Ducksnorts

Life is good, but there’s a little too much of it right now so I’m taking some time off. Ducksnorts will resume publication after the All-Star break.

In the meantime, I’ll continue to publish at Hardball Times and Unfiltered. Also, if you do the Twittter thing, I sometimes offer witty/insightful/stupid comments during games. Feel free to follow along at twitter.com/ducksnorts if you’re so inclined.

See you at one of those places, or we’ll meet back here toward the end of July. Thanks, and peace.

Geoff

Tags: ducksnorts, hardball times, time off, twitter, unfiltered

I use baseball to mark the passage of time. The memory of specific events helps keep me grounded in a world that often makes less sense than I’d like it to make (forgive the fact that I grew up rooting for the Dodgers):

• 1981 — Fernandomania; Rick Monday’s homer off Steve Rogers in Montreal
• 1988 — Kirk Gibson and Dennis Eckersley (actually, I remember taking a girl named Cindy to dinner in Old Town instead of watching the game)
• 1996 — Steve Finley and Felix Rodriguez; Ken Caminiti’s “Snickers game” in Monterrey; sweep of the Dodgers in LA to win the NL West
• 1998 — Steve Finley and Felix Rodriguez [so much for memory; thanks to reader Jake for the catch]; Kevin Brown and Greg Vaughn in the regular season; Sterling Hitchcock and Jim Leyritz in the playoffs
• 2007 — Trevor Hoffman, Tony Gwynn Jr., and Matt Holiday; late-season heroics of Milton Bradley and Scott Hairston; drive to Cooperstown for Tony Gwynn Sr.’s induction into the Hall of Fame

I could continue, but the point is that these represent stops along the way to wherever I’m headed. I record them in my mind and on paper to the best of my ability so I can recall them again later and share memories with others. Like sending postcards to my future self and anyone else who might care to receive them.

This season is different. I’m enjoying the games — well, sort of — because that is what I do. But if you ask me 10 years from now what I remember about 2009, I will tell you this:

• My knee failed
• My dog died
• My team sucked

It all becomes one jumbled mess that roughly translates as, “Isn’t there anything better than this?” And of course, there is; it’s just difficult to appreciate or even recognize it at the time. The flip side is that without such experiences, maybe life is never good enough.

* * *

I returned to the day job and started physical therapy on Tuesday, the combination of which kicked my ass from here to Lake Elsinore. Stopped for Chinese on the way home from therapy. Ate dinner and tried to watch the game. Made it through the first three innings — right to when Kevin Correia served up a meatball to Franklin Gutierrez, who launched it into a ridiculous spot well beyond the fence in left-center.

Went to bed after that. Yeah, around 8 p.m. — what can I say, I’m a party animal. Woke up briefly to see the Mariners score three in the ninth, then fell asleep again.

* * *

The U-T’s Chris Jenkins loves Gwynn’s presence on the team. There’s a cute little chart showing how putrid (.248/.300/.298) Gwynn was before he came to the Padres and how great (.333/.432/.464) he has been in his first 21 games in San Diego.

It’s cool to see a hometown kid jump-start his career with the local nine. Reminds me of when Marcus Giles came here in 2007 and hit .322/.365/.471 in his first 21 games. That was awesome.

* * *

Chris Young has joined Jake Peavy on the disabled list. Inflamed right shoulder. I’d wondered during his last start whether something might not be right with Young.

On the one hand, I never like to see a guy get hurt. On the other, if this explains his ineffectiveness, then maybe time to recover is what he needs.

As I age and put more wear and tear on the body, I find myself becoming increasingly sympathetic to professional athletes. They endure tremendous physical (and mental) stress for the sake of earning an admittedly handsome paycheck. Even if I had the talent and desire, I’m not sure that’s a tradeoff I could bring myself to make.

When I hear people refer to a particular procedure as “routine,” I wonder if they maintain that opinion when confronted with surgery on their own body (or that of a loved one). Surgery is difficult. Rehab is difficult. Anyone who claims otherwise is full of crap.

Gee, Geoff, bitter much?

