Punts the leg kick, hit's a big double off the wall then a 485' homerun right as Sweeney & co. are talking about the change in his approach. Chase Field has been around for what 15 years? To have the longest homer hit by an opponent in a park that has been around that long should be enough to help right his ship.
The Frieri trade is looking like a win-win right now. First off I loved how in yesterday's game right after taking a 95 mph fastball at the head, Amarista does his best to do the same to Brothers smaking a single right up the diamond on the next pitch. Makes his way to second base, Brothers bounces a ball that didn't get terribly far from the catcher but enough for him to make his way to 3b with his secondary lead, and then scores after Denorfia's sharp single over the 2b. It was poetic how quickly it all played out after the intentional power play on Brothers part.
To top it off Donn Roach pitched 6 innings in his start today for SA and didn't give up a hit. Frieri might have to pitch lights out for two months to equal what Amarista has done in the past week. Pretty remarkable. Wouldn't be a shock to see him in San Diego making some starts in September.
When I was a young kid I absolutely loved Bip Roberts, and he was damn good for the Padres. Amarista gives off that same kind of impression. He now has more xbh's (12) then K's (11).
Yasmani Grandal has looked pretty awesome as well. Seeing him in person (well TV), he's more athletic behind the plate then I was expecting, which is always a nice surprise with catchers that can hit. More walks then strikeout's in AAA was a pretty good indicator for the young catcher, but he's got a pretty swing from both sides of the plate. Definitely has the tools to be a star-level catcher. Good grief, even with Alonso hitting like a #7 hitter (for a team like the '12 Padres), I'm pretty ecstatic about that trade. I imagine he'll heat up again soon and start hitting the ball with more authority.
It feels so strange to have so many good things to talk about at one time. With Amarista & Forsythe at 2b and Gyorko raking at AAA, it seems silly to expect Headley to be on the team in 4 weeks. Spent last week camping with the big tree's in No. Cal and thought about Headley a good deal. All the cards are lining up to cash him in and after further thought I feel pretty good about that choice. Really curious what the caliber of the best player they'd get for him will end up being.
Checking Lake Elsinore's box score noticed that Billy Hamilton stole two bases today to give him 100 (on July 2nd!!). I wish he was doing it at AA so he had a chance of extending his season into September with the Reds.
Really glad to see Clayton Richard pitching well after recovering from his shoulder surgery. Those 40 innings in June were pretty great. His era is about where it's always been and like it's 2010 all over again, his era drops 50 points (3.16) when you omit the one crap start at Coors... I know I know... just sayin'. He's averaging 6.7 IP per start, or about two more outs per game then he did in 2010. His walk rate is down a good deal, and that about sums it up. He's averaging 14.7 pitches/inning this year after being at 16.7 & 16 the past two years.
...ing baseball, always coming in between me and 6 hours of sleep :) Really looking forward to the Cashner/Bauer matchup on Tuesday!!!!! One thing that stood out to me in Cashner's start at Houston, where they say he lived only an hour away was to see him dominate at his other home. I mention that because one thing that always stood out with Latos to me was how crappy he faired when he returned home to Florida with friends & family in the stands. Cashner was the polar opposite. Nice not to see this 6'6" righty melt in that situation.