IGD: Padres vs Athletics (27 Jun 06)
Tue, Jun 27, 2006
by Geoff Young
first pitch: 7:05 p.m., PT
television: Channel 4SD
matchup: Chris Young (6-3, 3.16 ERA) vs Barry Zito (8-3, 3.36 ERA)
previews: Padres.com | SI.com | ESPN
This is where song lyrics might go if I could find any appropriate to tonight’s game. No such luck. You know the drill…
Picking up where last year's version left off, the Ducksnorts 2008 Baseball Annual provides in-depth analysis of and commentary on the San Diego Padres. Get your copy today.
June 27, 2006 at 6:48 pm
Ben Johnson in the lineup tonight. Bochy was saying on the radio that Johnson gets the start despite EY’s strong numbers against Zito.
Also, just saw Woody on the pregame show. He threw 68 pitches last night for the Beavers (and got shelled) but is back with the club and scheduled to start one of the games on Saturday against SF.
June 27, 2006 at 7:08 pm
Hey … I’m sitting @ PDX (ie. Portland Airport) … my journey to the BP Pizza Feed has begun … whadayaknow, I got the wireless LAN to work! Things are getting easier.
Good to see the Dogs getting clobbered by Twins …
Looks like the Mariners think Brandon Webb is pitching for the Padres … that’s more good news …
June 27, 2006 at 7:34 pm
That first inning stunk. Yeah, we scored a run but we had Zito in serious trouble. I hate it when a guy swings at the first pitch with the bases loaded.
June 27, 2006 at 7:41 pm
Best approach I’ve seen from Castilla all year. Down 0-2, works the count full, then punches a pitch on the outer half to right-center for a single.
June 27, 2006 at 7:53 pm
Still looks weird to see Kotsay in an A’s uni.
June 27, 2006 at 7:57 pm
Geoff, although that first inning stunk, it’s better than some of the bases loaded, no outs where we didn’t score a thing back in April.
June 27, 2006 at 8:04 pm
Yeah, Geoff, I know. Piazza should have done that in the first inning.
June 27, 2006 at 8:07 pm
Man, he crushed that pitch. On another note, the Twins have beaten the Dodgers, 9-2.
June 27, 2006 at 8:09 pm
Geoff, can you fill me in on “Pizza Feed?” I see that LM is coming down for it. What is it? I hate to sound like a newcomer, but I am.
June 27, 2006 at 8:15 pm
Wow, Chavez hit that one pretty well. Wrong part of the wrong park.
Yeah, the Pizza Feed is being put on by the folks at Baseball Prospectus and will feature a couple of their writers as well as Sandy Alderson. The details are in this post.
Last year, KT spoke. Very entertaining and informative evening. And I got to hang out with lots of cool folks.
June 27, 2006 at 8:36 pm
Watching Cameron play center tonight makes me think we should not only pick up his option, per the discussion the other day, but sign him to an extension. He gets a great jump on the ball and has the speed in the outfield. Balls that he caught tonight would have been extra bases last year, no offense to the doc. He makes it look pretty effortless, too.
June 27, 2006 at 8:48 pm
Thank you, Mr. Zito. Balk with a guy on third. A-Gon follows with a hit, so the run would’ve scored anyway. Nice to see after Khalil’s DP.
June 27, 2006 at 8:52 pm
Any thoughts on Khalil? His power numbers are still good, BA has tanked, he’s taking more walks this year than last by laying off the slider down and away, but overall, seems to have digressed. Saw him in the dugout the other night and Rettemund was trying to talk to him, but Khalil just turned his back on him and walked away.
June 27, 2006 at 9:37 pm
I’m gonna bring it down for a second and since this news came out today that Peter Gammons went to the hospital with a brain aneurysm. So I’d like to bring it down and say we should all wish him the best because he has been a revolutionary writer and always gathered all of the right information and was and still is a hall of fame quality journalist.
link: http://www.boston.com/sports/b.....s_surgery/
June 27, 2006 at 10:47 pm
somethin about Chris Young’s body and delivery must make the angle of his fastball tough to read. Everyone seems to swing under it, even if the pitch is down. It’s fun to watch.
June 28, 2006 at 4:27 am
Khalil reminds me of Willie Mays Hayes in Major League 2… “I’m a power hitter now!”. If the guy could work on not trying to knock the ball out of the park and just use his natural talent to smack line drives, he’d be a much bigger (and more productive) help to the team… Perhaps with the pressure of having Castilla bat behind him, he feels he has to score runs himself instead of just trying to get on base and let the guys behind him do some hitting… I do see Adrian Gonzalez has been batting behind him lately. Perhaps Merv has spotted something?
June 28, 2006 at 9:27 am
Batting Average is by far the most volatile statistic in baseball. Half a year of hitting .220 isn’t all that unusual for a guy likely to hit around .270 for his career.
We should be celebrating most of Khalil’s development. He’s actually being selective at the plate without batting eighth. He’s crushing mistakes when pitchers make them. I bet he retains almost all of the slugging and most of his plate discipline but hits for a .260-.270 average at least in the second half.
June 28, 2006 at 9:59 am
It’s good to see Khalil being more selective with the pitches. More troubling is what LaMar mentioned in his comment about Rettemund and Greene. I’ll definitely be watching for that development. I remember the same thing was mentioned by Magadan.