Joltin' Jaff?

Well, it appears that 2008 first-round prospect Jaff Decker is the Friars’ choice to replace OF Carlos Quentin, who was placed on the 15-day DL (retroactive to July 31).  If you were to base his abilities on first impressions, his first start Aug. 11 at Cincinnati, left a lot to be desired. He had nothing to show for that start, going 0-3, popping up to third, lining out to left, and then right field.

In his previous call-up this year, both pitch-hitting opportunities, he also had little to show for his “cup of coffee.” On June 20, he pinch-hit for Luke Gregerson in the 8th inning, drawing a walk in his only appearance. The next night, he pinch-hit for Tyson Ross in the 7th inning, reaching base on a Brandon League error and eventually scoring on a Chris Denorfia sacrifice fly.

Last, night, however, in a 14-2 shellacking by Colorado in the mile-high city, Dacker collected his first Padre hit, home run and RBI. He singled to left in the 5th inning for his first hit, and then in the top of the 7th, he hit a solo homer to right off starter Jhoulys Chacin, ending the night .
Is Decker the answer for Quentin, who should be available to return later this week? It’s hard to tell. While he hit .293 with 23 doubles, one triple, nine homers and 38 RBIs at Tucson, it's too small of a sampling to project how well he'll do. After all, what's to say he won't get sent back down once Quentin's healthy enough to return?

By the same token, with all the Padres injuries – LF Kyle Blanks (Achilles tendinitis), CF Cameron Maybin (left knee) and Quentin – Decker may get all the opportunity he needs.

Padres prospects doing well

For some time now, I’ve gotten the Baseball America Prospect Report delivered to my e-mail inbox. It’s a pretty handy service, which gives you a daily highlight of each organization’s minor league players. They’re listed alphabetically by their parent clubs, with hitters listed first, followed by pitchers, so you do have to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Any way you cut it, it’s a great way to keep track of Padres prospects.
For example, Tuesday, Aug. 6’s report includes the stats for RF Jaff Decker and pitchers Keyvius Sampson and Brad Boxberger. The stats represent the games from Monday Aug. 4 – Tucson playing at Nashville (AAA) and the San Antonio Missions playing at the Frisco Roughriders (AA)
Team   Class    Player, Pos                AB    R   H     BI    AVG

SD       AAA    Decker, Jaff, RF         5      2    3      1      .292      2B (23), CS (6)

 

Despite an 8-5 loss, Decker led off the game with a single (and was abruptly caught stealing), adding another single and a ground-rule double, good for his 38^th RBI of the season. A Padres’ first round pick in the 2008 draft, Dacker was only able to play 47 games at AA last season, due to plantar fasciitis. At 23 years of age, he’s one of those frustrating Padres prospects who can show flashes of potential and then play so mind-numbingly bland. He actually earned a call-up to San Diego this season after Everth Cabrera pulled his hammy, earning a hit in two at-bats.

Team   Class    Pitcher                     IP     H   R    ER    BB    K    ERA

SD       AA       Sampson, Keyvius   7      4    0      0       1      6      2.26 W (10-4) Prospect Pitcher/Day

SD       AAA    Boxberger, Brad      2      0    0       0      0      5      3.33

 

Selected by the Padres in the fourth round of the 2009 Draft out of Ocala Forest (Fla.) High School, Sampson defeated the Roughriders, 1-0 in a Texas League tilt. He threw 92 pitches (63 for strikes), while facing 25 batters. Austin Hedges’ two-out RBI in the top of the 2^nd would be all the offense Sampson would need.

Sampson continues to be one of San Diego’s hottest pitchers – whether it’s the minor or majors. Since June, all the 22-year old righty has done, is record 82 strikeouts in 72.2 innings, good for a 1.86 ERA.  

Meanwhile in Nashville, Boxberger threw two scoreless innings in relief of starter Anthony Bass. One of the two pitchers acquired in the Latos trade, the former USC pitcher had his A-game going, throwing a total of 84 pitches (56 for strikes). Five of the six batters he faced struck out, while Nashville’s Eugenio Velez grounded out to third.

