Peavy Nixed Deal To ChiSox

Jake Peavy will remain in San Diego, for now. The reason that the former Cy Young winner is not packing his bags for a foursome of prospects is that Kevin Towers and the Padres continue to give up their leverage in order to sign players to a more discounted deal by giving players the power of a full no trade clause. Jake Peavy has stated time and again that he has a strong preference to stay in the National League. He, as FF would have, used his power to dictate his destination. FF urges fans not to be upset with Peavy; when he signed a discounted deal to stay in San Diego he gave up the right of free agency thus his right to decide where to sign. This clause was earned by Peavy, just should not be given away by the Padres front office.

All Padres fans remember the multiple deals that Phil Nevin turned down to stay in SD (one to the Reds that would have brought Ken Griffey, Jr, and another to Baltimore) as well as Brian Giles last season to Boston. This continuously come back to bite the Padres and is frustrating for the organization and the fans.


Foxsports Ken Rosenthal agrees with FF.

Lead Off Out

Padres RF, Brian Giles, is absolutely killing the Padres lineup by not getting on base in front of Adrian Gonzalez. A Gon broke his own team record by pounding 9 (previously 7) homers in the season's first month in the clean-up spot in the order. Adrain produced more than just power he hit at an impressive .333 clip and only drove in 20 runs. FF has placed blame on Giles, and will continue doing so until he is hitting above the Mendoza line. FF has been waiting for Giles to (at the very least) be moved from the 3 hole, and manager Bud Black finally cooperated...but moved him to lead off! Wow, way to "jump-start" the offense by getting Giles more AB's. FF understands that Giles has had a long and fruitful MLB career, but he no longer deserves to play every day at this very low level. He is just shy of 100 at bats in '09 and he has 2 extra base hits, FF remains underwhelmed with Giles, and Black.

FF will start to follow the Giles-Mendoza watch as we enter the 2nd month of the season.

FF continues to question Bud Black's bullpen usage, but that rant will have to come at a future date.

The Giles Hole

Although the Padres are in the middle of a season-long 3 game skid, the team has been nothing short of a pleasant surprise 15 games into the season. Young players, like Chase Headley, and Nick Hundley are starting to look very comfortable at the plate while putting together solid at bats. The middle of the diamond has turned in solid play thanks to a tremendous platoon in center of Jody Gerut and Scotty Hairston. The new double play combination has been solid with the threesome of L Rod, injured Everth Cabrera and the epitome of a professional in David Eckstein. The catching duo of Henry Blanco and the before mentioned Hundley have been more productive than could have been predicted. The corners of the infield have been buoyed by a reversal of an early season Kouzmanoff slump and the pure beauty of Adrian Gonzalez with a bat in his hands. The only issue that FF has with any player at this point is the right fielder, Brian Giles (team stats).

Is it early in the season? Yes. Does he look like his old, consistent, self? No. Through the Pads 9-6 start the Friars highest paid position player has struggled to come up with his 10 base-knocks (just 2 extra base hits, both doubles). Maybe he has hit into bad luck, some hard outs ~ nope, a lot of pop outs and weak ground outs. Well, he is Brian Giles he must be drawing a ton of walks with a high on base percentage ~ no and no. Giles has drawn 4 base on balls while compiling 10 strike outs with an embarrassing OBP of .209.

FF has seen this scenario play out far too many times in the short season: Gerut (or Hairston) double to lead off an inning, David Eckstein lays down a beautiful bunt to sacrifice the runner to 3rd. With 1 out Giles either pops out or K's to leave Adrian to be pitched around with 2 outs. This is not something that the San Diego padres can afford to have happen, this team will be in a myriad of close games and will rely on fundamental baseball to stockpile W's. If Giles continues to "hit" in the 3 hole needs to shape up or sit (or hit) down.

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Kouz Pushes Pads Off Lidge

In an exciting game for both sides, the Padres pounded Phillie closer Brad Lidge in the 9th inning to take the lead for good. Jody Gerut led off the inning, which the club entered down 4-5, with a laser double (helped by former Friar Shane Victorino's moderate misplay of the ball). Some of the better situational hitting FF can remember from David Eckstein and Brian Giles plated Gerut, pulling the Padres even while simultaneously handing Lidge his first blown save a Phillie (he had amassed a 53 game streak). Adrian Gonzalez and Chase Headley followed with some patiently aggressive hitting - patient in these cases - with a pair of walks with 2 down. This brought up Kevin Kouzmanoff, who launched a bomb into left center to put the Padres up by a trio. Heath Bell then entered the game, retiring the side in order to pick up his 7th save of the post-Hoffman era (out of nine Friar wins to date).

Ring a Bell
FF was not pleased to see Bell warm up and enter the game. He threw 47 pitches in the last two days and has appeared in 7 or the Friars 12 games overall. We love having a guy that wants the ball, but we'd love to see Bud Black play things safe with Bell, especially given the 3 run lead in the game. Counting tonight's game, Bell has now thrown 67 pitches over three outings across three days. Even a burly dude that is "Wii Fit" needs a break every now and then.

Down with OCD
While we at FF generally like Black, we've long been concerned about his bullpen management, which seems to rely on a few relievers ad nauseam. See "Everyday Cla" and "The Joe Thatcher Story". We here a new installment featuring Luke Gregerson is in the works.

