San Diego Padres

San Diego Spotlight

ALL
OUTSIDER

FB365's Morning Drive 7/3/09

By Charlie Saponara | July 3, 2009 | Fantasy Baseball 365

In Cincinnati, Chris Dickerson is making a case for the full time centerfield job. As Willy Taveras continues not to get on base (NOT A SINGLE WALK IN THE MONTH OF JUNE!!) Dickerson finds himself with a respectable .288 AVG and .389 OBP. He's not doing much with regards to power or stolen bases, but if by chance Dusty Baker decides to bat him leadoff because, deep breath, HE ACTUALLY GETS ON BASE, then he could see a slight rise in value for NL-only and deep mixed leagues. Francisco Rodriguez blew the save, his third in 10 days. Nothing new here. Frankie has averaged 5.5 blown saves per season since becoming a full time closer, which is about the norm. This is what I worried about with Kevin Correia. His fastball velocity was back a little yesterday, but not where it was during is hot streak. You can see from the chart below (via fangraphs.com) the upward trend in Correia's average velocity and how it dropped significantly his last outing. Yesterday's outing is represented with the red dot, which indicates an average fastball velocity of just over 91 mph. A.J. Happ is becoming an interesting starter to watch. Since converting to a full time starter he has shown a nice progression in K/BB rate. Also, Happ's velocity is showing signs of progression as well. He's currently owned in only 37% of Yahoo! Leagues. Franklin Gutierrez stays hot. He hit .304 with 4 homers and 3 stolen bases in June. Pitchers are not giving anything to Albert Pujols and he'll take his walks all day long. The beneficiary? Ryan Ludwick. It's been a struggle this season with healthy and a prolonged slump, but he has 7 hits in his last 5 games and 3 RBI in his last 2 games with Pujols getting on in front of him. Derrek Lee didn't just hit 2 homeruns last night. He hit 2 pure bombs last night. One was a grand slam and Lee collected 7 RBI on the night. Lee hit .333 and slugged .973 in June. Will there be a place for Jake Fox to play once A-Ram returns from the DL? I think I'm done betting against Mark Buehrle....

Read more | Discuss | Tags: A.J. Happ, Albert Pujols, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chris Dickerson, Cincinnati Reds, Derrek Lee, Fantasy, Fantasy Baseball, Francisco Rodriguez, Franklin Gutierrez, Kevin Correia, Mark Buehrle, MLB, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Ryan Ludwick, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, Willy Taveras

Home Run Trot's June All-Star Team: Pitchers

By Jonathan Etkowicz | July 3, 2009 | MLB Notebook

Choosing the pitchers for June's team was just as tough as making some of the decisions for the position players. Some of the players below, like Zack Greinke and Jason Frasor, are making their third straight appearance on the team. Others, like Josh Johnson, are making the team for the first time. Take a look and leave your comments. I think it's a great pitching staff. *Stats as of 7 PM EST July 2STARTERS:SP: Zack Greinke, Kansas CityYes, Greinke had a tough June going 2-2 with a 4.05 ERA and .290 batting average against. Yet he still leads all starters...

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Andrew Bailey, Boston Red Sox, Florida Marlins, Francisco Rodriguez, Heath Bell, Home Run Trot All-Stars, Jason Frasor, Jonathan Broxton, Josh Johnson, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Dodgers, Matt Cain, MLB, New York Mets, Oakland Athletics, Ramon Ramirez, Ramon Troncoso, Roy Halladay, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Tim Lincecum, Toronto Blue Jays, Zack Greinke

What's the Point

By Got to be SD | July 2, 2009 | Community

I sat in my seat, head high, and I realized something was wrong. Why was my head high? I just watched another disappointing baseball game come to a close. Somewhere in the 6th inning, when most of the other "fans"...

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Clippers, MLB, Padres, Peavy, Petco Park, San Diego

What's the Point?

By Got to be SD | July 2, 2009 | Community

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Clippers, MLB, Padres, Peavy, Petco Park, San Diego

What's the Point?

