Apparently someone forgot to remind Brian Giles that he doesn't have 5 HR in 3 game power anymore and that he was a leadoff guy whose best asset is the fact that he gets on base. But apparently all of the Padres love Cincinnati after scoring 25 runs in 3 games.
After that offensive outburst it me thinking - would the Padres be better in a ballpark like Great American? Obviously the Reds aren't any good but it's not because of their hitting, so with a staff like the one SD has, would the Padres succeed in a park like that. A lot is made of Petco and the fact that the pitching staff benefits from the deep fences but does the ballpark really make that much of a difference?
In certain situations, it's obvious the environment and the ballpark have an impact (Coors Field anyone) but that doesn't mean the Padres wouldn't be just as successful in a smaller park. Now I am not trying to dredge up the argument going on as far as whether to move the fences in but the wheels started spinning after seeing all of the runs this weekend.
It's actually really nice when the offense makes an appearance, it would just be better if it was around more often.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Tough night for closers
Obviously most of the focus on Friday night's win is on the fact that Trevor Hoffman blew his first save since April but he wasn't the only closer in the game - or in the league for that matter - that had trouble closing out a game last night. I didn't realize Friday the 10th was just as unlucky as Friday the 13th.
Of course in Cincinnati the lack what we have - stable relief pitching. And even though Hoffman gave up the save, it seemed obvious that the longer the game went the more likely a Reds reliever would blow the game. Who knew that reliever would be David Weathers, the only guy the Reds have been able to count on this year?
SD sends former Red Justin Germano to the mound to face Bobby Livingston, whose 4.46 ERA entering the game is lowest an opposing pitcher has had in a week. Hopefully some more runs are on the way.
Of course in Cincinnati the lack what we have - stable relief pitching. And even though Hoffman gave up the save, it seemed obvious that the longer the game went the more likely a Reds reliever would blow the game. Who knew that reliever would be David Weathers, the only guy the Reds have been able to count on this year?
SD sends former Red Justin Germano to the mound to face Bobby Livingston, whose 4.46 ERA entering the game is lowest an opposing pitcher has had in a week. Hopefully some more runs are on the way.
Outsider's perspective: Cincinnati Reds
There is plenty of news coverage on various Padres blogs about what the local media outlets are saying about the Padres. But as a guy who lives on the other side of the country, I thought it might be interesting to see what the media outlets of our opponents are focusing on.
I wanted to get this up before Friday's game that began the series against Cincinnati, but I will have to settle with getting it up now.
Apparently at the Cincinnati Post they actually have a reporter blog each game live and it is actually kind of interesting to see what this guy thinks of the Padres. The best part is the comments section where it actually makes me feel that even though the Pads are struggling right now I can say that at least I am not a Reds fan.
I will attempt to get up Cincinnati's version of the events up in the morning and any other stories they have involving the Padres. Let's hope they can make it 2 straight wins on Saturday.
I wanted to get this up before Friday's game that began the series against Cincinnati, but I will have to settle with getting it up now.
Apparently at the Cincinnati Post they actually have a reporter blog each game live and it is actually kind of interesting to see what this guy thinks of the Padres. The best part is the comments section where it actually makes me feel that even though the Pads are struggling right now I can say that at least I am not a Reds fan.
I will attempt to get up Cincinnati's version of the events up in the morning and any other stories they have involving the Padres. Let's hope they can make it 2 straight wins on Saturday.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Cardinals once again have Padres number
How come it seems that no matter how good or how bad a team is, there are just some clubs that just know how to beat others. In this case I am talking about how the Cardinals always seem to be the Padres in meaningful games, especially when it comes to the playoffs, but losing three out of four this week really hurt when SD is in the middle of a pennant race.
Amazingly San Diego won the 2005 and 2006 series, 4-3 and 4-2 respectively, but St. Louis holds an all-time series lead of 240-170 and won this year's matchup 4-3. SD has also lost 6 of its last 7 playoff games to St. Louis and also swept them in 1996. In fact, SD has never won a series against St. Louis in the playoffs.
This year the losses seem worse not only because St. Louis is going nowhere fast but also because the Padres lost to a bunch of mediocre pitchers (and that is giving those guys a lot of credit). Losing to guys like Kip Wells and Braden Looper just can't happen when you are in pursuit of a World Series title.