What will tomorrow bring in the Padres’ minor league system? I’m not sure, but I’m positive I’ll find it my e-mail.

Getting ready for the Yankees

Petco will be packed this weekend, as the Padres play host to the New York Yankees for the second time during the regular season. Excepting the four game rout of the 1998 World Series, the Padres and Yankees have only faced off nine times, with the New Yorkers holding a 7-2 edge in wins, including two shutouts.

The Padres last hosted New York in June 2002, where they lost two-out-of-three games.

It’s interesting to realize the amount of players the Padres and Yankees have shared over the years. Of course, I’m not talking about the many trades, such as Jay Johnstone coming to San Diego for Dave Wehrmeister (1979), or Jim Leyritz being traded to New York for Geraldo Padua (1999).

I’m talking about the players who’ve truly made an impact for both of these teams.

Bursting onto the San Diego major league roster 12 days after becoming the Padres’ first-round draft pick, Minnesotan Dave Winfield proved to be a Padres workhorse. A four-time Padres All-Star selection, as well as a two-time Gold Glove winner, he hit 34 home runs with 118 RBIs in 1979 as captain. After an eight-year career with the Padres, Winfield was granted free agency.

New York came calling with a wad of cash and the former collegiate pitcher signed for a whopping $23 million. Roaming the Yankees outfield from 1981-90, he was named to the All-Star game eight-time more times and earned another five Silver Slugger and Golden Glove awards. He hit .290 as a Yankee, with 205 home runs and 818 RBIs.

All Goose Gossage did during his seven year stint with the Yankees, is tally 42 wins, 151 saves and a 2.14 ERA, to say nothing of 512 Ks and 185 BBs. A six-year, $2.75 million free agent signee from Pittsburgh in 1977, he played in four All-Star games and won the Relief Man Award in 1978.

He signed with San Diego in January 1984, after being granted free agency in November 1983 from the Yankees. His ‘Fu was even more awesome in the Padres orange and yellow. In his initial Padres season, he went 10-6 with a .290 ERA and 25 saves, including the last out of 1984 NLCS against the Cubs. He also earned the All-Star nod in 1984 and 1985 and was 25-20, with a 2.99 ERA and 243 strikeouts as a Padre

Need some Goose Gossage trivia? Who struck out Pete Rose in the Reds player’s final at-bat?

Ding, ding, ding! It was Goose Gossage, on Aug. 17, 1986. Player/Manager Pete Rose stepped in to pinch hit for Cincinnati P Rob Robinson in the ninth inning. The Padres won 9-5.

And of course, there was Jerry Coleman, who played infield for the Yankees from 1949-1957, enroute to winning four championships.  Among his baseball awards were Rookie of Year (1949), All-Star (1950), and World Series MVP (1950). A Marine Corps pilot, he was the only major leaguer to see combat in both World War II and Korea, flying 120 missions and earning the Distinguished Flying Cross twice.

Following a Yankees broadcasting career (1963-70) and a couple of years with the Angels, he’s served as the Padres radio voice since 1972. In 1980, he moved from the airwaves to the dugout, where he managed the Padres to a 73-89 record.

There’s other players, of course – Boomer Wells and Sterling Hitchcock readily come to mind – but I think I’ll stick with these three.

In the meantime, let’s see if Ian Kennedy is worth a win over the Bronx Bombers.

I can't believe we traded Stites!

Despite all the whining about the Padres front office standing pat during the off-season, this year’s trading deadline saw the Friars get starting pitching, at the cost of RP Joe Thatcher, Minor League RP Matt Stites and a 2014 Competitive Balance Round B Draft pick to Arizona.

In return, they got SP Ian Kennedy from Arizona in one of the few trades that actually went down during Wednesday's trading deadline.

