New Blog
The new blog is over on blogspot.com

the link is:

http://hankspadres.blogspot.com/

right now I am deciding between the two sites for ease of use and posting. Please leave a comment on one site or the other as to which one you prefer.

aloha, hank

Roundup for 20 Aug 05
Portland:

The Beavers bats came alive in the 5th and broke open a close game as they pounded Las Vegas 15-3. Sean Burroughs was 4 for 5 with a double and a walk, scored one and drove in two. Jon Knott and Paul McAnulty each had 3 hits including a homer while Ben Johnson(3) and Josh Barfield(2) each had multi hit games. Adam Eaton, on rehab assignment, started and worked 4 innings. He didn't have his best stuff and was touched for 7 hits and 2 runs while striking out two. Marty McLeary was awarded the win for two scoreless innings of relief.

Beavers box

Mobile:

Game 1: Cesar Carrillo continued his impressive pitching with 6 strong innings. He struck out 8 while walking no one and giving up 3 runs on 4 hits. The Baybears scored all their runs in a 6 run outburst in the first inning. Singles by Kennard Jones and Ronnie Merrill and a walk by Jeff Duncan set up Corey Smith's sac fly for the first run. George Kottaras doubled in two runs then Steve Baker doubled in another run before Joe Gerber capped the scoring with a 2 run homer.

Baybears box

Game 2: After being held in check in the first game, Birmingham erupted for 11 runs in the nite cap to bury the Baybears 11-1. Jack Cassel allowed 6 runs in 3 innings and was tagged for the loss.

Baybears box

Lake Elsinore:

1b Michael Johnson had 2 homers and drove in 5 runs but the Storm couldnt overcome a 16 run outburst by Stockton in a 16-11 loss. 3b Bret Bonvechio had two hits including a homer and drove in 3 runs while Chris Kolkhorst(3), Colt Morton(2) and Juan Ciriaco(2) also had multi hit games.

Storm box

Ft Wayne:

Drew Davidson had 2 hits, including a solo homer, while ss Matt Bush also contributed 2 hits and a walk but the Wizards fell to West Michigan 9-3.

Wizards box>

Eugene(short season)

Jimenez Angulo pitched 6 innings and allowed jut 1 run on 4 hits but was denied the win as Yakima's Angel Rocha limited the Ems to just 2 hits and struck out 13. The Ems finally broke through against Yakima's bullpen. Jose Lobaton drove in Seth Johnston with the tieing run in the seventh and Tim Turner cracked a game winning homer in the eighth for a 2-1 win.

Ems box

Arizona(rookie)

August 19th
Javis Diaz smacked a grand slam homer to cap an 8 run 2nd inning as the Padres rookies cruised to a 12-3 win. Luany Sanchez and Willy Crafort each had two hits while Kyle Blanks was 1 for 1(a double) with 3 walks. Scott Fogleson struck out 7 and allowed 3 runs on 7 hits in 7 inning complete game win.

AZL Padres box

Roger Deago pitched 5 shut out innings but Ernesto Frieri got the win after allowing an unearned run in the 6th. Frieri struck out 5 and improved his record to 7-1 0.85. 1b Ernest Gill homered for the Padres first run but they scored 4 runs in the top of the 8th on just one hit, a single by Javis Diaz, 2 walks, a hit batter, a balk and two fielding errors.

AZL Padres box

daily Roundup for 19 Aug 05
Portland:

Nick Trzesniak is on fire at AAA. He is hitting a cool .404 since being promoted from Mobile. He had 3 hits but the Beavers lost to Salt Lake 3-1. Mike Thompson(3-2 3.29) went 6.2ip and gave up all 3 runs on 9 hits. Sean Burroughs was hitless in 4 trips.

Beavers box

Mobile:

Game 1:
Steve Baker had 3 hits to raise his average to .298 since being promoted from Lake Elsinore. SS Ronnie Merrill scored two runs including the game winner on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 7th for a 3-2 win. Sean Thompson pitched 6 solid innings, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits while striking out 5 but was not involved in the decision. Ryan Meaux got his 6th win with a scoreless 7th inning.

Baybears box

Game 2:

The baybears beat the Barons 4-2 in the game suspended from July 9, 4-2. This is just the first of 3 straight doubleheaders this weekend.

there is no boxscore for this game.

