[Update: Some folks may have missed this, so I'm putting it right at the top of the entry:
Ducksnorts on "Outta Left Field" on Channel 4 before Wednesday night's game (i.e., tonight)
Time: 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.
Loc: Hall of Fame Bar & Grill, Fifth Floor of Western Metal Supply Co. Bldg.]
first pitch: 7:05 p.m., PT
television: Channel 4
matchup: Jake Peavy (5-0, 2.37 ERA) vs Scott Elarton (2-2, 5.53 ERA)
Pads lost a heartbreaker in Tuesday night’s opener. Brian Lawrence tossed eight shutout innings, but the Friars couldn’t muster up any offense against Cliff Lee. The Indians finally broke through with two in the top of the 11th off Trevor Hoffman following a Khalil Greene error. Greene rushed his throw on a ball hit by Ben Broussard – not the fastest guy in the big leagues – and Phil Nevin couldn’t dig it out of the dirt. Tough loss.
Wednesday night’s matchup features two former phenoms whose careers have taken decidedly different paths.
AB BA OBP SLG
Peavy vs current Indians 46 .196 .283 .348
Elarton vs current Padres 106 .255 .314 .500
Once upon a time, Elarton was a rising young star for the Houston Astros. Now he is a veteran just hanging on. Elarton, a right-hander, has been tougher against lefties (.269/.339/.413, with 25 SO in 104 AB) than righties (.327/.363/.522, just 9 SO in 113 AB) this year. Starting Xavier Nady somewhere might not be a bad idea. Then again, starting Nady seldom is a bad idea. Phil Nevin (.462/.467/1.077 in 13 AB) and Brian Giles (.333/.333/.600 in 15 AB) have had the most success over the years against Elarton. In an extremely small sample, Dave Roberts has never been retired by Elarton: he has three walks, two singles, and a double in six trips to the plate.
Peavy, meantime, is racking up a ton of no-decisions. Not that he’s focusing on such things, but the lack of wins will hurt his case when it comes time to vote for the Cy Young Award. I didn’t say it should hurt his case (it shouldn’t), I said it will hurt his case. Then again, judging from last year, the voters may not even know who Peavy is. Not much to go on in the head-to-heads. Alex Cora (.167/.273/.167 in 18 AB) is the only guy who has faced Peavy more than eight times. Broussard and Jody Gerut have homered off Peavy.
The matchup looks to favor the home team on paper. But as we’re fond of saying, the game isn’t played on paper. Because, you know, that’d be a really big piece of paper.
Bruce got it right in yesterday’s comments: The Padres need to win these next two to build some momentum going into the series against the White Sox. Fortunately for the Friars, their chief division rivals aren’t playing real well and haven’t been able to close the gap; the flip side, of course, is that the Pads haven’t put much distance between Arizona and LA. I’m pretty convinced the Padres are the best team in the NL West; now they need to start playing like it.
Finally, because I haven’t said it often enough, I’ll say it one last time. Ducksnorts is live on “Outta Left Field” tonight. Show starts at 5:30 p.m. Stop by the Hall of Fame Bar & Grill and say hi if you’re at the game. I’m told you can also call in if you’re watching on Channel 4. I don’t know how that works exactly; something to do with a telephone, I’d expect.
Oh, and if you’re just discovering Ducksnorts because of “Outta Left Field,” welcome aboard! Hang out and watch the game with some knowledgable and passionate Padres fans. C’mon, it’ll be fun. 
Nice new moniker, Troy, but I thought I was Dumbass.
We are getting our heads handed to us.
Yeah, Lou is a legend in the SD folk scene. We ran something in Citybeat. I might throw something out in OLF as well. I know Buddy real well… what do you have to do with the show, Lance?
