An Evening At Citi Field With The San Diego Padres

On Wednesday night I went to Citi Field in Queens, NY, home of the Mets, to watch the Padres-Metsies game. Solid ballpark, great night. Not only did the Padres win 9-5, but there were a fair amount of strong performances, historic moments (if you consider James Darnell's first big league hit "historic," which I do), and even a little drama in the 9th (Heath Bell did pitch after all).

If you don't mind, I think I'll show you some photos.

I thought it was nice of this Mets fan to recognize former Padres first-round pick, and current Mets minor-leaguer, Allan Dykstra. I mean he hasn't even made his big league debut yet and this guy already has an Allan Dykstra jersey. That's supporting the system!

I attended the game with noted Metsies fan, and guest of this blog, Father D.P. McGillicutty. We began the game sitting in right field just beyond the foul pole, a few yards into foul territory. This is not a bad spot to watch the game. You have a clear view of the field and, on nice nights, you can see a bit of the sunset above the stadium lights. The sun shines in your eyes for a few innings, as the photo above proves, but I'd still recommend this spot if you're looking for a good outfield seat.

How good was that '86 Mets squad? In addition to this photo of Keith Hernandez, Doc Gooden, and Darryl Strawberry, the Mets also showed a montage of Gary Carter highlights on the big screen that made me want to clasp hands in a manly way with my worst enemy. What a pack of monsters. Seeing the billboard above, it made me wonder what similar billboard the Padres could hang at Petco. It would have to be three guys from one of our best teams - probably the '84 or '98 squad - and you'd need a stud pitcher, a stud HR hitter, and one of the team leaders. They wouldn't all have to be home-grown players (Hernandez was drafted by the Cardinals), but it would be nice if 2 of the 3 guys were drafted and developed by the team.

So obviously, Tony Gwynn is on the billboard in the middle spot occupied in the photo above by Keith Hernandez. Then, if we're doing an homage to the '84 team, let's put up home-grown kid Kevin McReynolds in the Strawberry spot (ironically McReynolds played with all these guys on the Mets a few years later), and let's put Eric Show on the board in the Gooden spot. Arguably Goose or Dravecky or Lefferts could take that spot, but I'm putting the spotlight on Eric. It's my imaginary billboard after all. (Ed. note: the '98 billboard of Gwynn, Cammy, and Kevin Brown wouldn't suck, nor would the '05 billboard of Peavy, Giles, and Trevor, not to mention the '78 billboard of Winfield, Ozzie, and Gaylord Perry. Let's get these hung at Petco immediately.)

Check out this action shot of former-Padre Mike Baxter warming up between innings. Baxter is a Queens native so he's living the dream at the moment. At least that's my guess. I haven't actually talked with him about it. In this game he went 1-3 with two walks, which means, if my math is correct, he was on base three times. Not bad for a youngish guy trying to break in with his hometown team. When Alderson and DePodesta claimed him off waivers a few weeks ago, I thought it was a dirty sneaky move, but I totally respected it. And maybe now Mike will get a good shot to prove himself at the big league level over the next 6 weeks. Good luck to him.

I posted this slightly blurry photo from right field merely for comedic purposes. You can't really tell from the photo, but that's Cameron Maybin jogging down the first-base line back toward the dugout. Moments before taking this photo I had turned to McGillicutty and said, "Watch Maybin go yard here." Then, with that statement barely out of my mouth, Maybin hit a dribbler four feet in front of the plate and was thrown out at first. And then I took this photo.

See, isn't that hilarious?

Check out that moon. Reminded of a moon I once saw in Pittsburgh.

If anyone ever tells you I wasn't at the game where James Darnell got his first big league hit, they are wrong. Remember that. Could come in handy in a bar bet someday.

Shake Shack is one of New York's best spots to get a burger. Very trendy but also very tasty. They put up a location in the outfield at Citi and the Mets put a sweet neon skyline of New York above the sign. This is kind of a haphazard photo of it, but you get the idea. I'm a fan of the whole presentation.

