Brown and Costner... a tale of two Kevins

This post is about two guys named Kevin. Mentioning either of their names would elicit an eye roll from most of you.

Kevin Brown and Kevin Costner are both associated with excess, wasted money, bad decisions and alienated fans. And yet the early part of both of their careers were terrific and it is a shame that their positives have been almost wiped out of our minds after the negatives.

Let's take Kevin Brown.

What do you think about when you hear Kevin Brown? Chances are you would think of the fact that of all people HE was the first $100 million contract in baseball.

And after signing the bloated contract with the Dodgers he started demanding they pay his flights to visit his family in Georgia (as if 9 figures couldn't get some plane tickets.)

And he was such a prickly guy that Sports Illustrated called him an ornery S.O.B. on their cover.

If you are a Yankee fan you might remember he was a major bust when traded to the Bronx for Jeff Weaver.

And of course he committed two unforgivable sins in New York:

He broke his own hand against a wall down the stretch in 2004.
And in Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS he faced 9 batters, got only 4 of them out and was charged with 5 runs in 1 1/3 innings against the Red Sox... arguably the worst and most humiliating loss in the history of the team.

Yankee fans might remember how the Yankees couldn't give him away that off season and he returned in 2005 to make 13 starts and post a 6.50 ERA before his body and career finally broke down.

Yankee fans might also remember how Joe Torre described him breaking down in his tell all book. And of course he is mentioned in the Mitchell Report.

Not a great legacy.

Now take a look at Costner.

When was the last time anyone was excited to see a Kevin Costner movie?
When was the last time he was considered to be a bankable or likable star?

It's been a while.

His appearances in films like Rumor Has It or Swing Vote or Mr. Brooks didn't exactly light the world on fire.

And his career took an incredible nose dive with big bloated self aggrandizing epics like Waterworld and The Postman. (Seriously. If you haven't see The Postman... it is one of the craziest monuments to a man's ego that has ever been constructed. And yes I include the pyramids in that list.)

And maybe it all started to go wrong when he inexplicably was cast as Robin Hood in the unwatchable Robin Hood: Prince of Theives. Did nobody take note that Sir Robin of Loxsley was English?

He became a punch line of has-been stars and bloated Hollywood budgets.

But guess what?
It wasn't always that way for Costner.

There was a time where not only was he NOT a joke, but he was actually kind of awesome.

Lest we forget, baseball fans, that he starred in two of the great baseball movies ever.

He was Crash F---ing Davis!
Bull Durham remains one of the classic sports movies of all time and it aged like a vintage wine. And a huge reason for its success is Costner's funny, pained, macho, sensitive and sexy performance.

You believe he was good enough to make the show and could seduce just about any woman he wanted. You knew that Nuke owes his quick trip to the show to Crash. You believed that Annie would change her whole life for him. And no doubt he was going to be a great manager in Visalia.

And Field of Dreams is a film I do not apologize that I love.
And Costner is a big reason why it works.

He played some real crazy scenes in the film with 100% believability. Hearing the voices, seeing the ghosts of the ballplayers, meeting Burt Lancaster in the Minnesota town... those scenes would have been awful if you didn't have Costner's completely realistic performance.

I remember my dad said after seeing Field of Dreams "If I heard the voice, that's exactly how I'd react."

Beyond the baseball movies, he was great in Silverado and The Untouchables.
Yeah Dances with Wolves didn't age well and his winning the Best Director Oscar over Martin Scorsese in GoodFellas is one of the great headscratchers in Hollywood history. But he was a big enough and loved star to get a film like that off the ground.

I happen to be a fan of JFK as well. Yeah his accent was strange, but who could forget his performance in it? Right down to "Back and to the left... Back and to the left."

And while I was no fan of The Bodyguard as a movie, back then it was believable that he would not only save Whitney Houston, but that she would fall for him as well.

(Believe it or not there was a time when Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston were a pretty hot on screen couple. For my readers under the age of 25, consider your minds blown.)

So there was a reason why Costner got huge budgets and full creative control in those bloated turkeys in the past 15 years.

He was super cool for a while.

Like Costner, Kevin Brown was also once really REALLY good.

Six times Brown was an All Star, starting the 1992 game. Five times he ranked in the top ten in the Cy Young Award vote including being the runner up to John Smoltz in 1996 when he led the league with a 1.89 ERA.

He won another ERA title in 2000. In 1992 he was the first Texas Ranger in 18 years to win 20 games.

His 1996 was noteworthy because if the current trends in Cy Young voting were in vogue that year, Brown would probably have won. (He got 2 first place votes at the time.)

Smoltz had more wins (24 to Brown's 17), more strikeouts (276 to Brown's 159) and (253 2/3 to Brown's 233).

But Brown's ERA was 1.15 lower than Smoltz (1.89 to 2.94.) Brown's ERA+ was a league best 217 to Smoltz's 149. Brown also led the league in WHIP (.944 to Smoltz's 1.001). And Smoltz had the benefit for playing for the 96 win defending World Champions while Brown was on the 80 win third place Florida Marlins.