Man, Peavy’s rough tonight. I saw him before the game and he said he’s still feeling the bug that bit all the Padres. I know that sounds like a lame excuse, but when I’m sick, I don’t do anything as well…
Here is some stuff that everyone may know, but I thought I would post it anyway:
Phil Nevin was scratched from the starting lineup with a stomach flu. Manager Bruce Bochy said Nevin’s illness is not believed to be related to the upper respiratory infection that has affected at least seven players since May 31. Bochy said Nevin believes he caught the illness from one of his family members. … CF Dave Roberts missed his second straight game with a sore right shoulder. The Padres don’t know what is causing the soreness. Roberts, who saw action on Tuesday night as a pinch runner, is available in the same capacity. … San Diego has been shut down in its last three games, all at home, against left-handed starters. The Padres have scored just one run on 15 hits over 24 innings and have struck out 23 times. Cliff Lee was the latest lefty to shut down the Padres, allowing five hits in seven shutout innings with a career-high nine strikeouts on Tuesday night. “All these lefties we have been facing haven’t been an aberration,” said Bochy. “They’ve been throwing well coming in here.”
I also think that this team is not the same when Roberts is not playing. Whatever his contributions are, when he’s out, they don’t play as well.
I am listening on the radio. Was that DP as great as Leitner makes it sound?!?!
Nice DP by Greene. Maybe that will fire up this team. They look so lethargic.
You won’t get better than that. Greene just justified the “Khalil Greene figurine giveaway” night… Fuck this kid can be good. Hopefully he pulls it all together soon.
Lance, it was better than what Leitner described. Khalil diving to stop the ball deep in the hole, without taking the ball out of his glove shovels it to Blum on his stomach, and Blum turns it to get the guy at first by an eyelash. Awesome.
OMG, did Burroughs drive the ball?!?! A triple?
Dumbass, er..Troy, I thought you were involved in the original 4th and B Lou benefit.
I don’t have a thing to do with the show, other than being a friend of Buddy’s and an admirer of Lou’s. The wife and I will be there, however. Straight from Petco when the game ends.
I’ve been catching shows in town since the old “Tim Maze Presents…” shows 20 years ago. Whan I see your FoxRox gig, I wonder how we’ve never met.
how about that situational hitting everyone? Helps to get that curveball that was waaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy outside like that to Klesko too.
Blum’s pop-up to short didn’t help at all.
The home plate umpire is calling a wonderful game, now. Foot off the plate? No problem, strike three.
That called stike three was as bad a call as I have seen in my 30 years of baseball watching.
Crap!Crap!Crap!Crap!Crap!Crap!Crap!Crap!Crap!Crap!Crap!Crap!Crap!Crap!Crap!Crap!Crap!Crap!Crap!Crap!Crap!Crap!Crap!Crap!Crap!Crap!Crap!Crap!Crap!Crap!Crap!Crap!Crap!
It wasn’t even a fastball a la the Atlanta Braves.
Was it as bad as you guys are making it sound???
Mired in an ugly streak, we can’t afford any beating-down from umpires.
As Mazzone says, the best pitch is strike-one on the outside corner.
This one wasn’t in the same zip code as the outside corner, from what I’m reading.
You’re reading correctly, then. It was an atrocious call.
Hey, Troy. It’s nice to see you commenting here. It’s also nice to see the dumbass thing is something you save for tv.
Time to head home before my wife divorces me. Maybe I’m cursed, and my departure will bring good karma. Or maybe not.
Gotta put some on the board in the seventh…
That was smart play by Boone.
Greene’s having a real rough go of it.
Damn.
You don’t suppose Fick was swinging at those pitches for fear they’d be called strikes. Do you?
I see we’re conceding this one. Here comes May.
I see I missed some more promising innings wiped out by ineptitude. It wouldn’t surprise me if Fick swung at pitches fearing they might be called strikes, much less I am sure that Klesko’s complaining did nothing to help our cause.
Bleh … it’s certainly not as much fun when they don’t score runs … I’m hoping it’s health-related and not talent-related …
I’m happy Burroughs hit a triple … XBH count now at 4 …
It looks to be all a health related funk: some guys got really sick, i.e. Peavy, Giles, Klesko and Blum, the guys we depend on daily for the most part. It robbed us of our momentum and now as we hope to pull out, our catalyst, Roberts is out day to day for who knows how long with a mysterious shoulder injury. We need a good little streak to give the guys their confidence back. I was hoping Peavy would be up to the task of putting the team on his back tonight, but he clearly was not 100%. I guess being in bed for most of last week didn’t help!
Dont wry guys..tonights matchup is a Padres Victory for sure..Adam Eaton has been on fire and im pretty confident he’ll get the padres on the winning side of things