IGD: Padres vs Rockies (26 Aug 2005)
Fri, Aug 26, 2005
by Geoff Young
first pitch: 7:05 p.m., PT
television: Channel 4
matchup: Adam Eaton (9-2, 3.76 ERA) vs Jeff Francis (11-9, 6.01 ERA)
preview: Padres.com
So the Rockies are in town for the weekend. As you know, they are in last place in the dismal NL West, but just how bad is this team?
Well, um, actually the Rox have a better record than the Padres since the All-Star break. Ouch. No, really, they do:
| W | L | RS | RA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockies | 17 | 22 | 163 | 206 |
| Padres | 15 | 22 | 135 | 187 |
The good news, if you’re a Padres fan, is that the Rockies are 15-43 on the road this season. They are hitting just .232/.296/.362 (sort of a cross between Henry Blanco and Royce Clayton, God forbid) away from Coors Field and have been outscored, 307-188.
I Get By with a Little Help from My Friends
Jeff Francis, tonight’s starter for Colorado, actually has a higher ERA on the road (7.24) than at Coors (5.02). Go figure. He also shows up near the top/bottom of some pretty weird statistical categories: second in the NL in run support with 6.75 runs/game; second from the bottom in opponents’ OPS at .884; third from the bottom in pitches/inning at 17.3. Also, right-handed hitters are batting .326/.389/.525 against Francis this year.
On the other side, Adam Eaton makes his first big-league start since getting slapped around at Detroit on June 15 and subsequently landing on the DL. Eaton hasn’t thrown enough innings to qualify, but he’s been the beneficiary of 6.35 runs per game this year, which is remarkable given that the Padres are scoring 4.29 runs per game behind everyone.
The Padres, who are running guys out there that even the Texas Rangers couldn’t use, desperately need Eaton to return to form and provide some stability to a rotation that - beyond Jake Peavy - doesn’t instill fear in the hearts of artichokes, let alone big-league hitters.
And speaking of help, the Rockies defeated the Dodgers again in LA Thursday night. Better yet, Colorado saw four relievers throw a total of 76 pitches in the process. Not only did the Rox beat one of the Padres’ chief “competitors” in the divisional “race,” they also worked their bullpen pretty hard doing it. Sounds good to me.
Okay, so to recap:
- Padres need a good start out of Eaton.
- Both pitchers get huge run support when they start.
- Righties destroy Francis.
- Rockies bullpen is thin after beating LA.
- Artichokes?
There you go. Let’s beat the Rockies.
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August 26, 2005 at 12:35 pm
Hope you enjoyed your day off!
Going to see Alejandro Escovedo tomorrow night.
In other news, the Padres are a staggering 15-27 on Sundays and Wednesdays. The reason I say staggering (besides that the Padres stagger on those days) is that Sunday and Wednesdays are usually get-away days. Is this horrid record the result of Bruce Bochy’s people-managing skills brilliance?
August 26, 2005 at 12:49 pm
Alejandro’s brother Mario (formerly of the late, great band The Dragons) will be opening. Should be a great show.
August 26, 2005 at 1:38 pm
My expectations are lower than my hopes for Eaton tonight … he performances at Portland make me concerned that he’s not ready for an MLB start … perhaps they had to call him up or waive him? That still doesn’t mean he has to start … I’m hoping that the Padres’ management and medical staff are making a good decision here … I know it’s more informed than my opinion … which is why my hopes are high
August 26, 2005 at 2:06 pm
They had Eaton on the radio before Tuesday night’s (?) game and he said he felt fine. He acknowledged that his command wasn’t quite what it should be but that he was able to throw without pain.
On another note, I think we all owe Nevin a little thank you for rejecting the Baltimore trade:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....9705204233
August 26, 2005 at 2:07 pm
Brian, I did enjoy the day off, thanks. That is weird about getaway days; probably a fluke but you never know. Have fun at the show…
August 26, 2005 at 2:44 pm
Thats a really interesting point about the getaway days. I checked it month to month and it doesnt seem to matter much how poorly or how well we played either.
apr=11-13ovl, 2-6w-s
may=22-06ovl, 5-4w-s
jun=10-17ovl, 2-7w-s
jul=08-18ovl, 3-5w-s
aug=12-09ovl, 2-5w-s
even in our wonderful May, 4 of our 6 losses came on either wed or sun..
curious?