By Got to be SD | July 2, 2009 | Community

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Clippers, MLB, Padres, Peavy, Petco Park, San Diego

FB365's Morning Drive 7/2/09

By Charlie Saponara | July 2, 2009 | Fantasy Baseball 365

Jordan Zimmermann is getting a lot of fantasy love lately. I was on this guy in late April. He out-pitched Josh Johnson yesterday. Cody Ross hit his 14th bomb of the season of newly acquired Sean Burnett. Ross is slugging .633 vs. left handed pitching this season. Josh Johnson left the game after only 3.1 innings. No injury, just a rain delay and 4 walks to go with a rising pitch count. Ricky Romero continues to impress. He's stranding over 85% of runners and his FIP is a run higher than his ERA before his start yesterday. Walks and the AL East are my concerns, but he's definitely a guy worth rostering right now. He's only owned in 33% of Yahoo! leagues. Brad Bergesen impressed against the Red Sox. He's not going to strikeout a ton of guys, but he's keeping the ball on the ground and keeping the walks to a minimum. His next start comes against the Mariners. If you need a spot start, he's worth another go. Yovani Gallardo struck out a career high 12 in 7 IP against the Mets. If Gallardo can reduce his walk rate, he's basically Lincecum light. Gil Meche, coming off a "dead arm" period, threw 121 pitches in only 6 innings. His arm looked fine with a fastball sitting in the mid 90's, but minor injuries have been an issue this season. If I'm A Meche owner (or a Royals fan) I'm not happy about the pitch count at all. Billy Butler, 4-4, continues to outperform James Loney, but it seems no one is paying attention. Jason Hammel has been pitching well for the Rockies lately. He's not quite the ground ball pitcher Aaron Cooks is, but he is getting enough groundballs and limiting walks to be an NL-only add. Troy Tulowitzki got cold just as fast as he got hot two weeks ago. I think he'll finish with an AVG around .270. Jimmy Rollins took another o'fer, but so did most of the Phillies against Jair Jurjjens who only allowed 1 hit. Justin Verlander was touched up last night. That makes two less than spectacular starts in a row. I'm not reading much into it. Jose Contreras has struck out 8 batters in 3 of his last 4 starts. Randy Wells pitched well again and got his third straight win. I'd start him again at home vs the Braves in his next start. Johnny Cueto brought back the strikeout last night against the D-Backs. Of course the D-Backs are second only to the Marlins in team strikeouts. Kevin Millwood and Jered Weaver squared off in a battle of the "sell highs". Neither faired particularly well and neither are likely to repeat their first half numbers in the second half. Nelson Cruz left with a back injury. It didn't sound serious, but I never like to hear about back problems. Keep an eye on the situation. Albert Pujols did not hit a homerun, but he did go 2-2 with a stolen...

Read more | 2 Comments | Tags: Adam Wainwright, Adrian Gonzalez, Albert Pujols, Baltimore Orioles, Billy Butler, Brad Bergesen, Cincinnati Reds, Cody Ross, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers, Fantasy, Fantasy Baseball, Florida Marlins, Gil Meche, Jason Hammel, Jered Weaver, Jimmy Rollins, Johnny Cueto, Jordan Zimmermann, Josh Johnson, Justin Verlander, Kansas City Royals, Kevin Millwood, Los Angeles Angels, Matt Cain, Milwaukee Brewers, MLB, Nelson Cruz, Philadelphia Phillies, Ricky Romero, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, Troy Tulowitzki, Washington Nationals, Yovani Gallardo

Thursday's Games of the Day

By Jonathan Etkowicz | July 2, 2009 | MLB Notebook

Thursday brings us another short schedule with only nine games scheduled. Thursday is still filled with good games. The Mets and Pirates finish a series that began in June. Houston and San Diego face off in a matchup of teams just out of last place in their divisions. The Phillies look to beat the Braves and stay in first in the NL East. And the Brewers and Cubs renew their rivalry. Those games and more can be found below. New York Mets at Pittsburgh: This game is a makeup of the June 3 game that was postponed. If Paul Maholm and...

