Around the Mission: Padres Links 7/22

by jbox on Jul 22, 2009 9:59 AM PDT Comment 30 comments

San Diego Padres' Adrian Gonzalez gets off the ground while lining an RBI single to center against the Florida Marlins in the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, July 21, 2009, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)

More photos » by Lenny Ignelzi - AP

4 months ago: San Diego Padres' Adrian Gonzalez gets off the ground while lining an RBI single to center against the Florida Marlins in the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, July 21, 2009, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)

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insidethepadres
Might the Padres trade Adrian Gonzalez? Not a chance of it anytime soon, if soon means before October. And even in the offseason, he absolutely will not be going onto the trade block, says Jeff Moorad. The CEO didn't rule out listening to other clubs at some point this offseason, which only makes sense.
Gonzalez wants to stay, but ...
"To a certain extent, I don't disagree with people who say the best thing for the Padres is to go out and get a bunch of people for me," said Gonzalez. "If you're looking at it from an ownership standpoint, I think there's a lot to it, just because of where the team is and everything. "Would I want to be traded? No. Is it to a team that has a chance to win the World Series? I'd have to be intrigued by it. Know what I mean?"
PADRES: Padres have more reason to peddle : North County Times - Californian 07-22-2009
"This time of the year, before July 31st, this is not just happening in San Diego, it happens around baseball," Towers said Sunday. "Here is no different than probably any other place. We're (23) games out of first place. These players are smart enough to realize when you're 20 games out of first place, with the injuries we have, these types of moves will happen."
Gonzalez Would Like Strategic Off-Day
Yes, we know that Gonzalez is a few games short of tying and passing Steve Garvey for the Padres consecutive-games played record of 305 that doesn't honestly hold any significance, reverence or meaning to Padres fans or any National baseball records.
Friar Forecast
"Gonzalez will be paid approximately $12 million through 2011, when his current contract expires. During that time period, I expect him to be worth about 10 WAR, or $54 million worth of production as a free agent. So his surplus value, which is simply market value minus actual salary, is about $41 million."
Padres tap into Venezuelan market
"I know that every single one of the guys from Venezuela on our team hugged him," Padres manager Bud Black said before Monday's game.
Blanks nails first homer as Friars fall | padres.com: News
Chad Gaudin tossed a quality start, allowing three runs in six innings of work, but he got little run support on Tuesday.
Geer ready for first look at Marlins | padres.com: News
Josh Geer will face unfamiliar foes on Wednesday at PETCO Park when he takes on the Marlins for the first time in his career.
Friars' Eckstein plans to return this weekend | padres.com: News
It doesn't appear that Padres second baseman David Eckstein will need a few games in the Minor Leagues to test his right hamstring before returning.
Avenging Jack Murphy: 2003 Trades and 2009 Trades: A Common Thread
If the Padres rarely hold a lead entering the 9th inning and the expected outcome shall remain the same for the foreseeable future....why use financial resources on a human resource that doesn't get used?

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OK so AG is

not on the trading block now or in the upcoming offseason,
but we will listen to trade offers?

Yeah, and I would never cheat on my wife, but I will listen to any offers that are out there.

by strummer on Jul 22, 2009 10:28 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

We will definitely not trade Adrian

unless we do.

by jbox on Jul 22, 2009 10:33 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Is that right?

Well, I’m looking to trade my ’94 Jeep Wrangler…

"When the going gets tough... TheGrandHatching pops in later." -- WG

by TheGrandHatching on Jul 22, 2009 10:43 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Will you thrown in $200?

by Drama on Jul 22, 2009 10:46 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

*throw

I’m stupid.

by Drama on Jul 22, 2009 10:47 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well, there is a semantic difference.

Not putting him on the block means they won’t actively go out looking for trade offers. But if another team came to them, they’d listen.

Love we shine like a burning star
We're falling from the sky tonight

by maestro876 on Jul 22, 2009 12:01 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

And now it is public knowledge

that if other teams are interested in him,
they should definitely call.

by strummer on Jul 22, 2009 12:54 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

In the pic

Adrian is so good, he doesn’t even walk on the same earth that we do.

