Padres trade for Ludwick, cap busy trade deadline

For the second time in three days, the Padres proved again to be buyers at the 2010 trade deadline. After acquiring Miguel Tejada on Thursday from the Orioles, the Padres made an early morning move to grab Ryan Ludwick in a three-way deal with the Cardinals and Indians.

Ludwick has a career 162-game average of 80 runs, 27 home runs, 96 RBI and a triple slash of .272/.341/.492.

He came to the Cardinals after a few unimpressive seasons spent with Texas and Cleveland. But after signing as a minor league free agent in 2007, Ludwick remade his career and was an All-Star in 2008 crushing 27 home runs and hitting at a .299 average.

Although Ludwick will not directly improve the Padres against left handed pitching like they needed – he has a career line of .239 .318 .457 against them – he has feasted on the NL West during his time with the Cardinals.

Ludwick’s 2007-2009 splits vs. San Francisco .353/.433/.686 vs. Colorado .350/.394/.767 vs. Arizona .317/.397/.567 vs. Los Angeles .266/.319/.453 – with 3HR this year vs. LA – all seem to point to him being more than comfortable in the pitcher-friendly division.

In addition, Ludwick also leads the majors in batting average with runners in scoring position, .448, which puts him just ahead of his new teammate Adrian Gonzalez who boasts the second best clip, .440.

Even in the always-daunting Petco Park Ludwick has seen success. In 48 career at bats, he has posted a .289/.333/.400 line with one home run and 12 RBI. Keep in mind that even though many see Petco Park as a place where home runs go to die, it actually allows more home runs than the new Busch Stadium where Ludwick played his home games.

Also, Petco is much more susceptible to right-handed home run hitters than left-handed.

Ludwick fills a lot of needs for the Padres, and will still be under team control through the 2011 season. By adding Ludwick, the Padres committed around $10 million to payroll over the next year and a half, which echoes the message sent by majority owner Jeff Moorad who has said on multiple occasions that the team was free to add payroll.

Ludwick will be taking an everyday spot in right field replacing the under performing Will Venable.

Although Venable is one of the Padres best athletes, Ludwick should be able to handle the rigors of defending the spacious Petco outfield. In 2010 he has been an elite defender (7.3 UZR) while for his career Ludwick has played just above average.

In order to acquire the former All-Star and Silver Slugger award winner, the Padres gave up two minor leaguers in Corey Kluber and Nick Greenwood.

Kluber was pitching for the Double-A San Antonio Mission this season. The 24-year-old righty had made vast improvements in 2010 after seeing a bump in velocity and control.

Greenwood was a 22-year-old 2009 14th round pick of the Padres who has been struggling in Low-A. Most scouts see Greenwood as a fringe prospect at best.

Latos pitching strong, but for how long?

How many bullets does Latos have left for 2010? (AP File Photo)

The most important numbers facing Mat Latos this season? 56.1, 56.0, 122.3 and 106.2.

Those are the total number of innings he has pitched over the last four seasons of professional baseball.

While it is easy to look at him as a hard throwing young righty who — while carrying a 10-4 record with 2.54 ERA — is quickly becoming a staff ace, there is much more at stake here.

Major League Baseball is littered with pitchers who had the talent of Latos at a similar age but, after overuse, spent more time on the disabled list than on the mound.

San Diego’s own Mark Prior tends to be an example of the worst-case scenario. Prior threw 167 innings his first year out of college in 2002, and saw that number shoot up to 211 in 2003 when he went 18-6 for the Chicago Cubs with a 2.46 ERA. It was magical. He was the ace of a Cubs staff that came within the most famous fan interference in baseball history of going to the World Series for the first time in nearly 100 years.

The only problem was that after that season Prior was never the same, and has failed to pitch a full season since.

Another cautionary tale is Prior’s former teammate Kerry Wood. Wood was the Stephen Strasburg of the late ‘90s. He threw harder than anyone in the league, and dazzled all who got the chance to watch him pitch. But after throwing an incredible 151 innings in the minors in 1997 at the age of 20, followed by a major league season in 1998 that included a 20-strikeout performance against the Astros, Wood needed Tommy John Surgery. Like Prior, Wood was never the same and is now struggling to hold a roster spot in the majors.

