More info on potential new Padres pitchers

One thing I can gather in breezing through these guys is that the padres definitely have a type now - big, tall pitchers.

Poreda: 6'-6", 240 lbs
Richard: 6'-5", 240 lbs
Russell: 6'-8", 250 lbs
Carter: 6'-6", 195 lbs

If you look at the guys the padres drafted this year (go to the June Archive of Paul Depodestas blog recapping the draft) the organizational philosophy has turned to big, power pitchers instead of strike throwers who don't necessarily have dominant stuff (cough, cough Josh Geer). Definitely moving on from the Alderson era.

Scouting report on Aaron Poreda:

http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/2009/03/aaron-poreda-bio-scouting-report-pitches-white-sox-rotation/

Good Article on Clayton Richard:

http://www.lifeinthecell.com/?p=1214

Adam Russell Scouting Report

http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=261&f=3546&t=515301

Dexter Carter

Couldn't find a scouting report but he is in Single-A ball right now for the Kannapolis Intimidators (like that team name). This year he is 6-2 with a 3.13 ERA. This year he has an impressive 143 strikeouts in 118 IP.

So to recap: two major-league ready starting pitchers (Poreda & Richard). Russell is most likely a reliever but could be a starter. Dexter Carter looks to have big upside as a future starting pitcher. This restocks the Padres with young arms...not to mention that they are incredibly cheap. I have fully invested myself in the Padres rebuilding process, so I can accept it. It hasn't really sunk in yet, but Peavy has missed big portions of the last two season so I'm kind of used to him being gone anyways.

Peavy....if you pass this physical, its been good man. I'll never forget watching you strikeout 9 batters in a row. I loved watching how you made people look stupid when they swung out of their shoes on that nasty slider of yours. You brought a Cy Young award to San Diego. Its been a good run and I wish you nothing but the best in Chicago. I hope you can get that ring because we in San Diego have no doubts that you are a true competitor.

Jake Peavy has been traded

Boom! Has it up before ESPN does

http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090731&content_id=6169266&vkey=

Jake Peavy has been traded to the Chicago White sox for four minor league players: LHP Aaron Poreda, LHP Clayton Richard, RHP Adam Russell, & RHP Dexter Carter....more info to come.

Random Sports Thoughts

Training camps fully start on Friday for pretty much every NFL team. Rookies have reported and veterans are trickling in. Time to put on those pads and go to work....I can not wait. More on the NFL to come in the future.

• Brett Favre turns down Vikings to remain retired: "The hardest decision I've ever had to make"....harder than the first and second time? Good riddance Favre, go fish and hunt in Mississippi, it will be way better than putting your tired, busted body through any more pain and embarrassment.
  

• Phillies trade prospects for Cliff Lee: Actually they didn't have to part with their most prized prospects, instead only giving up four decent ones in order to make a run at back-to-back titles. Typical Cleveland trades their ace for young talent, they are thinking long term with this. They get back two pitchers and a catcher with high upside (pitcher Jason Knapp being the best one), the rest have a much longer shot to be impact players. The rest of the prospects. I'm sure one of these guys will pan out for them. Phillies Nation lists Amaro's top 10 as GM and I gotta say I agree that he has done well. I'm still worried about Cole Hamels, even though he has dominated the last two games (although against the lowly Padres and Diamondbacks). If Hamels and Lee pitch like they are capable of, the Phillies should breeze to the National League pennant.

• Dodgers remain quiet: I feel like they will feel the pressure to make a move now that the Phillies have acquired Cliff Lee. GM Ned Colletti is enamored with his prospects but I don't feel like their rotation is a sure-fire winner come playoff time. Chad Billingsley is fantastic, but how much can you rely on Randy Wolf and the young Clayton Kershaw? Clock is ticking Doyers. (Update: Dodgers trade two Double-A prospects for All-Star Orioles closer George Sherrill) Well that shores up their bullpen. This will keep Jonathan Broxton fresh, he has been overworked this season and is going to need the occasional day off from now on since the Dodgers are coasting to the NL West pennant. 3B Josh Bell is said to be the best player in the package that the Orioles are receiving.

• NBA Free Agency:
• Steve Nash signs 2-year extension with Suns: So Steve Kerr has set the clock back on basically everything that he has done in the past year or so. He has catered to Steve Nash's desires and the direction that he wants. It is going to be back to the run-and-gun that everyone has lamented the loss of. I still think that had Amare Stoudemire not gone down last year the Suns make it into the playoffs. People forget that he missed the second half of the season and have now labeled the Suns a non-contender. While it will be extremely hard for the Suns to contend with the bigs in the Western Conference, this team is similar to the Mike D'Antoni teams that competed year in and year out. This year's team has a better bench though. Leandro Barbosa, Louis Amundson, Jared Dudley, Earl Clark, and Goran Dragic can make things happen if they play how they did towards the end of the season. Barbosa desperately needs to have a bounce-back year. He had a very tough year emotionally with the loss of his mother, who was basically the center of his life. I am really interested to see how Channing Frye fits into this offense as well. Earl Clark is going to have to become the next Shawn Marion, if he can play versatile defense like him, then that will fill a huge hole that the Suns have had since he left. I wouldn't expect that much out of the rookie though. This team scares me from a rebounding perspective. The Suns are going to have to consistently outscore teams, which they can do. But the thought of Channing Frye and Amare Stoudemire going up against Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum does not give good feelings. All signs point to Steve Kerr making another midseason move if things do not go well on that front. Bottom line with the Steve Nash extension is that he likes Phoenix, and he likes his friends on his team. He wants to remain comfortable while playing a style that fits his game and makes him happy. He is all about team chemistry. I hope that they find it and bring excitement back to the desert