He was a workhorse, often being among the league leaders in innings pitched and complete games. Twice he had the highest WAR for pitchers.

In 1997 he threw a no hitter against the Giants and then tossed a complete game victory to clinch the pennant for the Marlins. It was Brown on the mound when the Marlins celebrated in Atlanta. The Marlins went on to win the World Series.

Shipped off to San Diego, he won 18 games and helped propel the Padres to the World Series. In the post season he out dueled Randy Johnson in Game 1 of the Division Series. In his two starts in the 4 game victory over the Astros, Brown posted a 0.61 ERA in 14 2/3 innings, striking out 21.

In the NLCS, he out pitched another future Hall of Famer when his 3 hit shutout beat the Braves and Tom Glavine.

In the off season he signed the $100 million contract but actually lived up to it the first few years. He was an 18 game winner and logged 252 innings his first year with the Dodgers. In his second he pitched 230 innings with 5 complete games, winning his second ERA title. He remained healthy for only one season over the remaining five years of the contract including his disappointing year and a half in New York and his implosion late in 2004.

In 2002 he was the highest paid player in baseball and yet threw only 63 2/3 innings all year.

But hey! The Dodgers didn't pick him at random for their $100 million offer!He put together a year that would have won a Cy Young award now. He won 17 or more games four times. He had a pair of ERA titles and a no hitter and some post season glory. In 1998, the Sporting News named him Pitcher of the Year.

That's not an awful resume. And it shouldn't be TOTALLY overshadowed by what happened in the last few years of his deal.

Too bad the great parts of his career happened in relative obscurity in Texas, Florida and San Diego and the disappointments were in Los Angeles and New York.

But Brown is a Kevin worth saluting for the good in his career.
Same with Costner.

Not sure what the make of the Padres - Reds trade except...

The Padres got the best players named Yasmani, Yonder and Edinson in all of baseball.

Actually I am not sure how Mat Latos will fare in Cincinnati. But his stats dipped last year and no doubt the Padres are banking at the 24 year old Latos's Cy Young contending season in 2010 was a fluke.

And maybe the Padres were thinking that maybe he was a PetCo Park creation.
Either way they get Yonder Alonso who was one of the top prospects in baseball before the 2009, 2010 and 2011 seasons.

They got Yasmani Grandal, a 22 year old excellent hitting catching prospect.

They got Edinson Volquez who was an All Star in 2008 and only 28 and heading into a great pitchers ballpark.

And someone named Brad Boxberger was sent to San Diego.
He's a 24 year old reliever who can strike batters out.
He struck out 93 batters in 62 innings last year. He had 6 2/3 strikeouts for every walk thrown.

I'm telling you. I said it once and I'll say it again.

The Padres have a plan.
I have so much more confidence in the Padres than many other high profile teams.

And you'll hear names like Boxberger and Yonder and Edinson and Yasmani will be in October before a lot of better known names.

Every time a Bell rings, a Marlin gets obscenely rich

Well up to now, the Marlins have just been putting on a show.
They have new uniforms, an ugly statue, a brand new ballpark and a crazy new manager.

They've wined and dined every big free agent to show their fans they mean to add lots of payroll.

But unless you think of Wade LeBlanc as a big star pick up, they haven't actually brought anyone big in.

(And if Wade LeBlanc is your idea of a star, then chances are you think he played Joey.)

Well that changed a little bit this morning.
Heath Bell made the closer market a little thinner all the while paying all the bills for the rest of his life by signing a 3 year, $27 million contact with the Marlins.

Miami (not Florida) has their closer and will be the first indication to either Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder or most likely Jose Reyes that the checks will indeed clear.

That's good news.

My friend Gar, The Batting Stance Guy, wrote on Twitter "Could be construed as manipulative but Marlins final pitch to HBell included: "Padres still owe us for THoffman trade".

It's also good news for the Marlins that Josh Johnson is starting to throw again. A healthy Johnson in 2012 would be like trading for an ace without giving up any players.

Now it is risky to sign closers to big deals. He's in his mid 30s and relievers can flame out pretty quickly. But it is a safe bet that he'll give the Marlins a good year or two.

(Meanwhile, the Padres get some payroll flexibility and can stick someone like Ernesto Frieri or Anthony Bass in the closer role for a pittance all the while building up their farm system with two more picks. But that has more to do with my thoughts on why the Padres are in better shape that we think... I digress.)

The Marlins are hoping that the Phillies age will catch up with them and Ozzie (plus fans in the stands) can give the Marlins a boost. And with Bell closing games (and 2011 closer Juan Oviedo setting up) maybe they can indeed get back to October.

And remember, the Marlins are the only franchise in baseball to NEVER lose a playoff series. (If the Marlins win the 2012 World Series, put all Indians and Cubs fans on suicide watch!)

Take note free agents.
There could be a new big market big spender in baseball... at least for the next few months.

Like Tony Montana before them, the Marlins are in Miami and ready to spend money lavishly. Get in the game while they are spending.

