This Team Makes Me Drink

Yeah, I know this was initially going to be a blog about baseball, but seeing that I'm a San Diego native, I LOVE ALL SAN DIEGO SPORTS TEAMS! TOTALLY NOT A BANDWAGON FAN AT ALL, OR ANYTHING. So I'm gonna write about them, at least just this one time. I'm also a student at SDSU, who just happen to be playing the biggest game in program history this Saturday at Cal.  With that said, here are three easy steps that whoever replaces outgoing Athletic Director Jim Sterk can implement to turn SDSU into a premier athletic department!  (it almost seems silly to type that, but, like whatever, man. My article, after all...) 1. GET OUT OF THE MOUNTAIN WEST AND INTO A POWER 5 CONFERENCE   ****THIS IS THE MOST ESSENTIAL PART OF THE PLAN.***** I don't care which  conference  it is. No need to be picky. We just need to get out of the MW. Far, far, far away. The potential of SDSU’s athletic department is forever capped in a group-of-five conference like the M...

First off, forgive me for not having updated this blog in a minute. Admittedly, given the performance of the Padres this season, there hasn't been a whole lot to write about. Anyhow, I got a chance to see our Friars host the Red Sox in person last night.  Of course, we handily lost .  Can't win 'em all, I guess. Anyways, enjoy some of my stray observations from the game: - Oh boy, Paul Clemens was absolutely dreadful. He struggled greatly with command and could not retire the side in order- giving up nine hits and five runs, and needed almost 90 pitches to meander through a measly four innings. If it weren't for two double play balls, he likely would've given up even more runs. Hopefully, he will not factor in any sort of role for the Padres in 2017. - I was fortunate enough to sit in the Toyota Terrace suites. These suites are really nicely set up with lounge chairs, private bathrooms, and catered food- all which make for a great atmos...

Over the next week or two, I'll be writing a series of articles that'll focus on projecting the 2017 Padres roster. I'll start with the catchers. In 2016, the Padres have primarily used Derek Norris and Christian Bethancourt behind the plate. Top prospect Austin Hedges, who is in the midst of a very strong season at Triple A El Paso, will likely join the roster in September as a call-up. Norris, the subject of frequent trade rumors throughout the season, was not moved at the deadline, and while he remains a prime August trade candidate, for now, he will remain with the Padres for the rest of the season. Norris has made significant defensive strides this season, and according to Baseball Prospectus, has been a top 10 catcher in terms of defensive runs saved. Offensively, however, Norris has been absolutely abysmal. As of Sunday, Norris' batting average has dropped 10 points below the Mendoza Line, and his Fangraphs wRC+ is 61, nearly 40 points below league averag...

Well.... After one (1!!!!) start with the Marlins, Colin Rea is heading back to the Padres, in return for minor league pitcher Luis Castillo. To say the least, this is an unprecedented and bizarre turn of events. Rea made his first start for the Marlins on Saturday, going less than four innings before having to leave with an elbow injury. He's been placed on the 15-day disabled list with an elbow sprain. According to Jeff Passan,  the Marlins were "absolutely livid"  and felt as if "they had received damaged goods" after Rea's injury. Which, for the record, is a  totally  BS excuse. Colin Rea has, up to this point, been a durable starter with no major injury history. It's also a standard practice for traded players to undergo a physical with their new teams in order for the deal to be consummated- ESPECIALLY in significant trades, like the one the Padres made to send Andrew Cashner and Rea to the Marlins. According to Padres beat writer Bil...

So, the teardown of the 2015 Padres continues. Today, Matt Kemp was sent to the Atlanta Braves for Hector Olivera. The Padres will also send around 10 million dollars to the Braves to help cover Kemp's contract. There's not really much to discuss here, so this will be a short article. This was a salary dump, plain and simple. While the Padres will still owe Olivera 28.5 million, the Padres will actually save around 25 million dollars in total by getting much of Kemp's contract of the books. Unlike the Melvin Upton Jr. trade, this is a significantly better deal for the Padres. First off, the obvious: Matt Kemp was not very good for the Padres. This season, he's essentially been a replacement level player- his bWAR this season is a measly .02, a decline from his slightly better .06 bWAR in 2015. Even though he led the team in home runs with 24, he otherwise struggled to get on base and played subpar defense. In return, the Padres received Hector Olivera, who...

He's done it again, folks. Early this morning, AJ Preller reached an agreement with the Miami Marlins, sending pitchers Andrew Cashner, Colin Rea, and Tayron Guerrero in exchange for first baseman Josh Naylor, and pitchers Jarred Cosart, Carter Capps, and Luis Castillo. While Cashner had been the frequent subject of trade rumors over the past month or so, Rea's inclusion is a surprise. As many on Twitter have noted, AJ Preller has now traded away four of the five members of the Padres Opening Day starting rotation- Tyson Ross is the sole survivor. Ross, however, likely would've been traded too, if he hadn't missed nearly the entire season with a shoulder/ankle issue. As it stands now, the Padres rotation going forward will likely be comprised of Cosart, Christian Friedrich, Luis Perdomo, Edwin Jackson, and freakin' Paul Clemens . Obviously, an already-mediocre pitching staff just lost two of its more consistent arms. However, the Padres received considerab...

The Padres are off today, so I'll give you my thoughts on their game yesterday. - Wow, Luis Perdomo ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE A BONA FIDE MAJOR LEAGUE PITCHER . Don't let his near sub -2.0 bWAR and plus 6.00 ERA fool you, his splits since the All Star break have been pretty good for a pitcher who had never pitched above Class A ball before the season started. I was listening to Andy Green on the 1090 postgame show, and he described Perdomo as "a potential number two starter" down the line. He could end up being one of the best Rule Five findings in a long time if everything pans out. Does he figure into the rotation next year? My guess would be no- he would probably be better served spending year in the minors to refine his stuff. However, if he keeps pitching like this and avoids the big inning, Andy Green might not have a choice. - How about the power from these Padres bats! They're approaching the MLB record of 27 straight games with a home run, which is curr...

On Tuesday, Padres GM AJ Preller struck a deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, sending resurgent outfielder Melvin Upton, Jr. to the 6 in exchange for 19-year old Dominican RHP Hansel Rodriguez, continuing the dismantling of the ill-fated 2015 “win-now” Padres squad. Additionally, the Padres will pay all but 5 million of the remaining balance of Upton’s contract. While Preller hit a home run by flipping bullpen-arm-turned-All-Star pitcher Drew Pomernanz to the Red Sox for consensus top 25 prospect Anderson Espinoza, Preller struck out on this deal. For one, Melvin Upton was one of the few Padres players who possessed any sort of tangible value that approached that of an everyday player. At the time of the trade, his Baseball Reference Wins Above Replacement, or bWAR, was valued at 1.9, which essentially correlates to a solid starter- tied for second on the team with Yangervis Solarte.  In return, the Padres received Hansel Rodriguez, who is essentially a fringe prosp...