Happy Trails Heater

One of the hardest things in sports, in my opinion, is replacing a legend. Being the guy after the guy that a city adored seems to be a nearly thankless job. Will you ever not be compared to the person you replaced?

In modern sports history, the list is short of those who have replaced a legend and succeeded or even surpassed them on their own. Aaron Rodgers replacing Brett Favre is perhaps the most successful example. I said the list was short. Meanwhile, the list of a vacuum being left by icons leaving or retiring is long. The Dolphins haven't been able to replace Dan Marino for 20 years. The Bulls spent roughly the same time trying to find someone to capture the city's imagination the way Michael Jordan did, finding a possible superstar in Derrick Rose.

Heath Bell became a Padre via a trade that made little noise at the time. The Padres traded Ben Johnson and Jon Adkins to the Mets for Bell and Royce Ring. Bell, at the time, was tolling away on the round trip shuttle between New York and Norfolk, never finding his place in the Mets plans. In San Diego, he replaced Scott Linebrink as the 8th inning bridge to Trevor Time. Until 2009, when the previously unthinkable happen and Hoffman signed as a free agent with Milwaukee. Gone was Trevor Time, a San Diego tradition for more than a decade.

For the first time in 15 years, someone not named Trevor Hoffman was being asked to close games in San Diego. Heath Bell was tasked with the job of replacing a player that rivals only Tony Gwynn in importance to this franchise.

Good luck? Hardly needed. Hardly needed. In his first year as the full-time closer Heath Bell saved 42 games, earning his first of 3 All Star appearances. He quickly became a fan favorite amongst the friar faithful. He's quirky, jokester personality was straight out of central casting for a closer. He was goofy. He was fun. He took blown saves on the chin. He celebrated every save like it was Game 7, no matter what the calendar said. No one will ever replace Trevor Hoffman in San Diego. Heath Bell never tried, nor ever wanted to. He was just "Heater."

I read once that fans in San Diego expect "the show" with a closer as much as results. Trevor Hoffman is often credited with starting the now prevalent tradition of a closers entrance music. Heath Bell picked up that mantle, racing in in full sprint from the bullpen as Breaking Benjamin blared from the speakers. Was it as iconic as AC/DC? Hardly. But it was fun. And in the end, baseball is suppose to be fun.

And I think that's what I'll miss most about Heath Bell. He was fun. I like winning. I like success. But I like having fun watching baseball more than anything. Heath Bell provided all three, being one of the best closers in baseball after being a throw away piece in a nearly forgotten trade.






















For all the saves you gave us, for all the honest interviews you gave, for your Twitter Q&A's and your now infamous All Star Game slide, thank you Heater. You were what I love about baseball and athletes. You were good. And you were fun. And at the end of the day that's all any fan can ask of a player.

Happy Trails Heater. Enjoy Miami.

Hoffman the Hall of Famer and Why Being #2 Shouldn't Matter

Were you one of the best players at your position during your career?

That's the criteria for the Hall of Fame in my opinion. Of course, there is no real criteria. But if I'm voting on players and looking at a list, thats my first question. Were you one of the best during your career? Baseball is unique in that it cares about its past perhaps more than any other sport. Yet, it is nearly impossible, for a variety of reasons (rule changes, desegregation, steroids), to compare different eras of baseball.

Was Trevor Hoffman one of the best at his position during his career? There is no way to answer that question other than with a resounding "yes."

This of course is being brought up today thanks to Mariano Rivera breaking the All-Time Saves record. Rivera stands alone atop the saves leader board at 602. Who knows where that number will stop, as he shows little sign of slowing down. But, does Trevor Hoffman now being the SECOND greatest closer of all-time somehow invalidate his Hall of Fame credentials? Of course not.

Regardless of whether you believe in the saves stat or deride it as more useless than pitchers wins or RBI, the fact remains that closers are judged by them. A closers job is simple yet incredibly complicated at the same time. Come in, pitch one inning, get three outs. Done and done. Except it is never as simple as "done and done."

