Baseball's Future In San Diego

[Kevdog1020]

June 26, 2012

Hey all, I'm very happy with the team's recent performance, we just took 5 of 6 this week including 2 of 3 from the Mariners, who we struggled against in the first series of the season. We had some strong pitching performances, dynamite bullpen appearances and solid hitting (in spit of yesterdays RISP debacle). We're only trailing the Diamondbacks (currently in first in the NL West) by 6.5 games but are a dismal 16.5 games behind the Wild Card. Looks like our only shot at the playoffs will be to win the division.

We're sitting at 33-40 (.452) as the month of June is beginning to come to a close. We've got four games against the Astros and 3 against the Rockies (2 of them in June) before the dog days of summer start to get to us. We have 4 series' until the All-Star break, which is when I'll know whether we are contenders or pretenders and start to make moves to reload for next season, or retool for this season.

As far as the Astros are concerned, if we don't take at least 3 of these games against them, it is a failed series. I know that when you set your aspirations high, you are sometimes setting yourself up for disappointment but we are talking about the worst team in baseball right here (28-44). These are the games you have to win to climb back to .500.

On the injury front, I've brought back 2B Orlando Hudson and SP Joel Pineiro from their rehab assignments. To make room for them on the active roster, I had to designate RHP Christopher Leroux for assignment and demote Luke Gregorson. Maybe someone will take Orlando off of my hands though because we seem to be playing great without him.

Big series coming up, so I have to get some sleep. I'm excited for what the next few weeks are going to bring, but still being very cautious because we've seen Jeckyll and Hyde performances from this team year round.

[Kevdog1020]

June 26, 2012

The Padres and Reds pulled the trigger on a deal that will see 34-year-old second baseman Orlando Hudson and 28-year-old reliever Christopher Leroux head to Cincinnati in exchange for 37-year-old third baseman Scott Rolen and $5,500,000 in cash. A source close to San Diego officials said "The teams spent long hours coming to the agreement and in the end, both agreed the deal should help both clubs."

So far this year, Hudson has spent 2 stints on the disabled list. In the 24 games he's played, he hit .241 (21-87) with 0 HR, 6 RBI, 11 runs and 2 stolen bases. His on-base percentage was a low .323 and his $5.5 million contract was getting to be a burden on the San Diego roster when they could get the same production from low-cost players like IF Andrew Parrino or IF Wilson Valdez. Christopher Leroux was claimed off waivers a week and a half ago and was designated for assignment just a few short hours ago. He had a 5.68 ERA in 6.1 innings with the Padres and Pirates this season.

Scott Rolen is going to be able to provide some of the power and contact (including hitting with RISP in the middle of the order) that the Padres have been lacking this year. While his arrival brings a logjam at 3B (the Padres already have 3B Chase Headley), almost all of his contract ($5.5 million out of the 6.5 million he is scheduled to make) has been paid and Headley has agreed to move over to first base. The move sends young 1B Yonder Alonso back to the minors to hone his skills. He was hitting .245 with 4 HR and 14 RBI's with the Padres. Rolen is hitting .287 with 11 HR, 45 RBI's and 36 runs this season. His OBP/SLG/OPS numbers are .361/.479/.840.

[Kevdog1020]

Just want to apologize to you guys for not updating this thread. I moved into college on the 25th and there's a lot to do right now, meeting new people, settling in and going to meetings. Hopefully I'll be able to play soon but I don't expect to get many updates done over the next couple of days. Thanks for your patience.

[Kevdog1020]

June 26, 2012

Jerome Williams, making his 2nd spot start of the season, impressed the Padres coaching staff once again going 6 innings and allowing 3 runs and 9 hits while striking out 4. Williams was starting in place of SP Joel Pineiro, who was rehabbing his injured arm in Triple-A. Despite his success, Pineiro is likely to replace Williams in the rotation in his next start.

The Padres offense was solid, Chase Headley had an awesome game, going 3-5 with 1 HR, 2 RBI and 1 run. Cameron Maybin was 2-5 with 1 RBI and 1 run and Wilson Valdez was 2-4. Scott Rolen, who was making his Padres debut, was 1-4 with 1 run. Other contributors were Will Venable (1-3, 1 RBI) and Kyle Blanks (0-4, 1 RBI).

