Pitcher Micah Owings to Return...as a Hitter

It was announced Saturday that injured San Diego Padres pitcher Micah Owings is ready to put his recent stint on the disabled list and return to the Majors.

As a position player.

"It's a new adventure, a new challenge.  I'm excited," the 29-year-old said.  "I'll be a position player who can also pitch."

Padres skipper Bud Black said that Owings will report to the team's Arizona League affiliate.  He is expected to play two or three games in Peoria before going to Triple-A Tucson.

Owings will play first base, left field and designated hitter.

Picking up a bat isn't a new concept for the 6'5" now-former hurler.  In 205 career at bats, Owings has a .283 batting average, nine home runs and 35 RBI.  Oh...and for you metricheads, dude has a career OPS+ of 106. 

Almost as impressive as Owings big league stats is what he accomplished in high school.  Sure, it's a long time ago, but, still...pretty cool.  As a sophomore, he hit .630 with 21 homers and as a senior, he hit .448 with 25 home runs. 

Owings actually holds Georgia's high school home run record with 69.

Making the change from pitcher to position player isn't a crazy concept.  You might remember Washington Nationals outfielder Rick Ankiel actually started his big league career on the mound for the St. Louis Cardinals and in his first full season at the plate, he hit .264 with 25 home runs and 71 RBI.

Shazam!

Tony Gwynn is in Tax Trouble...Padres Sale in Jeopardy?

It appears as though Tony Gwynn's attempt to buy the San Diego Padres might have hit a snag.  Or, more specifically, more than 400,000 of them.

You see, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Padres legend owes the government more than $400,000 in upaid taxes.  But, if you listen to Gwynn's attorney Mitch Dubick...his client’s tax issues wouldn't affect the planned purchase of the Padres.

“Gwynn is working to pay down the owed taxes in installments,” said Dubick, who refused to reveal the remaining balance, but acknowledged the Hall of Fame did not pay taxes in 2003, 2007 and 2009.

And, here, I get nervous when I'm a week behind on my electric bill.

Gwynn is currently the head baseball coach at San Diego State making roughly $115,000 a year.  He also earns some extra dough through speaking engagements, his former team, sponsorship deals and TV appearances.

The Padres Sure Are Charitable

I don't want to get all nostaglic, but when I was a tyke, I played for teams like "Sprite" and "Little Caesar's Pizza".

Not once did I have the opportunity to have a real team name.  But, that might be because I didn't play within ten miles of Petco Park. 

Allow me to explain.

This past weekend, the San Diego Padres supplied 11,600 jerseys and caps to over 800 local T-ball, baseball and softball teams.  And to top it off...they had their choice of 20 different styles to choose from!

According to Paul Lukas' piece over at ESPN Page 2, the uniform program was the brainchild of Padres president and COO Tom Garfinkel.  Apparently, he came up with the idea last year during a Little League promotion at Petco Park.

"We had about 8,000 Little Leaguers doing a parade around the warning track before the game, and it occurred to me that almost none of them were wearing Padres jerseys," Garfinkel said. "They had jerseys sponsored by local businesses, jerseys from other teams. And I thought, 'Wouldn't it be great if they were all Padres?'"

So Garfinkel and his staff made it so.

I'm not sure what uniform I would've picked (I'm just kidding...I'd have gone with the 1978 road unis), but anything beats the year I played centerfield for "orange".

Hall of Famer Has Cancerous Tumor Rumoved

Eighteen months after having a malignant growth removed from inside his right cheek...Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn underwent surgery Tuesday to have a cancerous tumor removed from the same spot.

"Tony told them to take (the malignant tumor) all out,'' Tony's wife Alicia told ESPN. "They said they may need to remove the facial nerve.  But he just told them to take it out. And if they do remove the facial nerve, they'll replace it with a nerve from his shoulder or his leg."

If everything goes as planned, Gwynn will be back in the dugout as San Diego State's baseball coach in a month.

The former San Diego Padres outfielder attributed his use of smokeless tobacco as the cause of the tumors.  The career .338 hitter spent his entire 20-year playing career using and continued to dip well into his retirement.

Doctors have not yet found a link to Gwynn's use of smokeless tobacco and the cancer, but the 15-time All-Star is conviced..

"Of course it caused it," Gwynn said back in 2010, "I always dipped on my right side."

Padres to Honor Saves Leader

In a move that should be a shock to no one, the San Diego Padres have made plans to retire Trevor Hoffman’s number.

Naturally, Hoffman’s 51 hasn’t been worn by anyone since the closer last took the mound for the Friars in 2008…and it’ll be hung up for good after San Diego plays the Florida Marlins August 21.

The closer is, without a doubt, one of the most celebrated Padres of all-time. He was a six-time All-Star, finished second in the Cy Young Award voting twice and converted an amazing 89.3% of his save opportunities while with the team.

Of his Major League record 601 saves…552 came while with the club.  Not bad for a guy originally drafted as a shortstop by the Cincinnati Reds.

The future Hall of Famer will be the fifth Padre to have his number retired, joining Steve Garvey, Tony Gwynn, Randy Jones and Dave Winfield.