Closers are more often remembered for a singular moment of failure. Mitch Williams, Brad Lidge, Byung-Hyun Kim. We know these names not for their effectiveness as a closer but because they failed to get those three outs in critical situations. It is also why the position of closer is perhaps the most volatile in sports. Great relievers have attempted to make the transition from the middle of the game to the end of the game and have failed miserably. It is this volatile nature of the position that makes the careers of Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera so spectacular and so rare. Both are over 600 saves. That number is impressive on it's own. It is made more impressive with context. Like this: Number 2 on the active saves leaderboard is Francisco Cordero...at 323 (wait, Francisco Cordero? Yes, Francisco Cordero). Which means that the mark that Hoffman set and Rivera continues to set is likely not to be matched for a long time. It is likely as unattainable as Ripken's games played, Dimaggio's 56, or Cy Young's 511 wins. Imagine, if you will, that the second person on the All-Time Wins list was at 509 (they aren't, by the way, second place is Walter Johnson at 417). As unattainable as 600 saves is, it is perhaps more impressive that two players during the same generation met that standard.

To reach the totals that Rivera and Hoffman have reached requires consistency at a position could not be less consistent. Yet they were. It is what makes these two closers so special.

And why both are heading to Cooperstown.

Occasionally I will read or hear an argument against Hoffman's Hall of Fame resume. It usually has to do with either A) some sabremetric stat that is not as impressive as one would expect; B) post-season performance.

Let's deal with the post-season issue first. Mariano Rivera is, without question, the greatest post-season closer of all time. No debate. But even he is not without spectacular failure. Game 7, 2001 World Series is submitted herein as exhibit 1. But, unlike Mitch Williams (and so many more) before him, Rivera had already built up a lifetimes worth of playoff appearances prior to blowing Game 7. And he recovered to continue that dominance throughout much of the 2000's.

Hoffman had a fraction of those chances. By no fault of his own. The teams he played for were more often than not mired in mediocre to sub-par seasons, pushing Hoffman's greatness to a mere footprint of multiple MLB seasons. The mere fact that one was not given the opportunity to be great, by no fault of their own, is not reason to keep them out of the Hall of Fame. I don't think anyone's Hall of Fame candidacy should be based on post-season performance. A factor? Sure. But not a criticism.

The second issue is the sabremetric argument. The argument seems to go that by other standards, Rivera so far outshines Hoffman that Hoffman is somehow suddenly not a Hall of Famer. It also follows that the position of closer is not as valuable as one would think, so being the best or second best at this "irrelevant" position is useless. To which I say, SHUT UP!

The job of a closer is to save the game. Whether someone does that with three long fly balls, or by walking three guys then striking out the next three, is irrelevant if the end result is the game was saved. I simply don't care, nor do I think it matters that Rivera has a better K/9 rate, or whatever Bill James stat you want to use. The barometer is saves and by that barometer, Rivera and Hoffman are the greatest...and it's not even close for a third.

Comparisons between Rivera and Hoffman are inevitable. But they are also ultimately pointless. It doesn't matter if Hank Aaron or Babe Ruth was better. They were both great. Who was better, Dimaggio or Mantle? Who cares, because they are both great. The same should be said about Rivera and Hoffman. Two of the greatest closers in baseball history who played during the same time period. They are the standard-bearers for all those who come after them.

Who's better: Rivera or Hoffman? Ultimately it doesn't matter, because both belong, and both will be, in Cooperstown soon enough.

Who's Next? The Impending Drought of Retired Numbers

This Sunday something very special and very rare is going to take place. As anyone who even casually follows the Padres must know by now, Trevor Hoffman, MLB's All-Time Saves Leader, will have his #51 retired. Hoffman's number will become the 6th number retired by the Padres, joining the ranks of Tony Gwynn, Steve Garvey, Dave Winfield, Randy Jones and of course Jackie Robinson. It is rarified air no matter how you look at it or what your personal opinions are of the who has been bestowed with this honor (we will save that for another post).

No doubt in the next 48 hours, blog posts will pop up reminiscing on his career. In fact, I would think it would be a safe bet that you will find just such a post on this site in the coming days. But I'm not here to talk about that today. Nor am I here to debate the merits of who is retired.

I'm here to look at the future.

In the past 7 years the Padres will have retired the numbers of arguably their two most iconic players. I was born in 1980 so I can't speak of the '84 team with any personal knowledge, but in my lifetime there have been only two Padres players that have reached "icon" status. Tony Gwynn is obviously one. Trevor Hoffman is the other.

But who is next?

