy that used to be the assistant coach for John Wooden, when you have John Wooden on your staff already.

If Hoyer was hired by the Padres, and it appears from the consistent rumors that he was, then we will see how he does on a team with a low budget. His entire career he has helped negotiate contracts for a team that had nearly an unlimited payroll.

Now he will be working for a small market team with a $40 million payroll in 2010 and a payroll that has averaged in the bottom third in baseball over the past 15 years.

Ng interviewed by Padres?

noreply@blogger.com (WebSoulSurfer) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 04:58:00 +0000

Saturday October 17, 2009

In a twitter post tonight, Corey Brock of MLB.com says that the San Diego Padres have interviewed Los Angeles Dodgers Assistant General Manager Kim Ng.

Ng is one of two women to hold an Assistant GM position in MLB and the first to interview for a general manager position.

In her official BIO on the Dodgers website, Ng's primary responsibilities are to assist General Manager Ned Colletti in player acquisitions and contract negotiation.

She oversees the Dodger's arbitration efforts, player development, and professional scouting departments and manages the day-to-day operations of the baseball department.

Is she the strategic planner with leadership skills that Moorad is looking for?

As of yesterday, Moorad was saying he had interviewed four candidates and would most likely interview one more.

Ng was interviewed today so Moorad's interviewing process is complete. Now we will have to wait and see who he picks and who the other candidates were.

Edit:
Additional sources on Yahoo Sports confirm Corey Brock's Twitter post from earlier this evening regarding NG's interviewing with the Padres.

Utley contracts deadly Sax Disease?

noreply@blogger.com (WebSoulSurfer) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 06:48:00 +0000

Friday October 16, 2009

What in the name of Steve Sax is going on?

After committing just 4 throwing errors in 155 games during the regular season and none in 4 postseason games against the Rockies in the NLDS this year, Philadelphia Phillies 2nd baseman Chase Utley now has two throwing errors in 2 games in Chavez Ravine.

Has Utley succumbed to Sax Disease? Has he caught the dreaded Knoblauch flu?

On two routine double plays, Utley has thrown in the ball away. Only a great play by Howard saved him from having his another throwing error in the first game. Tonight's error ultimately cost his team the game.

Call the CDC, bring on the men in the spacesuits. Chase Utley has caught Sax disease in Chavez Ravine.

Padres finally get permission to interview Hoyer

noreply@blogger.com (WebSoulSurfer) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 04:52:00 +0000

October 15, 2009

According to an article from Adam Kilgore and Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe on Tuesday October 13th, now that the Boston Red Sox have been eliminated from the playoffs the Padres have finally received permission to interview Jed Hoyer of the Boston Red Sox.

While there have been rumors up to now that he was a candidate, Tuesday was the first time it became a reality.

The Red Sox had been adamant that no one would be interviewed during the playoffs. Most thought that was in response to the Indians interest in pitching coach John Farrell, but it obviously also extended to Hoyer and other staff.

Whether Hoyer has been interviewed in the past 2 days is still in question, but Jeff Moorad has been quoted as saying that he has now interviewed four candidates and may still interview a 5th.

Is Jed Hoyer the next Padres General Manager? Only time will tell.

NL Rookie of the Year - The BBA Version

noreply@blogger.com (WebSoulSurfer) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 03:13:00 +0000

Thursday October 15, 2009

NL Rookie of the Year Award

As I spoke about earlier this week, the Baseball Bloggers Alliance is doing their own version of the BBWAA end of season awards.

We have chosen as a community of bloggers to vote using the same criteria as the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The BBWAA has two writers for each team vote on the awards. We want to give the fans of the teams we represent an alternative voice on these awards while holding ourselves to the same standards and criteria for voting. Websoulsurfer is one of the blogs that gets an opportunity to vote.

The San Diego Padres chapter of the BBA elected to have all 5 members vote and have the combined votes count for both votes. Votes were counted on a first place-3 points, second place-2 points, third place-1 point system.

For Rookie of the Year Award, the San Diego Padres chapter votes were:

First Place: Andrew McCutchen (PIT)

Second Place: Tommy Hanson (ATL)

Third Place: Chris Coghlan (FLA)

The Websoulsurfer Votes:

NL Rookie of the Year

Normally pitchers get no love for Rookie of the year and my picks are no exception for 2009. I do feel that two rookie pitchers deserve at least a mention here.

