MLB: Melvin slated to accept job with Padres

Over from Under the Excrement! Melvin’s back!

Bob Melvin, let go last month as the manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks, will accept an unspecified position with the Padres, possibly as soon as Wednesday.

Melvin was in San Diego on Monday and Tuesday meeting with Padres team officials, including general manager Kevin Towers.

It’s not known if Melvin—relieved of his duties May 8 after spending the past four-plus seasons in Arizona—will be an advisor to Towers or a consultant.

...In San Diego, Melvin will be reunited with Padres CEO Jeff Moorad and team president Tom Garfinkel, both of whom were in Arizona as recently as last season.

The Baseball Analysts: Lederer: Q&A: Paul DePodesta

Important Things with Paul DePodesta.

Rich: How do rank attitude, hustle, and leadership when scouting players? And how do you go about valuing those characteristics?

Paul: It can be really difficult for me to warm up to a player who has a low motor, but that’s just my personal take and one that I often have to guard against when writing reports. I prefer guys who play with energy and appear to really enjoy being out there. The minor leagues can be a real grind - I can’t imagine enduring that playing schedule - so I worry about guys who don’t seem to have that passion. That said, that passion isn’t always illuminated by a player bouncing around the diamond, which is why I have to be careful.

Rich: Is “feel for the game” something that is at all quantifiable? Is it inherent in most players or can it be taught or gained over time?

Paul: I don’t have a good answer for that. Every player is unique, and sometimes we’ll find a player who has terrific instincts for one part of the game while really struggling with other aspects of the game. Some of that “feel” though can come from experience.

Rich: How does ability vs. signability come into play when lining up your draft board?

Paul: We try to line up our board without accounting for signability. When it comes time to make a decision, we have to factor in everything we know, but we don’t want signability to cloud our evaluations of a player’s ability.

Fangraphs: Anderson: The Worst Regular in Baseball

Uhhh...the Astros have brought Jason “0 fer 25” Smith back up?

More than 200 plate appearances into the season, Brian Giles remains the worst regular in baseball. Suffice to say, Giles abrupt decay is a bit surprising. Sure, he’s 38 years old and plays in a notoriously suppressive offensive climate, but even Giles’ park-adjusted numbers are repulsive. His .255 wOBA translates to -12.7 offensive runs. Giles has played nearly as poorly on defense, posting a -8.1 UZR despite playing an outfield corner.

All told, Giles has been worth 1.5 wins below replacement level, good for a “value” of $-6.9 million; the Padres are paying him $9 million over the course of this season.

Giles has struggled to hit the fastball this season to the tune of -2.25 runs per 100 heaters faced, a glaring weakness which the league has exploited by throwing him fastballs 66% of the time. It’s hard to tell whether Giles has lost his bat speed or something else along the way, but his performance this year represents a drastic drop from that of his previous seasons:

2006 0.12 wFB/C

2007 0.92 wFB/C

2008 1.16 wFB/C

Still clucking: San Diego Chicken now 35

GIANNOULAS FOR HOF! If only for the hilarious induction speech in which he awkwardly acknowledges Tommy Lasorda!

For 35 years, Ted Giannoulas has jumped and run - and flattened Barney - at ballparks across America, climbing into a feathered costume to go to work as the San Diego Chicken.

“It’s the one magic elixir that keeps me young,” he says.

Yet the bumps and bruises on Giannoulas, a native of London, Ont., don’t heal nearly as quickly as they used to. He is in the twilight of a long and lucrative career playing to audiences large and small, and acknowledged that this could be the San Diego Chicken’s final season.

The gigs aren’t there like they used to be. Nearly every team in the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB have their own licensed mascots - a trend inspired in part by the San Diego Chicken’s popularity so many years ago - and Giannoulas has cut back his schedule in recent years.

Down from a high of about 250 games each year in his heyday, Giannoulas said he’ll leave his San Diego home for just 50 appearances this summer.

“At the end of this season I’ll make a determination if I think I can go another season. I can’t say for certain. I’ll just see how my body feels, what my energy level might be going forward,” Giannoulas said. “The fun and energy is still at the ballpark. I still get a charge out of it.”

