AROUND the MLB Thread

They don't have a Kershaw but ross\cashner is a great 1-2 punch. Non ginger lad hitters couldn't sniff Ross's ass last year. That pads lineup is going to k a ton though

 

networks, marketing and the media will.

 

in their press conference and other media quotes they gave been saying SS much. Kemp was their beginning point, could have started with Panda perhaps but they had been chasing Kemp awhile.

 

Padres were 15 games over 500 at home last year and 23 under on the road. How many road wins will that lineup contribute to changing their negative 4- run scoring differential? Is this not a much better road team in San Diego now? How many more road wins are they capable of now. Kemp and Upton have both hit well in San Diego so their at home hitting will go up, even with their defense being a tad weaker how many more home wins will they have in them. Check out the number of runs their still intact pitching didn't give up last year. The Padres season last year could be seen as two contrasting statistics. Home v road win loss record and runs scored v runs given up. The question perhaps should begin with how will the trades change those dynamics and how many wins will the those changes result in. That may be how they are seeing things.

 

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/mlb/story/_/id/12055684/nick-punto-released-oakland-athletics

PUNT O!

 

Don't often disagree with you, but I have to here.

For fuck's sake, they're the pAAdres. Yes, they got better. But not that much better.

And when did Casey McGehee become the Messiah? Here's a stat: he hit into 31 double plays this past season...thirty-fucking-one.

The Giants have gotten worse, not better.

 

The Giants have gotten worse, but you know how that shitty organization works. Doesn't matter.

 

Gnats' run stops at some point. certainly would like to see Friedman continue to get involved with pitchers that they have interest in though.

 

The whole baseball world is talking about the San Diego Padres today, in the dead of winter, probably for the first time since Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter were traded for Fred McGriff and Tony Fernandez a quarter-century ago. The Padres’ spring training site in Peoria, Ariz., has usually been a place reporters pass on their way to some other more interesting venue, but in a couple of months, San Diego’s rounds of batting practice will be must-see, with Matt Kemp, Justin Upton and Wil Myers taking turns to launch baseballs way over the tilted heads of awestruck teammates shagging fly balls.

Before the events of recent days, you would’ve been more likely to find Bigfoot in the Gaslamp district of San Diego than three of baseball’s most explosive power hitters in the Padres’ lineup. The team has everybody’s attention, and presumably, this will translate into immediate payoff in offseason ticket sales. The Padres can already count a win in the anticipation column.

Which is why it’s no fun to acknowledge the cracks in these days of bliss: When quilted together, the pieces San Diego has acquired appear completely ill-fitting, like a resplendent suit that runs beyond the fingertips and over the toes.

 

Compare his statistics to Sandoval during the regular season and you'll see that other than HR's McGehee are comparable and the Gnats are the defending champions albeit the luckiest in recent memory. Oh by the way 76 RBI with only 4 HR's pretty much neutralizes the HR advantage. In retrospect I probably shouldn't have used the power threat phrase. Good point on the GIDP which could mean he's either real slow of he hits the ball real hard.

 

...still not worried about the Padres

 

uh oh. Kiss of death right there.

 

More national games mean more exposure, San Diego press and fans are talking about now having a fan with broad national exposure. Kemps marketing contracts and national fan appeal won't go away the change will be the team he is associated with. The Padres have gotten more press with the moves and there are a world of baseball fans waiting to see how they play out. Some would say that networks, marketing and media exist to target consumers/fans to influence their behavior and thus the connection of dots. My statements are in the context of that natural association. Example game of the week marketing of big market v small market and the natural audience of millions who hate the big spending Yankees and Dodgers and would love to see them lose. A marketing dream if it is a new face small market team. When Miami, Tampa and Kansas City it is without much in the way of talent without the national name recognition of Kemp and Upton.. The Giants have that glitter. Just read national publications and their coverage or how the Padres are using the great media exposure to set the tone of a city energized by a new young GM who is building a team. Contrast that with how the Dodgers are blowing up a 240 million failed dysfunctional effort and that is by their own admission.

 

A ill fitting suit with games widely on TV. Worry not about the Pads and focus on the Dodgers future. Get us out of your head unless you want to jump on the band wagon and expand the number of teams you like.

 

No reason to be as you have ultimate confidence in the new Dodgers and are focused on them and their upcoming season.

 

Chill no one is trying to make you or anyone wrong. We all say things in here in a context that is not necessarily obvious to folks with different experiences and mind sets. For example I am hearing two things in Dodger conversations the last couple of days:
Friedman making comments about his roster moves as trying to make the team more functional. That raised the question of did he mean the team was not functional enough in that the parts put together failed to produce a fully function 94 win team. Was it the strengths and weakness of the players on the field or a dysfunctional clubhouse? That's a current media debate.

Now it is official the 2014 Dodgers had the largest payroll in history at $257,000,000 plus and are paying the largest luxury tax in history. Many might see that as two separate events and that's fine. I see it as management admitting they paid record money to assemble a less than functional team. However you define their lack of functionality. Not a plus for the Kasten resume. Others would disagree and not make the connections other do. Again context of mindset.

 

I see what you're saying but I don't see it that way. RBI is a stat of fortune and opportunity. I don't put a lot of stock in it.