Padres Beat Cain, Giants
Tue, Apr 10, 2007
by Geoff Young
Do you notice any themes emerging early in the season? Here’s one: Keep the game close and then let the bullpen take care of things. It happened again Monday night (recap | box score).
San Francisco’s Matt Cain took a no-hitter into the seventh. That inning, Khalil Greene smashed a double down the left field line. After falling behind in the count, 0-2, Russell Branyan drew a walk. Jose Cruz Jr. followed with a sacrifice. Geoff Blum, batting for Chris Young, then lofted a fly ball into foul territory along the right field line that Randy Winn caught, allowing Greene to score the game’s only run.
Big thanks to Matt Vasgersian and the entire Channel 4SD team for mentioning Ducksnorts on air Monday night. To those of you just joining the conversation, welcome to our humble abode!
Feel free to peruse the site and, after reading our comments policy (basically don’t be an ass), jump on in and let us know what’s on your mind.
If you’re looking for the book Matt mentioned, the Ducksnorts 2007 Baseball Annual, you can buy it here. You can also read some reviews and an excerpt from one of the chapters over at Hardball Times.
Also, friend of Ducksnorts Joe Aiello is giving away a copy of the book over at his podcast. We talk at great length about the book — why I wrote it, what went into making it happen, and more. Give it a listen and then enter the contest for a chance to win a free copy.
Finally, there are a couple other Padres blogs out there that you need to know about and visit: Rich does fantastic work at San Diego Spotlight, as do Dex, jbox, and the crew over at Gaslamp Ball. Be sure to stop by and say hey.
That about covers it. If you have any questions, drop me a line. Thanks again for visiting, and I hope to “see” you here again!
Young, meanwhile, held the Giants in check for 7 innings before yielding to a still-perfect bullpen. As Rich Campbell notes at San Diego Spotlight, Young could have been more efficient. That said, he couldn’t have been much more effective. (The Padres apparently saw something they liked — word is they’ll announce a 4-year extension with the right-hander today.)
In the eighth, with a lead, Cla Meredith set the Giants down in order. The highlight of the inning came on a ridiculous sequence to Barry Bonds that ended in The Man Who Would Be King chasing a sinker in the dirt.
When Bonds came to bat, I remembered the last time the two battled: Last Wednesday, in relief of Young at PhoneCo, Meredith fanned Bonds in the seventh inning of a 3-3 tie. Then I thought back to last year, when Meredith made Albert Pujols look terrible. And I remembered what Pujols did to Meredith the next time they faced each other.
Did I have concerns Monday night when Bonds came to bat? Look, I have concerns any time Bonds comes to bat representing the tying run. Let’s just say that knowing what had happened in their previous matchup and knowing the type of hitter Bonds is didn’t allay those concerns in the least. Whatever help Bonds may have had along the way, the guy can flat hit and that means making adjustments. So when you ask me if I have concerns about Bonds, you might as well be asking me about my opinion of Dave Kingman’s performance.
Silly me. Meredith proceeds to attack Bonds like few pitchers will, and sends him back to the dugout on three pitches. Say what you will about Bonds, that just doesn’t happen. Incidentally, did you happen to catch what Meredith said the other day? Dig this:
What I try to do is try to minimize the damage against left-handers. I know I’m not as good against left-handers, so I’m going to have to pitch them a little harder and a little different.
Uh, yeah. Keep doing what you’re doing.
Trevor Hoffman nailed down the save in the ninth. After a two-out double to center off the bat of Bengie Molina, Hoffman got Pedro “Don’t Call Me Vinny” Feliz to chase a pitch in the dirt (shock!) to end the game.
Sweet. Let’s keep it going on Tuesday…
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The Ducksnorts 2009 Baseball Annual provides the most comprehensive analysis of and commentary on the San Diego Padres available anywhere... featuring a foreword by Padres Executive Vice President Paul DePodesta.
April 10, 2007 at 8:38 am
Will Venable makes Chris Constancio’s list of prospects to watch over at THT
http://www.hardballtimes.com/m.....h-in-2007/
April 10, 2007 at 8:41 am
Okay, I got another idea for a poll question…
How many Padres T-shirts/Jackets do you have to own and wear before you’ve officially gone overboard?