Being the San Diego Chicken - or the Famous Chicken, as he’s also called - might seem like an easy way to make a buck. In fact, Giannoulas expects to pull in six figures this summer (he won’t say how much).

But it’s a gruelling night of high-energy, slapstick comedy for the five-foot-four Giannoulas, whose suit gets so hot he jokes his “eggs come out hard-boiled.” And contrary to what many might believe, Giannoulas is the only one who’s ever worn it.

Union-Tribune: Peavy could miss as many as 12 weeks

The Padres lost Jake Peavy on Friday – only not in the fashion that most fans feared.

Peavy is going on the disabled list with a partially torn tendon in the right ankle that has bothered the ace right-hander since May 22.

Optimistically, the Padres are hoping Peavy – the subject of trade rumors and attempts since the end of last season – will be ready to pitch shortly after next month’s All-Star break.

But Padres trainer Todd Hutcheson said Friday night that it could be eight to 12 weeks before Peavy is fit to pitch again.

That could become a major factor in the Padres’ thoughts to trade Peavy and relieve the franchise of some of the almost $60 million owed the 2007 National League Cy Young Award winner through 2012 (plus the contract buyout for 2013).

Union-Tribune: Interleague schedule finally arrives, and no one is happier than (Cliff) Floyd

He could just kiss the calendar. On the lips, if it had them.

Ordinarily, while affable and easy-going by nature, Cliff Floyd isn’t given to such silliness. But it’s been a tough couple of weeks, a really tough season. And this date on the Padres’ schedule, June 12, has been a much-needed source of hope and encouragement.

“Listen,” Floyd said. “I’ve never looked forward to doing something more in my life than this interleague play.”

...

For the first time this season, then, Floyd could go into a game knowing he’s going to get three squares. Possibly four or five.

As of Friday, Floyd’s had six at-bats all year, all of those in the two weeks since he came off the disabled list for knee and shoulder issues. Still physically unable to play outfield, he’s been relegated to pinch-hitting duty, with nothing to show for it but three strikeouts and some groundouts.

“I’m about as freakin’ frustrated as you can possibly get,” Floyd said. “I didn’t anticipate it being this difficult. So difficult. I just feel so low.”

Dodger Thoughts: 10,000!!!!! Dodgers record milestone victory

Buoyed by four home runs, the Brooklyn-Los Angeles Trolley Dodgers/Robins/Atlantics, etc., won their 10,000th game as a major-league franchise tonight.

Andre Ethier homered in the first and third innings, giving him five homers and a 1.438 OPS in eight June games, and Matt Kemp and Orlando Hudson also went deep to help the Dodgers overcome a sluggish start by Chad Billingsley and defeat the San Diego Padres, 6-4.

NBC Sports/Pouliot: Five managers on the hot seat

5. Bud Black (Padres) - Truly a pleasant surprise, San Diego is just four games under .500 despite possessing what looked like baseball’s weakest collection of talent at the beginning of the year. Only the Nationals and Orioles have worse run differentials than the Padres, who have scored 221 runs and given up 271. That Black has coaxed the team to a 26-30 record is quite an achievement. Still, Black is managing a team that is expected to eventually have a new owner in Jeff Moorad. CEO Sandy Alderson is gone, and it seems likely that more changes will come after the year. Black will likely survive the season, but if the Padres opt to go in a different direction at GM over the winter, then they may bring in a new manager as well.

Others - Fredi Gonzalez has my vote for baseball’s worst manager, but the Marlins won’t want to have to pay two managers at once again. … Jerry Manuel’s Mets are playing better lately, so he should be safe unless his mouth gets him in trouble. … A’s manager Bob Geren has plenty of support from good friend Billy Beane and can’t be blamed for assembling baseball’s most injury-prone team.

SDNN: Blair: The magic that was the 1984 Padres postseason

A look back at the Cubs - Padres series...and Mike Royko/GOD.

Of course, the Padres team that boasted Garvey and Tempe, Flannery and Bevaqua, Nettles and Show was a glorious one. But our citizens were up to the challenge, too. We were the underdogs going into the National League championship series with the Chicago Cubs, and we relished our role. The baiting by the outta-town media helped,too.

