Gaslamp Ball: Front Page Posts

Playoffs: Final Four

jbox — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 05:00:44 -0000

Well the Chicago teams are out, the Brewers are bummed and Angels couldn't get it done.

That leaves us with Rays vs. Red Sox and Dodgers vs. Phillies.

I think it will be a Red Sox / Dodgers World Series. Believe me I don't want either of those teams anywhere close to the World Series but I just have a feeling that it's going to end up that way.

Poll

Who's going to win the World Series?

Khalil Grievance Update

jbox — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 04:55:09 -0000

Padres file Grievance Against Khalil

Heath Bell is the Player Union Representative. He had this to say about Khalil:

"We need Khalil to forget what happened last year," Bell said. "He struggled last year ... and it was like he couldn't get out of a hole. He couldn't really get a day off because we didn't have anyone to fill in for him. But I think that he's capable of bouncing back and having a career year."

I'll take that one step further. I need to forget what happened last year.Heath is hoping that the grievance doesn't hurt the relationship between Khalil and the Padres. Heath hasn't talked to him, he thinks that Khalil is probably talking directly to the players union, so he really doesn't have any idea how Khalil is feeling about the grievance.

I guess that's the good and bad thing about Khalil, you don't know how he's feeling. He's not the type to voice his anger or comment at all to the media and in some ways that's a good trait for a baseball player. It keeps him out of a lot of trouble and he won't say anything that will lessen the Padres opinion of him. The only bad is that everybody who isn't involved doesn't get his side of the story. It's not really our any of our business though.

It's hard to say if Khalil will bounce back, there isn't really any way of knowing. He doesn't really have the plate discipline to fit the Padres philosophy and kinda lost the mental game by letting the slump get to him.

I thought he was easily replaced by Luis Rodriguez, who knows if Rodriguez is better than Khalil but it's clear that as long as the Padres have Khalil they are going to give him the starting job.

During the season I emailed Bob Scanlan at heyscan@cox.net. I told him that I would take a more rounded player like Rodriguez who may not play defense as well as Khalil but can still play effectively and hit for a higher average. I always heard commentators saying how much we'd miss Khalil's defense once it was gone, but I didn't find that to be the case at all. In my opinion good hitting beats good defense every time. So was Khalil overrated as a total player because of his great defense?

"Scan" <heyscan@cox.net>

I think it's more that too much has been expected rather than he is overrated. When he first signed Padres said they would be happy if he played defense and hit above .220. He did that an now the expectation is that he will hit .265 with 25-30 homeruns and 100 rbi's. Simply asking too much. The defense is great, which is what a shortstop is supposed to do. I like Rodriguez at second base. He is doing great at shortstop, but not sure if he could handle 162 games.

I like Scan, I'll agree with just about whatever he says.

Poll

Will Khalil bounce back in 2009?

Kouzmanoff flies with the Blue Angles (Video)

jbox — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 17:56:37 -0000

Kouzmanoff flies with the Blue Angles (Video)

Watching Kouz eating G's is something I really don't need to see or hear again.

Bull Durham Sequel is going to suck

jbox — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:27:10 -0000

Bull Durham 2 in the works

Real-life couple and "Durham" co-stars Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon, who played a pitcher and a baseball groupie respectively in the first installment, are also expected to return for the second film. This time around, they will play the married owners of a Major League Baseball team Costner's character manages, the Post said.

Why won't Hollywood stop ruining original movies? I'll be skipping this one.

Chad Huffman blogs from Arizona Fall League

Dex — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 03:18:15 -0000

Arizona Fall League is starting up and the Padres own Chad Huffman is blogging his experiences:

I remember walking up to [Fall League pitching coach, Wally Whitehurst] on the bus and saying, "Hey, I'm Chad Huffman." He replied, "That's great, now go sit down." No hi, my name is Wally or anything - that was it! So I just sat down in my seat on the bus - which had no A/C, by the way - and thought to myself, "so this is what pro ball is all about."

But once you get to the Big Leagues, I hear the women all got long legs and brains.

Padres making changes

jbox — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 02:47:21 -0000

I don't know about you but that season really took a lot out of me. There's not much left. The Padres took just about everything from me and gave me some nasty dollar hot dogs in return. Fair trade I guess.

Bard, Estes and Hayhurst are all gone. Bard and Estes elected to test out free agency while Hayhurst was picked up off waivers by the Blue Jays. Luke Carlin and Sean Kazmar were sent to Portland. Bard said some clubs have shown some interest in him. The Padres have shown some interest in picking up former Padres catcher Brad Ausmus. Why? Maybe the secret Padres formula of mixing inexperienced rookies with over the hill veterans will work its magic again in 2009 and we can win 80 games barely.
Corey Brock answers his mailbag. I guess if we're Padres fans we should be hoping that the Padres leave Kouzmanoff right where he is.
You're not going to believe this: Jake Peavy could be a perfect fit for the Atlanta Braves. It's amazing how great players seem to fit so perfectly on just about every team.
This guy sent a baseball card to Bochy for an autograph at the beginning of the season and it was just sent back to him. His link to remind us of Bochy's colossal head size is probably the best part.

Pitching Prospects

Richard — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:02:51 -0000

Pitching Prospects

Paul DePodesta comments on the Padres' pitching philosophy.

Blue Jays claim Hayhurst from Padres

jbox — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:15:20 -0000

Blue Jays claim Hayhurst from Padres

Just like that he's gone. Here's his recent interview with Ducksnorts.

