first pitch: 7:05 p.m. PT
television: Channel 4SD
matchup: Jake Peavy (4-1, 1.75 ERA) vs Kip Wells (1-6, 6.59 ERA)
previews: Padres.com | SI.com
After a poor showing in Atlanta, the Padres return home for a three-game series against the Cardinals. Jake Peavy gets the start Friday night, which is great news for a San Diego bullpen that has thrown more innings so far this season than any other in the National League except for that of the Marlins.
It’s nice that the Padres can depend on the bullpen — San Diego’s relievers rank first in the NL in WHIP (0.99) and OPS (537), and second to the Mets in ERA (2.53). That said, I’m a little concerned that they’re being asked to work so hard in the early going. Guys aren’t getting called on quite as often as last year, but they’re staying out there longer:
| Year | G | App | IP | App/G | IP/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stats courtesy of ESPN. | |||||
| 2005 | 158 | 456 | 518.2 | 2.89 | 3.29 |
| 2006 | 158 | 475 | 492.2 | 3.01 | 3.12 |
| 2007 | 35 | 100 | 124.1 | 2.86 | 3.55 |
Granted, the Padres already have played four extra-inning affairs, including one that went 17 and another that went 14, but the starters need to work a little deeper into games. Fortunately, Peavy has been the one pitcher that consistently gives the bullpen a break:
| Date | Opp | App | Pit | IP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference. | ||||
| 4/3/07 | @SF | 2 | 44 | 3.0 |
| 4/8/07 | Col | 3 | 33 | 3.0 |
| 4/14/07 | @LA | 2 | 37 | 2.0 |
| 4/19/07 | Ari | 4 | 49 | 3.7 |
| 4/25/07 | @Ari | 2 | 35 | 1.7 |
| 4/30/07 | Was | 2 | 32 | 2.0 |
| 5/6/07 | @Fla | 2 | 27 | 2.0 |
For the record, Padres relievers have combined to throw 100+ pitches in a game five times this season. I have no idea how that compares to last season or to other teams, but it’s worth noting. Here are those five games:
| Pitcher | Date | Opp | App | Pit | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference. | |||||||||||
| Wells | 4/29/07 | LA | 5 | 172 | 12.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 17 inn |
| Maddux | 4/17/07 | @ChN | 5 | 127 | 9.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 14 inn |
| Wells | 5/5/07 | @Fla | 7 | 115 | 6.7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 12 inn |
| Hensley | 5/2/07 | Was | 5 | 106 | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | inj |
| Wells | 4/13/07 | @LA | 3 | 101 | 5.7 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 3 | |
What the heck, as long as I’m throwing tables out there, here’s another. This one shows how hard and how effectively the bullpen has worked for each starter:
| Pitcher | GS | App/GS | Pit/GS | IP/GS | H/9 | HR/9 | BB/9 | SO/9 | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference. App/GS is the number of relievers used per start; Pit/GS is the number of pitches thrown by relievers per start; IP/GS is the number of innings worked by relievers per start; you know the rest. | |||||||||
| Maddux | 7 | 2.43 | 42.71 | 3.33 | 5.01 | 0.77 | 1.93 | 6.94 | 1.54 |
| Peavy | 7 | 2.43 | 36.71 | 2.48 | 7.79 | 1.04 | 0.52 | 6.23 | 2.60 |
| Wells | 7 | 4.14 | 88.29 | 5.43 | 5.21 | 0.00 | 4.97 | 5.92 | 2.37 |
| Young | 7 | 2.14 | 36.86 | 2.90 | 4.87 | 0.44 | 1.77 | 6.20 | 2.21 |
| Hensley | 6 | 3.17 | 62.00 | 3.94 | 7.61 | 0.38 | 2.66 | 7.99 | 3.42 |
Aside from the fact that I should stay away from spreadsheets on a Friday, I’m not sure what we can learn from this just yet. Something to keep watching, I suppose…
179 Comments
Terrible outing in Atlanta this week. However, I was very impressed with Germano.
Is the whole blog at the game tonight?
I’m not
Me neither … but then again, being in Oregon, it’s not really an option …
I’m dissapointed that the first night back in HiDef we have to look at those awfull uniforms. I hate ‘Retro Night.’
Man, those unis look like something from the 1930s
Down on the farm … San Antonio is getting a good outing from Josh Geer … http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_05_11_sanaax_mroaax_1
Cedric (The Great) with a coupla hits tonight for Ft Wayne … one of the XBH variety … http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2007_05_11_kccafx_ftwafx_1&t=g_box&did=milb
Anybody know how tall Chris Duncan is?
believe it or not, I’m actually a bit disappointed that Kouz didn’t get the start tonight. he swung well yesterday and I’d love to see him build some momentum…
Man, those unis are so gloriously awful. I love ‘em.