The Chicago Tribune’s legendary columnist Mike Royko didn’t come to San Diego for our side of the playoffs. Fear of flying. He took his potshots from 2,000 miles away, calling Padres fans “lousy wimps” and “laid-back surf rats” who couldn’t appreciate the magnitude of what was happening. When Royko’s syndicated tirade was picked up by the Escondido Times-Advocate, the newspaper invited readers to respond to in print. But when editors transmitted the responses to Royko in Chicago, the columnist was not amused. An aide phoned the paper to warn that Royko might pull his column from the T-A. Editor Will Corbin beat him to the punch. He phoned the Chicago Tribune syndicate to advise that the T-A would no longer publish Royko’s column. “For a guy who’s always sticking pins in people,” said Corbin, “his skin is much too thin for us.”

...Kurt Bevacqua was the home-run king of the first series game, but Steve Garvey was still hanging onto the hero status he earned during the playoffs. One enamored Garvey fan — an attractive young woman — spent the night waving a sign with her spiritual message: GOD LOVES US ALL — BUT HE LOVES STEVE GARVEY JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE.

L.A. Times: Padres know it’s time to win, or else

Reporting from San Diego—The message has reached the San Diego Padres’ clubhouse loud and clear:

Win. Or else.

“We’re the Cleveland Indians in the movie ‘Major League,’ “ closer Heath Bell said.

Second base David Eckstein nodded and laughed when asked about comparisons with the fictionalized version of the Indians, who had to win a division title to avoid a move to Miami.

“That has been going around, yes,” Eckstein said.

“We know we need to win if we want to keep these guys here.”

While the weak-hitting Padres aren’t facing the threat of relocation, some of their high-profile players could be sent elsewhere to cut payroll and restock the farm system if they don’t start winning soon.

The Padres, who open a two-game series at Dodger Stadium tonight, have lost seven of their last 10 games and are 11 games out of first place.

Already, the Padres have reduced player salaries from $78 million last year to $46 million this year.

And they continue to make substantial efforts to move their most prized asset, ace Jake Peavy, who at the end of the season will still have at least $52 million remaining on his contract.

L.A. Times:  Padres’ Heath Bell has a new look

Reporting from San Diego—Heath Bell reported to the San Diego Padres’ camp this spring weighing 25 pounds less than he did at the end of last season.

His secret?

He played video games.

Seriously.

Baseball’s current saves leader had put together an off-season training program that included many hours playing Nintendo’s Wii Fit game, which runs a series of interactive exercise programs.

Bell, who inherited the Padres’ closer role from the departed Trevor Hoffman this season, said he was convinced he had to lose weight when he entered his physical measurements into the system. The game told him he was obese. His avatar was bloated.

“My character was like this,” Bell said, holding out his arms to the side and blowing up his cheeks. “I had to have my thing thinner.”

Bell said he played Wii Fit so often that he annoyed his three children.

“They were like, ‘Dad, get off, it’s my turn,’ “ he said.

He said that when he told them he was working, they replied, “Dad, you don’t work.”

Bell, who weighed 245 pounds at the start of spring training, has saved a major-league-leading 16 games and has posted a 1.48 earned-run average.

Spector: Arizona bullpen spins extra-inning no-no

They win the damn thing! (oof, no longer the Murph)

A no-hitter? Not quite, but this is one of the oddest achievements in baseball history, to be sure…

Diamondbacks relievers Jon Rauch (1 IP), Esmerling Vasquez (2), Clay Zavada (2.2, with the best mustache in the majors so long as Sal Fasano isn’t around) and Leo Rosales (3.1) combined to throw nine consecutive innings of no-hit ball in San Diego tonight. The innings? The 10th through 18th, as Arizona got a 9-6 win.

And how did Arizona get that win? On a three-run homer by Mark Reynolds (previously 0-for-6 with four strikeouts and two walks… a Three True Outcomes king) in the top of the 18th off Josh Wilson. That would be Padres shortstop Josh Wilson, who came in after San Diego ran out of pitchers. Wilson does have some pitching experience—he worked an inning for Arizona earlier this season!

philly.com: Phillies have bargaining chips in search for pitching

There’s a chance the Phils could get to the postseason with the pitching they have. But they can’t take the chance of coming up short, not with this ripened nucleus of players. And beyond the regular season, the Phils have to think of what their postseason rotation might look like. Having a strong 1-2 combo at the top of the rotation is crucial in the postseason, and the Phils have been weakened by the loss of Brett Myers.