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Adam LaRoche, Adrian Gonzalez, Albert Pujols, Atlanta Braves, Barry Zito, Bruce Chen, Carlos Beltran, CC Sabathia, Chase Utley, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Games of the Day, Houston Astros, Ichiro Suzuki, J.J. Hardy, JA Happ, Jason Vargas, Javier Vazquez, Kansas City Royals, Mark Buehrle, Milwaukee Brewers, MLB, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Paul Maholm, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Ryan Dempster, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, Tim Redding, Wandy Rodriguez

Fantasy Links of the Day

By Jonathan Etkowicz | July 1, 2009 | MLB Notebook

Plenty of good links can be found in the Links tonight. I think for the first time, I've found conflicting reports on a pitcher. That pitcher would be Gio Gonzalez. For those of you whose teams are injury-riddled, Stephania Bell's Injury Blog discusses the big injuries of the week and KFFL talks about injuries by position. Closer Links:Relief Efforts discusses Chris Perez's chances to be Cleveland's closer. Eric Karabell has some bad news for those of you who rushed to your league's waiver wire to get Perez after the Indians traded for him. Some very good prospect links can be...

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Adrian Gonzalez, Andrew Bailey, Carlos Beltran, Chris Perez, Cleveland Indians, Daily Notes, Detroit Tigers, Emilio Bonifacio, Fantasy, Fantasy 411, Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Links of the Day, Florida Marlins, Gio Gonzalez, Hanley Ramirez, Homer Bailey, Madison Bumgarner, New York Mets, Oakland Athletics, Placido Polanco, San Diego Padres, Trevor Cahill, Virgil Vasquez

MLB Great Debates: Which Playoff Contender Needs a Trade to Stay in the Race?

By Staff Report | June 26, 2009 | MVN Outsider

MLB Outsider's Jaymes Langrehr and Kurt Evans debate the issue: Which contending team most needs to make a deal before the July 31 trade deadline in order to stay in the race? Jaymes Langrehr argues that the Brewers desperately need starting pitching:As we get closer to the trade deadline, a good number of teams are developing clear needs that need to be addressed if they're going to stay in playoff contention. Some teams will be able to cope with their weaknesses and still make the playoffs due to their other strengths. Other clubs will need to make a move if they have any chance at contending in the second half.The Milwaukee Brewers are a prime example. Heading into this season, they knew that their pitching wouldn't be as good as it was down the stretch last season. Given the strength of their offense, however, they figured to be in okay...Read more

Read more | 1 Comment | Tags: MLB

MLB Outsider - Who?

By Kurt Evans | June 22, 2009 | MVN Outsider

Everybody's heard of Alex Rodriguez. We all know who Johan Santana is. Lord knows we've all seen the towering homeruns of Albert Pujols. But as fascinating as those players are -- and it's usually a lot of fun to see somebody turn into a star and have a long, successful career -- there are a number of players in the '09 season who have put up heroic numbers... and yet most of us wouldn't be able to spot them in a crowd or even recognize their name in a discussion. Here's a short list of this year's surprises...The HittersPablo Sandoval - 22-years-old, the Giants rookie is batting .338 and is presently on pace to hit 50 doubles, 5 triples, 20 homeruns, and drive in 82 RBI. I'm sure that Giant fans everywhere know his name and are buying his poster, but outside of San Fran he's probably about as recognizable as...Read more

Read more | 1 Comment | Tags: Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Colorado Rockies, Florida Marlins, Minnesota Twins, MLB, MLB Outsider, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays

Fantasy Baseball: Replacing Jake Peavy

By Brad Berreman | June 18, 2009 | MVN Outsider

With the news that San Diego Padres' pitcher Jake Peavy could miss up to 12 weeks with a torn tendon in his right ankle, his fantasy owners will be without a proven ace that they likely used an early round pick on. Reports have even suggested that season-ending surgery is not out of the question for Peavy. In 13 starts so far this season, Peavy has a 6-6 record and a 3.97 ERA over 81.2 innings. He has shown his typical strikeout ability (10.1 K/9), while also showing the good control he has exhibited during his career (3.1 BB/9). Peavy has been the subject of trade rumors during last offseason and early this season, but with this injury he now seems unlikely to be dealt before the July 31 trade deadline. A move out of pitcher-friendly PETCO Park would most likely be bad for Peavy's fantasy value, so his injury could be a blessing in disguise for his keeper league owners if he is able...Read more

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Fantasy, Jake Peavy, MLB, San Diego Padres

MLB Top 10: No Clear Number One?

