Bud “Contract Year” Black Cashes In

In case you've been concerned in regards to the whereabout of the authors of this blog, fear not, we have not died in a boating accident or absconded the with considerable fortunes accrued from maintaining this site to search for traces of the last expedition of Colonel Percy Harrison Fawcett in the jungles of the Amazon.

However, Matt is at a conference for work and I have been tied up with some obligations of my own during the work week that have been keeping me away from the computer. And when the weekends roll around, both of us have been trying to enjoy our respective summers to the fullest, which leaves little time for writing things on the internet. We'll be back pretty soon, but the content is going to be a little sparse for the next couple of days.

Luckily, a long time commenter who would like to be identified simply as "Marmaduke Ramirez Washington" was kind enough to submit a guest post. It's not about the Yankees, but I think you'll still enjoy it. Take it away, 'Duke:

Following in the steps Vernon Wells, Kevin Brown and every other player that happened to have the best season of their life in their contract year, Bud Black received a 3 year extension to manage the San Diego Padres on Monday. After 2 years of leading his team to winning percentages of .389 and .463, Black has the Padres 17 games over .500 and in first place in the NL West.

Obviously he is putting a lot more effort into his managerial duties this year as opposed to the 2 previous seasons. The question is, “Why didn’t he try harder to make San Diego a winning franchise in 2008 and 2009?” Some baseball insiders think that Black saw a wide open free agent market for managers during the 2010 off-season prompting him to take his position as a manager much more seriously this year.

While not confirmed, rumors have been surfacing that Black took courses in “Advanced Statistics 101” and “Manage a Winning Sports Franchise on a Shoestring Budget 1a and 1b” at San Diego’s Mesa College during the winter. Other sources indicate that he attended a National League managers' convention during the offseason, which included a two day seminar on the double switch, because there’s obviously much more to it than checking who recently batted, moving the new pitcher to that spot in the order while inserting a new position player into the previous pitcher’s spot in the order.

One unemployed manager who wishes to remain anonymous is also questioning whether or not Black is taking performance enhancing drugs to gain an edge over other managers in the NL West. “How many 53 year old mangers have taken a team that has perpetually been in the bottom of the National League under his own watch and now, all of a sudden, they have the best record in the league? I’m telling you, that kind of improvement out of nowhere can only be the results of using copious amounts of PEDs - HGH, hGC, Adderall, Ritalin, whatever it is.”

He also added, “Have you seen the size of his head?” [Ed. note: The source may have been confusing Black with the previous Padres, and current Giants manager Bruce Bochy who reportedly wears a size 8 ¾ hat.]

Some people inside the game feel that Black has finally come into his own as a manager after years of limited success and is really stepping it up when the money is on the line. But is there more to his success than meets the eye?

Padres' Coleman To Work Limited Schedule

A special Super Bowl Sunday good morning to you Fackers. Today is clearly a day for pigskin, but I'm grateful to know that we're a day closer to pitchers and catchers.

As we continue through our countdown to Spring Training, we're understandably in history mode here as we go back and brush up on some of the old time Yankees we've been profiling. Our countdown doesn't extend all the way back to number 42, so former World Series MVP Jerry Coleman doesn't get his own post, but he did make a cameo in name and in picture in Friday's Gil McDougald post.

Following his playing career, Coleman joined the Yankee broadcast team, working both TV and radio from 1963 through 1969. After spending two years calling games for the Angels, Coleman joined the San Diego Padres booth in 1972. He's been there ever since, save for spending 1980 as their manager.

Sadly, it was announced Thursday that Coleman would work an extremely limited schedule of just twenty to thirty home games this year (h/t BBTF). At 85 years old, I suppose it's only natural that Coleman's workload be reduced, but the Padres had no problem signing the spry 75 year old Dick Enberg to a multi-year deal this off-season, one that will see him call up to 120 games per year.

If Coleman's still up for working a full schedule, I'll pay his moving expenses to come back to New York. There's a couple folks in the Yankees Lowes Broadcast Booth whom I would love for him to replace.

Padres' GM Search Impacts The AL East

According to multiple reports, the San Diego Padres are close to naming Jed Hoyer their new General Manager. Hoyer is currently Theo Epstein's top lieutenant in Boston, and served a brief stint as the Red Sox' co-GM in late 2005 when a gorilla-suited Epstein temporarily left the organization following a lover's spat with boss and mentor Larry Lucchino. Hoyer and holdover Paul DePodesta will give the Padres a pretty formidable brain trust.

The Yankees stand to benefit from this hire. Not only does their principal rival lose a key member of their front office, but as a result, the Yankees get to keep a key member of theirs. Billy Eppler, the Yankees' Director of Pro Scouting, was rumored to be a candidate as well. Eppler is Brian Cashman's most trusted advisor, likely the most statistically inclined member of the Yankees; front office, and is responsible for finding players like Alfredo Aceves, Ramiro Pena, and Edwar Ramirez. He also recommended the Yankees select Joakim Soria (from the Padres no less) in the 2006 Rule 5 draft, but the Royals beat them to the punch.