Okay, fine. Here’s my fortune cookie:

Remember to share good fortune as well as bad with your friends.

Good advice. The kung pao shrimp was delicious.

* * *

Luke Gregerson to the disabled list. Strained right shoulder. I suspected that the Padres might be working him too hard but never studied the issue. Maybe they were, maybe not. Pitchers get hurt.

* * *

The Padres signed Brian Lawrence to a minor-league contract. When I think of Lawrence, I remember being laughed at by strangers at an Arizona Fall League game when Mrs. Ducksnorts phoned with the news and I repeated incredulously to anyone within earshot that he had been traded to the Washington Nationals straight up for Vinny Castilla (or as we now like to say, “Nothing from nothing leaves nothing“).

I hope Lawrence pitches for the big club. Then we can take a break from the current crappy season and reminisce about past crappy seasons, like 2001, when Lawrence led the Padres with 12 wins. Find Brett Tomko, Brian Tollberg, and at least one Bobby Jones, and we could totally put the band back together.

* * *

I’m wearing shoes for the first time in a month. Relearning how to walk. One foot in front of the other. It’s harder than it looks.

* * *

The Padres lost again on Wednesday. The good Chad Gaudin showed up for three innings — threw hard, with movement; missed bats — before imploding in the fourth.

The bullpen kept the game close, but offensive help never arrived. The best opportunity came in the eighth, when Kouzmanoff grounded to third with the bases loaded to end the threat without a score.

In the fourth, Chase Headley crushed a Garrett Olson pitch into the upper deck of the Western Metal building. First home run of the year batting right handed. I’d forgotten he could do that.

Headley and Kouz have eerily similar numbers so far in 2009:

Their career lines aren’t very different either:

The Padres would do well to trade one of them, preferably the one that is two years older and arbitration eligible after the season. I love Kouz, but I’m convinced that the only way Headley realizes his potential is by returning to his natural position. Then he can focus more on hitting and less on trying not to hurt anyone in the outfield.

* * *

Listened to the Beavers and Tacoma Rainiers on radio. Lawrence pitched a gem — 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 HR, 1 BB, 3 S0 — in his Beavers debut. Tacoma announcer Mike Curto noted that Lawrence’s fastball ran mid-80s with movement. Curto also sang the praises of the rehabbing Everth Cabrera, calling him (I’m going from memory here) “far and away the best defensive shortstop we’ve seen in the PCL this year.”

* * *

The Padres finally won a game. Took 10 innings and the Mariners pitching to Adrian. Fittingly, the game wasn’t televised.

Josh Geer surrendered two solo homers in six innings. He’s allowed 16 in 64 2/3 innings this year. Daniel at Friar Forecast declares that Geer “is not good,” to which I add that the sun rises in the east and the pope is Catholic.

Adrian went 4-for-4 with a homer and a walk. Scored the winning run. Kudos to Seattle for pitching to him, even though it was a stupid thing to do.

* * *

The buzz surrounding Kyle Blanks’ recall from Portland isn’t as deafening as was Headley’s around the same time last year, but it has attracted attention. I love watching people see him play for the first time. It’s always a two-step process:

1. Holy crap, that dude is huge; no way he can play the outfield
2. Hey, he moves around pretty good; maybe he can

You can’t get to that second step without passing through the first. I don’t know why; it’s just one of those mysteries of life, like how some people think Dane Cook is funny.

* * *

Wade LeBlanc struggled with command in his 2009 debut. Left with the bases loaded and nobody out in the fourth. His replacement, Josh Banks, tossed three scoreless innings.

After Mike Adams preserved the Padres’ 5-3 lead through the seventh, Edward Mujica endured a rare bad outing. Got the first two outs in the eighth and then coughed up three runs. The A’s added another against Joe Thatcher in the ninth to make the score 7-5.

Second base umpire Brian Knight had a tough night. In the top of the sixth, with Orlando Cabrera at the plate, Matt Holliday was caught stealing to end the inning. Knight didn’t see it that way and Holliday, who has a knack for being ruled safe against the Padres when he isn’t, was awarded second base. Holliday was stranded when Cabrera flied to center on the 15th pitch of his 10-minute at-bat. Cabrera later drove home the game-winning run and credited the marathon battle against Banks with helping him to find his comfort zone at the plate. So, thanks for that, Brian Knight.

