Monday, May 12, 2008

Today's Game

I'm not going to make a habit of writing a preview (or wrap up) of every game we play, but I couldn't resist mentioning something about today's game in Chicago.

Due to the rain out yesterday for the Cubs, Carlos Zambrano has been pushed back and will pitch today. He was the one starter we were supposed to miss in our four game series. I'm not here to whine about that - we still need to do our job and not worry about who is on the mound. The reason I bring it up is because of this: http://youtube.com/watch?v=NDZPN0mjaAA. Stinkin' hilarious.

I think there are five of these, including ones with Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, and Brad Hawpe. I don't know if being in a few youtube videos qualifies someone for a Webby, but Ron Stilanovich would get my vote. He might be the best baseball coach in film since Matthau as Buttermaker.

22 comments:

notsellingjeans said...

That link prompted me to watch the entire Hardball Made Easy series. Terrific stuff Paul.

Laenani said...

This is great insight. It is fantastic to be able to get an insider's perspective without the politics. I wish this had happened a long time ago.

bullpeners said...

Paul-
Great stuff. I am not sure our guys would want to get hit quite that much to get on base today. But one or two would be okay, then a couple hits.
A question- if Brewers don't take Crabbe back what do we have to do to hold on to him? He is unpolished but I like his makeup. With a little work he might be a great utility guy. Also, congratulations to Edgar on his callup. I was surprised when he got sent down so early in the spring. He seemed to have a great bat. Adrian must be thrilled!

Anonymous said...

Those video's were amazing, goes up there with Tom emanski's Gems.

Sucks that you have to Face Big Z, 4-1, 1.94ERA, 46IP, 45SO Lifetime against SD(Yikes)
Hopefully Greene's out of his funk and his him hard.

Howard Lynch said...

Seeing laenani's comment about "insider's perspective" reminded me that Baseball Prospectus and the Padres had events (which they called "Pizza Feed" because many previous/similar events were held in a pizza joint) in 2004 and 2005 and 2006 at which FO folks (ex. Kevin Towers in 2005 and Sandy Alderson in 2006) spoke and took questions ... do you know if any similar events will be held in 2008?

The previous events were *fantastic*.

Alan K. Hull said...

Looking at the Padre's roster and upper-minors, there doesn't seem to be too much to get excited about, certainly to contend with the Dodgers and D-Backs this season, much less in the next few years.

At what point will the Padre's front office just decide to rebuild? Is rebuilding less of an option due to the implications it will have on ticket sales?

Paul DePodesta said...

We had an event with the local SABR group during our fan fest this past winter. I am sure we'll continue to host such events here at the ballpark.

Paul DePodesta said...

Alan,

We feel much differently about our farm system. In the past, our system has been subpar, which was reflected in our ranking in Baseball America (between 25th and 29th from 2004-2007). However, due to some increased investment and unbelievable work by Grady Fuson (VP Scouting & Development), Chief Gayton (Scouting Director), and all of our scouts, we went from 29th in the rankings in 2007 to 12th in 2008. We believe that ranking will only go higher in 2009 if we don't graduate too many of our young players to the big leagues in the meantime.

Though we're admittedly behind some of the other teams in our division who have developed young players in the past five years or so, OUR wave is on the verge of arriving in San Diego. The next number of years (including this one - it's still early) should be exciting for the Pads and our fans as these kids add to the core of young players we already have - Gonzalez, Kouzmanoff, Peavy, Young, etc.

Future posts will definitely be dedicated to this subject.

Unknown said...

hey paul i was wondering when and if will we see venable up in the majors? i think that guy has a lot of potential

Anonymous said...

A DePodesta blog should = win.

I'll definitely be checking in here often.

D4P said...

Paul - I wonder if you can provide a little insight into the new-fangled measures you've helped create to evaluate performance.

I don't expect you to give away your trade secrets, but I wonder if you could answer the following question:

Do the measures you've helped create simply involve new combinations of outcomes that people already count (e.g. hits, walks, etc.), or do you actually count things that people have not counted before?

FriarFan said...

That had me on the floor in a puddle of tears...great find Mr. Depodesta.

Look...it's been a tough year, but I have a lot of hope for the remainder of this season and next. You guys in the FO are doing a fantastic job, IMHO!!

Schlom said...

I was just curious on how involved the front office is in personnel decision on the field? I assume that you don't tell Bud who to play but do you even make suggestions on who you want to play -- Hairston over McAnulty (or vice-versa), play Huber more, etc.?

Tom said...

The Padres have followed the bat first - position second model of drafting. But Petco seems like a park that might punish that method, so much so that the bat loses some (certainly not all) importance relative to defensive ability and athleticism. I know we have to play 81 on the road, too, but are there any plans to look for premium OF talent in the draft?

On another point, if we submit a post and the moderator denies it (too long, too confrontational, etc.), is there a method to make us aware of it so we don't repeat those mistakes?

Paul DePodesta said...

I am the moderator, so it only has to get past me (this is not an official Padres anything - it's just me). So far the only ones I haven't published have been ones asking me or commenting about my career. Everything else is being published.

Unknown said...

Hey Paul, money gets ballplayers, not calculators. Tell that to your bosses Sandy Alderson and John Moores. Maybe the next time a centerfielder like Torii Hunter is on the free agent market, you guys will understand that and not make a trade to get some geriatric, has-been player like Jim Edmonds.

Nice job. Now on top of paying $9 for beer, I have to watch this quality product. I'd rather go bankrupt paying for Chargers tickets; at least that front office knows how to build a team, be honest to its fanbase, and set its sights on a world - not division - championship. Boy if they leave town, leaving me to watching the Padres swim in a pool of mediocrity every summer, I'm going to be very upset.

Anonymous said...

No reason for you to whine since you don't personally face the pitchers, but -- not that we'll ever see emotion out of him -- Khalil could certainly be justified doing so noting that he's faced the hardest pitching among MLB shortstops this season (per Baseball Prospectus). Funny enough, he's also the Padre that would be nice to see turn into a pitch every now and then.

Melinda said...

In another post, I would leave to hear how your organization values defense, and specifically how you make roster decisions based on getting a good balance of defense and hitting.

The Padres have a great defensive ball club, so you must be doing something right.

Matthew Hartman said...

Paul,

I share the sentiment of many others here, apparently... Why not call up Chase Headley?

He's got the discipline to be a Jay Bruce or Matt LaPorta, and hey, look at who is now atop Baseball America's Prospect Hot-List!

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/prospect-hot-sheet/2008/266053.html

I'm a Cubs fan, myself, but I love seeing young talent in the Majors - and you guys could really use him.

It would sure help me in my Keeper League, as well. Do a guy a favor! hah!

Great idea on the blog, Paul... You just need to talk Jim Hendry into doing the same!

joeyp said...

Paul
Why wasn't Milton Bradley brought back? It seems like he could really be helping our offense right now... he has an OPS of .975.

Floyd said...

Good stuff. Looking forward to reading your blog.

Anonymous said...

I know the Pads have an opening in the OF and Headley is the "Savior" but please don't compare him to Jay Bruce or Matt Laporta.

Bruce-131AB,6HR, 27RBI
.328BA, .565SLG, .924OPS

Headley-136AB, 3HR, 15RBI
.294BA, .441SLG, .809OPS

LaPorta-128AB, 10HR, 38RBI
.328BA, .672SLG, 1.104OPS

Headley is nice, but nowhere near Bruce or Laporta IMO.