From the same Nick Cafardo column where I found the statistic used for yesterday's Gwynn Numbers: Strikeout Minutiae:
28. PADRES - Josh Byrnes took over as GM for Jed Hoyer and made some moves to change things for the financially strapped team, which lost closer Bell. Byrnes acquired Quentin from the White Sox, and got promising first base prospect Yonder Alonso from the Reds in the Latos deal, which also brought in righty Edinson Volquez.I don't think any of this is unfair. I can hardly quibble with someone picking the Padres as the 28th best team in a 30 team league. I think they'll be better than that but I'm not taking umbrage with their placement by the Boston Globe's, Nick Cafardo.
But if you read the assessment of the Padres as related to the other 29 teams it looks out of place. With every other team Cafardo proffers an opinion. He gives his perspective. There's none of that with his blurb on the Padres which I find strange considering that the Padres were one of the most active teams this off season. The Angels, Marlins, and Rangers all spent more money than the Padres but were matched or surpassed in terms of activity.
I'm not offended as a Padres fan but as a reader. If you're going to proclaim to be an expert on every team in MLB at least continue with an opinion on each team since you have decided to rank them all.
For example: "The Padres were one of the more active teams during the winter but it won't help at all in 2012."
I would disagree with it but at least there would be an element of honesty to the column which was clearly mailed in when it came to ranking team #28.
Editor's Note: Nick Cafardo is a member of the Baseball Writer's Association of America. Members of the BBWAA elect players to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He covers the Boston Red Sox. Obviously.
Media hater!!
ReplyDeleteI think he likely mailed it in for the reason my area's local media (Eastern Washington state) was less than excited during last year's annual "rivalry" series between the Padres and Mariners. (funny aside: They have the same faux hatred for the Padres just like Padres fans do for the M's.) The local radio sports talk hosts were trying to find a reason to get excited about the series and did so by trying to name, without looking anything up, any Padres beyond Bell and Latos. As Padres fans, (or fans of any non-major-name team), I think we take it for granted that other fans or sports media will know as much about our team as we do.
ReplyDeleteI don't necessarily expect some guy from another market to know the Padres. But the minute they start doing rankings and commenting on off-season acquisitions then we have a reasonable expectation for them to be in the ballpark.
ReplyDeleteps I hate the Mariners. And here is the definitive piece on this "Natural Rivalry":http://www.rjsfro.com/2011-articles/february/the-pcl-padres-the-birth-of-an-interleague-rivalry.html