Hollywood Blvd. News – San Diego Padres Edition
- Updated: March 4, 2015
(Photo via @Padres)
We like to start our day searching the web and reading articles about our beloved LA sports teams. It’s easy to get lost in the depth of the inter web, but luckily for you we have compiled a list of the most interesting and pertinent news stories for your morning reading pleasure. For this edition, let’s dive into the news surrounding the San Diego Padres.
Check out our thoughts on James Shield and Brando Webb:
“In 197 starts from his debut on April 22, 2003, through 2008, Brandon Webb was really good. The groundball guru went 87-62 in 1315.2 innings with a 3.24 ERA and a 1.2 WHIP, and allowed less than 1,200 hits.
He nearly won Rookie of the Year in 2003 (lost to Dontrelle Willis), and represented the Diamondbacks in three All Star games. He won the Cy Young Award in ’06, and finished second in 2007 (to Jake Peavy) and 2008 (to Tim Lincecum). He won more games (70) than anyone between 2005 and 2008, including Roy Oswalt (66), Johan Santana (66), and Roy Halladay (64).
He didn’t do it with a power fastball or nasty off-speed offering; he had a damn good sinker. According to FanGraphs, 249 starting pitchers threw at least 400 innings between 2002 and 2012. Webb led everyone with a 64.2% ground ball rate.”
To read more of this article, click here.
At long last Spring Training is upon us. Following a busy off-season for A.J. Preller and the Padres it is time to put a product on the field.
“A few of the major story-lines in Padres camp this spring will be the position battles at third base, the 4th and 5th outfield spot and the final starter that will round out the pitching rotation.
At third base the competition will be between Will Middlebrooks and Yangervis Solarte.
Middlebrooks was acquired in an off-season trade with the Boston Red Sox. He had become the odd man out following the signings of Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez. In his rookie season, Middlebrooks batted .288, smashing 15 home runs and posting a slugging percentage of .509. Since then he has struggled mightily hitting only .227 in the 2013 season and an abysmal .191 in 2014. His failure to make contact is evident in his alarming strikeout/walk rate. He strikes out 4.8 times for every walk he acquires. The Padres are hoping a change of scenery ignites Middlebrooks and he can produce similar numbers to what he put up his rookie season.”
To find out more about this, click here.
Stay with us at Calisportsnews.com as we will keep you up-to-date on all things San Diego Padres and the rest of the LA sports teams! All Cali, all the time!
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