What does all this mean for Latos?

Well, for starters, it should throw up an immediate caution sign that he has gone from Low A ball to dominating the majors in less than a year. This is not to question his talent, but just to acknowledge that he is not the typical young starter.

But the Padres know this. With former pitchers in Bud Black and Jed Hoyer running this team, you can be sure that Latos is in good hands.

Even though they are leading a tough division half way through the season, the Padres organization knows that the long-term performance is much more valuable than a 2010post season run.

“At some point we’re going to need to give Mat a break,” Hoyer said in a recent interview. “We do have a plan in place that we haven’t announced to give him a nice long rest at some point in the season.

“We have to do it, he’s a 22-year-old kid. It’s something we discuss all the time.”

“We watch it all the time,” Black says acknowledging Latos’ rising inning count. “There are games where he probably could have gone an inning or two [more] when we took him out. “

Of course sometimes it comes to the point where the team needs to be able to trust Latos to tell them when he needs to come out of the game rather than letting his competitive drive get in the way and risk injury.

But Black is confident in the trust that he has built over the last year with his young pitcher.

“He’s done a pretty good job over the last couple years of being honest with me.”

As the season rolls along and the team get more and more national attention, it will become increasingly difficult for the Padres to sit their best pitcher. Latos has even received praise from the great ESPN who tends to overlook many of the teams out west. In his mid-season awards column, Jason Stark listed Latos as an honorable mention for the NL CY Young award.

Quite a feat when you consider the young righty is going up against the likes of Ubaldo Jimenez, Josh Johnson, Chris Carpenter and Roy Halladay.

As for the plan to give Latos rest, it will likely be one that either has him pitch out of the bullpen for a few weeks, or just sees him skip a few starts in late July or early August.

But one option that may be interesting to consider is sending him down to the minors for a month.

It is no secret that the Padres have been carried in 2010 by their pitching. Because of this, they will need every available arm they have to fend off the Dodgers, Giants and Rockies down the stretch.

Does it really seem smart to have one spot on your roster reserved for a guy that may only pitch two to five innings a week just to keep him fresh?

A six-man rotation is not an option for Hoyer because of off days in the schedule causing starting pitchers to only go once a week.

Whatever the organization decides to do, one thing is clear: Latos is for real. You only need to talk him for a few minutes before you realize the confidence that he carries out on the mound every time he takes the ball.

“My arm feels amazing,” Latos said after another impressive outing recently. “When it comes to every fifth day Buddy Black has one word for me, and it’s reliability.

“I told him by mid season that, come later in the year, he can count on me.”

With 106 innings pitched at the All-Star break, Latos may only have about 70 left to use from now until the Padres’ season ends.

“We certainly want him pitching in September,” Hoyer says. “Whether he can pitch for the whole month is the question.”

It’s a numbers game for Latos and the Padres, one that they can’t afford to lose.

Jeff Creps is an SDNN contributing sports writer.

Chargers ink Cam Thomas to four-year deal

The Football Post is reporting that the Chargers have agreed to terms with their 2010 fifth-round draft pick Cam Thomas.

Thomas will receive the standard salaries of $320,000, $405,000, $490,000 and $575,000 over the four years of his contract, with a signing bonus of $191,000.

“We bring him in here to compete with the guys we have,” said director of college scouting John Spanos after the team selected Thomas. “We like the guys we have currently on our roster a lot as well. He’s certainly going to be there in the mix.”

The 6-foot, 4-inch, 330-pound DT from North Carolina was seen as a bargain for AJ Smith and the Chargers after many draft experts had him pegged to go in the second or third round. But questions about his motor and work ethic dropped him into the Chargers’ lap in the fifth round.

Thomas is expected to step in right away to fill the void that was left when DT Jamal Williams was injured in the first game of the season last year and then cut this offseason.

The Chargers do not expect Thomas to be force in pressuring the quarterback right away, but will look more for him to use his wide body to engage lineman and allow their talented crop of linebackers to cause more havoc this season.

Jeff Creps is an SDNN Sports Writer. Follow him on Twitter.

Cliff Lee and others on Padres radar, but tough to acquire

Sure, the Padres are struggling this year at the dish, but why not just add another pitcher? Heck, while you’re at it, why not one of the best ones in the game?

