| time: | 7:05 p.m. PT |
| tv: | 4SD |
| sp: | Clay Hensley (1-3, 6.49) vs Patrick Misch (0-1, 4.91) |
| pre: | Padres.com, SI.com |
What I listened to while driving from San Diego to Cooperstown and back:
- Nickel Creek, This Side
- New Pornographers, Twin Cinema
- Incubus, A Crow Left of the Murder
- Peggy Coolidge, Spirituals in Sunshine and Shadow
- Jason Falkner, Author Unknown
- Jimmy Eat World, Bleed American
- Jeff Buckley, Grace
- Rush, Snakes and Arrows
- Mozart, Symphony No. 25 in G Minor
- Hapa, Maui
- Cocteau Twins, Heaven or Las Vegas
- Morcheeba, Big Calm
- Andy Summers, Peggy’s Blue Skylight
- Tom Waits, Heart of Saturday Night
- Neko Case, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
- k.d lang, Ingenue
- Cowboy Bebop soundtrack
- Mozart, Symphony No. 40 in G Minor
- Heavy Vegetable, Frisbie
- Elliot Smith, Roman Candle
- Wilco, A.M.
- White Stripes, Elephant
- Tragically Hip, Live Between Us
- Thievery Corporation, The Cosmic Game
- Lots and lots and lots of NPR
Clay Hensley makes his first start for the Padres since May 2 against Washington. Wouldn’t it be nice if he could provide the club with a shot in the arm the way Justin Germano did when Hensley landed on the DL back in May.
Also, someone is chasing a record in this game. I haven’t heard much about it, so I can’t confirm, but it might have to do with home runs? Go Padres!
121 Comments
what, no mingus?
Glad to hear you’re back safe — that run-in with a big rig sounds pretty scary.
Thanks, bud. Actually, the Andy Summers CD (#13) is nothing but Mingus covers. Good stuff…
Welcome back Geoff. It must have been your HOF mojo that helped Hairstan last night. Wooohooo!
If Bonds plays tonight, more than likely he won’t tommorow. He doesn’t play day games following a night game.
Bradley and OG are on the bench to start the game tonight. Hairston gets the start in left and leads off against the lefty Misch. For some reason, Blum still gets the start even though we are facing a lefty. He’s even hitting seventh, with Mackowiak 8th. The fact that Hairston is leading off and Mackowiak is batting 8th suggests that Black understands platoon splits, yet he goes and runs Blum out there against the lefty instead of NOG. No entiendo.
I hope we see some more of ‘737′ tonight. That guy was smokin last night!
Welcome back, GY. I wrote once that you needed to come back to write a post to talk us away from the edge, but we’ve won two since then. Good to have you back.
5: Bud seems to like the “hot bat” idea, though he will only go one game at a time; Blum has been hitting well; somehow that might carry over to right side;
in case anyone is interested, this is my analysis supporting why I am in no way cheering for Bonds to tie and/or pass the record; a pet peeve of mine is that I have not seen much by the BP crowd trying to see what the data says about Bonds pursuit of the record
http://www.stokes-analysis.com/BondsCheater7.html
Either Bonds and Palmeiro agedparticularly well, or something very fishy was going on.
I am nervous about Clay vs. Barry. Maybe the good Clay shows up, but if the bad one does, it is going to be hard to watch all the hype if he goes yard
If Clay is off his game tonight, pitch out to Bonds. I wish Jake was starting tonight.
I guess we are learning a little about Black’s preference to playing experienced vets in lieu of rookies. The future is now. Someone asked me the other day, in a rather brusque way ” You don’t really believe Ensberg was acquired to be the starting 3B, do you?” . I believe that, despite what the front office says, that yes, Ensberg is now the starting third baseman.
#3: Thanks, Rick.
#7: Thanks, LaMar. I noticed that and addressed it in a post this morning:
http://ducksnorts.com/blog/2007/08/safe-at-home.html
On another note, and at the risk of straining a muscle patting myself on the back, the NL West is now in the exact order that I predicted before the season started.
As long as we win, I’m fine with Bonds getting the home run here.
Geoff, how soon can we expect to see your HOF pics posted on the site?
Clay had Doc’s # with that 3rd strike.
OK, Clay is making a statment. ‘I want to be a starter!’
737 with a nice grab in right. Wow.
It’s very weird to be rooting for the Dodgers, but that is what I am doing tonight. So, gulp, go Dodgers and go Derek Lowe.
Ok, apparently I’m not doing a good job really rooting for the Dodgers, because I didn’t feel much sorrow when Eric Byrnes just homered to put the D-Backs up 2-0.
736 left to go!!!!!!!!!!
Whoa, Hairston has homered in three straight at-bats.
Man, Scott Hairston. Why on earth did we acquire him again? I mean, clearly Branyan would be more useful to us. The guy cannot hit at all.
Is anybody else’s Cox4 HD screwing up? Or is just mine?
