Stovetop On High

The latest team to express interest in Padres lefty Randy Wolf is the Houston Astros. Although the Astros are stuck behind the Cubs, Brewers and Cards in a tough NL Central, they are rumored to be in serious talks with San Diego. The Astros were forced to place staff ace, Roy Oswalt, on the 15 day DL and must feel they need to add to their rotation to keep pace in the Central.

Padres switch hitting catcher, Josh Bard, is due to come off the DL as early as this weekend and is said to be immediately placed on the trading block. The Friars brass finally seems feed up with Bard's inability to throw runners out. FF feels that the remainder of '08 should be used, in part, to evaluate younger players including Luke Carlin and Nick Hundley, who are both struggling at the plate while improving the defense at the position.

Extent of Barrett Injuries Still Unknown

The graphic scene of 95mph pitch glancing off Michael Barrett's bat into the bridge of his nose left many Friar fans gasping. Initial reports indicated a broken nose, but it is now known that he also has multiple face fractures as well. Until swelling subsides, doctors will not be able to fully judge the extent of his injuries, but early concerns regarding a concussion seems misplaced. Barrett suffered a concussion that kept him out for 19 games last August and there is always a concern at the potential of multiple concussions. Such an injury forced former Charger Stan Humphries into retirement. FF wishes Barrett well and hopes to see him back in uniform this season. One of the many unfortunate aspects of this freak accident was that Barrett had started to come alive at the plate, batting over .300 over his last 7 games.

Few could have foreseen a team with "two starting catchers", Josh Bard and Barrett, having to recall both catchers from their AAA club; but that will now be the case with heralded yet struggling Nick Hundley scheduled to join Luke Carlin on the big club (see previously linked Union Tribune article). Hundley had a big 2007 season at AA San Antonio, posting 20 bombs and 72 RBI in 373 at bats to match a .247 batting average. He's struggled moderately at AAA Portland in 2008, posting a .736 OPS that is about 8% lower than his 2007 performance. Much has been made of this drop off, but this seems relatively normal upon advancement to AAA. FF would like to see Bud Black lessen the pressure on the pair by taking a page out of Bruce Bochey's "How to Handle Catchers Handbook". As we've droned on about before, FF believes that catchers need frequent rest to excel. Hundley is supposed to be an offensive threat, so we'd love to see him get the more than half of the starts, with late inning defensive relief from Luke Carlin. That said, if history tells us anything, Bud Black will burn out both and end up with another pair of struggling backstops.

Friars Run Out Of The Bronx

The Padres spoiled another solid start by Josh Banks who gave up just 2 runs and was on the wrong side of a 2-1 tally. The Friars could not cash in during the 2nd inning after loading the bases with no outs. Two strike outs and a runner cut down at the plate on a passed ball helped the Yankees escape the inning and preserve the 3 game sweep.


Friar Facts


The Yankees scored their first run without the benefit of a hit as a walk and 2 stolen bases set up a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 1. The game winning run was also scored after Derek Jeter stole second and scored on A Rod single. The Padres catchers are, once again, a distant last in throwing out base runners. The Padres have allowed 98 of 111 runner to steal successfully. The 98 SB's against is 29 more than the second worst in baseball.

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.

New Wave Of Padres

Kevin Towers and the Padres promote 4 minor leaguers on Thursday as three pitchers and AA catcher Colt Morton join the big league club. The three AAA hurlers include Mike Adams, who was 3-1 with a 5.52 ERA, Jared Wells, 5.85 ERA with 9 saves, and Josh Banks who is 1-1 with a 6.66 ERA in 8 games at Portland. To make room for the newest players the Friars sent both Josh Bard and Chris Young to the 15 day DL after they were each injured in the 3rd inning of Wednesday's game. San Diego also sent Joe Thatcher back to Portland and released Justin Germano.

Towers said he was going to make wholesale changes, which he has started to do. The only question FF has is where is Chase Headley?

