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“Padres-Season Over-Future is Not”

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As the Padres wind down this season, the standings will show between 90 and 95-losses, as most of us expected.

Progress has been made, there has been growth of some young players, others have struggled.

But as they head to the off season, there will be work to be done. The need to get more quality major league pitching, solving the Will Myers hitting problems, and determining the right players for the right spots in an ever changing infield.

The minor league seasons are over for the Padres talent-laden farm system. Three of their teams are headed into postseason play, but the bigger story are the individual accomplishments of players at virtually every level.

It may be the most accomplished season the entire farm system has had in decades.

Granted it does not mean they will all get to Petco Park, but there is strength in numbers, and there are some pretty good numbers to look at.

EL PASO…won the division again…Hunter Renfroe hit (.508) in the 14-games he played after being sent down. Franchy Cordero, who had a cup of coffee with the Padres, looks ready too, after a (.326-17HR) season. 10-year journeyman outfielder Nick Buss won the PC hitting title, with a (..326) mark. There was not much on the mound, though Walker Lockett went (5-2). Young 3rd baseman Christian Villanueva slashed at a (.296) 20-home run mark. The Christian Bethancourt experiment, he becoming a relief pitcher, did not work, (8.21-ERA)…41-innings…83-baserunners..including 33-walks. The Dogs did finish (73-69).

SAN ANTONIO…the Missions got stronger and stronger as the young players arrived..finishing (78-62). SS-Luis Urias finished at (.296), young infielder Jose Rondon was in at (.293). Fellow infielder Javy Guerra staggered again, with a (.212) mark. On the mound, there was excellence everywhere. Starter Brett Kennedy (13-7) 3.70-ERA was there all year. Reliever Eric Yardley ended up with a (2.05) ERA. Last year’s bumper crop of draft pick pitchers did well. Joey Luchessi was a combined (11-8) with 129-strikeouts in 133-innings between A-AA. The same for P-Eric Lauer, who pitched at two levels, with a (6-9) ledger, but had 132-strikeouts in 122-innings. 1st round pick Cal Quantrill was (7-10) with 110-K’s in his 115-innings. Relievers stood out, with TJ Weir compiling ERA’s of 2.17 and 1.86-at his two stops. Brad Wieck had 51-strikeouts in his 30-innings out of the pen.

LAKE ELSINORE…For half a seasons, they had good prospects before they were promoted up the ladder. 1B-Josh Naylor (.297-8HR)….C-Austin Allen (.283-22HRs)…and Mike Gettys (.254-17HR) did well. On the mound young reliever Collby Bluberg (2.85-10 saves) was solid. Starting pitcher Logan Allen wound up 142-striekouts in his 124-innings starting at both levels in Class A. The Storm came home (64-76).

FORT WAYNE …A dazzling season. Young infielder Fernando Tatis (.281-21HRs) was dominant. Cuban teenager Jorge Ona ran out of gas at the end of August, but was a strong (.277-11HR) hitter playing everyday. Hudson Potts, a 2016 draft pick, hit 20-homers and finished with a (.253) mark. The only disappointment was high pick Buddy Reed (.234) for the second season in a row. On the mound, the international free agents were all force fed. Pedro Avila (7-1) 3.05-ERA was the best of the staff. Cuban rookies Ron Bolonas (5-2) 4.41 and 18-year old Adrian Morejon (62-innings-58K-22W) found the jump into Class A very tough. The Tin Cups, fielding a very young team, wound up (68-72).

TRI CITIES…The rookie league team wound up going (40-36), but the teenage players from Latin America had a tough time. SS-Luis Almanzer (.230)…infielder Kelvin Malian (.229) and OF-Luis Asuncion (.267) seemed overmatched. Not so for the pitching staff, led by draft pick Nick Margevisius (3-0) with a 1.24-ERA, and Fred Schlichtoz (4-2) 0.81.

