| time: | 10:35 a.m. PT |
| tv: | 4SD |
| sp: | Tim Stauffer (0-0, 17.18) vs Kyle Kendrick (6-3, 4.06) |
| pre: | Padres.com, SI.com, B-R.com |
Four things:
- Glad to see Doug Brocail take care of business with Carlos Ruiz. Plunking the punk in the hip won’t hasten Marcus Giles‘ return from the DL, but it’s good to know that guys have each other’s backs. And Ruiz is still an idiot.
- Craig Stansberry, recalled from Triple-A Portland, whacked the first pitch he saw in the big leagues just over the outstretched glove of Philadelphia second baseman Tadahito Iguchi for a single. Stansberry was batting for Rob Mackowiak, who had been announced for Brocail but who was lifted when lefty J.C. Romero entered for the Phillies with one on and two out in the seventh. Congrats to Stansberry, who also becomes the first ever big-league player born in Saudi Arabia.
- Milton Bradley is a unique talent and a unique individual. His style of play is infectious, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have any concerns. The home run he hit on a 3-0 fastball from Tom Gordon in the eighth to tie the game went halfway up the second deck. There are no bonus points for distance, but that was impressive. Chirping at fans who had been heckling him from behind the plate afterwards… Look, I can’t remember a guy (and maybe I’m missing someone) who has put on a Padres uniform in the past 15-20 years who would’ve done something like that. Randy Myers? Not a hitter, but he’s the only player I can think of that might have been as intense as Bradley appears to be. I guess I’m just hoping Bradley can keep his energy channeled on the right things, because we sure do need him. Still, how can you not love this quote about his exchange with fans behind the plate?
They’re telling me I’m no good, I’m telling them I am that good. It feels good to come through and help this team win.
I mean, it’s a bit obnoxious, but the man has a point. He is that good.
- Citizens Bank Park is fun, in a Coors Field kind of way, but I would hate to see my team play half its games there. Brett Myers was at least half right in claiming that the two homers he served up in the ninth were “just pop ups.” Kevin Kouzmanoff’s looked legit to me, but how did the ball Terrmel Sledge hit even come close? Judging from the type of swing he took and the trajectory of the ball, I’m guessing it doesn’t reach the warning track at Petco. Hey, we’ll take it.
Whatever the outcome of Sunday’s game, the Padres have won consecutive road series against playoff contenders and they’ve done it with lots of hitting. Can they keep it going and get the sweep in Philly behind Tim Stauffer? The matchup would appear to favor the home team, but after seeing Sledge’s pop up clear the left field fence on Saturday, I’m not ruling out anything.
Go Padres!
95 Comments
put the padres in a park that is conducive to the long ball and they can hit it just like everybody else!
petco, like most new things, needs some tinkering and adjusting to make it a baseball friendly stadium.
the words ‘cavernous’ and ’spacious’ should never be used to describe the outfield!
There is an interview between Scott and BR and Milton Bradley at:
http://www.xxsportsradio.com/.
He sounds like a great guy. Not nearly as flamboyant as he is on the field. One quote that he made was that you can celebrate good individual plays in football and basketball, why not baseball?
Well, because it’s baseball. Don’t get me wrong, the enthusiasm is great, but I’ve got a haunting feeling that there’s a perfect storm brewing and that there’s retaliation coming Milton’s way.
2: As long as Milton doesn’t get hurt with any retaliation, any retaliation is just going to fire us up even more. Unlike the Padres, who were supremely justified yesetrday in hitting Ruiz, the Phillies have a tougher time trying to justify hitting Bradley. Just because the guy has ripped three shots off you in the series doesn’t mean you autmoatically get to him him. I’m pretty sure that had the Padres been playing in a less incendiary atmosphere, Milty’s exuberance would have been diminished and less likely to occur.
Not a position player but Kevin Brown was known to jaw to the crowd, and we all know how destructive he could be to the clubhouse. Intense is one of those things that can go from helpful to destructive in a new york minute.
That said, a winning team does need a little swagger and Milton brings that every day.
Mary: Ah, of course; I had a feeling I was forgetting someone obvious. Thanks for the reminder!