Adding Injury To Insult

The Padres lost more than a ball game (11-3 Cards victory) and a series Wednesday night as in the span of 360 feet the Friars lost their battery of Young and Bard. In the top half of the 3rd inning a line drive off the bat of Albert Pujols hit CY square in the face and after a few minutes on the ground and a bloodied jersey later Young left the game to a standing ovation and a 2-0 lead. A few batters later a base knock to right field cost San Diego the lead and their starting catcher, Josh Bard, as Pujols slid into the backstop's ankle scoring the go ahead run and knocking Bard out of the game with an ankle injury.

This is a blow across the bow of a struggling Padres team, who will lose Josh Bard for at least 15 days just as Michael Barrett is getting close to returning. Chris Young and his broken nose may land on the DL, but FF expects to see Young back on the bump 5 games from now. FF would like to be clear; in no way was the Albert Pujols slide at the plate dirty and after the his ball knocked Young out of the game the former MVP was seen praying with Adrian Gonzalez. Pujols was obviously shaken by the affect of his base hit.

Monday: More Moves

The San Diego Padres are performing a face lift on a team that was in drastic need of a new identity. Prior to taking the field against the Chicago Cubs and their ace Carlos Zambrano the Padres will announce their 4th roster move in as many days. San Diego will call up Edgar Gonzalez to take the place of Rule V draftee Callix Crabbe. Typically, Rule V picks must be offered back to their original team (Brewers). However, the Padres still like what Crabbe brings to the table and will try to work out a trade to keep the speedy, versatile player. This transaction will reunite brothers Adrain and Edgar Gonzalez, who were inseparable during Spring Training. Older brother Edgar will assume the utility infielder role and brings a .293 average and 4 bombs to the Friars. San Diego has had many brother tandems in the past that include:
Tony and Chris Gwynn; Roberto and Sandy Alomar; The Brothers Giles; and Trevor and Glenn Hoffman.

Bard Hurting

Catcher Josh Bard is expected to return to the starting lineup on Monday in Chicago after receiving a cortisone injection in his surgically repaired throwing wrist. Newcomer Luke Carlin is scheduled to make at least 3 of the next 7 starts behind the dish for the Friars.

UPDATE II: Catcher Carlin to the Friars

UPDATE II: MadFriars.com has updated their original article (link below) to note that this move will likely take place after Thursday's game.

UPDATE: It appears that news of Luke Carlin joining the Friars was not accurate, as the article has disappeared (see the first link below) and no news of this move has come from additional sources.

MadFriars.com is reporting that Luke Carlin's contract has been purchased by the Padres. This presumably means that Kevin Towers has decided to try a new tactic to prevent Josh Bard from wearing down to nothing. The prior attempt, adding Colt Morton from AA ball to the MLB roster, has been a non-factor. Manager Bud Black has sparingly used Morton while Josh Bard has struggled through the stress of catching every day. Since Michael Barrett went down with an elbow injury on April 8th, Bard has started 22 contests to Morton's 3.

Graph from FanGraphs.com

Friar fans witnessed first hand former catcher and manager Bruce Bochy's approach of giving catchers constant and regular rest. After entering the game in which Barrett was injured, Bard produced well, increasing his batting average from .278 to .324 (7 games). However, from game 8 on, he has seen a near constant decline to .216, highlighting Bochy's concern over the ware and tear of baseball's most strenuous position. FF understands that Black was likely trying to keep his best overall catcher in the game during the club's struggles, but this work load likely contributed to Bard's rough month. Hopefully, the addition of Carlin will boost Black confidence, helping the club and Bard to right themselves. Like Bard, Carlin is a switch hitter. Carlin is well regarded for his defensive skills (tossed 36% of running in 2006). While off to a solid offensive start this season, he has a .245 career minor league average. Nonetheless, this is an example of some attempt to mix things up, so FF fully supports it. We'd also rather see Morton play somewhere that will result in regular playing time.

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.