What about Branyan’s OPS dude !
22: Oh, it’s still solid.
Well, there it is.
#24: What, last place?
More impressive than giving up a home run to Barry Bonds: walking Pedro Feliz.
I’ve just said all the curse words I know and my wife is telling me to be quiet. I am sooo pissed to see this happen in our backyard. The steroid junkie just crapped on our beautiful ballpark.
Not so happy about that…sheesh. I was thinking how great it was I could watch the game since it’s on ESPN2 out east. Now I’m not so sure.
Hairston really crushed his at least.
im watchin on espn2 in ohio, heading home tomorrow. I wish the record hadnt come off us, but no biggie. The padres did an appropriate agknowledgment, and its over. Clay left that vall up andthats what happens. Im just more pissed about the blown lead.
The three strikeouts for Misch in that inning came on 9 pitches. Not so great.
Hairston you bum. Only a single?
That was a disappointing inning.
K.Greene’s offensive numbers over the last 3 years (all with same number of at bats) are almost exactly the same. Wonder if he will ever turn the corner offensively.
This Misch guy is maddeningly slow paced. My goodness.
Might be expected, but Shawn Estes got roughed up tonight at Portland. Also, catcher Colt Morton (AA) continued his torrid hitting at San Antonio.
I don’t know, I don’t really care what Bonds does anymore. I just want us to win the game.
It was kind of funny to see Selig standing there with his hands in his pockets. He also declined ESPN’s request to be interviewed in the booth.
It’s nice to see Clay pitching pretty well.
He’ll have to do it in SF.
I guess Clay was outta gas. Seemed like he was struggling vs. lefties anyway so far tonight.
It was a good decision to go get Hensley and bring in the lefty. Gameday said Hensley lost about 4 mph on his fastball from the first inning to the fifth.
I’m somewhat surprised Black didn’t go to Ledezma there, because I had read he was going to go several tonight to get stretched out to maybe start eventually.
Great shot of the fan who caught 755, Adam Hughes. Reading his lips was pretty entertaining. Also, kudos to his buddies with the * signs.
Attaboy, Cammy!
Er, um. That’s terrible baserunning.
Well that really sucked.
43: Second that. What was Cameron doing there?
Another great shot, the Boycott Barry blindfold.
welcome back, Geoff! Glad to hear you’re OK, andthanks for the playlist.
Can we go back and re-assign Hairston’s homer to this situation?
Well, people have been clamoring for Cameron to get some non-mop up duty.
Did Hairston get hurt? I just saw NOG is in at second and Blum is in left now.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AkrVyKX7xdoO7y43zSk9Onsm0bYF?slug=ap-bonds-hensley&prov=ap&type=lgns
Hensley, who gave up No. 755 to Bonds, had minor league steroid suspension
By BERNIE WILSON, AP Sports Writer
August 5, 2007
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Clay Hensley became an unusual footnote in baseball history when he served up Barry Bonds’ record-tying 755th home run Saturday night.
While Bonds has been shadowed by suspicions of steroid use for several years, which some fans feel has tainted his chase for Hank Aaron’s home run record, Hensley got caught when he was in the minor leagues.
50: He did.
Hairston fouled a ball off of his foot or ankle in his third at bat.
51: Was he still in the Giants organization then? I honestly don’t remember.
52: This means Barrett is the only healthy member of the bench remaining. And Blum is actually the only healthy guy that can play left field now. This is really, really bad.
Re 54: I think it was just after we traded for him.
I am glad (and relieved) that San Diego fans overwhelmingly cheered Bonds tonight.
Classy fans and classy city ! I was listening to Sporting News radio a couple of days back and the late nights hosts guaranteed that the San Diego (or LA) fans would litter the field with debris and a cascade of boos would rain down if he hit a blast. Wrong !!
With Bonds gone and both NOG and Blum in the game for us, both lineups look really, really ugly.
They’re talking about former Padre catcher Brian Johnson now, who apparently talked with George Mitchell as part of his steroids investigation.
GY, great to see Andy Summers on your list. Are you going to or have you seen The Police tour? I have a ticket for the concert in Amsterdam on the 14th of next month, a plane ticket from Kuwait to Amsterdam and a hotel reservation; I don’t have much faith and confidence in my management letting me use them without a whole lot of drama though.
Re 60: I heard that, and found it quite interesting.
OT: Ensberg is having terrible at-bats today. Apparently Black just handed him the job after the game vs Arizona. I would rather have Kouz in there.
62: I hope Black hasn’t decided after roughly 10 plate appearances that Ensberg is his full-time starter at third base.
60:
He did, and he did an interview with Jeremy Schap about it.
Wow, Jake in to PH. And that brings in a reliever???
Anyone understand why Bochy made a pitching change?
Bochy, still a slave to the righty vs. righty matchup it seems.
OK, that was weird.
Uh oh. Ledezma.
67: I guess, but that was damn weird.