So the Phils are hunting for another pitcher, and from the sound of it, they’re not just looking for an off-the-rack arm. They want someone that will make them better, an upgrade on what they have. Jake Peavy interests them, but he doesn’t want to leave San Diego. The Astros’ Roy Oswalt and the Blue Jays’ Roy Halladay would interest the Phils - if their teams were to make them available. Ditto for Erik Bedard, if the Mariners put up the “For Sale” sign.

Jake Peavy: “There are plenty of blogs out there that are inaccurate as inaccurate gets, from fans”

Or why Jake Peavy keeps banging his Zenith because the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network comes in scrambled.

XX Sports Radio: Jake Peavy Interview with Darren Smith

# Peavy jokes that he might have to get on Twitter.  Somebody was tweeting about him picking up his medication at Albertson’s.  “You can’t do anything these days.” Jake thinks this stuff comes with territory of a big time pitcher “There’s been so many false things written about me on the internet, I don’t care.” Jake doesn’t have a facebook or myspace account.

# “There are plenty of blogs out there that are inaccurate as inaccurate gets from fans.  Obviously those are brought to your attention by the people that look out for you.”

# Peavy is told that there is a fake Twitter account using his name.  He says he’s going to follow Tony LaRussa’s lead and see how his lawsuit turns out. 

# “I play a professional sport for a living, I got three kids and a family to take care of, I’m not on the internet, I can promise you that.” “I don’t have the time or the will to want to do anything that.  I don’t want to sit down on a daily basis and write a blog!  I’m sorry”

CBS: Miller: Padres’ Gonzalez carries big stick, Gold Glove … and louder buzz

At his current pace—and if pitchers remain insane enough to continue throwing within three ZIP codes of the plate—he will finish with 69.

“With his hand-eye coordination, he has the ability to hit a pitcher’s pitch,” Padres manager Bud Black says. “The down-and-away fastball, the sinker that is tailing away off the plate. He can turn on a fastball, golf the low breaking ball. ...”

The way he’s going, it appears he also can catch a speeding bullet in his teeth, while taming the lions at the San Diego Zoo in his spare time.

(And now, we interrupt the superlatives for the obligatory aside on performance-enhancing drugs: Gonzalez says he has been tested in every season since his first as a professional in 2000 and notes that “young guys hitting home runs over the past five years, I think all of them have been tested and proven clean.” Besides, he adds with a wry smile, “the only thing I’ve come up positive for is carne asada burritos.")

Peako de gallo?

rotoworld.com:  Bastardo wins major league debut vs. Padres

Antonio Bastardo won his major league debut against the Padres on Tuesday with six innings of one-run ball.
The Phillies won the game handily 10-5. Bastardo’s job was made easier with a 4-0 lead before even throwing a pitch, but he showed great poise, holding the Padres to just four hits against one walk and five strikeouts. The only run scored on an Adrian Gonzalez solo home run in the sixth inning.

Friar Forecast: Gettinger: Looking at Adrian’s Home Runs

Gonzalez disguised as Sosa? The list of Adrian messenger...to follow.

After last night’s game, Adrian Gonzalez has now hit 21 home runs in 2009.  At his current rate, Gonzalez will finish the season with 66 home runs.  He will almost certainly smash his previous season high of 36 home runs, set in 2008.  The big question is whether Adrian’s power spike is real, or luck driven.  The answer: a little of both.

Since Gonzalez came to the Padres in 2006, he has consistently increased his home run totals.  In 2006 he hit 26 HR, he hit 30 in 2007, and 36 in 2008.  This progression has been consistent with a typical course of power development.  Gonzalez is now 27 years of age, somewhere around his prime.  That he is having his best power season of his career is not a surprise.  That he has hit home runs at such an astounding rate is.

...Adrian Gonzalez is having a fantastic season.  As he is in the prime of his career, we should not be surprised that he is playing better than he ever has.  That said, I doubt Gonzalez will continue to hit home runs at such a ridiculous rate.  His HR/FB rate is just not sustainable.  My guess is Gonzalez hits something around 25 additional home runs in 2009.  He might make a run at 50 home runs, but duplicating Sammy Sosa’s 1998 campaign of 66 home runs seems unlikely.