The San Diego Discount Paradox

The Padres have become (in)famous for their "San Diego Discount". The basic idea is that San Diego is America's self-proclaimed "Finest City". The fantastic weather, almost brand new ballpark and it's excellent playing surface, as well as the highly regarded training staff do come at a price. The San Diego Discount.

Folks like Jake Peavy, Brian Giles, and Phil Nevin have all taken less money to play in the bastion that is San Diego. Kevin Towers seems to seek out Southern California natives that may be even more likely to come back to the future. The trick here is that any player that really can get big money elsewhere rightfully demands some level of no trade powers to take less money. These (relatively) long terms deals seem to frequently lead to players that cannot be moved (despite the front office's best efforts). At some point, the front office has to ask itself what the opportunity cost of the San Diego Discount really is. Otherwise said, how does the San Diego Discount affect the next best opportunity that Padres could pursue.

Often, the San Diego Discount translates to a few million dollars saved on a yearly basis for a declining, unmovable player. See Nevin and Ryan Klesko. Padre fans should consider that the only true offensive threat in the lineup may never have become a force for the Friars if Klesko hadn't injured himself, opening a position for Adrian Gonzalez. Otherwise put, Klesko's San Diego Discount almost cost the Padre's Gonzalez's bat. The front office may argue that this would have only been for one year, while Klesko's contract expired, but that still means that they would have been fielding Klesko solely to justify his unmovable contract.

In the case of Nevin, the opportunity cost of his no-trade powers ended up being Chan Ho Park. For a mid- to small-revenue club, Chan Ho Park at $14M per season seems a little extravagant. Then again, it really wasn't Chan Ho Park's fault - FF would place the causality on the San Diego Discount. (We would be remiss not to note that Nevin did do the Padres a favor by vetoing a trade that would have brought Sidney Ponson to the Friars, but that doesn't justify the San Diego Discount) Nevin also vetoed a trade that would have brought Ken Griffy, Jr. to San Diego, but we digress. The main point here is that Phil Nevin's San Diego discount ended up being more than $15M spent for a marginal pitcher. That money could have definitely been put to better use, but for the San Diego Discount.

This week we saw another execution of the San Diego Discount with Brian Giles killing a deal to Boston, apparently creating something of an uproar in the clubhouse. Giles plays hard, is having a decent season, and is a good clubhouse guy. That said, he's a big investment for a small budget club. FF doesn't fault Giles for vetoing the trade. Here's a shocker - we fault the San Diego Discount. We'd like to see those statisticians and economists that Padres employ take a good look at the San Diego Discount. Given Sandy Alderson's stated distaste for long term contracts, we suspect that no trade powers attached to those contracts only leaves a more bitter taste in his mouth. It certainly does for us.

The San Diego Discount should be abolished. We suspect that paying the market rate where reasonable is likely worth keeping all options open. Players with five years on the same team and ten years of MLB service get the no trade powers they deserve. Let's just leave it at that.

Giles Decision Friday

Padres right fielder may have played in his last game for his hometown team (this season anyway). The Boston Red Sox submitted a waiver claim on Giles and the two sides are reportedly working hard on putting a deal in place while working with Giles to insure he accepts the move. If the San Diego native accepts his trade he would be propelled into a pennant race with the defending world champs, but lose playing time. The water cooler talk has shifted from the thought that Boston put in the waiver claim to block Tampa Bay or the Angels from a shot at Giles to the idea that the Sox want Giles for depth and injury insurance.

FF feels differently about this waiver deal as we did to last year when it was the Padres who claimed Kei Igawa from the New York Yankees. With that deal it seemed only San Diego really wanted to work out a deal, and in fact, no trade took place. This transaction would allow Giles to compete in the post season and possible return back home to San Diego as a free agent after this year. FF gives this deal a sold 70% chance of happening today. The logic behind that percentage is based on the great relationship between the GM's, Kevin Towers and Theo Epstein, and the fact that Giles would move to a legit contender and could come back in the offseason and roam in front of the Petco Porch in 2009.

UPDATE: Giles blocked the trade, exercising his no trade powers, which included Boston and seven other clubs.

Giles Claimed Off Waivers

Brian Giles has been claimed off waivers by an unidentified team. The Padres and the mystery team have 48 hours to work out a trade that, according to Ken Rosenthal of foxsports.com, the Friars want to make. If the two team can't decide on a trade, the Friars may take him back or release him to the team that claimed him.

Friars Top Nevin Look-alikes

The Friars scratched their way to a rare victory, toping the Bucs 6-5 in a game full of oddities. For starters, former Padre super-prospect Xavier Nady, ostensibly exiled by former Padre manager Bruce Bochy for not being a veteran, was traded from the Nevins to the hated Yankees after one at-bat, vacating the 5-hole in the process. Additionally, despite a horrible tag by rusty Josh Bard,who collected a pair of hits, a Brian Giles to Edgar Gonzalez to Bard combination erased a runner at the plate. This out proved to be crucial as Heath Bell would eventually have a bad outing, continuing his recent streak. The Friars also collected a double play at third and second, taking advantage of overly aggressive Pirate baserunners. To extend the oddities, Trevor Hoffman looked like his old self. FF has to say that this is the first game in some time that has kept our attention. Let's all hope for a few more like this one.