J.A. Happ of the Phillies and Tommy Hanson of the Braves.

Happ went 12-4 with a 2.93 ERA in 23 starts for the defending World Champion Phillies while filling in ably for Brett Myers and an ineffective Moyers on an injury decimated staff.

Hanson was a #5 for a strong staff led by Lowe, Vasquez, Kawakami and Jurrjens and went 11-4 with a 2.89 ERA in 21 starts. While he was not asked to step in and fill big shoes, Hanson still had an exceptional rookie season.

Now counting down my picks:

3 - Everth Cabrera – My Homer Vote – Jumped from Low A to the majors after being the Padres Rule V draft pick and hit .255 with 25 SB. His defense was erratic, he was spectacular when ranging far but often blew the routine play, but the promise of exceptional D is there.
2 - Andrew McCutchen - .286/.365/.471/.836 with 12 HR and Gold Glove quality defense in CF. McCutchen came up in Early June to take McClouth's place in the lineup and never looked back. So who will he be playing for in 2012?
1 - Chris Coghlan - 321/.390/.460/.850 with 9 HR playing LF. Coghlan got absolutely no love from the media. This was mostly because they never got to see him play. His team was never on TV. Left coast or Marlins. Either way you are pretty much invisible.

The rest of the Chapter voted as follows:

The Sacrifice Bunt

First Place: Andrew McCutchen

Second Place: Tommy Hanson

Third Place: Garrett Jones

Friar Forecast

First Place: Andrew McCutchen

Second Place: Tommy Hanson

Third Place: Colby Rasmus

NL Manager of the Year - The BBA Awards

noreply@blogger.com (WebSoulSurfer) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 01:01:00 +0000

Monday October 12, 2009

The End of Season Awards - BBA Awards Voting

It’s an honor to be included in the Baseball Bloggers Alliance voting on the major awards in baseball.

Acording to the BBA website at baseballbloggersalliance.com, "The Baseball Bloggers Alliance was formed in 2009 to foster communication and collaboration between bloggers across baseball."

"The BBA has, as a secondary aim, the goal of producing year-end awards in a similar fashion to the Baseball Writers Association of America. These awards can be found here in October with links back to the voters, ensuring transparency and, most likely, the onset of some good baseball arguments."

To find a complete list of links to the member BBA Blogs, click here

We have chosen as a group to vote using the same criteria as the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The BBWAA has two writers for each team vote on the awards. We want to give the fans of the teams we represent an alternative voice on these awards while holding ourselves to the same standards and criteria for voting.

The San Diego chapter of the BBA elected to have all 5 members vote and have the combined votes count for both votes. Votes were aggregated on a first place-3 points, second place-2 points, third place-1 point system.

The Padres chapter assigned both of our votes for 2009 National League Manager of the Year in the following manner:

First Place - Jim Tracy
Second Place - Tony LaRussa
Third Place - Joe Torre

Because I blog mostly about the San Diego Padres and the NL West, I have limited the explanations of my voting to the National League, the league I get to watch on a regular basis and the league I feel like I have more of a voice on.

Over the coming days I will be posting my picks for the NL Manager of the Year, NL Rookie of the Year, NL Cy Young and the NL MVP.

I hope you enjoy reading my take or at least are prompted to send me a nasty note asking why your favorite was not included.

Web

You can look forward to the San Diego BBA members voting on -
Manager of the Year: Monday, October 12
Rookie of the Year: Thursday, October 15
Cy Young Award: Monday, October 19
Most Valuable Player: Monday, October 26

2009 NL Manager of the Year

Manager of the year was perhaps the easiest award for me to vote on. To start the year I watched a terrible Rockies team struggle against division foes with a 6-9 record in April. Then Tracy took over and the team almost immediately changed their character and they started winning. No other manager had as much of an impact on a team.

Honorable Mention – Fredi Gonzalez – Marlins
Directed the lowest budget team in baseball to an 87-75 record. Good enough for 2nd place in the NL East and just 5 games out in the Wild Card.

