Thoughts on Trevor Time - Epilogue

I said Sunday night?  I guess I should have said Wednesday morning.  This is the life I lead.

Anticipating a sellout, I decided to get to Petco Park real early on Sunday.  I ended up pulling into a parking spot around 1115.  The streets were full of fans at a level I normally see 30 minutes before game time, so there's that; but I was surprised to learn later the game was not a sellout (fairly obvious from looking around during the ceremony, confirmed with the announced crowd of 40,065).

I know it's late August, and I know the Padres are 10 games under (after winning last night), and the Chargers had a pre-season game Sunday night at Dallas.  If Trevor Hoffman is really the second-most beloved Padre ever as Gaslamp Ball asserts (and I believe), one would think the game would have been a sellout.  Philosophically that fact speaks volumes about the amount of work this organization still has to do to connect with a metropolitan area of 3 million.

The ceremony started with Beautiful Day by U2.  Great choice.  Love that song, and the weather Sunday was Chamber-of-Commerce good (71 and mostly sunny).  Ted Leitner strode to the microphone as the emcee, and there was no better choice to run this ceremony.  None.  Leitner has his faults, but he is very, VERY good as a public speaker and did an outstanding job on this afternoon.

There was discussion during the game (mostly led by Leitner) about why Hoffman is 'the greatest closer in the history of major league baseball'.  It centered on the saves record.  Hoffman is the only man with 600 saves, finishing at 601.  The problem with counting statistics is they will eventually be broken. On this very day, Mariano Rivera recorded save #592, meaning he will break Hoffman's record before this season is over.  I'd rather use this one - Hoffman is the only man to save 40 games or more 9 times in his career (Rivera has done it seven times).  As opposed to a longevity stat, it's a sustained superior performance one.

The proximity of Rivera to breaking Hoffman's record likely drove doing the ceremony now vice 5 years from now when Hoffman (hopefully) is a first ballot HoF.  Don't underestimate the power of having a public ceremony where the phrase 'best of all time' can be used without argument.  Hoffman deserved to have his number retired period - the 'worlds greatest closer' is just a bonus - but there was no reason to rush to do this ceremony.  I'm certainly not saying the Padres shouldn't have retired his number this year, but I do think they wanted to honor him while he was still top dog in terms of total saves, which will not be true after the 2011 season.

Twice now this season Trevor Hoffman has come out of the bullpen to Hell's Bells - Opening Day, and Sunday.  I've gotten goosebumps watching it each time.  The stadium exploded in cheering as the music started and Trevor walked onto the field.  The Padres etched 'TREVOR TIME' on the warning track in dead center during the lead-up to this ceremony, Hoffman came out with his entire family holding hands.  Cool moment.

If Greg Hoffman says Trevor wore 51 because he couldn't have 15 (Bruce Bochy had it) when he became a Padre I believe him.  That said, Kurt Stilwell wore #15 when Trevor was traded to San Diego.  Stillwell was sent to the California Angels on 26 July.  Now Bruce Bochy was on that staff, so it may be Bochy took 15 as soon as Stillwell left the team. Here's something interesting - Baseball Reference indicates Hoffman wore 51 as a Marlin.  I wonder if Hoffy reversed his number because he shifted from shortstop to the mound.

21 August 11 will forever be known as Trevor Hoffman Day.  Wouldn't it be cool to have a day named after you?

I did hear a small 'boo' when Jeff Moorad's name was read by Leitner (thanking him for honoring Hoffman).  Understandable, but not needed on this day.  There are plenty of other forums to express dismay at the Padres $40 million dollar roster cap.

I did not know Hoffman played college ball with JT Snow.

Jerry Coleman got one of the 3 biggest ovations during the 'parade of well-wishers'.  And the Colonel can still run!  I hope I'm that agile when I'm in my 80s.  Heck I hope I'm still vertical when I'm 80.

Second of three big ovations for Steve Finley.  Finley should run a class on how to leave an organization.  I still remember the full-page ad he took out in the SDUT thanking the fans for their support when he left for Arizona following the 1998 season.  Of course, it doesn't hurt that he was one heck of a CF while here (2 Gold Gloves and an All Star appearance; he also finished in the Top 10 of 1996 MVP voting, something else I'd forgotten).  I had season tickets in 1997* and can still see him chasing fly balls down in my mind's eye.

*yeah I know - Division Champs in 1996, NL Champs in 1998, I had season tix in 1997.  My timing always sucks.

Other big cheers came in for Ryan Klesko, Rickey Henderson (and his ridiculous suit that only Rickey could pull off), and Rollie Fingers.

Love that Caminiti's wife was included, as were Mike Darr's widow and Rob Beck's widow.  One of several wet eye moments for me.

Jake Peavy on the big screen brought a surprised cheer, as did Bruce Bochy's comments, and Brian Johnson of AC/DC's tribute was all kinds of awesome.

