first pitch: 10:05 a.m. PT
television: Channel 4SD
matchup: David Wells (1-1, 6.23 ERA) vs Sergio Mitre (5-1, 5.35 ERA)
All I want for my birthday is a Padres win. Honestly, is that too much to ask?
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- geoff@ducksnorts.com
- 5663 Balboa Ave., #267
San Diego, CA 92111
147 Comments
Happy Birthday, Geoff! I celebrated my birthday last Sunday at the game. Here’s hoping your celebration ends before the 17th inning!
Happy BDay, Geoff. In honor of your birthday, the Pads have decided that Scotty is too tired to relieve in today’s game. Happy Cinco, to all the Ducksnorters, as well.
I hope we get a win for you GY; if it is any help, I am starting to track the Padres performance after long travel. The SF to Chicago game was brutal, and we were horrible in the first game of that series. That was especially bad because it was an early game and no travel day. In this series we did have a travel day, but it is still not that surprising to see us flat. I would not be surprised for a rebound today.
Road in 2007: 257/330/416/746 (good for 5th in NL)
Road in 2006: 279/346/443/789 (good for 4th in NL)
So my point is that I would be surprised to see us get shut down again. We have a good hitting team masked by Petco.
Go Pads!
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday Geoff!
Geoff,
May your count always be full, may your bases always be loaded, and, even when the pitch has you fooled, may you always get just enough of it to flare that game-winning ducksnort down the right field line.
Happy birthday, GY!
Happy Birthday Geoff
RE: 2 – Have they decided that Blum won’t hit in a high-leverage situation?
H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y C A P T A I N D U C K S N O R T S ! !
Let’s go get a W for the big guy…
happy Bday G.Y.
Happy Birthday Geoff. Thanks for the great forum. It’s your b-day and Jake is on the mound. Good combo for a win.
OK, the rotation is screwed up. Wells on the mound tonight.
Mitre isn’t gonna last long tonight.
Good sac-fly for A-Gon.
I really thought Adrian hit that one out. The way he watched it go I think he did as well.
Did everybody fly to Miami for tonights game?
Adrian absolutely tagged that ball. I mean, that’s gone even in Petco.
Boomer is struggling early, ugh.
Wells isn’t looking sharp so far.
At least we’ve been getting those fat double play balls when we need them. Bell got one in a key spot last nite too.
I’m hoping Khalil can repeat last year’s performance in Florida against Mitre, which consisted of two bombs.
A lot of SD natives in tonights game.
I already bought my T. Gwynn brick.
The offensive differences between the Padres and the Marlins are frighteningly obvious. Somebody has got to start swinging the bat better.
Many Happy Returns, Mr. Young.
Thanks for everything at D-Snorts.
Nice knock by NOG
BROBI!!!!!
Credit the Padres for taking advantage of the wild pitches/past balls by the Marlins. We’ve actually done a pretty god job of getting guys in the past few days. Unfortunately, we’re just not getting enough guys on.
Always good to see Dave Winfield.
Cameron could have caught that!
28: I don’t know how many times I’ve said/thought that this year.
I take nothing he does for granted this year. If he records an out, I’m pleased. I’ve effectively eliminated all expectations for Mike Cameron.
Fantastic double play! Nice pick and throw by Branyan and a great turn by Marcus “Not Josh the Lob” Giles.
29: Same here. Seems like there is a lack of enthusiam on his part. Then again, he’ll turn around and suprise you. I’m really not sure what to think.
Russel the Muscle (good thing none of us are homophobic, worst nickname ever) is flashing the leather (good grief, this sounds even worse right after the nickname) tonite.
Glad to see him playing so ably at third. I wouldn’t be too sad if we ran with Russel for some time while Kouz finds his swing.
OK, with Wells on the mound instead of Jake, what does that do for the rotation? Who is scheduled for tommorow?
Happy B-Day Geoff…thanks for this site…always nice to have Padres Baseball discussion readily available.