3 - Bud Black - Padres
For not losing 100 with this group.

2 - Tony LaRussa - Cardinals
LaRussa once again took a team that was projected to be middle of the pack and with the addition of 1 player is in the playoffs.

1 - Jim Tracy -
Took over an 18-28 team and got them to play some of the best
baseball in the NL from that point on and win the NL Wild Card

Padres Adams has historic season

noreply@blogger.com (WebSoulSurfer) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 02:41:00 +0000

Friday October 8, 2009

I wish I could say I wrote it, but this article about Mike Adams points out something not even the biggest Padres honk has pointed out yet.

Namely that Mike Adams has had a historically great season.

In 37 innings pitched over 37 appearances Adams had a 0.73 ERA, a 0.59 WHIP, 45 K (10.95 K/9) and a .111 BAA.

Yes you read that right.

That is the 8th best ERA in history and the best WHIP EVER for a pitcher with 35+ innings pitched.

As Padres fans this season we were privileged to witness two of the greatest performances in history from Adams and Kouzmanoff. How many do you think realize it even now?

Padres wave Baek, Hill and Floyd

noreply@blogger.com (WebSoulSurfer) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 05:54:00 +0000

Thursday October 8, 2009

Today the San Diego Padres announced that they have waived Pitchers Cha Seung Baek, Shawn Hill and Outfielder/Pinch Hitter Cliff Floyd.

All three players spent most if not all of the 2009 season on the DL.

Baek injured his forearm in Spring Training and injured his elbow during a rehab assignment in July. He never pitched for the Padres during the 2009 regular season.

The oft injured Hill was signed by the Padres on March 23rd and made just 3 starts before injuring his elbow against Pittsburgh on April 25th. He went under the knife for his 2nd Tommy John procedure and 5th over all surgery in June and was lost for the season.

Floyd was signed by the Padres to be a left handed power bat off the bench and to be the DH in interleague play they have been missing in recent years. Instead he injured his leg in spring training and was on the big league roster for just 18 days and 16 at bats before tearing the labrum in his right shoulder and going back on the DL for the rest of the 2009 season on June 18th.

This move was certainly not unexpected as none were expected to return in 2010. Baek and Hill will likely still be rehabbing from surgery next season and an injury plagued 36 year old Floyd may have seen his last days in a major league uniform.

The move cleared room on the 40 man roster which the Padres used to add Eulogio De La Cruz.

In other Padres news reliever Greg Burke underwent debridement surgery on his right (throwing) shoulder to remove dead or damaged tissue in the hopes that would allow healthy tissue to heal faster.

Kouzmanoff All Time record holder at 3B

noreply@blogger.com (WebSoulSurfer) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 02:11:00 +0000

Sunday October 4, 2009

Congratulations Kevin Kouzmanoff!

San Diego Padres Third Baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff set two MLB record for fielding by a 3B.

Kouzmanoff's committed just 3 errors in 309 total chances and had a .990 fielding percentage.

The MLB record for fewest errors by a 3B with 300+ chances was previously 5.
In the AL Don Money for Milwaukee in 1974 and Eric Chavez for the Oakland Athletics in 2006. In the NL the record was 7 by Mike Lowell of the Florida Marlins in 2004.

The record for fielding percentage in the NL had been held by former Padre Vinny Castilla during his 2004 season with the Colorado Rockies and the MLB record was was held by Don Money at .989.

I had read that someone had a .990 fielding percentage in the AL, but I can't seem to find it.

The bottom line is Kouzmanoff had one of the best defensive seasons in major league history.

Congratulations and I hope to see you back in a Padres uniform in 2010 to continue your overall improvement as a player.

Ramos Knocked Around Early & Padres Lose Finale in Extra Innings

noreply@blogger.com (WebSoulSurfer) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 22:40:00 +0000

Sunday October 4, 2009

David Eckstein knocked in all three Padres runs on 2 run home run, his 2nd of the year, and a sac fly to 3B. Both were improbably plays.

Eckstein is not known for his power, but stroked a home run in the 6th inning off the Giants Jonathan Sanchez, the last pitcher to throw a no hitter against the Padres.

Then in the 8th he popped up a ball to the 3B side that Pablo Sandoval caught and then fell over the railing into the dugout. Ground rules say runners can advance one base and Nick Hundley scored to tie the game.

But the Padres lost the game on a Pablo Sandoval home run to lead off the 10th. The Giants offensive MVP swung at a fat first pitch fastball from Webb and crushed the ball to straight away center field.

The Padres season is over and now we start to look forward to next season.

Losing the last series is not how I would have liked to see the season end, but the Padres showed alot of promise in the 2nd half.

Unfortunately all the progression by the organization was cut short with the firing of Kevin Towers on Friday. Next season is now in limbo instead of being something to look forward to.

Pitchers and catchers report February 17th, 2010

See you in Peoria.

Padres LeBlanc blanks the Giants

noreply@blogger.com (WebSoulSurfer) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 07:41:00 +0000

Saturday October 3, 2009

Tonight the Padres Wade Leblanc did something I never thought he could, he threw 87-88 mph fastballs consistently and with control.

He also threw 7 innings of 2 hit, shutout ball while striking out 8 Giants in the Padres 2-0 victory at Petco Park. A dominant performance from the 25 year old lefty.

The bullpen came in and shutdown the Giants to complete the shutout capped by Heath Bells 42nd save of the season. It was the Padres 6th shutout in September and 9th on the season.

LeBlanc finished the season 3-1 with a 3.69 ERA in 9 starts. Considering how bad he looked earlier in the season, LeBlanc rebounded exceptionally well and finished the season on a high note. He certainly gave notice that he wants a spot in the 2010 Padres rotation by giving up a total of just 8 runs in his last 6 starts.

Adrian Gonzalez went 3 for 4 and drove in his 99 rbi of the season and Chase Headley drove in a run with a 1st inning single.

Matt Cain took the loss for the Giants. Cain ended the season with 14-8 record and a 2.89 ERA.

The Columnists Start to Chime in on Towers/Padres

noreply@blogger.com (WebSoulSurfer) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 01:03:00 +0000

Saturday October 3, 2009

We are starting to see some of the columnists chiming in on their thoughts on the Towers firing by Padres owner and CEO Jeff Moorad.

It has been pretty consistent.

Buster Olney of ESPN says - "A "Major League" move by the Padres"
As in Major League the movie, not as in big league. In other words, bush league.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports is not as nice - "GM Towers is better off out of San Diego"
I loved this line from his article, "

"Yes, we've turned around our season, going 36-24 since July 28. Yes, this is arguably Kevin's finest job in 14 years as GM. Yes, we might actually contend in 2010.
"But it is time for a change."

Scott Miller of CBS Sports said - "Amateur Hour again in San Diego"

None of these guys seem to understand why Towers was cut loose. All of them question Moorad's rationale.

"If the guy is so good and he has put the team in the position to contend in the future, why are you firing him?" seems to be the overriding question.

My take on the Towers firing

noreply@blogger.com (WebSoulSurfer) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 20:40:00 +0000

Saturday October 3, 2009

I gave myself a night to sleep on the firing of San Diego Padres GM Kevin Towers and VP of Player Personnel Grady Fuson and now I would like to throw in a little more well thought out version of my two cents on the matter.

First let me start by giving you a little background.

After moving to San Diego too late in the 1985 season to buy season tickets, I bought my first Padres season tickets in 1986. Section F16 Row 21.

I returned as a season ticket holder in 1995 after a one year hiatus following the firesale and purchased front row outfield seats. I sat in my seats at Qualcomm and Petco through Towers entire tenure.

As a fan one thing I could always count on from the Padres was Kevin Towers being honest with us.

The team wasn't always going to contend with the low budget constraints the team dealt with. As a Padres fan we already knew that, but we also knew Towers was a straight shooter and we could count on him to do all he could to give us a fun team to watch.

Moorad has shown that he plays everything close to the vest and cannot always be trusted to be honest if it does not give him an advantage. You can never seem to get a straight answer from him. He doesn't say "this is the way it is"

Maybe that is because he is a lawyer, not a baseball person. That means he is trained to hedge what he is saying and say whatever he can to obfuscate what is really happening.

I think many season ticket holders that were beginning to get excited about this team and now will be holding back to see what will happen under the new admin. We have our season ticket renewal packages in hand and we are waiting on your next move Mr. Moorad.

The garbage from Moorad in the Tim Sullivan article in the UT about taking a few weeks to interview candidates does not ring true. Moorad doesn't have much time to make his call on a new GM. He has to already have a guy not only in mind, but ready to step in.

Fans won't wait. Moorad has until October 23rd to impress the season ticket base here in San Diego with his choice for a new GM (and a new VP of Player Personnel) or we will simply take our entertainment dollars elsewhere.

If he hesitates to act, it will cost him more of his season ticket fan base after the team already lost a huge percentage in 2009. I do not think Moorad is that stupid.

Jerry Dipoto is a known quantity for Moorad so he makes perfect sense.

Yahoo said they have heard rumors of Pat Gillick.

At this point we know two things.

Moorad cannot have interviewed anyone under contract with a team or we would have heard about it. That means id he has done interviews, they are not currently with a team.

No one in the Padres organization will be the next GM.

I will update this post after the News Conference

Update:

Padres CEO Jeff Moorad said among other things that:
It was an organizational decision to fire Towers
He wanted a GM more involved in the draft and player development
He wanted more planning and discipline in scouting & player development
He wanted a GM that would do more "strategic" planning
(Just curious how that was possible in the ever changing and low budget environment that was the Padres organization?)
No internal candidates were/will be considered.
(he actually made both comments were and will be at different points.)

Then he hmmmed and hawed before answering the question about how many candidates he had already interviewed before saying "Three"

Pretty simple question. Should have been a simple answer. Sounded to me like he was not telling the entire truth. What did you think?

If he did interview anyone, it means they are not currently in baseball. That leaves a small group of people. Pat Gillick could be on that list, but at 72 years old he would be a short term fix. Hard to be doing strategic planning when you are only going to be there a couple of years at most.

The last time Moorad had a chance to interview people for a GM position, he chose a young (35 years old) and relatively inexperienced person in Josh Byrnes. Towers at 44 was the oldest and most experienced person interviewed for the Diamondbacks position in 2005.

Moorad's MO points to DiPoto or another Player Personnel person or an assistant GM that was tasked with player development.

As for Kevin Towers, I doubt he will be unemployed long.

With today's firing of Ricciardi in Toronto and the impending firing of Hendry in Cubs land, I can see two high profile jobs that Towers could fill.

DiPoto to be new Padres GM?

noreply@blogger.com (WebSoulSurfer) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 04:18:00 +0000

Friday October 2, 2009

Sources within the Padres are now saying that Jerry DiPoto, VP of Player Personnel for the Diamondbacks, is to take Kevin Towers place as GM of the San Diego Padres.

As of Friday morning the Padres had not been given permission by the Diamondbacks to talk to DiPoto, who is still under contract, about the job , but several people within the Padres organization have said that it is just a formality.

Dipoto, 41, a former major league relief pitcher with the Indians, Mets and Rockies, was a scout with the Boston Red Sox in 2003 & 2004 and became the head of scouting for the Colorado Rockies in 2006. When Josh Byrnes was hired as the GM of the Diamondbacks in 2007, he brought long time friend Dipoto along with him as the Director of Scouting and Player Personnel.

Dipoto will take over a farm system and major league team stocked well with young talent by outgoing GM Kevin Towers and Director of Player Personnel Grady Fuson.

Kevin Towers Fired

noreply@blogger.com (WebSoulSurfer) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 02:57:00 +0000

Friday October 2, 2009

The Padres have called a press conference for tomorrow to announce the firing of General Manager Kevin Towers.

According to Corey Brock on Twitter,

@ FollowThePadres The #Padres will have a press conference on Saturday with CEO Jeff Moorad. No reference to Towers in the press advisory. Still not official

and earlier Brock said on Twitter,

@ FollowThePadres No official announcement from the team yet, but #Padres GM Kevin Towers is out. He was the longest tenured GM in the Major Leagues. #MLB

After spending 14 seasons with the Padres, Towers was the longest tenured front office person in baseball. He presided over the winningest stretch in Padres franchise history.

During Towers tenure with the team, the Padres won four NL West titles and reached the 1998 World Series.