Did he square around to bunt on a 3-1 pitch?
Ball 1 to Winn sure was in the strike zone according to Game Day.
72: Winn watches three pitches in the strike zone go by, then gets a hit on the fourth pitch.
70 – I guess it was more for the matchup vs. NOG. But yeah, definitely weird.
Cousins doesn’t like the high strike, huh?
Just because a batter acts like the ball was going to hit him doesn’t make that pitch a ball.
So who is left on the bench?
Barrett, Bradley and Giles (with Bradley and Giles being unavailable), Germano, Maddux, Meredith and Wells?
I guess Germano and Maddux are the next PH’s?
77: That sounds about right. How painful is Cameron getting caught off third now?
The Cameron play sucks bad right about now.
I think I’d throw Barrett up before the pitchers, depending on the situation…Blum is still in the game and could come in to catch if necessary (Bard/Barrett injury). At this point, if anyone got hurt someone would be outta position.
79: Blum’s really already out of position.
That was actually a pretty good PA by Blum if you ignore swinging at that first strike way out of the zone.
Gotta be Barrett now…
82: Yep. He may not be hitting much better than our pitchers since he got here, but he’s still a significantly better hitter than any of them are.
Wow…the curse of Barrett lives.
Wow. That was an ugly, ugly, ugly AB by Barrett.
84: So, Masticore… that anything like a manticore?
Meredith is sharp tonight.
86 – basically…it’s kinda a long story, but more or less yes.
Not sure what’s gonna happen next now. Meredith is our last reliever. I would guess Germano is next in…
88: Well, now I’m interested. I guess Germano pitches the 14th if it goes that long (I imagine Cla can go two).
Hopefully Giles can actually do something positive leading off the 12th. I won’t hold my breath.
If Germano has to pitch (tomorrow’s starter), do we bring someone up for the start?
Mike Thompson pitched on the 1st, so he’d be on short rest. Cassel would be slated to start Sunday for Portland I believe, but he’s not on the roster. This could be interesting.
90: I should really disparage Marcus more frequently. Winning run on base now. And he follows up with a stolen base.
91: Hopefully Germano doesn’t have to pitch tonight.
89 – Agreed on Meredith.
Well, this is a good start at least. Barrett’s not around, so I like our chances to take it here.
Sac Bunt… Probably the right play. Hopefully Bard can come through with the sac fly here.
Maybe they walk Bard here to play for the DP?
95: Okay, hopefully Gonzalez can come through with a sac fly.
96 – walk him too, to go after Khalil it seems.
Khalil should be able to get a fly ball and end this…
97: Okay, hopefully Greene can come through with a sac fly.
Game over!
Awesome!!!
Nice!
Hell of a game by our pen – 7 pitchers, 2 total hits allowed.
Way to go Spicolli!!!!!!!!!
That was a fun one. I’m glad Germano didn’t have to pitch. And it’s only 11, still plenty of time to go out. Way to go, Greene.
105 – yeah, glad Germano was saved…otherwise tomorrow could have been a real mess.
Huge props to the ‘pen, to NOG for getting on base and swiping second on a busted hit-and-run, and to Cameron for laying down his first sac since ‘05. Great win.
I’m off to bed…a little late here on the East side of the world.
Well, we witnessed history as such. I’m not honoring it in my heart to a steroid junkie.
I wonder how close Blum was to being waived earlier in the season ? I was one that was calling for his release. Guess I was wrong. He has been a valuable asset for the Pads lately. BTW, I really like Rob Mackowiak (I am surprised at how much running speed he has) and what about the clutch pitching performance of Wilfredo Ledezma ! This team may have turned around and perhaps KT’s moves were the spark.
#109 – Well chances are you have been on your feet cheering for many a steroid junkie if are baseball fan. The Padres NL MVP of the 1996 season was the steroid king.
I can’t wait for ARod to beat this.
Why should Bonds seemingly be the only one that we are disgusted with in terms of steroid use.
#111: If you are refering to Ken Caminiti, yes I was. However, that was way before we were aware of the abuse and Ken wasn’t chasing a record.
#114 true enough – I think the hatred towards Bonds is more because of his abrasive personality than because of his alleged steroids use.
I put Barry Bonds in the same catagory as Pete Rose. Both are great players and both cheated the system.
One major difference – I don’t think many have been on the game like Pete Rose but I think many,many players were on the juice and some probably still are.
#117 – sorry “bet” on the game like Rose.
Just back from the game, followed by dinner at Fleming’s. I’m stuffed.
Bonds’ dinger was the only homer I’ve ever been excited to see hit against the Padres. He’s the best player I’ve ever seen, and it ain’t close.
Geoff, I was wearing a Mingus T-shirt tonight. Not that I need to tell you what I’m wearing, but I thought it warranted mentioning…
Any mention of who would have started today if Germano had to pitch? I’m curious…
120: I dont think they thought that much into it, it was very doubtful Germano was going to pitch.