A) 3
B) 4
C) 5
D) 6 or more
I’m about to place an order and get two more t-shirts that I definitely will wear in the rotation constantly. But that’s a bit much, eh? Like half the clothes I wear is Padres themed. I’m getting kinda concerned for myself is all.
April 10, 2007 at 9:18 am
2
Since I am in the “D” category, my answer is “E” none of the above.
I would only be going overboard if I wore my circa 1996 Blue/orange/white windbreaker. It looked good at the time . . . now, not so much.
On the other hand, I still have it so maybe I’ll throw it on this weekend.
April 10, 2007 at 9:21 am
Steve…I own exactly 1 T-Shirt that is not Padres themed…I even wore Padres gear to Comerica Park on opening day…Only a few Tigers Fans said anything.
I will tell you that as I travel around the country (for work), I usually work out in or at least go running in Padres gear. I get a lot of feedback from sports fans, but mostly from people that say things like “Do you live there?”, using their raised eyebrow’s and increasing pitch in their voice, showing their amazement. It is like they want to touch someone from there. I am like a traveling side show freak.
April 10, 2007 at 10:21 am
I just ran into a guy in the hallway of our office building. He works for the paper shredding company so he was dressed casually in a Rangers sweatshirt with a Padres cap. I held a door for him and asked him if he was a big Pads fan too. He told me he loves both teams because when the Rangers traded Chris Young he decided he would just follow him on over.
So thank you to Chris for adding to our ranks!
April 10, 2007 at 10:21 am
My Padres gear is complemented by my Chargers gear, and since I haven’t lived in SD since 1984, I do get a lot of commentary. Combined between the two we’re talking much larger quantities than you’ve listed as choices. Of course, I’m married, so I have less concerns day to day about how silly or not I look.
April 10, 2007 at 10:36 am
Bases loaded in the first and nothing!!! Oye. But a win is a win. I used ot have a mowdown motown shirt and a 98 NL champs shirt with a picture of each player. Most are out of baseball, dead, or playing for the rockies. There is that trevor dude, though. He’s haning round.
So I guess Cruz is the left fielder now? Ok by me, love the socks.
April 10, 2007 at 10:37 am
Morning, all! KT and C-Y’s press conference currently online at padres.com
April 10, 2007 at 10:43 am
Geoff, good to see you get that mention on 4SD. You do great work and as many people as possible should see it.
I also liked the interview you did with Joe. We’ve had you on before and know how prepared you are, and this interview also didn’t disappoint.
Now we need to give away a copy of your book on our show, too!
Keep up the great work, and we’ll keep reading.
April 10, 2007 at 10:43 am
I own exactly one piece of Padres apparel: The alternate jersey from the mid-late ’90s with a “Finley” and “12″ emblazoned on the back. Cost we something like $150 but still cherished. Still my favorite of the last 10 years of Padres colors. Fun to wear to D’backs games (and later Dodgers, Giants and Rox).
April 10, 2007 at 12:26 pm
Off the apparel topic and in the “incredibly too early to even talk about” category, but the Padres have made it to the World Series every year they have made the playoffs and not faced the St Louis Cardinals (1984, 1998 = no STL and WS; 1996, 2005, 2006 = first round STL losses).
The NL West is way too tight to get comfortable about the Padres chances, but if Carpenter goes down, STL is done. Will Carroll reports that they are shooting his elbow with some lubricants, which could keep him going, which I do hope works. But if not, STL is done, paving the way for SD.
April 10, 2007 at 1:17 pm
Hey everyone, I’ve started a Padres blog at Friarwatch.com. Rather than duplicate what Geoff and the other great Padre bloggers are doing I’m focusing exclusively on the Padres pitching staff. Comments and suggestions are welcome.
Huge props to Jose “can you see” Cruz Jr. for the stirrups, I hope he wears them all season.