That was soooo un-Adrian.
12: My thoughts exactly, but NOG picked him up nicely.
Greene needs to take his time and get set on those. He didn’t have to rush it quite so much. It looked like Pujols was slowing up before AG even dropped the ball.
I’m just glad we haven’t been subjected to seeing Mark Grant in an afro wig yet.
9: per cardinals website, he’s 6′5″, 210lbs. in my opinion, he must have had a growth spurt since that measurement because he looked ginormous at the plate the last at bat…
wow – have to love the cards being subjected to the elastic-band-waist pants. those are like the pants I was issued in JV or something….
16: He looked like Paul Bunyan swinging an axe!
Yikes, just tuned in; break out the shades.
I cannot say enough how much I deplore Bud Black putting Mike Cameron in the 3-hole. Sure, because I say that it will probably work out today, but I just cant fathom why you put a low avg, high strikeout guy in the 3-hole ….
19: Geoff, the HDTV just intesifies this. I may have to switch to regular broadcast.
19: No kidding, eh?
Even the batting helmets are teh suck.
These may be the worst uniforms of all time
14 … thanks for the “series preview”, Anthony … did Jake do the double-pump? … come out with the RJ perm-fro?
20: Don’t be too positive.
Thru 1 …
Pitches-strikes – K Wells 16-10; J Peavy 16-11.
Ground balls-fly balls – K Wells 1-0; J Peavy 1-1.
Batters faced – K Wells 3; J Peavy 4.
No double pump. I think he saves that for the real old time games, like Negro League night
John Deere should have bought ads for this telecast.
These unis look like pajamas. On another note, is it me or does Jake have nice movement on the fastball tonight?
29: Not just you, that thing is ‘dancing.’
Nice shot by A-Gon
Branyan is strong
Need a homer in Petco? Hit it down the line. Nice…
And Branyan goes long ball!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Russel the Muscle!
disregard #10. I was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay wrong.
36: I like it when you are wrong. It usually goes opposite. Who do you like in the next Super Bowl?
#36: Branyan is now 11-for-27 with 5 homers in his career against Wells.
C’mon Jake!
C’mon, let Jake hit!
OOh, look at Jake try to deke.
Good time for a NOG double.
Horrible check swing call.
37: I am right thus far about Cameron in the 3-hole…. I’d like to be wrong on that too. As for the superbowl, I cannot answer that because it might doom our favorite team (I’m a bigger Charger fan than anything else)……..
never a good thing when Peavy gets on base…
I’d take an OG walk here.
and Brian Giles is just as useless as ever.
seriously, OG’s .300 bavg belies the fact that he really seems unable to provide a big power hit in clutch situations.
on a lighter note, these uni’s even make OG look pale… .
When did they wear these?
I can’t stop thinking about bananas.
I hate bananas.
1972
Bananas in pajamas
Thru 2 …
Pitches-strikes – K Wells 49-25; J Peavy 35-24.
Ground balls-fly balls – K Wells 2-1; J Peavy 1-1.
Batters faced – K Wells 11; J Peavy 8.
Brilliant sequence to Pujols. This recent stretch is as good as I’ve seen Jake.
What was our nickname for Pujols last year? Was it: Prince Albert the Pompous?? I can’t remember.
Nice outing so far @ AAA Portland by Jack Cassel … http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_05_11_poraaa_albaaa_1 … don’t know much about Cassel … which makes me think he’s not a “prospect” … but with a 3.19 ERA over 36 IP he perhaps could be someone that could provide a spot start if more injuries come our way …
53 … I think he’s good enough to (seem to) be as pompous as he wants …
Khalil was all over that. Good to see…
I can’t believe they were showing reruns when KG hit that HR.
#55: Unfortunately you are correct.
The Lake Elsinore version of Murderer’s Row did their thang tonight … http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2007_05_09_lesafa_rcqafa_1&t=g_box&did=milb … 2 XBH’s and 4 RsBI for Blanks … kinda interesting that they didn’t draw any walks in the game …
57: It took me a couple seconds to realize that they were wearing tonite’s jersey as that ball flew over the wall, and that it wasn’t a rerun.
Thru 3 …
Pitches-strikes – K Wells 64-35; J Peavy 53-34.
Ground balls-fly balls – K Wells 2-2; J Peavy 1-2.
Batters faced – K Wells 16; J Peavy 12.
