IGD: Padres vs Nationals (4 Aug 06)

first pitch: 7:05 p.m., PT
television: Channel 4SD
matchup: Chris Young (9-4, 3.57) vs Ramon Ortiz (7-9, 4.84)
previews: Padres.com | SI.com | ESPN
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Based on one set of splits, I was going to ask whether anyone has ever thought of moving tonight’s starter for the Nationals, Ramon Ortiz, to the bullpen. But instead I’ll use those splits to illustrate the danger of small sample sizes:

Ramon Ortiz: Better Early or Late?
Inn 2006 2005
1-3 .236/.301/.372 .337/.389/.595
4-6 .338/.385/.565 .253/.296/.431

Seriously, what kind of conclusions can you draw from that? Oh wait, I know — Chris Young is 6’10″.

Tunes: Primus, The Chills, Nick Drake, Rush, Radiohead.

75 Responses »

  1. You can see some good Walker glove work (and throw) at mlb.com’s video highlights … http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/multimedia/tp_archive.jsp?c_id=sd … and get a brief look at the Padre’s & Astro’s retro uni’s :-)

  2. wow..todd walker and geoff blum on the left side of the infield….that just excites the hell out of me…

  3. Ok.the Washington Nationals have the worst tv station in the major leagues…When watching their telecasts when we were in Washington it looked like the lights weren’t all on. And now the volume of their channel is so low that I nearly blew out my speakers checking the game on another channel.

  4. the game is at this volume……THE COMMERCIALS ARE THIS FREAKING LOUD THOUGH…

    good god..this is going to kill me tonight..

  5. Hello???? is this thing on??

  6. MarkO – read you loud and clear :-)

    Hey, Giles got a hit!

  7. Pitching details thru 1st …

    Pitches-strikes – R Ortiz 21-10; C Young 16-11.

    Ground balls-fly balls – R Ortiz 1-1; C Young 0-3.

    Batters faced – R Ortiz 5; C Young 4.

  8. Sorry I’m late to the party — modem problems. So, how can the Channel 4 guys possibly say the trade that brought Kearns and Lopez to the Nats will help both clubs when we all know the Reds got fleeced?

  9. Whoa, they just showed the replay of Todd Walker’s diving play yesterday. That was pretty spectacular. And now he gets a hit.

  10. GY – don’t tell me you believe everything that the C4guys say??? Besides, Clayton hit a 2-run HR today and the Reds won!

  11. GY, et al – you can watch that Walker play again (and again) at the link above (#2) …

  12. I know it sounds like i’m stuck…but…watching the Nationals broadcast is like watching a single A team broadcast..

  13. Mark O – you are stuck … unless you fork it out for the mlb.tv package! One advantage of *not* living in the SD area is that we can get all the Padre games on mlb.tv! Not that I do … yet … next year, perhaps!

  14. thru 2 full …

    Pitches-strikes – R Ortiz 39-23; C Young 31-20.

    Ground balls-fly balls – R Ortiz 2-2; C Young 0-6.

    Batters faced – R Ortiz 9; C Young 8.

    … that’s a good number of pitches we’ve gotten outta Ortiz …

  15. Does anyone crowd the plate more than Soriano?

  16. I’m already “forking” out for the extra innings package on directv…

  17. GY – I guess that Lopez HR cancels out the Clayton HR? :-)

  18. Yup, it often seems like you could hit Soriano with a strike!

    Last week vs Giants, I saw him swing at a pitch that bounced in front of the plate … dude’s unique!

  19. Arizona up 4-3 Giants up 1-0 Dodgers already won..

  20. Giles is on fire … 2 hits already! :-)

    BTW, how you do you vote as to the source of Giles’ power drop …

    a – no juice
    b – old man
    c – not healthy

    … me, i go with combo of b & c … but y’all know I’ve got the rose-color’d glasses on … all the time!

  21. ‘stros tie up D-Backs … man, Oswalt is struggling tonight …

  22. Bard with 4 LOBs … bleh …

  23. thru 3 …

    Pitches-strikes – R Ortiz 57-34; C Young 48-33.