April 10, 2007 at 1:17 pm
NC Times has the numbers on Chris Young’s contract. Not too shabby.
http://www.nctimes.com/article.....4_9_07.txt
April 10, 2007 at 1:25 pm
Do the long-time Ducksnorters posters get to cop a cool kid, dressed in black, smoking cigarettes in the john attitude towards all the newbies? ‘Cause I’ve been waiting 38 years to be in the in-crowd.
April 10, 2007 at 1:33 pm
Bases loaded in the first and nothing!!! Oye. Shades of last year. But a win is a win. I used to have a mowdown motown shirt and a 98 NL champs shirt with a picture of each player. Most are out of baseball, dead, or playing for the rockies. There is that trevor dude, though. He’s haning round.
So I guess Cruz is the left fielder now? Ok by me, gotta be da socks.
CY gets a paid day. I like when the reporter says, poor guy is only getting 600 gs a year. Gosh, how can he live off that. Then Coleman says in the 50s every player had to work in the offseason. And a cheap seat costs $18.
April 10, 2007 at 2:01 pm
I believe Crudge may be our most productive player so far this year. If Buddy Black can keep picking the right half to play, this LF thing might turn out to be a strength.
We need a bust-out game, get the bats hot, win by a comfy margin, etc. You can feel it coming (at least I can), and I’m hoping it happens at home for long-term psychological reasons.
April 10, 2007 at 2:24 pm
Congrats to CY on the new contract. Whew! With all these money being thrown around, I sure hope the fans are noticing that the club is spending money…wisely. Not just spending stupid money at FAs.
Good job, KT.
16: I think the LF platoon thing is going to work out just fine. Love the high socks. Shakespeare is creating a trend, I hope.
15: The difference so far, is that I don’t get anxious that the Padres are going to lose games when there is no score late into the innings. Last year, I got older by a few hours everytime the team failed to score early or with RISP with fewer than 2 outs. Perhaps, the season is new yet. Sure, it’s nice to have those close wins but a few more blow out wins like the first game will be welcome.
April 10, 2007 at 2:25 pm
Oh, and Free P-Mac!
April 10, 2007 at 3:07 pm
#9: Thanks, Brian; much appreciated.
#12: Anthony, that’s awesome. I’ve been wanting to mess around with the XML data ever since I found out about it, but I don’t know when I’ll have the time. Good stuff!
Also, we have “With Crudge and Kouz, We Can’t Lose!” apparel at the store:
http://www.cafepress.com/ducksnorts/2821064
April 10, 2007 at 3:21 pm
I apparently upset the Giants fans last night as they’ve been entering my e-mail address into subscription stuff so that they’ll send me spam. Lovely people, those Giants fans.
April 10, 2007 at 4:10 pm
20: Dude, that blog is freaking HILARIOUS. Check out a post their main guy made…
“This is an open thread for suggestions on how the Giants can stop losing. I’ll start:
The Giants pitching allowed two hits yesterday. That’s unacceptable, and we have to figure out a way to get pitchers who don’t allow hits at all. Hey, pitchers: Do or do not, there is no try. Seriously. If the starting pitching is just going to go out there and give up a hit — which is exactly what they’re not supposed to do — why even bother?”
I mean, I’m actually starting to have respect for those guys now. Whatever years from now when our team starts to blow goats I hope we can keep the same sense of humor. Good times.
April 10, 2007 at 4:17 pm
And now, my favorite of their responses to the main guy asking how to stop losing…
“Schedule a series in Cleveland NOW. You can’t lose when there’s a foot of snow on the field!”
“Listen, remember when PacBell Park opened all those years ago and the Giants had that unbelievable homefield advantage? The answer is simple. We need a new park, and we need it built by Friday!”
“Matt Cain needs to start everyday. If he gets worn down, then tell him to shut the hell up and pitch some more.”
“They need more cowbell!!!”
April 10, 2007 at 4:20 pm
18- Amen! What was Blum doing up there instead of McAnulty? The glory should have been his!
April 10, 2007 at 4:25 pm
21: Grant’s awesome. So is the guy at True Blue LA, actually.
April 10, 2007 at 6:16 pm
19 - Geoff, you da man! I like a blogger who is responsive to the sartorial needs of his readers. I need a Crudge & Kouz t-shirt like Sanjaya needs better vocals!