It's no secret where the Padres are struggling (offense and starting pitching not involving Jake Peavy and Chris Young) but this is the time of year where teams of destiny seem to win despite their shortcomings. If SD truly is on track for a World Series title this year, the time to get lucky is now.
Obviously it's still possible to win a World Series if you struggle to make the playoffs - St. Louis did it last year - but going that route will be a lot tougher than SD trying to win a playoff series against the Cardinals.
These last two-plus months of the season are crucial if this is to be SD's year, but only luck at the same time will ensure the Padres' run to the first championship in any sport for San Diego.
Amazingly San Diego won the 2005 and 2006 series, 4-3 and 4-2 respectively, but St. Louis holds an all-time series lead of 240-170 and won this year's matchup 4-3. SD has also lost 6 of its last 7 playoff games to St. Louis and also swept them in 1996. In fact, SD has never won a series against St. Louis in the playoffs.
This year the losses seem worse not only because St. Louis is going nowhere fast but also because the Padres lost to a bunch of mediocre pitchers (and that is giving those guys a lot of credit). Losing to guys like Kip Wells and Braden Looper just can't happen when you are in pursuit of a World Series title.
It's no secret where the Padres are struggling (offense and starting pitching not involving Jake Peavy and Chris Young) but this is the time of year where teams of destiny seem to win despite their shortcomings. If SD truly is on track for a World Series title this year, the time to get lucky is now.
Obviously it's still possible to win a World Series if you struggle to make the playoffs - St. Louis did it last year - but going that route will be a lot tougher than SD trying to win a playoff series against the Cardinals.
These last two-plus months of the season are crucial if this is to be SD's year, but only luck at the same time will ensure the Padres' run to the first championship in any sport for San Diego.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Barry Bonds, home run king
I don't make it a point to talk about non-Padres stuff often but I wanted to take a moment to talk about THE home run.
With the game on in the background and trying to get kids settled for bed, I came down with my three month old son right as Barry Bonds started his at bat in the fifth inning. No sooner did I sit down and start rocking my son when I heard the unmistakable crack of a home run.
You knew Bonds wanted to hit the home run at home so that he would actually be cheered and get to celebrate the achievement, but the one thing that may be overlooked here is the fact that this home run was actually a meaningful hit in a tie game.
Stopping play and knowing Bud Selig was not in attendance, it was obvious that Willie Mays was in attendance but the classiest part of the evening was the video message from Hank Aaron shown on the Jumbotron. Bonds then said a few words and actually showed some emotion and I think that if that was the guy portrayed in the media every day, he wouldn't be as hated by the baseball world as he currently is.
Baseball fans, and sports fans in general, like stars who are just as human as we are and when you hear the emotion coming from Bonds in short speech after the home run, he almost seemed like he could be a likable guy - if he wanted to be.
Regardless of whether he is guilty of cheating or not this was one of the moments that any fan watching the game will be able to recall (at least until A-Rod breaks the record) and one day I hope to tell my son about how we watched this moment of sports history together. Regardless of the man the moment is celebrating, it is definitely neat to be able to have a personal story to go with this bit of history.
And now baseball can get back to overhyping teams and players that matter, or will at least be a part of the pennant races.
With the game on in the background and trying to get kids settled for bed, I came down with my three month old son right as Barry Bonds started his at bat in the fifth inning. No sooner did I sit down and start rocking my son when I heard the unmistakable crack of a home run.
You knew Bonds wanted to hit the home run at home so that he would actually be cheered and get to celebrate the achievement, but the one thing that may be overlooked here is the fact that this home run was actually a meaningful hit in a tie game.
Stopping play and knowing Bud Selig was not in attendance, it was obvious that Willie Mays was in attendance but the classiest part of the evening was the video message from Hank Aaron shown on the Jumbotron. Bonds then said a few words and actually showed some emotion and I think that if that was the guy portrayed in the media every day, he wouldn't be as hated by the baseball world as he currently is.
Baseball fans, and sports fans in general, like stars who are just as human as we are and when you hear the emotion coming from Bonds in short speech after the home run, he almost seemed like he could be a likable guy - if he wanted to be.
Regardless of whether he is guilty of cheating or not this was one of the moments that any fan watching the game will be able to recall (at least until A-Rod breaks the record) and one day I hope to tell my son about how we watched this moment of sports history together. Regardless of the man the moment is celebrating, it is definitely neat to be able to have a personal story to go with this bit of history.
