IGD: Padres vs Brewers (11 May 06)

first pitch: 12:35 p.m., PT
television: none
matchup: Jake Peavy (2-3, 4.17 ERA) vs Ben Hendrickson (0-0, 2.79 ERA)
previews: Padres.com | SI.com | ESPN

For the second straight night, the Padres had a tough left-hander on the ropes but couldn’t put him away. Fortunately, Chan Ho Park and some strong defense were able to shut down a powerful Milwaukee lineup and win the game, 3-0.

Observations from Wednesday’s Game

  • Park did a great job of using his ballpark and the defenders behind him. The final line looks brilliant, but there were some pretty loud outs. Mike Cameron and Brian Giles both made spectacular catches in support of their pitcher. I still can’t believe Cameron caught that ball off the bat of Bill Hall in the fifth. Neither can Rickie Weeks, who was well past second base by the time it came down and nearly was doubled off first. Yesterday we noted that Park’s success this year is due in large part to improved command. How much easier is it to throw strikes when you know that even if a guy hits the ball hard, in that ballpark and with those outfielders behind you, chances are you’ll get an out? Park doesn’t have the overpowering stuff he once did, and he has to pitch smart. So far this season, that’s exactly what he’s doing.
  • There is no middle ground with Mark Bellhorn. Either he is on fire and carrying the ballclub or he is completely sucking wind. Bellhorn got the Golden Sombrero last night — four at-bats, four strikeouts. In his third at-bat, he struck out on Chris Capuano’s 42nd pitch of the fourth inning, which if taken would have been ball four, forced in a fourth run, and likely chased Capuano from the game. Thankfully that didn’t come back to bite the Padres.
  • I can’t watch Vinny Castilla’s at-bats. Fortunately they don’t last very long. He has put the first pitch in play 25 times in 118 plate appearances. The payoff? Castilla is hitting .240/.240/.280 in those at-bats. Also, in 64 trips to the plate at Petco Park this year, he is hitting .156/.200/.172. Yep, his OPS is below 400. Castilla seems like a really nice guy, and I hope he pulls out of it, but this is painful.
  • I love our backup catchers. We’ve talked about Rob Bowen (who gets the start Thursday), but how about Josh Bard? I don’t know how the Padres managed to get Boston to throw in a minor-league reliever and “future considerations,” but I’m not complaining. Dude can play. He had some real nice approaches at the plate Wednesday, driving in the first two runs of the game with a double in the fourth. This came just moments after he’d won some admirers with the “None Shall Pass” routine he pulled on Corey Koskie to end the top of the inning. And how about the rapport between pitcher and catcher?

    Quoth Park:

    He’s the kind of catcher who makes you pitch aggressively. I feel very comfortable with him.

    Quoth Bard:

    I’ve just been telling Chan Ho to believe in himself and believe in his stuff … pound the mitt.

    Can you feel the love?

  • Ben Johnson got an at-bat in the eighth and drew a walk. I’d forgotten Johnson was still with the big club. If he can’t get the occasional start against lefties over Eric Young, I don’t imagine there’s much of a future for the kid in San Diego. It’ll be interesting to see where Johnson eventually ends up and what the Padres are able to get for him.
  • I’ll never get tired of Trevor Time. No, he ain’t what he used to be, but ask Gabe Gross why they call Hoffman’s changeup “the icky.”

Thursday’s Matchup

Jake Peavy takes the mound for the Pads in the rubber game. Peavy’s strikeouts are down and his ERA is up in the early going, but he’s pitched well in each of his last two starts. The stuff has been fine, the command a little less so. Now would be a good time to change that.

Ben Sheets was supposed to get the start for Milwaukee, but he’s back on the DL with right shoulder tendinitis. Starting in place of Sheets is promising young right-hander Ben Hendrickson, about whom I know nothing other than he’s young, promising, and right-handed.

Day game at Petco. Get down there if you can. Otherwise, hang out and chat. It’d be nice to get a new winning streak going before heading to Chicago for the weekend.

102 Responses »

  1. A catcher who blocks the plate! Hernandez who? Still bitter about that.

    What about Suttcliff being blasted in the booth on channel 4 and I mean the rum and coke kinda blasted. “I’love you Mudcat, anyone who doesn’t love Mudcat has problems.”

  2. ” 20,088 – the second-smallest crowd in Petco Park history.”

    It’s a Wednesday in May. people are working and in school. I don’t think you can evaluate crowds from that.

  3. I think it might just be cause its the Brewers. they dont draw well anywhere. Even at home on a winning streak they managed just 17k last wed vs the Giants.

  4. For anyone who didn’t hear Sutcliffe last night, there’s a link on gaslamp. Great stuff. Makes me love the Pads even more.