Friar Factoids:

• With just 2 more wins, the Padres will ensure that win at least 25% of their games this season.
• Scott Hairston's hot streak is very officially over - he earned the golden sombrero batting leadoff. That said, his hard baserunning prevented a double play, so we still give Scotty a thumbs up for the evening. He also made a good catch in the eighth to save Heath Bell from accumulating addtional earned runs.
  

Pads Plan Giles Retention

The Padres reportedly plan to retain the services of Brian Giles for the 2009 season, given doubts over a better replacement. This makes a lot of sense for the Friars, based on Giles' excellent season on his rejuvenated knee. Club's complete inability to upgrade center or left field in the 2007 offseason suggests that Friar fans can only hope this report is true. FF continues to find it baffling that a club that has repeatably worried about Paul McAnulty's fielding skills will trot him out in right field to spell Giles.

The report also suggests that both Randy Wolf and Greg Maddux remain on the block.

Pads Bullpen Cracks Again

The Padres squandered yet another game in this lackluster 2008 season, this time dropping a Saturday night contest to Detroit Tigers 7-5. Brian Giles, who has been playing very well this season, sat out the evening, with Edgar Gonzales sliding into the 3 hole. Paul McAnulty took over in right field. Cha Seung Baek had his moments, both good and bad, though he wasn't helped by a Magglio Ordonez homer that centerfielder Jody Gerut accidentally pushed over the wall while bracing for contact. At the end of the day, Justin Hampson would surrender a bomb to Marcus Thames, who has now hit home runs in 8 of his last 9 at bats. Long story short - we've seen this game numerous times this season. The Friars must right their ship to regain the form that had led what seemed like it would be a successful June.

Friar Fragments:

• Michael Barrett continued to show signs of heating up, hitting his second bomb of the season.
• Heralded rookie Chase Headley captured another hit, accounting for a 5 game mini-hitting streak. He also punched out twice, bring his total to 8 in 20 at bats (vs. 7 hits). We're sure that Chase will cut down the number of strikeouts, but its a scary proposition for a .300 hitter to strikeout more than he hits. Nonetheless, Headley is sporting a 1.050 OPS since being called up from AAA Portland.
  
• Headley manned third base again while Kevin Kouzmanoff continues to recover from a stiff back.
• Gerut had another solid night at the plate, accumulating three base knocks to pull his average to .278
• Giles was out of the lineup due to a sore hamstring, rather than the balky shoulder that required an MRI last week.
  

Bombs Not Enough In Bronx

Three late solo homers San Diego's Brian Giles, Adrian Gonzalez, and Chase Headley weren't enough to overcome a short (4 innings) start by Jake Peavy and a bullpen who allowed the Yanks to keep adding on. The Pads drop Wednesday 8-5 in New York. The Friars conclude their 2 city road trip tomorrow morning and hope to pick up a second win prior to returning to Petco. Josh Banks matches up opposite the much hyped Joba Chamberline.

Friar Facts

Chase Headley's bomb was the first homer and RBI of his young, promising career. Headley filled in for the injured Kevin Kouzmanoff at third base while Paul McAnulty roamed left.

Giles and Gonzalez went back to back with 2 outs in the 7th inning.

Padres KO Kuroda

The Padres had to be worried this offseason with the Dodger's acquisition of Japanese phenom Hiroki Kuroda. After a decent start, Kuroda's shutto has gotten the Tom Selleck treatment, this time with a back-to-back bombs from Brian Giles (to right center at Petco) and Adrian Gonzales (another opposite field shot), kicking off a 9-0 ass-whoopin'. Giles' shot gave Jake Peavy, making his first start since straining his forearm in mid-May, a 3 run lead, with A. Gone adding his 59th RBI of the season (he would eventaually add number 60). Gonzales' little big brother remained hot, with 3 more hits to boost his average to .322. The only Padre not to get in on the action was Kevin Kouzmanoff, who is in the midst of a major slump that has drawn his average down to .254. Bud Black had Peavy on a pitch count of about 90, but Jake would only require 72 to beat LA in 6 innings (4 punch outs, 3 hits allowed, 0 walks).

Notes:

• Luke Carlin managed RBI number one for this career with a first inning fielder's choice. He would then force in a run via a walk in the third.
  
• The Padres are now 8 games under .500.
• Joe Thatcher was optioned back to AAA Portland to make room for Peavy's return.
  

Kouz Pumps Up Pads

Kevin Kouzmanoff cashed in a very strong Greg Maddux outing in the bottom of the eighth inning, with a go ahead sacrifice fly to plate Brian Giles. Trevor Hoffman would strike out three in the ninth to save the 2-1 win, ending the Cubbies 9 game winning streak (the longest in MLB for 2008). Maddux allowed just 3 hits over 7 innings, with Heath Bell tacking on a scoreless eighth inning to notch the win. Scotty Hairston flexed his muscle to lead off the game for the Friars, knocking home run number 8 on the season. The Frairs would squander men in scoring position with zero or one out in the sixth and seventh before Giles led off the eighth frame with an opposite field double. Giles then took third on a relatively shallow fly to left center, taking advantage of Alfonso Soriano's weak arm. This heady base running would prove to be the difference in the game, as Kouzmanoff launched a fly ball to deep center, allowing Giles to easily beat former Friar Jim Edmonds' throw to the plate.