Who's number will be retired after Trevor's? Or perhaps this is the better question: is that player currently in the Padres system at any level? Let's take a extended look into the future of who could be next to find their number on top of the batter's eye at Petco Park and what former players came close to that distinction (in my opinion).

First, the former players:

1) Nate Colbert

The Case For Him: The first true "star" the Padres franchise ever had. He was selected by the Padres in the Expansion Draft of 1969 by San Diego, leading the team in home runs that year. He made 3 All-Star appearances as a Padre as and he continues to be the Padres All-Time Home Run leader...

The Case Against Him: ...at 163 HRs. Colbert played only 5 years for the Padres though his entire career only lasted approximately 8 years. His numbers, while great for a team that was predictably bad for an expansion team, were not great by any other matrix.

2) Ken Caminiti

The Case For Him: The Padres have only had one MVP winner in their history. And it's Caminiti. He was also instrumental in the team's 1998 World Series run.

The Case Against Him: Pretty strong case here, sadly. The story of Ken Caminiti is a tragic one to me. Full of substance abuse and admitted steroid use during his MVP season, tarnishing that accomplishment forever.

3) Garry Templeton

The Case For Him: One of the most popular players in Padres history, he was one of the emotional catalyst of the 1984 World Series team. And, if I'm not mistaken, I believe he is the longest tenured SS the Padres have had, playing for 9 seasons.

The Case Against Him: He's not Ozzie Smith. The Padres traded the Wizard to St. Louis for Garry Templeton, a lopsided trade no matter how popular the player is.
*Where are they now? Did you know Templeton is now a minor league manager? Me either until today. See, you learned something.

4) Goose Gossage

The Case For Him: Talk about getting the most out of a short stint. Goose only played 3 season with San Diego yet left an indelible mark on the franchise. Still remembered fondly in San Diego, Goose is credited with creating the "modern closer." And of course, memorable saves in the '84 NLCS. And he is in the Hall of Fame...

The Case Against Him: ...as a Yankee. Let's move on.

Now, some up and comers. These are highly touted players in the Padres organization who MAY have an outside chance of one day having their number retired. Keep in mind, not saying any of these players is there yet, but potential MIGHT be there. For these guys, no "Case Against Them" for, what I would think are, obvious reasons.

1) Chase Headley

The Case For Him: The Savior! The Padres traded Kevin Kouzmanoff in part to make room for this highly touted prospect. Has become a consistent contact hitter though power is lacking.

2) Cameron Maybin

The Case For Him: Arguably the most exciting player on the Padres right now, Maybin has all the tools to be a perennial All-Star for many years to come. Not to mention the Gold Gloves he will no doubt win throughout his career. Assuming he stays in San Diego long term, I would put Maybin as the favorite right now of everyone on this list.

3) Mat Latos

The Case for Him: Ace talent but has struggled in 2011. His struggles not entirely his fault as he has had little run support, nevertheless, Latos has not been the dominate pitcher he was in the first half of 2010. But that talent exists.

4) Anthony Rizzo

The Case for Him: Here is where we get into the long shots (not that all of these aren't longshots but you know what I mean). The argument for these players is potential based only. If you read scouting reports on Rizzo, the overwhelming response you read is how this guy is going to hit and hit a ton. If that's true and he is able to replace and make fans forget about Adrian Gonzalez one day...

5) Jedd Gyorko

The Case For Him: Obliterated the California High Single A league before getting promoted (rightfully) to San Antonio. Predictably his numbers have dipped somewhat, though still quite respectable considering the park in San Antonio.


Honorable Mentions in the distant, distant Future: Cory Spangenberg, Reymond Fuentes, Casey Kelly, Austin Hedges

But, in all likelihood, the next retired number will come from a player not even in their system at the moment. So look around your local Little League fields as somewhere out there is a kid who will one day experience what Trevor Hoffman will on Sunday.

And enjoy Sunday for all it's worth. It's going to be a long time before we get to do this again.

The Day the Bell Went Silent

i-con (noun): a person or thing regarded as a symbol of a belief, nation, community, or cultural movement


In San Diego Padres franchise history you can arguably make a case that the word "icon" only applies to two players. Obviously, Tony Gwynn is one.

The other is Trevor Hoffman.