  5. As much as I keep checking in on Nady’s numbers, man it is fun to see Cameron play D. Props for this trade; he is absolutely perfect for this park.

  6. I see where Leone got a couple of hits last night. Maybe he is breaking out of that slump, we will keep an eye on him. btw Pmac was in the outfield last night. I kinda thought they have decided to keep him at 1b. Guess u never know.

  7. Geoff, have you softened on Corey Hart playing 3b for us? I understand anyone who turns a jaundiced eye toward Leone. He’s old, spotty history.

    I’m not as suspicious as many when it comes to Bochy’s pro-veteran bias, but I do suspect that Vinny Castilla will have the third base job until it is pried from his cold, dead fingers. Seems that Bochy has bought the “defense wins” PR without realizing how much easier it would be to win if his 3b got on base once in a while. Or even hit a double.

  8. Quote:
    “A catcher who blocks the plate! Hernandez who? Still bitter about that.”

    You might be interested to know that you’re not the only one. Hernandez’s unwillingness to block the plate apparently is a trait of his that was well-recognized throughout the organization. Heard a very interesting conversation between a coach and a player a couple weeks ago – apparently Hernandez failed to block the plate in a game the night before and the highlight was on Sportscenter. The two folks with the team saw the highlight and were cracking on Hernandez for it – something along the lines of “Same old Ramon, etc…”

    Just something I figured you all might find interesting.

  9. My biggest criticism with Bochy is his reluctance to play young players. I fail to understand why Eric Young gets ABs over Ben Johnson. Young has no future with the Padres and it’s debatable on whether his present is superior to Johnson’s. I fear that Johnson is going to turn into another Nady situation but hopefully they can get something for him as good as Cameron. When you think of Bochy’s dislike for young players, it makes the Loretta trade totally logical. If Loretta was on the roster, he would play and Barfield would sit and stagnate. Now if we could only get Vinny out of the lineup — and if you think that Leone is the answer, just check his minor league numbers before this year.

  10. This isn’t online yet, but the Pads have traded OF Freddy Guzman and RHP Cesar Rojas to Texas for RHP John Hudgins and 1B/OF Vince Sinisi.

  11. GY, what do you think of this trade?

  12. GY with the unnamed sources!

    Damn, Minor League Baseball already has both players assigned to Mobile. Then the database jolts and you see their stats from the Texas system.

  13. In 2004 they were two of Texas’s Top 10 prospects. Sinisi broke something. Hudgins has never had great stuff. By 2005 BA had soured on both of them. Hudgins went from “3-4″ starter to “5,” Sinisi got hurt, never hit for power, and was limited defensively.

    I see no reason to make the trade but no reason not to make it, either. Didn’t expect Guzman to play for the major league club.

  14. Judging by what Fuson has acquired thus far from Texas, it’ll be a steal.

  15. Yup, their 2006 numbers so far are absolutely nothing to get excited about. I was high on Sinisi when he came out of school, but outside of his time in the CAL league, he’s done nothing except break his arm. There is nothing about Hudgins that excites me. I sure hope this is simply not Fuson collecting all of his “guys” from his Texas drafts.

  16. its sad to see freddy guzman go without ever getting a chance to succeed in the Padres org. these guys we got are the second and third round picks from the rangers 2003 draft that they have apparently given up on. seems everyone knows more about them than me..

  17. jim brower? geeesh

  18. Great job GY.

    Pads seem to be collecting 1b/OFs. They must not have been very high on Guzman, even though it seemed he was doing well in PDX.

  19. Brower did the what in the who now?

  20. Man, Giles will be lucky to see any quality pitches today with Bowen batting cleanup. I would have rather dropped Barfield or Greene in the two hole and drop Cameron into cleanup today.

  21. brower signed to a minor league contract and assigned to portland

  22. well the Portland staff could use some help, but a 35 year old? Maybe they are going to promote Sikorski. I thought he had to be on the ML roster by mid-may or something.

  23. now thats more what I expect from Jake..

    Looking good today..now lets get him some runs

  24. sikorski has some terrific stats at portland and good refs from Japan..it could be that there is some kind of a trade in the offing involving him and they are padding the portland relief corp in advance.

  25. Nice to jump out to the early lead.

  26. Today’s game is not being televised anywhere, because it’s not on the DirecTV package. I’m watching the MLBtv feed on the internet, and I have the Padres radio guys.

  27. Geoff, that transaction is now on the padres site.

    Acquired RHP John Hudgins and 1B/OF Vince Sinisi from the Texas Rangers in exchange for OF Freddy Guzman and RHP Cesar Rojas; Agreed to terms with RHP Jim Brower on a Minor League contract.

  28. The Giants scored five in the first inning of their game.

  29. And now the Padres have.

  30. Spin the wheel, boys.

  31. Six up, six down for Peavy.

  32. Looking ahead, Jake going today means he’ll face Arizona next week.

    Which is a good thing.

