In-Game Discussion: Padres @ Cardinals (6 May 2005)
Fri, May 6, 2005
by Geoff Young
first pitch: 5:10 p.m., PT
television: Channel 4
matchup: Darrell May (0-0, 4.26 ERA) vs Jeff Suppan (2-3, 3.23 ERA)
The preseason favorite to win the #5 spot in the rotation makes his first start as a Padre. Unfortunately, he’ll be making it against a team full of guys who beat him like a rug. If May can step up and keep the game close, we could see Trevor Hoffman get a shot at save #400.
AB BA OBP SLG
May vs current Cardinals 41 .366 .381 .732
Suppan vs current Padres 134 .321 .396 .500
That’s a really small sample, but damn. Albert Pujols is hitting .111/.111/.222 against May in 9 at-bats. Everyone else is hitting the tar out of him. Nine extra base hits in 42 plate appearances? Ouch.
For the Padres, two of the guys doing the most damage (Geoff Blum, Eric Young) are hurt. Among the healthy, Brian Giles (.353/.429/.706 in 17 AB) and Robert Fick (.231/.417/.500 in 26 AB) have had their share of success against Suppan. In more limited duty, Mark Loretta (.667/.667/1.000 in 9 AB) and Ryan Klesko (.429/.556/.571 in 7 AB) have also done well.
Notable Quotes from This Week’s In-Game Discussions
Still not sure you should be hanging out with us during the game? Your call, but here’s a little of what you’ve been missing…
Eaton should consider not giving up doubles to the hitter leading off each inning.
–Richard, 2 May 2005
Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!!Dong!!! Tie ballgame. [Ed. note: This has quickly supplanted "boom goes the dynamite" as my favorite home run call]
–Lance, 3 May 2005
This is why I dislike the whole bullpen hierarchy system. Now that the Linebrink-Otsuka setup tandem has been memorialized and immortalized, you can’t shift their roles without a big fuss about demotion or losing confidence. Reliever performance is so volatile, you should be able to just play the hot hand with them.
–Eric, 4 May 2005
Roll out the bad poetry, we have a new curse on our hands — the CURSE OF ANNA KOURNIKOVA! Apparently, Brian Giles hasn’t had a hit since he caught the first pitch from her. [Ed. note: Only the threat of bad poetry was needed; Giles snapped out in a big way on Thursday night]
–Brian G., 5 May 2005
Richard also kept a running tally of expected runs during Tuesday night’s game against the Rockies. Fascinating stuff. And of course LynchMob provided his usual excellent dose of updates from the farm.
Fun with Numbers
- Dave Roberts has 15 hits so far this year; of those, 7 are for extra bases. His ISO is .176.
- Including his monster game Thursday night against the Cards, Giles’ ISO also is .176. He is hitting .120/.290/.200 at home and .288/.400/.558 on the road, in a roughly equivalent number of trips to the plate.
- I love the bullpen, but should Dennys Reyes and Scott Linebrink have more walks (27) than Jake Peavy and Woody Williams (22) in fewer than half the innings?
Go get ‘em, boys!
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May 6, 2005 at 8:48 am
Check the linescore from the Beavers game last night - lots to make Pads fans happy.
May 6, 2005 at 9:14 am
Geoff-
Stop the presses! Two curses snapped (permanently, we hope) in one week! If you manage to overcome the human curse that is Darrell May, then we gotta talk about a roadtrip to Las Vegas or playing the lottery.
May 6, 2005 at 9:39 am
For those intrigued by SM in DC’s comment, here’s a link to the box score of last night’s Beaver game … http://www.minorleaguebaseball.....a_poraaa_1
May 6, 2005 at 9:46 am
re: Jon Knott … here’s a link to his stats for this year … http://www.minorleaguebaseball.....pid=431160 …
As Richard pointed out yesterday, his “internal numbers” are good … basically, he’s taking a lot of walks (19 in ~108 PAs) … and getting XBH’s (8 2Bs and 3 HRs) … but I’m still concerned about a BA of .225 … which thuds his SLG down to .416 …
His previous numbers (http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/jon_knott.shtml) suggest he can/should do better … last year he was .290/.376/.533 …
May 6, 2005 at 9:49 am
Stauffer: 9 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 SO. Oh my.
Brian: I don’t know that all of us put together have enough mojo to get May going.
Speaking of pitchers, these are interesting:
http://baseballcrank.com/archi.....dips_a.php
http://baseballcrank.com/archi.....ps_a_1.php
A few guys to compare:
–Peavy/Sheets/Schmidt
–Boomer/Woody
–Woody/Eaton/B-Law
May 6, 2005 at 11:38 am
I got asked by a friend if Burroughs’ 6 consecutive ground balls yesterday were a record … anybody see / hear anything along these lines?
Closest web page I can find is this … http://baseball-almanac.com/rb_3bch.shtml
TIA …
May 6, 2005 at 5:09 pm
I predict the Dodgers will win tonight …
May 6, 2005 at 5:14 pm
Here we go, sports fans … nice start …
- D. Roberts singled to right
- D. Roberts stole second
May 6, 2005 at 5:21 pm
Small ball …
- R. Klesko grounded out to shortstop, D. Roberts scored
… 1-0 Padres after top of first … hey, did you see what happened to Paul Wilson in the top of the 1st today? Ugly!
May 6, 2005 at 5:29 pm
May Day! May Day! Cards go DOWN 1-2-4!!!
- D. Eckstein popped out to third
- S. Taguchi struck out swinging
- A. Pujols walked
- S. Rolen grounded into fielder’s choice, A. Pujols out at second
- End of Inning (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
May 6, 2005 at 5:30 pm
I gotta run hit some golf balls before it starts raining again …
May 6, 2005 at 5:44 pm
No “Dong” home run call for Reggie Sanders.
Ha has the face of a 65-year-old, but the body of a 25-year-old.
Is he the oldest-looking player since Otis Nixon?
May 6, 2005 at 5:45 pm
Crap.
May 6, 2005 at 5:46 pm
Darrell May is looking disturbingly like Darrell May.
May 6, 2005 at 5:46 pm
Leitner’s talking about Paul Wilson’s outing. I have never seen anything like it, not even in Little League.
Also, Darrell May sucks.
May 6, 2005 at 5:48 pm
What about Paul Wilson?
May 6, 2005 at 5:48 pm
Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!Darrell May sucks!!!
May 6, 2005 at 5:48 pm
Tell us what you really think, Lance.
May 6, 2005 at 5:51 pm
That was friggin’ awesome. Go Darrell! (lucky SOB)
May 6, 2005 at 5:51 pm
I think I’d like to grab a bat and take some hacks against Darrell May.
Seriously, what the hell is this man doing in the Major Leagues?!?
May 6, 2005 at 5:52 pm
He’s better than Ismael Valdez according to the numbers over at baseballcrank.com.
May 6, 2005 at 5:53 pm
We’re lucky to end this inning with the ballgame intact.
I predict they severely thrash Darrell next inning.
I hope I’m wrong.
May 6, 2005 at 5:55 pm
At least Valdez LOOKS like a Major League pitcher. Mays looks like my fourth grade hall monitor, except less imposing.
May 6, 2005 at 6:05 pm
You sound like the “villains” in Moneyball.
May 6, 2005 at 6:06 pm
Howdy, gents. I half-expected to see some ugly numbers already. Glad I was wrong.
May 6, 2005 at 6:06 pm
1-2-3 in the third. I love Darrell May. I want to marry him and have his children.
May 6, 2005 at 6:08 pm
Darrell got through another inning..and now a double to lead of the inning by Nevin…let’s get some runs.
May 6, 2005 at 6:17 pm
TMI, Brian. TMI.
May 6, 2005 at 6:20 pm
nice throw Darrell..
May 6, 2005 at 6:24 pm
Forgive me. I was overcome by giddiness at the thought that he actually got Albert Pujols out. I wouldn’t have believed it if you told me that he got Luis Pujols out.
Romance is fleeting though — Leadoff double, error on a pickoff, RBI single, can’t hold a runner on… Our thing is over.
May 6, 2005 at 6:25 pm
Base hit, Suppan? Yuck. Enough already.
May 6, 2005 at 6:28 pm
My fourth-grade hall monitor couldn’t pitch, either.
Yep, this Darrell May sumbitch looks just like him.
May 6, 2005 at 6:31 pm
4-1 and counting. Thank god they’re pulling his ass.
And Richard, damn few pitchers have found sustained success with an arsenal comparable to that of May. If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’ll probably always be a crappy pitcher.
May 6, 2005 at 6:40 pm
Man, that was a great play by Rolen.
May 6, 2005 at 6:47 pm
Sadly, I missed it, radio-bound at the office…
May 6, 2005 at 6:51 pm
He played Loretta’s bunt about as well as it could be played. I thought it was a base hit all the way.
You also missed Reggie Sanders doing a little bunny hop after hitting what he assumed would be a homer. Ball died on the warning track, landing harmlessly in Roberts’ glove.
May 6, 2005 at 6:58 pm
Geez, how did that stay fair? Sweeney hits a two-run bomb down the line in right. Pads pull to within one.
May 6, 2005 at 7:17 pm
That was almost a tremendous (and rare) 5-3-5 DP. Great diving stop by Burroughs.
May 6, 2005 at 7:19 pm
Travis Chick didn’t have it tonight (http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=g_box&gid=2005_05_06_mobaax_wtdaax_1) … 4 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 Ks … ERA now @ 7.52
May 6, 2005 at 7:22 pm
Nice game for the Wizards tonight … http://www.minorleaguebaseball.....x_ftwafx_1 … Colt Morton with 2 HRs (now has 6 for the season), BA up to .348 … I saw him play a couple of games at Eugene last year … he’s tall guy … he was struggling mightily when I saw him … but obviously he’s doing something right this season!
May 6, 2005 at 7:23 pm
Yahoo seems to be missing a few details in their summary of the Bottom of the 6th …
- J. Edmonds walked
- M. Grudzielanek grounded out to third, J. Edmonds to third
- E. Diaz singled to right, J. Edmonds scored
- R. Cedeno struck out swinging
… huh? How’d Edmonds get into scoring position?
