1-Man’s Opinion on Sports-Tuesday “Padres-1 Month Till Spring Training-Talking Baseball”
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“Padres-1 Month to Spring Training”
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The Padres put on a party for the fans on Saturday…their Fan Fest…and baseball fans, wearing Padres colors from all types of uniforms showed up.
So did GM-AJ Preller, who spent a half hour with the media in a Q&A session.
Highlite quotes of what he had to say to my questions.
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..Brad Hand-big time performer-all kinds of roles-closer..multi-inning guy…lefthanded batters…can do it all….Not surprised at what he has done…was a high draft pick…couldn’t say he would be a star-but he had qualities we liked…got lots of calls-interests on the trade front…not giving him a no trade clause-we like to keep flexibility with our roster.
..Chase Headley-had lots of talks since trade..more complete hitter now than anytime in career..controls strike zone well…recognizes pitches well…. really played well down the stretch and post season with Yankees..our message has been consistent-come in-be a leader..could play some 1B in relief role-but will be our 3B….like his attitude…he gets it…gives us great level of leadership
..Tyson Ross…2-years removed now from arm surgery…still has good stuff..has had multiple conversations with Darren Balsley…we did not have him put on special workout for us.
..Chris Young..he competes all the time…great leadership makeup…much like Clayton Richard…don’t have to see him throw…like how he’s wired.
..Eric Hosmer…our offer is still out there…no restructuring of proposal…free agents have right to pick and choose and pick time they want to sign….we have other plans if he does not come here.
..Kazu Makita…scouted him for over a year…all scouts had lots of looks…pitched very well in pressure games…lots of arm slots…ball movement…strike thrower…lots of experience as starter has made him better reliever now…comes in as 7th inning or 8th inning setup guy.
..Bryan Mitchell..Goes to camp as a starter…really good stuff in the minors..big fastball…learning how to located pitches…has lots of weapons…has attack mode attitude
..Colin Rea..healthy…gotten bigger stronger upper body in last year…spending off season in Arizona.
..Robbie Erlin…100 percent ready-spending off season training in Las Vegas.
..Matt Strahm…fully recovered from knee surgery…will determine in next couple of weeks whether he goes to camp as starter or a reliever….need to see what type of workload he can handle…will have a lot of discussion.
..Rookie pitchers…Cal Quantill..Joe Lucchessi..Jacob Nix..Eric Later have all performed well…all got to AA in just 1-year….they have gotten to be polished pitchers….they are on track now.
..Franchy Cordero….Played as MVP in Dominican League…lots of our scouts watched him….lots of natural talent….has learned and made adjustments everytime he has moved up a level….played hard here last year but was overwhelmed…could ge part of our rotation…had over 300 plate appearances at all levels last year
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