2K24: San Diego Padres

[Hodor]

Looks like the Padres are signing Fernando Rodney and giving him first shot at closing.

[GwynnInTheHall]

Padres apparently have signed Fernando Rodney.

Also hearing they're kicking the tires on Cespedes which is interesting.

[joncarlos]

Everybody loves Yoenis!

[Hodor]

Do it, Preller. Do it.

I agree.

[madducks]

Padres DFA Rymer Liriano which seems like a very odd move considering he's one of their top 10 prospects and they're (kinda sorta) rebuilding. Fernando Rodney and Alexei Ramirez are on the 40 man instead.

I hope the Dodgers nab Liriano. He's kind of just a 4th outfielder type but definitely has some pop in his bat. He was a BA top 50 prospect just a couple years ago.

Yes, very odd indeed. There has to be more to this story.

[Hodor]

Padres DFA Rymer Liriano which seems like a very odd move considering he's one of their top 10 prospects and they're (kinda sorta) rebuilding. Fernando Rodney and Alexei Ramirez are on the 40 man instead.

I hope the Dodgers nab Liriano. He's kind of just a 4th outfielder type but definitely has some pop in his bat. He was a BA top 50 prospect just a couple years ago.

Not too surprised as Preller has made a habit of moving guys he didn't draft off the roster. From what I read the organization feels both Renfroe and Dickerson have passed him on the depth chart plus the rule 5picks weren't going to be moved so it was Liriano. He'll latch on somewhere. Hopefully for the Padres someone claims him and they can work out a trade at least getting something for him.

[revo]

Not too surprised as Preller has made a habit of moving guys he didn't draft off the roster. From what I read the organization feels both Renfroe and Dickerson have passed him on the depth chart plus the rule 5picks weren't going to be moved so it was Liriano. He'll latch on somewhere. Hopefully for the Padres someone claims him and they can work out a trade at least getting something for him.

And he was traded to the Brewers for Trevor Seidenberger

[GwynnInTheHall]

Something's better than nothing, though this guy doesn't seem too special, but you never know with LHP :P

The Padres minor league system should look vastly different come this summer as they have 3 of the top 30 or so picks and 6 in the first 80. They also are looking to be a big player in the July 2nd Intl. FA signings saying they will be inking 5-8 of the top 20 INTL prospects.

The Much Maligned Preller excelled at this in Texas, hopefully he can repeat that success in SD.

[heyelander]

http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2016/2/2/10893970/baseball-standings-projections-windows-graphs-charts-chartsengrafs

[Hodor]

Seems like the jury's in on this one. Good time to be an Astros fan, after all the long-suffering.

As a non Padre fan I can see why you'd mistakenly think this.

[Sour Masher]

Man, ElD, I think you may enjoy seeing the Padres suck as much or more than you like seeing the Dodgers succeed .

I don't think it takes a visionary to proclaim what has long been conventional wisdom--the best way to rebuild a team is to start from the ground up, investing in talent evaluators and developers, who in turn will draft well, trade for young, cheap, controllable talent, and give these young players the best opportunity to succeed. This methodology has not only proven effective recently for smaller market teams like the Royals and Astros, it has long been an important part of the success of large market champions like the Yankees, who not only spent on big name stars, but developed their own, like Jeter and Rivera.

Likewise, most folks understood that the Padres way of trying to take a shortcut by investing heavily in established hitters was a riskier proposition, and one that had flaws both in conception and execution. But all of that can be true, and one can still feel that the Padres moves last year, after years and years of doing nothing to show their fans they wanted to win, were still a welcome effort to improve, and exciting for a fan base that stopped believing that ownership cared about winning.

So, the Padres shook things up. They went all in, attempting to improve dramatically with some bold moves. They looked at the market and decided the best talent acquisition opportunities were in offense-first OFers. Choosing to acquiring that particular asset given their stadium, pitching staff, and overall team make up wasn't ideal, but it was something, and despite how it did work out, it was possible that it could have worked out better. That was the hope, and the moves gave that hope to fans who had given up hope.

It was short-sighted, and ultimately ineffective. That really should not be a shock to anyone. But again, there were precedents that indicated that it at least might have worked out better than it did. The Marlins, for instance, twice followed the general method of sucking for years, then strategically going all in with large dollar veteran acquisitions. It won them two championships. Of course, there are obvious differences in the specific ways the Marlins implemented their strategy. As I suggest above, I believe some of those differences relate to what was available on the market in 2015, when the Padres suddenly decided they were desperate to show their fans they cared, like some last ditch grand gesture in a relationship on the brink of divorce. And yeah, maybe the moves ended up being the equivalent of Walmart wilted roses, and a dollar store anniversary card, but after years of showing no affection for their fans at all, the thought was appreciated.

I'll end by commenting, as an outsider with no vested interest in either the Dodgers or the Padres, but as someone who appreciates and respects your insights, Eld, in nearly all other matters, that you continuing, repeatedly to gleefully rub salt in the wound that is the 2015 Padres season, and more generally, the great joy you take in the Padres failing in general comes across as a privileged bully picking on the poor kid at school wearing hand-me-downs. Maybe I am ignorant of the Dodgers-Padres rivalry and fan dynamic, but I haven't noticed you display such schadenfreude in relation to any of the Dodgers' other in-state or division rivals. Maybe I need to be schooled on the origins of Dodger-fan disdain for their long suffering, and seemingly affable neighbors to the south.

[mgwiz22]

Man, ElD, I think you may enjoy seeing the Padres suck as much or more than you like seeing the Dodgers succeed .

