Friday linkage
July 16th, 2010 | Published in Myron Logan, links | 7 Comments
Shameless self-promotion out of the way first.
You can purchase the 2010 San Diego Padres Trade Deadline Primer for $9.95. I contributed the Padres chapter, and the e-book includes commentary on every team from some of the best bloggers on the net. Check it out!
In case you missed it, I’m writing a The Hardball Times, and on Monday I took a look at our own Luke Gregerson and how he’s found success in the Padres bullpen. I also posted a short piece on THT Live about this week’s Braves-Blue Jays trade. You should see an article up at THT from yours truly every Monday.
Finally, I’ve started a blog on Tumblr as both a place to catalogue my online writing and to share my (longer than twitter, shorter than full-length article) thoughts on baseball. Also, you can always follow me on Twitter.
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I tuned in an inning too late to catch Simon Castro pitch in the Futures Game, but apparently he wasn’t at his best. Jeremy Greenhouse commented on his stuff at The Baseball Analysts:
Simon Castro has a good enough slider, but his fastball lacked luster. A 91-MPH tailing fastball will get hit in the Majors, so he’ll need to cut down on his walk rate. He pitches with very little separation between his fastball and his change.
The Padres placed Mat Latos on the DL, and the whole process has caused some controversy.
Geoff Young created a Padres all-star team out of short (5-9 and under) players. Not pretty.
Tom Krasovic talks about the Padres potentially have insurance on Chris Young’s contract, amongst other things.
Colin Wyers has a thoughtful piece on fielding metrics at Baseball Prospectus. Mike Fast responds at THT.
Beyond the Boxscore discusses the Yunel Escobar trade and the Padres excellent bullpen.
July 17th, 2010 at 5:38 pm (#)
Regarding your first link, to the 2010 San Diego Padres Trade Deadline Primer, I can’t believe you guys put that together so quick. I just know you weren’t thinking about last April.
But you did it, and now that the Padres are completely rebuilt, perennial contenders, and have home field advantage in the World Series and all, are you thinking of making this an annual? I imagine you’ll have a lot more material to work with in coming years, so I hope you keep it going.
July 17th, 2010 at 9:15 pm (#)
Larry, much thanks. I’m not sure how long the guys from TwinsCentric (they were essentially the editors who put everything together) worked on it, but it took me, say, a couple of weeks to get everything written and sent off to them.
Could have done it faster if needed, or taken a bit more time if possible. One of the problems is that you have to wait until at least July to really start writing, because you want things to be pretty up to date.
If I get asked back, I’ll certainly contribute again. If sales go reasonably well, I’d consider working on my own off-season e-book, sort of similar to what Geoff Young has put together, maybe with the help of some others. I don’t know. That’s a big project, but I’d consider it.
July 22nd, 2010 at 8:43 pm (#)
#1 - Jeremy Greenhouse needs to get out and see Castro play more than just in an exhibition game. He said that was the only time he had seen Castro pitch. Sad.
#2 - Castro sat at 91-93 and hit 94 on my gun several times during that Futures game.
#3 - In his next start Castro hit 95 on the gun regularly while giving up 2 runs on 6 hits with 5 K’s over 5 IP.
July 22nd, 2010 at 8:54 pm (#)
Web, personally, I don’t think we can expect a national, saber-inclined writer to see Simon Castro on a regular basis.
I agree, however, that you can’t make too many far-reaching conclusions based on one outing.
July 23rd, 2010 at 8:49 am (#)
It wasn’t just Greenhouse who was unimpressed with Castro. Jim Callis said he was the most disappointing player in that game (but that no one should read too much into it).
http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/chat/2010/2610368.html
Dave Perkin said he “had unimpressive mechanics, and he didn’t look as good as had been advertised.” That was based on a discussion with multiple scouts. Perkin himself is a former major league scout who now works for BA.
http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/?p=9482#more-9482
Castro’s decline in K rate should be cause for at least some concern, but it’s not unexpected for a guy who jumped High A. He’s still our best prospect and a top 50 guy among all minor leaguers.
July 23rd, 2010 at 12:42 pm (#)
To elaborate more on Castro, there’s not a pitcher rumored to be available and within our budget limit that I’d trade him for. I’d probably have been okay with moving him for DeJesus, before the injury. Hart, probably not, mostly because his 2011 arbitration salary may be so high that he’d be a rent-and-trade player rather than part of the 2011 squad.
July 23rd, 2010 at 1:18 pm (#)
And to keep piling up posts regarded to Castro, there is another bat that I’d move him for and who has been, at times, rumored to be available. Dan Uggla.
He gets you the bat and the middle infielder, which Eckstein’s injuries have turned into a pressing issue. Like Hart, he’s going to be expensive next year, but unlike Hart, he’s having a typical season and is less likely to be a fluke. In the late innings with a lead you move Hairston from short to second and put Cabrera, if he’s still on the major league roster, to short. If Cabrera gets sent to the minors, then you suffer with Zawadzki as the utility infielder until Eck comes back.