2011 Milestone Preview: National League West

For a number of teams, it isn't really as much what goes on on the field...but, rather, what goes on off of it.

Such is the case with the 2010 World Series champion San Francisco Giants.

The Giants transformed from a bunch of misfits to the team everyone was talking about.  They appeared on magazine covers, talk shows and, soon, will have their own series on Showtime (you can check out the preview below).

And with that…here’s the NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST.


ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

A glance up and down the Diamondbacks roster looks like a journey through the Land of Misfit Toys.  Seriously, their pick ups this past off season included Melvin Mora, Geoff Blum, J.J. Putz and, ugh...Mike Hampton.

Pretty much the only thing Arizona has going for them is hope that newly acquired pitcher Armando Galarraga can get screwed out of a perfect game and they are front page fodder for a week.  Until then...all they've got is celebrating the ten-year anniversary of their World Series championship in 2001

COLORADO ROCKIES

Former American League MVP Jason Giambi is, again, hoping for one last gasp with the Colorado Rockies.  Provided he can break camp with the team (and it is looking good that he will), dude is going to need to double his 2010 output in order to get to 2000 hits for his career.

You see, "The Giambino" enters 2011 86 hits shy of the milestone...he finished last season with 43.

While Todd Helton isn't knocking on the door of any milestones (this season), it's pretty cool to point out that only Stan Musial, Lou Gehrig and "The Toddfather" have put up career numbers of 525 (or more) doubles, 300 home runs and a .320 batting average.  Now, I've seen all the "black ink" arguments against Helton...but dude is a Hall of Famer, right?  Right?!?

LOS ANGELES DODGERS

Prior to last season, all the milestone talk in Los Angeles was about manager Joe Torre and outfielder Manny Ramirez.

This season...not so much.

The big story, of course, is new manager Don Mattingly.  The former New York Yankees star is the team's ninth manager since moving west and unlike some of his predecessors...has zero managerial experience.

SAN DIEGO PADRES

Alright, I'm going to be the guy that says it...how in the world did the Padres almost win the West last season?  I mean, have you looked at their roster?  They've got no huge names (outside of Heath Bell), no one approaching any marquee milestones and the best thing to pay attention to on a daily basis...the Twitter feed of the newly acquired Pat Neshek.

Seriously...the guy is a good follow.  Check him out.

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

Without even mentioning Brian Wilson's beard, "Kung Fu Panda" or the rally thong...it's safe to say that the Giants have become one of the most exciting teams in all of baseball.  Not since the 2004 Boston Red Sox have a cast of characters taken over the world like San Francisco did following their World Series win last fall.

The guys are everywhere.

As far as milestones are concerned...fans haven't had too much to look forward to since Barry Bonds was chasing the home run record and Randy Johnson came on board to nail down his 300th win.  But do you think they care?  That said, outfielder Pat Burrell is 15 long flies away from 300 for his career.

So there you have it, gang…all six divisions and a preview of their upcoming milestones.

Check them out here:
American League East
American League Central
American League West
National League East
National League Central

Kevin Chanel Remembers "Trevor Time"

You're going to see, hear and read a lot of stories about the retirement of all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman...and rightfully so.

Frankly, the career eulogy banged out by my friend Kevin Chanel has them all beat.

I am forever indebted to Trevor Hoffman.

Back in 1995 my pal Hurricane Jr. and I were at a summer ballgame at the good ol’ Qualcomm. It’s no surprise, the Q’ was a shithole. Multi-purpose, but none of them optimal, it housed an equally ehhh product, the blazingly soporific Bochy-era Padres. Some teams were built on speed, others on power, some on pitching. Boch’s teams were adept at avoiding those trappings. They were built on bland.

One of the “keep ‘em in their seats” ploys of the time was the between-innings alternative to dot racing, the “show the players as fun-lovin’ Joes” break. For this particular half-inning we were presented with three players, presenting the three options for tunes you would be forced to hear in the next half-inning. Predictably, one player (we’ll just call him “Phil Plantier” for lack of a good memory) chose the very predictable Hotel California. Hey what do you expect? They’re ballplayers. Song number two, probably something by Journey. Who knows. But the LAST tune was fan favorite Trevor Hoffman’s get-on-your-seats-and-pump-your-fist anthem, Every Day Is Sunday by Morrissey.

Yup, Morrissey.

You can read the rest over at Kevin's site Bugs and Cranks...you won't be disappointed.

Trevor Hoffman Calls it a Career

And without throwing a pitch...Mariano Rivera is now your active saves leader.

Unable to find a team to take a chance on him and a rocky (at best) 2010 campaign, Trevor Hoffman has decided to put an end to his 18-year career.

"It's time to retire. It's time to move on," Hoffman told MLB.com. "This is more of a self-evaluation. I expect to pitch at a certain level and I had to be honest with myself that I wasn't certain I could maintain that anymore."

After making his seventh All-Star team in 2009, his numbers took a dip in 2010.  He blew five of his first ten save chances...and finished with only ten saves and a 5.89 ERA. 