I don't think it takes a visionary to proclaim what has long been conventional wisdom--the best way to rebuild a team is to start from the ground up, investing in talent evaluators and developers, who in turn will draft well, trade for young, cheap, controllable talent, and give these young players the best opportunity to succeed. This methodology has not only proven effective recently for smaller market teams like the Royals and Astros, it has long been an important part of the success of large market champions like the Yankees, who not only spent on big name stars, but developed their own, like Jeter and Rivera.

Likewise, most folks understood that the Padres way of trying to take a shortcut by investing heavily in established hitters was a riskier proposition, and one that had flaws both in conception and execution. But all of that can be true, and one can still feel that the Padres moves last year, after years and years of doing nothing to show their fans they wanted to win, were still a welcome effort to improve, and exciting for a fan base that stopped believing that ownership cared about winning.

So, the Padres shook things up. They went all in, attempting to improve dramatically with some bold moves. They looked at the market and decided the best talent acquisition opportunities were in offense-first OFers. Choosing to acquiring that particular asset given their stadium, pitching staff, and overall team make up wasn't ideal, but it was something, and despite how it did work out, it was possible that it could have worked out better. That was the hope, and the moves gave that hope to fans who had given up hope.

It was short-sighted, and ultimately ineffective. That really should not be a shock to anyone. But again, there were precedents that indicated that it at least might have worked out better than it did. The Marlins, for instance, twice followed the general method of sucking for years, then strategically going all in with large dollar veteran acquisitions. It won them two championships. Of course, there are obvious differences in the specific ways the Marlins implemented their strategy. As I suggest above, I believe some of those differences relate to what was available on the market in 2015, when the Padres suddenly decided they were desperate to show their fans they cared, like some last ditch grand gesture in a relationship on the brink of divorce. And yeah, maybe the moves ended up being the equivalent of Walmart wilted roses, and a dollar store anniversary card, but after years of showing no affection for their fans at all, the thought was appreciated.

I'll end by commenting, as an outsider with no vested interest in either the Dodgers or the Padres, but as someone who appreciates and respects your insights, Eld, in nearly all other matters, that you continuing, repeatedly to gleefully rub salt in the wound that is the 2015 Padres season, and more generally, the great joy you take in the Padres failing in general comes across as a privileged bully picking on the poor kid at school wearing hand-me-downs. Maybe I am ignorant of the Dodgers-Padres rivalry and fan dynamic, but I haven't noticed you display such schadenfreude in relation to any of the Dodgers' other in-state or division rivals. Maybe I need to be schooled on the origins of Dodger-fan disdain for their long suffering, and seemingly affable neighbors to the south.

Your statement about the Marlins is not completely true. Initially they sucked because they were an expansion team. Then owner, Huizenga, then decided to see if the area would support a winner. They went out and bought a team but they didn't win til mid-season. Attendance improved once they started to win but not enough so Huizenga gave up on them and broke the team up. The team was sold (twice). After that the team was horrible for a while then won the wild card. That team had a few players that were there because they had been bad (Becket, Johnson, and Lee). Cabrera signed internationally, Pudge was signed very cheap (10 million paid out over ten years) because he was a free agent who wasn't getting any offers, Lowell was obtained in a trade with the Yankees, Pierre in a trade with Colorado. Renteria and the second baseman were also signed internationally. Conine was an original Marlin who left then was re-obtained (cheaply) from the Orioles. Penny and AJ came over in a trade with Arizona. They didn't tank as a strategy.

[mgwiz22]

Charles Johnson was actually on the 1st ws winner not the second.

[GwynnInTheHall]

Continuing repeatedly? My god, it has taken all my restraint just to limit it to the number of posts that I've actually made, particularly after the congratulatory circlejerk that took place here over the course of months. Seriously, read the responses to the audacity that anyone could even question these majestic offseason moves right here in this thread. Damn, man, this is me holding back!

But yeah, more than a little schadenfreude going on here. The Dodgers only recently have become the "privileged bully" and they still don't have any hardware to show for it. But finally, perhaps for the first time in my adult life and certainly for the first time since the dark, dark days of Frank McCourt and Ned Colletti, the Dodgers are really building something special.

Still, the real rivals for the Dodgers are the Giants. They're the winners, they're the ones who've hoisted multiple trophies, and they're the ones who Dodger fans see as their rivals. The Dodger-Giant rivalry is one of the strongest in all of sports. I'm not sure where Dodgers-Padres ranks but it's well below that. You will note, however, that I'm casting a bunch of doom and gloom on a bunch of the Diamondbacks' moves, too. All we need is someone to act as overenthusiastic Diamondback foil to my naysaying.

I've noticed your restraint because as you have said, neither the Dodgers or the Padres are getting laid, yeah LA felt her up a bit, but the Pads only bought her one beer, the Dodgers took her to Mazatlan.......

[Sour Masher]

You will note, however, that I'm casting a bunch of doom and gloom on a bunch of the Diamondbacks' moves, too. All we need is someone to act as overenthusiastic Diamondback foil to my naysaying.

Lol, okay, this makes me see the pleasure one could take in calling out pie-in-the sky optimists. If anyone on here was doing proud chest-thumbing about the "genius" of the Shelby Miller trade, I could see taking joy in poking fun at that misplaced pomposity .

I haven't checked out Zona message boards, but I'd hope their fans are self-aware enough to be bummed by at least that deal. Although, given the myopia and bias of fandom, I suppose it is possible some Zona fans are talking smack about them being the 27 Yankees now.

And you are right about the Dodgers not really being the established bully on the block. The McCourt era was horrible, and it is only relatively recently that you have gotten to enjoy good ownership and management. Just don't turn into what Red Sox fans became after morphing from lovable losers to smug, entitled champions. But I guess that is really inevitable. I shudder to think how insufferable Cubs fans might become after their young core of stars inevitably ends their century old losing streak (yeah, I'm calling it--I think the Cubs win the WS in the next 3 years).