This isn't to say that the Padres have not had players in their history who weren't important to the franchise. Dave Winfield, Nate Colbert, Randy Jones, and *shudder Steve Garvey. And in more recent times their have been two players in particular that, had they stayed Padres for a longer period of time, would no doubt be spoken of in terms of "icon," those players being Jake Peavy and Adrian Gonzalez.

But when it comes right down to it, and you take a long look at the Padres franchise, when the discussion of Padres icons or "franchise players" is brought up, it begins with Gwynn and ends with Hoffman.

On January 11, 2011 Hoffman ended his 18 year career, one that will no doubt lead him to seeing #51 above the batters eye at Petco Park and ultimately end in Cooperstown. He retires with #601 career saves, most ever in baseball history. He retires having represented the National League in the All-Star Game 7 times, 1,133 strikeouts vs only 307 walks and a career upon which almost all closers going forward will be measured.

On Sept. 23, 2006 my wife (then girlfriend) and I went to the second to last Padres game of the season. The Padres were on their way to winning the NL West that year and were in the middle of a pennant race against Los Angeles, so the game had some importance. But I couldn't tell you much about it other than one thing: Trevor Hoffman notched save #478. With only one home game left, Trevor Hoffman had tied Lee Smith for the All-Time Saves record. What happened next involved me sprinting to the nearest ticket window and purchasing whatever ticket they had available. Was it a crapshoot that Hoffman would get a save opportunity the next day? Yes. But I certainly wasn't going to sit at home and watch Hoffman break this record knowing full well I could have and should have been there.



There is nothing stranger then rooting for your team to win, but not by too much. I remember little of Sept. 24th other than a few things. One, when Josh Bard hit the go ahead HR I secretly was hoping the score would just stay 2-1 the rest of the game (spoiler alert, it did). And I remember the final out, a ground ball in the hole against a speedy Freddy Sanchez. Then the place went nuts. It stands today as easily a Top 5 moment for me at a Padres game.

In 16 seasons as a Padres, Trevor Hoffman pitched only 953 innings. Yet his impact on the city and the team extends well beyond those 953 innings. He saved 555 games for the Padres, 9 seasons of over 40 saves, most of this on teams that were, shall we say, God awful. He did all of this after being forced to reinvent himself as a pitcher due to an arm injury, transforming himself from a typical flame-throwing closer to developing one of the most dominating pitches in baseball history in his changeup. Much like Rivera's cut fastball, Hoffman's changeup became the pitch that every hitter knew was coming, yet none of them could hit.

Perhaps there is a debate over whether Hoffman is a Hall of Fame candidate. But that debate is being raged by those who know nothing of baseball or what the Hall of Fame is suppose to be about. The Hall of Fame is for players who were the greatest of their time. And there can be no debate that Trevor Hoffman was one of the greatest of his time.

So here's a tip of the cap to Trevor Hoffman who was consistently great at a position notoriously inconsistent.

Left Coast Bias Re-Boot

Trevor Hoffman was scheduled to pitch against the Padres today in Spring Training. Such an event made me think "you know, I haven't had a blog post since last summer." What can I say, law school, getting engaged, brand new HDTV, all of these things distracted me here.

So, here we are. The return of Left Coast Bias. For those of you who can't get enough Padres blogging, the blogs I check everyday are Gaslampball.com and Ducksnorts.com. I recommend them both.

Before we get started, realize I have no sources, no inside track to anything. This is merely the ramblings of a fan of the San Diego Padres. Those ramblings likely will devolve into madness as the season progress's and I begin studying for the bar exam.

Second, as I just said, I will begin studying for the bar. So this may not be so regular in the updates.

Finally, here are 10 updates since last we talked.
1) Brian Giles did not get traded;
2) He might have beat his girlfriend though;
3) Trevor Hoffman was outright released and signed by the Milwaukee Brewers. The divorce was ugly, and as usual, the kids were hurt the most;
4) Matt Vasgersian left the Padres to become the host of the MLB Network;
5) David Eckstein is the new second baseman;
6) Khalil Greene is a St. Louis Cardinal;
7) John Moores sold the team to Jeff Moorad;
8) Jake Peavy was almost traded to the Cubs, Mets, Dodgers, and Braves (yet remains a Padre, for now);
9) Former number one pick Matt Bush got drunk, insulsted most of East County, was arrested and is now a Toronto Blue Jay;
10) All kinds of new, cheap food deals at Petco this year. We will get to more of that in a future post;
11) BONUS: Sandy Alderson is likely gone as soon as the Moore to Moorad deal is done.


