Padres (9-12) @ Giants (8-13)
Greg Maddux vs Matt Cain
7:05 p.m. PT
Channel 4SD
AM 1090, FM 105.7, XM 189
MLB, B-R
In baseball, as in life, it’s wise to abandon your long-term plans at the first sign of trouble. Good luck with that.
Maddux goes for career win #350.
Hey, just got half of ‘em back…
Colt .45, works every time.
Nice job by the kid to get us closer…time for Khalil to break out now, please…
Oh shit. Here comes the DP (Greene).
Not useful, Khalil…
#299@Eric:
Classic!
NOW is when we need that ball in the corner…. c’mon Shakespeare!
Dude, this strike zone is all effed up.
Bases loaded for Iguchi.
oy our hopes lie with NOG errr Iguchi-san
Come on, Ta-Da-Hi-To!!!
Gooch’s OBP sucks right now.
to sleep, perchance, to dream
F***.
#312@Turbine Dude: Gooch sucks period right now.
For want of a hit, our game was lost.
Goodnight.
#311@Bryan S: An-ton-ell-iiii!!!
Iguchi is having Marcus Giles syndrome
I don’t care
Game should have been tied after 14. Umpire was terrible on Morton’s at-bat. He should have had an RBI walk.
Drive home safe.
Morton
Iguchi
Greene
Hairston
Edmonds
Crabbe
Clark
Thatcher
Hoffman
Bell
Rusch
None of the above are helping the ballclub right now.
Antonelli could be called up at any point now and would still be under team control for 6 years after this. But having more patience with Iguchi makes sense because he hasn’t shown as many signs of being done as Edmonds or of not being able to hit major league pitching like Hairston.
I feel like the Padres are my abusive boyfriends. Sometimes they treat me good and then sometimes they slap me around and tell me how worthless I am, then because I have such a low self esteem I keep running back to them with hopes they will change.
I can’t leave them, I love them!!!
Tonight sucked. I feel bad for Mad Dog.
#320@Kevin: Tied? That still puts us at 3-2. Greenes shallow fly wasnt enough to tag Gonzo from 3rd. You gotta go to the warning track for that.
#322@Ben B.: This season is toast. I don’t see the point in not getting Antonelli and Headley as much major league experience as possible, before 2009.
#322@Ben B.: Haitson hasnt done too good so far this year, but if your gonna be patient with Gooch you gotta be patient with him. Haitson has and can hit MLB pitching.
#321@Bryan: I think you could add Kouzmanoff and Bard to the list. Really the only decent offensive players so far have been McAnulty, Giles, and Gonzalez. If you wanted to, you could add Meredith and Cameron to the bullpen list.
When has Hairston hit MLB pitching? Talk about your small sample size, the end of last year was more than likely a fluke and Sledge was probably a better option than Hairston in LF. Seriously.
I don’t think Hoffman is “done”, I just don’t think he should be the closer anymore. Then again, who else do we have that can take that role? The whole bullpen has been bad.
#326@SDSUBaseball: I disagree. Hairston has a career 84 OPS+ in the majors. The only time he’s hit decently was his 95 PAs in the second half of last year. Iguchi has a career 96 OPS+ and plays second base, where the offensive requirements are much lower than in left.
#325@Field39: Well if we truly are building for the future we can’t call up Headley until April 29 in order to have control of his rights for the longest possible amount of time. I don’t think 22 games is enough time to declare this season toast, but I was probably a lot more optimistic at the outset of this season than most everyone else. If you thought this was an 82 win team at the start, then it is probably time to concede.
As painful as it was to watch Hoffman blow it again, the real problem on this team, other than a crappy bullpen so far, is that this team’s offense is terrible. Just Terrible. We are getting zero production from 5 of our lineup positions. I can’t even begin to describe what’s going on with Greene. I think I have seen him drive the ball once this year and that was misplayed by the fielder (his triple in SF). I don’t know if it IS his new stance, but when he does make contact, they are all weal efforts. It’s like Sean Burroughs has reincarnated his career in the body of Greene. While it may be too early to throw in the towel, I can’t think of any answers, and it doesn’t sound like Sandy has any answers either. While I expected more from Iguchi, the struggles of Hairston and Edmonds were entirely foreseeable.
The more I think about it, while some of Hairston’s homers last year were really fun and came at great moments, those couple games we won because of him is helping to kill this season. Without his late season success the team might have tried to get a better LF in the offseason.
