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2020 Season
#491 · September 22, 2020, 11:04 am
Quote from hoffy51 on September 22, 2020, 9:24 amI personally think it has a lot to do with the coaching and attitude of the new staff.
Yes! It has to! The hitting coaches were always getting thrown under the bus, but I think what happened over the years with bad Padres teams was this outlook from the players: "we're a bad team... we're going to be bad whether I play unselfishly or selfishly when batting... there's no one to really challenge my spot in the lineup behind me... there's no veteran player with enough credibility in the dugout to let me have it/kick my ass for not playing fundamental baseball.... SO I'm going to swing from the heels for HR because those directly translate into more $ in arbitration."
Andy Green knew Pads had to improve OBP just as much as Jayce Tingler does; but he didn't have all the same tools. It's undeniable that Tatis getting hurt torpedoed the team's momentum mid 2019, Hosmer & Machado checked out when things went South, and Myers was a mental mess. Definitely not all AG's fault... but he & his staff couldn't convince them / figure out a way to play good fundamental baseball after a disappointing 2nd 1/2.
All 3 vets deserve a lot of credit for: making adjustment after bad early start (Manny), making a serious change to his approach/swing angle in offseason(Hosmer), and deciding to stop tinkering & stick to his guns (Myers)... but the new coaching staff has helped them and everyone else in the lineup (Ex. Profar) thrive & succeed. Can't just say "it's the players" when EVERY guy is having such a great year.
HAVE to give this coaching staff a ton of credit.
#492 · September 22, 2020, 3:08 pm
Profar out of the lineup today vs. Angels RH Canning. Surprised Cronenworth dropped all the way to 9th, but maybe that's the equivalent of getting him some rest, at least mentally, in the line-up. Pham in LF and Hosmer at 1b need some regular work to get back in rhythm. Castro not catching somewhat of a surprise but probably Nola is going to get at least 2/3 of the games in the playoffs, so won't be unusual for him to go against RH pitchers, particularly because he's a better hitter than Castro and, based on what I've seen lately, a better receiver behind the plate than Castro.
#493 · September 22, 2020, 3:55 pm
I can see them wanting to give Pham some AB vs. RHP and some time in LF while at the same time getting more ABs for Moreland to help him get back up to expectations. Puts Profar on the bench ... and some extra rest.
Cronenworth sets up him and Grisham ahead of Tatis and Machado which makes some sense. Not sure which of the others would want in the 9th slot.
Nola catching might just be a mapping out of the rest of the dates and targeting Castro for specific match-ups (or maybe bullpen days). Focusing Nola as the #1 catcher on days the #1-3 starters go also might make some sense.
#494 · September 25, 2020, 8:42 pm
Why?
I mean everything been so great all season long then Tatis slumps and loses the MVP to Freeman.
Cronenworth slumps and loses ROY to Bohm.
But hey....we are set for the playoffs!
Everyone healthy and a deep talented roster!
But “because Padres“....Clevinger gets hurt......Lamet gets hurt......Myers leaves the game......and we’ve just made our road in the playoffs damn near impossible.
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LynchMob
#495 · September 25, 2020, 9:07 pm
AND.......there goes Pomeranz’s perfect season!
What's next?
#496 · September 26, 2020, 7:30 am
My guess is that Tingler and AJ told every player if you feel even the slightest discomfort just pull yourself out of the game.
Myers apparently felt a little Quad tightness and just played it safe.
Hopefully that’s the same with Lamet....felt something minor and played it safe.
What has been a very interesting but mostly positive season has now gotten even more interesting but certainly less positive at the same time.
#497 · September 26, 2020, 7:41 am
You have a good point on everyone being extra conservative with potential injury in these games that have no bearing on making the playoffs or seeding. Hope that is the case.
#498 · September 26, 2020, 8:08 am
Few observations on yesterday ... sort of in the background consider the potential Lamet / Myers' issues.
- Moreland is a bad defensive 1B ... stats bear that out but my eyes see it the same way. On those two throwing errors (Tatis and Garcia) ... both were legit throwing errors ... but Moreland's movement at 1B was poor when a better defensive 1B may have been able to field one or both of those.
- We know Garcia and Moreland can't hit LHP but vs. RHP Garcia (226/305/283) and Moreland (188/220/333) have not been producing ... leaning me to believe Profar in LF and Pham DH full time in the playoffs. Not sure the best options ... but with the issues around Lamet / Clevinger could the Padres go with an "extra" pitcher and go short one position player (Garcia or Moreland)?
- We know Tatis is in a bad Sept slump (208/310/375) and slumps happen but it sure looks as though it is getting to him mentally ... he just has lost the exuberance everywhere from the dugout to the AB to the base paths and in the field. No have the fun factor we saw early in the season. When he rebounds I am sure he will bounce back ... but is the current mood slow that return?
- Paddack did not look good again with command and yielding HR is a growing concern. Maybe just me ... but beginning to get concerned about Paddack's self confidence becoming stubbornness and getting in the way of improvement. Adding to some early comments ... yesterday after the sub-par performance he said “Y’all are crazy if you think I’m not going to be on the playoff roster.” He is likely right but maybe that should not be his thinking process.
#499 · September 26, 2020, 8:17 am
On the flip side:
- Grisham has solidified himself as the Padre CF for some time. He has outstanding plate discipline ... takes the walk (high OBP) ... can steal bases ... can hit ... can hit HR. Plus, currently for qualified CF he is #1 in dWAR. He may not look the part of the CF ... but he plays the part well.
- Adams has a mean slider and FB combo ... if the Padres harness his command ... he is the closer of the future (which could be 2021).
- Profar keeps delivering in September and made the mid-game insert into RF seamless. Not sure he have ever played RF (in so not much) and had little issue dealing with the different angle vs. LF.
- Pham is making "hard contact" a lot ... maybe with a little luck he is about to hit a hot spell.
