Padres Road Splits: A Study In Raking (More Or Less)

It's no secret that Petco Park is a place where hits rarely happen. It is a cavernous place where fly balls stop dead against the dense ocean air. It's a place where hitters go mad, and pitchers careers are saved. It's a place where even the game's best hitters - Adrian Gonzalez for one - beg and plead to leave. You have to feel sorry for hitters who have 81-games worth of at bats in a place like Petco Park. (At least as sorry as you can feel for someone who gets to play big league baseball and spend most of his time in the Diego.)

But what of those hitters when they are out on the road hitting in other, more friendly parks? Do they start raking uncontrollably, putting up monster numbers?

I'm gonna go ahead and say yes.

Here are the road splits for Padres "starters" as of today:

C - Rob Johnson: .247/.293/.365 .658 OPS

1B - Jesus Guzman: .296/.305/.457 .762 OPS (only guy hitting better at Petco)

2B - Orlando Hudson: .270/.391/.351 .743 OPS

SS - Jason Bartlett: .265/.324/.327 .651 OPS

3B - Chase Headley: .333/.404/.470 .874 OPS

LF - Kyle Blanks: .361/.425/.667 1.092 OPS

CF - Cameron Maybin: .320/.367/.485 .852 OPS

RF - Will Venable: .312/.364/.475 .839 OPS

Yes, Blanks is working on a small sample, but even after things even out, I'm certain his numbers will be better on the road than at Petco. (Incidentally, even Ryan Ludwick was almost marginally average on the road: .269/.314/.398 .712 OPS.)

So what I'm seeing is four guys with an OPS north of .800, and three guys with OBPs over .390. I'm particularly impressed by Orlando de la Noche's numbers. A .391 OBP? Who knew? Makes you wonder what kind of season he'd be putting together if he was on, say, the DBacks, Astros, or Brewers, all teams that play in hitters havens.

And how about Headley and Maybin? As my advisor Tam O'Flannell said today, Maybin is putting up near star-quality numbers, but you'd never know it because he plays half his games at Petco. I'd add that Headley also falls into that category. Maybe not "star" category, but certainly a player to be reckoned with.

And come to think of it that's a pretty good way to judge a team. How many guys do they put up there that need to be reckoned with? To put it another way, how many guys do they put up there that can't be ignored? I'd say on the road the Padres have 6-7 of those guys, arguably one or two more. That's a team that can be a winner.

"Illinois Mike"

Looks like Michael Hoomanawanui (known affectionately to Illini fans as "Uh-oh") is making a name for himself on the big stage.

Loved this tidbit from Peter King's MMQB column:

"It's Ho-OH-ma-NOW-uh-noo-ee.''-- St. Louis rookie tight end Michael Hoomanawanui, explaining to me the correct pronunciation of his last name in the locker room Thursday night.

Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo calls him "Illinois Mike,'' because, as he says, "I have no chance at that name.'' He'll have to call him something. Hoomanawanui caught two touchdown passes against the Patriots and has been one of the big stars of Rams training camp.

As I wrote this morning to my advisors J.J. Geleaux, Tam O'Flannell, Father D.P. McGillicutty, and Tatt Mareeco, "Illinois Mike" looks like the third Illini pass-catcher from last year's squad who is making his presence felt in the NFL. Both Arrelious Benn, a second-round pick, and Jeff Cumberland, an undrafted free agent who looks to make the Jets team, are also getting strong reviews in the preseason. The fact these three guys are capable of playing at the next level but never broke through in a big way with the Illini, underscores the futility of the '09 Illinois team.

I don't know if the blame lies with Juice Williams, or one-and-done offensive coordinator Mike Schultz, or maybe just the Zooker, but last season was a mess.

A new year, and a new team, gets down to business this Saturday.

Jablonski "Rico" Noel ... Greatest Name Ever?

A few years ago, among my friends, I coined the term "jablonski" to describe someone who was, shall we say, kind of a mix between a dick, a nerd, an ass and a tool. For example, one might say, "Tim came into my office at 5:oo on Friday and gave me some work to do over the weekend. He's such a jablonski."

The term caught on and gained wide usage among my advisors, including such stalwarts as Tatt Mareeco, Father D.P. McGillicutty, JJ Geleaux and Tam O'Flannell. So imagine our jubilation this month when the Padres drafted none other than Jablonski "Rico" Noel in the fifth round of the June MLB Draft. Oh my were we stunned and amazed.

Imagine for a moment if Jablonski someday reaches the Bigs in a Drinos uniform. He has the potential to completely change the meaning of a word. Forever on Jablonski will have made "jablonski" cool.

The implications are enormous to say the least.

So here's to wishing Jablonski Noel success as he moves up the Drinos farm system. As of today, after only a handful of professional games, the Padres have already pushed him to low-A ball in Fort Wayne.

That's a positive sign even a jablonski could appreciate.

You Can't Stop McCamey, You Can Only Hope To Contain Him

I posted this photo after an immediate request to do so by my trusted advisor, Tam O'Flannell.