May 6, 2005 at 7:25 pm
I meant to ask “How’d Edmonds advance to 3rd on ground out to 3B?”
update: A’s score 3 on Yanks in top of 10th
May 6, 2005 at 7:39 pm
Back in the ballgame, thanks to Giles, and the fact that May is lucky.
May 6, 2005 at 7:41 pm
Base knock Sweeney. Cards need to find a lefty who can get lefties out.
May 6, 2005 at 7:41 pm
Get Sweeney in the everyday line-up!!
(I’m kidding, I swear…)
May 6, 2005 at 7:43 pm
LM: Grudz hit a shot down the line, Burroughs made a diving stop and threw to first. I’m not sure if Edmonds was running on the pitch, but he never stopped and slid in just under the return throw.
May 6, 2005 at 7:43 pm
Nice inning (Top of 7th) … so far …
- D. Roberts struck out swinging
- M. Loretta singled to left
- R. Klesko flied out to center
- X. Nady hit for R. Williams
- X. Nady hit by pitch, M. Loretta to second
- B. Giles tripled to deep left center, M. Loretta and X. Nady scored
- M. Sweeney singled to center, B. Giles scored
… now 6-5 Padres!
May 6, 2005 at 7:44 pm
Richard seems to have disappeared. Maybe the young whipper-snapper had a date or sumthin’.
Hope his date goes better than that at-bat by Burroughs.
May 6, 2005 at 7:50 pm
No Eric, either. He’d be happy to see Seanez working the seventh. Except for that last pitch to Rolen, which almost left the park, he looked very solid.
May 6, 2005 at 7:52 pm
Looks like a nice Bot of 7 by Seanez …
- R. Seanez relieved R. Williams
- S. Taguchi lined out to first
- A. Pujols fouled out to catcher
- S. Rolen flied out to deep right
May 6, 2005 at 7:56 pm
Second base umpire Mike DiMuro is a former Channel 10 intern. The things you learn from Matt & Mud. He’s also a USD grad. Toreros represent!
May 6, 2005 at 7:57 pm
They’re saying Nevin was removed from tonight’s game due to back spasms. That’s not good.
May 6, 2005 at 7:58 pm
hi, just got home from bible study
May 6, 2005 at 8:03 pm
oooh so Seanez came in in the 7th with a 1-run lead?
May 6, 2005 at 8:15 pm
Hey Eric; welcome. Indeed, he did!
May 6, 2005 at 8:23 pm
Trevor goes for #400. Sure wish we’d been able to push across an insurance run.
May 6, 2005 at 8:26 pm
Falls behind Walker, 2-1.
May 6, 2005 at 8:26 pm
Full count.
May 6, 2005 at 8:27 pm
Walker strikes out looking. One down, two to go.
May 6, 2005 at 8:28 pm
First pitch strike to Eckstein.
May 6, 2005 at 8:28 pm
Eckstein can’t handle Trevor’s fastball.
May 6, 2005 at 8:29 pm
Keeps fouling pitches off. Time to throw one out of the zone, make him chase.
May 6, 2005 at 8:29 pm
Ground ball right to Burroughs. Two out. So Taguchi stands between Hoffy and #400.
May 6, 2005 at 8:30 pm
Count is 1-1.
May 6, 2005 at 8:31 pm
Fouls it off to the right side. One more strike.
May 6, 2005 at 8:31 pm
Just outside, 2-2.
May 6, 2005 at 8:31 pm
Yikes. That had distance, but it was foul. Don’t throw that pitch again.
May 6, 2005 at 8:33 pm
Got him looking. Listen to them boo. Trevor gets #400, the Pads have clinched at least a split!
Woo-hoo!
May 6, 2005 at 8:36 pm
Terrific win! Congrats to Trevor!
Who’s next as the #5 starter?
May 6, 2005 at 8:36 pm
that was some deep booing…
nice.
May 6, 2005 at 8:36 pm
400 for Hoffman.
As Leitner points out, that’s more than Fingers, Gossage, or Cy Young Award-winning Mark Davis.
Watching him throw utter smoke in ‘94, I’d have never believed he’d be doing it with change-ups in 2005.
Padres win!Padres win!Padres win!Padres win!Padres win!Padres win!Padres win!Padres win!Padres win!Padres win!Padres win!Padres win!Padres win!Padres win!Padres win!Padres win!
May 6, 2005 at 8:44 pm
AP story has this note …
Sweeney is 5-for-18 as a pinch hitter with two RBIs after leading the majors with 23 pinch RBIs last year.
May 6, 2005 at 10:48 pm
Sorry about the disappearance. My girlfriend had just gotten here and to her, it was bad enough that I was watching the game. Talking about it online would have been crossing the line (apparently).
May 7, 2005 at 9:14 am
I didn’t see Sweeney’s HR “change direction” in any fashion, regardless of what Mark Grant says. Looked like a blown call by the ump.