Topic de Jour: Strikeouts

We can't bear to give recounts of games on a daily basis at this point in the season. This is a microcosm of what we've all seen at Petco Park lately. When hard core Padre fans can't bear to watch the team (including the ones that will maintain blogs that exclusively discuss the team), it's a sign of a franchise in crisis. But that's for another post. This one will focus on something even more disturbing than the club - the strikeouts frequency it is producing. Strikeouts are unproductive outs in that nothing good can typically come out of not putting the ball into play. Over the course of that last 4 seasons, the Padres have gone from a well performing team in terms of strikeout frequency to a very poor performer. In 2005, the club punched out a respectable 15.57% of their plate appearances (PAs). In 2006, they regressed to just over the NL average over the last 4 seasons, 17.56% compared to 17.20%. In 2007, the Friars K-ed 19.42% of their PAs and are now off to a 20.40% clip. Couple this with a nearly 10% reduction in the club's ability to get on base compared to the 2005 squad (.305 vs. .333) and it's clear that pitchers will need to flash some lumber to help this club win (the NL average from '05 - '08 is almost exactly a .333 on base percentage). In fact, the average 2008 Padre gets on base just 1.5 times for every punch out. Only Brian Giles (3.96 times), Jody Gerut (2.22 times), and Josh Bard (2.24 times) boast at least 2 touches of first base per stroll from the dish to pine. In 2005, the entire club managed 2.14 trips to first per K.

Bell's Mr. Hyde Performance Sinks Padres

The Padres looked to have the Mariners on the ropes with a 2-1 lead heading into the bottom of the 8th. Then the typically sturdy Heath Bell, who had struck out the first 2 batters he faced in dominant form, quickly loaded the bases before allowing a 2 run double to give Seattle a 3-2 lead it wouldn't relinquish. Newly added to the starting rotation, Shawn Estes pitched 6 1/3 strong innings, punching out 2 while allowing just 2 hits. The Padres managed 8 hits, with 3 coming off of the white-hot Brian Giles' bat. All Friar runs came on another Adrian Gonzalez home run. The 7 strikeouts by the Friars continues a pattern of poor at bats. We're too disgusted to spend any additional time describing the latest mid-game implosion, let's turn the the page to Wil Ledezma's start tomorrow.

Friar Sale?

The San Diego Padres have become a hot topic in baseball's front offices as ESPN's Jayson Stark reported that one AL executive feels that the Friars may open their doors early stocking players like Khalil Greene, Kevin Kouzmanoff, and Randy Wolf on their shelves. FF was a bit surprised to see Kouz on this list, although opening a spot for Chase Headley doesn't seem too far fetched ~ FF still would be shocked to see the 3rd baseman moved this summer. Other players that FF could see being dealt include a myriad of free agents to be; Brian Giles, Greg Maddux, Michael Barrett, and Tadihito Iguchi. If Estes continues to throw well, the Friars might be well served to swap him for a younger model. In smaller moves FF wouldn't be surprised to see a Scott Hairston or P Mac cleaning their lockers in San Diego.

Not even half way through May and it seems that baseball has given up on the 2008 installment of the Padres. Its a little sad, but at least there will be some exciting rumors swirling to help the water cooler chatter.

Familiar Game, Familiar Result

There is little to say about Friday evening's contest at Petco Park. The margin for victory was predictably razor thin, so the three run allowed by Jake Peavy over 6 innings was clearly too much for the Padres anemic offense to overcome (despite statistically ranking as a quality start). Glendon Rusch relived Peavy, allowing a bomb into the sandbox in right center field to Matt Holliday, giving the Rockies a 4-2 lead that would mark the final score. The Friars managed their first run on a ground rule double by Peavy, followed by an opposite field double by Brian Giles. Their second run came on a first-deck bomb into the Western Metal Supply building by Kevin Kouzmanoff, who had previously grounded into a pair of a double plays. Kouzmanoff had entered the game as the least likely batter in the league to ground into a double play. Newcomer Jody Gerut played hard and easily tossed Todd Helton trying to advance to third, but was hitless. Otherwise put, same poor play, same poor result.

Crasnick Pegs Pads Perfectly

Jerry Crasnick's column today on the Padres hits the nail on the head; the Padres can't hit - regardless of venue. He quotes Bud Black as saying,

"In any given lineup, when things are going well and you're scoring runs and the offense is clicking, you might have five, six or seven guys really swinging the bat well... When things are going along as normal -- win a couple of games, lose a couple -- you have three or four guys in the lineup swinging well. What we have going now, on a given night, is maybe one or two guys swinging well.

I think we're going to get out of it, and we'll reach the level of what our guys have done in their careers. Over the course of six months, it's never smooth sailing. But this storm has hit early and it's hit hard."