#285@Ben B.: This is the post of the night … who thought walking Molina to get to Rowand was a good idea? NOT ME! Rowand is the best hitter on the team … really the only one to pitch around … WHAT WAS BUD THINKING?
re: Hoffman … when he walked Jose Cruz Jr recently, that’s when I put the final pin in my “done” doll. What’s the criteria for “done”? I’d say when he has less than a 75% chance of converting a save … which according to the numbers above, is where things are at. Actually, I agree that the “done’ decision can’t be made based on the numbers … I’m basing my “done” decision on what I’ve seen in his lack of control … like the walk to Cruz … there’s gotta be a “last straw” … and that was my “last straw” … it doesn’t have to be yours … but tell me what yours is? Does he have to blow 3-5 of his next 10 save ops? … or 3-10 of his next 20? It doesn’t appear like “letting him work out his issues in lower leverage situations” is an option … and I gotta think that part of the reason for that is Hoffy’s self-proclaimed reduced effectiveness in non-save situations. But I think that that has to be part of the path forward … he’s got to pitch some low-leverage innings … and if they are good, then he can try again in save situations … and who closes in the mean time? Ya, that’s part of the problem, ain’t it? I’m OK with the status quo until Hensley or Prior can be the closer … there … that’s my “solution” … ug …
I don’t care#323@KRS1: WHO’S YO’ DADDY!??? QUIEN ES TU PADRE!!???
#329@Ben B.:I know the sample is small and it is too early to make decisions, but they are horrible to watch right now. That and it kills me to watch them play half their games in a park, that suppresses offense to the point of turning baseball games into an exercise in random chance.
#333@Eric: and on that note, goodnight everyone.
I don’t care.
And I’ll say I was wrong (about Hoffy being “done”) if at *any* point during this season he goes 10 appearances (where he comes into a tied game or with a lead) with 0 or 1 blown save (or loss) …
One more thought … I think it’s possible that he could blow enough saves this season to cost him the HOF … or at least to cost him getting in on first ballot … having the “best save %” on his resume is valuable in that regard because in most other regards, the perception is that Rivera is better … if he loses that edge to Rivera, the risks (of HOF entry) go up … just sayin’. How much longer can he keep that title at a 70% success rate? at 50% success rate?
I gotta end with something upbeat … here it is … Mat Latos pitched GREAT today for the Ft Wayne Wizards … his first appearance of the season (he started the year hurt and stayed in extended spring training) … he pitched 4 innings, giving up 5 hits and 3 runs (only 1 earned) … but the best part was the 8Ks and ZERO walks!
He’s still a *long* ways away … and 4 IP is the ultimate “small sample size” … but it’s good news, nonetheless
#337@LynchMob: Bring up Latos to close!
#338@Ben B.: I’ve been heard
(ps. NOT!)
#331@Zagz: Thats a stretch… they would had tried to get a better LF just as hard as they tried to get better in CF. They would had gotten an older bargain stop-gap, or gone with P-Mac or Gerut.
I think it’s to early to write off a kid who pounded in the minors. I think if you are going to give Iguchi and Edmonds more time then why not Hairston. He has the most upside than both.
#340@SDSUBaseball: ::cough:: Reggie Sanders ::cough::
#197@Richard D.: Oh, I see. So it’s a 25 IP stretch we’re judging him on now. That’s a relief becasue I thought it was a small sample size issue. Sheesh.
#336@LynchMob: You know, LM, you and Richard D. need to get on the same page because the last time Trevor ran off 10 consecutive, which is your criteria for him NOT being “done,” was right in the middle of the period Richard D. cites for him being “done.” IOW, he did that just last August/September. The least you chicken little’s can do is be consistent with one another.
#142@Richard D.: Well, I don’t consider myself a Trevor apologist and I offer no excuses. Guy got beat on a home run. It happens. It sucks, but it happens.
343 … Pat, can you tell me what your criteria is for Trevor being “done”? I’m guessing we’re not far apart in our opinions. He’s gonna be “done” sometime, isn’t he? Or do you think he’s good for repeating 2007 for 10 more years and then he just quits while he’s still on top? I know you don’t … and sorry for getting a bit flip.
I think my point can be expanded based on what you are saying … he wasn’t “done” last year … he was able to go out and have 11 good outings in a row … but then you know what happened? He had surgery on his arm! And so far this year, he’s been scored up in 4 out of 8 outings … he’s looked bad (to me) … he walked Jose Cruz Jr when he was 1 out away from a save. No one of these facts is very significant … the anecdotal observations are probably the most significant …
And if he does again what he did from Aug 25 to Sep 28 last season, then I’ll say I was wrong / premature …
345: Yeah, he’s done when we have a meaningful amount of data indicating he is done. What is meaningful? For a guy with a track record like he has meaningful to me would be a full season of poor performance. Will we get that far? No, because he won’t be allowed to go that long with poor performance, imo, but it sure as heck isn’t 7 2/3 IP, or 25 IP.
No need to apologize for being flip. IMO, those of you who are making all of this noise should be apologizing for trashing a guy with one of the most extraordinary track records in ML history, not to mention one of the most consistent track records, based on a ridiculously small amount of data.