Isn't it enough to know that I ruined a pony making a gift for you? ◔ヮ◔
Uncommon Sportsman :: Absurdity in play

by Axion on Jul 22, 2009 11:10 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Invisible Wii Fit

"When the going gets tough... TheGrandHatching pops in later." -- WG

by TheGrandHatching on Jul 22, 2009 11:24 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Two thoughts

1. Boston just got adam laroche so they wont look to acquire Gonzalez this season and I don’t see anyon else putting such a good deal out for him
2. Check out that fish trade. Got one to expand on it
Heath bell and Kevin kouzmanoff for Dan uggla and Andrew miller (or another good arm). Thoughts?

by TheAxManCometh on Jul 22, 2009 11:24 AM PDT via mobile reply actions 0 recs

Don't really want Uggla.

He’s pushing 30 and makes $5 million. We need younger, cheaper players that are controllable.

Love we shine like a burning star
We're falling from the sky tonight

by maestro876 on Jul 22, 2009 12:02 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

But I strongly agree that as much as I love the guy, Bell should be traded.

Love we shine like a burning star
We're falling from the sky tonight

by maestro876 on Jul 22, 2009 12:02 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Why "should" Bell be traded?

Chicks Dig a Low ERA Bullpen.

by eastbaysd on Jul 22, 2009 12:11 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Because closers can realistically be anyone and are easy to find

But he can command a pretty big haul right now.

Fire Bud Black!

by Sam (sdsuaztec4) on Jul 22, 2009 12:14 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks for the response, Tec, they can be anyone

Although, I was asking Maestro, because he was the one who made the statement.
I still would like him to answer my query.

Chicks Dig a Low ERA Bullpen.

by eastbaysd on Jul 22, 2009 12:21 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I assume he'll say the same thing

Fire Bud Black!

by Sam (sdsuaztec4) on Jul 22, 2009 12:24 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

What I would have said

was that Bell is 31, arbitration eligible, and isn’t realistically going to get more valuable than he is right now. A team like the Padres who won’t compete for anything for a couple years, really have no need for a closer. Especially if that closer can net a top prospect.

As much as I love Bell, it would benefit the team the most were he traded. Plus because ownership has changed, we can always try to bring Trevor back for a final year next season if we have to have that “closer”.

Love we shine like a burning star
We're falling from the sky tonight

by maestro876 on Jul 22, 2009 12:26 PM PDT up reply actions 3 recs

Thank you for answering and elaborating

Chicks Dig a Low ERA Bullpen.

by eastbaysd on Jul 22, 2009 12:36 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree with you

by strummer on Jul 22, 2009 12:55 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

spot on!

552

by wrveres on Jul 22, 2009 1:26 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Off the top of my head

I can’t really recall many closers fetching a top prospect, especially a first year closer. So while I agree that those circumstances you mention would make him a good trade candidate, I’m not really sure that he is very trade-able since there probably isn’t team that would do that.

Memo to baseball managers: You manufacture runs by NOT making outs, not by making them on purpose.

by Wonko on Jul 22, 2009 5:14 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

The AJM blog mentioned how Texas traded their closer

and it netted them Adrian Gonzalez, #1 overall draft pick a couple years previously. We know what he became.

There are plenty of contending teams who need bullpen help. Anaheim stands out to me as the most glaring example. Their bullpen is 4th worst in baseball. Chicago (WS) isn’t very good either, they’re in the bottom half. So are NYY and Texas.

Surely one of them has got a good prospect they could give us for Heater.

Love we shine like a burning star
We're falling from the sky tonight

by maestro876 on Jul 22, 2009 6:02 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

That Adrian example sounds good, but...

He was losing some of his prospect luster when the Rangers traded for him. He had hit 2 HR in his last 300 or so ABs and he was struggling to hit in AAA. He also wasn’t your typical #1 overall pick because the 2000 draft was considered one of the weakest drafts of all time. There was no consensus #1 pick, so the Marlins picked the guy they thought was the safest. Obviously, with hindsight this analysis seems silly, but it was the common perception at the time.

All I’m saying is that the Rangers didn’t think they were getting a top prospect, but rather a guy who had shown promise in the past.

