What's that smell?

by Dex on Aug 8, 2005 9:02 AM PDT in News

It must be the Padres cookin' again!

Whew. That's cheesy. Padres cookin' with milk products these days.

Let's see what's going on on the off day.

I should probably mention that the Padres are over .500 again and in first place by themselves. If you jumped off the bandwagon last week, shame on you. But come on back now. It's OK.
Ducksnorts has a podcast! I love me some podcasts even though my iPod Mini can't seem to hold a battery charge anymore... I haven't listened to it yet, but I'm looking forward to it.
I'm psyched for Matt Vasgersian to come back to the TV broadcast booth. Dennis Morgigno has been sitting in. I enjoy Dennis' interviews and he's capable as a host, but his live calls could use some work. He'll somewhat regularly misread the play or the count and when it's being shown right there on the TV at the same time, it becomes glaringly obvious. Also, his banter just isn't as comfortable as Mark's and Matt's. I know some people don't like the banter, but let's be honets. If I'm watching the game on the tube, it doesn't have to be spelled out for me what's going on. And this is the middle of the season. I like to hear dudes at midseason form. I take back my vote that says Vasgersian deserves a vacation. Plenty of time to rest afterwards.
Richard proclaims Nevin done and gone for. While you can't argue the numbers (or at least I can't), I can argue this: Nevin was really kicked around here towards the end, and it was made obvious a few times that he's a pretty emotional guy. If what we saw in the public was just the tip of the iceburg in terms of what was going on in the clubhouse and in the front office, then it wouldn't surprise me to think that Nevin was driven to distraction his last couple years here. Couple that with the injury and his obviously being psyched out by Petco, it wouldn't surprise me to see Nevin bounce back a little with the Rangers. And for the record, you don't always have to be better than average to have value. Especially when the "average" means the very top of your given profession. I think it's a little early to say that Nevin's PECOTA collapse has come true, but we'll see at the end.

More later as we wander through the off day!

Tweet Comment 20 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Vasgersian

should take a vacation and never come back. That'd suit me just fine.

by jbox on Aug 8, 2005 9:18 AM PDT reply actions

Awwww

I miss Matty. The recent games have been a bit dry for my taste.

But that's just me.

by Emcee Emmerson on Aug 8, 2005 10:29 AM PDT up reply actions

I love stirring up the play by play debate

I miss Matt too. He gets so fired up. I need the fire.

by Dex on Aug 8, 2005 10:44 AM PDT up reply actions

well

i need the fire. the fire of the hoary netherworld licking at vaslglerijhfgkjlaaian's feet as he is damned to the sphere of eternal torment!

hmm, that came off a bit heavy, no?

by garth on Aug 8, 2005 11:28 AM PDT up reply actions

I'll go out on a limb and say that Phil is almost definately going to heat up in Texas (no pun intended). He's in a better hitter's park, in a better lineup, and in a situation where he isn't being scrutinized by the fans for every single at bat.

That said, I still think we needed to trade him, he wasn't going to turn it around in San Diego. Look for good things from him with the Rangers, though.

by Emcee Emmerson on Aug 8, 2005 10:26 AM PDT reply actions

I agree

He'll probably do great for a while. He needed the change. He was dead weight here.

by jbox on Aug 8, 2005 11:12 AM PDT up reply actions

and then

when he reaches a position of leadership there, he'll get surly and rude, and loosen up his swing, and rangers fans will get grumpy.
i'd say in about three years.

by garth on Aug 8, 2005 11:29 AM PDT up reply actions

also

http://www.ipodbatteryfaq.com/

by garth on Aug 8, 2005 11:30 AM PDT reply actions

interesting tidbit

titled "an interesting tidbit", oddly enough. This chart of near-incomprehensible numbers says Joe Randa is the 8th-best third baseman in the majors. anyone care to comment on this and clue me in? What in the hell is an MLV? Rate2? NRAA? National Rifle Adjusters Association? Normally resting all about? Nice Rumpled Astronomer Ascot?

by garth on Aug 8, 2005 2:10 PM PDT reply actions

I got you dude....

NRAA is Net Runs Above Average. Ummmm.... MLV is ummmm... Major League Valuation I think? Lemme find the links. They're stats that Marc from BtB uses.

by Dex on Aug 8, 2005 2:56 PM PDT up reply actions

OK I got it

Marginal Lineup Value - A statistic developed by David Tate which shows the offensive value of a player compared to a "replacement level" player in the same lineup.

Rate - A way to look at the fielder's rate of production, equal to 100 plus the number of runs above or below average this fielder is per 100 games. A player with a rate of 110 is 10 runs above average per 100 games, a player with an 87 is 13 runs below average per 100 games, etc.

Rate2 - Rate2 incorporates adjustments for league difficulty and normalizes defensive statistics over time.

NRAA - Is defined here.

by Dex on Aug 8, 2005 3:01 PM PDT up reply actions

wuggiddywuggiddywuggiddy

head explosion noise

(note: I attempted to come up with an appropriate noise, but can't. SKPLORTCH seemed nice, but would, due to the format, require some prior knowledge fo what the sound-effect was intended to symbolize. I apologize for my bad behavior. I demand a spanking.
-g)

by garth on Aug 8, 2005 3:37 PM PDT up reply actions

Whiffleball

I don't get how to pitch. I press the left mouse button somewhere in the strike zone, and a + appears. When I release the mouse button, nothing happens. It says you have to move the mouse forward and your speed affects the speed of the pitch, but when I do that, no matter what point in the process I release the mouse button, the pitcher never throws the pitch. I've got the batting part down, can somebody explain the pitching part? Am I a total idiot?

by David on Aug 8, 2005 2:51 PM PDT reply actions

wiffle ball

okay here's how you do it:

click and hold the button inside the red box. While holding the button still pull back and watch as the power in the right hand corner increases. Then thrust forwards and release the button.

Make sense?

by jbox on Aug 8, 2005 4:35 PM PDT up reply actions

man.

I was just over at padres.com and noticed they're pimping a "showdown" between Pedro "No Show" Martinez and Chan Ho Park. Pedro 'n' Chan Ho, sounds like a new cartoon or something.

how is this supposed to be a showdown?

Well, I guess we'll know if they're really out of their funk, or they just whaled on bad teams.

by garth on Aug 8, 2005 3:43 PM PDT reply actions

hah

mets are a game better, record-wise, than the Pads, but in dead last in their division.

you know, i'm still pissed that Piazza got the All-Star nod and not Ramon "My Finger Hurts" Hernandez. Although, after that, I hope Olivo turns out to be a hidden gem and they can deal Hernandez in the offseason. I know he made a decision for himself, but I like gamers who can't let up for their team.

by garth on Aug 8, 2005 3:48 PM PDT up reply actions