In The Belly Of The Beast: Padres Lose Game Three In San Franciso, Miss Playoffs

This was the only photo I could bring myself to take during yesterday's season finale in San Francisco. I don't know who this Padres fan was roaming AT&T Park, but he was definitely a beast. You can't see it, but he's dominating a hot dog in this photo. The Giants fans are top notch rooters, and heckled me quite a bit as I walked around the park the last few days. When I showed my wife the photo of this Padres fan, all she said was, "I bet he doesn't get heckled."

She's probably right.

I don't have much to say about the game because the more I think about it, the more I want to weep. A few things stand out in my mind: Adrian's line-out with two outs in the first, Ludwick striking out with two on in the third, Denorfia diving and missing Aubrey Huff's two-out double in the bottom half of the third, Torrealba's 5-4 double play after the Padres had the first two runners on in the top of the 6th, Tejada striking out on a full count with two on in the seventh, Durango working the count full to lead off the 9th before grounding out to short. Geoff Young has a much more thorough summary at Hardball Times.

I'll quote my wife again, as she was the one person I interviewed after the game: "They just got in a rut early, and the game just kept going forward, and they never pulled out of it."

My thought? The Padres didn't lose the season yesterday. They lost it during the three-game losing streak last Sunday to Tuesday, and then with the 1-0 loss to the Cubs on Thursday. Those losses just left too much ground to cover, even for a game Padres team.

Luis Durango ... Have A Debut!

Quite a debut for Luis Durango.

In his first Major League start, Durango played left field and smoked to the tune of 3-4, with 2 runs scored, including stealing second and scoring the winning run on an Everth Cabrera single with 1 out in the bottom of the 10th.

Here's how Ted Leitner called it as Durango crossed the plate:

"Speed! Speed! Speed! You either got it or you don't. You can't coach it. They got it. With Cabrera, they got it with Gwynn and Venable, and maybe the fastest of all, Luis Durango, who got the bag at second, flying home to win the ballgame 6-5 in the bottom of the 10th! Magic time for the Padres!"

Well said, Ted.

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.

Logan Forsythe ... And Other Top Padres Minor Leaguers

After the first month or so of the baseball season, here is this humble blog's ranking of the top Padre minor league performers.

Looking over the list, I'll make a few introductory comments:

1. I'll be surprised if Will Venable isn't starting in RF for the Padres by mid-July. I think the Padres will trade Brian Giles and give Venable a shot to earn the starting RF or CF job for Opening Day 2010.

2. The Logan Forsythe-James Darnell cage match to determine the Padres top 3B prospect will be epic this season. I've got Logan in the lead but I expect it to be a back-and-forth, bloody battle all season long.

3. A Padres team in, say, 2011 with Luis Durango and Everth Cabrera would be quick. Not necessarily good, but definitely quick.

Without further ado ...

Hitters

1. Logan Forsythe, 3B Lake Elsinore: Logan is batting .321 with 2 bombs and 9 ribeyes. He has also walked 22 times. His numbers aren't quite as good as Jimmy Darnell's but I'm putting Logan #1 for the first ranking of the season because he shares a name with Wolverine. And we all know what a beast Wolverine is.

2. James Darnell, 3B, Fort Wayne: Jimmy D is only hitting .273 but he has walked 26 times already for an .OBP of .467 and an OPS of 1.013 (second best in the Padres minor league system). He has 3 bombs and 11 ribeyes.

3. Craig Cooper, 1B, San Antonio: If I were Craig Cooper I would beg Grady Fuson to let me learn 2B or C or trade me (actually I would never ask for a trade from the Padres ... who do you think I am?) because with AGon and Kyle Blanks ahead of him, and Felix Carrasco, Allan Dykstra and Matt Clark behind him, Craig has little shot to make the bigs with the Drinos. That said, Craig can hit a little. He's currently hitting .402 with a bomb and 12 RBI's. His OPS is 1.010, good for third in the Padres minor league system. It's not like Craig came out of nowhere (he was a 7th round pick in the 2006 draft), but I doubt he is a top developmental priority for the Drinos.

4. Lance Zawadzki, SS, Lake Elsinore: Along with Everth Cabrera and Drew Cumberland, Lance's presence gives the Padres three interesting - if not sure thing - MLB prospects at SS. I'm not saying the Padres shouldn't draft Grant Green this June, but these guys can all play a little (and this is not even mentioning Beamer Weems who has been an OBP machine this season). Lance is smoking the ball to the tune of .333 5 14 in only 40 or so at bats this season. He was a 4th rounder in '07 so he's got some talent.

5. Kyle Blanks, 1B-LF, Portland: Kyle is rolling right along, hitting .298 5 17 this season. His Ks are a bit high but I get the feeling he hasn't quite hit his groove yet. Look for the batting average to rise to about .320 by the end of May. And for the bombs to continue.

6. Will Venable, RF, Portland: Will can play. I'd say the Padres should call him up now if I didn't also like Jody, Scott, Chase and Brian so much. Of course, as I note above, Brian could be on his last days with the Padres. Will is hitting .278 5 14 so far this season.

7. Eric Sogard, 2B, San Antonio: Better than Antonelli? Maybe. Eric is lacing to the tune of .311 1 6, and with 19 walks his OPS is at .911. Not to shabby for a second baseman.

8. Drew Macias, CF, Portland: .318 2 6, .922 OPS, with a short stint on the big league club already this season. Bud Black seems to love Drew's defense and competitiveness so that bodes well for his call up potential. Personally, it's not that I don't like Drew, I just like Will more.

9. Luis Durango, LF-CF, San Antonio: The Fall of Ced Hunter is being well documented (he could be this year's Antonelli) and Durango so far has been there to step in. Luis is currently working on a .341 average with 15 bags and a .423 OBP. He has hit at every level, including .431 in a 72 at-bat stint at Lake Elsinore late last season (after hitting .300 in the pitchers haven that is the Midwest League). The Padres felt he didn't need a full season at High A and it looks like they were correct. CF on the Padres in 2010? Right now I'd say the job is wide open. Why not Luis?

Tomorrow the pitchers ...