• Hedo Turkoglu signs with Toronto Raptors: He basically went there because his wife liked Toronto better and there is a larger Turkish community there. Along with the Raptors trading for Belinelli (for Devean George and cash?! What a steal) this team is really interesting. The starting five (Bargnani, Bosh, Calderon, Turkoglu, and possibly Belinelli at SG) will be all international players with the exception of Bosh. I dont see how this keeps Bosh around, surrounding him with players with which he shares nothing in common with. He is gone after this year. I have a feeling that Jerry Colangelo has almost accepted this and is trying to bring an international style of ball to the league to see how it works. He is the director of USA Basketball and has been studying the game intensely over the last few years. I am not sure what to expect out of this team, but I do predict an astronomical amount of flops and awkward moments of celebration between Bosh and his Euro teammates.

• Ron Artest signs with the Lakers: I dont get it. Ariza provided the things he can provide without ruining the offense and stopping the ball. Now the Rockets steal Ariza at the midlevel exception. If the Lakers lose Odom too, I don't see how they do not take a step back next season. Prepare to get hoodalized by Ron Ron.
  

This is why I hope the Padres keep losing

Keep hitting those grand slams Nationals....suckers.

Can we just keep marching Josh Geer out every day?

http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1156215/1/index.htm

Random Sports Thoughts

Well since I have only posted once in the past 2 months or so, I am probably the only one that will read this. My last post was an NBA Finals preview...yeesh. I'm pretty sure that I called it on Jameer Nelson ruining Orlando's chemistry, and that Derek Fisher was an X-factor when he hit a clutch 3 to win game 4. The Lakers were the better team, and that is that.

Here are some of my random sports thoughts.

• This is the worst sports stretch of the year. All there is to watch is baseball, golf, tennis, and the WNBA...gross.
  

• There is also the NBA summer leagues going on which are interesting if you want to see your teams draft picks and 2nd year players playing. Unfortunately its mostly lopsided matchups where there are a lot of "man among boys" situations. Anthony Randolph dropped 42 yesterday - hes sick, but so what Don Nelson will just misuse him like always does come regular season. Blake Griffin is a beast like everyone expected. Robin Lopez even put up 24/16 the other day. Its a great time of year for fans to convince themselves that high draft picks can live up to the hype. Truehoop.com is running pretty good recaps of the daily events, or look up your local blogger, I guaratnee one guy is out there following the team and can give you the best info.
  

• As a Padre fan, it really annoyed me that ESPN insisted on interviewing Joe Buck during Adrian Gonzalez's turn during the home run derby. Joe Buck's smugness completely hexed Gonzalez into only hitting two home runs. Actually, it didn't, the Padres suck, and their best kept secret is that Adrian Gonzalez has been god awful for at least the past month and really isn't having that stellar of a year. Since June 1, his batting average has dropped from .290 to .250. He has openly said that he is "mentally tired" and that "I feel great my first one or two at-bats and then I get lost. It's just not going my way right now." I can translate this..."I'm tired of playing for a team that sucks, I'm not getting any pitches so I swing away at anything that looks somewhat hittable, and why would anyone pitch to me late in the game when we are behind?" The proof is in the stats. With runners in scoring position, he is only batting .209 with a .480 OBP. With RISP and 2 outs, hes batting .179 with a .521 OBP. Basically he's getting walked half the time and the other time he's trying to hit junk thats getting thrown to him. I think it has completely gotten in his head. I still think he's tired though. He never stops playing baseball, he plays in the Mexican leagues in the offseason and he also played in the WBC. The guy never takes a break. All he has to look forward to is taking over the Padres consecutive games played streak, which he is very close to.

• Padres All-Star game recap: Gonzalez: 0-0, 1 BB (he leads the MLB in walks, how ironic), Heath Bell: Tagged with a loss after giving up a triple and a sac fly. Funny All-Star game side note: All 4 runs scored by the AL were given up by NL West pitchers. Ah, the mighty NL West.
  

• The Rafael Furcal comparisons for the Padres SS Everth Cabrera are fair. He seems like the real deal, and I think he is the most exciting Padre player to watch right now...yes more exciting than Gonzalez. Check out his highlights, the kid has a rocket arm and is incredibly fast and rangy. I don't miss Khalil Greene one bit.
  

• The first of NFL training camps start exactly two week from today, that feels good to say. I'm trying to motivate to start doing a preview for the league but will have to wait til depth charts get sorted out. I'm looking forward to the start of all the football talk and it will motivate me to write more. I also can not wait to start gambling on football again, Parlees!
  

• That US Confederations Cup loss to Brazil was just brutal. Up 2-0 and cruising into the 2nd half only to blow it. Thats the Brazilians for you though, they are so supremely talented. It was still an awesome ride to our first major international final because we really should not have been there in the first place. But the US has got to get over the hump at some point, we have been close a couple times only to fall short. Hopefully we can make some more noise at the 2010 World Cup. In the mean time, everyone should be paying attention to the Gold Cup going on right now. It is not the same team that played in the Confederations Cup, but its something we should and need to win to continue to establish our position and better our seeding for the World Cup. Also, the lack of home crowd at US international games on our home turf is completely embarassing. The last game was packed with Hondurans and the game was at RFK in our freakin nation's capital. People need to get out and support more because you bet your ass there aren't a bunch of Hondurans taking over the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City when they play there.