Lake Elsinore:

Eddie Bonine gave up 5 runs in 5 innings but got the win as the Storm scored 9 runs to prevent another long losing streak from starting. Colt Morton homered and drove in two runs, Fernendo Valenzuela jr doubled and tripled and drove in two runs also. Juan Ciriaco and Bret Bonvechio also contributed two hits apiece.

Storm box

Ft Wayne:

Cesar Ramos gave up 2 first inning runs and then pitched shutout ball into the 6th while striking out 8 with no walks for his 3rd win over West Michigan 6-2. Pete Ciofrone had 4 hits, including a double and triple and drove in 2 runs. Matt Bush also had 2 hits and scored a run. Catcher Nick Hundley and rf Tom Vincent also contributed two runs apiece. Hundley is now hitting .429 since his promotion.

Wizards box

Eugene(short season)

CF Tim Turner was a perfect 3 for 3 including a homer, walk, 2 runs and 2 rbi to lead the Ems to a 4-3 win over Yakima. Chase Headley was 0-1 but drew 3 walks and scored a run. Jon Link got the win with two scoreless innings of relief, striking out 3.

Ems box

Arizona(rookie)18 aug 05

Geoff Vandel took the loss as he gave up the winning run in the bottom of the 9th after pitching 3.2 scoreless innings and striking out 7. Javis Diaz and Willy Crafort each hit a solo homer for the Padres.

AZL Padres box


More player movement:

Matt Cavanaugh was sent down to Eugene after hitting just .150 with Ft Wayne. Matt Thayer was sent back down from Lake Elsinore despite hitting .293 there.

Ricky Steik was placed on the d/l and sixth round draft pick, Niel Jamison, was promoted to Ft Wayne. Jamison compiled a 1-2 record with 8 saves and a 1.32era for Eugene.

What's wrong with the Padres?
Why aren't we scoring any runs? In spite of running Pedro Astacio and Chan Ho Park out there every 5 days, we could be winning if we could just score some runs. The easy thing to do would be to blame the Manager, Bruce Bochy. The thing is, he has to work with the players he is given. Its the general manager's job to provide him with enough talent to give him a chance to win. Has he done that? I dont think so. Take a look at our roster:

roster composition:

Robert Fick: 31yo, 4th team, career .264 hitter, currently .313
Miguel Olivo: 27ya, 3rd team, career .222 hitter, currently .183
David Ross: 28yo, 3rd team, career .217 hitter, currently .227

Damian Jackson: 32yo, 6th team, career .246 hitter, currently .268
Mark Loretta: 34 yo, 3rd team, career .302 hitter, currently .287
Joe Randa: 36 yo, 6th team, career .285 hitter, currently .277
Mark Sweeney: 36 yo, 5th team, career .265 hitter, currently .327
Wilson Valdez: 27 yo, 3rd team, career .205 hitter, currently .195
Eric Young: 38 yo, 8th team, career .285 hitter, currently .271
Brian Giles: 34 yo, 3rd team, career .298 hitter, currently .286
Ryan Klesko: 34 yo, 2nd team, career .281 hitter, currently .254
Xavier Nady, 27 yo, 1st team, career .264 hitter, currently .261
Dave Roberts: 33 yo, 4th team, career .260 hitter, currently .262
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Overall we are hitting just .258/.332/.396/.728 scored 509 runs

compared to dbacks .261/.335/.427/.762 538 runs
            dogers .257/.327/.403/.730 520 runs

That doesnt look SOOOO awful, but look since the all star break:

Padres: .247/.313/.362/.674 with 103 runs
dbacks: .271/.352/.448/.800 with 144 runs
dgers : .245/.314/.385/.699 with 136 runs

...


Those are pretty scary numbers. consider the number of players that are forced to play regular that havent been regular players in 3 or 4 years. We are having to play bench players as everyday players and keep people on our bench that shouldnt even be on the club.

We missed our chance to acquire a quality bat at the trade deadline. Towers would have us believe that there weren't any bats available, but that isn't true. What he means is: There weren't any quality bats that we could afford given our current budget. We could not afford to take on any additional salary. Heck, why do you think people are being traded at the deadline in the first place? It is to allow the non-contending teams to dump some salary to attempt to retool for next year. As long as we cant take on salary, we will NEVER make a significant deadline trade.

So, the question is: "What, if anything, can be done to improve the offense without spending much additional money?"

I say, get rid of Valdez, Ross and Hensley then Bring up Barfield, Johnson and McAnulty.

