I haven't posted in awhile because, frankly, it seemed like a waste of time. The Padres seemed hellbent on sending Jake to Chicago. Now it appears that the deal with the Cubs is dead and the Padres front office is back to square one with trying to move their best player.
Alderson, Towers, et al deserve some amount of credit for not conducting this as a straight salary dump and bartering away Jake for a couple of mid-level prospects and a pack of smokes. They pushed for decent talent in return, acknowledged that it would be an uphill battle with a third or fourth team being necessary to consummate the deal, and said that this needed to be a baseball decision, not just a financial one.
So props to the front office for keeping their word on that end of things.
That said, I'm not at all convinced that the trade talks are over. The Yankees are always a possibility -- even if Jake would prefer to stay in the NL and the Bombers just signed A.J. Burnett -- and some of the free agent stuff is still getting sorted out following the winter meetings. However, for now I am happy that Jake is still a Padre. Stay tuned...
courtesy of Wikipedia
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Update: Jake to Cubs or Braves Most Likely
ESPN is reporting that the Padres want to trade Jake within a week, most likely to either the Cubs or Braves. The Dodgers remain an outside possibility.
All I can say is that if they trade Jake to L.A., I will *never* go to another Padres game again, even if someone offers me free tickets. You don't trade your best player to your main division rival -- that's just bush-league.
I still don't understand the urgency of this deal. We've got one of the top three pitchers in the NL who just re-signed a contract at below-market rates. Jake certainly isn't demanding a trade, the fans don't want him to be traded, and it's far from clear that we're going to get anything near his value in return.
You need pitching to win games. With the implosion of our bullpen, that should be obvious to the front office. Every time Jake takes the mound, he's virtually a lock for giving up three runs or fewer. Let's say you get a decent CF in return for Jake but now you're starting a pitcher who shouldn't otherwise be a starter. You may gain some runs from the upgrade in center but you'll give them up by having a mediocre fifth starter who should either be in the pen or AAA.
Let's say you get a couple of decent prospects in return. You're giving up an all-star pitcher in his prime on the hope that maybe one of the prospects will develop into an all-star pitcher at some point in the future?
Any way you slice it, this doesn't make any kind of sense.
All I can say is that if they trade Jake to L.A., I will *never* go to another Padres game again, even if someone offers me free tickets. You don't trade your best player to your main division rival -- that's just bush-league.
I still don't understand the urgency of this deal. We've got one of the top three pitchers in the NL who just re-signed a contract at below-market rates. Jake certainly isn't demanding a trade, the fans don't want him to be traded, and it's far from clear that we're going to get anything near his value in return.
You need pitching to win games. With the implosion of our bullpen, that should be obvious to the front office. Every time Jake takes the mound, he's virtually a lock for giving up three runs or fewer. Let's say you get a decent CF in return for Jake but now you're starting a pitcher who shouldn't otherwise be a starter. You may gain some runs from the upgrade in center but you'll give them up by having a mediocre fifth starter who should either be in the pen or AAA.
Let's say you get a couple of decent prospects in return. You're giving up an all-star pitcher in his prime on the hope that maybe one of the prospects will develop into an all-star pitcher at some point in the future?
Any way you slice it, this doesn't make any kind of sense.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
What We Need to Do
All right boys and girls, you know the drill. The Padres, under the fine leadership of Sandy Alderson, Kevin Towers and ultimately, John Moores, are shopping around Jake Peavy to the highest bidder at the winter GM meetings. Trading Jake would be a huge mistake because for my money, he's one of just a handful of players on this team that are actually worth spending money to watch. Not to knock the young guys, but Evan Longoria and Ryan Braun they are not.
Jake is a rare breed -- a homegrown talent who the Pads brought up through the system and nurtured into a bona fide superstar. He's one season removed from a Cy Young campaign in which he won pitching's triple crown. He was third in the NL in ERA this year despite a losing record (10-11). And he's fun as hell to watch pitch.
So here's my deal: if the Padres trade Jake, I will not pay to see another game until Moores sells the team and Alderson is gone (there's speculation among some around town that KT is really the fall guy in this situation and is the public face of ownership's money problems). On the other hand, if they keep Jake in town, I personally pledge to buy tickets to every home game Jake starts -- at minimum. Depending on what off-season changes are made to the team, I may even consider a partial season ticket package, but let's not get carried away just yet.
If this situation pisses you off as much as it does me, then leave your name and comments using the form at the side. I'd like to get as many signatures/comments as possible as soon as we can so that we show the Pads' front office how serious we are about keeping Jake a Padre!
-Mark
Jake is a rare breed -- a homegrown talent who the Pads brought up through the system and nurtured into a bona fide superstar. He's one season removed from a Cy Young campaign in which he won pitching's triple crown. He was third in the NL in ERA this year despite a losing record (10-11). And he's fun as hell to watch pitch.
So here's my deal: if the Padres trade Jake, I will not pay to see another game until Moores sells the team and Alderson is gone (there's speculation among some around town that KT is really the fall guy in this situation and is the public face of ownership's money problems). On the other hand, if they keep Jake in town, I personally pledge to buy tickets to every home game Jake starts -- at minimum. Depending on what off-season changes are made to the team, I may even consider a partial season ticket package, but let's not get carried away just yet.
If this situation pisses you off as much as it does me, then leave your name and comments using the form at the side. I'd like to get as many signatures/comments as possible as soon as we can so that we show the Pads' front office how serious we are about keeping Jake a Padre!
-Mark
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