If the Padres wait until the offseason though, maybe they could get a Brad Lidge type deal. In that one the Astros got a prospect (Costanzo), a major league ready OF (Bourn) and an established, cheap reliever (Geary). But, I guess that’s the kind of deal that started this discussion, it’s just not one that gets done midseason.

Memo to baseball managers: You manufacture runs by NOT making outs, not by making them on purpose.

by Wonko on Jul 22, 2009 8:06 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

A Lidge-type deal would be fine with me.

I think it would be good for the Padres. And good for Heath, if he could go to a contending team that could really use his services.

Who do you think has the need for a closer like him, and has a couple good pieces for us?

Love we shine like a burning star
We're falling from the sky tonight

by maestro876 on Jul 22, 2009 8:50 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I can pretty much start with

throwing out the teams you mentioned (no offense). Angels basically don’t trade for anything. Chicago already has a ton of money invested in Dotel/Jenks/Linebrink. The Yankees are smart enough to know that they call fill out their bullpen on the cheap with all the arms they have in the minors. And the Rangers are sticking with their youth movement and their owner is in a lot of financial trouble so they aren’t going to want to take on salary.

The Phillies could be a possibility in the offseason, depending on if they don’t have Halladay filling up the payroll. The Astros will probably be on the prowl for a closer, but don’t have anything in the minors. The DBacks will have a void, but who knows where they are going and they are a division rival, but they do have some prospects to offer. The Mariners will have some money free, a fairly open closer spot and definitely have some interesting prospects. If the Tigers can rid themselves of Ordonez, then they might have some money free, but unfortunately they are almost as barren as the Astros, but maybe there is something there. A swap with the Rays, Niemann for Bell would be interesting. But, basically, not the greatest sellers market. I don’t have a lot of optimism on that trade front. I’d worry that you get something on Hairston level where you’d be real iffy about what you’re getting back.

Memo to baseball managers: You manufacture runs by NOT making outs, not by making them on purpose.

by Wonko on Jul 22, 2009 9:49 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

The Rangers did believe they were getting a Top Prospect

He was only 21 at the time and acknowledged as a very nice defender. His struggles in AAA were attributed to off season wrist surgery hence the extremely low power numbers. He was coveted.

Now did anyone know that AG would develop as much power as he has shown? No

Would AG even have been available had he bounced back more quickly from wrist surgery and shown a little more pop? Perhaps not.

But at the very minimum the Rangers believed they were getting a good prospect in the mold of John Olerud/Mark Grace along with a couple more players who incidentally never panned out. In return the Marlins received someone to solidify their bullpen and get them to the playoffs.

The point of what I wrote was to show that there was a precedent for getting a solid return for a closer and to show that Heath Bell would be a good fit for a contender with a hole in their pen. Heath Bell is cheap (Ugueth Urbina was not in 2003) and a lot of teams could easily absorb his salary with just a few months left in the season.

In fact, the “Have’s” of MLB could afford to get Heath Bell as an 8th inning set-up man. If we get the right desperate team at the right time it could provide us with some solid players.

It should also be noted that the Padres have scored 10 runs in the last 7 games. There’s not much work for HB.

http://avengingjackmurphy.blogspot.com/

I don't agree with a word you're saying but I'll defend to the death your right to say it" ~Patrick Henry

"Shut the fuck up Donnie, you're out of your element!" ~Walter Sobchak from The Big Lebowski

by AIChief on Jul 22, 2009 10:42 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

The only point that I can see that you have

Is the old cliche that “It only takes one.” The 2003 Marlins were one team that could come the closest to saying they gave up a top prospect for a closer. If one team feels that, like Urbina, they just need Heath Bell to make their playoff run, then so be it. I just don’t think that team is out there. But, even then, I’m not sure that even if a team did really want Bell, that they’d really want to give up any of their farm system’s crown jewels to do it. That’s why I think that if they trade Bell in the next few weeks, the return won’t be anything special. And if it ain’t something special, then he probably isn’t worth trading. But, we’ll see.

Memo to baseball managers: You manufacture runs by NOT making outs, not by making them on purpose.

by Wonko on Jul 22, 2009 10:56 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs