The St. Louis Cardinals right now are playing about as well as a team can play. They have the horses, they execute, they’re making the right moves, and they’re not shooting themselves in the foot.

The Padres, on the other hand, are showing once again that they can hang with the best but not actually beat them. They’re getting better. Tuesday it was questionable bullpen usage (Scott Linebrink came in last night with a 1-run defecit, further confusing the issue). Last night it was two homers in the first off Adam Eaton, Phil Nevin getting tossed arguing balls and strikes in the fourth, and the familiar demon of leaving runners in scoring position.

(Ted Leitner on the radio after Nevin’s ejection was classic. He cited the double-standard of a player’s being disciplined for using "objectionable language" on the field but not an umpire. Specifically, he chided plate umpire Brian Gorman for yelling at Nevin to "get the hell out of here" within earshot of women and children. Good for you, Ted. Good for you. And be sure to keep those women and children from listening to your broadcast and hearing you utter that same "objectionable" phrase.)

The Pads are a strong team. They’re doing a lot of things right. But they’re not quite at championship, or even playoff, level. Too many mistakes in critical situations. Even if they do sneak into the post-season, they’re going to get smoked by a team like the Cards that plays with machine-like efficiency. Still, it sure beats watching from the sidelines like in each of the past five years.

Jake Peavy goes against Jeff Suppan tonight. This is the one matchup going in that we knew would favor the Padres. But with the Cardinals, take nothing for granted. It would be real nice to leave St. Louis with a win. It remains to be seen whether that is in the cards…

Roster Movement

Robert Fick and Ramon Vazquez were recalled Tuesday, before the playoff roster deadline. They took the places of Marty McLeary and Humberto Quintero. Yesterday Kerry Robinson was recalled. Miguel Ojeda and Antonio Osuna were activated from the DL, making them eligible for the playoff roster as well.

To summarize:

• Playoff-eligible: Fick, Ojeda, Osuna, Vazquez
• Not eligible: McLeary, Quintero, Robinson

Also, Freddy Guzman has been dropped from the lineup. Despite leading the Padres to an 11-run outburst in his debut, Guzman is hitting just .188/.235/.234 in his brief big-league tenure. Kid might someday turn into a Juan Pierre/Luis Castillo type. But for now he’s a drag on the offense. No word yet on who will replace him in the leadoff role. My vote, not that I have one, is for Khalil Greene, who hit .290/.338/.580 in that role earlier this season (Padre leadoff hitters as a whole have hit .272/.319/.359).