In the bottom of the sixth, Everth Cabrera and Gwynn reached base to start the frame. Then David Eckstein tapped a weak grounder toward second. Adam Kennedy made a diving back-handed stop and flipped wildly to Orlando Cabrera covering second. Gwynn jumped to avoid Kennedy, who was sprawled out across the basepath. Gwynn’s leap caused him to land a few feet beyond the bag. Cabrera retrieved the ball, then swiped at a retreating Gwynn. It looked like Cabrera caught only air, but Knight called Gwynn out.

Instead of bases loaded and nobody out with Adrian due up, the Padres had runners at the corners and one out. With a base open, the A’s did the sensible thing and intentionally walked Adrian. The next batter, Kouzmanoff, singled to left, driving home two and giving the Padres the lead. Those runs were nice, but one wonders how many more might have scored had Gwynn been ruled safe.

On the bright side, Everth Cabrera had some nice plate appearances and looked terrific at shortstop. Made two fine plays in the seventh, including one deep in the hole to rob Nomar Garciaparra for the final out. Cabrera had no business getting to that ball, let alone making a throw strong enough and accurate enough to nail Nomar.

Now that I’ve seen Cabrera a little, I get the comparisons to Rafael Furcal. I’m not sure it’s the best idea to place that burden of expectation on a kid who played in Low-A ball last year, but I get why people do it. Cabrera has skills.

* * *

With Cabrera back on the active roster and apparently taking over as starting shortstop, Bud Black has channeled his inner Tony LaRussa and started batting the pitcher eighth. John Beamer, my colleague at Hardball Times, seems to think there is merit in this strategy. Good enough for me — at least until some presents compelling evidence to the contrary.

* * *

I have other bones to pick from Friday night’s contest, the most obvious being why Eckstein didn’t bunt with Gwynn on first and nobody out in the eighth inning of a one-run game. Eckstein leads the team with seven sacrifice hits (three of which have come in the first inning, which — don’t get me started), so it’s not like he can’t do it. And with the Padres down, 6-5, late in the game and Adrian on deck, it seems an obvious call.

Instead he swings his way to an 0-2 count before rolling into a double play. Now Adrian bats with two outs and nobody on. Sure, the A’s would have walked Adrian with Gwynn on second and one out, but they do that anyway. At least in the other scenario, there’s a runner in scoring position for Kouzmanoff. As it stands, Kouz’s single moves Adrian to second, where he is left when Headley grounds out to end the inning.

Would Kouzmanoff have driven home the tying run had there been two on and two out? I don’t know, but it might have been nice to find out.

Eh, I’ve already whined too much about this. What does one game matter? That’s the difference between, what, picking fifth in next year’s draft and picking sixth?

I care a lot.

* * *

Matthew Whipps at BDD notes that teams aren’t pitching to Albert Pujols. First off, duh. Second, they aren’t pitching to Adrian either, at least not when he can hurt them:

Adrian is being walked in 37.2% of his plate appearances when runners are in scoring position. As a reference point, that number was 15.4% last year and 11.5% in 2007. So yeah, teams have changed their approach a little.

* * *

The Padres are becoming unwatchable again. Gwynn keeps getting on base, and it’s cool that Blanks notched his first big-league hit (a blooper to left-center on a 1-2 pitch down and away from Michael Wuertz) in the sixth inning of Saturday night’s contest, but yuck.

Everth Cabrera showed youthful exhuberance on a triple to right-center in the fifth and youthful inexperience on two sloppy errors. He also looked helpless against Wuertz’s slider, although to be fair, so did everyone else. Wuertz struck out four of the seven batters he faced.

New catcher Eliezer Alfonzo has been with the club for less than a week and already I’ve seen enough. He hacks at everything and has trouble catching baseballs, being charged with two passed balls on Saturday. He’s Wiki Gonzalez without the cool name. Well, I guess Eliezer is kind of a cool name. Still, I don’t want to see him or Gonzalez behind the dish.

