The Padres are tied for first again after Wednesday night’s 3-1 victory over Arizona at Petco Park (box score). That’s nice, but let’s not get carried away just yet. Not to bring everyone down, but being in first place on August 30 isn’t the goal, it’s just a signpost along the highway. The Padres have 30 games remaining on the schedule, and if the fact that they’ve picked up 5 games in the standings over the past 11 games doesn’t convince you that anything can happen, then I don’t know what will.
Back to Wednesday, Greg Maddux gave another solid performance. He got himself into trouble a few times, but mostly got himself out of it as well. The play he made on Orlando Hudson’s grounder in the third was a game saver. With runners at second and third, and one out, Hudson hit a chopper between the pitcher’s mound and the third-base line. Maddux bolted off the mound, did a quick jump to grab the ball, and fired home to nail an onrushing Justin Upton at the plate.
Meawhile, Chris Young will make his scheduled start Thursday, which is good news because… well, because he’s got the best ERA in the league and why wouldn’t you want him starting against a chief competitor down the stretch? It’s also good because who knows who will start on Friday when the Dodgers come to town. Here’s hoping Young is healthy and back to his dominant self.
Of course, we all want to see the Padres complete the sweep on Thursday, but what’s really cool is that the worst-case scenario has Arizona leaving town tied with San Diego in the loss column. With a month left in the season, I can live with that.
by Peter Friberg
You will not see…
AAA
Portland 9, Tucson 7 (10 innings)
Paul McAnulty: 5 AB, 2 R, 2 H, 0 RBI; 2B, SO
Brian Myrow: 5 AB, 2 R, 3 H, 0 RBI
Shawn Estes: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR
Jared Wells: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR
AA
Game 1: San Antonio 5, Midland 2
Chase Headley: 2 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 1 RBI; 2B, BB
Nick Hundley: 2 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 0 RBI; 2B, BB
Game 2: San Antonio 2, Midland 1
Chase Headley: 1 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI; 2 BB
Luis Cruz: 2 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 2 RBI; HR, SB
High-A
Mike Baxter: 4 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 1 RBI; 2B, BB
David Freese: 3 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 1 RBI; 2 BB
Nathaniel Culp: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 8 SO, 0 HR
Low-A
Eric Sogard: 4 AB, 0 R, 2 H, 0 RBI
Cedric Hunter: 3 AB, 0 R, 2 H, 0 RBI; 2 2B, BB, SO, CS
Short Season-A
Danny Payne: 3 AB, 1 R, 1 H, 0 RBI; 3 BB, SO
Kellen Kulbacki: 5 AB, 2 R, 2 H, 2 RBI; 2B, HR, 2 SO
Yefri Carvajal: 5 AB, 2 R, 3 H, 3 RBI; 2 2B, HR, SO – wow!
Mat Latos: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 10 SO, 0 HR – sick!
Rookie
No significant performances…
Commentary:
I might be Kellen Kulbacki’s biggest fan (other than his family) and he might not make my Padres Top 10… This system has some serious depth.
How about the Yefri and Latos show?
Thanks, Peter. First pitch Thursday night is at 7:05 p.m. PT. Be here or be elsewhere. Go Padres!
I would like to Conor Jackson on the Padres for NO other reason than his knick-name over at AZ Snakepit……CoJack. That is way cool for a handle.
re: 45
No soccer, please. Ever.
51: That’s his nickname everywhere.
52: Who are you, Jim Rome? Come on, get past the highschool hangup….
49 & 50. I saw that ERA at Yahoo situational stats while looking at last nights box. I SHOULD have checked Baseball Reference, which clearly counterdicts Yahoo and makes more sense. I’d be lying if I told you I understand where Yahoo got that #. But if Lyon keeps grooving his first pitches maybe his ERA will get there.
48/50 … you mean this?
http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/psplit.cgi?n1=lyonbr01&year=2007
… if so, that’s not the stats I’m seeing … but I’m not sure I understand everything that’s there …
You asked for feedback.
55 … whew … here’s the yahoo link …
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/6775/situational;_ylt=AqkdkLJo7WbW1PNWuK8kiiKFCLcF
… which, as you say, clearly has bad/missing data …
57 … you gotta admit it’s ironic that he listed “penalty kicks” and not actually watching a soccer game itself
And in Kevin’s defense, he’s in Washington, DC … I was visiting there recently and they do seem to have some soccer-fever there … they had a big crowd for the Beckham appearance … perhaps all the hype has OD’d our DS buddy …
Also, I’ve been on the phone with Sprint for the past hour after an hour last week on Friday.
Boycott Sprint.
57: Good point.
59: True, but I also didn’t mention baseball other than during a no-hitter, so that logic cannot be wildly applied….
61.
My Sprint boycott is now officially over 4 years.