For his career, the 43-year-old finished with 601 saves, a 2.87 ERA and as the all-time leader in games finished.

Hoffman should waltz into the Hall of Fame alongside Ken Griffey Jr. in July 2016, but given the nutso voting habits of the BBWAA of late...it's hard to predict what exactly will play out.

The San Diego Padres are planning a press conference Wednesday at PETCO Park to announce Hoffman's new gig with the ballclub. And yes...this is the same team that once released their long-time closer via fax.

Adrian Gonzalez Lands in Beantown

Yes, we were fooled, last night we reported that the Adrian Gonzalez deal to Boston had fell through.

Well, apparently it didn’t because Monday, GM Theo Epstein introduced the club's new first baseman.

The deal had reportedly fallen through because the two sides could not come to a long-term contract extension, but Epstein said that he was “very confident” that they could work something out, meaning Kevin Youkilis will move to third now that Gonzo is in Beantown.

The trade sends prospects, Casey Kelly (RHP), Anthony Rizzo (1B), Reymond Funetes (OF), and a player to be named later to the Padres.

"I'm very excited to be here in Boston and ready to beat the Yankees," Gonzalez said today at the Fenway park presser.

The lefty has hit 30 or more home runs in four straight seasons, including 31 last season.  Overall, in five seasons with the Padres, he averaged 32 homers a season hit a career-high 40 homers in 2009, 28 away from hitter-tormenting Petco Park.

This trade will finally put an end to the rumors that have been swirling for a while now.  It is one of a few deals already done at the Winter Meetings that officially got underway today.

For breaking baseball news...be sure to follow The Diamond Report on Twitter.

Matt Stairs...Professional Hitter, Part Two

After nearly a month on the disabled list, San Diego Padres pinch hitter (does he even have a natural position anymore?) Matt Stairs made his way back to the dugout just over a week ago.

Wednesday night…he tied history.

With a ninth inning home run off Washington closer Matt Capps, Stairs tied Cliff Johnson with his 20th pinch hit home run.

"Personally, being a pinch-hitter most of your career, that's what is tops," Stairs said following the milestone.

Earlier this season, the 18-year veteran became the first position player (and third player overall) to suit up for 12 teams. In May, he tied journeyman Todd Zeile by being the only players in Major League history to go deep for eleven different ball clubs.

So what’s left for Stairs to accomplish?

Two things if you ask me…he needs to suit up for team number 13 and surpass Johnson and become the all-time leader in home runs as a pinch hitter.

Hop in the Delorean and check out last month's Matt Stairs...Professional Hitter.

Friday 5: Matt Antonelli

A number of current and former athletes have taken to social media…Chad Ochocinco, Shaquille O’Neal and even Jose Canseco.

But only a few do it well.

One of those guys is former San Diego Padres number one pick and current Portland Beaver, second baseman Matt Antonelli. From his status updates regarding his recent hand injury to live tweeting throughout the NBA Finals, Antonelli has taken to Facebook and Twitter like a duck (or in his case…beaver) to water. He has even contributed a “Matt’s Mailbag” feature here at The Hall of Very Good.

This week, the Padres hopeful and wannabe YouTube video sensation (more on that later) is taking his crack at this week’s “Friday 5”.

HOVG: Who was your biggest influence and why?

ANTONELLI: My biggest influence as far as baseball is concerned would have to be my dad. He got me into baseball when I was really young and coached me throughout most of my childhood. He hasn't missed many games in my life, even when I went to school 800 miles away from home, and now that I play most of my games on the other side of the country.

HOVG: What is your most memorable travel experience?

ANTONELLI: My most memorable travel experience was definitely during Spring Training in 2008 when we traveled to China to play the Dodgers in a two game series. I am pretty sure it was the first time two Major League baseball teams played a game in China, so it is always cool to be the first to do something like that. I have never been to another country other than the US, Canada and Mexico, so to be able to travel to the other side of the world was an awesome experience. Being able to spend five days learning more about China's culture and being able to visit so many historic sites was something I will always remember.

HOVG: What is your favorite baseball term or saying?

ANTONELLI: I am not sure why, but hearing Crash Davis call Nuke LaLoosh "meat" over and over again in “Bull Durham” has always made me laugh.

HOVG: What is your best experience or greatest accomplishment?

ANTONELLI: I've had a lot of experiences in the game of baseball that have been a whole lot of fun to take part in. I can't even think of them all, but to name a few: Winning a state championship in high school, being given the opportunity to attend Wake Forest and play baseball there, being drafted into professional baseball by the San Diego Padres, winning a Double-A championship, making my Major League Debut.

HOVG: When did you know that you “made it”?

ANTONELLI: Hmm, that is a tough question. I've never really had a moment where I sat there and thought to myself that I had made it. I'm still hoping that I have a lot left in my baseball career and I'm just working hard everyday to get back to the Major Leagues where I have always wanted to play since I was a young kid.

While Matt Antonelli continues to nurse his hand injury, he is doing his best to keep everyone up to date and entertained over at his website. And until he gets back out on the field full time, be one of the tens of thousands to check out his hoops skills.