Another interesting story line here is what will become of former Padres GM Kevin Towers? Towers attended Game Four of the ALCS earlier this week and has said that he plans to accept a job sometime around the Winter Meetings. Earlier this month River Ave Blues speculated that Towers, who is close with Cashman, could accept a scouting job with the Yankees. However, Epstein and Lucchino are both familiar with Towers from their time with San Diego in the late 90s and have apparently already offered him a job. With Hoyer departing, Towers would be a great addition to the Sox' brain trust. This one will warrant watching as the hot stove league heats up.

Vicarious Vacation

If you're up for one, head on over and check out our pal Jason's account of a once in-a-lifetime kind of afternoon he had with his family during a trip to San Diego:

Here's the setup: A few days prior to leaving for San Diego, I emailed my friend, Matt. Matt, an agent, has been a long time FOTB. In my email to Matt, I asked him if there was any way that I could get my boys to meet Kyle Blanks, a client of his, since we were going to be at the game. In a way that is typical Matt, he responded a few hours later with a "Call me asap" email. I gave him a call and he let me know that he not only arranged for us to meet Blanks, but that Kyle suggested that we meet him for lunch before the game. I was giddy, to say the least, as I knew this would be a tremendous experience for my boys...meeting a pro ballplayer and having lunch with him right before he played!

It gets better from there. There was more interaction with players (the Shyster jokes that there may have been some ulterior motives on their parts) and it makes you realize that while baseball in New York is certainly great in it's own right, the game is more accessible and easier to enjoy in person essentially everywhere else in the country.

Sure the Padres have to try a little harder to appease their fans since they are drifting lifelessly at 20 games below .500. It helps that they don't have to charge exorbitant prices on tickets or concessions to cover their $43M payroll (oh wait, minus Jake Peavy's $8M), too. But we're talking about San Diego here. I don't too many people are losing sleep over the Pad's record. When October comes in SoCal, it's still going to be 78 and sunny.

Game 103: After The Gold Rush

The trade deadline came and went for the Yankees without much action. They traded for Eric Hinkse a while back, Jason Hirsh a couple days ago and picked up Jerry Hairston, Jr. today. But I think most fans were holding out hope that they could snag a solid reliever or back end starter as 4:00 came and went. Alas, they did not and will have to see who passes through waivers before they made a deal.

The White Sox on the other hand, came up with what was easily the most surprising deal of the trade deadline. They once again dealt for Jake Peavy, but this time he approved it. He is currently on the DL, but as long as both teams are okay with that and he passes a physical, it's fair game. Peavy is rehabbing an ankle injury and apparently won't be back until August 15th at the very earliest.

It came at a fairly significant cost, however. Part of the package was tonight's starter for the Sox, Clayton Richard. The 25 year old lefty had a 5.14 ERA in 136 2/3 Big Leauge IP, but his minor league numbers are pretty solid. In addition, his last two starts were phenomenal, both consisting of 8 innings of one run ball. Perhaps the Padres were intrigued by his recent dominance and that's what sparked the negotiations?

Instead of Richard, D.J. Carrasco will go for the Sox. He's made 34 appearances this year, none of them starts, and the longest was 3 2/3 innings on July 19 against the Orioles in mop-up duty. He made 20 starts for the Royals in 2005 and pitched to an ERA slightly below league average (92 OPS+). The Sox are throwing him out there for lack of a better option and the fact he pitched three nights ago means that he's probably on a fairly limited pitch count. It would seem their underbelly is exposed and it would be a good time for the Yanks' bats to strike.

The Bombers send their own liability to the mound tonight. Sergio Mitre has been fairly serviceable so far in his two starts, lasting 5 2/3 and giving up 3R in his first, while following a 4 run first inning in his second outing with 4 scoreless ones. Both of those gamed ended up in the win column, so I guess that means he was good enough, right?

Barring the acquisition of a player who passes through waivers, this is the team that the Yankees are working with for the rest of the year. Mark Teixeira thinks that's good enough to win with. A lot of that hinges on Mitre's ability to put together respectable starts. If he can hold a spot in the rotation, it will greatly temper the need for the Yanks to start pulling their bullpen apart to patch up the rotation.

Here we are, Fackers, coming around the back stretch. The Yanks struck it rich in July, going 18-8 so far. Let's close out the best month of the season in style.

I was lying in a burned out basement,
With the full moon in my eyes.
I was hoping for replacement,
When the sun burst through the sky.

Breaking News: Peavy to ChiSox Staying Put

Wow two Breaking News stories in a row. And this time it's real news.

With a hat tip to RAB, both ESPN and SI are reporting that the 2009 Padres Fire Sale has begun. Though it's not official yet, it looks like the long-rumored Jake Peavy to Chicago deal will happen. Except Peavy's going to the South Side rather than joining the Cubs. Tough luck Cubs fans.

This should make Ozzie Guillen slightly less insane for about 48 hours and may keep Jose Contreras down in AAA longer than expected. Or at least until the White Sox decide that Gavin Floyd is worse.

Maybe later in the season the Yankees can exploit John Moores' impending gigantic divorce settlement to pick up a usable piece for their bench.

[UPDATE 1:19 PM - Peavy's agent says not-so-fast. I'm sure this is nothing a lucrative extension can't solve]

[UPDATE 7:10 PM - Peavy exercises his veto. You gotta figure this only postpones the inevitable. I say he'll be gone by the end of the month.]