Dogs jump out to a 2-0 lead after 1st … but it coulda been worse as they left the bases loaded …
Sledge hit that one a long way, wrong part of the park.
54 … 3 hits for Stansberry tonight … including his 2nd HR of the season …
I keep saying Jake can hit. I wish they wouldn’t automatically put him in a first pitch bunt.
Clay with the Rollie Fingers ’stache!
Jake with a knock?
the downside of Peavy being so dominant on the mound is simply that he’s thrown 64 pitches through 4 innings (16/inning). At this rate, he’ll be lucky to get through the 7th…
67: Broken bat knock up the Tony G. 5.5 hole.
68: He’s good for 115-120.
65: They had a little faith in him in the second when they took off the bunt sign and let him hit.
66: Did noone else see Hensley’s moustache? That thing is badass!
Finally OG!
#72: Yeah, that was a sweet ’stache. I liked the Cameron ‘fro on the scoreboard, too.
Way to go KK!!!!
66/72 I saw it too, good to know Im not crazy
Giles and Cameron with hits with men on, holy crap!
Way to go CAMI!!!!
76: I mean seriously, that thing was the coolest thing all day!
75: Sorry, got excited.
Even Cameron comes through when Marsh criticizes him. C’mon, Marsh, talk bad about this bum Adrian.
20 … what you said up there is still right, Marsh!
does this set the alltime record for runs at Petco?
Adrian should have thrown an elbow and knocked Pujols’ bitch ass out.
Sorry for the crassness, but I cannot stand Prince Albert. Poo-holes, however, is a great nickname.
79: I want one now..
81, 82: Yeah, really got the mojo working tonight. I’ll tell you what also was a bad decision by Black, starting Peavy. Guys a bum. B-U-M, bum. I would have tried to squeze some innings out of Geoff Blum. Seriously, the Cards have never been able to get a hit off of him….
bum.
Bad positioning of the OF there.
Thru 4 …
Pitches-strikes – K Wells 83-49; J Peavy 64-43.
Ground balls-fly balls – K Wells 3-3; J Peavy 3-2.
Batters faced – K Wells 22; J Peavy 15.
88: Why?
OT … and since it doesn’t appear that Cornado Mike is on tonight … it’s a good night for *the* LynchMob … http://games.espn.go.com/flb/standings?leagueId=16639
88: It just seems like if he was playing more dead center, he could have caught that ball.
I’m sure this has been talked about tonight, but I love these uniforms.
93: Amen, Kevin, amen.
Poo Holes is 2nd up this next inning…ugh
Is it just me, or does it look like David Eckstein has to put his entire body into the ball to make a simple throw to first.
93 … is this what you guys are talking about?
http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/exhibits/online_exhibits/dressed_to_the_nines/uniforms.asp?league=NL&city=San+Diego&lowYear=1972&highYear=1972&sort=year&increment=9
93: You must like bananas.
Thru 5 …
Pitches-strikes – K Wells 97-57; J Peavy 81-53.
Ground balls-fly balls – K Wells 5-3; J Peavy 4-3.
Batters faced – K Wells 25; J Peavy 19.
How does Jake walk Duncan on four pitches twice in a row ahead of Pujols?
#97: Sweet. Yessir, those are the ones.
Cust homers again…off Sabathia!
#96: It’s not just you. I’m always a little surprised when his throws make it to first on the fly.
103: It’s like he has to charge every ball to make sure he gets enough on it.
Got him!
Jake gets him again, beautiful.
Filthy slider. Jake has made Pujols look terrible a couple times tonight. Guess that’s why he keeps walking Duncan.
Why is Maddux sporting a catcher’s mitt?
103, 104: But he’s so cute the way he tries so hard to keep up with the big kids!
OT … it’s looking like Tim Lincecum will get his first MLB W tonight as the Gi’nts have erupted for 4 more in the top of 9th to go up 8-3 on Rox …
OG gettin’ the grass stains!
Jake misses badly with location, but OG bails him out with a great catch.
Cust homered again tonight. His 4th bomb in 5 games (only 18 AB’S) . He hit this one off of lefty CC Sabathia.
I like the unusual uniforms of the 1960s and 1970s. I think now every teams looks the same, and almost every team wears blue. I would rather the Padres look difference.
I also think the Yankees and their pretentious pinstripes are the worst. Pinstripes are pretentious off the field and on the field.
Great catch by OG, that was amazing.
Overall, a good defensive inning. Credit OG with one helluva catch and Jake snaking Pujols.
113: He still had no place on an NL team, no matter how many bombs he hits for the As.
Do you think he would be able to produce that consistently in an off-the-bench role?