And as always, if you have a question for Antonelli, you can email him at mattantonelli9@gmail.com who knows, you might just be featured in a Matt’s Mailbag post here at The Hall.

Matt Stairs...Professional Hitter

I'm not sure how I missed it...but I did. Last weekend, journeyman Matt Stairs did the improbable.

He hit another home run.

I know, I know...the guy it a professional hitter who makes a living coming off the bench and taking care of business with one swing of the bat.

But after last season with Philadelphia, it didn't look like Stairs would ever suit up again.

He had taken a job as hitting coach at the University of Maine and started making plans to coach his daughter’s softball team...when his agent called. A few months later, the grizzled 42 year-old found himself fighting for a job with San Diego big league team.

He had dropped more than 30 pounds and was chasing a litany of obscure baseball records.

First, making the Padres would mean that Stairs would join his record tying twelfth Major League team. The other two players he shares the honor with (Mike Morgan and Ron Villone) are both pitchers...making Stairs the only position player to suit up for a dozen teams.

Next, with 259 career home runs in his rearview mirror, Stairs was looking for career home run number 260 with the Friars...a feat he accomplaished May 22.

You see, with his fourth inning bomb off Mariners pitcher Ian Snell, Stairs became just the second player to go deep for eleven different teams. And while it took him a sleepy 24.14 seconds to round the bases (big thanks Larry over at the Tater Trot Tracker)...I have a feeling the New Brunswick native is holding out for his next milestone.

The most career pinch hit home runs.

Currently, Cliff Johnson is the king when it comes to pinch hit home runs, Throughout his 15 year career, the former designated hitter had 20 home runs off the bench.

Stairs currently sits at 19.

“You need to accept pinch hitting,” Stairs told Yahoo! Sports back in March. “One at-bat is your time. The manager has the faith that I’m a guy in a certain situation."

“That is such a difficult role to succeed in, to be productive,” Padres manager Bud Black said in the same interview to Yahoo! Sports. “To come to the park at 2 and hit at 9:30, one at-bat, in most cases, against the other teams’ best relievers, it’s not easy to perform.”

Oh, and in case you were wondering which of his 12 teams Stairs didn’t hit a home run with…it would be that same team that drafted him.

The Montreal Expos.

Matt's Mailbag: May 17, 2010

Dan asks: Hey Matt, we fans don't hear much about what players do while on the DL. Can you give us some insight on what you do to rehab and why in Arizona?

Matt answers: Hi Dan, thanks for your questions. Over the past few weeks I have been putting up videos on my hand progress and what type of things I've been doing, but I've never really explained where or when I do it. To help you understand a bit more about the rehab schedule and why I do it here in Arizona and not in San Diego, or Portland, I will go a bit more in depth about the entire rehab process.

First off, we have a minor league and major league rehabilitation coordinator that is in charge of helping any injured player get back to good health as fast and efficiently as possible. Our major league rehab coordinator is stationed in San Diego, so any player that is with the big league team that gets hurt will stay in San Diego and work with him. Any player that is in the minor leagues is sent to Peoria, Arizona, to our spring training complex where our minor league rehab coordinator is located.

My surgery was almost three weeks ago and I had my cast removed about four days ago. Now that my cast is removed I meet every morning with our rehab coordinator at around 9:30 AM to begin the rehabilitation process. Recovery time for a broken hamate bone is typically 6-8 weeks, but can sometimes run up to 10 weeks. This is a rough estimate of how my rehab program will go, but things can quickly change depending on how good or bad the hand is healing.

The first two weeks were spent in a cast. The next two weeks (weeks 2-4) will be spent regaining mobility and strength in my hand. As you can probably guess, my hand was extremely stiff when they removed the cast, so we have to spend a lot of time stretching and going through different range of motion exercises to regain that motion. At the same time we start strengthening exercises. The exercises are really simple due to the lack of strength my hand has right now. As the days pass we add more and more weight to my exercises until the strength returns to its normal state.

The following two weeks (weeks 4-6) I am allowed to hold a bat in my hands again, if the doctor clears me to do so. I have a meeting with my doctor on May 24 to decide if the hand is healing properly. These two weeks will be spent getting used to hitting again. I will work on slowly building back strength in my hand. The first day or so will be spent taking dry swings, which is just swinging a bat without hitting a ball. If that feels good the next few days will be spent hitting of a tee, followed by hitting soft toss, and then on to batting practice. It is probably a few days of each until we finally get to batting practice. If the hand continues to feel good I will be allowed to face live hitting, which is our pitchers throwing game like speed pitches to me.

The final two weeks (weeks 6-8) if I have passed all of the tests and still feel good I should be allowed to start playing in rehab games here in the Arizona Rookie Ball League. After a few weeks of games if I am still feeling good I should be ready to ship out to Portland and begin my season.

This is the game plan for the next month and a half. Hopefully I did OK explaining the rehab process, and hopefully it will all go to plan and I will be back playing in games again soon.