As it has been said – and written over and over – no one expected the Padres to be one of the top teams in the National League this season.  All of the story lines during spring training through the first month of the season surrounded when and where the Padres would trade All-Stars Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell.  The only problem is that the Padres have refused to let go of first place in the NL West.

While it’s true the Dodgers are fighting injuries and inconsistency, and the Rockies are without their star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, the Padres keep finding ways to win and prove that they are here to stay.

Now, with the trade deadline just a month away it is time to get serious about adding in the final pieces for a deep playoff run.

Padres owner Jeff Moorad told AOL Fanhouse that the club is willing to take on payroll should the right deal come about.

“There’s no doubt we’ll spend the money if there’s a piece that we think makes sense,” Moorad said. “I think we need to be convinced that there are pieces that make sense, both short term as well as whatever it would cost to bring them in from a prospect standpoint.”

You don’t have to look far to hear a fan screaming for a middle-of-the-order bat to help protect Gonzalez, but where are the truly viable options?

David Dejesus in Kansas City is having the best season of his career, but is towards the end of his prime and would be the highest paid Padres player next season.

Jose Bautista and Alex Gonzalez in Toronto are both having career years that appear more of a statistical anomaly than an All-Star campaign.

Cleveland outfielder Austin Kearns is an attractive option on the cheap, but with just an average bat and below average defense there is no guarantee that he would get everyday playing time in San Diego.

Other options – like Carlos Lee and Vernon Wells – are well out of the Padres price range, even if they are willing to take on salary.

So they why not a pitcher?

While it is true that sooner or later the pitching statistics will come back to a statistical mean, what Bud Black an Darren Balsley have done with a sophomore pitcher in Mat Latos – on pace to throw a career-high 194 innings – Kevin Correia’s up and down season and doubts about Chris Young’s health this year, another arm may be enough to put the Padres over the top.

General Manager Jed Hoyer has already said that the team would prefer to get a pitcher that will become a free agent after the season.  In talking to Hoyer, this is because he believes that once a pitcher plays in Petco consistently they will be more willing to take a discount in order to revive their career numbers and compete in a division that is up for grabs – just as Jon Garland did this last offseason.

With that said, the most likely potential trade targets are dwindled down to Jake Westbrook, Kevin Millwood, Ted Lilly, Dontrelle Willis and Cliff Lee.

I’ll save both of our times by just avoiding those first four non-options.

Lee is no newcomer to the July 31 trade deadline.  Last season he was shipped from Cleveland after winning the 2008 AL CY Young award to the Phillies where he proceeded to go 7-4 with a 3.39 ERA in 12 starts.  Lee only got stronger during the postseason.  In five starts he went 4-0 with a 1.56 ERA and a complete game.

Sound good? Well, it’ll cost you.

In terms of Padres prospects, start a package with either a combination of Cedric Hunter and Corey Luebke, or Simon Castro and either James Darnell or Logan Forsythe and you just might get in the door to GM Jack Zduriencik’s office. (If you want to feel better about the Padres giving up a treasure chest of prospects for Lee, read this)

On the bright side, whatever team does acquire Lee will at least be guaranteed two high draft picks in a loaded 2011 draft if the team is unable to retain his services after this season.

In the last two years, aces that have been traded at the deadline have had profound effects on their new teams.  As mentioned before, Lee solidified the Phillies rotation in 2009, but also in 2008 CC Sabathia single-handedly put the Brewers in the playoffs by going 11-2 for them with a 1.65 ERA after being acquired before the deadline.

So how about another arm in San Diego?

Eighth walk-off win puts Padres all alone in first

Wade LeBlanc (AP file photo)

Comeback kids.  Walk-off heroes.  Call them what you want, because the 2010 Padres are never out of a game.

After Heath Bell gave up the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth, the Padres stormed back to score two runs after loading the bases with no one out.  The walk-off blow came on a first pitch roped single to right from Adrian Gonzalez.

“At the end of the day, it’s a nine inning game and we won in nine innings,” Gonzalez said after the game.  “Whether we win in the ninth, or however, we are going to win if we play the right game.”