Cust also hit 9 bombs for Portland in 60 AB’s……should that not have warranted one more “look see” or “cup of coffee” for the Padres ?
Thru 6 …
Pitches-strikes – K Wells 106-64; J Peavy 96-61.
Ground balls-fly balls – K Wells 7-3; J Peavy 5-4.
Batters faced – K Wells 28; J Peavy 23.
… one more for Jake, I s’pose …
You don’t find a place for a guy that can hit 20-25 homeruns for this team ?
Two good pieces of news for me today:
1) Notice that my 2007 Ducksnorts Annual was shipped Wednesday
2) Confirmation of my Tony G. brick
120: Where do you play him? I mean honestly.
I understand that it’s tough to see this kid doing well for Oakland, but where do you want Cust to play for 162 games? Especially at Petco.
117: I think he’d do better than 180/270/250 which the last time I looked was the line for all Padres PHs.
Congrats Jake!
C’mon. Cust could play Leftfield for the Padres. I am pretty happy with the Cruz/Sledge platoon bso far but if Cust goes on to provide this sort of power than I would much rather have Cust starting and batting in the 5th hole.
Not to get too caught up on Cust, but it’s no accident that the Diamondbacks, Rockies, Orioles, and A’s all let him go before we did.
Meanwhile, Jake notches his fourth straight double-digit strikeout performance. Nice!
125: I don’t think Cust would have been able to handle LF. As far as I’ve heard from people who have watched him in Portland, he’s atrocious in the field. With the one-run games we’ve played this year, spotty D could have easily cost us a game.
I have no idea what Cust would have done in LF, or as a PH. I trust KT and the Padres to do what they think is right for the team. They clearly didn’t think that he was the answer.
I’ll take the gimmee call on the Giles double.
An extra base hit for OG!
Jake has been Jake this year, no doubt about it.
He’s definitely gotta be in teh running for a Cy Young.
The perfect platoon really is Cruz for defense and right handed bat /Cust (though he hits lefties as well). I am really not a huge Termel Sledge fan though I think he deserves a MLB job somewhere, I don’t think he is a regular. I said it from the beginning, the Pads will regret casting off Cust. Oh well, I will move on from this. Overall I REALLY like the way the Padres brass is building this ball club especially with their recent work to build up the Farm System.
I just noticed that there were no names on these uniforms. Any of you research geeks know what the first year was that the Padres had names on their backs?
re: Cust’s HR tonight … sure it was off CC … but he was obviously “done” as he stayed in to face 4 more batters, none of whom did get out … can *NOT* cry over this, folks … just root for Jack … and Jake!
Cust is a pretty brutal outfielder, though I would hold my nose if he hit 20-25 bombs.
Sweeeeeeet!
More of that from Khalil, please.
A clutch hit! To the opposite field!
Holy crap, did you see where Branyan put that one?
133: I’m willing to wish the kid the best of luck, but I trust that he didn’t have a role on this team.
I hope he does well, and I hope that this team starts producing offensively like they’re capable of.
Khalil 2 for 4 tonite wil 2 RBI, good to see him swinging well..
Even sweeter! Branyan the Manyan!
It’s a real shame the ball doesn’t carry here.
Russell the Muscle asks why Petco Park gives people problems.
140: That’s probably the hardest place to HR in Petco.
C’mon, guys, save some for when Jake’s not pitching. We only needed one tonight.
139: Branyan the Manyan sounds significantly less questionable than Russell the Muscle. As such, that is my newly adopted nickname for Russell.
144: Your nickname did sound kinda Hillcrest. No offense intended.
Padres need Branyan to have a career year. He just may do it. Remember Branyan can play the outfield as well if KK stabilizes. I want KK to get his at bats so I was questioning Branyan starting tonight. Glad I was wrong. The Padres needed this shot in the arm !!
Nevin in the booth.
145: No worries about that at all, sir. It was a nickname I originally gleaned from the cesspool known as the Padres message board.
Since I’ve discovered Ducksnorts (and Gaslamp Ball, to a lesser extent), I’ve felt liberated.
Agree that Jack would only take the field late in games the should be mercy-ruled. And that a NL roster with 12 pitchers doesn’t really leave a place for guys like him. Another reason why 11 pitchers should be more than sufficient most of the season except when you’ve had a run of extra innings games.
In the meantime, I hope Jack hits 50 of ‘em.
You know, I’ve not been Nevin’s biggest fan over the years, but he’s a real stand-up guy for coming out and announcing his retirement in light of speculation in this morning’s U-T that the Padres might be interested in bringing him back. Good man.
Nevin retired today.