Below is a picture of my hand I took today. If you think it looks gross, it feels even worse to the touch. I know it looks like I drew on myself, but the long line is where they cut my hand to open it up and the holes are from the stitches.

Matt Antonelli is a second baseman in the San Diego Padres farm system. Do you have a question for Matt? Drop him an email at mattantonelli9@gmail.com or here in the comments section!

Friday 5: Mark Grant

Prior to last season, I went out on a limb and predicted that the young San Diego Padres would win the National League West. They finished fourth out of five teams.

This year, I went with the Dodgers and they are in last place. The team in first? You guessed it…the Padres.

Former Friar hurler Mark Grant takes the mound for this week’s “Friday 5”.

HOVG: Who was your biggest influence and why?

GRANT: My dad Larry. The greatest man I've ever known. Because he is humble.

HOVG: What is your most memorable travel experience?

GRANT: I got called for traveling when I was playing CYO basketball in the seventh grade. It was a bad call!

HOVG: What is your favorite baseball term or saying?

GRANT: On a check swing that's not called a strike…"if he hits it, it's a double!"

HOVG: What is your best experience or greatest accomplishment?

GRANT: Witnessing the birth of my three children, which I helped create. I am the giver of life!

HOVG: When did you know that you “made it”?

GRANT: When I was in the visiting clubhouse at Dodger Stadium in 1988, and Don Drysdale, who was doing Dodger radio at the time, approached me and said, "hi Mark”…I was floored! The Hall of Famer knew who I was.

Mark Grant played eight seasons for six different teams. He pitched more than half of his innings with the same team that has employed him as their color commentator since 1997.

The Padres.

2010 Milestone Preview: National League West

Every year, there is at least one unconventional story in the Majors that is a fun one to follow.

For me, it’s the saga of Matt Stairs.

You see, I first became aware of Stairs in 1989 when he played A-ball for the Rockford Expos…Montreal’s Midwest League affiliate. He was a long way from grizzled veteran that he is now, but the dude could already hit.

When Stairs hits the field for San Diego this season, it’ll be his twelfth Major League team…a record he would share with former reliever Mike Morgan and current National Ron Villone.

Also interesting to me, will be that first time that Stairs goes yard for his new team.

You see, when he hits that first home run (number 260 for his career), he’ll be doing something no one else has done…hit a home run for 11 Major League franchises.

Add to that, this nugget…the first time he goes deep as a pinch hitter, the 18-year vet will tie Cliff Johnson as the all-time leader with 20 pinch hit home runs.

Oh, and in case you were wondering what time he didn’t hit a home run with…it would be that same team that drafted him.

The Montreal Expos.

And with that…here’s the NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST.


ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

If “best mustache” was a milestone, Diamondbacks reliever Clay Zavada would already have surpassed many on the all-time list.

Last year’s Robert Goulet Mustached American Award recipient (it’s a real thing…read all about it HERE), begins his second season with Arizona and first full season with the league’s fanciest lip sweater.

Across the diamond is third baseman Mark Reynolds and his penchant for striking out. He set a record in 2008 when he became the first Major Leaguer to strikeout more than 200 times (2004!) in a season.

Last year, he shattered his own mark by going down swinging 223 times and, in the process, set the record for the most strikeouts by a player in their first three seasons with 556.

Here’s to a wonderful 2010, Mark!


COLORADO ROCKIES

Colorado resigned Jason Giambi in the off season and the 2000 American League MVP will be looking to provide a spark off the Rockies bench and pad his career stats.

Giambi is 129 hits away from 2000 for his career, but, unfortunately, he hasn’t had anything near that total since his second year with the Yankees in 2003.

Out of the bullpen, veteran lefty Alan Embree is a mere 25 appearances away from tying Cy Young on the all-time games pitched list with 907. Over the span of Embree’s 17-year career, he hasn’t pitched in LESS than 25 games since 1996, when he got the call from the pen only 24 times.


LOS ANGELES DODGERS

With 2246 wins, Dodgers skipper Joe Torre ranks fifth all-time among all managers. Right ahead of him on that list is Bobby Cox with 2413 victories. The two managers also are tied all-time with 15 playoff appearances.

But, with Cox already having announced that this will be his last season in the dugout, Torre looks to be poised to have the last laugh.

Also of interest with Torre…keep your eye on the Dodgers-Yankees interleague matchup June 25-27. This will be the first time Torre has faced off against his former team in his nearly 30 years as a big league skipper.

In what he says will already be his last in Los Angeles, slugger Manny Ramirez is either (A) plyaing for a bigger contract elsewhere or (B) looking to pad his stats so he can start preparing his Hall of Fame speech.

Oh…and there’s always that pesky (C) he is just going to go out there, and fulfill all the hackneyed “Manny Being Manny” predictions.

Either way, here’s what he stands to do in 2010.

First out of the gate, Ramirez is just six hits (2494) away from getting to 2500 for his career and four home runs (546) away from 550. When he surpasses 2500 and 550, he’ll be one of just a handful of players to have done so.