It'll be interesting to see what Kennedy can actually do for San Diego. While he finished fourth to Clayton Kershaw in the 2011 Cy Young vote, he hasn’t been the same pitcher since, going 18-20, with a 4.47 ERA. Of course, he could possibly turn it all around, thanks to “a change of scenery” and the fact that Petco’s still considered a pitcher’s park.

There's no doubt San Diego needs starting pitching. Andrew Cashner (maybe), Jason Marquis (before his injury), who do we have that you'd consider a Number 1 or 2 pitcher? 

 

I won't miss Thatcher, 3-1 2.10 ERA in 50 games this season. He became a Padre following a 2007 trade with the Brewers in a trade that also brought Will Inman and Steve Garrison to San Diego, in return for relief pitcher Scott Linebrink.  But Stite, a 17th round pick from the University of Missouri in in 2011, was a very promising, up-and-coming player.

 

 

Despite all the good, young arms in the Padres system, just how promising was this 22-year old reliever? In his three seasons within the Padres minor league system, he was 8-2, with a 1.53 ERA in 114 games. He also notched 32 saves, with 150 K’s and 19 BB’s, in 135.1 innings pitched.

 

With Stites, Arizona is getting temporarily damaged goods.  It’s more than likely his 2013 season is over, after recently undergoing an appendectomy. He sported a flashy 2-2 record with Double-A San Antonio, as well as a 2.08 ERA and 14 saves.

 

However, for many San Diego fans, a trade is much better than just standing pat. Despite the fact they didn’t even get a whiff of that “big bat,” everyone's been demanding, it remains to be seen how this trade actually pans out for the Padres.

Who was shortest catcher in Padres history?

Here's a trivia question for you...Who was the shortest catcher in San Diego history?

On  this date, July 30, 1998, C Carlos Hernandez cracked a pinch-hit, two-run double with two outs in the top of the 10th inning to allow the Padres to salvage the finale of their three-game set with the Mets, 3-1.
 

The card on the left, his 1998 Collector's Choice, shows him in full catching regalia, tracking down a pop fly. To the right, is his 1999 Upper Deck MVP card, showing what he could do at the plate, .

The 1998 season got off to a good start for Hernandez, as he rapped a game-tying, two-run homer in the ninth inning of the Padres home opener against the Reds. They would go on to beat Cincinnati 3-2 in 10 innings. Hernandez, meanwhile, would go on to hit career homers (9) and RBIs (52) with the Padres that season.

While Carlos was known primarily as a defensive specialist, he proved to have a surprising amount of pop in his bat, after the Padres signed him away from the Dodgers in 1997.  That pop proved helpful as the Friars went on to win the National League pennant that year. He was also Trevor Hoffman's battery mate in the final game of the 1998 NLCS, a 5-0 win over the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field.

Catching is my favorite position, having played the position myself - and yes, I did have all the tools of ignorance. While I didn't have a great arm for throwing out base runners, I could catch anything thrown at me, nothing got past me, and I could absorb a hit from a runner coming home from third (You didn't have to avoid contact back in those days - you could plow into the catcher if you had the chance).

Was he one the Padres' best catchers? I don't think so, especially with a gentleman named Benito, who preceded Hernandez by a few years. As for me, Gene Tenace was one of my favorite backstops (and I feel often underrated) for San Diego.

Trivia answer -- It was actually a tie. Hernandez, as well as George Williams (who played six games for the Padres in 2000), both reached 5'10" after drawing themselves up to their full height..

The long and short of Tony Gwynn

 

In the mail this past week, I received a pair of Tony Gwynn figurines -- the first I've ever owned. The great news, is they only cost 99 cents each. And both picture Gwynn in blue Padres pinstripes.

 

The tall one was a 2004 stadium giveaway from Home Depot. Numbered 4,039/16,000, it stands 7 1/4-inch tall and shows Gwynn finding the sweet spot as he connects with the ball. It's a plasticine figurine, so I'd be scared to death of dropping it. The bat also unscrews for storage and shipping.