The four already honored players (Steve Garvey, Randy Jones, Dave Winfield, and Tony Gwynn, who got the last big ovation) came in through the CF fence to the strains of music from Field of Dreams.  It got me thinking - what other franchise can say all those honored with a retired number are still alive?  Obviously I'm not including Jackie Robinson  because he never played for the Padres.  Turns out, there are several - Arizona, Milwaukee Brewers, and Montreal/Washington in the National League; and Baltimore and Toronto in the American League.

More U2 when Hoffman's #51 was unveiled, this time Pride.

Words cannot express how great that 1958 Cadillac looked in the mid-afternoon sun on Sunday.  What a beautiful car.

It's interesting how connected Hoffman and current Padres closer Heath Bell are beyond sharing the same role on the ballclub.  Bell reprises the Hell's Bells by having a bell toll at the beginning of his entrance music (which leads into a quote from the movie 300).  Both are sons of USMC veterans, Hoffman's father having fought at Iwo Jima and Bell's father having served 3 years in the Corps.

And like many others said, having a video clip of Trevor's father Ed Hoffman singing the national anthem was a fantastic personal touch.  The man could sing, too.


I attended Randy Jones' number retirement ceremony back in 1997, and Tony Gwynn's in 2001.  Of those three, this one stands out.  The San Diego Padres went out of their way to make Sunday special, and succeeded.  It was a pleasure to attend and share in the festivities with the Hoffman family.

Game Reflections - #129 vs Marlins

What a wild ending. Some thoughts while waiting for the parking lot to clear out, and the Hoffman's take pictures on the field:

- Will Venable has now hit more leadoff HR's than his dad did (3-2). It was also the first Padre leadoff HR since the last time he did it - against the Marlins.

- After Blanks' double made it 3-0 it looked like another rout was on. Except the Padres got only 3 hits over the next 7 1/3 innings. In the meantime the Marlins clawed back into it.

- Mike Stanton is the best young OF hitter in the NL East. You can keep Jason Heyward. Stanton was a half-inch lower on the barrell and a broken bat away from home runs in his first 3 at bats. His broken bat shot with one on and 2 out in the sixth drove Blanks to the wall.

- Luebke has a perfect game going until Stanton's shot in the fourth.

- Gaby Sanchez is lucky he didn't get run in the fifth. He thought the 3-1 pitch was ball four (called strike two) and took his time getting back in. Then he though the next pitch was ball four (called strike three) and left the bat where he dropped it. Some verbal jawing with Dan Bellino ensued. Lucky.

- Qualls threw an effective seventh. Gregerson's two wild pitches led to a cheap run for Florida in the eighth. No one in the building expected Cameron to turn a Heath Bell pitch around for a long HR to tie it.

- Nick Hundley. Triples machine. He missed winning it with a HR by about 3 feet. Assisting him to third was a favorable carom off the fence and away from Cameron c

- Jack McKeon's strategy after the triple was questionable at best. I understand why he did it, but consider. He walked a .227 hitter who was 0-3 (Forsythe) and a guy in Gonzalez who hadn't hit yet today, to get to Venable, wh is hot and had already homered in the game. And his best reliever (Nunez) never entered the game. Just bad strategy, and not only because Venable hit the second Mike Dunn pitch over Stanton in right to win the game.

I'm sure the Marlins won't miss San Diego. That's a season sweep and nine straight the Padres have taken from Florida.

I attended Trevor Hoffman's retirement ceremony, and will have more on that later tonight.

Padres head north to play the slumping Giants Tuesday.

The Bartlett Deal and Trevor Hoffman

Padres Trail:  The Cutting Edge of commentary on stories at least 24 hours old.

The Padres signed Jason Bartlett to a 2-year deal worth $11 million guaranteed.  There is a club option for a third year at $5.5M, with a $1.5M buyout.  Cot's Baseball Contracts reports the contract is incentivized, meaning Bartlett may guarantee the third year if he meets certain performance thresholds.  They don't tell you what those are sadly.  So much for the 'Is Jason Bartlett returning in 2013' meter I was planning to put in the margin.

Assuming both Orlando Hudson and Bartlett play in San Diego for the duration of their contracts, 2011/2012 will be the first 2-year stretch with the same two men playing second and short, respectively, since 2004/2005 (Mark Loretta and Khalil Greene, if you are interested).  That's a lot of turnover in the middle infield over the past 5 seasons.  No wonder GM Jed Hoyer made it a priority to stabilize the situation at those two positions.

How good of a deal is this?  Fangraphs' Eno Sarris discussed it yesterday and thinks the Padres spent wisely.  I don't see a reason to disagree with his logic, although how good a signing this is will depend largely on whether Bartlett can remain healthy all season.  If, as Sarris supposes, the dramatic decline in his range last season is due to lower body injuries, then hopefully he (and the Padres training staff) can develop a strategy to prevent that.