It was a classic pitchers duel that threatened to go extras with both bullpens looking strong.  But in the end, the Padres ended up with their league leading eighth walk-off win this season and tenth win in their last at bat.

“It was a good win, this club never gives up,” ninth inning hero David Eckstein said after the win.  “We have found ways to come through and it is definitely a good feeling.”

Eckstein came to the plate with one out and the bases loaded in the ninth and promptly banged an 0-2 pitch for a single to right.  It was just more proof that Eckstein is one of the toughest hitters in the league to strikeout.

“It’s one of those things where you are trying to put the ball in play,” Eckstein said.  “My approach doesn’t really change in the situation.  I feel more aggressive with two strikes, that’s the difference.”

Leblanc had another strong outing for the Padres.  The young lefty went 6 2/3 innings giving up seven hits, one run and one walk while striking out three.  It was the fourth straight quality start for LeBlanc who has been filing in a rotation spot ever since Chris Young went down early in the season.

“Obviously there are still some things that I need to improve on, but I’m just trying to hold my end of the rope,” LeBlanc said after the win.

“In a division like this – in a race like this – you take wins however you can get them.  I don’t care if I get them, if Heath gets them, or whoever gets them.  It doesn’t matter as long as we’re getting wins.”

The Padres were saved in the fifth inning when Cesar Izturis was called out on batter’s interference.  Julio Lugo was attempting to steal third base, and when Izturis got in the way of Yorvit Torrealba’s throw, it went into left field allowing Lugo to score.  But home plate umpire Chris Guccione quickly sent Lugo back to second and called Izturis out.

The Padres first run of the game came in the sixth inning on a funky play in which a deep lofting fly ball from Adrian Gonzalez was misplayed by Adam Jones in centerfield.  The misplay scored Chris Denorfia to draw the Padres even.

In his return to San Diego, Brian Matusz threw a brilliant six innings, striking out four.  While he obviously did not have his best control – 114 pitches, 69 strikes – Matusz battled to give up just six hits, one run and one walk while on the mound.

Matusz was a star for the USD Toreros from 2005-2008.  Over that span he won 28 games while dropping just eight decisions for Rich Hill’s ball club.

“I was definitely pretty excited about it,” Matusz said.  “I have a lot of friends and family out here so playing in San Diego is pretty special.  To throw well is a good feeling.”

On February 22, 2008 in USD’s first game of the season against the SDSU Aztecs, Matusz faced off against Stephen Strasburg.  The pitchers duel turned into a one sided Aztecs victory that Matusz still remembers.

“I remember, it was the first game of the year, didn’t have as good of stuff that day,” Matusz recalled.  “I talk to him a little bit, this offseason we played catch a couple times.”

Although the 2010 Padres have reveled in the walk-off glory, they know it is not something to rely on all season.

“We definitely expect to win [in the ninth],” Eckstein admitted.  “But the problem is we can’t rely on that.”

But that isn’t a worry now, because the Padres walked off again and are back in first place all alone.

Notes

Before the game Heath Bell was handing out shirts in the Padres clubhouse that read “PENitentiary.”

San Diego makes Karsten Whitson newest Padre

Karsten Whitson

The MLB Draft is an event that most Padres fans have learned to become more wary of than excited for.  With nearly a decade of failed first-round draft picks, the organization has struggled to build from within and the results have been evident on the field in recent years.

But with a new owner and front office staff, the Padres were ready to try out their new draft philosophies for 2010.

“When I got here, I talked a lot about scouting and player development,” General Manager Jed Hoyer said on Monday night.  “I thought that in order for the Padres to be successful, we have to do a great job in the draft.”

The outcome was Karsten Whitson, a 6’4” right-handed pitcher from Chipley, Florida.  Whitson is a polished high school pitcher who boasts a mid-90s fastball, a nasty slider, and the beginnings of a changeup.  He is a top of the rotation type talent who posses definite “swing and miss” stuff – he struck out 123 batters in just 55 innings pitched during his senior season.

Coming into the draft, Whitson was rated as the consensus number two high school pitcher available behind Texas flamethrower Jameson Taillon – who went second overall to the Pirates – but the Padres had them ranked almost even on their draft board.

“They were neck and neck,” Director of Scouting Jaron Madison said Monday.  “Those are the two premier right-handed high school pitchers in the country and we’re fortunate that we were able to get one of them.”