I love this blog! I’m a Padre fan who lives in New Jersey and I was at the game last night (Saturday 8-25) in Philly and sat in the lower deck in left field. I haven’t been to a million ball games like some, but honestly I have never seen a player (Bradley) take that much abuse and venom on the first pitch of the bottom of the first and continue until Rowand struck out on Hoffy’s change-up in the bottom of the ninth. Of course I am biased being a San Diego fan, but I must say Milton did not instigate a single thing in left field. Obviolsly he had some responses later in the game behind home plate. My wife had to cover her ears at points because the abuse/noise toward Milton in left during every Padre pitch was nonstop (I could only imagine what Bonds got in left all over the country this summer).
To illustrate the complete ignorance and subhuman quality of the Philadelphia crowd, they also booed Brian Giles all night, as the guy next to me told me how “he totally faked the injury” on Friday night when Ruiz slid into him. Poor guy (and seemingly many others in Phillies garb) failed to realize Brian plays RF and Marcus was 2B in the incident who wasn’t even on the field for warmups.
Here’s hoping Milton stays hot at the plate.
Sweet! We get the Padres feed again!
This weekend kicks ass.
7: Agreed, I love me some Padres feed. I miss Matty though
Keith, thanks for posting. Really interesting stuff. Glad to see Jenga was just living in the moment…..
7: Has anyone noticed the Padre feed is considerably worse quality than other teams feeds?
5: I recall a few incidents from a certain Phil Nevin, including obscene gestures and throwing objects on the field. I’d say you probably forgot two, GY…
8: Agreed. i cant stand Steve Quis
Poor Blum can’t even get a HR here.
8: Seriously. What’s the deal with Matty? He’s off doing national broadcasts?
You think next year he’ll be taken from us altogether? I’d be glad to see him get some big time success, but of course miss him ragging on MG
Triple by Blummer haha! Maybe Stauffer will get some first inning support
Damn, poor AB by Milty.
I loved how Milty smiled after the crowd so heartily reacted to him making an out. He is having fun out there.
Leaving a guy stranded at 3rd hasnt been like the Padres of late. Bummer
#11: For whatever reason I never attributed Nevin’s antics to “intensity” but that’s me…
2: That was a great interview with Bradley. He seems to me like he just loves what he’s doing and is pretty down to earth and reconizes mistakes he made.
This doesnt look good already
Ugh. Stauffer’s 17+ ERA going UP
Before we all jump on Tim, the ball Burrell hit was a great pitch. He just went down and got it. Also, you can’t defend against the bunt by Rollins and Iguchi just found a hole. He’s not pitching poorly.
Nice K Tim!
He might get himself out of this. He lucked out with Burrell’s hit being a ground rule double. it would be nice if he took advantage of it and got out of here with just 1 run.
Ugh. What’s the over/under on how many innings Ledezma works today?
25: Last time Stauffer pitched Cassel came in and pitched well. Why didnt he get considered for this start?
Tim Staupher looks like he belongs in AAA.
Were people just chanting “You suck Bradley”?
Well, he struck out two guys and only threw 30 pitches, despite all that mess. And, uh, no one dropped dead in the field or got hurt or anything. So in that regard that inning was a success.
Stauffer just doesn’t have the stuff for the bigs.
30: I think that’s a bit of a sweeping conclusion for 5 total innings of work. He managed to strike two guys out that inning despite not having big league stuff.
Yeah, the Phillies BABIP is .800 right now. There’s certainly an element of luck in that. Stauffer made some good pitches, and the Phillies put good swings on them.
OK, I digress. However, his presence doesn’t seem CY like in attitude.
Ugh. Sledge doesn’t help out at all.
30: I agree
We actually can probably conclude that Stauffer isn’t going to be a good major league pitcher, but not based on his five innings with the big league club this year. His minor league track record is pretty mediocre, so that gives us a pretty good indication of the type of pitcher he is. Certainly one inning shouldn’t change any evaluation of him.
Inexcusable Mr. Stauffer. You don’t walk the pitcher on 4 pitches and succeed in the big leagues.
That Stauffer appears to be getting squeezed is not helping anything.
43 pitches in 2 innings? WTF?
Yeah, he’s walking way too many people.
38: Agreed, he’s thrown some pretty good pitches.
Get Stauffer the f*ck out of here and send him back down to High School!!!
This looks as bad in reality as it did on paper. I’m off to grab some lunch…
At least we had a pretty good road trip still.
