To be the best you've got to beat the best

Ok, so this whole interleague thing has been a disaster for the Padres - but even after dropping 2 of 3 to Baltimore, SD still boasts the best record in the NL. But that being said, the team with the best record in baseball comes to town in the form of the Boston Red Sox - and they are rolling the Dice-K tonight (ok, enough bad jokes about Japanese pitchers).

Where Boston excels (offense), the Padres have struggled. And any attempt to prove that the Padres have what it takes to match up with the power houses from the AL East is going to have to start with offense.

Greg Maddux is on the mound tonight and one place he likes to pitch is Petco. In his 6 starts at home this season, Maddux is 5-1 with a 2.75 ERA, 1 complete game and 20 K's. Maddux will need his best stuff tonight if he is going to keep David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez in check, although the cavernous confines of Petco should help. And if the Red Sox want Ortiz to be in the lineup, he will have to play 1B also, meaning hot hitting Kevin Youkilis will either have to play elsewhere or pinch hit - another plus for the Padres.

Dice-K, meanwhile, has been beatable on the road. In 7 road games this season he is 4-3 with a 3.48 ERA, 20 walks and 58 K's. We should expect to see a lot of swings and misses from the Padres tonight, but Dice-K is hardly the shutdown ace he is projected to become.

However, the Padres seem to struggle when the numbers are in their favor yet come out when the odds are stacked against them so anything can happen tonight. I have decided I will not be surprise win or loss. Hopefully, the numbers are stacked against and we can expect a win.

Baseball Tonight

Just saw the highlights from Sunday's game on Baseball Tonight and two things stuck out:

1. Loved John Kruk's comment about Tony Gwynn Jr. striking out, saying "his daddy never did that." Classic. Just another reason why there will never be another Tony Gwynn.

2. They interviewed Jake Peavy after they showed the highlights and I loved Jake's comments about the team not having any superstars. During the highlight of the Red Sox game before, a graphic was then shown comparing the combo David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez and the combo of Kevin Youkilis and Mike Lowell. Peavy said the team has no guys like the Sox's duos, but that they have scrappy guys, praised Adrian Gonzalez's reaction of the bunt DP and said Gonzalez will eventually be a super star.

You've got to love when the Padres can get some pub for great play like in Sunday's game.