Marquis limits Padres to make Tracy a winner in first game as Rockies manager

Tracy juggled the lineup, putting the slumping Garrett Atkins back into the cleanup spot and sliding Tulowitzki down to seventh. His intention is to keep the lineup pretty much in tact.

“I’d like to stabilize some things,” Tracy said. “I sat over on the other side of the field in this ballpark for a number of years and I watched Garrett Atkins drive in over 200 and some odd runs over the course of a couple of different seasons. If we’re going to turn some things around, he needs to be in the middle of our order.”

Atkins, who saw his average dip to .195 after an 0-for-3 night, put some good swings on the ball, just had nothing to show for it.

“He just needs to find some green grass,” Tracy said.

Late in the game, Tracy inserted Omar Quintanilla at third for defensive help. The slick-fielding infielder doesn’t play all that often.

Now, he may see more time.

“He can flat catch the ball,” Tracy said.

It begins.

From The Negro Leagues To The Majors

Today, we spotlight a family whose Negro League and Major League roots are still shining on the today’s baseball diamond. It started with grandfather Sam Hairston, who began his career as a catcher for the Birmingham Black Barons in 1944.

After winning the Negro League American League’s Triple Crown in 1950, Hairston would be come the first African-American player signed by the Chicago White Sox.

His two sons, Johnny and Jerry, would go on to become Major Leaguers. Both would also put time in the Windy City; Johnny briefly with the Cubbies and Jerry with the White Sox.

And now the third generation of Hairstons, both second baseman, continue one of the longest traditions of African American ballplayers. Jerry Jr., began his career with the Baltimore Orioles in 1998.

MLB.com: Padres win 10th straight with big rally

The Padres’ road woes finally ended on Monday in a rousing Memorial Day tilt against the Diamondbacks at Chase Field that was won in the 10th inning with a two-run homer by left fielder Chase Headley.

The 9-7 victory broke an 11-game road losing streak dating back to a 4-3 victory over the Rockies at Coors Field on April 28. It also extended their current overall winning streak to 10 games, coming on the tail of a club-record 9-0 homestand at PETCO Park.

Catcher Henry Blanco opened the 10th against reliever Tony Pena with a bouncing single to center. Headley then hit a soaring shot to right-center for the victory. It was his fourth of the season.

The Padres made this all possible by coming back from a 7-1 deficit with five runs in the eighth and one run in the ninth.

MLB.com: [P Chris] Young leads Padres to ninth straight win

Chris Young allowed two runs over seven innings and drove in a pair on Sunday as the Padres ran their winning streak to nine games with a 7-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs before 39,593 at PETCO Park.

The Padres (22-22) scored three runs in the fifth inning against Cubs starting pitcher Ted Lilly (5-4). Young had a two-run single in the frame.

The victory marks the first time the Padres have been at .500 since April 30 when they were 11-11.

Krasovic: ‘Frustrated’ Giles offers no excuses

Baseball-reference and BABIP in SoSD? (mistakes box of Johillco Mounted Dragoons for candy...gags)

Padres executives spoke of how Giles, now 38, would show the younger hitters the selective approach that had yielded a career .404 OBP.

But his OBP was .256 entering last night. Giles made no excuses. Not his style. He would like to see a few of his line drives land for hits, though.

“With a guy on second base and you hit a liner to center, you need one of the balls to fall,” he said. “It helps get your confidence back. I’m frustrated more than anything.”

Giles didn’t use the word unlucky, but one statistic did. His batting average on balls in play – which exempts home runs – was .172, far below his career average of .294. According to baseball-reference.com, Giles’ BABIP has never been below .265 for a season. That happened last year. The pressbox view is that he also isn’t driving the ball as hard as in years past.

“I’ve seen signs,” manager Bud Black said. “It’s coming.”

FOX: Rosenthal - Peavy made wise move to spurn White Sox

Much as I admire Padres general manager Kevin Towers, I’m done feeling sorry for the Padres, who blew two chances to trade Peavy last winter. The Braves clearly offered a better package than the White Sox. The Cubs’ deal might have turned out better, too.