146: Completely agree about Branyan. I think that if Kouz is still scuffling when Hensley comes off the DL, send him down for awhile and give 3rd to Branyan.
#151: He actually retired over the winter but he’s going public with it today because of this article:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/sullivan/20070511-9999-1s11sullivan.html
150: Nevin has showed a lot of class on the radio, and seems to genuinely love this team. Pretty classy thing to do announcing it today.
K-Cam with another scoreless inninng. He’s looked like a great Rule V pickup.
Of course, Soria has done fairly well for the Royals.
Cust Watch update- singled to knock in two runs. Has 3 rbi’s on the day.
150: I read that same article. I think his agent is more pissed off than anyone else (I hate the agents). Nevin had a good bat and so-so fielding, and a bad temper. But, I’m not sure anyone ever accused him of not being a stand up guy. Just my thoughts.
Or maybe no one noticed this winter.
156: Bad temper doesn’t help teams. He was a bitcher and a moaner.
Baseball reference doesn’t show the backs of the uniforms.
153 … does it mean anything? Did Roger Clemens “retire”?
157: I agree. That’s why I wasn’t upset when we traded him away. I’m just echoing the fact that off the diamond, he’s basically a good guy.
#157: That, too.
Pads have scored as many runs tonight as they did in their final three games on the road trip. Guess they just needed to get back to the hitters’ haven that is Petco Park.
131, 159 … there’s a very interesting blog about uniforms … http://www.uniwatchblog.com/ … and today’s feature is about the Padres’ retro uni’s … check it out!
1.52 ERA folks!
Ah, that was…satisfying.
163 … one interesting link off the uniblog … check out this pic of Trevor … http://farm1.static.flickr.com/206/488259396_68d7d7026a_m.jpg … yow!
Kevin … this is this a picture of you? http://farm1.static.flickr.com/221/493147649_7ee3e694b6.jpg?v=0
166: Nice.
Matty just said that we were now 19-17. However, according to my spreadsheet, we have played 35 games and are 19-16. Am I messed up or is Matty V.?
Nice win. Much needed.
BTW, AAA Portland Beaver Craig Stansberry had 3 more hits tonight (including a homerun) and started at third base !! He won a Single A award for fielding playing on the left side of the diamond a couple of years back so he can use the glove and can play all infield spots. Pads may have no choice but to get this kid up here if he continues this pace. Paul McAnulty has heated up as well. Also, Beavers pitching is much improved this year !
The Padres farm system has improved two fold in just one year.
170 … I don’t agree with that … unless it’s purely a statement of how *bad* the system was a year ago … but I don’t the delta from last year to this year is that great … in fact, it’s not even clear (yet) that it’s an uptrend … I think there’s less help at Portland this year than last … Headley has surpassed my expectations, but otherwise AA doesn’t seem to have a lot … it’s good to see the Storm-boyz doing well … but single-A players are a *long* ways away from being able to help the Padres …
Lynch, I think you’re looking the wrong place if you want to see improvement. The farm system has to improve from the bottom up (barring a blockbuster trade), so single A is the place to look if you want to see the improvement. And to my eye (which is probably worse than yours, actually), there has been real improvement at the lower levels due to successes from last year’s draft. Of course, this doesn’t help us this year at all.
172 … well said, and I don’t disagree … I was just getting a bit picky about “improved two fold” … and I don’t think you can start to feel too good about a draft until some of it gets to AA … sooo many guys do well at Short-season, then Lo-A, then High-A … then … well … let’s just say it gets tougher … especially for pitchers …
Good photos of the retro-unis up on yahoo … http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/teams/sdg/photos
You should hear the San Antonio annoucers (AA) rave about the young talent that the Pads have to look forward to. Sure, the praise may be a bit overblown. But Headley is not the only prospect at the AA level. Venable, though he has slumped a bit (.289) recently is another prospect who may see the Pads roster next year. Lefty starter Missions starter Sean Thompson is red hot and seems to be improving with every starter.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=lukas/070511&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab7pos1
The guy who does the uniwatch site is also affiliated with ESPN.com now.
My two cents worth: Phil Nevin was my favorite player for several years due to his way of playing with his heart on his sleeve. Yes, he frequently lost his cool, spoke his mind or gestured indiscriminately. However, as a three time team MVP, he gave it all. He even caught the game the night before the Padres traded him. I liked him because he was a real man, a real ball player, blemishes and all. I much prefer that to the over polished, media savy, yes-men who frequent the talk shows and newspaper quotes. It’s great to have Phil back in town and in broadcasting where he can freely express his real-man’s point of view and his razor shart wit.
Free Craig Stansberry!
177: I agree that Phil has a razor shat wit.