And here's a last final shot of Citi Field from outside the stadium. That's the back of the centerfield scoreboard. You can see the small green sign for McFadden's toward the bottom of the photo. That's a sports bar that's on the Citi Field grounds that is a good spot to go if it's past the 7th inning, the game is fairly meaningless, and you stupidly run out of beers. One caveat: you can't get back into the stadium once you walk into McFadden's.

Beamer Weems ... And Other Top Padres Prospects

I'm fully on board with the Beamster. Normally I don't get too excited about dudes from Baylor, but I'm officially in Beamer's camp, if you'll pardon the mixed metaphor.

I've never actually seen Beamer play, but no matter. He tops this month's list of Padres hitting prospects as of July 1. As you may remember from past monthly prospect posts, this is a ranking based on peformance to-date this season. That's why guys like Ced Hunter and Kellen Kulbacki, beasts of yesteryear, are not on the list.

Something new this month, only dudes with .400 OBP or higher were eligible for the list. And because I didn't want to leave anyone out, if you had a .400 OBP or higher, you made the cut.

On to the list:

1. Beamer Weems, SS, LE: Beamer is playing a slick SS - traditionally my favorite position - and rolling with a .302 2 26 and .471 OBP line. That works for me.

2. Logan Forsythe, 3B, LE, SA: Quickly becoming the beast of the entire Drino minor league system. The .480 OBP is sick, not to mention the .332 8 32 at two levels. He's actually hitting better since moving up to AA. September cup o' coffee?

3. James Darnell, 3B, LE: The OBP is slightly down his first week in High A but the power numbers are still there: two bombs already. His overall line is a pretty .324 9 44 .457.

4. Jaff Decker, LF, FW: He's been sitting out a lot lately with some back issues but that's okay, no need to rush young Jaff. He may be the prize of the system, after all. When he's not nursing his back he's raking to the tune of .298 8 30 .462.

5. Sawyer Carroll, RF, FW, LE: Another hitter who earned a recent promotion, Sawyer went 4-4 in the Midwest League All-Star game and is now playing in High A. Overall he's a steady .316 6 47 .408.

6. Mike Baxter, RF, SA, Por: Still hitting nicely after the move to AAA Portland. One wonders what the Padres are thinking with this guy. Probably at least a couple at bats this September in the Diego, one would think. He's hanging in at .349 5 54 .422.

7. Craig Cooper, 1B, SA: Still smokehousing the Texas League, Craig is at .339 6 56 .424. He may make a run at Texas League Player of the Year. That's got to get him some notice with the higher ups, you'd think.

8. Lance Zawadzki, SS, LE, SA: Rated a sleeper pick by Baseball America this season because of his power from both sides of the plate, Lance has raked steadily since an early power explosion to start the season. He's currently holding ground at .316 13 55 .402.

9. Daniel Payne, CF, LE: Surprise, surprise. Daniel is one of the least regarded of the Padres slew of 2007 Supplemental First Round picks (a group that included Payne, Kulbacki, Cumberland, Canham and Luebke), but he is putting together a moderately strong season. Apparently he is a legitimate CF and, if you ignore the .254 batting average which smacks of some bad luck, and focus on his 6 bombs, 25 ribeyes and .416 OBP, you realize Daniel has a discerning eye and some pop. I'm keeping an eye on him.

10. Allan Dykstra, 1B, FW: Quietly starting to learn his modified, wooden bat swing. The eye is still there, as his .400 OBP attests. His .212 4 27 other numbers should start to improve soon.

Padres Organizational Lineup

As a mini-preview of the Padre prospect rankings through June that I will run tomorrow and Thursday, it occurred to me today that putting together a Padre Organizational Lineup might be an interesting exercise in looking at which players throughout the Padre system are truly performing this season.

What is a "Padre Organizational Lineup," you ask? Simply put, it's a starting lineup, position-by-position, of the Padres who have most dominated their position so far this season. What makes it interesting is that the lineup is determined based on performance measured against one's league peers. In other words, Kevin Kouzmanoff's performance is measured against other Major League third basemen, while Logan Forsythe's performance is measured against other Cal League (now Texas League) third basemen. So even though Kevin is farther along and (probably) a better big league third basemen than Logan, Logan's likely going to be the one to make this team at the Hot Corner.