Not many GM's that can say they have four division titles and a World Series appearance on a low - mid revenue team. KT will be missed.

I am certain that he will not be unemployed long.

Beat LA Part Two

noreply@blogger.com (WebSoulSurfer) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 05:09:00 +0000

Wednesday September 30, 2009

OUTSTANDING!

Can you think of anything better than watching the Padres keep the Dodgers from clinching the division for a night?

How about TWO nights in a row?

The Padres win tonight 5-0 and sweep the Dodgers in this short 2 game series.

I absolutely love it!

Clayton Richard threw 7 shutout innings giving up just 1 hit and 3 BB.

How did the Padres batters do?
Kevin Kouzmanoff hit a laser of a 3 run home run in the 3rd off Garland.
Nick Hundley went 3 for 4 to raise his average to .246 on the season.
Chase Headley went 2 for 4, drove in a run and scored a run.

And Loretta put a figure 4 leg lock on Everth Cabrera as he tried to get back to 3b in a 4th inning rundown and was called for obstruction. Cabrera scores!

The Padres have played very good baseball the 2nd half of this season and I am excited about their chances of contending in 2010.

Now lets see if the Rockies can go into Chavez Ravine, take 3 games from them in LA and complete the Dodgers humiliating end of the season.

Manny showing the effects of steroids

noreply@blogger.com (WebSoulSurfer) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:08:00 +0000

Wednesday September 30, 2009

Manny Ramirez cheated and took steroids prior to the 2009 season. His first month of the season was outstanding. He hit .348 with 6 home runs in 92 at bats. He had a .641 slugging percentage. He was Ruthian.

Since he has returned Ramirez has clearly demonstrated that steroids may have been a large part of his performance at the plate.

He has hit just .276 with 13 home runs in 250 at bats and has a .508 slugging. That is 40th in slugging in the league over that period and places him on par with Brad Hawpe or Torii Hunter in terms of his power numbers. His home run production dropped by nearly 30%.

Now he is certainly not a bad player, but without steroids Ramirez is no longer the elite hitter that he was in years past. In fact even rookie pitchers are now going after and striking out Manny, where in years past he would have been pitched around. Not anymore.

His batting results while playing on a very good Dodger team calls into question his previous results at the plate and may have completely ruined any shot he had at making the Hall of Fame.

If he had somehow returned and hit like he had in years past, Ramirez may have been able to say I did steroids once, they didn't help me, I paid my penalty, and I belong in the Hall of Fame.

Now we have ample evidence that they did improve his performance earlier in this season and probably in years past.

We can see that he is smaller physically and that his performance has suffered without the steroids.

We can say with some certainty that his past performance was enhanced by the use of illegal substances. (Yes, steroid use and possession is a felony and has been for decades.)

Manny being Manny has taken away his shot at immortality and instead has saddled him with infamy. His legacy will forever be as a cheater.

The only way Ramirez gets into the Hall of Fame now is the same way you and I would get in, buying a ticket.

Beat LA, Beat LA, Beat LA

noreply@blogger.com (WebSoulSurfer) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 05:54:00 +0000

Tuesday September 29, 2009

Regardless of records, I don't know if I enjoy anything more than watching the Padres beat the Dodgers.

Watching Manny go 0 for 4 helps makes the Padres victory over the Dodgers even sweeter.

And watching the Dodger fans walk out with their tails between their legs after they drove 4 hours through LA and Orange County traffic to get here hoping to see their team clinch a playoff spot is extremely satisfying.

Can it get any better than that?

Yes it can! The headlines on Yahoo and ESPN when I got home said Dodgers denied NL West title again & Dodgers fail to clinch again as Padres win!

Denying the Dodgers the chance to celebrate is sooooo nice to watch. Keep on lugging that Champagne around Dodgers. I do not want to see you spraying it around the visitors locker room here.

Am I gloating? Am I being mean spirited? Yes I am, but then its the Dodgers so it may just be justified.

So what happened in the game?

Cesar Ramos got his very first major league start. He was wild at times walking 3, but only allowed 1 run on 4 hits over 5 full innings while striking out 2.