The longer this drags on, the less the Padres will get for Peavy, the 2007 N.L. Cy Young Award winner. Part of Peavy’s appeal that is his $11 million salary this season is a relative bargain. As each day passes, that one-year discount diminishes. His salaries increase to $15 million, $16 million and $17 million the next three seasons.

Peavy might have gone to the Braves, though his desire for a no-trade clause for the duration of his contract would have been a sticking point. He definitely would go to the Cubs and still could go to the Cubs, once their new ownership is approved.

His strong preference is to stay in the N.L. The Padres knew that his strong preference is to stay in the N.L. Why they would even talk to the White Sox without first receiving a firm go-ahead from Peavy is anyone’s guess.

Maybe White Sox general manager Ken Williams was so aggressive, he left the Padres with no choice but to act quickly. And, as Peavy’s agent, Barry Axelrod, told FOXSports.com, the pitcher’s approval or disapproval was “not necessarily black or white.”

MLB.com: Padres acquire Gwynn Jr. for Gerut

SAN DIEGO—The Padres are bringing Tony Gwynn Jr. home to his native San Diego, as the team swapped outfielders with the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday, landing the son of former Padres great and Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn.

The Padres traded outfielder Jody Gerut to the Brewers for Gwynn Jr., who was hitting .309 with a .387 on-base percentage for Milwaukee’s Triple-A affiliate in Nashville of the Pacific Coast League. Gerut, 31, was hitting .227 with four home runs and 14 RBIs in 37 games with the Padres. He has struggled to regain his form of 2008, when he hit .296 with 14 home runs and 43 RBIs in 328 at-bats.

Krasovic: Peavy trade to White Sox may be near

According to Padres personnel, Peavy met with Padres manager Bud Black late Wednesday night to discuss a trade overture from the Sox.

Peavy, whose consent would be needed for a trade to any club, declined all comment after meeting with Black.

Within the clubhouse, though, Peavy referred to the situation as “something to think about” yet also restated his desire to stay in the National League. One of Peavy’s teammates said he believes Peavy respects the Sox’s aggressiveness in pushing for him but may have reservations about pitching for Ozzie Guillen, the White Sox’s volatile manager.

Bruce Jenkins: Giants are NL West’s best hope

(05-19) 20:12 PDT —It’s up to San Francisco to save the National League West from the Dodgers, the Manny Ramirez scandal and the depressing notion of a division won much too easily. Not that it seems very likely, but the Giants are the only team even remotely equipped for the task.

Next to all this, the Giants seem positively golden with the likes of Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Bengie Molina and Pablo Sandoval. Can they win this division? Total longshot. But they’re the only threat to Mannywood.

Tom Krasovic: Gonzalez finds going to a bigger bat was well worth the weight

MVP! MVP! MVP!

One simple question addressed to one of the game’s premier power hitters was part of the evolution that has made Adrian Gonzalez the major league leader in homers entering tonight’s Padres-Giants game at Petco Park.

“I asked Ryan Howard why he uses a bigger bat,” Gonzalez said. “I liked what he told me and tried it for myself, and it’s definitely helped.” ... after hearing from Howard, Gonzalez became more potent. This despite playing his home games in a ballpark that Padres statisticians describe as an “extreme pitcher’s park.”

Over his final 267 at-bats of 2007, he batted .311 with 15 home runs. He followed in 2008 with a career-best season, batting .279 with 36 home runs and 119 RBI. This season Gonzalez has 15 home runs, an average of one per 9.5 at-bats, which also is first in the majors. His .629 slugging percentage is fifth in the league.

Heeding Howard’s words was a significant factor, he said.

“The leverage you create with a 35-inch, 33-ounce bat is going to be far greater than with a 34-inch, 31-ounce bat, which is what I used to use,” Gonzalez said. 

“Everybody’s unique,” he said. “Everybody’s got to find out what works for him. .. “It helped me, a lot. It allowed me to be more of a power hitter. “Did it take away (batting) average? Maybe,” said Gonzalez, whose .304 batting average in 2006 also included above-average luck, according to some statistics.

“You swing through more fastballs, especially up in the zone, so you may strike out more. It’s definitely harder to check your swing with this bat. There’s definitely a downside to it. I might strike out more.  “But with this bat, I use it because it helps me to be the type of player I need to be here.”