ARIZONA SUMMER LEAGUE…The heat brought by lst round draft pick P-MacKenzie Gore, matched the heat of playing in the summer weather in Peoria. Gore finished with a microscopic (1.27-ERA)…in 21-innings, he fanned 34-walked only 7, in his pro debut….Teammate Ramon Perez won the ERA title in the summer league with a (2.66-ERA) with 48-K’s in his 50-innings. OF-Jession Rosario won the batting title with a (.299) mark. C-Mason House hit (.293)…and Estuary Ruiz, acquired from Kansas City, came home with a (.350) mark….while teammate Eugy Rosario finished at (.282). The 2-summer league teams went a combined (25-30)

A total of 31-minor leaguers had what you would call quality seasons at different levels.

They’re not all going to arrive at Petco Park as stars. Some will plateau. Some will get hurt. Some might get traded. But to have that many quality seasons from that many young kids is an impressive start.

As the Padres finish up 2017, the arrow is definitely pointing up, not just for the young players we saw do well in spurts at Petco Park, but for what might be in the pipeline looking ahead.

The season is almost over. The future is definitely not.

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“Chargers Questions Worth Asking”

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The roster is set, and now the focus is the Monday Night Football opener for the Bolts in Denver. Lots of questions that still need to be answered.

..The Chargers went (1-3) in preseason and aside from the series Philip Rivers and the last team offense played, no one else played very well. Did they leave camp with more questions than answers?

..With four new starters in the offensive line, can this group stay healthy, and be productive on the field?

..The Bolts did not run the ball very well in preseason-will they block for 1,000-yard rusher Melvin Gordon?

..Russell Okung has a history of getting hurt. Denver-Seattle gave up on him because he could not stay on the field. Dangerous trend?

..Is Brandon Oliver the next coming of Danny Woodhead as a 3rd down specialist?

..Will Travis Benjamin, who disappeared the second half of last season, bounce back and become a big yardage guy this year, all season?

..Do the Chargers have the right combo of lineman to play in Gus Bradley’s new 4-3 defense?

..Will Joey Rosa and Melvin Ingram combine for 25-sacks this year as down lineman without the help of the blitzing linebackers in this new front?

..The linebackers won’t have Denzell Perryman for at least half the season. Where are the big plays going to come from, since everyone else is young, untested, or under achievers?

..Is this a make or break season for oft-injured LB-Jerry Attaochu?

..Jason Verrett has had 3-injuries to deal with. A big season coming, but can he stay on the field?

..Casey Hayward has 7-picks last year, some by virtue of the blitz the Bolts employed. In traditional coverage this year, will he post those numbers again?

..If Tre Boston was so talented, why did Carolina coach Ron Rivera axe him in the off season, and will he be better than the just released Dwight Lowery?

..Will special teams coverage units get the job done, even with the release of Nick Dzubnar and the IR-loss of Josh Perry?

..Josh Lambo is gone after missing 8-PATs and 10-field goals, plays kicking 7-balls out of bounds. Good move to jettison him for an undrafted rookie?

I got questions. Do you have any answers?

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“Postcards from Vacation”

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White I was on vacation in Ireland…lots happened. Just catching up with what I think about what has happened.

Padres…fallout from a 95-loss season continues. Hunter Refroe exiled to El Paso to re-learn the strike zone….Hitting coach Alan Zinter fired after his battering order posted a (.232) team average with (1,238) strikeouts heading into the final month of the season….9th hitting coach to be ousted since 2004….Manager Andy Green has now fired 3-of the coaches he brought in 18-months ago….Only 1-of Padres minor league teams made it to post-season play…though virtually all the young pitchers did well at their respective levels.

Dodgers…trying to get everyone healthy and tuned up for postseason…Manager Dave Roberts was fielding a ‘Cactus League’ lineup while losing the Saturday doubleheader to the Padres….Yes, Clayton Kershaw is back, but Yu Darvish is not dominant…and the arm fatigue issues for Alex Wood and Rich Hill seem to exist…and that should all be concern, despite the Blue being 50-games over .500 this year…LA with an ailing Corey Seager…Adrian Gonzalez trying to bounce back…Joc Peterson in AAA…just is not the same team right now.

