What every Padres fan should know, Part 1

Let me get some housekeeping items out of the way before I start. First, this is not a guide to viewing games at Petco. Truth be told I have never been to Petco Park, I currently live in DC and I haven't seen the Padres in San Diego since 1994. In fact, I think the last game I went to was the first game of the double header in which Tony Gwynn collected his 2,000th hit.

Second, this is not a guide to being a fan in San Diego but is rather the opposite. I have lived among high concentrations of Colorado Rockies fans, Washington Nationals fans and Baltimore Orioles fans since 1994 and as such, your perspective about your team changes when you understand how other fans view your team. That is what I will talk about in this first part so without further delay, here is what fans need to know.

1. The Adrian Gonzalez rule. The player may change but the general rule still applies, and it applies to most teams, most players are not as popular away from home. Take Gonzalez's case - he is the premier power hitter in the lineup, is a hometown boy and put up numbers comparable to a certain Crime Dog when he played in town. But outside of SD, Gonzalez doesn't compare to the league's other 1B's, or does he? Ducksnorts has a pretty good breakdown showing that Gonzalez has put up some top slugging numbers on the road. Which brings me to my second point:
   
2. You will probably never convince opposing fans how good our players are until they see them in person. If you ask people in DC who the next big 3B will be, any Nationals fan is ready to argue that Ryan Zimmerman is a superstar in the making. Ask the same thing on the opposite coast and Kevin Kouzmanoff's name will dominate the conversation. I have seen both play last year in DC and guess what, they both have potential ... and they both have some work to do before they are even in a superstar conversation.
3. Our pitching staff is overrated by us and underrated by almost everyone else. The knocks against our staff by others, Jake Peavy and Chris Young had career years and aren't that good, Greg Maddux hasn't been an ace in 10 years and Mark Prior and Randy Wolf couldn't stay healthy even if they pitched for a team made up of doctors. Well, Peavy is a perennial Cy Young contender, Young is becoming more consistent, Maddux isn't supposed to be a staff ace and Wolf and Prior don't have to carry the load so whatever innings they turn in are worth the (relatively) small investments we have made in them.
4. The fan base actually travels well to some places. Maybe the lack of a team in the area for more than 30 years had something to do with it but for the past two years when I have gone to Nationals games against the Padres, there are just as many (if not more) Padres fans in attendance than Nats fans. We are no Red Sox nation but I know you didn't see any Pirates fans a week later when Pittsburgh came to town (but then again that was the Pirates). I can't speak for many other places but I do remember a decent fan base at Rockies games a few years back as well.

Hopefully I haven't rambled too much but these were the first things that came to mind. So now I turn the floor over to you, what are some other things every Padres fan should know? After I get some responses I will add Part 2, and you can bet there will be some info on helping Dodgers fans face reality.

Spring Training Game 19 Preview: Padres at Rockies

At Hi Corbett Field, 1:05 p.m. PT
Starters: Jeff Francis (Col) vs. Shawn Estes (SD)

Padres are everywhere as Estes leads a split squad against the Rockies, Jake Peavy starts a minor league at the Peoria Sports Complex (also at 1:05 p.m. PT) and the China Team also took on the Dodgers sometime between Saturday night and Sunday morning, with Cesar Ramos starting.

Peavy, Chris Young and Greg Maddux are all scheduled to stay behind as the Padres travel through Tucson, instead relying on minor leaguers to power what remains of the team. Apparently the China Team will get back Monday night but may not see action until Thursday so they can get over the jetlag from the long trip.

Of course even that may not be enough time as my in-laws recently went to Malaysia on a business trip/vacation and they've been back a couple of weeks and are still getting over the traveling. Let's just hope this doesn't ruin our opener.

Spring Training Game 13 Preview: Padres at Giants

At Scottsdale Stadium, 1:05 p.m. PT
Starters: Tim Lincecum (SF) vs. Chris Young (SD)

With half the team on the way to China for an exhibition against the Dodgers, we are effectively a split squad against the Giants. Does that really matter? Not against the Giants and not in the spring.

Spring recap No. 11: Rangers 5, Padres 2

Justin Germano and Shawn Estes both pitched in Monday's late game and Germano seemed to answer the performance Randy Wolf had the night before. Germano pitched 4 innings of scoreless ball, giving up only 2 hits in the process.

