I’m up to my eyeballs researching players who walked a lot. Did you know that the longest streak of drawing one or more walks in consecutive games since at least 1919 is 22, by Roy Cullenbine, who did it in 1947? Did you also know that the longest such streak by a currently active player is 16, by Chipper Jones, who did it in 1999?
Well, now you do. And you also have links…
- DePodesta, scouting (Inside the Padres). I saw this a while ago, then promptly forgot to tell you about it. There’s a lot of good stuff in here, including this quote from DePo:
Most of the time when I go to the park, I try not to look at the stats until after the fact, and then see whether or not what I saw with my own eyes agrees with what the page says.
If the clips I’ve seen are any indication, I can’t imagine Jonah Hill’s character in the Moneyball movie taking such an approach. [h/t reader Didi]
- Toronto 2011 Review: MONEYBALL – Brad Pitt’s Entertaining Baseball Romp (WhatCulture!). One reviewer, not a sports fan by any stretch, enjoyed the movie. Aaron Gleeman and Jon Weisman offer similarly favorable reviews, while Keith Law checks in with a dissenting opinion, calling it “an absolute mess of a film” (which in turn elicited a response from Michael Lewis, who was — Caruso pause — blindsided by Law’s comments. [h/t BBTF]
- Ems’ title dreams Krushed (Eugene Register-Guard). The Padres’ Short-Season Class-A affiliate got bumped from the
MidwestNorthwest League playoffs, through no fault of shortstop Jace Peterson. (Double-A San Antonio, meanwhile, scored four in the ninth to win Game 1 of the Texas League Championship Series, 5-4. Jaff Decker’s two-run homer to right tied the game, and Jason Hagerty’s bases-loaded walk won it. The Missions needed 20 innings to win Game 2 and look to complete the sweep Friday night in Little Rock.) - Tucson Padres: With time on their side, Padres turn attention to ’12 (Arizona Daily Star). The Padres’ Triple-A affiliate, their lone full-season farm team that didn’t reach the post-season, ranked last in the PCL in attendance. Then again, as GM Mike Feder points out, “We didn’t even have a hat until March.” Beyond that, Feder has to deal with fan apathy… which helps prepare players for San Diego.
- TinCaps Notebook (MadFriars). Our pal John Conniff delivers the goods on Cory Spangenberg, Rymer Liriano, Keyvius Sampson, and more. Conniff notes that Liriano remains a “work in progress,” but that the toolsy outfielder “has come a very long way in harnessing his immense athletic ability into a truly exciting baseball skill set.”
- Padres hope to lock in Maybin (Replacement Level Baseball). Yes, please… Meanwhile, the folks at Replacement Level Baseball wonder what he might be worth. Tom Krasovic offers thoughts of his own.
- “Mixed feelings” (Inside the Padres). Kras also chats with former Diamondbacks GM and current Padres front office staffer Josh Byrnes. Dan Hayes at the North County Times does the same with former D’backs skipper and current Padres front office staffer A.J. Hinch.
- Marcos Breton: Lessons Miguel Tejada taught me (Sacramento Bee). Breton, who authored a biography of the former Padres shortstop, discusses the danger a reporter faces in getting too close to one’s subject. [h/t Baseball Nation]
- Why Couldn’t I Buy A Dodger Hat at Dodger Stadium? (Pitchers & Poets). New ownership, please. [h/t BBTF]
- Feline Intervention (Baseball Prospectus). As Norm MacDonald says, “It’s about actual cats.” Guest author Dan McQuade delivers the funny: “I’ll play Voros McCracken here and posit that a cat has no control over when it runs on the field; indeed, most of the cats that show up on baseball fields are scared and immediately want to escape.”
- Umpires show ethnic bias in ball/strike calls-unless they’re feeling watched (Ars Technica). Hmmm… [h/t BBTF]
- San Diego Padres Terrible Season Emergency Kit (Gaslamp Ball). Dex helps get us through the tough times. He also shares his thoughts on Moneyball… or something.
- Thoughts about American Tennis (Joe Blogs). If I ever stopped writing about baseball, one subject — along with music and travel — I’d be interested in covering would be tennis. But Joe Posnanski kills there, too, so what could I add? (Pos is also pretty good at that baseball thing…)
- 2011 Arizona Fall League Roster Review: Peoria Javelinas (Minor League Ball). John Sickels highlights a few of the Padres’ representatives, namely RHP Miles Mikolas, C Jason Hagerty, 3B Jedd Gyorko, and 3B/OF James Darnell. [h/t reader Didi]
- Does Trevor Hoffman deserve a Hall of Fame nod? (Fat Lady). Somehow, this is still open to debate for some people.
- How historic is Craig Kimbrel’s season? (SweetSpot). David Schoenfield reminds us that Hoffman’s 1998 season was pretty awesome. [h/t reader Didi]
- The Juan Pierre All-Stars (Hardball Times). Chris Jaffe gives us yet another fun list. Former Padres Jim Presley (yep, he played here), Dave Kingman, and Bob Tewksbury make the cut, as does San Diego Mesa College alum Greg Minton.
- Hudson’s charity has him up for Clemente (Padres.com). Padres second baseman Orlando Hudson gives back to the community. David Laurila chats with the man, who knows his baseball history.
- Seamheads.com Launches Negro Leagues Database Powered by The Baseball Gauge (Seamheads). Damn, this is fantastic. How good was Oscar Charleston? Well, he hit .375/.435/.676 in 1922, and that wasn’t even close to his best season. Have fun!
No wonder the Ems got bumped, they moved from the Northwest League to the more advanced competition of the MWL!
It’s hard not to forget about 2011 and think about 2012 for the Padres. Where do they go from here? Besides Headley not being in the lineup, their current lineup is pretty lackluster
I understand the discussion on Trevor and the HOF (at least I think I do). I don’t think it’s a discussion on Trevor and the HOF as much as it is a discussion of Closers/Firemen/Relievers and the HOF. I suppose some of it could be bias against him due to his playing in San Diego and being overlooked by large parts of the public/fans and media, but I think it’s more about whether a reliever, particularly a modern closer who works 1 inning at a time and very few innings over the course of a season, has enough value to be a HOF.
If you take a historical look at the HOF, of course, there aren’t many relievers. It’s only very recently they have started to go in, but it appears the gates are now open; although one could look at the voting history and say it took until 1985, about 50 years, for one to be elected, therefore relievers are not wothy of the HOF. Indeed, although another followed in 1992, it wasn’t until 2006 that the 3rd went in. Still, Gossage followed quickly thereafter and Rivera is a shoo in. I think this makes room for Hoffman.
Potential hold ups for him, IMO, are the looming backlog and the likelihood Rivera will retire before Hoffman becomes eligible, which, again IMO, may cause some writers/voters to withhold their vote until Rivera goes in first. The latter is speculation on my part, but HOF voters do have some weird ideas; the former is undeniable. Take a look at the potenital ballot in 2015, the year before Trevor hits it:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/hof_2015.shtml
Oh, after all of that, I read the Fat Lady post. What a waste of time. The jist, Trevor isn’t as good as Rivera so he shouldn’t go in. Wow, thoughtful!
I think Hoffman will get in, but it will take a while. The backlog which Pat mentions is a big part of the reason.
Also, it took Gossage and Sutter a long time to get elected, so I can certainly see the same thing happening with Hoffman.