Game Notes: Brad Brach earned his 3rd save of the season after Tyler Clippard was unavailable due to fatigue...Jason Isringhausen and Alexi Ogando notched holds after pitching scoreless, 1-hit innings in the 7th and 8th.

[Kevdog1020]

June 27, 2012

It was a wild one at Minute Maid Park last night, the contest between the Astros and the Padres lasted a total of 4 hours and 44 minutes over which 15 innings were played. In fact, the first 5 and last 5 innings were relatively calm with the middle third becoming hectic.

Edinson Volquez and Jordan Lyles were both solid. Volquez pitched 5 innings and allowed 3 hits, 2 runs and 4 walks while striking out 4. Lyles went 7 innings and allowed 7 hits, 4 runs (3 earned) and 3 walks while striking out 6. The Padres scored 4 runs from the 4th-7th innings while the Astros scored 5 in the same span.

The Padres runs were scored on an RBI ground by Kyle Blanks (4th), an RBI single by Andrew Parrino (5th), a Chase Headley RBI single (6th) and a Evereth Cabrera RBI single (6th). The Astros scored runs off of a Marwin Gonzalez RBI single (5th), a Jason Castro RBI single (5th), and a Chris Johnson 3-Run homerun (7th) (Johnson's HR was off of RHP Andrew Cashner).

The Padres weren't about to give up though. Yorvit Torrealba led off the 8th inning with a solo homerun off of Fernando Abad and tied the score at 5 a piece. The 9th inning was silent for both sides, but the 10th was a different story. Scott Rolen hit a leadoff solo homerun off of Wilton Lopez. But Tyler Clippard would give it right back, allowing a solo homerun to JD Martinez. The game would remain scoreless until the bottom of the 15th inning, when Brian Bogusevic hit a walk-off sac fly.

[Kevdog1020]

June 28, 2012

Clayton Richard was straight dealing last night at Minute Maid Park. He went 8.2 innings while allowing 5 hits, 2 runs (1 earned) and 1 walk while striking out 5. He allowed 1 run in the 6th, which was unearned thanks to an error by Chase Headley and then another run in the 9th off of a solo homerun. Luke Gregorson came on to record the final out of the game and his 2nd save of the season.

Scott Rolen (2-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 run) hit his 2nd homerun in as many days, this time a 2-run shot in the 4th inning. Evereth Cabrera added a solo homerun in the 9th as well (Cabrera was 3-4 with 1 HR, 2 RBI and 1 run). Chase Headley drove in the other run, he was 2-4 with 1 2B, 1 RBI and 1 run.

[Kevdog1020]

June 29, 2012

Roy Oswalt improved to 8-4 after going 7 strong innings while allowing 4 hits, 1 walk and 0 runs while striking out 4. Brad Brach allowed the only run in the 8th when he walked 4 batters (Yes, 4) and struck out 2. Then Tyler Clippard came in and earned his 17th save of the season.

The Padres didn't push across a run until the 8th inning, when Kirk Niuwenhuis singled, Cameron Maybin walked and Will Venable hit a 3-run homerun. They would tack on an extra run in the same inning when Kyle Blanks singled and advanced to 2nd on a walk before tagging up at 2nd and advancing to 3rd and then being driven in by a Chase Headley sac fly.

[Kevdog1020]

June 30, 2012

The Rockies pushed across four runs against Padres starter Cory Luebke in the first 6 innings but failed to get the 'W' after a late Padres rally pushed them past the Rockies. Luebke struggled at times, allowing 6 hits, 2 walks and 4 runs while only striking out 2.

The Padres entered the 7th inning trailing 4-1. Kyle Blanks hit a solo homerun in the 7th off of Rockies starter Jhoulys Chacin (7 IP, 7 hits, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K) to bring the deficit to 4-2. Jerome Williams pitched a scoreless 7th before the Padres rallied for 3 runs in the 8th. The rally put Williams in line for the victory, who improved his record to a staggering 7-0.