Estes didn't have such a good performance though, giving up 4 runs (only 1 earned) in 2 2/3 innings. Estes also gave up 3 hits and walked 1 while striking out no one.

Here are the current spring stats for the four guys vying for the last two spots in the rotation:

• Estes: 4 1/3 IP, 20.77 ERA, 11 hits, 4 BB, 1 K
  
• Germano: 9 1/3 IP, 3.86 ERA, 9 hits, 1 BB, 3 K
  
• Glendon Rusch: 3 2/3 IP, 2.45 ERA, 2 hits, 2 BB, 2 K
  
• Wolf: 4 1/3 16.62 ERA, 11 hits, 3 BB 6 K

Again, these are really small samples and not entirely accurate because of the nature and purpose of spring training but even an ERA over 15 has to be a little troubling. I know Chris Young had an astronomical ERA last spring training but still, those high numbers are not pretty to look at.

Offensively, not much stood out other than Jody Gerut was the only hitter to pick up multiple hits (he went 2-for-2).

Spring recap No. 8: Padres 6, Diamondbacks 3

Before we get to the game, here is a Jim Edmonds update. Apparently he will be sidelined 2-3 weeks with his strained calf. So we will see when he really returns. Don't like my outlook, well we can just go with Bud Black's comments in that he is "hoping for the best."

Ok, the game. Chris Young pitched 3 innings of no hit ball, walking 1 and striking out 3.

Offensively, Will Venable went 1-for-2 again, driving in 2 more runs and raising his BA to .417. I don't want to get excited over spring stats but it's nice to see him having this type of success. Scott Hairston also had a good day offensively, going 2-for-3 with a HR and 3 RBI.

Spring Training Game 8 Preview: Diamondbacks at Padres

Arizona vs. San Diego
at Peoria Sporst Complex, 12:05 p.m. PT

Two division foes in two days. This has all the makings of a late season run with none of the drama. Chris Young (ours, not the OF for Arizona obviously) makes his 2nd start of the season opposite Doug Davis. Arizona is playing split squad today so be ready to see a ton of names in the boxscore you haven't seen before.

Spring recap No. 4: Padres 12, Brewers 4

As has become standard, I will point out a couple of highs and lows from Monday's game.

Highs: Chris Young gave up only 2 hits and 1 run in 2 innings pitched. Chase Headley continued his hot hitting, going 2-for-3 but it was forgotten man Paul McAnulty who hit the game's only HR. McAnulty went 1-for-2 with 3 RBI and 2 runs scored. Luis Rodriguez, fighting for a bench spot, also had a productive day at the plate, going 2-for-2 with 4 RBI.

Lows: Well, we know what won't happen this year - the Padres won't hold runners. Young allowed 2 stolen bases in 2 innings. And for those who like to blow meaningless games out of proportion, Adrian Gonzalez has yet to record a base hit this spring. Yeah, I could care less too. Let me know when he goes all of June without a hit.

Spring Training Game 4 preview: Milwaukee vs. San Diego

Padres vs. Brewers
Maryvale Baseball Park, 12:05 p.m. PT

It's Chris Young's turn to make his Cactus League debut as he is scheduled to throw two innings in today's game against the Brewers. Jeff Suppan gets the call for the Brewers but the more interesting note may be Eric Gagne starting a morning "B" game against the Padres. What makes that interesting, you've got me. But if this were the regular season I would find some way to overdramatize it to make it sound better.

2008 Previews, fantasy style

I decided to add one more, albeit late, post to my 2008 previews. However, I am turning the reigns of this post over to a friend of mine, Derrick. Derrick is a contributor to Rotokingdom.net and runs the blog Ultimate Fantasy Baseball Rankings.

Derrick is not a Padres fan by any means, but we won't hold that against him as he really knows his stuff. So for all of you fantasy baseball players out there, here's an outside look at our guys. So without further ado, here's Derrick:

From a Fantasy Baseball perspective the players that fill the roster of the San Diego Padres 2008 Major League baseball team are ... um, well … bland, to put it politely. The few fantasy relevant names that do stand out range from Jake Peavy, perhaps the best fantasy SP in the game, to Jim Edmonds, a defensively talented CF who seems to have left his bat on the better side of his 30’s.