The Real McCoy: Baseball writing takes a sad turn

A lot of my pals don’t any more, a lot of talented people victimized by the economy and newspaper cutbacks. One of the best is Tony Jackson, who covered the Cincinnati Reds for the now-defunct Cincinnati Post. He was covering the Dodgers for the Los Angeles Daily News until a week ago. He was laid off. So long, farewell, thanks for coming.

Hall of Fame writer Tracy Ringolsby and Jack Etkin, two of the best beat writers in the country, were without jobs when the Rocky Mountain News in Denver published its last edition this year.

Another good friend, Jack Magruder, was covering the Arizona Diamondbacks for the East Valley Tribune — until the EVT decided to no longer print a newspaper and Jack was swept out the door. Saw him today and he is hanging in there by doing freelance work.

And how heartless was this? A backup beat writer and a columnist with the Baltimore Sun were in the press box at Camden Yards. They received phone calls. In the press box as they worked. Their services were no longer needed and please leave your laptop computers before you walk out the door. Don’t forget the power units, too.

More sad news today, which is what prompted this. Tom Krasovic has covered the San Diego Padres for at least 10 years, maybe longer, for the San Diego Union-Tribune. He is from Dayton, a Carroll High School graduate, and worked as a copy boy at the old Dayton Journal Herald. He was part of 150 jobs eliminated by the Union-Tribune this week and has a job only until July 31.

So go ahead, Delta, crush my luggage. Lose it. And if P.F. Chang’s wants to serve my chicken with bean sauce ice cold, I’ll use my lighter to heat it up. Malaria? I’ll take it. Stiff neck? Bring it on.

Friar Forecast: Gettinger: What is Wrong with Brian Giles?

Damn Phlebotinum-fueled double carcass switch...right under our very noses!

So, if Giles is not chasing more pitches, and is not having a tougher time making contact with the ball, what has been his problem?  Simply, Giles is not making solid contact with the ball.  Only 12.5% of his balls in plays have been line drives.  For his career, Giles’ LD% has consistently (his LD% shows very little variation between years) hovered around 20%.  Instead, Giles is hitting a lot more grounders.  Hitting more grounders, and less line drives is significant because line drives are the type of ball in play that are most likely to go for a hits and extra bases.

While the drop in line drive percentage partially explains the lower batting average and slugging percentage, it does not tell the whole story.  Some of Giles’ struggles can be attributed to poor luck.  This season, Giles has a BABIP of 0.165.  His line drive rate suggests he should have BABIP closer to 0.245.* This implies Giles should have a batting average of 0.214 rather than 0.151. 

...Unfortunately, the Giles situation is much different from the Peavy situation.  In Peavy’s case, he was essentially the same pitcher he has always been, but with a few starts of terrible luck.  Giles’ struggles can not be entirely attributed to bad luck.  Making solid contact with the ball is a skill, and Giles has not done a good job of it this season.  Even with some regression towards his career LD%, we may still be disappointed with the results.  Giles is 38 years old.  He is not this bad.  But a precipitous drop in performance from the previous year would not be entirely unusual.  Giles will turn things around.  Just not all the way (or even close to all the way) around.

Tim Sullivan: Does L.A. now have cash for Peavy?

anybody but LA. I could even handle the Mets. Just not LA.

From a competitive standpoint, Manny Ramirez’s suspension matters to the Padres in much the same way a hamburger does to a devout Hindu.

It is a curiosity, but not really much of a concern. That the Dodgers’ outfielder would find use for a drug designed for the purposes of female fertility is way past suspicious and so far unexplained, but the 50 games Ramirez has been docked should make no meaningful impact on the standings.

The Dodgers are the best team in the National League West, with or without their dreadlocked desperado. Despite their return to third place Thursday, the Padres still figure to be bringing up the rear by season’s end. Subtracting one slugger does not begin to level this baseball playing field, and it could, conceivably, make the Dodgers even stronger down the stretch.

If General Manager Ned Colletti can effectively deploy the $7.7 million in salary Ramirez is no longer due, the Dodgers could be a better club when their performance-enhanced left fielder returns July 3 at Petco Park. This year more than most, those clubs with spare cash should be positioned to pounce as their pinched rivals struggle to meet payroll.