 

To me, it's a pretty close approximation to the 10-foot bronze statue of Tony Gwynn dedicated at Petco's Park at the Park in April 2007. A little more than two weeks later, he would be inducted, along with Cal Ripken, Jr., into the baseball hall of fame. For those of you who may be curious, that's my wife and I during our 2007 visit to San Diego, after we saw Chris Young and the Padres beat the Giants 1-0.

 

 

The other statue is the 1997 Corinthian Headliners Tony Gwynn. It stands only 3 1/4-inches tall, made of plastic, with a removable hat. This series, consisting of 34 figures, was produced by Corinthian Marketing and sold through mass market retail outlets at a suggested retail price of $3.99.

 

Needless to say, there was a fair bit of difference in shipping the two items. The larger Gwynn cost almost $13 in shipping, as it came in a larger box. The Corinthian Gwynn arrived in a simple padded envelope.

 

The art of card inventory

One of the first things I do whenever I get new cards, is immediately rush to my computer and begin logging them in. That may seem a bit geeky, but to me, organization is everything.

I have more than 12.000 baseball cards inventoried (not including my Padres cards, which reside within their own inventory system). Hockey cards are my only other vice, and I have more than 27,000 cards organized within a neat little Microsoft Excel file.

Whether its hockey, or baseball, if I’m looking for a specific set, all I have to do is type in that set and VIOLA, there they are. Same thing with individual cards -- whether they're serial numbered cards, RC’s, SP’s, a specific player, or specific team – all it takes is a keystroke and I have all that information readily available at my fingertips.

Since I do a lot of trading, this information really comes in handy –whether I’m looking for specific cards, whether I already have them or not, and what I have available to offer them in trade.

Here, for example, is how I have my baseball cards inventoried.
 

Qty	Last	First	Team	Brand	Year	Card #	Type	Value
1	Barney	Darwin	Cubs	Topps Heritage	2011	276	RC	3.00
1	Barton	Daric	A’s	Topps Allen & Ginter Mini	2010	302	SP
1	Baumgarner	Madison	Giants	Topps Gypsy Queen Mini	2012	45
1	Bautista	Jose	Jays	Topps 60	2011	53

 
The first column is always the quantity of that specific card, followed by the player’s last and first name. The fourth column is his team, and the brand and set of the card, as well as the year it was released. The seventh column contains the card number, with Type being RC, SP, or serial number. Value is the value of the card, since this is handy in trading, as well as for insurance purposes.

As I stated earlier, my Padres cards are held within a completely different, separate inventory. Here’s an example of just a few of my Steve Garvey cards.
 

Garvey, Steve, 1B, (1983-87)

Qty	Copies	Year	Set	No.	Type	#/#	Note	Price
1		1984	Nestle Dream Team	12				1.00
1		1984	OPC	380				0.25
1	1	1985	Padres Mothers	6				1.00

 
I have a worksheet for each letter of the alphabet, where each Padres player is listed by last name, first, position, and the years they played for San Diego. If they've never made it to the Bigs, “Minor Leaguer” is listed within the year.

I list the quantity in the first column and the number of extra copies in the next. The third column consists of the year, followed by the set and card number. Column #6 is Type – again, that’s RC, Auto, SP, or S/N. #/# is for the serial number/print run and Note is for any other notes, such as the reason a card may be an uncorrected error (UER), or any other such note. The final column, again, is nice to have for insurance, and to know what your general collection is worth.

When I'm done, I then put the cards into a 5,000 count box -- each player has a slot with their last and first name and that's where their card resides.

 Believe it or not, inventorying the cards is the easy part. The hard part is taking the time to put the cards into their respective slots. I can inventory a bunch of cards in a matter of minutes, but then it takes about a half hour to an hour to put them into the box, since I usually sort them alphabetically and then place them into the box.

In any case, that's how I sort my cards. I feel it's an efficient way of organizing my collection so I know exactly what cards I have at any specific time. Plus, it's neat to go through the box every now and then and feel, see and review all my Padres cards.

Do you inventory your cards, and if so, how do you do it?