However there are a few bright spots - along with Peavy there are other reliable fantasy players, such as former #1 overall pick Adrian Gonzalez. Gonzalez will turn 26 this season and has slugged .500 or better in each of his seasons in SD, proving that you can hit for power while playing half your games at Petco. At the same time 20 of his 30 2007 HR’s were recorded on the road, so he’s probably a 35-40 HR guy, but we will not see that as long as the current ballpark dimensions remain. I’m expecting Gonzalez to have nearly a repeat of his 2007 performance in 2008.

Chris Young remains the team’s #2 SP entering the 2008 season and is a good one to have in the middle of your fantasy rotation. Young’s numbers greatly improved in 07, due in large part to the fact that he was able to keep the ball inside the park a lot more often. Young allowed only 10 HR’s in 173 IP in 2007 compared to 28 HR’s in 179 IP in 2006. This helped him lower his ERA to a miniscule 3.12. If not for a late season injury, which led to inconsistent performances during August and September, his overall numbers would have been even more impressive.

The knocks on Young have always been his lack of control and sloth-like delivery. Calling him slow to the plate is a vast understatement. I believe that these two factors are intertwined. Because of Young’s extreme height he has a hard time keeping his body tight and compact through his delivery. As such his delivery is not always the same which makes it difficult for him to harness his stuff. When you watch Young pitch you can almost see him concentrating and telling himself to keep it tight as he coils back to begin his delivery. While this concentration is necessary to maintain some semblance of control it causes his delivery to take more time than it should and allows base runners to focus in on his movements and get a great jump, compounding the problem.

I think it’s quite possible Young ends up posting the same numbers he did last season, but with more IP, K’s and Wins, which would make him a top 15 SP. At the same time I stress that this projection is given with a relatively low degree of confidence. The aforementioned control issues being the main culprit. If Young has problems getting the ball over the plate on a consistent basis I would expect his ERA and WHIP to end up closer to the 4.00 and 1.30 levels respectively because of the increase in base-runners and home runs allowed, again caused by the lack of control.

Kevin Kouzmanoff is a name that drew the ire of Padres fans and fantasy managers alike during the first half of the 2007 season. However, the fantasy managers that stuck with Kouz through the hard times, much like Pads manager Bruce Bochy, were rewarded with a stellar 2nd half that saw Kouz hit .317/.366/.524, with 11 home runs over 252 ABs!

Watch for Kouzmanoff to continue to build on his 2nd half success in 2008. A .290, 25 HR, 90 RBI season, while probably at the high end of his abilities, would not surprise me at all.

I hate to write this on a San Diego Padres Blog, but my journalistic oath requires me to be honest (I just lied, I’ve taken no such oath) so you heard it here first: This will finally be the season that we witness Trevor Hoffman age before our eyes. I know that none of you want to hear this and I understand if you are screaming the following at your computer screen right now, “Hoffman was nearly 40 last season and looked just as good as ever! His ERA was under 3.00 and he recorded over 40 saves for the 4th consecutive season! How can you possibly think that he is on the decline?!?”

The emotions behind these statements are strong and love for a long-time, trusted ally transcends logic. This is why I am here to help you see through the love-fog and save yourself fantasy heart-break. Hoffman’s velocity has obviously declined. He no longer has the ability to reach back and rely on his stuff to get a strikeout when he needs one most. He has to live on the edge of the plate a lot more than he used to because of his declining stuff, which leads to a higher BB rate. He is having a hard time keeping the ball down in the zone which has led to more of his outs coming from fly balls. All of these little signs of decline combined with his ever increasing age lead me to believe that Hoffman in 2008 will have his worst ERA since 1995 (3.88) and his worst WHIP since his rookie season (1.40).

Please understand, I’m not projecting a total collapse and Hoffman, barring injury, will still start and finish the season as the Pads 9th inning guy. Just look for his numbers to be not quite as sharp as usual and for his Saves totals to be in the 30’s rather than the 40’s.

A few other players on the roster this season that will be fantasy relevant in some formats are Greg Maddux (watch for his numbers to improve with a full season in SD He still doesn’t BB anyone and most of his outs are still of the ground ball variety), Mark Prior (big ? but he’s worth a late-round flier, or at least keeping an eye on), Scott Hairston (has the power to hit 20-25 HRs in Petco), and Heath Bell (has had the stuff for years, finally put it all together last season – if Hoffman goes down he’s a lights out closer).