So without further ado:

1. CF - Brad Chalk .305 1 37 .359 (20 bags) - Probably should go Scotty Bombs here but I wanted a prototypical leadoff man and I'm not putting Ced Hunter or Tony Gwynn, Jr. in this lineup.

2. 2B - Lance Zawadzki .316 13 55 .402 - I'm moving Lance to 2B because of the dismal performance by Padres 2B this season. Actually, Eckstein and Sogard have been okay, but I'm looking for some pop here.

3. 3B - Logan Forsythe .332 8 32 .480 - This is the toughest call in the entire system because you have Darnell in High A and Kouz has started to hit. I should probably put Darnell at third, move Logan to second and put Lance at short, but I really want the SS I have here (see below).

4. 1B - Adrian Gonzalez .269 24 47 .414 - The Franchise. Craig "Craigers" Cooper is having a season, but no way Adrian doesn't make this squad.

5. LF - Kyle Blanks .283 12 38 .393 - I feel like I'm selling out putting Kyle here because he hasn't dominated this season, but he looked good last week with the Padres and his numbers are pretty solid for AAA. If Luis Durango was still hitting in the .340s he'd probably have left field locked down.

6. RF - Mike Baxter .352 5 54 .424 - Very excited to see what Mike is going to do this September in San Diego.

7. SS - Beamer Weems .301 2 26 .476 - Go ahead, you make the case to keep him off this team. I just couldn't. He reportedly has the best glove of any SS in the Padres system and, for Heaven's sake, his OBP is out of this world. Until Beamer somehow shows me he can't hit higher level pitching, he's on my team.

8. C - Mitch Canham .271 2 31 .353 - Finding a catcher must be difficult because the Padres don't have one at any level this season who is dominating. Canham is holding his own at AA and that is respectable.

9. SP - Mat Latos 7-1 1.28 38/9 K/BB ratio - A few candidates here but Latos gets the call. I'd probably go Anthony Bass as my #2 and Cory Luebke as my #3, with Peavy and Nick Schmidt rounding out the starting five.

Closer - Heath Bell 3-1 1.39 36/12 22 saves - What a beast. Bryan Oland made it marginally interesting.

And there you have it.

Disagree? Let me know in the comments.

Mike Baxter, Craig Cooper ... And Other Top Padres Minor Leaguers

At the beginning of May, I ranked the top 10 Padres minor league hitters after one month of the season. Now, two months into the '09 campaign, I've taken another look at the numbers and updated the list.

Before I get into the rankings a few preliminary comments:

1. Mike Baxter and Craig Cooper (pictured above in that order) have almost identical numbers on the season. Also they are teammates in San Antonio and, my sources tell me, are roommates. They probably also share the ladeez, though I have heard no rumors about that. Needless to say, if you are the father of attractive twin girls between the ages of 17 and 22 living in San Antonio, I would keep them away from the ballpark.

2. If you only have a superficial knowledge of the Padres minor league system, it's possible you've only heard of Kyle Blanks, Matt Antonelli, Cedric Hunter and Kellen Kulbacki. None of those guys are on this list which, to me, suggests the depth of the Drino system. Not, as others might suggest, a lack of impact talent.

3. I really hope Blanks, Antonelli, Hunter and Kulbacki start hitting better.

Without further ado ...

1 (tie). Mike Baxter, OF, San Antonio: The Vandy grad and native New Yorker (Queens) just keeps raking this season. He finished May hitting .379, with 3 bombs and 40 ribeyes. He was also on base 43.4 out of 100 times up and was slugging to the tune of .553. His batting average and hit totals were good enough to be tied for the Texas League lead in both categories with his teammate, Craig "Craigers" Cooper. He doesn't have a clear position in the Bigs, but if he keeps hitting the Drinos will have to push him up to Portland, one would imagine.

