Seems I’ve fallen behind in my links. Some of these are a little old and might taste funny, but they won’t make you sick or anything… Continue reading ›
Me, Elsewhere: On the Bright Side, At Least Tejada Is No Longer Our Problem
My latest at Baseball Prospectus ($) touches on the Padres’ struggles at Petco Park (I’m working on a follow-up to yesterday’s piece), as well as Andre Ethier’s recent 30-game hitting streak, Kelly Johnson’s early season struggles in Arizona, and the efficiency of Rockies pitchers… Oh yeah, and a certain ex-Padre who has been even worse (and more expensive) than our very own Brad Hawpe:
Player PA BA OBP SLG OPS+ $M Miguel Tejada 126 .195 .230 .263 36 6.5 Brad Hawpe 97 .180 .237 .281 4943
Huzzah!
Home, Bittersweet Home
The Padres are playing poorly at home. This is nothing new.
A few weeks ago, a fellow writer asked me about the phenomenon and so I ran numbers. Here are home/away winning percentages for the Padres and for MLB as a whole in each of the seasons since they moved downtown to Petco Park:
| Padres | MLB
| Home | Away | | Home | Away |
Year | W L Pct | W L Pct | Dif* | W L Pct | W L Pct | Dif*
-----+--------------+--------------+-------+----------------+----------------+------
2004 | 42 39 .519 | 45 36 .556 | -.037 | 1299 1129 .535 | 1129 1299 .465 | +.070
2005 | 46 35 .568 | 36 45 .444 | +.123 | 1306 1124 .537 | 1124 1306 .463 | +.075
2006 | 43 38 .531 | 45 36 .556 | -.025 | 1327 1102 .546 | 1102 1327 .454 | +.093
2007 | 47 34 .580 | 42 40 .512 | +.068 | 1318 1113 .542 | 1113 1318 .458 | +.084
2008 | 35 46 .432 | 28 53 .346 | +.086 | 1351 1077 .556 | 1077 1351 .444 | +.113
2009 | 42 39 .519 | 33 48 .407 | +.111 | 1333 1097 .549 | 1097 1333 .451 | +.097
2010 | 45 36 .556 | 45 36 .556 | .000 | 1358 1072 .559 | 1072 1358 .441 | +.118
2011 | 7 14 .333 | 7 6 .538 | -.205 | 264 244 .520 | 244 264 .480 | +.039
-----+--------------+--------------+-------+----------------+----------------+------
Tot | 307 281 .522 | 281 300 .484 | +.038 | 9556 7958 .546 | 7958 9556 .454 | +.093
*Contains rounding errors
I’ve heard a few theories on what might be causing this and a few more on how to fix it, but none seems terribly satisfying. It would be nice, seeing as how they play half their games there, for the Padres to take better advantage of Petco Park.
James and the Double Decker Bus
When last we checked in on the San Antonio Missions, they were destroying the Texas League. Nothing much has changed since then except the particulars. As a reminder, I’m pretty much going by what I hear on the radio. My notes are a mess, so proceed with caution… Continue reading ›
Me, Elsewhere: Looking Back at April
My latest at Baseball Prospectus ($) examines the differences between the first month of this season and last in the NL West. For example, take Brad Hawpe, please:
Year PA BA OBP SLG BB SO 2010 50 .357 .460 .714 8 8 2011 72 .149 .194 .194 4 23
Also, here’s something I threw in about Mike Adams:
G AB R H 2B 3B HR BB SO BA OBP SLG 120 413 24 65 6 3 4 31 130 .157 .216 .215 96 296 12 53 6 1 1 15 59 .179 .218 .216
The top line represents what Adams did to big-league hitters from the beginning of 2009 through April 2011. The bottom is what Phillies catcher Mike Ryan did in 1968. Ryan is the last of three men in MLB history to have an OBP and SLG below .220 in at least 300 plate appearances…
Friday Links (29 Apr 11)
Two quick notes about comments:
- I love the discussion that’s happening every day and I’m especially glad to see so many new names in there this year.
- Time constraints make it difficult for me to jump in as often as I’d like, but I do read everything and get inspired by what you have to say.
Anyway, just thought you should know. Let’s link… Continue reading ›
Building Self-Esteem through Steadfast Denial
The Padres have been shut out seven times in their first 25 games of 2011. This exceeds their total for the entire seasons of 1990 (six), 1995 (six), and 2004 (three). It also, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, marks a new MLB record for times being shut out in April.
Your San Diego Padres. Overachievers. Continue reading ›
On Local Kids and Calculated Gambles
by Geoff Young on May 11, 2011 (16) Comments
With the Padres now playing in a part of the country where games are over by the time I get home from the day job, I can’t offer much in the way of meaningful commentary beyond maybe you want to fire up the offense before the seventh inning. Instead, I’ll just make a couple of general observations… Continue reading ›