If you like to go after young guys with upside look no further than two of San Diego’s best, Matt Antonelli and Chase Headley. Both could end up with starting spots out of Spring Training, but more likely will be sent back down to AAA for a bit more seasoning and recalled later in the season. I believe that both are ready to contribute to some degree at the Major League level and it is only a matter of time before these two offensively talented hitters get their opportunity to do what they do best for a team that desperately needs what they do best.

2008 Previews: Starting Pitching

It's no secret by now that the Padres have one of the best, if not the best, 1-2 combos in the majors when it comes to starters. Jake Peavy and Chris Young got off to an amazing start and if it wasn't for a pesky injury after the All Star break, Young may have been a stronger Cy Young candidate.

With Greg Maddux coming back we have a solid enough No. 3 starter that he should guarantee us at least 10 wins once again, despite the fact that Maddux is clearly not the pitcher he was. However, his years of experience have made it possible for him to remain effective.

Any fan worth his weight knows the biggest question for the Padres is who will fill the last two spots in the rotation. Low budget signings Randy Wolf and Mark Prior should be adequate to fill the roles if they can remain healthy, but that's the $64,000 question this season.

Both Wolf and Prior tend to be fly ball pitchers and their home run to fly ball ratios should see the most improvement because of their new surroundings. Should the need arise, both Justin Germano (last year's No. 5 starter) and Clay Hensley headline a list of youngsters who will be itching for another chance to earn a full-time rotation gig.

It remains to be seen how effective Germano really can be - is he more of the pitcher we saw in the first half (only 1 loss), or is he closer to the guy we saw struggle in the second half? A similar questions could be asked of Hensley, but he too is also trying to battle back from injury.

Regardless of who fills the last two spots, someone is going to have to step up in a big way.

Padres start offseason with key move

The Padres got things off on the right foot this winter by re-signing Greg Maddux to a one year deal.

While Maddux is not the staff ace he once was, this move was key for the Pads and not for the 10 or so games he will win next year. With Maddux back on staff, we should see Jake Peavy, Chris Young and the rest of the staff continue to improve and be the best staff in the NL once again.

There were many things Kevin Towers needed to accomplish this offseason and he has apparently made strengthening the rotation a priority, now he needs to find fourth and fifth starters - either in the minors or on the market.

The move all but guarantees the Padres will see at least one milestone next season as Maddux has 347 career wins. Now that this first piece is in place, let's see what other moves Towers has in store - hopefully a CF perhaps?

2007 recaps: Starting pitching

Alright, so it's been almost another week between posts so I guess it's time to get to my thoughts on the starting pitching in 2007.

What started out as one of the team's strongest parts became somewhat of a problem as things wore on. If Jake Peavy doesn't win the Cy Young, it will be a tragedy as he was clearly the best NL pitcher this year. Not only was he the only starting pitcher in the majors with an ERA under 3.00 ( he finished with 2.54), he also led the NL in wins and strikeouts - the pitcher's triple crown. But behind him was one roller coaster of a staff.

Competing with Peavy for the Cy Young through the All Star break was teammate Chris Young, however he tailed off after an oblique injury early in the second half of the season. Once the injury hit, you never knew how good Young would be for how long and it showed in his stats. On July 24, Young was 9-3. Then after the injury he went 0-5 (to finish with a 9-8 record) and the Pads went 2-8 during that span.

Greg Maddux had a similar situation happen to him where he had five consecutive losses but he followed that up with five wins in his next six starts and finished with a 14-11 record. Maddux clearly wasn't the Maddux of old and for a long time it seemed that he needed to be pulled by either the sixth inning or 65 pitches, whichever came first. But he picked it up in the second half and threw less than 65 pitches only once.

After Maddux the rotation was a complete mess. Clay Hensley battled early season injuries and was never able get going once he was healthy. David Wells was like Maddux but compounded, needing to be pulled by around 50 pitches before he imploded. He was so ineffective that he was eventually released. And while Justin Germano came up huge at the start of the season he eventually wore down and was no better or worse than any of the other pitchers the Pads were trying to get quality starts out of every now and then.

All of this inconsistency eventually wore down the pen and contributed to SD missing the playoffs, but that is more of a discussion for the breakdown of the pen. With Peavy and Young back healthy, the top spots of the rotation are obviously taken care of but after that its anyone's guess as to who will fill out the spots in '08. Maddux has a player option and would again be a good back-of-the-rotation guy, but it is obvious the Nos. 4 and 5 spots will need to be addressed.