And yet we are still not out of this one, even down by 6.
#38 Squeezed ? He got two strike calls in the 2nd with balls that were letter high.
Anybody think Randy Jones can still pitch? I’d feel better giving a double A pitcher this shot on a one time basis than continuing to put Stauffer out there.
I can’t believe that Black is going send Stauffer back out in this inning.
48: Why not? 5 runs is a lot to make up, and there’s no point in decimating your bullpen right before a 4 game set with AZ.
If we can get three scoreless innings from Stauffer and go into the last 4 frames down by 2 or 3, then we may just again slice this brutal Phil’s bullpen and sneak out of here with a win, all the while not burning our bullpen with a big 4 game series coming up and no off days.
Well I’m sticking around and seeing this game through. Not because I think we have a shot to win, not because I want to keep tabs on our offense, and not even because of a love for the game.
It’s because I simply can’t wait to hear more Steve Quis stories about Tuffy the Toro.
#49: Good point. I didn’t think about that. OK, rock & roll.
What you think a 5 run deficit in the T-4 in this ballpark is insurmountable ?
Mini rally forming…
Nice clutch AB by Sledge. That looks pretty painful though.
This is where our bats need to get hot.
I’ve always wanted to see Stauffer do well, given the integrety he showed fessing to the shoulder injury. It just isn’t likely going to happen, at least not here.
Damnit Adrian!
That’s a freaking sac fly!
LaForest sucks as well and now Stauffer is up with bases loades and 2 outs. Of course we can’t score one run. GRRRRRRRR.
59: Dude, that was not Pete’s fault. The 2-0 pitch was a joke, and when Kendrick went right back there on the 2-1, LaForest had to go after it. Crap umpiring in that AB.
G’day all. I’m turning her off today.
I see that the top of the fourth was a clear signal that Bud is content to go home 4-2. Bases loaded, a great opportunity to get back in the game, and he sends Stauffer up there to finish off the inning. I guess he didn’t want to burn through the bullpen before the key games against the division. Still what’s the difference between Ledezma with no outs and Ledezma in relief of Stauffer with one out and another run added to the Phillies tally?
OK, let me get this straight. We are going to sacrifice this game to go after the DBs. Is it going to work?
Now it’s a fucking laugher. Anybody else wanna stand up for Stauffer?
A poorly umpired game all the way through.
I can’t fault Black for not burning any arm when we don’t score with the bases loaded and no outs. Pull as many regulars as we can. Mac in LF, Ensberg at 1b, Stansberry at SS.
I’m out.
Of course the other risk by letting Stauffer take one for the team is that his confidence is shattered forever. I am not sure I agree with this move. Ledezma is as fresh as can be –we not let someone with a little more experience –”take one for the team”
Yeah, lets give the vets a rest now. No break for a long time and 2 hours out of the humidity. This might be a blessing in the long run.
67: I don’t much care. Stauffer’s future is as a middle reliever on a non-contending team or as a rotation mainstay somewhere in AAA.
It’s not that I dislike Stauffer, but if the choice is between Stauffer’s confidence and having Ledezma or anyone else fresh for even one key at-bat versus the DBax, I go for option 2. If we weren’t so shy of position players or it was closer to the 8th inning I’d put Blum on the mound.
70: I don’t understand Bradley even hitting here, unless he asked Black not to take him out before his last at-bat. Nothing good can come of letting the key guys stay in, and Bradley is as key as we’ve got.
Staufer + Ledezma = Phillies taking a shot at that 30 run record.
#69 You’re probably right on this one. Stauffer is no longer anything close to a prospect- my heart just sank when I saw Cla warming up so yes, maybe it was alright to sacrifice Stauffer and get 4 innings out of him no matter what.
Ledezma is not a major leaguer now either. No use saving him for future key at bats. I don’t see any reason to keep him on a post season roster.
I wish I was still in SD….
Lately I have been praying nightly that T.Sledge is not on the post season roster. He has zero bat control and rarely walks – no speed and sub par defensively.
I cringed last night when his routine fly ball got out of Citizen’s last night. That homerun guaranteed him another 30 at bats down the stretch. If Hairston is not ready, bring up Brady Clark !