Of course the real question here is how much career norms will help. FF (unfortunately) sees it as something like this:

1. Brian Giles - Good for 30 doubles, .400 OBP, and 60 pop outs short of third base
2. Tad Iguchi - A solid hitter likely to match his career average of about .274
3. Adrian Gonzalez - Solid #3 hitter on most clubs
4. Kevin Kouzmanoff - Should quietly hit about .300 with 35 doubles, but not a classic 4 hitter
5. Jim Edmonds - This season's Vinny Castilla - great clubhouse guy, but it's likely the end of the road
6. Khalil Green - Will hit .250 with about 25 bombs, but it on fire or not
7. Josh Bard - Seems gassed already, but should fight back to about .280
8. Scott Hairston - The reason he hasn't been a regular has become apparent

Not exactly a fear inducing lineup. We honestly like Jake Peavy's at bats more than many of the team's fielders. We'd love to be wrong about this and hope the Friars catch on fire, but two thirds of the outfield doesn't seem likely to play at an average pace as the season continues, putting the club at a severe disadvantage.

Germano Shelled

Justin Germano entered the evening as one of the top five pitchers in National League ERA. After allowing 4 runs on 9 pitches, and 10 in 3.1 innings, he took a big loss Monday night at Minute Maid Park with former President George Herbert Walker Bush and his wife Bar in attendance. Wil Ledezma pitched an out shy of 4 scoreless innings in relief before giving way to Kevin Cameron, who tossed a perfect 8th. Padre hitting was good - for the Padres. 6 of 8 knocks went for extra bases while both Jim Edmonds and Adrian Gonzalez reached the Minute Maid porch for bases empty, opposite field bombs. Unfortunately, the Friars seem to be making a habit of losing big or wining tight. The combination of Minute Maid's friendly conditions and Jake Peavy's pitching will hopefully bring positive results Tuesday night.

Iguchi Occupies Eight Hole
Tad Iguchi has been mired in a deep slump and was dropped by manager Bud Black into the eighth spot in the order Monday. He responded with a single and a walk in 4 trips to the plate.

Flashing Some Leather
Both Brian Giles and Gonzalez made nifty catches in right field. Gonzalez went Willie Mays on ball down the line that was looking like an extra base bloop before he reached out to snag the out. Giles made a nice sliding catch of a Geoff Blum liner as well.

Bard is Back
Josh Bard threw out another runner, pushing his season rate for retiring would-be base thieves to 21%. This is significantly better the 8% mark he posted in 2007 and is especially impressive given the amount of work he's been receiving of late, which is bound to take its toll as the games add up.

Debacle Againt Diamondbacks

The Padres struggles continued Saturday night at Chase Field, as they parlayed a 3-1 lead and quality start by Chris Young into a stinging 3-10 defeat. The bullpen once again faltered, partially on the back of an uncharacteristic error by Khalil Greene, who had just entered the game as part of a double switch before watching one pass through the wickets. Kevin Cameron would eventually allow 5 unearned runs on the error, as well as 3 hits and 3 walks to pair with one run of the earned variety. Prior to the game spiraling completely out of control - a common occurrence for the Friars lately - Joe Thatcher allowed the DBacks to take a 3-4 lead in the 7th with the help of defensive miscues by Callix Crabbe and Paul McAnulty. Thatcher would eventually be tagged for the loss.

The offense made a decent run of it (relatively speaking). On the plus side, 60% of their knocks were extra base hits and 40% were round-trippers (a 2B and HR by McAnanulty and a HR by Brian Giles). On the flip side, they only had 5 total hits to have their team batting average settle at .238, trending towards the Mendoza line. Just one week ago they were leading the National League in batting average. They are still struggling with extra base hits and have maintained their dismal rate of 1.8 extra base knocks per game over that time period. These are tough times for the Friar Fans - try to keep the faith.

Padres Implode In Eighth

The Padres played it close Wednesday night, but a 7 run eighth frame put the Rockies ahead for good. Cla Meredith and Glendon Rusch were victimized for for four and three runs, respectively, for an eighth frame whose score San Diego fans more generally associate with an Antonio Cromartie interception return. This, and the Padres lacking offense, spoiled another strong Justin Germano quality start (7 innings of 3 runs ball) and hung him with a loss. Brian Giles was a one man wrecking crew with an RBI double and triple, the first a ground rule variety to left center and latter off Petco Park's scoreboard in right (for the second consecutive evening). Only Scott Hairston scratched out an additional Padre hit. The Friars will look to bounce back tomorrow behind the dominating Jake Peavy.

Padres Pick Up Series By One

The Friars squeezed by the Dodgers 1-0 on a hot but smog-less Sunday afternoon game at Chavez Ravine to win the weekend series two games to one. Greg Maddux left the 95 degree heat after tossing 67 pitches over 5 innings of two hit ball, striking out a pair against a single walk. The heart of bullpen performed as you'd expect on paper, tossing four zeros on the board across Joe Thatcher, Cla Meredith, Heath Bell and Trevor Hoffman, respectively. The Padres lone run came on a moderately deep fly ball on a high change piece in the forth to Paul McAnulty, who again spelled Brian Giles. For the second consecutive game the Friars lone run was the result of a rare extra base hit. After Jim Edmonds walked to lead off the inning, shortstop Khalil Greene doubled Edmonds to third, where McAnulty would later convert him. This was the lone extra base knock for Bud Black's club.