Just got a chance to sit and watch…hoping to see some nice baseball for the next hour or so…
Nice catch NOG!
Do these guys not realize that they are in a close-up on T.V. as they spit tobacco & sunflower shells? WTF?
LA is up 2-1 in the 4th against the Braves.
Would it have been a dick move to throw out that guy at home? They probably could have gotten him.
An article at Yahoo had this to say today …
Right-hander Brian Lawrence is available again after being designated for assignment by the Colorado Rockies. The Detroit Tigers, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners and Mets have shown early interest. Lawrence, who had shoulder surgery more than a year ago, hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2005.
… I don’t get it … if the Rox don’t want him, why would we? Eh, I guess that’s not good logic … I just can’t believe he’ll ever be a replacement-level player (or better) again … he was barely that before he got hurt …
Thank God he made that play. Considering the relative anemia of our offense, we can’t afford to be down in this game.
29: See what I mean?
38 … huh?
After 4 full …
Pitches-strikes – D Wells 69-42; S Mitre 65-41.
Ground balls-fly balls – D Wells 7-4; S Mitre 4-5.
Batters faced – D Wells 17; S Mitre 15.
I’ll match that $100 if Boomer steals second!
I’ll match that 100 if Boomer steals second!
Man, we just can’t get anything going at the plate lately. It seems like they get a hit every innning, and we’ve only had two all game.
Sinkerballers own us
Can Mitre run?
Checking in to say Happy Birthday to Geoff…
…as to throwing out the injured runner… If I’m out in left, I’ve probably made the decision of where to throw the ball long before he pulls up.
A quick turn and throw by Khalil might have got him, but couldn’t tell from the replay. As to the ethics of it? I would have thrown him out if I could have… just the way I think.
48: Agreed. Even Bard (on the replay) didn’t really seem to anticipate a throw. Must be one of those things where they just assume the guy scores on a ball hit that well.
Thru 5 …
Pitches-strikes – D Wells 88-53; S Mitre 76-47.
Ground balls-fly balls – D Wells 8-6; S Mitre 5-7.
Batters faced – D Wells 22; S Mitre 19.
Ouch…
Good news from Portland: Vince Sinisi with a pair of HRs (#4+5).
Bad news: Stauffer is lookin’ “done” … ERA = 11.57 …
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_05_05_cspaaa_poraaa_1
Time for Russel to show some of that muscle … ducks on the pond … let’s snort ‘em!
Bud Black should be fired on the spot.
53: We can’t have that. We must let Blum do the hitting.
did he just puu branyan for blum?!?!?!
*pull
Jeezus. That was brilliant.
Towers is going to have to give Blum the EY/Castilla treatment.
Having Blum hit is unforgivable. It’s so obviously stupid. Every casual Padres fan could tell you that Blum is the worst hitter on the team, and is even worse when hitting left-handed.
Nobody makes me yell at the TV like Blummer…at least he is good for something.
WhT a waste of a frigg’n bench spot.
59: He was hitting righty, but the point is still good. I’d rather have Maddux or Peavy up there.
Good to see Marlins fans are into the game. They’ve got the wave going, despite having the tying and winning runs on base in the seventh inning.
Oops, sorry. That was actually my point, that he’s even worse right-handed.
It’s weird that the last 2 years Blum has had stretches of being good. Not great for more than a month, but pretty good for a stretch. You look at him now and wonder if he’s swung a bat before.
nice job, rook, nice job
Cameron was safe!
I am too shocked and amazed (and bummed and blummed) to say anything more … this is just tragic …
dammit cammy, that was stupid
Great call, blue. My pet peeve – phantom tags.
Caught stealing 3rd with 2 outs? There better be an explanation for that.
Horrible call….the glove went up to catch the bounce and by the time he brought it back down Cameron was on the bag…
BTW…I have zero problem with taking that chance with the way we’ve been scoring…worth the risk.