The third inning was fun if you’re a fan of lousy execution. Having scored twice, the Padres loaded the bases with nobody out and failed to tack on any additional runs. Adrian fanned on three pitches and Headley rolled over on an 0-1 pitch for an easy 5-3 double play. He’s mastered that; time to try something else, preferably something that helps the Padres.

Blanks looked comfortable in left field. Made one nice catch running to his left and fielded a couple more balls without incident.

* * *

I almost didn’t include this because I’m not sure what to do with it, but maybe you have some ideas:

The Padres are better than MLB average when scoring four runs or fewer. They are terrible when scoring five or more. I was hoping to learn something about the pitching staff, but I’m not there yet. Right now I just have intriguing data, which is fine.

I should also note that the Padres started the season 7-0 in games in which they score five runs or more. Since April 19, they are 8-11 in such contests.

* * *

Been in a Mingus state of mind. Chaos has its place. Sometimes you notice things you might otherwise miss.

Accomplishments from the past week that I never thought I’d have cause to celebrate: Took a standing shower, bent my leg 75 degrees, put on my own shoes, sat in a restaurant without pain and enjoyed a good meal with friends.

I try not to take things for granted, but that doesn’t always keep me from doing it. The Padres are playing infuriatingly erratic baseball and they frustrate the heck out of me, but this was a good week.

When things aren’t going well, people joke that “at least you have your health.” Let me assure you that your health is not a bad thing to have. A baseball team that doesn’t suck is nice, too, but you can live comfortably without that. I’m just sayin’.

* * *

I took Sunday off, which seemed to help the Padres and me. Correia pitched well again. Henry Blanco and Kouz homered.

I will keep taking a day or two off each week. It is how I will survive the season with whatever passes for sanity intact. Going forward, though, I’ll watch Correia’s starts. I’ll skip Geer’s or Gaudin’s. I’m leaning toward Gaudin because of his tendency to miss the strike zone.

I don’t relish the thought of watching Geer, but at least with him, I might get to see Home Run Derby. There is entertainment value in that.

Tags: dennis eckersley, felix rodriguez, fernandomania, greg vaughn, jim leyritz, ken caminiti, kirk gibson, milton bradley, nl west, rick monday, scott hairston, sterling hitchcock, steve finley, steve rogers, tony gwynn jr, trevor hoffman

The Padres are boring. That’s the word on the street… a street apparently filled with people who don’t like baseball.

Just give me a game to watch and the rest will take care of itself. There is no pressure with this team, no expectation of success. Every win is a surprise, a gift.

Sometimes I believe this. Usually right before things get ugly.

* * *

Jake Peavy was effective but not dominant on Monday night. Gave up three runs, although all could have been avoided with better defense behind him.

In the fourth, Chase Headley misplayed a drive off the bat of Chris Snyder into a single and an error. Headley couldn’t decide whether to catch the ball or play it on a hop, so he did neither and let it skip past him instead, allowing Gerardo Parra to score Arizona’s first run. After Eric Byrnes then flied to right for what should have been the final out, Josh Whitesell singled home Snyder to make the score 2-0.

In the sixth, Kevin Kouzmanoff muffed a grounder to his right. Kouz mistimed his dive and the ball kicked off his glove for what was ruled a single that brought home Parra. It was a tough play, but one that should have ended the inning.

Kouz redeemed himself by driving in four of the Padres’ six runs and making Arizona pay for repeatedly putting Adrian Gonzalez on base. Kouz got some help. His second two-RBI hit, a double in the seventh, was a fly to left-center that Byrnes tracked down and then failed to catch when he forgot to extend his arm toward the ball.

Greg Burke worked a scoreless eighth. Two fly balls to center — one well struck — and a swinging strikeout of Snyder to end it.

Mike Adams, activated from the disabled list before the game, warmed up during the bottom of the eighth. He would have made his 2009 debut in the ninth had the Pads extended their 6-3 lead.

But they didn’t, so Heath Bell came on instead. Again. Bell had thrown a total of 52 pitches over the previous two days and his command was off — kept elevating the fastball — but he battled and pitched smart.