Bell's Velocity Remains a Concern
As has been mentioned over the course of the season, Bell is regularly around 90 mph this in 2008 after typically hitting mid-to-high 90s in 2007. So far Bell is getting the job done with his less electric stuff, posting a 1.04 ERA over 8.2 innings, but he's notched just two strikeouts in the young season. FF is a big fan of Bell's, but we are concerned about how the decreased velocity bodes for his future health. We've many times noted the front office's love affair with relievers that post high strikeout to walk ratios. Last year, Bell put up nearly 10 K/BB while logging an out short of 94 innings over 81 outing, so it is unclear how the dichotomy between his reduced stuff and results will settle with the club in the long run.

Young Quality Start Streak Ends

Yesterday, FF blogged about how the Padres were struggling to hit anything but singles. Facing Padre nemesis Derek Lowe, we didn't have real high expectation that Saturday would be provide the breakthrough the team needed. But Scotty Hairston, batting lead off in place of a resting Brian Giles, started the game on in style with a triple down the right field line at Dodger Stadium. Adrian Gonzalez followed up with a double that he, Vin Scully, Andre Ethier, and FF thought was gone. At the bottom of the first, the Friars looked nstrong and had already accounted from more extra base hits than they had average per game for the season (2 versus 1.8). With Chris Young taking the hill, the euphoria of fast start quickly faded with Young command noticeably off. He was raked for just two runs in the first inning, but the hit hard along the way. From that poit on, Lowe settled into his normal role as Padre punisher and the Dodgers warmed up their bat to force Young out of the game in the top of the 4th with nobody out and 7 runs on his line in the box score (6 earned as Young booted a come backer). The Padre offense would scratch out just two more hits, both singles, on the way to an 11-1 drubbing. Wil Ledezma and Glendon Rusch were tagged with 3 and 1 runs in as many innings, respectively.

PMac in Right Field
After grumblings about his shotty fielding skills in left last spring, Paul McAnulty got the start in right field. Both he and center fielder Jim Edmonds were burned on balls over their heads. Giles will be out of action on Sunday, as he gets extra rest in front of Monday's day off.

Barrett At Least Two Weeks Away
Vin Scully announced that Michael Barrett is at least two weeks away from being back from the DL, giving Colt Morton extra time with the big club. Morton spelled Josh Bard after the game got away from the Friars.

Quality Start Streak Ends
Effectively spanning the first 11 games of the season, the Friars' quality start steak ended with the loss against the Dodgers. It was also marked the first time this season that a starter was hung with a loss.

Peavy Off, But Singles Lead the Way

Jake Peavy clearly didn't have his best pitches Friday night, but his mindset pushed him through his third quality start - and win - of the season. The offense picked up Peavy with a barrage of singles and a lone double to plate seven runs. Six Friars amassed multiple hit games with Kevin Kouzmanoff leading the way with a trio out of the cleanup spot. Callix Crabbe showed his impact in the eighth innings while pinch running for the ever-reliable Tony Clark. He easily stole second, then scored on Tad Iguchi's dribbler through the 3.5 hole. Given the continued struggles of future hall of famer Trevor Hoffman, who was again touched up for a run, despite earning a save, these kinds of insurance runs cannot be understated. The bullpen's other slow starter, Joe Thatcher also coughed up another run.

Tossed
Scotty Hairston threw a strike to Josh Bard to erase Dodger Russell Martin, who came into the plate with a half-hearted shoulder. Bard and Martin exchanged pats on their midsection and butt, respectively, to show no ill will.

Coach Hill Would Be Proud
Iguchi continues to impress FF by playing ball the right way (for you PLHS alumni out there, that means Coach Hill's way). On a run-and-hit, Iguchi practically threw his bat to protect flat-of-foot Brian Giles at second.

The Ghost of Bruce Bochey
Bud Black was momentarily possessed by Bruce Bochey at Dodger Stadium, instructing Jake Peavy to forgo a sacrifice bunt attempt to instead ground into an inning ending double play in the second.

Lefties, Walks Sink Padres

A trio of lefties took a strong start by Justin Germano (1 unearned run allowed over 6 innings) and turned it into a laugher. Step one in the three step path to defeat was lefty Joe Thatcher, who was clearly off his A-game after getting a ground out to kick off the seventh inning. He was allowed walk the bases loaded in a 1-1 game, with fellow lefty Bud Black standing by him to allow a 2 run single to 0-for-2008 Russell Martin. Black finally found his hook, bringing southpaw Glendon Rusch on to surrender a run scoring hit and collaborate with backstop Michael Barrett for a passed ball to plate another. A subsequent base knock by Padre nemesis Andrew Jones added the inning's umpteenth run. All told, Black under-managed the situation into a 6 run Dodger inning on just three hits. All of this following Brian Giles' game-tying jack over the Petco porch against a very sharp Hiroki Kuroda. FF generally thinks highly of Black, but is already flustered this season by his affinity for specific relievers (as we were in 2007). This is particularly unacceptable if the team is going to continue carrying 7 arms in the 'pen.

ChAAAse HeAAAdley

It would appear that Padres top prospect, Chase Headley, will start the season in AAA Portland. The move will allow Headley to continue to learn his new position by logging as many innings as possible in left field. The switch hitter has proved himself to be MLB ready but finds himself in a log jam in the Padres outfield picture.