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Trevor Hoffman has officially retired, and has been invited to become a part of the Padre front office for 2011.  I didn't realize he is 43 years old.  Trevor leaves the game as it's all-time saves leader, and the only man to save 600 games in a career.  I would imagine the Padres will retire his number at some point this season.

There are a couple of things I like about how he's handled his departure from the game.

1. No one-day contract.  This always struck me as silly.  Great players have already cemented their place in their fan's hearts.  Besides, great players have a lot of great highlights, and those highlights showcase the player in the uniform of the team he played on when he was making them.  You ever see highlights of Gretzky wearing a St Louis Blues uniform?  Of course not - he was only there a couple of months, but also he wasn't the sublime player he was with Edmonton and Los Angeles (heck, even with the New York Rangers he was pretty OK).  Hoffman will be shown getting #600 as a Brewer until Mariano Rivera breaks his record.  Then his highlight clips will revert to ones from the mid- and late-1990s when he dominated the NL.
2. Has a plan.  How many players leave the league and just play golf until they get restless?  Hoffman is interested in the business side of the game, and is looking to find his next niche. Give the Padres credit for allowing him the time to determine where he fits in best.

That's all for now.  

Winning Streaks, Trade Rumors, Hitting Coaches, and Trevor Time

Why, what's this? A winning streak? Our beloved Padres actually looked like a major league team in Cincinnati this week.

Some corners of the Padre sphere think the 2009 version will set a new club record for futility in a month. That might still happen - they have to win tonight to avoid it - but since most of us thought there was no way they'd win the final 4 games this month, taking 3 from Cincinnati is a nice mid-summer present.

Also since Dusty Baker is one of baseball's biggest asses, the winning streak couldn't come against a better team. Thank you, sir, for continuing to rip the hearts out of fanbases in the NL Central.

Trades?

Rumors persist Heath Bell and Adrian will find new places to store their cleats today. Here's two thoughts:

- Closers aren't important. They aren't. This whole myth about teams needing a shut-down closer is exactly that: a myth. It has never made sense to me when managers keep their best reliever housed in the bull pen for 9th inning duty, and lose the game because they ran Joe Thornton out there in a tough spot in the 7th. If some other team thinks getting Heath Bell will advance them to the post season, and are willing to give up players at one of the Padres 'need positions' (which is everywhere on the diamond right now except first, short, and center), then trade him.

- Marquee names are important. A recent SI article about Adrian pointed out the marketing difficulties the Padres face; to paraphrase, they are forced to expand south, what with the Pacific, the Mojave, and Angel/Dodger dominance ringing them in. People in TJ (specifically) and Baja (in general) who follow baseball identify with Gonzo, marking him as 'one of their own'. Trade him, and Moorad might as well move the franchise to Montreal. Those few hardy souls going to the ball park do so to watch Gonzo hit. What will they watch when he leaves?

Can't anyone Play this game?

Padres fired their hitting coach Jim Lefebvre today. He's replaced by former Major Leaguer Randy Ready, a career .260 hitter with 5 teams over parts of 13 seasons (1983-1995). As Chris Jenkins pointed out, this is the 5th hitting coach since 2006. Clearly the hitting coaches are the problem:

2006: .263 Batting Average (tied for 8th worst in MLB, with Pittsburgh)
2007: .251 (third worst in MLB)
2008: .250 (thrd worst)
2009: .232 (worst, by A LOT; the Reds are the '27 Yankees in comparison (.244)).

Oh, you don't like batting average as a metric? Here's a little weighted On Base Average, SABR-heads:

2006: .326 wOBA (20th)
2007: .319 (25th)
2008: .311 (26th)
2009: .302 (DEAD FRIGGING LAST)

Hey Padre Management: maybe, Just MAYBE, Dave Magadan, Merv Rettemund, Wally Joyner, and Lefebvre weren't the problem? Maybe the free-swinging Friars are. All these guys can do is dispense advise; they can't go to the plate and take the at bats for the Chase Headley's of the world. The 'Think Method' doesn't work when trying to hit at the Major League level.

Trevor Time Returns

Milwaukee comes to town for a weekend set, bringing a host of former Padres, but most notably Trevor Hoffman. There's been some chatter (I'll call Scott and BR talking about it this morning as chatter) on whether or not the Padres should play 'Hell's Bells' if Hoffman enters a game this weekend.

Let me be emphatic: HELL NO.

We don't follow the San Diego Hoffmans, we follow the Padres. Trevor was a great player for us for years. A perfect scenario would be the Brewers get swept and he doesn't get into a game. But if he does, on his first appearance this weekend, as he heads to the mound he should get a lengthy, loud, heartfelt ovation.

And that's it. No soundtrack. No bells.

I'm not rooting for him to beat the Padres.