And maybe they can activate that statue when he closes a game!

Geoff Young visits The Sully Baseball Show

Geoff Young, creator of DuckSnorts.com and a writer for Baseball Prospectus, stopped by The Sully Baseball Show today.

We talked Padres baseball and why I personally think San Diego is closer to a pennant than the Cubs, Red Sox and Mets.

It is the second hour of the Seamheads block on Monday night after What's On Second, the flagship show of the Seamheads National Podcasting Network.

Listen to internet radio with Seamheads on Blog Talk Radio

The Padres will win the pennant before the Red Sox, Cubs or Mets

Call this a hunch.
Call this a long shot.

But I think I am right about this.
I think the San Diego Padres will be in a position to be in the World Series BEFORE big market teams like the Red Sox, Cubs or Mets.

Yeah yeah yeah, I know. The Padres were a whole lot of suck last year. And I know their penny pinching ways aren't going to end in 2012.

And their chances of winning in 2012 are slim to none.
You know... like the Diamondbacks' chances were in 2011.

I know the Padres will be in full "Let's see what we've got in the minor leagues" mode in 2012 and the mantra will be "Patience while we give some talented players some experience."

But guess what? That's a better place than the Red Sox, Cubs or Mets will be in for 2012.

The 2012 Red Sox will still be reeling from a September that took them from a potential World Series to the scorched Earth purging of the front office and management. Nobody even knows who is running the show.

The 2012 Cubs have a nice story with the arrival of Theo Epstein. But when he took over the Red Sox after the 2002 season, they had just won 93 games and were a contender until the last week of the season. This Cubs team is a 91 loss mess with the Soriano and Zambrano contracts making it damn near impossible to make any major moves this season.

And those two teams are locks for the playoffs compared to the Amazing Messed Up Mets. They have unmovable contracts, injured stars, their marquee player (Jose Reyes) is a free agent and who knows what their financial situation is. Will they be sold? Will MLB focus on the Mets after the Dodger debacle is cleared?

The Padres are in a much better place. They KNOW what they are doing. They are playing young prospects and have a low payroll.

Heath Bell could leave via free agency and give them even more payroll flexibility and draft picks. Or he could stick around and anchor the bullpen and give the young pitchers some built up confidence.

Mat Latos had a step back season but still wasn't bad. And he will only be 24 next season. Clayton Richards, Cory Luebke, Josh Spence and Ernesto Frieri are all young and pitching in one of the best pitchers parks in the league.

Um... that is potentially a staff 6 pitchers deep.
Can the Red Sox, Cubs or Mets say that? Honestly?

Plus they have young Robert Erlin, Anthony Bass, Joe Weiland and Casey Kelly not far away.

They have the likes of Cameron Maybin and Kyle Blanks who seem to have been around forever but they are both still only 25 years old.

They have the young Anthony Rizzo who has already made his big league debut. So did another minor league stud, James Darnell. Third baseman Jedd Gyorko is working his way up the system.

Mix that all in with the fact that they play in a totally unpredictable division.

Between 2005 and about 2 weeks to go in the 2007 season, it looked like the Padres had control of the NL West.

Oh wait! The Diamondbacks won the 2007 Division title and about midway through the 2008 season it looked like it was theirs for a while.

Oh wait! The Dodgers won it in 2008 and 2009. And for many years to come it was going to be the Dodgers' division.

Except that the Giants won it all in 2010. And their repeat in the NL West was preordained...

But nobody told the Diamondbacks who suddenly became the Division standard bearers again.

Throw in a pennant and a Wild Card in Colorado and this Division is anyones.
Teams turn around, flame out and turn around again quickly in the NL West.

And the Padres would have almost all of the names I mentioned controlled for a few years and be allowed to gel and have a few reasonable additions to the payroll. By 2013 or 2014 they will have a legit shot at the playoffs.

As we saw by the last few Octobers, a team can make it to the World Series if they get on a roll.

The Padres have a DIRECTION.
Can you honestly say that about the Red Sox? The Cubs? The Mets?

Don't buy the Dodgers, Mark Cuban. BUY THE PADRES!

Frank McCourt is out as Dodgers owner and people are longing for days when Fox was running the team into the ground.

There are lots of rumors of who should take over the Dodgers. A group led by Steve Garvey and Orel Hershiser is making their intentions known. I like that. It's kind of like Mario Lemieux taking over the Penguins and making them champs again. Or Nolan Ryan bringing the Rangers to the brink.

Who understands what it means to be a Dodger more than Steve Garvey and Orel Hershiser. (Oddly they BOTH won post season MVPs for the Dodgers AND for other teams, but that is neither here nor there.)

There are other people who think that Mark Cuban should take over the Dodgers.
I understand their reasoning. He's a visionary owner who took a moribund NBA franchise in an indifferent market and turned them into perennial contenders and finally a World Champion.

If I were a Dodger fan, I'd rather have a visionary and passionate owner hell bent on putting a winner on the field rather than Fox or the McCourts.

