Thursday, May 15, 2008

Check Back Tomorrow

Check back in tomorrow, as I'll have a new post concerning the question of the relative importance of power, speed, and defense at Petco.

In the meantime, two quick guidelines that I probably should have mentioned upfront:

1) Per MLB rules, I am not able to discuss players from other teams. Therefore, if you ask me about trade rumors or what I think of other players, etc, I can't answer.
2) There have been a lot of questions regarding my time at the Dodgers that I haven't published. I am simply not permitted to speak about anything relating to the Dodgers. Sorry. I didn't want you thinking that I was blowing off all of those questions.

I hate losing day games.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is there any chance you could touch on what you guys saw in Shawn Estes that warranted signing him?

He hasn't had an ERA+ better than 92 since 2001. Is the belief that an ERA+ of around 90 is valuable or that Estes is likely to perform better than that?

Matt Birnbach said...

hey Paul, awesome blog, big fan

what's your take on all these teams locking up their young stars to longterm deals (ala Hanley, Kazmir, Longoria, Braun, etc)

Unknown said...

Paul - what was the reasoning for getting Kouzmanoff? He has power, but he walks less than anyone on the planet, which goes against the grain of the Moneyball approach.

Also, why is Antonelli struggling so much, though his BB/K numbers are very good.

Appreciate the insight.

Daniel said...

Does "other players" include Mr. Bonds?

Anonymous said...

The problem with the park is its is just too extreme. games are boring and it is going to be impossible to sign the big hitters of the game. fans like me dont want to go to games because we know its going to be a 1-0 2-1 type of game and to me thats entertaining once in a while.

im sure you are aware of these stats but the padres were 30th in runs, 30th in hits, 26th in doubles, 22nd in homers, 30th in BA, 30th in OBP, 29th in SLG, 30th in OPS, 2nd in SO, and 25 in XBH's at petco last year while we were 1st in XBH's and doubles at home, 6th in runs, 2nd in homers, 6th in SLG and 8th in OPS.

how can you explain the padres Striking out 592 times away and 637 at home yet they had 102 more AB's away.

the park is in the heads of the players and it always has. adrian has said publicly that its in his head. so were wont be resigning him as he enters his prime. nor will we sign anyone else who can hit any time soon unless they plan to move in at least the right field wall.

i think the park is the biggest problem we have right now. we have been playing like garbage, but i still think we have alot of talent on this team and alot of these guys are underachieving. is it the ballpark? i think its a big reason and something needs to be done. the ball doesnt carry their and the dimensions are ridiculous.

bullpeners said...

Paul-
Thanks for the explanation on your constraints.
As you may have noticed from the comments on your blog, many modern day fans are not just fans. Some are students of the game and study stats and follow teams with an intensity not seen before the internet age. As a result we are more educated than the average fan, especially regarding the minor league teams and players
If, in the next few weeks, the season appears lost I vote for promoting some of our young prospects and let us see what they have. Just wanted to go on record with that request. I am hoping it won't be called for and the guys turn this around.
None of us want to give up on this season because we have been spoiled the last few years and winning is a lot more fun. Thanks for listening.

Anonymous said...

briankoke@hotmail.com, strikeouts are affected by park and PetCo Park in particular is the most strikeout friendly park in the Majors.

Your Padres said...

I hate losing day games.

i do too.
Dinner doesn't taste the same.

Cpt Top Off said...

Paul, what are the chances the team attempts to deal Kouzmanoff this calendar year? It would afford Chase Headley the opportunity to play his natural position and strengthen the club's defense. I know you guys like to declare Kouz a capable defender, but we aren't buying it. The guy is a butcher.

Unknown said...

Paul - any reason why Kahlil is historically a slow starter? Any thought to him playing more in spring training or winter ball so he doesnt lose the production he typically has in August / September?

shwing! and a miss said...

" briankoke@hotmail.com said...
fans like me dont want to go to games because we know its going to be a 1-0 2-1 type of game and to me thats entertaining once in a while."

Brian- this quote means you are not a fan at all.

and how can you think that strikeouts have anything to do with the where the game is being played?!

There are many other errors in your post including that Adrian won't be singed in his prime. They already singed him to an extension.

omnired said...

"this may be a dumb question" but how do ballpark factors impact strikeouts?

Anonymous said...

swing and a miss. so because i want to see some runs im not a fan?

i am a die hard padres fan. im not one of the people calling the talk show complaining about the team and giving up. the one gripe i have is the ballpark.

ballparks dont affect strikeouts? look at the numbers buddy. stats dont lie. when players think they need to swing harder to get the ball out and end up striking out. thats a product of the parks dimensions.

my point about adrian is that i dont think that he has reached his full potential "prime" and just as he is coming into his own he will be a free agent when he is 30 which is when alot of players have their best years. late 20's early 30's.