There are three players ahead of Ramirez on the all-time list that he stands a chance to catch this season…Mike Schmidt (548), Reggie Jackson (563) and Rafael Palmeiro (569).

If Ramirez plays the entire season (always a big “IF”), he stands a chance of becoming only the eleventh player in Major League history to surpass 1900 RBI for his career. With 1788 now, he is a mere 115 away from tying Willie Mays (1903) on the all-time list.


SAN DIEGO PADRES

Check out the lead, gang…until Hall of Very Good contributor Matt Antonelli lands on the team, there is only one thing I’ll be watching the Padres for.


SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

Willie Mays’ former club could make a splash…but we’ll have to wait until the end of the season to find out.

All-world starter Tim Lincecum is looking to become just the ninth pitcher to win three or more Cy Young Awards and if he does do it, he’ll be the youngest ever (by a few years) to take home the hardware thrice.

And from the “do they really keep track of that” department, Edgar Renteria is 15 hits and 13 stolen bases away from being just the fifth active player with 2200 hits and 300 steals.

So there you have it, gang…all six divisions and a preview of their upcoming milestones.

Check them out here:American League East
American League Central
American League West
National League East
National League Central

Matt's Mailbag: March 31, 2010

I received an e-mail question yesterday asking if I could explain what happens when a player gets released from a team or sent down during Spring Training or the regular season.

It just so happens that a few days ago at practice, I was sent down to Triple-A Portland. So I guess now would be the appropriate time to explain how you find out, and what actually happens when you get sent down.

During the season it is a little different, so first I'll try to give a Spring Training example of what happens when you go from Major League Spring Training to Minor League Spring Training.

First off, you never really know when cut day is coming, but usually there will be a group of guys cut on the same day, so if you see teammates being called into the manager's office, take cover.

Usually every week or so there will be a cut day all the way up to the end of Spring Training. I showed up for practice a few days ago and quickly realized it was one of those days. Technically it really isn't a true, "cut day".

If you are in Minor League Spring Training, cut day is something totally different. If you are cut in minor league camp it means you are done, you've been released. As you can probably guess, this is the absolute toughest day for not only the player, but everyone in the organization. Sometimes you will hear that baseball is a "business" and these type of days remind everyone of that fact. The toughest part about the day is that for a lot guys it is the first time they will ask themselves, "what do I do next?"

Most players have never done anything but play baseball for most of their lives. A lot of guys didn't even get a college education. They were drafted out of high school and have put in many years of playing in search of that ultimate goal of reaching the Major Leagues.

If you get cut you really only have two options: 1) try to sign on with another team, or 2) look for a new line of work. It really is one of the saddest days of the year.

A lot of times a player that gets cut is someone that you have played with for years, and this is the day you realize there could be a chance you might never see the guy again. There have been countless amounts of my friends that have been released a few years ago and I haven't seen them since that day.

As tough of a part of the game as it is we all understand that each year there will be thousands of new players trying to take your job and that's the nature of the game.

Now back to Major League Camp.

It was around 7AM when I first noticed some players being called into the office. I went about my normal morning...getting changed, eating breakfast and heading into the trainer's room to get loosened up and ready for the day's work. I had just laid down on the training table to stretch out when I heard one of our coaches call my name.

"Manager wants to see you."

Those are the words you don't want to hear if you're a player. The only time something good has come after those five words was when I got the news that I had been called up to the big leagues. I jumped up and headed into his office. It is a pretty familiar scene for me in there considering this was my third Major League Spring Training and the third time I had been called into the office towards the end of camp. I was told that I had done a good job but they had to send me down.

We talked for about five minutes before I shook every one's hand and headed out to pack up my locker.

As I said a few days ago, I had a very good idea that I wasn't going to make the team, but it still isn't ever fun to be told you didn't make a team you were trying to be on. I grabbed my equipment bag, threw my uniform, glove, bats, and anything else I could fit in there so I would only have to make one trip, and walked it over to the other side of the building to where the minor league camp is held.

That's pretty much it.

Once you get over there you are given a new locker in a much more crowded locker room. You receive your new jersey (number 41 for me), your new pants (much tighter and less comfortable ones) and your new daily schedule. You are now part of Minor League Spring Training.

Now get to work!

Matt Antonelli is a second baseman in the San Diego Padres farm system. Do you have a question for Matt? Drop him an email at mattantonelli9@gmail.com or here in the comments section!

Matt Antonelli Sent to Portland

If you’ve been following the “Matt’s Mailbag” feature here at The Hall you know one thing…Matt Antonelli is a good guy.

So, naturally, when I got the following email from Matt this afternoon…my heart just sunk.

I actually got sent down to Triple A today. Planning on playing well down there and getting a chance sometime this year.

And you know what…he probably will.

Antonelli was 14 for 37 (.378) this spring and saw action in 20 games. He was third on the Friars in batting average behind veteran infielder Jerry Hairston (.459) and outfielder Kyle Blanks (.380).

"This was my first step to get back," Antonelli said in a story that appeared at MLB.com. "I feel like I did a pretty good job this spring. Hopefully, I can get ready now and try to make it up there (to San Diego)."