But as a baseball fan, let me say that I'd rather Cuban not run the Dodgers. I don't think it takes much vision or talent to make the Dodgers winners.

Don't believe me? The McCourts treated the Dodgers like their personal ATM machine and ran one of the great glamorous and successful teams in baseball history into bankruptcy court. And they STILL went to the playoffs in 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2009 and had a winning season in 2011!

Four playoff appearances in six years and leaving a winning product on the field with an MVP and Cy Young front runner? All that with an incompetent crook running the team!

So putting Cuban in the role of "Savior of the Dodgers" seems like overkill.

It would be like a producer saying "We need an actress to deliver 3 lines in this episode of Dexter" and having the casting director say "How about Meryl Streep?"

Yeah she can do it. But Meryl should have a role worthy of her talents.

Think about what Cuban did.
The Mavericks used to be just another team filling up the schedule.

They may have had a decent year or two, but were they ever a FACTOR? Was there ever a buzz about the Mavericks?

They were like the Timberwolves or the Washington Wizards or Golden State Warriors are now. Another team to play while you wait for your club to go to Los Angeles, Miami, Boston or some real contender.

And he turned the culture around... under his leadership and aggressiveness they became an exciting team. A non existent fan base waiting for the Cowboys season to start became basketball fans.

He needs a bigger challenge than the Dodgers.

Which brings me to the San Diego Padres.

The Padres have had some good teams recently. They were back to back division champs in 2005 and 2006. And they were a pair of Trevor Hoffman meltdowns from making the 2007 playoffs (and probably winning the pennant that year.)

And in 2010 they were a game away from the NL West title (and probably would have made it to the NLCS.)

There are talented players on the team. And they have a BEAUTIFUL stadium in the middle of a wonderful section of town.

And they don't draw flies.

They are handicapped.
To the North is Los Angeles and Orange County... the domain of the Dodgers and Angels.
To the East is the desert.
To the South is Mexico.
To the West is the Pacific Ocean.

Not the greatest pool which to draw fans.

Yet San Diego is a larger metropolitan area than St. Louis... than Baltimore... than Denver... than Pittsburgh... than Tampa... than Cleveland... than Cincinnati...

So we're not talking about a team that is in a suburb.

And with some imagination and aggressiveness they can become THE team of San Diego. And maybe they can tap into the Riverside and San Bernadino TV markets (13th biggest market in the country.)

Maybe under Cuban's leadership, PetCo could become filled and be a St. Louis of the west... a baseball haven. An underdog city that loves their team, fills their park, watches the games on TV, buys the merchandise.

Free agents could come to San Diego (a BEAUTIFUL city.) And the team could be a super fun club.

How is that less likely than the Dallas Mavericks becoming an elite basketball team?

It would take a visionary owner to do that... like Cuban.

Who CAN'T make the Dodgers winners?
Even McCourt couldn't keep them from the playoffs or below .500.

Come to Southern California, Mr. Cuban.
Just go a little more south.

No California Teams this year

For the second time since the Wild Card was introduced in 1995, there will be no California teams in the post season.

In 1999 and this year, the West was represented by Arizona and Texas.
And the Wild Cards in 1999 were the Mets and Red Sox.
We're not sure who it is for this year.

Let's run them down.

In 1995, the Dodgers won the NL West crown. (The Angels lost a one game playoff to Seattle.)
In 1996, both the Padres and Dodgers were in.
In 1997, the Giants won the NL West.
In 1998, the Padres won the National League pennant.
1999 saw no California teams.
2000 had the A's and the Giants winning their Division.
In 2001, the A's won the Wild Card.
2002 was the greatest year for California. The A's won the AL West but the World Series was between the Giants and Angels.
2003 had the A's and Giants winning their Division again.
The 2004 Angels won the Division.
In 2005, the Angels won the Division and advanced to the ALCS. Meanwhile the Padres won the NL West.
2006 saw the Padres and Dodgers both in the National League playoffs and the Oakland A's making it to the ALCS.
The 2007 Angels won the Division.
The 2008 and 2009 Angels and Dodgers each won their Division. Both made the LCS in 2009, the closest we have seen to a Freeway Series.
And the 2010 Giants of course won the World Series.

But with the elimination of the Angels tonight, any California dream for the World Series was put to rest.

Good luck next year, Giants, A's, Dodgers, Angels or Padres.

I want some West Coast Bias next year.

Potential Giant Regrets

There has been a whole lot of strangeness going on by China Basin.

The defense of the Giants' World Championship has hit some unexpected snags.



In late July, the Giants took 2 of 3 IN Philadelphia and took a 4 game lead over Arizona in the West. Then they got Carlos Beltran to spark the offense. Winning the west was merely a formality.



Instead in 17 games, they went from 4 games up to 3 1/2 back of Arizona.



A 7 1/2 game swing in less than 3 weeks!



So after the Braves series, the Giants saw the lowly Astros and the not exactly world beater Padres were on deck. And during those games the Diamondbacks went on a 6 game losing streak.



The Giants won just one game during the D'Backs slide... and they were playing two of the worst teams in the league.