The 8th inning was a strange one, Rex Brothers came on to pitch and struck out Wilson Valdez before being pulled after allowing a single to Corky Miller. Alex White and Guillermo Moscoso walked a runner each to load the bases. Moscoso then threw a wild pitch (which allowed 1 run) before allowing a single to Cameron Maybin (which plated Andrew Parrino). Kyle Blanks got the go-ahead RBI, hitting an RBI single that plated Kirk Nieuwenhuis.

The rest of the game would occur without incident, Andrew Cashner struck out 2 in the 8th and Tyler Clippard struck out 2 in the 9th for his 18th save of the season.

[Kevdog1020]

July 1, 2012

In an impressive mound performance, Jorge de la Rosa of the Colorado Rockies checked the San Diego Padres on a 6-hitter and held them scoreless.

"He was getting ahead of us and keeping the ball off the plate," said the San Diego manager. "de la Rosa kept us confused the whole game."

The Colorado hurler rang up 7 strikeouts and issued no walks in his 5-0 shutout victory. Thus far this season de la Rosa has posted a 2-0 record, started 5 games, struck out 29 batters in 35 innings and compiled a 1.80 ERA.

Joel Pineiro, making his first start after coming off the DL, was solid. He went 6.1 innings and allowed 5 hits, 4 runs (2 earned) and 2 walks while striking out 4. He fell to 3-6 with the loss. Andrew Cashner finished the inning, but Luke Gregorson allowed a run in the 8th to extend the Rockies lead to 5-0.

On the offensive side, Willie Cabrera was 2-4, Joel Pineiro was 1-2, Evereth Cabrera was 1-3 and Wilson Valdez was 1-3. Cameron Maybin also had a hit, going 1-4. Nothing could be done however, to push across a run off of de la Rosa.

[Kevdog1020]

July 1, 2012

[Kevdog1020]

July, 1 2012

AL Batter of the Month: 2B Robinson Cano, New York Yankees 10 HR, 29 RBI, 20 runs, .378 AVG


NL Batter of the Month: 1B James Loney, Los Angeles Dodgers 2 HR, 17 RBI, 16 runs, .391 AVG


AL Pitcher of the Month: SP Chris Sale, Chicago White Sox 5-1, 2.54 ERA, 40 K, 46 IP


NL Pitcher of the Month: SP Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals 5-1, 2.09 ERA, 34 K, 43 IP


AL Rookie of the Month: 2B Eric Sogard, Oakland Athletics 3 HR, 9 RBI, 12 runs, .341 AVG


NL Rookie of the Month: CF Brett Jackson, Chicago Cubs 6 HR, 18 RBI, 13 runs, .327 AVG

[Kevdog1020]

July 2, 2012

Edinson Volquez was dealing last night, pitching 8, 1-hit innings while striking out 8 and walking 3 on his way to his 5th victory of the season and the Padres 2nd victory in three days. Edinson was untouchable through 8 innings allowing his lone hit in the 5th inning on a bloop single to Charlie Blackmon.

The Rockies would tag 2 runs to reliever Jason Isringhausen but the game was already well out of reach by then. Will Venable was 1-5 with 1 HR, 1 RBI and 1 run. His 5th inning homerun was his 10th of the season. Yorvit Torrealba was 3-4 with 1 2B, 1 RBI and 2 runs scored and Kirk Niuewenhuis was 2-4 with 2 RBI. Andrew Parrino drove in the other run, he went 1-3 with 1 RBI and 1 BB. Chase Headley continued his hot streak so to say, going 1-2 with 1 run and 2 BB.

[Kevdog1020]

July 2, 2012

Weekly Team Power Rankings -- Week 13:

