Finally the Padres managed to win a game when the Dodgers lost one. Down 3-1 going into the ninth, the Pads looked like they were going to continue with the NL West’s theme of "anything you can do, I can do worse" before Khalil Greene knocked a two-run bomb to send the game into extra frames and Phil Nevin hit a sac fly to untie it an inning later.

So entering the last weekend of May, the Pads find themselves in sole possession of first place in the NL West, a full game ahead of the Dodgers. Man, what a difference a year makes. Check this out:

       5/27/03  5/27/04
         W  L     W  L    Dif
Padres  14 38    26 21  +14.5
Tigers  13 37    22 24  +11.0

I love Retrosheet. If I won the lottery, I would drink beer, play guitar, and spend countless hours at Retrosheet. Oh yeah, and I’d save the children.

Anyway, the Pads are now 5-4 on the road trip headed into a three-game set with the Brewers. Not that I want to be thinking this way, but even if they win just one of those games, they come home from a 12-game trip with a .500 record. Did I mention they’re in first place?

Justin Germano, in his second big-league start, managed to allow just two unearned runs over six innings despite walking five. That’s not really a blueprint for success at Coors, but we’re more interested in results than in style points.

The bullpen was reliable, as usual. The ever-present Scott Linebrink threw 37 pitches over two innings. Interestingly, there is talk that Linebrink or Jay Witasick could end up making a start at some point. That may never come to pass, but just for grins here are their big-league records as starters:

            G   IP    H HR  BB  SO  ERA  AVG
Linebrink   6  29.0  33  3  13  15 4.03 .303
Witasick   56 301.0 364 50 152 225 5.80 .299

Given that Witasick’s career ERA as a reliever is over two full points lower than as a starter, Linebrink gets my vote if it comes to that. Then again, Brian Sweeney, who got the call from Portland to replace Jake Peavy on the roster, also has extensive starting experience. Right now, we know Brian Lawrence, Adam Eaton, and Germano are in the rotation. After that, it’s anybody’s guess.

Now, by the way, would be a real good time for that "800-run offense" to make an appearance.

The Guy We Had, the Guy We Wanted, the Guy We Got

What the heck, it’s Friday. This one pretty much speaks for itself…

CF            AB  AVG  OBP  SLG Salary*
Kotsay,Ma    155 .252 .302 .290  $6.5M
Cameron,Mi   150 .200 .313 .387  $4.3M
Payton,Ja    141 .291 .377 .433  $1.5M

C
Bennett,Ga    64 .234 .300 .328  $0.6M
Kendall,Ja   143 .315 .385 .357  $8.6M
Hernandez,R  126 .238 .312 .389  $2.9M

2B
Jimenez,D    732 .260 .346 .392  $1.6M
Alfonzo,Ed   662 .263 .333 .385  $6.5M
Loretta,Ma   784 .315 .371 .446  $2.5M

*2004 salary per ESPN.

Other Stuff

I’ve got a ton of good letters sitting in my in-box. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to think about them as much as I’d like to before responding. Good stuff, though. I may actually have to run a couple of mailbags next week.

In the meantime, here are some other things for you to ponder:

• Bruised toe could delay Wells’ return (U-T). Bruce Bochy talks about choosing Dennis Tankersley over Witasick to work the eighth in last week’s loss at Philadelphia.
• Knott’s homer not enough (Oregonian). Knott continues to impress. Sterling Hitchcock hurts his groin while warming up for his second rehab start.
• Heckling fan accuses Nevin of crude tirade in Philadelphia (U-T). Might I suggest not heckling as a possible solution?

Ack, there’s lots more to talk about but not enough time. Guess we’ll just have to save some for later. For now, let’s beat the Brewers and see if we can get a little separation going in the NL West.