If the Giants don't win the Division, or are scrambling in the last week and throwing Lincecum on short rest, remember August. Remember these series against the Astros and the Padres.



These games count just as much as the games at the end of September.

Let's hope the Giants didn't lose the Division here the way the Padres did last year.

Forget winning the Division... will the Pirates win another GAME?

Look, the Pirates winning the NL Central was always a bit of a long shot. Even on July 19th when they were in first place by themselves, the chances of them holding on to that lead were slim.

But even the most realistic Pirate fan would have had a hard time imagining this fiasco.

They've lost 10 of their past 11 games. Yeah that included some tight games, including the 19 inning fiasco. But they've only one once since then.

And win loss records don't reflect close games. Just wins and losses.

Since they went on this brutal stretch against the Cardinals, Braves and Phillies, the home series against the lowly Cubs and Padres were supposed to be a chance to catch their breath and pick up a few wins before heading to San Francisco.

Well they were swept by the Cubs and are in danger of being swept by the Padres.

Pirates... you NEED to get back on track. A lot of positives have been achieved this year. Fans have shown up. There was excitement for a bit and even some optimism.

But guess what? The Steelers are practicing now. You know, the team that made it to the SUPER BOWL last year. The team that won the Damn Super Bowl a few years ago and a few years before that!

You have Pittsburgh's attention but PNC Park could be empty in September unless you start putting some W's on the board.

The Bucs are 4 games under .500 now.
They have 50 games left.

In order to go 82-80, a winning season to get the whole "longest streak of losing seasons in North American History" crap off their backs, they need to go 28-22 the rest of the way.

Not asking for the moon.
It starts tomorrow.
It's the freaking Padres.

Win a game.

Ryan Ludwick and The Right Stuff

There's a great moment in The Right Stuff that I thought about when I heard the Pirates dealt for Ryan Ludwick today.

When Alan Shepard climbed into the capsule, getting ready to be the first American into space, he saw there was a hand written sign placed on the capsule. It read "No Handball Playing In This Area." Shepard saw it was placed there by John Glenn as a joke.

It was a lame joke and Shepard pointed that out to his rival. He thought Glenn was too squeaky clean not one of the boys.

Glenn for a moment is disappointed that his attempt at humor was rejected but then Shepard says "But I do appreciate it John. I surely do." And they share a bond at that moment that was real and warmer than anything they had up until that part of the movie.

And it was the moment where all the animosity between the two ended. They had a common goal that was greater than their many differences. At that moment they were only compatriots.

It's a great moment in a great movie.

So what the hell does that have to do with Ryan Ludwick being picked up by the Pittsburgh Pirates?

OK, in my analogy, John Glenn is the Pirates organization and Alan Shepard represents the Pirates fans. And the lame handball joke? That's the trade for Ryan Ludwick.

Is it a difference maker?

No.

Will he lead the Pirates to the playoffs?

Probably not.

Will it be a forgotten move in a few weeks?

Probably.

But Pirate fans see the team TRYING to improve for the stretch run instead of shipping off the players that are any good.

That's Shepard saying to Glenn "I do appreciate it. I surely do."

For the first time in a long time, the Pirates are trying. They are giving a damn. And the team isn't just pocketing the revenue sharing.

It's a change in culture.

It's the right stuff.

Watch the clip below... at 17:20 of the clip is the scene I am talking about.

And rent The Right Stuff. What the hell is the matter with you?

What if Hideki Irabu had signed with the Padres?

Hideki Irabu, one of the fastest throwers in Japanese baseball history and his leagues greatest strikeout artist, died today in Los Angeles County. The first reports say it looks like a suicide.

For a pitcher who has been the butt of many jokes and a Frank Costanza rant, there suddenly is nothing funny about him. Like Donnie Moore before him, a player who was a source of ridicule suddenly became a tragic figure.

In 1997 he was brought to New York as a newly minted millionaire potential hero and given the key to city by Rudy Guiliani and a spot in the defending World Champion Yankees' rotation. 11 years later his credit card was declined in a bar in Japan and he got into a brawl.

And today, trying to find work in an independent minor league, he was found dead.

Sitting at my dining room table, I can't sit and pretend to know all of Irabu's demons. Clearly anyone who could go through with ending their own life has plenty. But it is impossible to avoid the thought that failing on such a grand scale in New York may have contributed to his downfall. Joe Torre had him on the roster for the 1998 and 1999 post season but used him in a single game over 6 series. He pitched in mop up duty for Roger Clemens' dreadful Game 3 start in the 1999 ALCS.

I remember being startled when he came out of the bullpen against the Red Sox that day. I forgot he was even on the team.

He became a symbol of a Steinbrenner move to make a backpage splash and tap into the Japanese market instead of improving the team. (Of course if he delivered, Steinbrenner would have taken the credit of being forward thinking.)