But Vasgersian said he's growing weary on traveling and hinted that he'd like to cut his workload...

jbox — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 17:08:06 -0000

But Vasgersian said he's growing weary on traveling and hinted that he'd like to cut his workload in 2009. It would be hard to work fewer games than he did this season and still be called the team's TV voice.

TUBE TALK: Let's make a deal: Padres' network in talks to bring back Vasgersian : North County Times - Californian

If Padres don't want Peavy, Yanks and Red Sox would be willing to take him

jbox — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:56:00 -0000

Just in case the Padres don't want Jake Peavy anymore, the Yankees and Red Sox are making it known that they would be willing to take him off our hands.

Good to know.

What's a Kevin Towers to do?

Dex — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 14:27:37 -0000

I was up in San Francisco for a wedding late last week. I kept wandering the streets yelling, "Bochy! Bochy! Come back to San Diego!" Maybe he could bench coach. Imagine the crazy lineups and pitching changes that would happen then.

Evan at MVN Outsider gives his opinion on what Kevin Towers could do during the off season. Evan readily admits that all of this is very unlikely to happen, but I was looking for stuff to write about and his email happened to appear and so...

The other thing that I happened to come across was this ad for a Padres scrunchie. Do women still wear scrunchies? I seem to remember an episode of Sex In The City about that.

Padres report card

jbox — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 21:41:50 -0000

Padres report card

I remember when I was a kid if you took your Report Card to the roller skating rink you could skate for free with good grades. The Padres aren't going to the roller rink.

"Do they remember me?" Gwynn said. "Oh, gosh, they were so (ticked) off (Wednesday) night as I...

jbox — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 21:28:33 -0000

"Do they remember me?" Gwynn said. "Oh, gosh, they were so (ticked) off (Wednesday) night as I walked out. They remember me, no question.

Cubs fans haven't forgotten Gwynn

Padres contracts

jbox — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 21:23:25 -0000

Padres contracts

SignOnSanDiego has a list of all the Padres contracts, not too many players have contracts past 2008 apparently.

Oh good. We can talk about the grievance against Khalil well into the Spring.

jbox — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 05:54:44 -0000

Padres' Greene grievance won't be heard before Spring Training

We learn a few new things from this article. The Padres stopped paying Khalil in August. The Player's Union filed a grievance against the Padres and the Padres ended up paying Khalil again, but not without filing a grievance of their own. I love a good double cross.

We also learn that a similar incident happened with the Yankees back in 1982 and they lost their attempt to withhold payment.

"We're confident that Khalil's position in this case will be upheld," said Weiner, general counsel for the union.

I don't know about you but I need some Ivy League nerd to weigh in on this:

"I just hope they find a quick resolution and this doesn't linger," pitcher Chris Young said. "We need Khalil next year, and we need him healthy."

This story could make for an entertaining off season.

80's Retro Night 2007 via Timmer82. I was at this game, but I missed some of these, click on the...

jbox — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 06:11:20 -0000

80's Retro Night 2007 via Timmer82. I was at this game, but I missed some of these, click on the link for the full set. Some of them look pretty good and others are terrible.

XX Sports Radio: Tony Gwynn Interview

jbox — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 21:12:58 -0000

XX Sports Radio: Tony Gwynn Intereview (MP3)

Tony Gwynn gives the Dodgers credit. The Dodgers hitters are making the pitchers work. The Dodgers have earned it.
Other than Mark DeRosa, the Cubs haven't been able to put it together. He thought "Zambrano threw the crap out of the ball" but his defense couldn't back him up.
Fukudome isn't aggressive on balls that are out. The Cubs are only aggressive on middle-in. Fukudome has been off balance. Gwynn thinks DeRosa will be in right field tomorrow.
Gwynn watched batting practice. Manny has an unbelievable swing. He had to get the home run swing from game one on video tape so he could study it.
Gwynn thinks 98% of the time Manny's swing is under control and he's confident that whatever you throw him, he can hit it. His discipline is so good, Gwynn would pitch around Manny.
The Dodgers are quietly confident.
Gwynn really likes Russell Martin because he can do so many things at the plate.
Gwynn thinks the Cubs need to relax and that the road is the best thing for them. The crowd put too much pressure on them.
Gwynn agrees that the Cubs haven't done enough to allow Pinella to manage them to a win.
Gwynn thinks the Angels can get back into the series. He thinks they are the best and most balanced game in baseball. If the Angels lose tonight he doesn't think they are coming back against the Red Sox.
What would excite Gwynn about the 2009 season? Right now, re-signing Giles and Hoffman he would be confident that things would get better. They have to do more than just bring those two guys back though.
Gwynn has not read the Padres 143 page manual.

Sullivan on Fuson

Winfield's Ghost — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:01:07 -0000

Sullivan on Fuson

I would pay good money to get a look at that player development manual. And it also seems pretty clear that it was Fuson who was at odds with Wally.

Kouzmanoff with Blue Angels via Friar John's Blog

jbox — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:29:56 -0000

Kouzmanoff with Blue Angels via Friar John's Blog

"It is an honor to receive an award that represents Branch Rickey’s character and contributions to t...

jbox — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:26:53 -0000

"It is an honor to receive an award that represents Branch Rickey’s character and contributions to the community," Hoffman said. "I’m excited to be receiving this award from the Rotary Club of Denver, I have an uncle who was a Rotarian. Their motto is ‘Service Above Self’ and I am proud to be recognized with this prestigious award."

Hoffman wins Branch Rickey Award - MLB - Yahoo! Canada Sports