After putting two men on base and falling behind, 2-0, to Mark Reynolds, Bell evened the count with curve balls. He then got Reynolds to chase a high 95-mph fastball for the second out. Felipe Lopez followed with an easy grounder to second base that ended the contest.

* * *

I listened to the Beavers game on the radio. Kyle Blanks collected three singles — two didn’t leave the infield, the other was a broken-bat blooper. They look like line drives in the box score.

* * *

As expected, the Washington Nationals selected SDSU right-hander Stephen Strasburg with the first pick overall in the 2009 draft. I’ve written about Strasburg at Baseball Daily Digest and Baseball Prospectus, so now I’ll just say congratulations and best of luck. Between Strasburg and USD’s Brian Matusz, who went fourth overall to the Baltimore Orioles in 2008, we’ve gotten spoiled with some great pitching talent here in San Diego over the past few years.

The Padres took “my guy,” Georgia high-school outfielder Donavan Tate, with their first pick (third overall). He has committed to playing football at the University of North Carolina, which could make him a tough sign, but I love Tate’s upside and the fact that the Padres don’t appear to fear negotiating with him and agent Scott Boras.

Tate is mentioned as a potential five-tool player, although some people question his bat. In terms of comparable talents, I won’t mention specific names that I’ve heard because that is second-hand information and it creates unreasonable expectations. (If you’re curious, Myron offers a few comps at Another Padres Blog.) The range falls between guys that enjoyed modest success at the big-league level and perennial All-Stars.

As Craig at 619 Sports notes, there is real risk with this pick, and the Padres don’t have a great track record when it comes to developing high-school position players. That said, assuming they sign Tate, I’m glad they are at least willing to try. At best, the Padres add a difference maker. At worst, they fail with someone who has a ceiling higher than, say, back-end starter or one-dimensional corner guy. It’s good to see them ditch the comfy grey sweats for a pinstripe suit.

Beyond Tate, the Padres popped a couple more high-risk/high-reward types in the early rounds. They tabbed Texas high-school outfielder Everett Williams (see also Another Padres Blog for more on Williams) in the second and Florida high-school right-hander Keyvius Sampson in the fourth. These kids were mentioned as possible first- or sandwich-round talents. Presumably they slipped for a reason, but I haven’t spoken to anyone who expected either to be available when the Padres made their picks. Nice of the club not to pass up those talents.

Paul DePodesta claims there has been no change in draft philosophy (Myron has examined this issue as well at Friar Forecast). Having no knowledge of what happens behind closed doors, I can’t speak to intent or mindset. What I can do is observe the results and note that this looks nothing like what I’d expected from a Padres draft.

That’s a back-handed compliment if ever there was one, but if you look a little closer, you’ll notice an encouraging progression:

• 2004: Unmitigated disaster. Matt Bush may be the worst #1 pick in MLB history, and the only real hope is 42nd-rounder Kyle Blanks.
• 2005: Not bad. If first-round pick Cesar Carrillo had stayed healthy, this could have been a very nice draft. Current Padres taken include Headley (second round), Nick Hundley (second), Josh Geer (third), and Will Venable (seventh). Mike Baxter (fourth) could help down the road.
• 2006: Similar to ‘05. Matt Antonelli (first) hasn’t developed as quickly as hoped but has seen action with the big club. Same with second-round pick Wade LeBlanc. Behind them, Chad Huffman (second), Cedric Hunter (third), Craig Cooper (seventh), Mat Latos (11th), and Jeremy McBryde (26th) all show promise. Heck, Latos might be the best prospect in the system.
• 2007: More of the same. First-rounder Nick Schmidt is looking good after coming back from injuries that delayed the start of his pro career (although I still wish they’d taken Michael Main — his poor start in the Cal League this year notwithstanding — with that pick). Kellen Kulbacki (first), Drew Cumberland (first), Eric Sogard (second), Jeremy Hefner (fifth), and Wynn Pelzer (ninth) could make an impact. Lesser lights include Mitch Canham (first), Cory Luebke (first), and Corey Kluber (fourth). Blemishes include wasting early picks on one-tool outfielders Danny Payne and Brad Chalk, and failing to sign Tommy Toledo (third) and Christian Colon (10th).
• 2008: Looking good. I wasn’t thrilled with Allan Dykstra as the first pick (full disclosure: “my guy,” Anthony Hewitt, has been awful), but the Padres did well after that. Jaff Decker (first), Logan Forsythe (first), James Darnell (second), Sawyer Carroll (third), and Anthony Bass (fifth) look legit, and there are more intriguing names (Beamer Weems, eighth; Matt Clark, 12th; Chris Wilkes, 23rd) further down the list.

