first pitch: 7:15 p.m. PT
television: Channel 4SD
matchup: Clay Hensley (11-12, 3.71 ERA) vs Matt Morris (10-15, 4.98 ERA)
previews: Padres.com | SI.com
Sweep? Sure, that’d be nice.
. . .
Marcus Giles has swung at 58% of the pitches he’s seen over the Padres’ first two games this year. It’s a small sample, but for his career, he’s at 49%. He draws his share of walks, but that’s an extremely aggressive approach for a leadoff batter. Nineteen players registered 500 or more plate appearances in the #1 spot last year. The only guy who hacked at a higher percentage of pitches seen than Giles also knocked 46 home runs:
| Name | SwgA% | P/PA | OBP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alfonso Soriano | 50 | 3.90 | .351 |
| Marcus Giles | 48 | 3.88 | .341 |
| Jose Reyes | 48 | 3.61 | .354 |
| Randy Winn | 48 | 3.49 | .324 |
| Brian Roberts | 46 | 3.84 | .347 |
| Juan Pierre | 46 | 3.48 | .330 |
| Ichiro Suzuki | 44 | 3.73 | .370 |
| Gary Matthews Jr. | 44 | 3.71 | .371 |
| Curtis Granderson | 43 | 4.08 | .335 |
| Grady Sizemore | 43 | 4.01 | .375 |
| Hanley Ramirez | 43 | 4.00 | .353 |
| David Eckstein | 43 | 3.75 | .350 |
| Johnny Damon | 42 | 4.09 | .359 |
| Chone Figgins | 42 | 3.88 | .336 |
| Rafael Furcal | 41 | 3.84 | .369 |
| Jimmy Rollins | 41 | 3.70 | .334 |
| Dave Roberts | 40 | 3.95 | .360 |
| David DeJesus | 40 | 3.67 | .364 |
| Scott Podsednik | 38 | 4.08 | .330 | Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com |
If it works for Giles, then who am I to argue? Still, this is a fascinating approach to batting leadoff and something that bears watching throughout the season.
Piazza gets on the board for the A’s … http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/boxscore?gid=270405103 … clutch!
90 … you called it Rich … right on!
“You still have to remember it’s early in the season,” Greene said. “There are some things you need to get used to — one of those being the range of the guy over there and what he does on certain plays. Typically when I go back like that, I don’t factor in the third baseman. Looking back on it, I wish I would have called it.”
Hombre just doesn’t get it done for me. He’s not plain Man, he’s The Man! El Hombre!
This series had some of the worst umpiring I have ever seen. It’s really a disgrace.
Re: 152
Awful rationalization by Khalil. That is something that should be worked out by ST, not “early” in the season. Also, as others have pointed out, Khalil has done a generally crummy job acting as a general in charge of the 3B and LF on pop flys. It is on him to take charge and be more vocal on calling plays. He should start by loudly calling every pop up he is going to catch – practicing the right tactics can only help him in close situations.