Nice find, Tam.

E-mails To My Advisors Subsequent To The Bolts Loss To Denver

Tuesday morning, in the aftermath of the disappointing Bolts loss to the Broncos on Monday Night Football, I wrote the following e-mails to my advisors Tatt Mareeco, Father D.P. McGillicutty, Geleaux and Tam O'Flannell:

First, at 10:44 AM EST:

F football

Then, at 11:01 AM EST:

That game was stupid. I'm sure McDaniels would have gone for it on fourth down and still got the TD, but under no possible view of the Stokley catch was that a touchdown.

Then, later in the morning, at 11:16 AM EST, I wrote this to my Dad, Mr. Bevormo:

That was a very disappointing second half.

And finally, at 11:37 AM, I wrote this to my friend, The Div:

That jblew.

And that's all I have to say on the matter for the time being.

An E-mail I Sent To My Advisors Last Week

Here is the text of an e-mail I sent to my advisors last Friday after reading that Bill Simmons had picked the Broncos over the Chargers in tonight's Monday Night Football game. Simmons' reasoning was that Josh McDaniels and Mike Nolan are superior coaches to Norv Turner and Ron Rivera.

Everybody needs to calm down before we anoint McDaniels and Nolan geniuses. Let them win at the Q and maybe we can talk, but so far they have benefited from absurd luck, an easy schedule and knowing a lot about the Patriots playbook and personnel (not to mention Brady dropping multiple steaming deuce piles on the filed at Mile High).

Also, Brian Dawkins and Champ Bailey ... meet Phil Rivers, Vinnie Jackson, Antoine Gates, Legs Naanee, Malc Floyd, Chappy Chambers and Darren "Lightning Bug" Sproles.

Good luck with that.

And that's all I have to say on the subject.

Peter King Must Be Kidding

I note that Peter King's "Fine 15" today did not include everyone's favorite team, the San Diego Super Chargers.

Here was my response to that omission that I penned to my advisors Tatt Mareeco, Father D.P. McGillicutty, Tam O'Flannell and Geleaux at 11:05 AM EDT.

Peter King puts the Ravens at #1 in his Fine 15 but the Bolts don't even make it? The Bolts could have won that game just as easily as the Ravens. Is he really telling me that one stupid tackle by Ray Lewis (on a missed block by a backup offensive lineman) is the difference between the Chargers being probably 5 or 6 in the ranking and not even making it? Meanwhile other teams that made it include: Green Bay (lost at home to the Bengals and should have lost at home to the Bears), the Bears (who won a soggy rain soaked game at home only because Jeff Reed got the jimmy leg), the Eagles (who got obliterated), the Pats (who have not looked good other than for about 3 minutes at the end of their first game) and Tennessee (who has yet to win a game).

Is he kidding?

I submit to you that yes, he must be kidding.

The Padres Are Making Me Angry

Dear Reader,

Yesterday, watching the Cubs pile on against the Padres en route to an 11-3 victory and a sweep of the three game series at Wrigley, I lost my composure a bit. There I was, mild-mannered Bevormo, sitting at my desk just typing away on some document, the mlb.com broadcast of the game playing on the computer, when all of a sudden the Padres sheer ineptitude sent me into a controlled rage.

I had to roll up the sleeves of my Michael Kors dress shirt I was so angry.

It was Duaner Sanchez that put me over the top. I sat there and watched him give up back-to-back-to-back doubles to the Cubs' murderers row of Bobby Scales, Aaron Miles and Ryan Dempster, and I just lost it. I immediately composed the following e-mail to my team of trusted advisors: Tam O'Flannel, Tatty Mareeco, Father D.B. McGillicutty and Geleaux.

The subject line was "Duaner Sanchez" and it continued

is no longer a big league pitcher.

Nor is anyone else on the Padres except for Peavy, Young and Bell.

You're probably already aware of this, but that is not a recipe for winning baseball games. Nor is cutting the payroll from 70 million to 40 million without any advanced pitching prospects. I hate Becky Moores and her intolerance for John Moores doing a little dukin' on the side. I really do.

I also hate the elbows of Cesar Carrillo, Nick Schmidt and Steve Garrison, and the shoulder of Tim Stauffer. And I hate the weak sauce of Cesar Ramos and Josh Geer, and the scouts who suggested using high draft picks on college pitchers with weak sauce.

I don't consider myself a "hater," and, to be honest, I don't hate anyone listed in the above e-mail. Nor do I know the true reasons for the Moores' divorce so I apologize for suggesting in any way that John was unfaithful to Becky and it was that that caused their split. I don't know the reasons, and the reasons themselves aren't any of my business (but really, why else would any couple end a marriage of 40 years unless one of them is duking people on the side ... I submit to you there is no other reason).

