We left our seats after the eighth on Sunday, after numerous missed opportunities and an afternoon of frustration. The Diamondbacks led, 4-2, and there wasn’t much hope. Luis Gonzalez then hit a bomb off the increasingly-difficult-to-justify Eddie Oropesa to extend the lead to three runs. Adios.
By the time Matt Mantei had entered the game, we were out beyond center field, near the Wiffle ball field. Mark Loretta singled so we decided to stick it out a little longer before leaving. Brian Giles walked and Phil Nevin singled Loretta home. Interesting.
Ryan Klesko came up and, after a delay caused by confusion over whether Brian Buchanan or Kerry Robinson was supposed to pinch-running for Nevin (both managers came out for this one, and the umpires conferred for some time; I think Buchanan ended up on first but I can’t say for sure), smacked a 2-0 offering off the brick facade of the Western Metal Supply Building, right between the 334 ft marker and the foul pole. The place went nuts. It was awesome.
This was a big game for the Padres, and a big opening homestand. They won series against both San Francisco and Arizona, each of whom have given the Friars fits over the past few years. And in each of those series, the Pads managed to pull one game out against the other club’s closer. They showed a lot of rough edges, but they showed a lot of fight as well.
Friday night saw Randy Johnson dominate the Pads and nearly hit a grand slam in the "Bonds-proof" stadium. The hometown nine came back to win a close one Saturday night thanks to a surprisingly strong performance from Ismael Valdez and some early wildness from Arizona’s Brandon Webb.
On Sunday, Adam Eaton struggled with his command in the first and surrendered three runs while throwing 39 (!) pitches. Nine men batted in the inning, so it actually could have been worse. But Eaton settled down after that and held the Snakes in check while watching his offense put runners in scoring position and leave them there.
Sean Burroughs had a nice day at the plate but made some questionable decisions in the field. In the first, Burroughs failed to make a play on a grounder down the line that he thought was going to go foul. It was ruled a hit, and the run came around to score on Richie Sexson’s three-run blast. Later in the game, twice Khalil Greene made terrific plays to his right and threw to Burroughs for the force at third. Twice Burroughs tried to apply a tag to the incoming runner. He recorded the out both times, but that’s not the point.
Well, the Padres did go 5-4 on their inaugural homestand against division rivals, so it can’t be all bad. And they managed to do so without getting much support from Giles, Klesko (his walk-off piece Sunday notwithstanding), or the bullpen. I get the feeling that this club is treading water right now and has the ability to be much better than what they’ve shown so far. Here’s hoping Sunday’s comeback victory will serve as a catalyst and give the Pads a little momentum as they hit the road.
PETA Uproar, er Whimpering
In the "Irony is beautiful" department:
- Brick Trick: PETA protest makes it to Petco Park (ESPN). The message on the brick in question reads "Break Open Your Cold Ones! Toast The Padres! Enjoy This Championship Organization." The "clever" part is that by putting together the first letter of each word (and really, who among us doesn’t do this when reading letters on a brick?), a hidden message is revealed: BOYCOTT PETCO. What the article fails to mention is that this cost the author some money. Think about that for a moment. Somebody gave money to an institution that supports a company he wishes people to boycott so that said institution would place a message on a brick that millions might see but whose meaning would remain hidden to all but a handful of folks (i.e., people he told). What is the ROI for something like that? Can the amount of money this person might end up costing Petco possibly offset the amount he paid to support the ballpark? Is it me, or is this the most ineffectual form of protest since the Judean People’s Front Crack Suicide Squad?
- Padres Unveil Brick Program For New Ballpark (Padres.com). The eight-by-eight bricks ran $200 a pop.
- There is absolutely no truth to the rumor that PETA’s brick is adjacent a brick that reads: "Nevin Up, Three Jackrabbits On Base? Yo, Excellent Situation!!!"
Geek Alert
Found a killer app called Xenu’s Link Sleuth that searches an entire site and returns a detailed report of every link. This is the good news. The bad news is there are 2088 links on Ducksnorts and because we’ve been around so long, some of them no longer work. On the one hand, if I referenced an external site six years ago and it no longer exists, that’s not really my problem. On the other, I hate having broken links on Ducksnorts. So those are slowly being fixed or removed.
One positive from all this is that I’m having to review the entire site, which gives me a chance to look back at some of things I’ve written in the past. It ain’t always pretty but we’re all about accountability here at Ducksnorts. A few annotated snippets from January 2002:
Padres inked former Tiger shortstop Deivi Cruz to a 1-year deal worth $600K. Good low-risk signing…. If Cruz gets more than 250 or so plate appearances, something has gone horribly wrong. [He did, it did]
If you’re a small market team, this is what it comes down to. There will be no Jason Giambi. There will be no Chan Ho Park. [Sometimes it is good to be a small-market team]
On Sean Burroughs: There are a lot of people who don’t believe he’ll hit for much power in the bigs but I’m not one of them. When I say that he “projects eventually to hit 25+ homers a year” I’m actually being conservative. I really believe this kid is going to be a Chipper Jones type offensive force in a few years. [Even I am beginning to question the power at this point, although I still think Burroughs will be a stud on offense before long]
On Mark Phillips: There is now some talk that he’ll begin 2002 with Peavy at Double-A Mobile. If he succeeds there, he could follow in the footsteps of high-profile high school lefties Rick Ankiel and C.C. Sabathia, and compete for a spot in the big-league rotation as early as spring 2003. [Ouch]
I See a New Blog on the Right, There
Headline best sung to CCR’s "Bad Moon Rising" (or not–your call). At any rate, I’ve added some links; check ‘em out.
Four against the Giants up north. Tonight David Wells and Jerome Williams hook up, 7:15 start. More as it happens…
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