RHP Brett Jodie, acquired from the Yankees in the Sterling Hitchcock deal, makes his Pads’ debut tonight against Arizona. Jodie has pitched fairly well at Portland since coming over, posting a 4.75 ERA in 30.1 IP, with 8 BB and 19 SO. He fits in well with Kevin Towers’ philosophy of grabbing guys who throw strikes. Still, it’s tough to figure what the Padres are going to do with so many finesse right-handers.
The past two nights, we’ve seen what happens when guys who rely on command don’t have it. Twenty-nine runs allowed in two games? Brutal. On a positive note, Ryan Klesko is scorching the ball. He’s keeping that front shoulder closed against lefties and driving the ball all over tha place. You heard it here first: assuming there is a 2002 season, Klesko hits 40 bombs next year. Ten of them will come against southpaws.
In other news, some local kids have put themselves on the prospect map in collegiate summer leagues. USD second baseman Mike McCoy was named to the Cape Cod League All-Star team; USD righthander Ryan Richard was named the #7 prospect in the Central Illinois Collegiate League; and SDSU shortstop Taber Lee, brother of Phils’ first baseman Travis Lee, was named the top prospect in the New England Collegiate League.
While I’m giving props to San Diego products, congrats to former USD catcher/third baseman Greg Sain on being named to the Northwest League All-Star team as its DH. Eugene shortstop Jason Bartlett, drafted by the Pads in the 13th round, also made the team.
Just looking over some old articles; ran across a fairly self-congratulatory piece on Ben Davis. Although he’s still outhitting his preseason projections, he has slowed considerably since mid-June.
Coincidentally, Davis had played 57 games when I wrote the article, and he’s played another 57 since. Here’s the breakdown:
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| thru 6/13/01 | 57 | 185 | 27 | 53 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 30 | 31 | 40 | .286 | .389 | .438 | |
| 6/14/01 since | 57 | 187 | 24 | 39 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 23 | 31 | 49 | .209 | .321 | .294 | |
| total | 114 | 372 | 51 | 92 | 17 | 0 | 9 | 53 | 62 | 89 | .247 | .356 | .366 |
No way to put a positive spin on what Davis has done since mid-June. I guess the good news is that he’s maintained his solid walk rate. The bad news is pretty much everything else. A .294 slugging percentage is miserable. Still, for the season, he’s exceeded most expectations of him. Let’s just hope this, and not the first 57 games of the season, is one of those fluky stretches and he can finish strong.
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