“I’d put his fastball up against anyone’s in the draft this year as far as quality,” added Jason McLeod, the Padres Assistant GM.

As with any top draft pick out of high school, signability is always a concern.  Because the players have the option to follow through on their commitment to college, they have more leverage in the bonus negotiations.  But with Whitson, the Padres brass were both excited to see how eager he was to play professional baseball, and to become a Padre.

“His dream is to play here in Petco Park; we’ve talked to him about that,” Madison said.  “He had the opportunity to pitch here with [the Aflac All American Game], and it’s something that he really enjoyed.”

Of course, as the Padres are all too familiar with, the old baseball adage TINSTAAPP (There is no such thing as a pitching prospect) always seems to ring true when it comes to top picks from San Diego.

“Karsten became a guy for us – really about midway through the spring – who we felt could be a potential pick for us at number nine,” McLeod acknowledged.  “Knowing the inherent risks of high school pitching in the draft, especially taking a high school pitcher up that high, there were a lot of questions that we had to have answered.

“Karsten answered a lot of those questions for us both on and off the field.”

Last year’s ninth overall pick was also a high school pitcher by the name of Jacob Turner.  Turner was selected by the Detroit Tigers, and signed a Major League deal for $5.5 million and a $4.7 million signing bonus – a record for a high schooler.  While Whitson is not expected to demand near that much, the Padres definitely showed they weren’t afraid to commit an over-slot amount for the second consecutive year.

Thoughts on the MLB Draft

Whitson would look great in the Padres organization

With the MLB Draft taking place tonight at 4pm local time, I wanted to take a minute to share a few thoughts on the draft.

In my opinion there are four different types of players at the top of the draft: polished college hitters/pitchers, projectable high school pitchers, high school athletes that project as hitters and college players that are easy to sign but have low ceilings.

For the last several years, the Padres have been stuck in a myriad of poor drafts because they usually take the “safe low-ceiling college player” – but this is not how great teams are run.  Take a look at some of the organizations that year in and year out usually have one of the top farm systems in the game – Angels, Dodgers, Red Sox, Yankees and Rays – and you will see draft philosophies that are simple yet effective.

The common thread among these teams is that they are not afraid to trust their scouting departments and take players that project to be top hitters and pitchers.  Say what you want about each of these teams investing heavily in the draft, but the strategy has proven more than successful as each of these franchises boasts a core of players that are home grown.

When you look at who most mock drafts have the Padres taking this year it is no surprise to see names like Michael Choice, Deck McGuire, Kolbrin Vitek, and Chris Sale.  But are any of these guys really the answer for a team like the Padres?

Choice offers a fascinating blend of power potential and ability, but with a long swing that has several obvious holes – and an awkward look – he may take more than a few years to develop into a productive major league-caliber bat.

With McGuire, you are going to hear a lot of Jon Garland comparisons.  What that basically means is that he can throw strikes, but does not poses a true “swing and miss pitch.”  Although many may call him a safe pick, from where I’m sitting, a pitcher that relies on contact to retire hitters is too reliant on a good defense behind him to be successful.

Vitek is another player in the mold that the Padres already have in the organization.  He will likely end up at either second or third base, but be more of an offensive threat for average than a base stealer or home run hitter.  He has much of the same projectability as Matt Antonelli, Logan Forsythe and James Darnell – so why would the Padres need another?

Sale offers an interesting case of a big fish in a small pond.  Since he was undrafted out of high school, his baseball prospects were slim.  But what this has caused is an uncertainty about how well to grade his performance on the mound.  While his stuff appears to be legitimate, a funky delivery and arm slot do not bode well for him to be on the fast track to the majors.  Luckily he will likely be gone by the time the Padres selection comes around, but if he does fall it will be interesting to see how impressed Jed Hoyer and his huge scouting department are turned off by awkward mechanics.

One name to watch is Karsten Whitson.  He is a projectable high school right-hander who was heavily scouted by the teams that the Padres need to emulate – and also the Padres.  There have been a few interesting signs from the front office over the last few days that have signaled toward Whitson over a college player, but with Hoyer and Co. not having a draft under their belt, no one knows exactly what will happen.