August 26, 2005 at 2:48 pm
Since they’re at exactly .500 overall, 12 games under on Sun and Wed means 12 games over the other five days. Blaming it all on Bochy is no doubt incorrect but it’s an alarming trend, particularly when you consider the getaway day aspect.
For that reason, TGIF, I guess.
August 26, 2005 at 3:31 pm
Here’s a relevant Q&A from BP …
Kelly (Kalamazoo): In the historically bad NL West, even a team as miserable as the Giants could sneak into the playoffs, if they can put together a strong September. Not likely, I know, but with the Dodgers, DBacks and Giants all theoretically in contention, due to the inability of the Padres to play above .500, it’s possible. Can you see any of the Padres challengers “rising” to the occasion?
James Click: If I’m not mistaken, the Rockies have been the best team in that division over the last month or two which tells us about all we need to know.
If the Dodgers entire roster hadn’t tripped over itself trying to get onto the DL first, they’d probably be running away with the division. If they can get a few healthy bodies back — not particularly likely — they could chase the Padres down. But with five games to make up (and they’re losing the Marlins as we speak), it’s not likely to happen.
The real story of this division is the injuries. It’s unbelievable how many days that division has lost to the DL. If David Halberstam can whip up books on the great divisional races in the past, Will Carroll should be able to fill a thome about the lost season that is the NL West.
August 26, 2005 at 3:48 pm
Good stuff, LM. Thanks.
Unrelated:
Ben Johnson interview:
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/ne.....type=story
Carrillo back to Elsinore for playoffs:
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/ne.....type=story
August 26, 2005 at 3:57 pm
In case not everybody saw this yesterday:
If the Padres (63-63) play .500 ball the rest of the way:
Arizona would have to go 23-12 to catch them (or reach 81-81)
Los Angeles would have to go 24-13
San Francisco would have to go 26-10
Colorado would have to go 34-3
August 26, 2005 at 4:53 pm
with the way the division is set up with all the division play at the end of the season, it is virtually impossible for one of those teams to catch the padres unless the Padres and the other two teams just fall apart.
29 of the Padres remaining 35 games are in the div
24 of arizonas remaing games are in the div
25 of the dodgers remaining games are in the div
26 of the giants remaining games are in the div.
if the Padres play .500 against the division then 3 of the 4 remaining teams must completely fall apart to allow one team to catch the padres..
am I making sense?
August 26, 2005 at 5:32 pm
Did anybody notice what Joey Devine did in his 2nd MLB appearance? Gave up another Grand Slam! http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/boxscore?gid=250823116 … kinda takes some of the luster off Nady’s grannie … but I’m still a big X fan
August 26, 2005 at 5:47 pm
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Right-hander Adam Eaton was activated from the disabled list by the San Diego Padres on Friday in time to start against the Colorado Rockies.
To make room on the roster, catcher David Ross was optioned to Triple-A Portland.
Eaton strained a flexor tendon in his right middle finger during his last start, June 15 at Detroit. He was on the disabled list until July 31. He made two relief appearances, then went back on the disabled list to make three rehab starts in the minors.
He is 9-2 with a 3.76 ERA.
Ross was batting .333 with a triple and a run scored in eight games.
August 26, 2005 at 7:18 pm
when I read that they sent Ross down I breathed a sigh of relief. I was surely afraid that they were going to send Hensley down.
August 26, 2005 at 7:21 pm
Man, Giles has stepped his game up the last month. He has started expanding his zone with runners on so that he has accepted some of the responsibilty for driving in runs. And, he is doing it.
August 26, 2005 at 7:30 pm
What happened on that play at first to end the inning? I don’t have sound.