The second baseman was one of nine players cut today by the Padres as they trimmed their roster to 29.

Antonelli will next suit up for the Padres Triple-A affiliate Portland Beavers where he spent both 2008 and an injury plagued 2009.

Hopefully, the Peabody, Massachusetts native can get back to his 2007 form when he hit a combined .307 with 21 home runs for Lake Elsinore and San Antonio.

Matt's Mailbag: March 23, 2010

After a brief hiatus, Matt Antonelli is back answering your questions...here goes!

Mike asks: When you go to bat, do you have a plan of attack? You have a reputation for being a very selective hitter. Do you look at a pitcher and think about the pitch he's going to throw you in a specific situation? Or do you wait for a pitch that you can hit well and just react? Like, do you go into a 3-1 count thinking fastball and geared to hit it? Obviously, to some extent you do, but is it more reactions or anticipation? Thanks.

Matt answers: Thanks for the question Mike. I think this is a cool question because even though I have played baseball for a long time and am still currently playing, I wonder what goes through certain players' heads while they are standing in the batters box. I've also been asked thousands of times, "were you expecting to get that pitch?"

I'll try to give a few examples and what I am thinking just prior to a thrown pitch, but I won't be able to cover every situation because that might take all day.

To start off, when I go up to hit I definitely have a plan of attack. If I have never faced a pitcher before I will watch him throw his warm-up pitches before the inning starts to see what pitches he throws and how he controls them, what his arm angle is like and how fast or slow is his delivery. I'll usually ask around to different teammates to see if anyone has faced him in the past and what information they have on him.

After he has warmed up and I walk to the plate I have to think about the game situation that we are in. What inning it is, what is the score, if we have any runners on base, could there be a good chance of a hit and run or a bunt, do I have to hit the ball to the right side to move a runner over to third, is there a runner on third and we need a sac fly, those type of things.

Every single different situation makes me think differently about what pitches I might see and where they pitcher is going to try to locate them.

Let's just say I am hitting early in the game with nobody on base and a tied score. This is probably the most basic example I can think of. I walk to the plate against a guy I have never seen before and know nothing about other than he's a lefty with an 88 mph fastball and he likes his change-up against a right-handed hitter. First pitch I would probably be sitting on, my favorite pitch, a fastball middle of the plate, and I'm looking to hit something hard right back up the middle on a line.

He throws a fastball, a great pitch on the outside corner for a strike. Because it wasn't the location I was looking for and it was early in the count I take it for strike one. Now it's 0-1 and I step out of the batters box. I have a good idea about how his fastball looks. When I step back in I know I can't look for my absolute favorite pitch because I'm behind in the count, but I still don't have to swing at anything just because its a strike.

I'll open my zone up a little bit, but still look for something middle-away to drive right back at the pitcher or to the second baseman. I still sit on a fastball, but because I am looking to hit the ball back up the middle or hard at the second baseman I am ready to hit an off-speed pitch if he leaves it in my area. If I was looking to pull a fastball I wouldn't have much of a chance to hit an off-speed pitch hard.

Next pitch is a fastball located perfectly on the inside corner. I take it for strike two. Damn this guy is pretty good. I tip my hat to him and get ready to battle. He has thrown two great pitches, something that doesn't happen all the time, but will happen every once and a while.

It isn't fun being down 0-2, but now I got to do what I can to put a ball in play. I have to swing at a strike no matter what part of the plate it is located on. I step in and am looking for a pitch away, but ready to react to anything inside. With two strikes this is probably my best strategy. If I look away I still have the ability to react to a fastball in and hopefully foul it off. If I happened to look for a pitch in and got a change-up away I wouldn't have much of a chance of doing anything with it. I also don't just sit on a fastball anymore. I start to sit on something a little softer, and if he throws his fastball I will have to react quickly to fight it off.

He throws an 0-2 fastball inside again but this time misses for a ball. Now I'm 1-2, not much better than 0-2, but I have another chance at a mistake pitch left over the plate. I stay with my same approach looking soft away.

The next pitch is a 1-2 change-up away but he doesn't put it where he wants it. He leaves it up a little and it hits a good amount of plate. Because I'm looking for something softer and away its right where I am looking. I hit a ball right back up the middle for a base hit.

That is an example of a typical at-bat I would face in say the first inning of a game in Triple-A. When you are in the Major Leagues it is a lot different. Before the game even starts you would look at film of the opposing starting pitcher. I would already know what his fastball looks like, how his change-up looks and how hard it is, and if he has a curve ball or slider to go with it. I would also have a really good idea about how he likes to work right-handed hitters.

Before every game we are given a scouting report on the opposing pitcher we are facing. It will give a few words about what type of pitcher he is and what his tendencies are. It will show what percentage he throws each pitch at each count. For example it would say that to right-hander, 0-0 he throws a fastball 72%, a change-up 22% and a curve ball 6%.