After that put the lineup on the field that might have a chance to score runs:

Specifically:

Roberts/Young platoon in center
Loretta ss
Giles rf
Nady/Klesko platoon at 1b
Randa 3b
Barfield 2b
McAnulty/Johnson platoon in left
Olivo/Fick platoon at catcher

return Jackson and Sweeney to the bench

We cannot continue to carry 12 pitchers and not score runs. Its time to make some moves. We cannot keep waiting for our hitters to pull out of their slumps. We need the kids to come up and inject some life into our team.

IT'S TIME NOW!!

Prospect roundup 18 Aug 05
Portland:

Josh Barfield had 3 hits including a homer, scored 2 runs and drove in two to lead the offense to a 5 to 4 win over Salt Lake. Chris Oxspring went 7 solid innings and allowed 4 runs on 6 hits for the win. Craig Breslow pitched another scoreless inning and Jason Kershner did likewise for the save. Jesse Garcia homered and drove in two while Paul McAnulty chipped in with 2 hits and 2 walks. Nick Trzesniak continues to wield a hot bat since his promotion. He had 3 more hits to raise his average to .372.

Beavers box

Mobile:

Jared Wells continues to get bounced around at Mobile since his promotion. He dropped to 1-4 3.77 after giving up 6 runs(4 earned) in 5 innings on 8 hits and 3 walks. 5 Baybears had multi hit games, Kennard Jones, Ron Merrill, Jeff Duncan, Joe Gerber and Pete Ramos. Ramos and Gerber each hit a solo homer but the Baybears fell short 6-5 to West Tenn.

Baybears box

Lake Elsinore:

2b Skip Adams had 2 hits including a 2 run homer while ss Juan Ciriaco doubled and drove in two runs but the Storm fell again 7-5 to Lancaster. Neither starting pitcher was effective but Lancaster's bullpen made the difference.

Storm box

Ft Wayne:

Catcher Matt Lauderdale had 2 hits including a 3 run homer and Pete Ciofrone chipped in two hits and 2 rbi as well to lead the Wizards to a 8 to 2 win over Clinton. Joel Santo was solid through 6 innings. He allowed 2 runs(1 earned) on 5 hits while striking out 5 to improve to 4-8. Matt Bush was hitless again.

Wizards box

Eugene(short season)

no games scheduled

Arizona(rookie)

no game scheduled on Aug 17, 2005.

Prospect roundup from 17 Aug 2005
Portland:

Ben Johnson was 2 for 3 with a walk and an rbi but the Beavers lost to Salt Lake 4-2. Brian Sweeney went 8 innings and gave up all 4 runs on 5 hits(2 hrs) while striking out 5. The Beavers just couldnt get anything going offensively wasting 8 hits and 5 bb. Mike Hernandez also had two hits. Josh Barfield had a single in 4 trips while Sean Burroughs and Paul McAnulty were held hitless.

Beavers box

Mobile:

Jeff Duncan and Ron Merrill each hit a solo homer but West Tenn came back with a 4 run 7th off of Geoff Jones to put the game out of reach 7-3. Starter Jose Oyervidez went 5.1 and gave up 3 runs(2 hrs) on 5 hits.

Baybears box

Lake Elsinore:

FINALLY, the Storm has broken the longest losing streak in team history with a 9-8 win over Lancaster. 5 Storm hitters had multiple hit games and only 2b Skip Adams did not have a hit. Michael Johnson and Jorden Pickens set the tone when they homered back to back in the first inning. Leo Rosales got his 21st save by striking out the side in the 9th around a solo homer.

Storm box

Ft Wayne:

Newly promoted catcher Nick Hundley drove in the first run of the game in the first inning with an rbi single. Peter Ciofrone scored a second run courtesy of a bases loaded walk to Brian Cavanaugh. Matt Bush struck out with the bases loaded to end the rally but Mark Ekstrom made that lead stand up for 6 innings, allowing 3 hits and one run while striking out 7. Gievy Garcia pitched two hitless innings of relief while striking out 3 but Matt Varner gave up 5 runs in the 9th to take the 6-2 loss.

Wizards box

Eugene(short season)

Steve Delabar struck out 10 Tri City batters in 6.2ip but gave up 4 runs(1 earned) but Niel Jamison took the loss after giving up a run in the 9th. It was just the 4th earned run for Jamison this season. rf Santiago Guerrero had 4 hits to lead the offense. Tim Turner had two hits and score a run. Casey Smith hit a 2 run homer, his first at Eugene.