This year appears to be an extension of 2008’s more aggressive approach, and I applaud it. Many of us have been waiting for this for a long time.

Thank you.

* * *

Caught some of Tuesday night’s game. My leg and the Padres’ baserunning were bugging me, so I tuned out midway through the contest. Tony Gwynn Jr. killed a rally in the first by getting thrown out at third on a ball that didn’t quite get away from Dodgers catcher Russell Martin. The Padres still managed to score two runs thanks to a two-out single by Kouzmanoff, but they had a chance to knock Chad Billingsley out early and let him off the hook.

Hundley got thrown out by Martin on a similar play in the fourth. I appreciate the aggresiveness, but I’d appreciate good judgment even more.

Chris Young served up four homers, including two to Andre Ethier, who should never see a strike from Young. In 34 career plate appearances, Ethier is hitting .414/.500/1.103 againt Young, with six home runs. So yeah, don’t go there.

Young has allowed four home runs in a game twice this year, both within the span of a month. After serving up just one homer over his first seven starts, he’s coughed up 11 over his past seven starts, spanning a total of 36 1/3 innings. Small sample or not, that’s Ken Dixon ‘87 territory and a dangerous way to live.

* * *

I didn’t watch Wednesday night’s victory — needed a break from all the excitement of this Padres team — but a couple items in the box score caught my eye. First, Kevin Correia worked six strong innings (on short rest, thanks to Chad Gaudin’s unscheduled relief appearance in the 18-inning game). Last week I pointed out that Correia tends to wilt in the middle innings, but this is his second straight start where it didn’t happen, so maybe he made an adjustment. Then again, it could be a fluke. We don’t know yet.

Second, Adrian drew only one walk, ending his streak of two or more in a game at eight. As best as I can tell, this is the longest such streak since at least 1954, the first year for which these records are readily available. Adrian’s batting line during that stretch was surreal:

Here’s wishing Scott Hairston a speedy recovery.

* * *

I should say something about the Raul Ibanez incident. On the one hand, I can understand why Ibanez would feel upset at being accused of using steroids. On the other, nobody accused him of using steroids.

The blogger at the epicenter, Jerod Morris, speculated that PEDs might be one — among many — possible reason for Ibanez’s hot start. This is hardly the first time a writer has made such speculations about a player (Tom Tango points to Murray Chass’ treatment of Mike Piazza as one example).

Such is the legacy of the steroid era, when many players used PEDs and everyone else turned a blind eye. The subsequent images of Rafael Palmeiro wagging his finger, Mark McGwire refusing to speak, and Jason Giambi making vague apologies linger in our minds. The actions of certain individuals within a group damaged the credibility of all individuals within that group, including the innocent, which leads to my next point.

In his response to Morris’ article (or more accurately, the Philadelphia Inquirer’s misrepresentation of Morris’ article), Ibanez railed against bloggers:

There should be more credibility than some 42-year-old blogger typing in his mother’s basement. It demeans everything you’ve done with one stroke of the pen.

First off, why does Ibanez — in the current climate of mistrust engendered by steroid use and the attempt to cover it up — seem to think that anyone is above suspicion? I recently wrote about Ibanez’s early-season success at Baseball Prospectus. I didn’t mention steroids because, frankly, that angle didn’t interest me, but I’m missing the part where asking the question (or acknowledging that some folks might wonder about such things) and attempting to examine it is wrong.