Angels…Owner Marte Moreno went out and rented Tigers slugger Justin Upton and Braves 2nd baseman Brandon Phillips for the September drive to the wildcard spot…Amazing the Halos are still in it, having had 7-pitchers on the DL this year…but then again 17-of-30 teams in baseball were below .500 as of this weekend….Big question, when if Justin Upton elects not to opt out of his contract? That would stick the Angels with 88M-in salaries for 3-more years, in addition n to the money still owed aging Albert Pujols.

Chargers….Here comes the opening of the NFL season after a very unimpressive (1-3) preseason slate of games….Aside from Philip Rivers strong showing in 2-quarters of play, nothing stood out with the Bolts…Defense could not stop the rush….the backups got bombed…the linebacking looked suspect…there seems to be no depth on defense..and then the final roster cut claimed veterans Dwight Lowery, Josh Lambo and more. That plus the injuries. And here comes Denver with the Monday night opener…and the fight for LA?…Lousy crowds at Stub Hub center…Dan Fouts criticism of the move to LA….and a Rams-Chargers national TV audience that was the lowest rated NFL national game in 13-years.

Aztecs….They look good in beating up outmanned UC-Davis….Christian Chapman throws for (221)….Rashaad Penny rumbles for (197)….the defense has 3-takeaways and a sack….Young OL played well…but next up at Arizona State…then Stanford…then at the Air Force…Stadium looked great decked out in Red & Black colors…46,000 plus showed up for the fireworks game-hopefully those fans will come back

USD…survived a wild passing attack in finally putting away Western New Mexico..Javier Hall threw for (464) so the Torerors have worked to be done…Only 2,500 show up for the home opener…Support for a strong 1AA program is still lacking.

Ireland…Went abroad for a week in Dublin-Belfast-Londonderry and more…Scenery spectacular….castles and cathedrals everywhere….rain-cool weather…and lots of Guiness beer…..4-majoir newspapers in Ireland…..15-page sports sections…..everything about Gaelic football….soccer…cricket…hurling….not one sentence the entire week about NFL camps…baseball pennant races…or anything else sports related in the US…..just 1-story a day about the Houston floods or anything related to the Trump presidency…..Very interesting time there….and stunningly…no CNN or BBC television in Ireland…just the RTE network..

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Hacksaw on Vacation currently

Will return on September 1st.

Thanks for following everyday.

Regards,

Lee Hamilton

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“Boxing-Fight of Century-or-Fraud of Century”

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It’s happened before.

Boxing mismatches.

You wonder, how did this fight get sanctioned? Why would anyone want to watch this fight? How bad is this fight going to be?

In a sport that gave us Gerry Cooney and Leon Spinks….Marvis Frazier and Wladimnir Klitzchko, we get this.

Floyd Mayweather-vs-Conor McGregor.

A sport that gave us a champion like Manny Pacquiao…Roberto Duran…Sugar Ray Leonard…Marvin Hagler….we have to deal with this.

The history book reads of our love affair with Muhammad Ali, Smoking Joe Frazier, Lenox Lewis, George Foreman and so many other great champs.

We remain mezmorized over the life and times of Mike Tyson, and recall the greatness of Oscar DeLaHoya..

You never forget the Brown Bomber Joe Louis, or Tunney-Dempsey-and the likes of their era.

But this Las Vegas matchup might be intriguing,but in all likelihood, might be messy.

Mayweather is (49-0), has made zillions, has been in and out of jail. He has fought people on his own schedule, normally when age has caught up with an opponent. World champ and wife beater too.

McGregor is (21-3) and has those UFC championship belts. He has personna squared.

For every fight fan you canvass, those who love action in the ring, those who scream and yell about what happens inside the cage, you get different opinions.

Can McGregor last more than a couple of rounds against this champ?. UFC bouts are 5-rounds max unless someone taps out.

McGreogr has never fought with 8-ounce boxing gloves. He’s never seen this quickness, explosiveness, mechanics.

He won’t be able to use his feet as weapons will he?.

Will his looping punches leave him exposed to crushing counter punches?.

Can he take a blow to the jaw?. How will be hold up to body shot after body shot-round after round?

What happens if he drops his hands, as he usually does in UFC?.

It will be the boxer vs the brawler.

It will be the sweet science vs the blood sport.

Fight of the century? of Fraud of the century?

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