  33. Nice job getting outta trouble.

  34. I’m surprised to see Rojas moved though…less surprised on Guzman.

  35. I wonder is the tough start for the Pads affected Jakes start, as in he is the team’s major pitching star and thought he had to carry the ball club. Seems now that we are getting leads for him and the club is playing better, Jake can relax a little more and pitch his game.

    Just a theory.

    BTW, glad to hear Hernandez is getting a reputation for not blocking the plate because somewhere down the road, it’ll cost Baltimore like it cost the Padres against the Red birds in the playoffs. That like a lineback not filling the hole. Imagine Junior being shy about a runningback shooting the gap.

  36. Baseball Prospectus did a couple studies on how the WBC has affected pitchers, and it didn’t affect them well. I don’t think the Padres poor start had an affect on Peavy.

  37. Rats … I’m bum’d about Guzman … I haven’t gotten up to Portland yet … and watching Guzman play was one of the major attractions for me … he’s certainly got major league wheels … perhaps the time/value for that has come & gone in MLB …

  38. Speed won’t ever go out of style, but Guzman didn’t have the OBP chops to make it pay big.

    He’s no Ryan Freel in the on-base department. How about Freel for a 3b? No power, but we’re not getting that anyway. Gets on, good speed, Reds may not like him as much as they once did.

  39. Good to see AG warming up a bit and paise the Boch for playing the kid. Between Vinny and Belhorn last night, I thought my grandma came back from the dead to stand in the batter’s box and take hacks.

  40. Lynch-

    I believe that in the post-steroid era, those abilities are being rediscovered and are actually increasing in value.

    Also, sorry about AP Warrior on Saturday. Only 30+ lengths back!

  41. I think its just fuson getting rid of the “old baggage”

    A lot of us follow the minor league players closely and I am sure the others have noticed that there has been a radical turnover this year. Some of the familiar(a lot of them) are gone. Traded or just plain waived. Greg Sain, Tag Bozied, Corey Smith, Guzman, etc..etc..

  42. Chit, Bowen hurt? heck we were just starting to like haviing him in there

  43. Who got hurt? Not Peavy, Lord, not Peavy.

  44. what happened to Bowen?

  45. foul off the thumb, looks like he is ok to continue defensively but they gave him the plastic thumb for the glove. wonder how that will affect his holding a bat?

  46. looks like Bard will finish the game. I sure hope it isnt a serious iinjury to Bowen

  47. I’m not crazy about Vinny’s start, but his defense is awesome and I am old school about the value of D…it affects pitchers in ways that don’t show up on a stat sheet.

    Also, we are getting much better production out of him than Washington is getting out of Lawrence or Tampa is getting oout of Burroughs…:)

  48. From the Beavers press release …

    Both Hudgins and Sinisi will report to Mobile.

    Hudgins, 25, was 1-1 with a 6.38 ERA (13er, 18.1ip) in seven games (2 starts) for the Rangers’ Triple-A Oklahoma affiliate. Over parts of four minor league seasons in the Texas organization (2003-06), Hudgins has a career record of 13-15 with two saves and a 4.40 ERA in 60 games (40 starts).

    Sinisi, 25, batted .220 (11-for-50) with four doubles and seven RBIs at Oklahoma after beginning the season at Class AA Frisco, where he batted .309 (21-for-68) with nine RBIs in 18 games. Over parts of four minor league seasons with Texas (2003-06), Sinisi has a career batting average of .295 (239-for-811) with 18 home runs, 37 doubles and 112 RBIs in 177 games.

  49. Rich … you used the words “production” and “Vinny” in the same post … please explain???

  50. Here’s what the Beavers press release says about Brower …

    Additionally, the Padres agreed to terms with right-handed pitcher Jim Brower on a minor league contract.

    Brower, 34, went 0-1 with a 13.86 ERA (19er, 12.1ip) with nine strikeouts in 12 games for the Baltimore Orioles in 2006. Brower, who was designated for assignment by the Orioles on May 3, will report to the Eugene Emeralds of the Class A Northwest League. Over parts of eight major league seasons with the Cleveland Indians (1999-2000), Cincinnati Reds (2001-02), Montreal Expos (2002), San Francisco Giants (2003-05), Atlanta Braves (2005) and Orioles (2006), Brower has a career record of 33-32 with a 4.56 ERA (285er, 563.0ip) in 345 major league games (28 starts).

    … the part about Eugene doesn’t make any obvious sense … the Emeralds don’t start up ’till late June … but perhaps it’s just a place-holder for him until they open a roster spot??? Odd …

    But I’ve always thought Brower to be a non-bum relief pitcher … and you can’t have too many guys like that in your system …