And now baseball can get back to overhyping teams and players that matter, or will at least be a part of the pennant races.
With August here, still some tinkering left to do
The Padres are in the home stretch, in second place in the NL West and while we would like to think that SD has to be one of the favorites to win NL, there are still a couple of things that need to be corrected for a postseason run.
The David Wells horse has been beat to death and it seems there is a possibility he could be released. The only problem is, Greg Maddux has no stamina and can't get past the sixth, Justin Germano has been struggling after a hot start and Clay Hensley never got things together after suffering through some early season injuries. And with Chris Young still hurting, there is not much starting pitching to rely on at this point. It also appears that any future starters that are laboring in the minors are not quite ready to make the jump up to the majors (Tim Stauffer anyone).
I think one thing we thought the Padres had an abundance of this year was pitching but it seems like the starters have hit a wall, and with Bud Black still trying to find a consistent starting lineup it seems like the wheels could be coming off this thing in a hurry.
The Padres seem to be stuck between a rock and a hard place right now with Wells struggling so much but if a couple of guys could get hot as the season winds down, they may be able to get things going in the right direction and have enough momentum entering the playoffs that a deep postseason run may still be possible, even if the offense still doesn't come around completely.
Hopefully a solution will present itself soon but if it doesn't, I fear the Padres will be at home watching the playoffs like the rest of us.
The David Wells horse has been beat to death and it seems there is a possibility he could be released. The only problem is, Greg Maddux has no stamina and can't get past the sixth, Justin Germano has been struggling after a hot start and Clay Hensley never got things together after suffering through some early season injuries. And with Chris Young still hurting, there is not much starting pitching to rely on at this point. It also appears that any future starters that are laboring in the minors are not quite ready to make the jump up to the majors (Tim Stauffer anyone).
I think one thing we thought the Padres had an abundance of this year was pitching but it seems like the starters have hit a wall, and with Bud Black still trying to find a consistent starting lineup it seems like the wheels could be coming off this thing in a hurry.
The Padres seem to be stuck between a rock and a hard place right now with Wells struggling so much but if a couple of guys could get hot as the season winds down, they may be able to get things going in the right direction and have enough momentum entering the playoffs that a deep postseason run may still be possible, even if the offense still doesn't come around completely.
Hopefully a solution will present itself soon but if it doesn't, I fear the Padres will be at home watching the playoffs like the rest of us.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Bonds brings chase - and baggage - to town
I may be in the unpopular minority here, and especially because I'm a Padres fan, but as Barry Bonds brings his quest for home runs No. 755 and 756 to town I have to say that whatever prejudices we may personally have against the man as baseball fans we have to remember one thing - he has never been found guilty in any way that would jeopardize his status with Major League Baseball.
As much as I would like to see the legitimacy of his record chase challenged we have to remember one thing - it is Bud Selig's fault (and maybe even the fault of those commissioners before him) that there is a dark cloud surrounding the chase of one of baseball's most hallowed records. If drug testing had been implemented back when the NFL brought it into their league, one of two things would have happened, Bonds would have achieved the record cleanly or he (and others who set home run records) would have been caught and would not have the home run totals he has now.
So as Bonds brings his chase to town I have two things going through my head: One, I hope Padres pitching can keep him homerless while he is in town so his home run doesn't have the potential to cost SD a game and two, as much as I don't want to I think it's time to start rooting for Alex Rodriguez to go on a tear because the more home runs he hits now, the sooner he can break Bonds record and bring legitimacy back to the record.
As much as I would like to see the legitimacy of his record chase challenged we have to remember one thing - it is Bud Selig's fault (and maybe even the fault of those commissioners before him) that there is a dark cloud surrounding the chase of one of baseball's most hallowed records. If drug testing had been implemented back when the NFL brought it into their league, one of two things would have happened, Bonds would have achieved the record cleanly or he (and others who set home run records) would have been caught and would not have the home run totals he has now.
So as Bonds brings his chase to town I have two things going through my head: One, I hope Padres pitching can keep him homerless while he is in town so his home run doesn't have the potential to cost SD a game and two, as much as I don't want to I think it's time to start rooting for Alex Rodriguez to go on a tear because the more home runs he hits now, the sooner he can break Bonds record and bring legitimacy back to the record.
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