So, what is their to expect of this year? The Giants look better, the Dodgers have Manny, the Padres are operating at about $40 million. But, it's spring and hope springs eternal in March. But we are back, ready for another Padres season!

Oh, and two Padres are on the U.S. World Baseball Classic team. Jake Peavy and Heath Bell. But they aren't the only Padres out their. Adrian Gonzalez is raking for the Mexican team with fellow Padre Scott Hairston. Henri Blanco is on the Venezuela team and threw out Derek Jeter the other day. And lots of good baseball going on, I highly recommend checking out the WBC.

The Etiquette of Booing

This post is really a response to a question posed at Gaslampball.com. When is it ok to boo Trevor Hoffman? Let me set up the scenario for you.

Last night, bottom of the 8th in a 1-1 game, the Padres put runners on 1st and 2nd with no one out. The Padres, after failing to bunt the runners over (thus requiring only a fly ball to score), hit themselves out of the inning and failed to score. This left the game in a 1-1 tie heading to the 9th.
NOTE: As someone asked on the post-game show last night, why didn't Heath Bell stay in the game for the 9th? The pitchers spot in the batting order came around with runners on. Simple as that.

Now, Trevor's struggles in tie games, at least as compared to save situations. But there he was, and for 2 batters it looked like a stroke of genius as Trevor struck out the first two batters he saw.

Then, back-to-back homeruns. 3-1, game over.

What followed that inning was perhaps more shocking and more worthy of debate. The San Diego fans booed Trevor Hoffman as he left the mound. Which leads to our question, is it ok to boo Trevor Hoffman?

Many will say yes and they have a point I suppose. He is a highly paid athlete, he is under-performing (although his save total is still high enough to be among the National League's best), and an overall frustration in the 2008 season was being taken out on Trevor in that moment. Dare I say, those who support booing Trevor Hoffman are dead wrong.

Bill Simmons of ESPN.com said of die hard fans that when you are a die hard, the team is like your family. When a member of the family screws up, the family circles the wagons. So should we around Trevor Hoffman. What is most frustrating is that those who would boo were the same fans who cheered at Trevor's record-breaking save or save #500 or even the first two strikeouts last night.

But more than any of this, Trevor has earned our respect. We know he's not as effective, he knows, everyone knows it. That does not warrant booing. Can anyone ever imagine a scenario in which Tony Gwynn would be booed for striking out with the bases loaded or for making a game-ending error? Of course not and nor should Trevor be booed. He is arguably the second most prominent Padre in history, will be a Hall of Famer and will one day have his own statute at the Park-at-the-Park. I'm not asking for blind idol worship. Just don't boo the man. In the end, if you are a fan, you have a vested interest in Trevor and the team doing better. That goal can't be reached by booing.

Trevor has never beat his wife, used performance-enhancers, said disparaging remarks about the city of San Diego or his teammates, has never acted as if he is better than everyone. What he has done is stay loyal to this team despite more lucrative offers, established himself as a champion for charity causes in San Diego, and set an all-time record as a Padre. This is not the kind of players that deserve to be booed nor is San Diego the type of place that should be associated with booing their legends. Save that for New York and Boston.

Of course, all of this could have been avoided if the Padres had professional hitters who knew how to bunt.

Oh Happy Day...

The faux-holiday that Padres fans around the world anxiously awaited for is finally here. May 1st! What does this day mean for Padres fans? Historically, it is the day they stop sucking and start winning. It also means an 11-17 April is now a distant and long-forgotten memory.

The Padres ended April like they began it (and quite differently then they played it in between). They won!!!! They got hits!!! Trevor got a save!!! The birds were singing, the sun was shining!

Look, I don't buy that much into the May thing, although I am just as happy as anyone to see April in the rear-view mirror now. I also think the way the Padres played yesterday (4 runs, everyone by CY and Edmonds getting a hit) is closer to the reality of this team then the near Mendoza line Batting Average the team has been hitting.

I can't get into the numbers now (however, Geoff Young at ducksnorts.com did a nice job of explaining this) but it's not that the Padres are this bad of an offensive team as much as it is they are, as a team, hitting at well below average levels. I don't know much about statistics but I'm told these things straighten out in the end. We shall see.