Ems box

Arizona(rookie)

16 Aug 05
Down in Peoria the AZL Rangers and AZL Padres hooked up in a old fashioned slug fest. Pitching was near non existent in the 16-14 win by the Rangers. Surprisingly, there were no homers in the game. Steiner 3b and Sanchez dh each had 3 hits and scored 3 runs. Johnston c, Gil 1b and Crafort rf each contributed 2 hits.

AZL Padres box

Comings and goings
Portland pitchers Ryan Snare and Jack Cassel were sent down to Class AA Mobile on Monday Aug 15.

Outfielder Jeff Duncan, acquired from the Mets, joined AA Mobile and went 1 for 3.

Infielder Ray Chang was assigned to Lake Elsinore from the Padres rookie-level Peoria (Ariz.) affiliate in the Arizona Summer League... Pitcher Wilmer Villatoro was sent to Lake Elsinore from Double-A Mobile (Ala.) for his third stint with the Storm this season... Infielder Brett Dowdy was placed on the temporary inactive list for personal reasons.

Eugene and Ft Wayne swapped catchers. Lobaton was sent down to eugene while Nick Hundley was bumped up to the Wizards.

Prospects roundup 16 Aug 2005
Portland:

Tim Stauffer had his second straight rough outing. Tim gave up 4 runs on 8 hits to drop his record to 2-3 at Portland. Craig Breslow struck out 4 in his second straight impressive appearance since being sent down by the Padres. Sean Burroughs was 2 for 4 with a double, Josh Barfield and Dustin Delucchi also had 2 hits apiece. Nick Trzesniak was 0-4 but is still hitting .333 since his promotion. Former Padre prospect, Eric Cyr(5-5 5.49), gave up 2 runs on 5 hits in 6ip for the win.

Portland box

Mobile:

Ryan Snare went 6 innings and gave up 3 runs on 5 hits but took the loss 3-0 when the offense could not produce anything against West Tennessee. Steve Baker had one of 4 singles that the Baybears could muster. Corey Smith and Greg Kottaras were held hitless.

Mobile box

Lake Elsinore:

The bottom half of the batting order combined for 7 runs and 7rbi as the Storm lost to Lancaster 13-8. Michael Johnson had 2 hits and scored twice to raise his average to .300. All the Storm hurlers were ineffective and allowed at least one run, as the ball was flying around Lancasters field.

Storm box

Ft Wayne:

Josh Geer went seven strong innings, allowing just 2er on 6 hits while striking out 5 but was not involved in the decision. Both bullpens took a 3-3 tie into the 14th inning and finally the Wizards were able to break through on two walks, a ground out and a throwing error by losing pitcher Vera for a 4-3 win. Lead off hitter, Josh Alley, had 2 hits including a double, walked 3 times, scored a run, drove in a run and stole 2 bases. Matt Bush had 2 hits, both triples, in 6ab. Peter Ciofrone, Matt Lauderdale and Michael Baxter each contributed 2 hits.

Wizards box

Eugene (short season)

Read about Cleland

dh Clint Cleland homered, tripled and doubled leaving him just a single short of the cycle. He also scored 3 of the 4 Ems runs. ss Seth Johnston had 2 hits and drove in a run. Arnold Hughey (4-1 3.79) picked up the win in relief.

Ems box

Arizona(rookie)

score from 15 Aug 2005

Scott Fogleson went six innings in his first start and gave up 2 runs on 3 hits. Ernesto Fieri continues to impress as he tossed 5 scoreless innings of relief while striking out 7 to lower his era to 0.91. The Padres went ahead in the top of the 14th with a single run but the Athletics would score twice in the bottom of the inning for a 4-3 victory. Josh Howard, Luany Sanchez and Jarol Gonzalez all contributed 2 hits.

A little tidbit on Frieri

AZL Padres box

Daily roundup 15 Aug 05
Portland:

Adam Eaton started on rehab assignment and worked 3 innings. He gave up 3 runs on 4 hits including 2 homers. The Beavers held on for an 8-7 win. Greg Sain and Ben Johnson supplied most of the offense with 3 run homers while Dustin Delucchi hit a solo shot as a pinch hitter.

Portland box

Mobile:

Cesar Carrillo(3-0 2.92) continued to show why he was drafted in the first round by the Padres. He tossed 7 innings allowing just 1 run on 3 hits and struck out 8. Greg Kottaras singled, walked twice and scored 3 runs. Steve Baker(2), Joe Gerber(2) and cf Kennard Jones(3) each had multi hit games.