    Ground balls-fly balls – R Ortiz 4-3; C Young 1-7.

    Batters faced – R Ortiz 14; C Young 12.

  24. I like choices b and c as well and leading more towards b. Wait..i need to adjust my glasses to see what i’m typing..

  25. Wow, CY’s GB/FB ratio that inning was 1/1 :-)

  26. Have I ever told you my favorite play in baseball? It’s the “blown save” … and KC just had a good one … http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/boxscore?gid=260804107 … back-to-back HR’s to lead off the 9th!

  27. Walker 2-for-2 … wish he’d been hitting in Bard’s spot :-)

  28. As I was trying to say before my connection cut out on me again, I really thought Cameron hit that ball out of the park in the third.

    Re: Giles, I think it’s a combo of b & c, but mostly b.

  29. thru 4 IP …

    Pitches-strikes – R Ortiz 70-44; C Young 61-42.

    Ground balls-fly balls – R Ortiz 4-6; C Young 3-8.

    Batters faced – R Ortiz 18; C Young 15.

  30. Rox tie up Gi’nts … 1-1 in bottom of 5th …

  31. ‘stros now up 5-4 on D-backs!

  32. We know there was Blalock rumors … I wonder if KT considered Mark DeRosa … dude’s on fire … just hit GS, and is a former SS with 3B experience … http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/boxscore?gid=260804103

  33. Rox now up 2-1 on Gi’nts … in top of 6th …

  34. Nice, quick release by Bard to nail Soriano trying to steal third; inning over.

  35. Now the pressure to score runs will be unbearable … 2-1 Nats …

  36. rotoworld.com just posted this …

    Khalil Greene appears to be questionable to start Saturday after spraining his left middle finger during Thursday’s game.

    It’s possible that he won’t be back until Tuesday. Geoff Blum started at shortstop on Friday night.

  37. … and this …

    Ryan Klesko, who’s been on the DL the whole season with a left shoulder injury, will start a rehab assignment with Single-A Lake Elsinore on Tuesday.

    Klesko could be traded once healthy. The Padres have little use for him with Adrian Gonzalez playing so well.

  38. I’m a sucker for come-backs … here’s a good one …

    After getting the start in rigth field, Fernando Tatis hit his first big league homer since the 2003 season when he took Randy Johnson deep on Friday.

  39. … and this …

    Chan Ho Park played catch on Friday after receiving blood transfusions and expects to be ready to come off the DL next week.

    Manager Bruce Bochy said Park will be activated when he’s eligible on Thursday. The Padres will decide closer to the time when he’ll make his next start.

  40. Rox now up 5-1 on Gi’nts …

    C’mon guys, let’s get to Walker’s spot in the lineup this inning!

  41. Terrific at-bat by Giles. Eight pitches, seven change-ups. Hit pitch #7 off the facade of the second deck in right, but foul, before settling for the walk. Vintage.

  42. - D. Roberts walked
    - B. Giles walked, D. Roberts to second

    … rally time!!!

  43. GY – tell me about the Camy AB … sure seems like Ortiz oughta be on the ropes …

  44. Sure like Giles in that #2 spot against righties. Chances of Roberts or Giles getting on and forcing a lot of pitches ahead of the 3-4 spots. Lose a little speed, gain some OBP. Giles is a better hit-and-run guy and multi-run homers are just what the Pads need.

  45. Nice hit by Adrian, with Roberts out by a mile at the plate on a throw by Soriano, who leads all outfielders with 17 assists. Maybe want to rethink that strategy.

  46. yikes…Roberts was out by like 25 feet on that play…

  47. 3rd X a charm for Bard

  48. - A. Gonzalez singled to left, D. Roberts out at home, B. Giles to second

    … ouch :-(

    Now Bard with an op for 2 more LOBs … snap out of it!

  49. LM — I didn’t catch the whole Cameron at-bat, but he struck out on a slider out of the zone.