1 (tie). Craig Cooper, 1B, San Antonio: The ND grad and native New Yorker (Plainview) just keeps raking this season. He finished May hitting .379, with 5 bombs and 36 ribeyes. He was also on base 44.9 out of 100 times up and was slugging to the tune of .532. His batting average and hit totals were good enough to be tied for the Texas League lead in both categories with his teammate, Mike "Mikey" Baxter. He doesn't have a clear position in the Bigs, but if he keeps hitting the Drinos will have to push him up to Portland, one would imagine.

(Note: Yes, those paragraphs are mirror images of each other, and for good reason. Right now Cooper and Baxter are basically the same guy. Think of them like a two-headed hit monster, the kind you might find in a Homeric epic if Homer had followed his better instincts and written about baseball.)

3. Jaff Decker, OF, Fort Wayne: Young Jaff (one of the youngest players in the Midwest League in fact) started the season on the DL but has since returned with a vengeance, John McClane-style. He's hitting .294 7 20 in only 102 at bats through May 31. That in addition to a robust .474 OBP and .569 slugging percentage, the latter number good enough to lead the entire Drinos minor league system. Given his age and dominance relative to his peers, Decker might have the highest upside of any hitting prospect in base-, er, in the Padres system.

4. Logan Forsythe, 3B, Lake Elsinore: Another on-base monster with considerable pop in his bat. Logan leads the Padres minors with a .481 OBP, a number that meshes nicely with his .325 6 20 primary numbers. From a pitcher's perspective, Logan is just a heckuva problem to pitch too. He's going to put a good swing on a good pitch at some point in the at bat, or he is going to walk.

5. Drew Cumberland, SS, Fort Wayne: Another young beast at Fort Wayne who has spent time on the DL this season. Drew is a very fast guy who can also drive the ball to the gaps. In 96 at bats on the season, he is hitting .365 and has an OBP of .450. He needs to work on his fielding and needs to stay healthy, but so far he is on the right track.

6. Lance Zawadzki, SS, Lake Elsinore-San Antonio: Speaking of shortstops, Lance raked so well at LE in April and May that Grady Fuson awarded him with a promotion to San Antonio. No wonder. Lance's power stroke was off the charts for a SS in the Cal League, smoking 10 bombs in 145 ABs. His slugging percentage of .552 was one of the tops in the system. Plus, he has a kick ass name.

7. Luis Durango, OF, San Antonio: Rapidly becoming one of my favorite players in the system, Luis just will not stop getting hits and stealing bases. He's hitting .333 with 24 bags and has basically taken the starting CF position in San Antonio from Ced Hunter. Luis is a prototype leadoff man who can get on base (.426 OBP) even if the hits aren't dropping. Also, he hails from Panama and is nicknamed the "Panamaniac." How beastly. No doubt Noriega loves this guy.

8. James Darnell, 3B, Fort Wayne: Jimmy D keeps plugging away down in Fort Wayne: .300 6 30, .457 OBP, .500 SLG. Ho-hum. I have a feeling Jimmy is biding his time in the cool Indiana Spring weather, taking his hits as they come to him, waiting to explode once the temperatures rise. At least that's how I'd play it if I was in the Midwest League in April and May.

9. Matt Clark, 1B, Fort Wayne: Clark is a hefty kid out of LSU. He was overshadowed in last year's draft because the Padres selected 1B Allan Dykstra in the first round, but so far Matt has outhit Allan through the first year of their professional careers. Compare: Matt is smoking .271 7 41, while Allan is dicking around with a .213 2 21. Sure, Allan draws a lot of walks and has an OBP of .403, but Matt is actually putting wood on cowhide. His 41 ribeyes lead the Padres minor league system.

10. Will Venable, OF, Portland: Thank God someone from AAA made this list. Blanks is scuffling and Chadder Huffman, though his numbers are similar to Will's, isn't exactly setting the world on fire. And I don't even want to talk about Matt Antonelli. I put Will here because I think he is a Big League ballplayer and I like his power stroke. Through May 31 he had 10 bombs in 191 at bats. Not stunning, but also not shabby. I note also that he hit two more bombs last night so look for him to move up this list come early July.

Pitchers tomorrow.