Teams (Total Points, Tendency):
1) Milwaukee Brewers (132.6, +)
2) Cincinnati Reds (121.5, -)
3) Los Angeles Angels (111.4, +)
4) Atlanta Braves (110.4, -)
5) Cleveland Indians (105.6, +)
6) Philadelphia Phillies (105.2, +)
7) Boston Red Sox (100.8, ++)
8) Tampa Bay Rays (100.4, +)
9) Chicago White Sox (100.3, --)
10) Los Angeles Dodgers (97.8, +)
11) Kansas City Royals (93.3, +)
12) New York Yankees (93.1, ++)
13) Texas Rangers (93.0, ++)
14) St. Louis Cardinals (91.9, ++)
15) Arizona Diamondbacks (91.6, --)
16) San Diego Padres (90.5, ++)
17) Seattle Mariners (89.1, -)
18) San Francisco Giants (86.5, --)
19) Miami Marlins (83.6, --)
20) Washington Nationals (82.7, ++)
21) Chicago Cubs (81.5, ++)
22) Colorado Rockies (80.1, --)
23) Baltimore Orioles (77.4, -)
24) Toronto Blue Jays (76.0, --)
25) Minnesota Twins (73.8, --)
26) New York Mets (69.2, -)
27) Oakland Athletics (69.0, +)
28) Pittsburgh Pirates (68.5, -)
29) Detroit Tigers (65.2, --)
30) Houston Astros (60.4, o)

Players of the Week:

AL: 1B Paul Konerko, Chicago White Sox 12-26 (.462), 2 HR, 3 RBI
NL: 3B Chris Nelson, Colorado Rockies 13-29 (.448), 3 HR, 10 RBI

Trades, Trades, Trades

• The Toronto Blue Jays have traded 28-year-old starting pitcher Carlos Villanueva to the Minnesota Twins for 21-year-old minor league shortstop Levi Michael.
  
• The Pirates have sent 33-year-old starting pitcher Erik Bedard to the Tigers in exchange for 22-year-old minor league starting pitcher Brennan Smith and 21-year-old minor league shortstop Hernan Perez.
  
• The Nationals and Diamondbacks have come to terms on a deal that will send 30-year-old left fielder Mike Morse to Arizona for 19-year-old minor league center fielder Justin Bianco, 20-year-old minor league starting pitcher Tyler Green, 19-year-old minor league third baseman William Castillo and 22-year-old minor league center fielder Keon Broxton.

[Kevdog1020]

July 2, 2012

Sorry for the delay, but I'm back! I missed the last edition of Dombrowski Diaries because I had some moving to do but after the week we just had, I have to check in with the fans. We ended the month of June on a hot streak and were 5-2 in the past week.

We started off by taking 3 of 4 from the Astros before moving on and taking 2 of 3 from the Rockies. We're now only 4 games under .500 and 5 games behind the Dodgers for the NL West lead. We can continue our trip up the rankings if we can be successful in Arizona this week (3 game set with them) and then end the first half of the season strong against the Reds.

I'd like to finish the first half with a record over .500, but that would require us to win 6 of the 7 games. So I'll go for a more modest goal. I'd like to decrease our deficit in the west by 2 games in the upcoming 7 games. The Reds and D'Backs are both very good teams and it would be beneficial for our team and fan morale to go over .500 against them.

I did strengthen our offense a little bit, adding Scott Rolen (that seems so long ago) but I still want to improve our team. I'd like to add a reliable bullpen arm and add another infielder. The infielder portion might be complete after Logan Forsythe comes back from his 20 day rehab assignment.

Well, I gotta plane to catch so I'll see you guys later!

[Kevdog1020]

July 3, 2012

The San Diego Padres sent out a red-hot Clayton Richard to start their pivotal series with the Arizona Diamondbacks and he did not disappoint. He went 7 innings while allowing 6 hits and 1 run while allowing 1 walk and striking out 3. His record improved to 8-5 and he lowered his ERA to a dazzling 3.06. His first start this month builds on the spectacular June that he had where he went 4-1 with a 2.25 ERA over 32 innings.

Despite the great performance by Richard, the game was tied at 1-1 going into the 8th inning. The 8th started with a bang, with Wilson Valdez leading it off with a double. Kirk Niuewenhuis then pinch-hit for Richard, ending his night, and moved Valdez to 3rd with a groundout. Evereth Cabrera then hit a sac fly to center that plated Valdez, small-ball at its finest. Jerome Williams pitched a scoreless 8th and the Padres added an insurance run in the 9th after Will Venable singled, stole second and scored on a Yorvit Torrealba RBI double.

Padres Notes...Tyler Clippard pitched the 9th and struck out 2 batters while allowing 1 hit. It was his 19th save of the season...The Padres only managed 6 hits, Will Venable was 2-4 with 1 run and 1 SB and Clayton Richard was 1-2 with 1 run.