Second, Ibanez’s cliched characterization of bloggers is tired and ironic beyond description. He doesn’t want to be lumped in by association with his colleagues who may have cheated, and yet he has no problem calling out all bloggers because of his personal beef with one of them. You could change “some 42-year-old blogger typing in his mother’s basement” to “some bulked-up slugger taking steroids” and reach a similar conclusion about a different set of people… I mean, if sweeping generalizations are your thing.

Tango’s article includes an embedded video that features Morris, Inquirer reporter John Gonzalez, and FOX Sports reporter Ken Rosenthal. It’s cringe inducing in spots but worth watching. For one thing, if you didn’t have names associated with the faces, you might be surprised at which panelist is the blogger and which are the professional reporters. Grace and poise aren’t bestowed only on those with a title.

Beyond the superficiality of appearances, there is the deeper issue of trust. A blogger (Morris) noticed the somewhat unlikely output of an aging player (Ibanez) and wondered about the cause. He then investigated and reported findings. A reporter (Gonzalez) subsequently picked up on one part of the story without looking at the whole picture. (As someone who has been misrepresented by a reporter in ways that boggle the imagination, I can say this doesn’t surprise me in the least.) Ibanez then caught wind of Gonzalez’s interpretation of Morris’ original piece and reacted to the former, taking a swipe at Morris and other “basement dwellers” in the process.

To the larger issue, in the video, Rosenthal expresses concern about upholding certain standards. His condescension notwithstanding, he raises some valid points, in light of which I ask the following question: Why is there no outrage at the Philadelphia Inquirer for running a story that misrepresented Morris’ findings and thereby failed to uphold such standards?

I don’t have an answer, but it’s worth considering.

* * *

The ankle that’s been bothering Jake Peavy finally landed him on the disabled list. He’s expected to be out at least a month, possibly longer.

Kevin Towers has mentioned three possible replacements for Peavy in the rotation: Walter Silva (no, thanks), Wade LeBlanc (eh, okay), and Mat Latos (yes, please). Bringing up Latos, who has fewer than 200 professional innings under his belt, comes with risk (Oliver Perez sends his regards). That said, the Padres should know better than anyone whether Latos can handle the jump. If they think he can, then why not?

On the bright side, maybe now Peavy won’t be going anywhere. Great; neither are the Padres.

* * *

Ugly game Friday night in Anaheim. The good news is that Chad Gaudin found the strike zone. The bad news is that… well, he found the strike zone.

Gaudin gave up some fluky bloop hits but he also surrendered two home runs. When the final line shows eight runs on 11 hits over 3+ innings, it’s hard to play the fluke card.

Nice to see the Padres battle back from an early 4-1 defecit to tie the game. Not so nice to see the Angels promptly score five in their half of the fourth to put it out of reach.

Things could have been worse. With runners at the corners, nobody out, and a 2-1 count on Torii Hunter, Bobby Abreu got caught trying to swipe second. Then, after Vlad Guerrero drove in Anaheim’s ninth run, Juan Rivera flied to Brian Giles in medium right. Hunter broke home from third but stopped. Giles’ throw sailed over Adrian at first, and Guerrero took off for second. Blanco gunned him down to end the inning on the good ol’ 9-2-4 double play.

Luis Rodriguez came off the disabled list and looked rusty. Worked some good counts but couldn’t catch up to anyone’s fastball and struck out three times. He also made an ill-advised throw home in the fourth that skipped past Blanco and Gaudin for an error.

Gwynn collected a single and two walks. He continues to impress (and surprise) with his approach at the plate. The same cannot be said of his baserunning and defense. Then again, for all my whining about the trade that brought Gwynn to San Diego, Jody Gerut is hitting .136/.240/.136 in a limited role with the Brewers, so what do I know?

Edwin Moreno, recently returned from Triple-A Portland, relieved Gaudin in the sense that gasoline relieves fire. He allowed one inherited run to score, along with two more of his own.

Cla Meredith got into the game. He seems to have become the mopup man, which isn’t a bad role for him given how poorly he fares in crucial situations. Hey, someone has to soak up those innings; it might as well be a guy who can get outs.

