The Padres have now played every team in the NL, so fans can fairly gauge where they stand. Padres are last in the NL West, with no hope of competing for the post-season. This was obvious on Opening Day, when they were shut-out 16-0 by the Dodgers, and swept in that Petco series without scoring a run. Opening Day was the only start the Padres #1 pitcher, Tyson Ross has made in 2016. Since then, Ross has been dealing with & rehabilitating from a shoulder injury, and is expected back sometime after the All-Star break.
Only ATL & CIN are worse NL teams, and it should be noted that they are qualitatively worse. The Padres can be grouped ahead of them, with MIL & PHI as rebuilding teams. Thankfully, the Padres are much further along in the process with 1B Wil Myers, LHP Drew Pomeranz & RHP Luis Perdomo already in their future mix. Padres also have more in tradeable assets than these other bad teams including: RHP’s Tyson Ross, & Andrew Cashner (when healthy), RF Matt Kemp, LF BJ Upton, CF Jon Jay 3B Yangervais Solarte, C Derek Norris & closer Fernando Rodney. Fans can sense that GM A.J Preller is about to make another round of deals.
Ahead of the Padres for now are ARZ & COL, two directionless franchises that are caught in no-man’s-land; maxed out on payroll, yet still far short of fielding a truly competitive team. PIT & MIA are next, with a few intriguing young pieces but lacking other key parts, along with the leadership to put it all together; expect both these teams to sink badly by August/September and into next year.
The remaining teams are all contenders to some degree, with the SFG & CHC being the class of the NL in 2016. The NYM are decent, but have serious injury issues with their young pitching staff. WAS and LAD are similar, in that both are high-payroll teams that don’t win in October. Both also have serious questions concerning their leadership, on-the-field & in the front office. Always beware of STL, they’re a championship team, waiting in the weeds.
Pomeranz homers, shuts down Reds in win 6-25-16
If Andrew Cashner is anywhere near healthy by season’s end, he will decline a QO, if he hasn’t been traded. Cashner is a better pitcher than Ian Kennedy, who received 5/$70M in free agency. A mid-20’s draft pick may be more valuable than any prospect package A.J. Preller is offered. Obviously, everything depends on Cashner’s health and performance. In the unlikely event Andrew Cashner accepts the Padres QO, it’s only a one-year deal for ~$16M, which isn’t a disaster contract. The rule in baseball management is: there are no bad one-year deals. That’s not 100% correct, but you get the idea.
Padres score in first 8 frames in win over Reds 6-24-16
Pete Rose has a remarkable lack of respect for today’s players. Example: his interview in the Reds booth during the 1st inning last night, when Wil Myers hits a home run, and Rose exclaims he can’t believe the ball went out– so the balls must be juiced. No credit to Myers for being a great hitter. He’s like that on FOX too, old-school to his grave…
I used to be a Reds fan when I was a kid, but always preferred 2B Joe Morgan as a player & C Johnny Bench. With that said, as selfish as Rose has been, I still hope he gets the MLB HoF. He’s paid his dues, and many players have done much worse.
The Reds are by far the worst pitching staff in MLB, and quite possibly the worst team in the NL. What the heck was Bryan Price arguing & getting tossed for? That last pitch before he got ran out was a strike, according to K-Zone. Cincinnati needs a clean sweep from ownership & management on down, otherwise they’ll continue to be NL fodder for a long time.
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Fernando Rodney has a ton of trade value, as the Padres hold a $2M team option for 2017, and are only paying him $1.6M this season. You need a reliable closer, so Preller can go either way, depending on what’s offered. Look what BOS gave up for Kimbrel.
September call-ups in San Diego will be interesting this season. That will be a nice change for fans. Still, a lot going on off-the-field until then. Nine days until the new International draft period opens, with the Padres all-in on that. Only a few top amateur draft picks left to sign… Nice Padres rebuild, A.J. Preller.
Upton Jr.’s near-homer changes momentum 6-23-16
BJ & the Padres got robbed of a 2-run HR. Get some modern MLB foul poles Baltimore! You need them with these stronger players now.
…and to that clueless O’s announcer, asking why BJ & Matt Kemp were circling the bases: it’s because they BOTH knew it was a home run, and wanted to be near the dugout with their teammates when the call was correctly overturned.
Didn’t happen. I wonder if the umpires were ‘protecting their own.’ The 3B umpire on the call initially had a glazed look in his eye– like he knew he blew the call. BJ didn’t care, and showed him up; and honestly that’s why I’ve always loved him as a player. You get hated on a lot for being that, so respect it.
Rodney just misses out on Padres record
Righty’s streak of consecutive innings without ER snapped, but San Diego could appeal 6-22-16
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Fernando Rodney really should have the record, but that’s baseball, and it has to be scored a hit when the ball bounces off the bag. Notice Wil Myers is an off-the-charts defensive 1B, no errors so far. What a magnificent young player. Wil be Untouchable in future trade talks.
Padres fans have been debating the Wil Myers deal endlessly. Looks like: 1) the Padres stole Myers, 2) the Nationals got a good young pitcher and potential 2B/utility guy in Trea Turner from SD, and 3) the Rays got fleeced, receiving a 27-YO RF from the Nationals, who is having a career year hitting .255/.315/.443. Rays also reaped a few useless minor leaguers from a barren Padres system. Happened just after Joe Maddon & Andrew Friedman left Tampa.
Want a good laugh Padres fans? Go into the CWS forum, and read the comments on any James Shields start.
Shields shows improvement in steady start 6-23-16
White Sox fans: I just published a baseball piece on my site and laughingly referenced you at the end. It was intended as a compliment to your wittiness, clarity & direct style. I strongly prefer the NL, and truly appreciate being able to read your thoughts, clearly illustrating the hidden drama that runs this family franchise. It doesn’t take long to catch up, with the brutal honesty on this board. Jerry Reinsdorf ownership is family loyalty to the core, and they allow for too much incompetence & other bad stuff, most noticeably Hawk Harrelson broadcasting television. This nepotism & croynism poisons everything in the organization, leaving fans demoralized, over & over. Lifelong White Sox fans know this all-too-well.
This franchise goes back to Charles Comiskey, one of the most reviled owners of the Jim Crow baseball era. Reinsdorf is the last hardliner, old-school owner of the modern MLB era. He deserves credit for being willing to spend money when he believes his team has a chance, but gets demerits for consistent poor judgment in his selections for front office management & scouting. The CWS 2005 World Series is proof that even a blind squirrel can find an acorn, and flags fly forever, but it looks increasingly unlikely to happen again in Reinsdorf’s lifetime.
Buddy Bell, Rick Hahn & Kenny Williams all need to go at once if the CWS are to move forward. If anyone in that organization had even lurked into the Padres forum, they would have had all the information they needed to determine that James Shields was collapsing, meaning it was public knowledge. The White Sox are behind in every facet of their organization, and anyone brought in will need at least 5 years of serious ownership commitment in scouting, drafting, player development, advanced metrics and injury diagnosis & prevention, etc… just to catch up.
Obviously new management will want a new field manager in the end, but until then, Robin Ventura deserves some consideration & respect for what he’s had to work with. Questionable decisions on his part? Yes. But this entire mess, his fault? Not even close. Always hold ownership & front management accountable first in everything.
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