As FF has previously noted, Jody Gerut has not only played himself onto the opening day roster, but he is penciled in as the starter in left. Scott Hairston is expected to fill the shoes of Jim Edmonds in CF until the balky calf of Edmonds properly heals. With the extra spot for an outfielder (assuming Edmonds begins the season on the DL) the Padres are expected to break camp with Paul McAnulty for the 2nd consecutive year. PMac is out of options and can flat out swing the bat. Brian Giles continues to improve from his offseason micro fracture surgery and will start his final season in a Padres uniform in right (KT holds an option for 2009). Bud Black is expected to give the veteran more days off during the long 162 game schedule, and this year it appears that he will have the bodies to fill the spot (no Sledge types on this roster). The Padres will shock FF if they leave Arizona without Callix Crabbe, the speedy and versatile Rule V draftee who has had a great spring and can play both infield and outfield positions.

As the the sand begins to settle on another March in the desert, it appears the Friars roster is coming together and at this point it will not include their stud prospect Headley. The Padres will see him at some point this season roaming the Petco Park outfield, and his tenure as a full time starter is, at most, a season away (with the likely departure of the second Giles in 2 years). The larger question at this point circles around the health of Jim Edmonds, and what to do with the pure hitting Paul McAnulty when Edmonds is healthy.

FF wouldn't be surprised to see the Padres deal McAnulty to an American League team, simply because they do not have a position for him. With the Pads and Peoria Sports Complex roommate, Seattle Mariners, discussing a possible deal for CF Jeremy Reed, it is possible to see PMac in Peoria again next season; this time in the Mariners clubhouse.

Estes Continues To Struggle, Rusch Stays Relevant

The Padres open audition for the 5th spot in their rotation remains a mystery. With the start of the season is rolling towards the Friars, it appears that one of the likely three hurlers is pitching himself not only out of consideration, but out of baseball. Lefty Shawn Estes continued his comeback attempt on Monday by lowering his ERA 5 points from 20.00 to 15.00; not good if you are trying to pitch your way onto a big league roster. Estes' struggles are being taken advantage of by other candidates Justin Germano (current front runner) and fellow come back lefty Glendon Rusch whose spring ERA is hovering close to a run per nine. Both Germano and Rusch have Major League experience in both starting roles as well as serving in a long reliever or swing man capacity. In FF's opinion, Shawn Estes is all but done pitching at the major league level.

Spring Rolls:
Callix Crabbe is inching closer to punching his MLB ticket as he had three more knocks Monday while showing his defensive versatility by playing the hot corner flawlessly.

Young star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez is seeing his older brother Edgar's chances of making the team become more slim as Edgar's defensive consistency has been questionable, highlighted by an error on Monday.

Paul McAnulty struck out in both plate appearances Monday to see his batting average dip to .300; PMac still holds high hopes in making the opening day roster partly due to the fact that he is out of minor league options. The Padres (and FF) doubt the talented offensive player would pass through waivers.

Jody Gerut continues his push to make the squad as he powered up for the 3rd time this spring and deposited a ball into the RF bullpen.

Brian Giles saw his first spring action in a big league game while getting two at bats (no hits) and logging time in right.

Chase Headley adds another hit and continues to show that he has nothing to prove in the minor leagues.

Giles Sees 1st Game Action Of Spring

Padres starting right fielder, Brian Giles, saw his first live action on Friday in a minor league game. This is one of the final steps on his road to recovery from offseason Micro fracture knee surgery. Giles drew 2 walks and singled in the action.

Trade Front And Center For Padres

The Padres couldn't or wouldn't come to an agreement to retain their free agent center fielder Mike Cameron this offseason and instead turned the position over to former All Star and Gold Glove winner Jim Edmonds, who was acquired in a trade with the Cards. Immediately following this trade, questions regarding the age and health of the Friars CF (Edmonds) and RF(Brian Giles) accompanied the questions about the lack of a starting left fielder. Through the first week of Cactus League play the Padres Edmonds and Giles have combined for 1 base hit, granted Brian Giles has yet to lace up his spikes due to his recovery from offseason knee surgery ~ but then again, that in itself is a problem. Edmonds is now on the shelf for 2-3 weeks due to a calf strain he suffered while in the batters box in a game this week.

The only left field clarification to date is that Jody Gerut , Chase Headley, and even Paul McAnulty have all proved that they can hit enough to compete for playing time with incumbent Scott Hairston, who himself has never been an everyday major league starter. So, lets toss in the huge hole in center created by Edmonds' calf muscle and the Padres have a tough situation with few in house fixes.

On Friday Kevin Towers reported that he had talked with the Boston Red Sox regarding Coco Crisp, it is suspected that the Sox would want top prospects Chase Headley or Matt Antonelli ~ and the Pads are not giving those 2 away for almost anyone at this point. So, may the Friars see yet another aging player passed their prime sporting the sand and navy in FA Kenny Lofton? Or would the Pads give up top talent to bring Tony Gywnn, Jr. back home from the Brewers? Something will have to happen, because the season is drawing ever closer and the Pads outfield is getting older each inning that passes.

Look for the Pads to also speak to the Angels, who have too many bodies in their outfield - some who are out of minor league options. FF believes (or wants to believe) that the Friars will find a way to get younger, healthier, and faster in the outfield prior to the March 31st opener.