#57: Yeah, it’s sad. Stauffer pitched reasonably well for us at times in ‘05 but never was able to build on that initial success. He might kick around a while longer, but I don’t think this is what anyone imagined when the Padres drafted him. Too bad.
#69: I’m with you, TW. The series has been won; no use burning up arms that could help against Arizona this coming week. Now everyone except Hampson and possibly Meredith should be ready on Monday. With luck, Peavy will go fairly deep and give those two a breather. Black is setting up his pitching staff for the showdown. I’ve got no problem with that at all.
Great road trip. I think this team may have opened some eyes back east.
#74: I agree about Sledge. Get rid of him.
#74: The only current Padre with at least 100 PA who has more unintentional walks per plate appearance than Sledge is Milton Bradley:
Bradley: .139
Sledge: .112
OG: .107
Bard: .099
Cameron: .098
NOG: .089
Blum: .085
Adrian: .084
Kouz: .055
KG: .045
Barrett: .010
His defense is terrible and he has trouble making consistent contact, but Sledge actually does draw walks.
#77 I stand to be corrected. His (Sledge) OBP is certainly not terrible and there may not be a better option at Portland. Brady Clark has hardly been setting the world on fire over the last 2+ years at the mlb level and regardless of whether they were cheapies or not, he delivered a big homer last night and doubled off lefty Wagner in a big game.
It would be a huge boost to get a healthy Hairston back and we will bide our time and I guess I could lay off Sledge.
A little sequence & distribution analysis ala S.Baxamusa of THT.
Sledge % Padres %
BB 23 434
batting 8 6 26 54 12
4 pitch walks 10 43 104 24
2 out walks 12 52 166 38
2 out rsp 8 35 76 18
-2,-3 7 30 65 15
Sorry this came out so twisted. #77 I come to the conclusion that Sledge’s BB total is less impressive than the raw stat would indicate. Do you agree? Somewhat?
sorry if you guys talked about this alreadu but since the padres sent down hensley and they cant recall him for 8 days who are they going to start in hs spot of the rotation?
#80: Hard to say. Depends on what Sledge would have done in those PAs had he not walked (unknowable) and how his distro compares to those of other Padres hitters (which you’ve already hinted at with team totals). It is probably true that some of those walks in the #8 hole were of the “unintentional intentional” variety.
#81: I have been wondering the same thing. No inside information here, but my best guess, based on simple process of elimination, would be Jack Cassel.
Re: 82 man I hope its not Ledezma. The Pads need to decide what they are going to do with him, DFA him if your not going to have him come out of the pen, he is turinging into the post all-star K-cam and they can use the roster spot.
#83: My take on Ledezma is that he’s here for next year. Remember that rosters expand on Saturday, so his presence shouldn’t be a burden much longer.
If CY is good to go, then he could take Hensley’s spot on Thursday, with Peavy possibly moving up to Friday. Then on Saturday, they should be able to recall Hensley again (unless I’m mistaken on procedure — I believe a player can be recalled before 15 days have passed once roster expansion hits, but can anyone confirm?).
If CY isn’t ready, all bets are off…
I thought I heard on 1090, that if CY goes on the DH, Hensley can be recalled. Not a pleasant thought.
Make that DL.
#85: Ah, good point. Yeah, that would suck.
Madfriars reports that Mitch Canham got promoted to Lake Elsinore yesterday … yup, there he is in today’s Storm box score …
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_08_26_lesafa_inlafa_1
… which at the moment shows David Freese with HR #17.
Cedric Hunter with HR #6 and SB #8 today …
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_08_26_souafx_ftwafx_1
… it’s not much, but it’s something …
David Wells bunted for a base hit against the Mets, starting a two run rally.
Wells will haunt us until he gives up 8 runs with his 72 mph fastball. Love the guy but that’s the truth.
90 … and the Dogs had the good sense to take Wells out after 5 innings … hey, why didn’t *we* think of that???
#92 Wells hasn’t pitched in what, a month or so ? So most in this situation would be pulled after 5.
Instead of giving Cassel a spot start, what about Casey Fossum ?
LM: I was amused to see that they stuck with him in that 5th inning throughout a IF single, BB,BB . He unexpectedly escaped with a K. I cant give credit to LA for sitting through that sequence.
And they stuck with him to face Moises Alou, who kills lefties.