Mobile box

Lake Elsinore: no game scheduled

Ft Wayne:

Jon Ellis



Jonathan Ellis failed to make it out of the second inning, giving up 4 runs on 2 homers. The Wizards were held to one run on 6 hits while striking out 10 times. Matt Bush struck out, walked and executed a sac bunt in 3 plate appearances.

Wizards box

Eugene(short season)

Brenton Carter(3-2 2.07) went 6 innings, struck out 5 and allowed just one run on 2 hits but was not involved in the decision as Tri City came back to win 6-4. Chase Headly homered again, his 5th. Santiago Guerrero rf and Clint Cleland 2b each had 2 hits.

Eugene box

Arizona(rookie)

14 Aug 05

Of the 5 pitchers used by the Padres, only Patrick Clayton failed to allow a run as he struck out the side in the 9th. Otherwise the Mariners rookies pounded the Padres 10=2. Kyle Blanks tripled and drove in a run while Jarol Gonzalez ss had two hits and drove in the other Padres run. LF Javis Diaz had two hits to raise his average to .337 and his obp to .417.

AZL Padres box

Sunday's roundup
Portland:

Josh Barfield homered for the 2nd consecutive night, doubled and drove in two runs going 3 for 5 and scoring a run. Jesse Garcia really had a monster night(although not much of a prospect). Jesse was 3 for 5 including a homer, scored twice and drove in 7 runs. Greg Sain was 4 for 5 with 3 doubles and 3 runs scored. Every Beaver's starter had at least one hit except Sean Burroughs who suffered through an 0-5 night.
Meanwhile, Mike Thompson pitched 8 solid innings, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits. Craig Breslow, recently sent down by the Padres, pitched a scoreless ninth.

Portland box

Mobile:

The Baybears used 5 homers to overcome a 4-0 deficeit and pound Montgomery 13-4. Corey Smith had 4 hits including 2 homers and 4 rbi, Steve Baker continued his hot hitting with 3 hits including a homer, Joe Gerber capped a perfect 5 for 5 night with a homer and 2 doubles and 4 rbi. Greg Kottaras continued his offensive resurgence with 3 hits, including his first AA homer, drove in a pair and scored 3 runs.

Brian Whitaker tossed 6 solid innings allowing all 4 runs on 7 hits and 5 walks while striking out 5.

Mobile box

Lake Elsinore:

The Storm hosted High Desert at a rare game at Petco Park. For many of the young prospects it was their first time playing in a big league park and they were impressed. Arturo Lopez gave up 8 runs(6 earned) in 4.1ip to take the loss 9-3. ss Juan Ciriaco had two doubles in 4 trips, drove in two and scored once to lead the offense.

Storm box





Ft Wayne doubleheader:

Game 1:

Cesar Ramos(3-1 3.91) tossed a complete game(7 inning) allowing just 2 runs on 7 hits. He struck out 6 and walked none. Sean Kazmar started the scoring with a first inning solo homer. He was 3 for 4 on the night with 2 rbi and 2 runs scored. 4th round draft pick, Michael Baxter had 2 hits to bring his average up to .257 and Yordy Ramariz cf also had 2 hits. Matt Bush was held hitless again.

Game 1 box

Game 2:

The Wizards committed 5 errors(3 by ss Brandon Figueroa) leading to 3 unearned runs(2 in the 8th inning) as they lost the nitecap 5-3 in 8 innings. Michael Baxter had 2 doubles and a walk while Kelvin Vazquez(recently promoted from Eugene) was 2 for 4 including a double, scored a run and drove in one boosting his average to .368.

Game 2 box

Eugene(short season)

top draft picks Nick Hundley and Chase Headly each hit a 2 run homer to provide all the offense for the Ems in a 4-2 victory over Tri Cities. Angulo Jimenez gave up one run in 5 innings for the win despite walking 5 batters. He gave up just two hits and struck out 5.

Eugene box

Arizona(rookie)

13 August 05: Enesto Frieri picked up his 6th win with two strong innings as the Padres defeated the Royals 4-3. He allowed one hit and struck out four in two shutout innings. Chad Steiner(.299), who was dropped from Eugene to make room for Headley, had 3 hits including a double, drove in one and scored one. Kyle Blanks singled to bust out of a hitting drought.

AZL Padres box