If nothing else, I can offer Padres fans a simple statement regarding the teams’ draft history that may offer some hope for this year and moving forward: Can it really get any worse?

Padres Notebook: June 4

Kyle Blanks

As the Padres prepare to open up a series against the Philadelphia Phillies and their trepid offense – just 14 runs in their last 11 games – we have a few updates to pass along as the Padres being their six-game east coast road trip.

Here is tonight’s lineup:

Venable, RF
Eckstein, 2B
Gonzalez, 1B
Headley, 3B
S. Hairston, LF
Hundley, C
J. Hairston, SS
Gwynn, CF

Latos, P

Stauffer begins return

Tim Stauffer began his rehab stint on Friday with the Portland Beavers.  He has been on the disabled list since May 11 after an emergency appendectomy, and was not expected to begin baseball activities for another week or two according to Bud Black.  But after beginnings to throw side sessions just a week ago, Stauffer was able to return to the mound.

He threw two scoreless innings and gave up just two hits while working rather efficiently – he threw 25 pitches, 17 for strikes.  After a one-out error in his second inning of work, Stauffer was helped out by an outfield assist from top prospect Aaron Cunningham to escape the inning clean.

According to Black, the Padres still plan on preparing Stauffer to return as a starter, so it will take him a few more setback-free outings to reach full strength.

Torrealba rejoins team

After being placed on the three-day bereavement list, catcher Yorvit Torrealba rejoined the team Friday in Philadelphia before their opening contest against Roy Halladay.  The Padres never officially announced why the catcher was not with the team, but it was widely speculated that the “personal matters” he attended to were related to last year’s kidnapping of his 11-year-old son.

Torrealba is not in Friday night’s lineup, but there has been no indication that he is unable to play should Black decide to sub him in.

In order to put him back on the roster, the Padres sent catcher Dusty Ryan back to Triple-A Portland.  Ryan, who the club signed as a minor league free agent last offseason, did not make an appearance while with the team.

Blanks slowly working his way back

It would seem understandable for Kyle Blanks to struggle a little in his first few games back from a strained elbow.  But unlike other starters, before his injury Blanks was struggling to keep his everyday job and may have been in line for a demotion to help cure his hitting struggles.

In his first rehab starts in Lake Elsinore, Blanks is one for seven with three strikeouts and just one RBI.  Rust may be an issue, but he is facing the equivalent of College-level pitching and should be able to thrive on one of the winningest minor league teams in the country.

As Yoggi Berra once said, “You can’t think and hit at the same time.”  And right now, Blanks’ head is holding him back from being the player that the Padres need him to be.

One interesting note to keep in mind is that Padres GM Jed Hoyer told Darren Smith in an interview on Wednesday that Blanks is not guaranteed his spot back.

“I think he’s going to need to perform a little bit in Minor League games as his rehab goes along. I’m sure he will I think he’s going to have to show some performance in his rehab in order to do that,” Hoyer said.

Hairston back and healthy

Scott Hairston is completely back from a mild hamstring injury that put him on the DL.  Last week he mentioned that the injury was feeling “a lot better,” and after testing it earlier this week in action with Lake Elsinore, he is back with the Padres with no reported limitations on playing time or activities.

Hairston went 4 for 7 in his short three-game stint in Lake Elsinore and returned to the Padres on Wednesday going 0 for 4.

An Open Letter to the Washington Nationals

Article

To Whom It May Concern:

On behalf of the city of San Diego, I would like to formally request that the Washington Nationals bring up Stephen Strasburg to make a start against the San Diego Padres during the series at Petco Park Friday through Sunday.

As his hometown supporters, we have seen Strasburg rise from a barely-recruited high school pitcher to national phenom in just a few short years.  We are the people who packed Tony Gwynn Stadium just to get a chance to see a future ace in the making, and we were the ones who were sad to see him go when you gave him the richest contract in the MLB Draft’s storied history.

Creps: Padres bullpen slamming door on competition

Article

If there is one constant that floats through Padres teams, it’s a tough bullpen. The 2010 version is no different.

Five out of the last six years, the club has been in the top 10 in bullpen ERA; San Diego is currently sporting the third best mark in the league at 3.09 with an MLB best .211 batting average against.