I do know this, the Padres can win a series today for the first time since, well, it's been a while is the point.

Beginning of May, 11-17 and 9 GB of Arizona. Let's saddle up boys, we ain't done yet!

P.S. To those who like to comment on how Trevor is "done" he recorded the save last night, making him 5 for 7 in save chances. He also has posted an ERA under 2.00 in his past 5 appearances. Talks of his demise have been greatly exaggerated.

One Week In, 25 to Go

If you follow me on Twitter then you may have been aware that this weekend I was in Las Vegas. Now, while it happened to be Final Four weekend, that had little to do with why I was in Vegas.

Now, I thought I would pass along the Sports Book at the Stratosphere line on the Padres winning the World Series. Vegas has them at 22-1 to win the World Series, with NL teams such as the Cubs, Mets, Dodgers, D-Backs, and Phillies with better odds. Just an FYI.

I was able to catch some of the Padres game on Saturday and boy am I glad I did. Peavy looked unbelievable on Saturday with a biting slider and from what I read 18 change-ups.

Now, am I excited that Peavy went all 9-innings? Of course. Last year coming out of the All-Star Break the bullpen got rocked and part of that I think can be attributed the amount of innings they have on their arms. That said, I'm not sure how to feel about a 116 pitch inning from the ace of the staff in the first week of April. I lived in Chicago for 3 years while Dusty Baker was the manager and I watched him overwork two of the greatest young pitchers in the NL at the time: Mark Prior and Kerry Wood. There are literally dozens of stories of pitchers that "could have been." In recent years, injury issues involving Francisco Liriano and Felix Hernandez are most notable to me.

This isn't to say that I think Peavy is going to join that group. There is a school of thought that says that pitch counts are over-rated. Supposedly, Dice-K threw 300 pitches IN BETWEEN starts in Japan. So maybe this is nothing. Let me just say that 116 pitch outing in early April on a young arm makes me nervous.

The other Peavy issue from Saturday was the mysterious "smudge" on his hand. Here is a pic of what I'm talking about:
This reminds many of the infamous Kenny Rogers World Series "smudge." Here's what Peavy had to say about it:

"I laughed, to be honest with you. Anybody that wants to check me, feel free. There’s nothing on my hands that’s not supposed to be. I thought it was funny that it was such a big deal. I’ve got no problems with anytime anybody needs to check me.

"I can’t imagine my hands being that dirty. That being said, your hand doesn’t look clean when you’re out there. Obviously I pick up rosin, pick up dirt, I do hit. I found it hard to believe my hand was that … there’s no way. I laughed.

"There’s no way you could have a foreign substance on your hand that’s black. I don’t know what you could put on your hand. My whole hand was covered, the picture I saw. Wouldn’t that come off on a ball? How could you throw a ball with pine tar on your hand?

"I’m not out there cheating, that’s the bottom line.''

Hoffman Issues

The Padres ended up dropping two of three from LA despite tremendous pitching performances by CY on Sunday. Hoffman was tagged with the loss on Sunday by giving up a lead-off walk to Russell Martin, who advanced to second on a ground out and scored on an RBI single without a run.

A lot can be said about this game. Giles costing the Padres a run on a base-running gaffe, taking advantage of runners in scoring position with less than 2 outs. But I would be lying if I said I'm not concerned about Hoffman. His stuff I have faith in. The change-up looks as filthy as it ever did and his fastball looks to have a few more MPH on it. At this point, I'm beginning to wonder how his psyche is holding up. Hoffman has always been one of if not the best closers at moving on from a blown save. However, in the last 6 games (dating back to last year's series in Milwaukee) Hoffman has blown 3 saves and was tagged with the loss on Sunday (in a non-save situation).

Next to Tony Gwynn, Hoffman is my favorite All-Time Padre and I refuse to lose faith. That being the case, it is very hard as a fan to watch one of your favorite players struggle like this. If Hoffman's psyche can stay in tack, I firmly believe that Hoffy will still save 40 games and be the closer by the end of the season. But right now, you have to wonder what his head space is like right now.

Upcoming:

For those who aren't aware, San Francisco was awarded a Double-A team and they are called the Giants. The Padres go to visit them for three games starting Monday and then, mercifully, the Padres will get a day off on Thursday.