And his debut in 1997 was a solid win where he pitched into the 7th. And remember in 1998, he started off as a very effective pitcher. He was the AL Pitcher of the Month for May, 1998. By mid June of 1998, he was 6-1 with a 1.59 ERA and was a big contributor to the Yankees stellar first half. As late as July 20th he had a terrific record (9-3) and a very good ERA (2.86.) A string of 6 bad starts, plus the emergence of El Duque Hernandez, pushed him out of the post season roster.

But his 1998 could hardly be called a total failure. But 1999 was not a good year for him and by 2000 he was an Expo. By 2002 he was a Ranger, his last season in the majors. He pitched in 2009 for the Long Beach Armada of the Golden Baseball League. Former Padres shortstop Garry Templeton was his manager. His teammate was Jose Lima, who passed away last spring.

I can't help but wonder what would have happened if he played in a smaller market.

The Padres paid the posting fee for Irabu to bring him to America and they owned his signing rights. But, wanting to be on the biggest stage (and have the greatest marketability) he refused to sign with San Diego. He and his agent engineered the trade that sent him to the Bronx.

Had he stayed with the Padres, his fame would not have been as great, but neither would the magnification of his failures. Like the Yankees, the 1997 Padres were coming off a post season berth and had talent.

If he had put up the same numbers with the 1998 Padres as he did with the 1998 Yankees, he would have been beloved by the fans instead of being cursed out.

Remember the '98 Padres were a terrific team that went on to win the National League pennant. They were not as good as the historic 1998 Yankees, but they had a deep lineup and a tough bullpen.

And their fan base is forgiving. Playing for a large passionate fanbase has its disadvantages. Not being able to hide any flaws is one of them. Trevor Hoffman had many high profile critical game blown saves in his career with the Padres. Had he blown those games in New York, Philadelphia or Boston, he would have been run out of town on a rail. In San Diego they are retiring his number.

I wonder if Irabu had pitched in San Diego, if he would have been able to develop and adapt to America better than in New York, where he was expected to be the next Nolan Ryan right out of the gate.

I wonder if Padres fans could have accepted him for what he was instead of tormenting him for what he wasn't. 13 wins and an OK 4.06 ERA mixed in with a pitcher of the month award would get a lot more respect in a smaller market gunning for their second ever pennant.

Maybe he pitches well along side Kevin Brown, Andy Ashby, Sterling Hitchcock and Joey Hamilton. Maybe he fares well against the Yankees in the World Series.

Or maybe his demons were just too strong to conquer. Maybe this has nothing to do with bis baseball career.

But seeing how far he fell makes it impossible to wonder. Did he have to perch himself up so high?

I love throwback jerseys but...

I almost always love it when teams wear old uniforms.
Even the ugly ones.
The Pirates and A's wore some ugly threads in the 1970s and I LOVED it when they busted them out.

But Holy Crap the dark brown Padres uniforms were UGLY! And yes, they were worse than the yellow ones.

I like the brown and yellow "Kid from Left Field" hats... but holy cow these threads stink.

Then again, as of this writing, they have the World Champions down 1-0.

So who am I to criticize their fashion?

Hey Bud Black... Harang was pitching well

When a guy is throwing a no hitter after 6 innings, I'd leave him in the game.
Maybe it's just me.

When you have two dead from the neck up franchises playing each other in a "Let's stay out of the cellar" game, why not have the guy come out for the 7th?

When it is a 33 year old guy who could be throwing the game of his 10 year career... why not give him a chance?

Yes, I know he was hurt recently.
I know it was hot.
I know he was fresh off a rehab assignment.

But why have the "Could he have thrown a no hitter?" question linger over his career?
Seriously how many more years does Aaron Harang have?
2?
3?

You can't push pitchers when they are in their early 20s and you can't push them in their early 30s I guess.

Let him throw until he lets up a hit.
Wouldn't a no hitter from a likable veteran make a down San Diego year a little better?
Especially seeing it would have been the first no hitter in Padres history.

I would have let him pitch the 7th.
Not sure if this qualifies as babying pitchers, but I am going to link the video anyway!

Dick Williams, a man who could breathe life into dead teams

Hall of Fame manager Dick Williams died today... and if you are a fan of the Red Sox, A's or Padres, you should toast him tonight.

Dick Williams was more than a great manager. He was more than someone who took three different teams to the World Series.

He raised teams from the dead.

It's hard to believe this now, but there was a time when the Boston Red Sox were a dead franchise with poor attendance and non contenders.
They had losing seasons every year from 1959 to 1966, including 100 losses in 1965.

Dick Williams took over the club and they went to their first World Series in 19 years. And the Red Sox were revived. You can trace the love for Fenway and the romance of Red Sox Nation to the magical summer of 1967.

When he went to the A's, they hadn't been relevant since Connie Mack was manager. They never had a winning season in Kansas City and the 1971 A's was the franchise's first October since 1931.

He inherited a talented team but he made them an All Time team. The A's won back to back titles under Williams and they went on to win a third title.

In 1977 after a failed turn with the Angels, Williams took over an Expos team that never had a winning season in their first 8 years of existence. By 1979 they were a 95 win club with future Hall of Famers Gary Carter, Andre Dawson and Tony Perez at the core. A non factor franchise became a legit pennant contender and the Expos had their greatest years and drew their most fans.