Aged Outfield Doubts Spring Forward

Frair fans have feared that 2008 would require the bulk of the outfield to maintain a RICE diet. While news that CF Jim Edmonds has only suffered a calf strain (likely to sideline him for 2-3 weeks), an injury at this early date of season is a harbinger of things to come. The other senior member of the outfield, right fielder Brian Giles, has yet to participate in a game and is now slotted to get his first action as a designated hitter in March 15. The additive nature of these reports doesn't bode well for the opening day lineup. On the plus side, these injuries should provide an extra-long look at Chase Headley and Jody Gerut, among others. General Manager Kevin Towers will have plenty of information upon which to act or hold tight within a couple of weeks...

A calf strain is defined by Wikipedia as:

A torn calf muscle happens when the calf muscle is pulled apart from the Achilles tendon. Severe pain is felt by the victim – you may think you've just been hit in the leg and hear a "pop." Sudden pain is felt around the leg.

This injury happens during acceleration or changes in direction. The torn calf muscle may spasm, and contract forcefully. The toes will point down. Bruises can show up in the leg, foot and ankle due to pooling of blood from internal bleeding. It may take some time for the bruises to occur, from hours to days depending upon where the tear occurred. The circumference of the leg will most certainly increase.

This injury may take several months to heal. Its important not to continue the exercise if muscle is torn as internal bleeding is taking place. See a doctor immediately after muscle is torn to get you on a rehabilitation routine.

Edmonds Leaves Game With Leg Injury

That sound you hear is the San Diego Padres front office holding their collective breathes. Newly acquired, and well seasoned Jim Edmonds was taken out of the Padres 10-3 win over the reigning NL champion Colorado Rockies. The 37 year old center fielder is disappointed and stated that his calf felt very tight.

It would be nice if FF could say that this wasn't expected, I, for one had accepted my chilled glass of Kool Aid and was gulping it down when hearing of Edmonds' feverish off season workouts led by a SWAT officer. The ex-Cardinal center fielder was said to be in great shape and prime for a career renaissance. The scariest part is - the reason the Friars brought Edmonds in was because there were no in house solutions to the vast grounds at Petco. If, in fact, this injury is a sign of more to come from the experienced legs of Edmonds and right fielder, Brian Giles, then the Padres might be in for a very long season.

Jump The Gun

This calf injury will most likely prove to be nothing more than a strain, however, if it leads to a long absence of a CF where would the Friars turn? FF sees few (neither solid) options already in the Peoria clubhouse being Scott Hairston, and Callix Crabbe. Neither has logged many innings in center and let us not forget where the Pads play 81 of their games...Players available in the trade market or free agency are either old or expensive ~ a few examples would be the 40 year old Kenny Lofton (who is still looking for a job, and playing for the Padres would, unofficially, be his 75th team), or the Dodgers Juan Pierre who signed a ridiculous contract last year and is expendable with LA's signing of Andruw Jones, and young Andre Ethier fighting for more AB's.

Hold your breath Padres fans, our outfield is huge and the legs roaming it are close to expiration!

Jody Gerut Hot In Spring

Non roster invitee, Jody Gerut, has been swinging a hot stick early in the Padres camp. San Diego does not have an every day left fielder penned into LF and needs a reserve who has the ability to play all three OF positions with the aging Brian Giles and Jim Edmonds as their starters in right and center. As camp opens the Friars have Scott Hairston penciled in to left as the opening day starter, but that position is definitely up for grabs.

Gerut who has not played in MLB over the last 2 seasons due to knee injuries, rejuvenated his once bright career while hitting an impressive, league leading, .390 in Venezuelan winter ball. He has continued his tear by slapping a double yesterday and singling twice this afternoon in an annual charity game between Peoria Sports Complex residents, Pads and Seattle Mariners. The Mariners took the exhibition game tilt by a score of 10-3. With Cactus League play officially commencing tomorrow afternoon, the Padres staff has certainly taken notice of the strides that Jody Gerut is making. It remains to be the hot topic of the Padres camp and between the founding fathers of Friar Forum. Will it be the slight favorite in Hairston, the Padres top prospect Chase Headley, or the white hot Jody Gerut? Competition brings out the best in athletes and we at FF are exciting to see how it all plays out.

Giles Feeling Good

All reports coming out of Peoria suggest that Padres RF Brian Giles is responding very well to off season micro-fracture knee surgery. This is good news for the Friars as the outfield has been (and continues to be) a huge topic and question mark all winter. Of course the 2008 model of Brian Giles isn't our younger brother's version that saw him pile up huge HR totals with the Pittsburgh Pirates in the small ballparks of the NL Central, but the San Diego native is a quality hard nose ball player. Giles excelled with a bum right knee last season as the club's leadoff man as he continued to get on base via the walk while keeping his batting average at a respectable level. In the last season of the 3 year $30M contract the Padres should be able to count on Giles for his solid on base percentage (FF fells that he will be around a solid .400) and opposing middle infielders will find themselves getting up off the dirt after trying to turn two with a tan Giles (Brian feels he plays better after a fresh tanning bed session) on first. With all things considered he is a major piece of the puzzle if the Friars are going to make noise this year in a difficult NL West.