Friars Claim MLB Basement

The Padres lost yet again, staking the claim to Major League Baseball's worst record at 11-19. Such a statement isn't exactly the way I had hoped to welcome my son to world and world of Friar fan-hood. Then again, this is perhaps the proper introduction to San Diego sports, as we have all had to learn how expect the worst to stay sane. But I digress - back to more of the same for this season of discontent. Justin Germano continued his streak of poor outings, allowing 5 earned runs in 5 2/3 innings of work. Most of the damage came by way of the long ball. The Marlins managed 3 bombs, accounting for 5 of the 6 overall runs the plated. Kevin Cameron (3.72 ERA in 8 outings) and Wil Ledezma (1.08 ERA in 16+ innings) both posted perfect relief outings and should be considered by Bud Black for promotions in the bullpen's world order. Offensively, the Padres collected just 7 hits across 4 batters; Kevin Kouzmanoff did his best T. Gwynn impression with a 4-4 nights, including one double. Khalil Greene finally belted his first home run to give the Friars half of their runs in the 6-4 loss at Dolphin Stadium on Friday night. Colt Morton spelled Josh Bard, but has yet to claim his first knock of the season.

Mendoza Line Watch
The following players are currently at or approaching the infamous Mendoza Line, with nearly 1/5 of the season gone:

• Paul McAnulty - .222


• Khalil Greene - .217


• Josh Bard - .209


• Tony Clark - .208


• Justin Huber - .200


• Scott Hairston - .198


• Callix Crabbe - .160


• Jim Edmonds - .160


• Colt Morton - .000

5 Run 3rd Sinks Friars Again

San Deigo was felled for the fifth consecutive game and ninth time in ten contests Saturday night, this time by the division leading Diamondbacks. Arizona now boasts an 8.5 game lead over the Friars in the NL West with their 5-1 vistory. All the damage came against Randy Wolf in the third, with five runs on a single, sacrifice bunt, double, single, error, and home run. The home run had enough gusto to clear dead center at Petco Park, just over a leaping Scott Hairton. The Padres would later manage to plate just one run with bases loaded in fourth and one out, on a Callix Crabbe single with two out. All told, the Friar attack would manage just 3 hits, including their first extra base hit at Petco since April 17. They struck out one out every three of their 30 trips to the dish.

Bullpen Reborn?
On a positive note, the bullpen performed excellently when called upon to finish the final five innings of the game. Wil Ledezma went 3 innings, allowing a one hit while punching out five. Recent workhorse Kevin Cameron finished off the final pair of innings without incident.

Bard to get Rest
Josh Bard will get the night off Saturday. The U-T reports that he is batting just .193 since Michael Barrett's injury. This will mark Colt Morton's second start over that time.

Pop Gun Offense
The Friars have scored the second fewest runs in the Majors this season. Their 75 touches of home plate are just one more than the lowly Giants - who have allowed six fewer runs that Padres and are in second place in the NL West.

Barrett Still on the Shelf

Padres.com is reporting that Michael Barrett is still on about 10 days away from throwing and batting practice. In the meantime, Bud Black continues to rely heavily on Josh Bard. As we have recently noted, Bard's defense has recently improved, particularly in regard to throwing out base runners. Colt Morton has caught just over 14 innings (1 start) since joining the team in Barrett's stead. With the Friar lineup struggling to produce runs, it is understandable why Black pencils Bard into the lineup daily. Nonetheless, after years of having former catcher Bruce Bochy carry and play 3 catchers, it will intriguing to see how Bard holds up over the course of the season under the heavy workload.

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.

Randy Rocks Rox

San Diego southpaw starter, Randy Wolf, was brilliant in his 3rd start as a Friar. Wolf dominated a struggling Colorado lineup for 7 innings of one hit 9 strike out ball en route to his first Padres victory. The Friars bats were making double time in the 5th as Brian Giles, Kevin Kouzmanoff, and Jim Edmonds all delivered 2 run two baggers in the 6 run frame that accounted for all the games runs. Newly reinstated Kevin Cameron recorded the final six outs surrendering a harmless single in the 9th.

San Diego Short Hops:

The Padres 6-0 victory Tuesday night at Petco Park comes on the heals of a 1-0 shutout on Sunday, proving that its hard to lose when your pitching is ridiculously sharp.

Scott Hairston seems due a day off as his average is dropping while his poor at bats are accumulating, with back to back lefties to close out the Colorado series FF expects to see Justin Huber get at least 1 start in place of the Pads starting LF.

