first pitch: 7:05 p.m., PT
television: Channel 4
matchup: Jake Peavy (7-3, 3.14 ERA) vs Claudio Vargas (3-4, 6.70 ERA)
previews: ESPN | Padres.com
That was a satisfying win Friday night. After Sean Burroughs and Ramon Hernandez both dropped balls that would have ended the top of the sixth, en route to a five-run inning for Arizona, the Pads came back and scored five of their own in the bottom half. Insert dagger. Twist. Remove. (Relax, it’s just a figure of speech.)
After Mark Sweeney‘s big night at the plate, I can’t really complain about his boneheaded baserunning. But I have to admit, I cringe whenever he’s out on the bases. Keep hitting ‘em out of the park, bud.
Did you see Xavier Nady get into the game in the eighth as a LIDR for Ryan Klesko in left? How cool is it that one of the Padres’ biggest power threats only comes in for defensive purposes? (That’s a rhetorical question, but if you need an answer, it would be “not very.”)
Life Isn’t Fair, and Neither Is Baseball
- Klesko is charged with an error when two Arizona baserunners move up because Hernandez can’t hold onto his throw to the plate that should’ve ended the sixth.
- Scott Linebrink is credited with the win. His only contribution to Friday’s game was serving up Troy Glaus‘ three-run jack that eliminated the Padres’ lead and prevented starter Woody Williams from picking up the victory.
And to be perfectly clear, I adore Linebrink (what were the Astros thinking?) and am not picking on him. It’s just that baseball is a funny game.
Getting Peavy Back on Track
So, what’s up with the Padres’ lone All-Star? It’s been a tale of two seasons for him so far:
G IP ERA H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 Pit/Inn*
through 5/30 10 72.0 2.00 6.38 0.50 1.50 9.13 14.21
since 5/30 7 39.2 5.22 8.85 1.36 2.50 11.57 18.28
(via David Pinto’s Day by Day Database, except * – via ESPN.)
Good news: Peavy is still striking out a ton of guys. Bad news: Fewer innings per start, more hits and homers. And check out the pitch efficiency. Part of that is due to the increased strikeouts, but still. It’s real hard to go deep into games throwing 18+ pitches per inning.
Throw strikes, keep the ball down. Not that Peavy doesn’t know this, but if it’s going to happen for the Padres in ’05, they need him to be at the top of his game. Starting now.
Other Stuff
- Never on Break (Baseball Analysts). Cesar Carrillo, Jared Wells, and Sean Thompson all get mentioned here (as does Ducksnorts!). Not sure who I like between Wells and Thompson. I will say that it’s not near the slam dunk that Bryan Smith seems to think it is.
- There is now a blog dedicated to Padres’ prospect J.J. Furmaniak. It’s very new, but hopefully we’ll see some good stuff here.
- I wonder if George Steinbrenner regrets trading Paul Quantrill yet. Kudos to Kevin Towers, too, for managing to turn the Terrence Long/Darrell May obligatory roster black hole into something useful. If big-league GMs are looking for cheap ways to improve their team, might I suggest following the Towers School of Bullpen Construction.
I’ll be at Comic-Con getting my geek on today. I’m hoping to make it back in time to chat during the game, but if not, carry on without me. Let’s get a win.
Even more amusing with regard to the Nady replacing Klesko for defensive purposes is that Nady has been (statistically speaking) worse than Klesko in left field.
I agree with you on Sweeney’s baserunning, but not because of last night’s play. My view is pretty much straight down the 3B line, so I glanced at Peach as Sweeney was rounding 2B. Peach waved him around, I have no idea why. I really don’t think that one was Sweeney’s fault. Now getting picked off 2B and 3B earlier this season was, and that’s enough to put him in the doghouse for the rest of the year.
Really getting sick of Bochy’s slavish devotion to Lefty/Righty matchups keeping Nady on the bench. Checked Nady’s splits for 2005 this morning and he’s definitely poor in terms of BA and OBP, but his SLG is still solid. In both instances it is a pretty small sample size, but he’s definitely hitting for power against right handers this year and deserves to be in there on a regular basis until, and if, his play warrants removing him.
Hey Geoff, you do know that the convention center is right across the street from Petco, right?
did anyone notice that the Yanks picked up Al Lieter and dfa Redding? We could wind up getting redding back on a minor league contract if he clears waivers.. never know(of course its not very likely)
Thanks, Pat. Yeah, I’ve been by Petco each of the past two nights; no tix available. I’ll be out at the park tomorrow afternoon.
Peavy is keeping the pitch count down so far: just 54 through 4 innings.
I thought they had a season ticket holder website where you could buy ticks from season ticket holders that werent going? is that still running?
Geoff is a Comic-con geek!
nothing wrong with that, I thought he was complaining because there were no tickets available..
PADRE TIX ALL
PADRE TIX ALL GAMES Field box 105 (6), 5th row, $60 each & up. 858/450-0083
Naw, it was more one of those deals where I was in the area and I stopped by to see if I could pick up a couple of tickets. I’ll be able to make two of the four games, so I can’t complain.
Yes, I am a Comic Con geek. Big time. I got to see the legendary Gary Owens (from Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, among other things) today. If you ever get the opportunity to hear him speak, do so. He has some great old-school Hollywood stories. Very funny and gracious guy.
Of course I remember Gary Owens. I felt like such a big kid, getting to watch Laugh-In with my parents.
Wasn’t “Beautiful Downtown Burbank” his catchphrase?
Yep, that was his. And that voice. Best radio voice ever.
Peavy at 66 pitches through 5 innings, but he walked Counsell to lead off the sixth.
Long inning for Peavy. He’s up to 97 pitches through 6 innings. DJ puts one into the second deck of the Western Metal Supply Co. bldg. His stroke is so compact.
You know, for as much as I gripe about Nady’s lack of PT, he’s got nothing on Tony Clark.
Would someone kindly explain to me why Bochy continues to hit Greene 8th and Burroughs 7th?
Hoffman just isn’t as much fun when Kevin’s not here…
Aww, thanks, I knew Hoffman would come through. I was seeing “Wedding Crashers.” I highly recommend it.
Interesting news here:
C Ramon Hernandez, who will be eligible for free agency after this season, wouldn’t confirm or deny reports that he’s changing agents from Eric Goldschmidt to Scott Boras. “Everyone keeps asking me about that,” Hernandez said. “I’m tired of hearing that.” Said Boras: “I don’t comment on what players I meet with or talk with.”
Both Loretta and Nevin are due back Tuesday. This is bad news for Nady, but I hope Jackson gets some time at third the way he is playing.