Hensley is probably not an option and Germano may be better suited for long relief. And from what the guys the Pads were trying out at the end of the season, none of them really seized the opportunity provided to them in a time of need. There is clearly some need here, no matter how strong it was thought to be at the beginning of 2007.

The offseason is now here ... somewhat unexpectedly

I don't want to be accused of being a fair-weather fan or any of that garbage but I have to say I am can't really say I'm frustrated over the events of Monday night.

Now I sat there and watched the game and I do agree that Matt Holliday never touched the plate, but in all honesty, the Pads season never should have come down to that slide. In fact, it never should have come down to Tony Gwynn Jr.'s triple on Saturday either. One more win at any time during the season and we're not sitting here now forced to talk about next season and the changes that need to be made.

While I want to secretly believe that the Padres allowed a playoff to happen so Jake Peavy could pick up his 20th win of the season - and further cement his claim on the Cy Young - we really were just a mediocre team after the All-Star break (and I really don't believe that 20-win nonsense, I'm just making conversation). The Pads had been inconsistent ever since Chris Young strained his oblique and while we were the top pitching staff in the NL this year, it was clear that our staff wasn't as good as it was early on.

There are bound to be quite a few changes this winter and it will be interesting to see who Kevin Towers decides to keep around and target in free agency. The only thing I can predict for sure is that things can't remain the same or we may be in a similar spot again next year.

As things heat up this offseason, look for my thoughts on the moves the Padres do and should make and hopefully the pain of Game 163 will be erased as SD sets the tone for the NL in 2008.

The pack has finally caught up

Wow, it's time to get off this runaway train before it hits a burning building.

What seemed like an almost sure thing in July and even August has become a possibility as the Pads are no longer solely on top in the NL wild card race. What happened to this team that was at one point a trendy pick by writers to be in the World Series? Is there one moment this season that set the stage for the collapse that has taken place since?

Despite the late struggles of the rotation, the Pads are still the best in the NL in terms of pitching. They are the only team with a collective ERA under 4.00 (3.63) and have compiled 20 shut outs this season. Offensively SD is towards the bottom of the league but runs have been coming a lot easier lately - and so are the losses.

The talent on this team now, I feel, is a lot better than what we started the season off with but it doesn't seem to have made a huge impact. Did Chris Young's injury really affect the race that much? I don't want to say our season has come down to one player's oblique but things haven't been the same, with Young or the team, since that injury occurred.

Kevin Towers released David Wells because he was too taxing on the pen but look at what's happened since then. Not only have the Pads been able to find a successful No. 5 starter but Justin Germano has been ineffective too. It makes me feel like if Boomer was still here at least we wouldn't be worried about two starters making it to the second. We could be comfortable until the fourth.

But the struggles are related to more than just the pitching staff. I would say Milton Bradley's constant health battles have also kept the team inconsistent. I still think this was a great pickup (yes, even after he blew up and Bud Black had to put on a WWE clinic to restrain him, injuring him in the process) but if he could have stayed on the field the Pads may still have a small cushion in the wild card. But again, one injury does not a team's struggles make.

SD seemed to make it through two month's of Adrian Gonzalez struggling but what about the fact that Josh Bard, Marcus Giles, Michael Barrett and a third outfielder have not been every day players like we need. I'm not bagging on Bard, he has played far better than I think we've expected, but Barrett was brought in so we wouldn't have to use Bard every day and Giles can't keep Geoff Blum off the field.

Looking at this club, it seems that injuries and season-long slumps - along with stellar play by a young Arizona club that wasn't supposed to contend this year - have finally caught up to the Padres and unless some real playoff magic happens, they could be at home in October for the first time since 2004.

I'm not one to loose faith in my team but right now it's hard to fight the urge to say 2007 was fun while it lasted, let's hope 2008 is finally the year. So instead let's start praying for a playoff miracle.

There's something familiar about this spot

Great news Padres fans - in case you have completely hidden yourself from the outside overnight, you probably already know that SD has regained first place in the NL West with a 3rd straight win over Arizona last night.