Headley grounded into two more double plays. He’s doing that with a greater frequency this year than Jim Rice did over the course of his career. Of course, Rice had a slightly higher ISO than Headley’s .117, which is more in Ralph Garr/Dan Gladden territory. Among left fielders, this year Headley is just behind Carl Crawford and ahead of Denard Span in the ISO department.

When I saw Headley at Elsinore in ‘06, he had a refined approach at the plate. He had a plan. I pegged him as a Jeff Cirillo/Bill Mueller type who would hit for a high average, draw walks, and knock the occasional homer

Now he’s up there hacking. Headley has sacrificed the average and the plate discipline for… I don’t know what. At an age (25) when he should be establishing himself as a big leaguer, Headley looks lost. He’s hitting like David Dellucci and playing bad defense in left field. That’s not a winning combination.

Here’s hoping something clicks for Headley soon. Yesterday would be nice.

* * *

I missed Kouzmanoff’s meaningless two-run homer in the seventh. Switched to Thursday night’s Conan O’Brien (TiVo, I love you) after the sixth. Neko Case was the musical guest. She was brilliant. Ditto Norm MacDonald.

There was a fun bit where Conan and Slash went to people’s houses to test out guitars advertised on Craigslist. They didn’t buy any, but Conan picked up a jacket for himself and a girl’s bicycle for Slash, so it wasn’t a total loss.

* * *

Reader LynchMob informs us that friend of Ducksnorts Dirk Hayhurst is back in the big leagues. The Blue Jays recently recalled him and are using him out of the bullpen. Congrats to Dirk, and best of luck!

* * *

Wasn’t aware of Saturday’s earlier start, so by the time I tuned in, the Padres were already down, 4-1. Saw Geer serve up a couple of homers (he allowed a total of four in the game) and Headley get credit for a double on a ball he hit right at Abreu, who clanked it (the scorer came to his senses the next day and changed it to an error). At some point Joe Thatcher came in and gave up Hunter’s third homer of the night, which coincided with my loss of interest in the contest.

Hey, at least I got to see Kouzmanoff’s home run this time. Without that, the final score would have been 9-0 instead of 9-1.

Clutch.

* * *

Pitching is a problem, especially the rotation. The Padres haven’t been able to keep opponents in the yard in June. Both Young and Geer have allowed four home runs in a game this month. They are not the only culprits, though; gopheritis is running rampant throughout the staff:

With Peavy, the Padres had one of the worst starting rotations in baseball, positing a 5.09 ERA over the season’s first 62 games. Only the Nationals, Phillies, Indians, and Orioles have higher ERAs from their starters. None of those teams has the advantage of playing half its games in what is by far the most pitcher-friendly environment in MLB.

Without Peavy… Well, I’d rather not think about it.

* * *

In his second start of the week on Sunday afternoon, Young couldn’t find the plate. With two out in the second, he walked four straight batters (the first coming to Jeff Mathis — he of the .195/.276/.313 career line) and then gave up a two-RBI single that put the Angels up, 4-0. Mercifully, umpire Marty Foster banged Maicer Izturis at third on the play despite the fact that Izturis arrived ahead of Kouzmanoff’s tag.

Adrian beat out an infield single in the fourth. Hit a cue shot to third base, but the Angels had the shift on so Chone Figgins was playing near the second base bag.

Such fun.

The Padres lost, 6-0. For the three-game series in Anaheim, they were outscored, 26-6, and it wasn’t even that close. The starting pitchers had a miserable weekend:

Okay, maybe that is a little boring… not to mention embarrassing. On the bright side, five years after the Padres passed on him in the draft, we finally got to see Jered Weaver. He’s pretty good.

* * *

It’s tough to give up on a season in the middle of June, but Corey makes too much sense when he suggests that the Padres may have seen the last of .500 baseball in ‘09. There just isn’t enough firepower in the lineup to overcome a pitching staff that looked shaky even before Peavy’s injury.

Silver linings? Well, I still like the draft.

Tags: adrian gonzalez, chase headley, chris snyder, eric byrnes, greg burke, heath bell, jake peavy, kevin kouzmanoff, padres