It would have this breakdown for every count possible, so when you get to that count you have a reference on what he might be thinking. Of course, you still have to take the game situation into consideration. If there is a man on second and a base open in a tied game in the bottom of the 8th, that is going to change up his thinking a lot. Same thing if you happen to be a 3 hitter versus a 9 hitter.

Baseball is absolutely not an exact science, but any information you can get on someone, even if it is small can help. Players in the Major Leagues are the best players in the world, so even small things can sometimes make a big difference.

Now to give a few examples of in-game situations that might change your thinking a little bit. I won't break down the entire at-bat but just throw the examples out there.

Say you are hitting with a man on second in a close game with no outs and your job is to move the runner. Now you could bunt if you wanted, but usually you will take the option to swing and move him with a ground ball to the right side.

The first thing I would do is move off the plate a little bit. I do this because I want to hit the ball to the right side, so getting a pitch on the outside part of the plate makes it easier to do than a pitch on the inside part of the plate. By moving off the plate I turn the inside part of the plate into the middle of the plate, and the middle into the outside.

Just as you know that your job is to move the ball to the right side, the pitcher knows the same thing and he isn't going to give you a nice pitch on the outside corner to make your job easier. I'm going to look for a pitch out over the plate to make my job easier. He is probably going to try and throw a sinking fastball located over the inside part of the plate or an off-speed pitch to get me to roll over to the 3rd baseman or shortstop. If he can locate three pitches were he wants them it will make my job really tough, but if he makes a mistake I have to be ready to capitalize on it and do my job.

Next, say I am hitting with a runner on third and less than two outs in a one run game. The opposing team decides to play the infield in. Before I step into the box I decide I want to hit a ball in the air to the outfield for a sacrifice fly.

In this situation I am going to look for a fastball up in the zone which will make hitting a fly ball much easier. The pitcher is going to try and locate a pitch down in the zone to induce a ground ball. If he has a good sinking fastball he will probably use this, but can also go with off-speed pitches located down. A lot of these situations come down to pitch recognition.

Do I know what pitch I am looking for and can I recognize when I am getting it? Then, can I put a good swing on the ball to do my job?

If I can, I will get an RBI and hopefully help our team get a victory.

As you can see there are different things to think about in different situations. I wish I had more time to keep going into different situations but there are literally hundreds of different situations we could talk about. I hope you found this useful and next time you see a guy up in one of these situations you will have a better idea about what both he and the pitcher are thinking.

Thanks again for the question.

Matt Antonelli is a second baseman in the San Diego Padres farm system. Do you have a question for Matt? Drop him an email at mattantonelli9@gmail.com or here in the comments section!

Matt's Mailbag: March 19, 2010

Simply put, good friend of The Hall, contributor Matt Antonelli is having a good spring. In fact, going into the weekend, he's hitting ..375 (9 for 24) through 12 games with the Padres this spring.

In lieu of the normal "Matt's Mailbag" feature...give Matt's interview with HotStove.com a listen.

Former All-Star Talks Steroids, "Greenies"

Thanks to Jose Canseco’s bestselling book Juiced and its follow up “The Mitchell Report”, Major League Baseball may never get out from under the steroid cloud.

It seems that virtually every lengthy discussion about baseball ends up touching upon performance enhancing drugs.

That being said…I’ve never had the cajones to, in all my dealings with baseball players (past and present), ask anyone flat out if THEY did anything illegal.

I guess that’s where the anonymity of the internet comes in.

Over at Morgan Ensberg’s blog, “Stuart” threw out the following question: “Did you use PED’s and did you see others using them? A simple yes or no will not do.”

Yikes! Pretty ballsy “Stuart”.

More ballsy however…the former All-Star’s reply.

Stuart I am pumped up that you asked me that! I didn’t use steroids or anything else that helped build muscle.

The only thing I saw in the clubhouse was “greenies” which I have done about 10 times. Greenies are basically “uppers” and they didn’t do anything to me. I am not sure if that is a good thing.

I drink a ton of coffee and would drink something like 2 redbulls before a game if I felt sluggish.

I always use this analogy. In Hermosa Beach, where I grew up, there were a bunch of kids who smoked weed. I was asked if I wanted to smoke, but I said no and that was the end of it.

I eventually smoked in college about 30 times and I liked it. But I noticed that it made me eat a lot and I didn’t need any help in that department.

Back to the point, I didn’t smoke so I wasn’t in “that club”. If you are not in the group then you have no idea what guys are doing it. The same thing happened in college with cocaine. I have never done cocaine, but some of my buddies did and I had no idea. I just thought that they were really hyper.

My opinion is this. I can’t fault anyone for doing steroids because they are trying to do everything they can to get to the big leagues. I played in the Dominican and Venezuela and nothing you say will change my opinion on a guy making a decision to feed his family. This isn’t apples and apples.

I don’t even think that those guys who did do steroids pushed me out of the game. I had the ability to play the game at the highest level and that is really cool to me.

Amazing. An honest reply from a Major Leaguer to a fan.

In a time where agents and career politicking sometimes gets in the way…it’s refreshing to see Ensberg’s opinion on things.

Plus, dude’s got the makings of a decent site.

Check it out!