first pitch: 12:35 p.m., PT
television: Channel 4
matchup: Brian Lawrence (4-6, 4.57 ERA) vs Elmer Dessens (0-0, 2.40 ERA)

Baseball is a funny game. You can beat Johan Santana and lose to D.J. Houlton in the same week. Pads had numerous chances Wednesday night but didn’t capitalize on them. Frustrating. Like Xavier Nady‘s recurring role of Sir Not Appearing in This Game (hey, I could have linked to this; oh, I guess I just did).

                              AB   BA  OBP  SLG
Lawrence vs current Dodgers  104 .298 .333 .471
Dessens vs current Padres    193 .378 .405 .611

Ball seems to carry better during the day at Petco. That, coupled with some big numbers against the starters, means we could see some runs.

Chin Waggers has an afternoon show tomorrow, so I won’t be able to hang out and chat. If you’re in the UTC area swing on by.

Roster Moves and Other Stuff

Adam Eaton and Ramon Hernandez are on the DL, with Tim Redding being activated from the DL and Paul McAnulty being called up from Mobile. I’m excited to see McAnulty up with the big club. He’s a little redundant on a team that already has Mark Sweeney and Robert Fick, but the dude can rake. It’ll be good to see what he can do.

Oh, and manager Bruce Bochy has had his contract extended. I probably should say more about this, but it’s late and I can’t think of anything.

Pizza Feed

Finally, for those attending the Baseball Prospectus Pizza Feed this Friday evening: A bunch of us are meeting at The Field Irish Pub & Restaurant (544 Fifth Ave., between Market and Island) before the main event. Come as early as you’d like; I’m shooting for about 4 p.m. I look forward to finally meeting many of you and being able to put faces to names. See ya out there!