And with the worst thing that can happen tonight being the Padres and Diamondbacks could end up tied atop the division standings, I would say this home stand has been successful so far. Chris Young takes the mound tonight and the only thing I hope for besides a sweep is that CY can get through the outing without any pain and without his next start date in doubt.

There is still a month left in the season and SD by no means has this thing in the bag but it is nice to know that despite some of the recent struggles - and all of the struggles throughout the year - this team is still tough to beat and hasn't imploded.

As a side note, if you haven't heard enough gushing about Milton Bradley, here is a tiny bit more - this guy is a stud and Kevin Towers would be foolish not to bring him back in 2008. For all of the naysayers who think this guy destroys clubhouses, all he has done is brought to life a pretty pathetic offense and given this team enough of a boost that it can now feel secure with more than just its pitching. Thanks Billy Beane for "unloading" your problem on us.

100 down, hopefully many more to go

It's amazing to think that I have hit the 100 post mark here at FriarBall, and it couldn't have come at a better time.

For those of you who missed Tuesday's game, Justin Germano may not have been the best pitcher out on the mound but he was good enough to give the Padres a 2nd straight victory over Arizona despite the fact he went against D-backs ace and Cy Young candidate Brandon Webb.

The offense seems to be coming around now that SD has cut AZ's division lead to 1 game and if these guys can play similarly to how they did at the beginning of the season then the Pads should be a feared opponent as the playoffs approach.

The series is what baseball and the run to the playoffs is all about - this series may not decide the NL West champs but it will go a VERY long way in determining the final outcome of the division.

It's good to hear that Chris Young (ours, not there's) will start Thursday to close out the series and Greg Maddux has been decent enough lately to give fans the hope of a sweep. But lets not get ahead of ourselves, we know what happens when we start thinking too positively.

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.

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.

Young wins pitcher's duel

It looks like this game ended up being what everyone expected, a showdown between two of the top pitchers in the NL. I'm just glad Chris Young was on his game and showed he is having just as good of a year as Cole Hamels.

The thing that caught my eye about the game however, was who came in as the bridge between Young and Trevor Hoffman. After taking a beating in the local blogs (check Ducksnorts and Gaslamp Ball), Scott Linebrink was not called on in the 1-0 win. Apparently Bud Black is getting the messages and listening to the information that is out there.

The only problem now, and I talked about this in my post earlier today, is what does SD do with Linebrink now? Between him and Doug Brocail, the Padres have two guys in the pen I don't want to see coming on in relief in close games. But with Kevin Towers saying he had no plans to make a trade for another bat, it seems like SD is stuck in a tough spot.

But again, I rant about things that should wait for another time. I should just be happy with the fact that SD won again. So I guess I will again table this discussion for another time.

All-Star game thoughts

Note: I, in no way, actually condone the all-star game or the fact that the winner gets home field advantage in the World Series. However, since this is the only game until Thursday, I decided to take a couple of notes of things I thought were worth mentioning.

First, I don't know if I commend Giants fans or am completely abhorred by their actions. For those who didn't see the announcement of the players and mangers, SF fans showed the Dodgers their appreciation for being on the team by booing them when they were announced even though they were on the same team as their hometown players. I thought Philly fans were the only ones that were that ruthless.

Second, another conundrum for me, I don't know if I liked or feel disrespected by the fact Tony LaRussa only let Jake Peavy pitch the first inning. According to Jayson Stark's blog on ESPN.com, he was only the fifth starting pitcher to leave a game after the first inning without allowing a run. But the best part of his 16 pitches, he made both Derek Jeter and David Ortiz look silly on their second strike swings.

Third, tough outing for Chris Young who will now live in all-star game infamy for being the first pitcher to allow an inside-the-park home run. It was the second time today Ichiro disappointed Padres fans as I'm sure those who were actually paying attention were hoping Young would show off just how good he really has been this year. Oh well, there's always next year.

Fourth, even though it wasn't in a save situation it was nice to see Trevor Hoffman get to pitch the top of the ninth. He may not have the most saves this year but it was nice to see LaRussa actually show some respect to one of our boys. And even though Hoffman had his typical outing where he gives up a big hit before shutting things down, he didn't allow a run.

And finally, did anyone else think it was interesting that Albert Pujols was still on the bench in the ninth with the game on the line? Maybe that master strategist LaRussa knows something we don't about letting guys play in the All-Star game. Oh well, maybe the NL will get home field next year.