Then he took over the Padres, another nondescript franchise with no history nor success. Between the Padres first season in 1969 and Williams arrival in 1982, the Padres had a grand total of one winning season and never finished above 4th place.

By his third season, the Padres were a 90 win team and won the 1984 NL West title, then stunned the heavily favored Cubs to give San Diego their first World Series appearance.

Later he took over the Mariners, another hopeless franchise. For a while it looked like he was going to do the same thing there with talented players like Mark Langston, Mike Moore, Jim Presley, Alvin Davis, Harold Reynolds, Danny Tartabull and Phil Bradley on the roster. But alas it didn't work out in the Pacific Northwest.

If only he stuck around for two more seasons in time for the arrival of Ken Griffey Jr. and Randy Johnson in 1989!

He was a Hall of Famer and one of the great managers of all time.

And you can certainly NOT say he took easy jobs.

Rest in Peace, Mr. Williams.

On a side note, we both appear in the great movie "Spaceman: A Baseball Odyssey" and in fact we both appear in this trailer for the film.
My vague connection to an All Time great manager.

Giants walk off and some other thoughts

OF COURSE they got two homers from Nate Schierholtz!

How else are the Giants expected to win?
Normally?

Seriously, I am worried about Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper. They are losing their voice after virtually EVERY game.

With all of the crazy wins this team has, the new Showtime show will have more heart stopping finishes than Hoosiers!

Meanwhile, how awesome was Pablo Sandoval's 8th and 9th innings?

Not only does he get the game tying double, but he saves at least one run with a dazzling 2 out diving stop to end a potential go ahead rally against Brian Wilson.

Speaking of Wilson...
I really was hoping he'd get the win.

He has 6. That's tied with Tim Lincecum. When your CLOSER has as many wins as your ace, you would have to assume your team is dreadful, not in first place approaching the All Star break.

It's been a weird year for the Giants.

It could be the oddest World Championship defense ever.
But hey! It is working.

Eight is Indeed Enough

No need to play that last inning. The Red Sox bats were dead. So the Red Sox lost a series to the Padres. Man was that stupid.

The Sox can beat up the Yankees, Rays and Brewers but can't beat the Padres?

Ugh... let's hope they have a few wins against the Pirates. But today, 8 is enough.

Let's try to not have many games like this, OK?

The Red Sox kept putting the tying run on and bringing the go ahead run to the plate.
They kept getting me excited.
They kept teasing us.

And they just couldn't score off of the Padres bullpen. You know, the one they scored at will on yesterday.

It's important to win series, but now they have to win tomorrow in order to pull it off.

And by the way, the game has been over for 10 minutes, but I think 3 more Padres walked since then.

Time to update the tally.

DODGED BULLET GAMES - 21

April 8 - 9-6 win against the Yankees. (The Sox end their 6 game losing streak with a slugfest. John Lackey stinks but Phil Hughes stinks even more.)
April 10 - 4-0 win against the Yankees. (Beckett and Sabathia duel in a game that was 1-0 until the late innings.)
April 20 - 5-3 win in Oakland. (Red Sox survive a lead off homer and two bases loaded situations and facing the tying run at the plate to win their first road game.)
April 21 - 4-2 win in Anaheim. (The Red Sox stranded 15 men on base and Josh Beckett's went 8 strong with no decision. But the Sox rallied in the 11th to win.)
April 22 - 4-3 win in Anaheim. (Peter Bourjos makes a 2 run errors and the Red Sox survive a bizarre passed ball by Jarrod Saltalamacchia that let a run scored from second.)
May 1 - 3-2 win against the Mariners. (Ichiro loses a ball in the sun that turns into a 9th inning triple for Lowrie. Crawford singles him home for the win.)
May 8 - 9-5 win against the Twins. (Dice-K lets up 3 runs in the first but settles down as the Red Sox clobber Carl Pavano.)

May 9 - 2-1 win against the Twins. (A bullpen breakdown cost Beckett the decision but Cark Crawford ended the game with an 11th inning walk off hit.)
May 13 - 5-4 win in the Bronx. (Youkilis homers off of Joba and Bard and Papelbon make it more interesting than it needed to be.)
May 15 - 7-5 win in the Bronx. (Sox fall behind 4-1 but come back as Youk, Papi and Salty all homer.)
May 16 - 8-7 win against the Orioles. (Down 6-0 after 6 innings, the Sox rally and win it with a 2 run walk off double by Adrian Gonzalez)
May 18 - 1-0 win against Detroit. (With 2 outs in the 8th, Salty doubles home Crawford from first for the only run. Papelbon gets himself in and out of 9th inning trouble.)
May 19 - 4-3 win against Detroit. (Bard blows Beckett's lead but Carl Crawford wins it with a walk off hit.)
May 24 - 4-2 win in Cleveland. (Varitek throws two runners out and homers as the Red Sox win their first game against the Indians.)
May 29 - 4-3 win in Detroit. (The Red Sox blow an early 3-0 lead but David Ortiz wins the game with a pinch 9th inning homer.)
June 3 - 8-6 win against Oakland. (Buchholz lets up 4 runs in the first but the Sox come back thanks to Carl Crawford's 2 run single.)
June 4 - 9-8 win against Oakland. (Red Sox blow a 4 run 9th inning lead and trail in the 11th before Ellsbury ties it and Drew wins it in 14.)
June 7 - 6-4 win in the Bronx. (Papelbon strikes out A-Rod to end the game with a runner on base.)
June 9 - 8-3 win in the Bronx. (Down 2-0 to Sabathia in the 7th, the Sox score 7 runs as Papi exacts revenge after getting plunked. A 3+ hour rain delay pushed the game past 1:30 AM)