Truth be told, I'm not really this down on the Padres, but like any true fan I can't stand to sit there and watch my team get beat up over and over again without letting off a little steam. To his credit, Tatty Mareeco recognized this, and responded later in the day with this e-mail:

At least you've got A-Gon. That guy is a Beast. Maybe you can trade him to the Sox for two of Buchholz, Bowden and Masterson and then bring up that 1B prospect you've got. They've got plenty of pitching and might like the bat to replace the artist formerly known as Big Papi.

Yes, at least the Padres have A-Gon. What an absolute monster. He's like Pujols if Pujols was a Mexican-American who played in a pitchers ballpark and had a brother who also played in the major leagues. I can't imagine a Padres team right now without Adrian, which is why I responded to Tatty as follows:

If any team wants AGon and his 45 bombs a year for the next four years at less than 6 million per, they're going to have to give up a treasure trove of top pitching/middle infield prospects. I'm not sure any team has the package necessary to get AGon from the Padres. He's young, has an affordable contract, might be the best power hitter in baseball, and is a San Diegan with Mexican heritage who is the only everyday player anyone in San Diego would consider coming to Petco to see play. Scott Hairston aside.

That's right, I love me some Scotty Hairston. But this post isn't about Scotty, it's about Adrian. There isn't a package of prospects in the world right now the Padres should trade Adrian for, unless maybe Robin Yount, Mike Schmidt and Doc Gooden all of a sudden happened to be prospects again and some team wanted to trade them straight up for him. Then I'd maybe say Moorad should greenlight a deal.

Maybe.

Anyway, I'm already feeling a little better about the Padres after writing this blog post. Blogging is like a warm bath in that you still feel dirty when you're done, but you also feel a lot more relaxed. In that way it's also like a happy ending massage. Or so I've heard.

I sense a win against Cincy tonight.

Best,
Bevormo

Kurt Bevacqua ... Query

Kurt (aka Secret Weapon),

I don't mean to disturb what looks to be a very busy retirement, but I have a question for you. A few of my advisors - Tam O' Flannel, Father D.P. McGillicutty, Geleaux, Tatty Mareeco - have asked when this blog is going to start interviewing former members of the Padres, Chargers and Illini.

Considering that you are probably the greatest Padre of all time not named Tony Gwynn or Trevor Hoffman, they naturally suggested you as the first interviewee.

So, what do you think?

For my part, I have to say I am intrigued by the idea. My first reaction, however, was to wonder just how many f bombs you'd drop if some random blogger - me - dialed you up and asked to conduct an interview. I can't imagine you'd be too pleased with that. I'm tentatively setting the over/under at 43 f bombs, but I guess it really depends on the length of the call.

Anyway, I figure you have a lot better things to spend your time on - like playing poker, heading to TJ or taking batting practice down at Petco and sending blistering line drives off Kouzmanoff's bald noggin. But maybe not. Maybe you would be interested in an interview.

I may be in touch soon.

Best,
Bevormo

The Matty Bush Era

As most anyone who would read this blog is already aware, the Matty Bush era ended yesterday when the Padres DFA'd him to open a roster spot for Cliff Floyd. The move coincided with reports of a criminal investigation involving an alleged assault by Bush on some high school lacrosse players in El Cajon, CA, a suburb of the Diego.

This afternoon one of the Bevormo's advisors, Tam O'Flannel, a Red Sox fan and general baseball enthusiast, sent an e-mail seeking comment on the situation.

The exact text of my response, sent at 1:59 EST this afternoon, is below:

I think he's safely leading the argument now for worst #1 overall pick of all time, at least since 1965. He still has a chance to pass Brien Taylor and Steve Chilcott and make the majors, but that seems dubious. The kid is no doubt a straight up dickhead, possibly an alcoholic, and maybe even has some more serious personality disorders. It could just be a maturity question but, regardless, I thought the Padres handled it well in giving him a three strikes and you're out policy. It was time to be done with it.

I thought this blog post summed up Matty Bush nicely.

From a baseball ops standpoint, its probably the worst episode of both the Moores and Towers eras, with the handling of Trevor this offseason probably second, and the failure to protect Joakim Soria in last year's Rule V draft possibly third. That's just off the top of my head, there's no doubt been some other bad personnel decisions but those strike me as particularly heinous. The lesson I hope the Padres learned is twofold (1) building through the draft is the best way to build a mid-to-low market team, but (2) you can't be chintz on the draft. It's one thing if you pay for Stephen Drew and he busts, but to try to get a bargain at #1 and then have that player bust is a recipe for a PR, and baseball operations, disaster.

Going forward it is what it is. Matty Bush may catch on with someone and make the bigs as a relief pitcher. Apparently he has some very good stuff. But I think his leash is going to be very short and the fact he is a jabrone will be too high a hurdle. The Padres will move on and, under the policy began by Alderson, and hopefully continued by Moorad, will invest a ton of caysh in the draft and not shy away from spending on a legit high draft pick when they have one. For example, this June.

The one bright side of this whole episode is that the 2004 draft might not end up a total bust. The Padres drafted Kyle Blanks in the 42nd round that year.

And there you have it. That is this blog's view of the Matty Bush era as of 1:59 EST on February 6, 2009.