first pitch: 5:05 p.m. PT
television: Channel 4SD
matchup: Clay Hensley (0-2, 9.00 ERA) vs Jason Marquis (0-1, 3.27 ERA)
previews: Padres.com | SI.com
After suffering their first series loss of 2007, the Padres head to Chicago for two with the Cubs. Clay Hensley starts for the Pads in the opener. Pay no attention to his poor numbers to date; assuming he has a plate umpire that knows the strike zone and a defense that can make plays behind him, Hensley will be fine.
The Cubs, meanwhile, have started the season 4-7. Probably not what the Tribune Company had in mind after throwing $300 million at players over the winter and putting the team up for sale, but oh well. Mark DeRosa has more homers than Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, and Alfonso Soriano combined. Yeah, that’s totally bogus, but it’s probably the only chance I’ll ever get to say it, so there you go.
Speaking of power numbers and small samples, have you noticed that the Padres are outhomering the opposition, 12-4, so far? The Padres haven’t done that over a full season since 1998. Again, it’s way early, but this bears watching.
I feel like I should say something else here — something really motivational to pick us up after Sunday night’s debacle. All I can come up with is, “Please don’t send Dwight”; does that qualify?