Josh Bard seemed to switch the bat he had been using (a light Ash to a darker stick) after he broke enough bats over the weekend in LA to raise a red flag in Boulder or Berkley

Through 14 games not a single starting infielder has received a day off, with Callix Crabbe the only reserve at second, short, and third FF expects to see Crabbe get a couple of spot starts for Tad Iguhci and Khalil Greene over the next 10 or so ballgames.

Speaking of Callix Crabbe, he joined teammates Scott Hairston and Tony Clark in wearing #42 in honor of Jackie Robinson breaking MLB's color barrier on this date in 1947.

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.

Hairston Launch Humbles Houston

The Padres have begun the 2008 season with two straight victories over the Houston Astros. The offense wasn't clicking on all cylinders as it was on opening night, but the Friars found Scott Hairston's 2 run blast enough to hold off Houston 2-1. The Padres had 2007 All Star, Chris Young, toeing the rubber on Tuesday and he battled through some control problems (5 walks in 5 2/3) to earn his first victory of the year. Young loaded the bases full of 'Stros after a base hit and 2 walks in the 6th. Skipper Bud Black turned the ball over to Joe Thatcher who got out of the jam after walking in the only Astro run of the game (and season). The lefty Thatcher retired the first batter of the 7th inning before giving way to side-winder Cla Meredith who cruised through the 2 batters he faced. Heath Bell worked a perfect 8th inning to set up baseball's all time saves leader in the top half of the 9th. Trevor Hoffman took his first steps into game action this year to the familiar sound of AC/DC's "Hells Bells". The Padres closer struck out the first and last batter he faced while working around a two out infield single.

Padres Points:

The Padres hand the ball to future Hall Of Fame hurler Greg Maddux on Wednesday night, the crafty right hander will attempt to keep pace with the top 2 pitchers in the Friar rotation.

Khalil Greene and Josh Bard each had multiple hit games with the Friar shortstop collecting 3, while the Padre backstop had 2. Brian Giles remains the only Padres regular without a hit through 2 games.

The Padres team ERA jumped all the way to 0.50 to kickoff the new year, Tuesday's 2-1 victory will be one of many close, low scoring affairs in 2008.

The Padres had a chance to extend their lead in the bottom half of the 8th (against former Friar Doug Brocail) after a 2 out Bard single sent Scott Hairston to second, an infield single by Paul McAnulty would have loaded the bases for a pinch hitter (presumably Tony Clark). Unfortunately, Scott Hairston got caught venturing too far off third after appearing to assume that P Mac would be called out at 1st.

Padres figure to start newly acquired Justin Huber in left tomorrow as the Astros will start a southpaw on the hill. Pads fans also figure to get their first view of the year of catcher Michael Barrett.

All time saves leader Trevor Hoffman is fashioning a longer hair style than in years past, reports out of spring training were that Mrs. Hoffman likes the longer locks.

Khalil's Days as a Friar Numbered?

The Union-Tribune has reported that attempts to reach a long term deal with shortstop Khalil Greene were non-starters. According to the article, Kevin Towers said,

“We approached them, they never approached us. But we heard back that they weren't interested in what we proposed.”

Towers goes on to insinuate that Greene may want to be closer to his family in Key West, FL due to health concerns (see map below). The Frairs have Greene under contract for the next two years. Reading between the lines, this would mean that this year (or part of this year) will almost certainly be Greene's last with the club unless some headway is made towards a long term deal. The Padre Front Office is well known to loath arbitration. The U-T estimates that the Friars have offered just $4M vs. Khalil's request of $5M ($4.9M according to Padres.com) in arbitrating his 2008 salary.

In other news, the Padres are likely headed to arbitration with Josh Bard and have locked up Wil Ledezma without facing arbitration.

The map below highlights the locations that Khalil may be considering after his stint with the Friars. Each location within the blue polygon represents a home field for a team that is geographically closer to Key West (noted with the house icon) than Petco Park. Different colors locations denote the different divisions in MLB. Switch over the satellite view and zoom in to check out each of the fields. Everything on the map is clickable!

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