June 15 - 3-0 win in Tampa Bay. (Youkilis homers in the 7th for the only runs in Beckett's 1 hit masterpiece.)
June 16 - 4-2 win in Tampa Bay. (Papelbon wiggles out of a 2 on, nobody out jam in the 9th thanks to Youk's diving catch.)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 19

April 1 - 9-5 loss in Texas. (The Sox tie Opening Day in the 8th with an Ortiz homer only to have Bard implode and the Sox let up 4 in the bottom of the 8th.)

April 5 - 3-1 loss in Cleveland. (The Sox drop their 4th straight as the bats are dead in Cleveland.)
April 7 - 1-0 loss in Cleveland. (Sox blow a great Lester performance on a squeeze bunt and Darnell McDonald overrunning the bag to end the game.)
April 12 - 3-2 loss to Tampa Bay. (A solid Lester performance is wasted as Kyle Farnsworth of all people shuts down the Sox.)
April 15 - 7-6 loss to Toronto. (Bobby Jenks implodes with a 4 run seventh inning as the Red Sox waste Pedroia and Youkilis homers and a clutch RBI double by Scuatro.
April 19 - 5-0 loss in Oakland. (Pedroia gets picked off, the Sox bats go dead and waste a solid Lackey start.)
April 26 - 4-1 loss in Baltimore. (Buchholz pitches tentatively and the Sox let Kevin Gregg of all people to close out the 9th.)
April 27 - 5-4 loss in Baltimore. (The Sox tie the game with a 3 run 8th only to have Bard lose it in the bottom of the 8th.)
April 29 - 5-4 loss to Mariners. (Bobby Jenks blows a 7th inning lead, wasting 2 Mike Cameron homers.)
April 30 - 2-0 loss to Mariners. (The Sox strand 11 runners and let Milton Bradley double home the go ahead run.)
May 4 - 5-3 loss to Angels. (7 hours with rain delays and stranded runners. Marco Scutaro was thrown out at the plate in the 12th)
May 10 - 7-6 loss in Toronto. (8th and 9th inning heroics, including a homer by Adrian Gonzalez, are undone by a walk off sacrifice fly by David Cooper.)
May 21 - 9-3 loss to Cubs. (Up 3-1 in the 8th inning, the bullpen and defense implode. The Cubs score 8 runs while both teams wear their 1918 uniforms.)
May 23- 3-2 loss in Cleveland. (The Sox blow a 2-1 8th inning lead when the Indians rally with 2 outs. Crawford ends the game on a double play.)
May 29 - 3-0 loss in Detroit. (Verlander keeps the Sox off base and prevents the sweep.)
June 1 - 7-4 loss to White Sox. (Konerko drives in three, spoiling a game tying Ortiz homer.)

June 14 - 4-0 loss in Tampa Bay. (Wakefield's solid outing is spoiled. Longoria scores on a passed ball.)
June 18 - 4-2 loss to Milwaukee. (The Brewers hit three homers early off of Lester and hang on.)
June 21 - 5-4 loss to San Diego. (Ortiz hits a double play in the 9th to stifle a potential winning rally.)

Down to +2.

Win tomorrow and the series is in the W column.

The franchise moves that almost happened - My latest for The Hardball Times

Can you imagine the Senators moving not to Minnesota but to Los Angeles?
What about the Milwaukee White Sox?
Or the Tampa Bay Giants?
Or the North Carolina Twins?
Or the A's playing in just about any American city save for Walla Walla Washington?

Well they almost happened, and I wrote about them in my latest for The Hardball Times.

These are the franchise moves that ALMOST happened. And some were real close to being finalized. The Padres move from San Diego to Washington looked like such a done deal in the mid 1970s that Topps actually printed cards with the Padres players but the team name was "Washington National League."

You want to read more of these strange "What if?" scenarios?

Check out the article HERE.

Hey Padres... wear these hats instead of the camouflage

I think it is good to honor the military after taking down Osama Bin Laden.
And the Padres are doing so by wearing their military camouflage uniforms, which I have already made clear that I am not a fan.

Why not the Red White and Blue hats?
It is a day for all Americans to feel at least a sense of justice and closure regarding that awful day. There will no doubt be flag waving, so why not have the flag waving on the field?

Just a thought.