By Jaymes Langrehr | June 1, 2009 | MVN Outsider

The past few weeks, it's been pretty easy to pick out baseball's hottest teams -- we've seen ridiculously long win streaks, surges to the top of divisions, and outstanding performances catapult teams to the top of these rankings. This week, however, was a bit more difficult. Heading into Monday, no team had a win streak longer than three games. So who do you turn to in that case? How about baseball's best team to this point?1. Los Angeles Dodgers - 35-17Two things remain constant in LA -- the Dodgers are still hot, and Bill Plaschke is still outraged (OUTRAGED, I SAY!) that Manny Ramirez is allowed to disgrace the city...you have to wonder how he'll react if the Dodgers win the World Series with Manny's help once he returns. Will he demand that they hand the trophy back? They had a solid week, getting Clint Hurdle fired in Colorado after...Read more

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, MLB, MLB Outsider, MLB Top 10, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers

MLB Outsider - It's Not "Early" Anymore

By Kurt Evans | May 31, 2009 | MVN Outsider

June tends to be the month where the talented baseball teams separate from the pretenders. It's not that the playoff picture will suddenly become clear, but rather the mediocre teams will stop competing with the half dozen good teams vying for the four playoff spots available to each league. Two easy examples: in the AL East, we've already seen the Toronto Blue Jays, once invincible-looking, lose 9 straight as they plummeted to a 2nd place tie with Boston. In the AL Central the pesky Royals, who were once 18-11, have gone 5-14 since May 8th and will either be made or broken by the month of June.But rather than look at early team accomplishments that will ultimately mean nothing, we instead will focus in this article on individual feats. There's always that one guy who looks as if he might challenge for the homerun record, or for a .400 AVG,...Read more

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals, MLB, MLB Outsider, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays

MLB Crystal Ball: Padres Don't Have to Trade Peavy

By Jaymes Langrehr | May 27, 2009 | MVN Outsider

There were few teams more interesting than the San Diego Padres in the past week. First, they successfully agreed to a trade that would send ace Jake Peavy to the White Sox...only to have Peavy decide that he'd rather not pitch for a lunatic like Ozzie Guillen. Then, they stretch a small hot streak into a mammoth 10-game winning streak that finally ended last night in Arizona. Now, San Diego has some decisions to make.Do they continue to shop Jake Peavy, essentially waving the white flag for the season this early in the year? Or do they take a look at the other teams in the division, realize they could easily finish in second place, and try for a wildcard spot?It seems highly unlikely that San Diego could nab that wildcard spot, considering how competitive the other two division races in the National League are -- despite climbing up to...Read more

Read more | Discuss | Tags: MLB, MLB Crystal Ball, MLB Outsider, San Diego Padres

MLB Great Debates: The Ballpark Experience

By Staff Report | May 26, 2009 | MVN Outsider

MLB Outsider's Jaymes Langrehr and Kurt Evans debate the issue: Which experience is better, going to a Major League Baseball game or going to a minor-league one?Jaymes Langrehr says MLB's quality is top-notch:Where I grew up, I was about a three-hour drive east away from Milwaukee County Stadium, and a three-hour drive west away from the Metrodome. I was literally stuck in the middle of nowhere when it came to the MLB map, and looking back, I was definitely jealous of the kids who were able to spend their summers buying cheap Brewers tickets and move their way up to field level (because it's not like anyone was sitting in those seats, anyway). Still, the few major-league games that I was able to attend were incredible -- even though the home team almost always got crushed. Even when your team stinks, there's something special about a Major League game that...Read more

Read more | Discuss | Tags: MLB

MLB Top 10: Padres Come Up Big

By Jaymes Langrehr | May 25, 2009 | MVN Outsider

I said last week that baseball was a funny game -- any team can get hot for an extended period of time, as evidenced by the Rangers topping last week's Top 10 list. This past week, things got even stranger: both the Blue Jays and the Cubs are in the middle of horrific losing streaks, while the San Diego Padres of all teams are riding high with a 9-game winning streak. With that kind of winning streak, San Diego earns the top spot as this week's hottest team...who are the other nine? Why don't you keep reading?1. San Diego Padres (22-22)The Friars are so hot that the only loss they had in the past week was off the field, when Jake Peavy shot down a trade agreement with the Chicago White Sox. A nine-game winning streak certainly wasn't expected from this group, but they've been getting some very good pitching...Read more

Read more | 1 Comment | Tags: Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, MLB, MLB Outsider, MLB Top 10, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers

MVN: Most Valuable Network