Padres about to blow things up?

[erb8472]

I wouldn't deal Spoone for Greene.

Liz/Penn and Reimold seems fair to me, although I think it might be more than it would take. Not sure though. I'd probably make that trade if that was the price.

I wouldn't trade Reimold in a deal for Greene.

[Mackus]

I wouldn't trade Reimold in a deal for Greene.

Yeah i'd be hesitant to give up two of those three for Greene. Might make the move ultimately though, I think Greene would be a great SS in the AL away from SD.

[erb8472]

Yeah i'd be hesitant to give up two of those three for Greene. Might make the move ultimately though, I think Greene would be a great SS in the AL away from SD.

Now that I've got to watch Greene on a regular basis I think he is overrated. Yes he's off to a slow start with the bat, but I don't see any one skill that stands out. He's an average shorstop in my opinion.

[Mackus]

Now that I've got to watch Greene on a regular basis I think he is overrated. Yes he's off to a slow start with the bat, but I don't see any one skill that stands out. He's an average shorstop in my opinion.

Do you watch him only at home?

I don't know much (anything, really) about his defense. But if he can put up an .800 OPS, he can get away with being average and still be very valuable.

[Migrant Redbird]

I don't know about Kouz, but hasn't Greene already intimated that he is not going to stay in SD once he becomes a FA?

You shouldn't pay too much attention to what players say when they're negotiating for extensions. Back in 2003, Pujols was emphatic that he wouldn't give the Cardinals any "home team discount", but he signed a $100M contract for 7 years a few weeks later anyhow. Mark Buehrle grew up a Cardinals fan and he twice let it be known that he was interested in getting traded to St. Louis or playing out his contract so that he could sign with St. Louis as a free agent, but that didn't keep him from signing an $18M extension in 2003 or a $56M extension in 2007. Players and their agents will play the "FA" card anytime they believe it might incite fan pressure on the team to produce an extension.

I'm pretty sure he wants to be on the east coast.

Yeah, Buehrle sure wanted to play in St. Louis too. He sure got a lot of Cardinals fans hot and bothered, but I don't think that he was ever serious about leaving the White Sox. He just wanted Sox fans to think that he was.

[Crazysilver03]

Wowowowow?

:cussing::cussing::cussing::cussing::cussing:

Chris Young left Wednesday's game in the third inning after taking an Albert Pujols comebacker off his head.

The ball hit him square above the bridge of the nose. It left a very bloody mess, but Young was never knocked out and didn't seem to be in all that much pain. He was able to walk off the field with little assistance. Physically, we imagine he'll be fine to make his next start. However, if there's a break, it might be too risky to send him back out there so quickly.

Josh Bard left Wednesday's game in the third inning with an apparent left ankle injury.

Just a few minutes after taking Chris Young out of the game with a comebacker, Albert Pujols also injured the Padres' catcher on a play at home plate. It wasn't anything he did intentionally. Bard adjusted his foot while trying to block the plate and Pujols slid right into it, twisting the ankle. Bard was in a lot of pain, so a break could be possible. If he lands on the DL, the Padres would probably call up Colt Morton to split time with Luke Carlin until Michael Barrett returns.

[allstar1579]

They were a playoff team last season. They're off to a bad start this year, but they're capable of rebounding. It's questionable whether "blowing things up" is the appropriate thing to do, for a team that could bounce back and be in contention next season without any changes -- just better years from the players they currently have.

Kouzmanoff is only 26 and Greene is only 28; both of them could be future stars and it's foolishness to dispose of them because they're currently struggling. I'm not familiar with Antonelli or Headley, but there's no assurance that either of them will be major leaguers, whereas Kouzmanoff and Greene have both experiences some degree of success at the major league level. Some players, like Pujols and Markakis, are stars from the beginning. Others, like Eric Bedard, Todd Wellemeyer, Jamie Moyer, and Melvin Mora require a degree of patience before they develop into all star caliber players. Teams that lack patience and discard their prospects end up with regrets later (e.g., Schilling).

Respect your input as always Red, and since it's you I'll delve further into what I was getting at.

They are 11.5 out, with Peavy going down now, and absolutely NO offense outside of Gonzalez, it's about the point where they have to either bring something in to get things started, or make some changes. I was saying they should take the middle road, not blow things up and rebuild, but just trim the fat for this season and try to find things to help for next year. Maddux is on a one-year deal and no one knows if he will be back, Hoffman looks like he will call it quits if he can't become effective again. They have no OF at all and nothing in the pipeline.

You are right about Greene and Kouz, they could keep them both and just see what happens next year, but consider this. Greene is older at 28, and has said that he won't resign past his arbitration years, so while not a necessity to move, if you can get a good SS in return, it's worth it. Kouz, while younger at 26 has a replacement in a super prospect behind him and ready to come up, so he is expendable and on a team with little trade chips and a few holes, expendable = gone. Antonelli is a great prospect for 2B, projects to have a great bat at second, and while it is probably too early to bring him up now, he should be ready next year.

I personally don't think we are a great fit for a trade with them, if for no other reason, we don't have a ML-ready SS to offer them, but we could offer them Scott (who they really like) who could help them next year, and some pitching. I think they could be a team who deals Greene and makes a play for Furcal in the offseason and are a better team next year because of it.

[Migrant Redbird]

I recorded both the Padres and Cardinals broadcasts of last night's game off Extra Innings and replayed both the Young and Bard injuries several times.