68: Did Cruz go on the pitch too? The Marlins announcers made it sound like he did, which would mean (I would think) most likely it was a sign from the coach.
Cameron was so safe, that he knew it and was calling for time with his other hand, so to get up and dust himself off, but the umpire called him out instead. Wasn’t even close.
72: The problem is Cameron increases his chances of scoring by very little by taking that risk, and he’s the run that matters most. At second, he still scores on almost all singles.
What????? Blum stays in? Instead of leaving Kouz in? Kouz has been better defensively… and remind me, who drove in a run and who popped up a bunt? The two spots in batting order don’t matter nearly as much when we will already be rotating the bullpen…
75: Agree. With 1 out you increase your chances of scoring. With 2, why bother?
Ben… with almost every batted ball, that’s true. But we’ve not been hitting that well. I like the chance on the double steal with that speed on the bases… wild pitch, passed ball, etc. Plus the effect a runner on third can have on a pitcher.
Like I said, I have zero problems with taking that chance.
75, 77: It was all about the double steal. You have your fastest guy stealing third with a right hander at bat. It was a reasonable risk to grab two runs with one of your hottest hitters at the plate in NOG.
This is not good.
I’m going to presume that Cla’s just blummed out …
The Padres knew that was coming…
Huge pet peeve of mine: when announcers act like the pitcher is getting knocked around when nothing has been hit hard. Like the way the Marlins’ guys are going crazy over two lucky ground balls and an off the end of the bat single.
Linebrink rub off on Meredith?
84: While Cla’ didn’t help himself with the walk to Uggla, everything else was just luck. Except for the Pads once again looking clueless with the squeeze.
Should have been a great inning by Meredith there. He made one mistake: walking Uggla. Other than that it was all bad luck (and a good job hitting by Willingham).
alright, I’m off… maybe we can pull off the unlikely.
Padres have now scored thanks to a WP, PB, and error, and a fielder’s indifference.
Just realized K. Cameron throws from the windup with no runners on. That’s a bit weird for a reliever.
wow, a stolen base vs the Padres, whoulda thunk it
There’s another base stolen off the pitcher.
Owens no longer up…what’s up?
Well here comes Owens; maybe the Marlins just assumed Miguel Cabrera would hit a three run homer.
Nice salvage job by Cameron there
Here we go, Blum for the GIDP…
94: Ditto for Cameron’s at bat.
Well, at least he only made one out
Blum has a 10% chance of getting a hit here … really!
Nice hustle! Now we have an inning…all due to Blum really stepping up and only creating one out
Can Blum PH here? … man, I’m gettin’ in a *nasty* mood … apologies …
100 – I’m sure Bud is furiously thumbing through his rule book right now on that one
All right!!! Give Blum a high five in the dugout – his popup made this happen! (oh, and a lucky bloop and some great hustle, first by Cammy and then Crudge)
What an absolutely incredibly bizarre way to score 6 runs in game. But I will take it.
Re 103: Fill those of us in still waiting for Gameday to update….
I’m still sitting on “In play, run(s)”….
Is there a way we can get the Marlins in the Western division?
103 … somehow 2 of the runs are actually being scored as “earned” …
Robles blooped to short CF, it fell in, followed by some keystone cops action between the CF and 2B, meanwhile Crudge heads to third, the throw gets away from the 3B and Crudge hops up and hustles in to tie it up.
Well, the (N)OG brothers didn’t come through, so sit tight, we could be here awhile.
104 … yahoo hung also … go to http://baseballdirect.com/scoreboard/index.html to see what happened …
Thanks Clayton…
Robles hits a dinky bloop over second base. Uggla offers a futile chase, ultimately diving, but he’s not really close to catching it. Cameron trots in from third, Cruz reads it perfectly and advances to third on the play. The center fielder fires to third to try and get Cruz, but it takes a funny hop past Cabrera. Cruz pops up and sprints for home, Cabrera gives chase to the ball going by him, reaches it, but misses picking it up cleanly on the first try, so there’s no play at the plate. Cruz completes the bizarre play with a really awkward head first slide into home.