Ramos did not get the win as the Dodgers got a run on a Cabrera error in the top of the 6th to tie the game. Ramos had given up a lead off triple to Orlando Hudson and then Everth Cabrera made a fielding error on a routine ground ball by Andre Ethier to allow Hudson to score.

I had not seen Ramos pitch before and I was surprised by his wicked curve ball, but he had trouble getting his fastball over consistently. The pitch speed signs were out in Petco, so I don't know how fast he was throwing. If I had to guess I would say low 90's judging by the swings and misses on high fastballs.

Tony Gwynn smacked a solo home run that hit the RF foul pole in the 3rd that proved to be the only hit the Padres would get off Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley until a run scoring single by Kevin Kouzmanoff in the 6th inning.

Billingsley did walk 5, which proved to be his undoing. He walked the bases loaded in the 6th and David Eckstein, who drew the lead off walk, scored on Kouzmanoff's single with 2 outs.

In the 7th the Padres got an insurance run without the benefit of a hit. Hundley walked, was sacrificed to 2nd by Cabrera, advanced to third on a ground out by Salazar, and then scored on a wild pitch.

4 Padres relievers shut out the Dodgers for the final 4 frames including Heath Bell, who pitched the 9th for his 41st save of the season.

On defense Cabrera had his 20th error of the season in the 6th, but also made a heads up play in the first inning that may have saved a run. After Ramos walked the first two batters, Andre Ethier grounded out to Eckstein and Furcal advanced to 3B, but Orlando Hudson got caught up in a rundown. Furcal advanced down the line towards home plate and Cabrera turned and gunned him down as he tried to return to 3B.

He also made a real nice stop in the 6th inning to rob Manny Ramirez of a single and turned it into a double play ball.

With the win the Padres improved to 73-85, 10 games better than 2008. The Padres are now 37-33 in the 2nd half of the season. They also have the 2nd best record in baseball since July 28th at 35-23.

After hearing Moorad say the Padres will maintain payroll at the $43 million they started 2009 at and possibly spend more in season if the Padres need it to get over the top, I am getting excited about the possibilities for 2010.

And it sure is nice to watch the Padres play the spoiler, so say it with me:

Beat LA, Beat LA, Beat LA.

Padres lose 4th in last 6 to last place D'Backs

noreply@blogger.com (WebSoulSurfer) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 23:18:00 +0000

Sunday September 27, 2009

I guess Kevin Correia knew something the rest of us had missed. The Padres bullpen just cannot get the job done against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Last night the bullpen came in and gave up a grand slam to give away the game.

Today at Chase Field in Phoenix, Edward Mujica, a guy who should still be part of the bullpen gave up 4 runs and the rest of his pen mates came in and gave up 3 more runs.

The Padres lose the game 7-4 and another series against the last place Diamondbacks.

In their last series against the Diamonbacks in San Diego both losses were on the bullpen (Heath Bell and Adam Russell).

In the series before that in Arizona in July two of the 3 losses were on the bullpen.

See a pattern here?

1st off, the Padres are having a real hard time beating one of the worst teams in baseball, going 7-11 against the Diamondbacks.

2nd, the bullpen is to blame for 7 of 11 losses. 2 losses are on Kevin Correia, one on Chad Gaudin, and the other on Jake Peavy.

A lesson for the Padres starting pitchers, make sure you pitch a complete game if you want a win against the Diamondbacks.

Padres come home to finish up their season with 2 against the Dodgers and 3 against the Giants.

On to 2010.

Cory Luebke / Team USA win World Cup over Cuba

noreply@blogger.com (WebSoulSurfer) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 22:11:00 +0000

Sunday September 27, 2009

Padres prospect Cory Luebke went 4 2/3 innings giving up 2 runs on 6 hits while striking out 7 as Team USA defeated Cuba 10-5 to win the Baseball World Cup Gold Medal in Nettuno Italy.

Dodgers top catching prospect Lucas May went 2-4 with a 3 run homer and 4 rbi overall to pace Team USA offensively.

Luebke went 11-4 with a 2.78 ERA over 23 starts for the Padres High A Lake Elsinore Storm and the AA San Antonio Missions minor league teams.

He is considered one of the Padres top 5 pitching prospects by most scouting organizations.

Congratulations Team USA!