Threadjack warning: I am tempted, after yesterday’s Mae discussion, to go see them here (San Francisco) tonight. They’re playing in a very small club I’ve been to a number of times. Three bands. I’ve never heard a note by any of them and it’s $17. I paid $35 for Stevie Wonder last Sunday and he was fantastic.
Convince me I should still go.
Remember the front runners and naysayers that were ready to pack it in just a few weeks ago ? “The Pads are not committed to winning” was one of their mantra’s or ” the Pads MAY make the playoffs but they don’t have a chance and will be one and done” was another.
Well, they can now arguably be considered the favorites to win the NL as the Mets are in total disarray (B.Wagner blew yet another save today) –On the way to a 90-93 win season, the Pads are playing now playing as good as any team in baseball.
45 – agree with you completely on the no-no and the World Cup. Most intense sporting event I’ve ever witnessed (on TV, no less) was the US playing South Korea in the ’02 World Cup, while Portugal and Poland faced off at the same time, and the US advancing to the 2nd round depended on the outcomes of *both* games. Unbelievable tension and suspense.
A no-hitter or a perfect game going into the 9th would come close, and could surpass it in the right context (hated rival, pennant chase, postseason).
Also, any 7th game in a postseason series. Baseball, hoop, hockey, especially hockey. A tie going into the 9th inning / 4th quarter / 3rd period, or overtime? Hell yeah.
Re: 63 the show is sold out http://www.bottomofthehill.com/calendar.html
Damn, it wasn’t this morning. Thanks, Steve.
63 … where did you see Stevie Wonder? He’s on my short list of performers I’d pay to see …
68 … ouch … he’s in Oregon tonight! Rats, no can do …
http://www.steviewonder.net/
67: I was totally gonna convince you to go, too. They are a very fun band live. Also, As Tall as Lions, who was the second band, were very very good live. Their lead singer’s vocals leave a little to be desired IMO, but I enjoyed their sound quite a bit. Also, Dear and the Headlight, the opener, wasn’t bad either. You could tell they were very green.
This has probably been covered sometime lately on this blog, but it’s amazing just how bad Scott Linebrink has been in his short stint as a Brewer. I can’t tell you how glad I am not to have this guy messing up our late innings—the trade, in which we received three prospects for a Liney will prove to be an absolute steal. Another great trade by KT despite the flak he initially received from Hoffman and Peavy, who surprisingly did not put their professionalism aside. Hoffman castigating the move as “lateral” will indeed eat crow on this one. Thatcher may alone, this year, prove to be more valuable than Linebrink. Viva KT !!!
Still on the phone with Sprint.
Saw him at Concord (now called “Sleep Train”) Pavilion, which is about half an hour east of Oakland. TERRIFIC show. Highly recommended. I normally despise amphitheater shows but he was very engaging and energetic. You did have the occasional schmaltz like “Part-Time Lover” but for the most part he stuck to the up-tempo and funky stuff like “Superstition” or “Boogie On Reggae Woman”. Two and a half hours of playing. Only a couple of songs omitted or just left out that I thought he’d play and only a couple of groan-inducers that he did.
Very positive reviews from the Wall St. Journal and SF Chronicle, among many.
Definitely go if he gets anywhere near you. In fact, he’s here (McMenamins Edgefield Amphitheater – Troutsdale, OR) tonight.
Two hours, 11 minutes. That’s a baseball game — in 1981.
74 … stay out of Kevin’s way tonight!
#30 BN Cubs: Here’s the problem we’re having when you call Barrett dumb. The Padres, like Ducksnorts, carefully do intelligence screening. Still it’s possible someone might slip in.
Goeff, Did you say you didn’t get that Cub fan’s IQ test back yet?
Madfriars are reporting this today …
Jack Cassel will go up to San Diego. They have told him not to throw and they he will head there soon. They did not tell him when, which is weird.
Michael Barrett has left Portland to rejoin San Diego.
I missed this news from a coupla days ago (but saw it mentioned on Madfriars) …
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070827&content_id=295597&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp
Texas League Player of the Year Chase Headley and Pitcher of the Year Josh Geer make up only half of the San Antonio Missions named to the circuit’s 2007 Postseason All-Star Team.
Headley’s league-best .326 average and 1.003 on-base plus-slugging percentage earned him the top player prize and an All-Star nod at third base. Geer is tied with fellow All-Star Luis Mendoza of Frisco for the league lead with 15 wins while boasting a 3.23 ERA in 25 starts for the Missions.
San Antonio’s dynamic duo will be joined on the All-Star roster by teammates Nick Hundley and Will Venable.
… that’s a good year at AA, folks!
Hey Wally. Yahoo says Doug Davis has a 31.29 ERA on first pitches. Tell the guys to swing away. Hey, Malcolm, your an idiot.
80 … I sent Yahoo some feedback about this … so that other idiots don’t stumble into similar problems …