And as Clayton said, all made possible by Blum’s clutch refusal to ground into a double play.
110 – Thanks Ben. I guess my wish for Geoff’s birthday present didn’t come through, but at least he didn’t GIDP.
OK, rally caps for the 10th.
110 – Blum’s the man. I had already chalked up 2 outs in my unofficial scorebook.
OT – X with a HR for the Bucs today …
Tell me again why Bud hasn’t sub’d out Adrian yet?
Wait – it’s the 9th inning, and…Liney’s out there? Does not compute. Error, error, error
That was close.
114: Because Blum’s already in the game at third.
116 – too close. For a moment, I though Linebrink blew 2 games in 2 days
Bowen is the only hitter left on our bench. If this goes long enough, we could see Jake and Maddux hitting for us.
Dammit Bard, hit that to LF, not CF!!
How did Branyan get back on the roster? Are we back to 11 pitchers?
121 … or was that LaForest that went down? Ya, I guess that’s what happened, right?
122 – yes, he cleared waivers
How many extra-innnings in a row have we gone without scoring a run? Has to be like 15 in a row or something.
Nice IP by Bell … looks like he’s good for 1 more … let’s get him a W!
125 – calm down, I’m sure Bud can double switch and get Blum on the hill
126: He doesn’t even need to double switch! He could just bring him in to pitch now! Bell and his strong arm could probably play a serviceable third base.
Allright, Geoff. Visualize the 14th. It’s the 14th inning. Just focus on that fact, and I’m sure you can bloop one in or something.
Ben you’re a genius! Get the visitor’s dugout on line 1…
I like having Blum up there with no one in a force-out position
Geoff Blum again clutchly avoids making two outs!
No Bud! Don’t get Hampson up…go with Taco Bell for one more inning!
No Bud! No need for Hampson … bring in Blum!
I’d much rather see someone higher up on the bullpen totem pole here pitching to 3 of the Marlin’s 4 best hitters. Like, now would be a good inning for Hoffman to pitch.
134: Oops, jk. Great job by Hampson.
Way to go Josh!
What are the chances?
137: About 85% (if you’re referring to the chances of Geoff Blum making an out in any given plate appearance).
I was refering to Trevor getting us out of this game.
Ah, ok. The odds are about the same, perhaps better by about 3-4%.
This guy is dangerous.
Padres WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hoffman looked great in that outing. Pinpoint control (except for leaving the slider a little bit up to Olivo), an awesome change, and even a decent little slider.
A nice little change to win a game we totally didn’t deserve.
And Blum needs to be DFA.
I know .200 is the Mendoza Line, but is there a name for .100? How about the Blum line?
I had to leave halfway through the game, but followed the rest on my phone and the radio.
Even though the Pads weren’t hitting the cover off the ball, they took advantage of every single opportunity presented to them. Great to see us having some productive at-bats.
On that note, we had some great at-bats al nite. Plenty of guys took counts deep. Even though it was useless, Khalil burning seven pitches before getting plunked was great to see.
A lot of our guys played well enough to win today, as they took advantage of the rookie mistakes.
I didn’t see the Cameron slide, but he was clearly safe? I’m not sure how I feel about taking third with two down, especially since Cameron is one of our quicker guys and could score from third. On the flipside, how many past balls/wild pitches did we see from the Marlins tonite?
I hate Geoff Blum.
I’ll take it. My guess with Blum is that Black is using Blum the way he ought to, assuming the guy could hit (even high 600s/ low 700s) and was a true switch hitter. He can play OK D, and, historically, hit OK. He was our best PH last year. So, Black is assuming Blum is just going through a slump. But, at some point, you have to relinquish PT to a slumping player. We have passed that point.