Frustration and Hope

by Geoff Young on Jun 14, 2004

First off, let’s get this out of the way: That was a horrible, horrible way to lose a game yesterday. One out from a shutout of the Yankees on their home turf. Boom. Boom. So much for that.

My hope for the Pads on this road trip was that they would win at least one game in each venue. They did that. But, as on their their last trip, they could have done so much more. Except for the Curt Schilling game in Boston, the Padres had a chance to win every game. They went 2-4, but could have gone 5-1.

But they didn’t. You keep giving great teams chances to win, and most times they will. And that’s exactly what happened. How does Trevor Hoffman lose home plate with two out in the ninth? No clue. Yankees probably don’t know either. But they sure knew what to do when he started falling behind in the count and serving up meatballs.

Coupla things we learned (or relearned), though, on this trip:

  • The Padres are a talented ballclub. They’re good, but not great. Good teams put themselves into situations where they can win most of the time. That’s the Pads. Great teams put themselves into those same situations and then bury the opposition. That’s the Yankees and the Red Sox. Sure, they’re forking over a lot of money to make their teams great (nothing wrong with that, IMO), but they still get things done where it counts–out on the playing field.
  • The Padres can play with anyone. They weren’t able to put away the Yanks and the BoSox when they had their chances, but I guarantee you the Pads gave those teams a much tougher fight than they or their fans expected. Johnny Damon isn’t the only guy on the East Coast who doesn’t know squat about the Padres. I’m sure there are a bunch of folks shuffling around Boston and New York right now wondering what’s wrong with their team and why they didn’t dominate the Pads.

The Padres outscored the Yankees and Red Sox, 28-22, on the road trip. They held the two best offenses (through games of June 12) in the AL to less than four runs per game:

          G  BA OBP SLG  R/G
Red Sox  60 270 354 444 5.28
Yankees  61 264 356 457 5.47
Padres   61 270 339 386 4.52

Check out the starting pitching:

             IP  H ER HR BB SO
Wells       5.2  6  0  0  0  2
Lawrence    5.0  5  0  0  0  5
Valdez      4.0  6  6  2  2  3
Eaton       7.0  4  2  1  3  4
Tankersley  5.0  6  3  0  1  3
Wells       7.0  5  0  0  0  4

total      33.2 32 11  3  6 21 2.94 ERA

Four stellar performances, one decent, one not so good. And of course, the Pads’ best starter is on the shelf.

No question, the Pads can hang with anyone. The next step is learning to put teams away when they have a chance.

A few other things worth noting before we call it a day:

  • Kerry Robinson has got to go. It sure was fun to watch him fly around the basepaths on Friday, but even with three hits in that game (as DH, no less!), his OPS now stands at 609. Adam Eaton, who started Friday’s game, has a 633 OPS (lower batting average, same number of walks, three times as many extra-base hits in half as many plate appearances). But twice on the trip Robinson was caught stealing in crucial situations. His defensive reputation is vastly overstated, and he’s not terribly effective at utilizing the one legitimate tool he possesses. Of course, those three hits on Friday probably extended Robinson’s Padre career by three months (or more). Easier to remember him scoring from first on a stolen base attempt than badly misjudging flyballs or getting thrown out trying to steal late in games.
  • Phil Nevin is swinging the bat very well. Looks like he’s recognizing that junk down and away and starting to lay off it again. Also, those homers he hit on the trip were absolute bombs. Sure would be nice to see him get on a tear for a week or three.
  • Ramon Hernandez also is quietly putting up some numbers. He isn’t setting the world on fire, but I’ll take .259/.339/.414 out of my catcher any day.

Overall, not a horrible road trip. Definitely could’ve been better, but it gives the Padres a good gauge of where they are and what they need to do to get to the next level. Sometimes a few painful losses can be a good motivator.

Stuff I’ve Been Meaning to Mention

That’s all for now, more as it happens…

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