After time was called, Pujols went to see how badly Young was injured, then Pujols and Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzales turned their backs to the scene, bowed their heads, and prayed. It was just August 30th of last year that a foul ball off the bat of Aaron Miles struck Juan Encarnation in the eye and ended his major league baseball career. Pujols sat up with Juan until 3 AM the next morning as doctors worked to save his vision. I imagine that was in Albert's mind as he tried to find out how badly Young was injured.

Pujols was 0-4 the remainder of the game and said afterwards that he wasn't able to focus during his at bats and kept having flash backs to the line drive that hit Young. Pujols was removed from the game in the 8th inning as part of a double switch, but the Cards had already opened up an 11-3 lead at that point.

The injury to Bard was poor timing and/or bad technique. Bard was in front of the plate, taking the throw, and Pujols had already committed to slide feet first directly across the plate. At the last moment, Bard caught the ball and attempted to block the plate with his left foot. Bard wasn't able to plant his left foot before Pujols slid across the plate, which is why his foot was twisted back and he suffered a nasty ankle sprain. If Bard had managed to plant his foot and Pujols had slid into his shin guards, it would be Pujols who might be on the DL this morning.

[PaulFolk]

After time was called, Pujols went to see how badly Young was injured, then Pujols and Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzales turned their backs to the scene, bowed their heads, and prayed. It was just August 30th of last year that a foul ball off the bat of Aaron Miles struck Juan Gonzalez in the eye and ended his major league baseball career. Pujols sat up with Juan until 3 AM the next morning as doctors worked to save his vision. I imagine that was in Albert's mind as he tried to find out how badly Young was injured.

Do you mean Juan Encarnacion?

[Migrant Redbird]

Do you mean Juan Encarnacion?

Yes, sorry. Creeping senility at work again.

[Ruzious]

It wouldn't shock me if SD would have significant interest in Huff. If so, AM could pull off a steal - getting both Greene and Kouz for Huff and 3 mid level prospects.

[Mackus]

It wouldn't shock me if SD would have significant interest in Huff. If so, AM could pull off a steal - getting both Greene and Kouz for Huff and 3 mid level prospects.

Why wouldn't that shock you?

If they are rebuilding, a 31 y/o owed $8M a year through 2009 who can't even get up to a .750 OPS seems the exact opposite of what they'd be going for.

He's older, worse, and more expensive than Greene.

Huff to San Diego makes negative sense.

[Migrant Redbird]

A San Diego article on last night.

San Diego Union Tribune: Padres add injuries to insult in loss to Cardinals

Gushing blood, a scene so graphic that Channel 4 San Diego deemed it “too gruesome” to warrant a replay, Young dropped to the ground after the ball ricocheted toward third base. Pujols, after reaching first base, rushed toward Young and grabbed the top of his helmet in obvious anguish. First baseman Adrian Gonzalez consoled Pujols, and the two prayed as trainer Todd Hutcheson worked on Young.

“He was bleeding all over the place,” said a despondent Pujols. “I would rather have hit into a double play.”

Said Gonzalez: “You're scared for him, but he's healthy. His first reaction was, 'I'm OK.' He was just letting the blood flow. He was under control, regardless of the blood going down his face.”

His jersey spattered red, the 6-foot-10 Young, escorted by 6-7 teammate Tony Clark, walked off the field and, accompanied by his wife, Liz, went to a hospital. Manager Bud Black said Young was coherent. A CT-scan and further examination were planned for last night.

“We'll know more in 24 to 48 hours, but the doctors think he will be OK,” Black said. Black declined to say whether Young is headed for the disabled list.

.... An RBI groundout sent Pujols to second base. When Troy Glaus followed with a sharp single to right field, Pujols got a terrific jump and arrived near home plate with his right foot extended as Bard caught Brian Giles' one-hop throw and kicked out his left foot to block the plate.

Already into his slide, Pujols took out Bard, who crumpled to the dirt in pain. Black said Bard will go on the disabled list ....

Appearing stunned, Pujols looked on from the dugout as Bard writhed on the ground. Pujols said afterward he was still reeling from seeing Young bleed profusely.

“After that I couldn't concentrate,” Pujols said. “I was flashing back. I'm still thinking about that. Then the thing with Josh – . . . tough night. How many times is that going to happen in one inning? It did bother me.”

[Ruzious]

Why wouldn't that shock you?

If they are rebuilding, a 31 y/o owed $8M a year through 2009 who can't even get up to a .750 OPS seems the exact opposite of what they'd be going for.

He's older, worse, and more expensive than Greene.

Huff to San Diego makes negative sense.

First of all, SD doesn't have to rebuild. They can and should - go with a mixture of youngsters and vets. There are no dominant teams in the NL, and if they get hot, they have a chance to compete. The reason they'd make a trade would be to shake things up - because they've said they don't think they're getting good effort from their players.

Second, Huff is a notorious 2nd half hitter. Even last year, he had an .899 OPS after the all-star break. That - and his versatility - might make him appealing to SD. And since you're using Huff's current OPS as the basis for your argument, why don't you mention Greene's and Kouz's? And any dollar difference can easily be handled. And the trade isn't Huff for Greene.

But as it turns out, the saying - a day late and a dollar short comes into play - when Greene and Kouz combine for 3 homers last night.

[Crazysilver03]

First of all, SD doesn't have to rebuild. They can and should - go with a mixture of youngsters and vets. There are no dominant teams in the NL, and if they get hot, they have a chance to compete. The reason they'd make a trade would be to shake things up - because they've said they don't think they're getting good effort from their players.

I think the Diamondbacks would highly disagree with you right now. You know the team that has a 10 game lead on San Fran, San Diego, and Colorado.

Ask Colorado if they werent dominant already this year.