Padres (20-34) vs Nats (23-31)
Wil Ledezma vs John Lannan
12:35 p.m. PT
no television
AM 1090, FM 105.7, XM 188
MLB, B-R
Afternoon game in San Diego.
Padres (20-34) vs Nats (23-31)
Wil Ledezma vs John Lannan
12:35 p.m. PT
no television
AM 1090, FM 105.7, XM 188
MLB, B-R
Afternoon game in San Diego.
#46@Phantom: Point out where I said that “you think they’re awesome.” You overreacted to Schlom saying that they stink, as in, “We get it. You think they stink. Now go somewhere else.” Well, they have stunk. They may not stink permanently, but they’ve stunk long and hard.
#47@Phantom: Maybe I need to write it one more time. The depth of the collapse, in terms of losing 16 of 18, would be hard to predict. That’s some randomness. The possibility of losing 90 games this year was not so hard to predict, and in fact some people did it. When the season’s over, I’d expect us to be in 3rd place with somewhere between 65-71 wins, in the lower band of most preseason projections.
#48@Tom Waits: People just don’t want to hear the same things over and over. The front office sucks, Greene sucks, Gerut sucks, Estes sucks, etc. The team is more interesting than that.
What about Koumanoff’s fielding that Geoff pointed out yesterday? No one talked about it, I don’t think.
Milledge just bunted for a hit, stole second, then third. What is this, Alan Wiggins?
#51@Tom Waits: So how does dismissing his constant refrain imply that I think his argument is invalid? As Kevin pointed out, it gets old. It’s like the Kyle Lohse crap, all over again.
I seem to remember reading most pre-season predictions that had us at around 80 to 84 wins. I really don’t recall that many predictions that had us pegged for 72 wins or less. Does anyone remember such predictions? Could they please share the links?
#53@Kevin: Glad I started him today for my fantasy league
Any chance we see Baek today?
#52@Kevin: I guess I have a higher tolerance for it. Although, what people say in reply is pretty much the same thing over and over. We’re a better team than our record, but people defend the front office like the shortcomings were inconceivable. Many of them were quite conceivable.
Kouz looks like he got a slump-buster about three weeks ago.
How does Ledezma throw this many pitches to this lineup with his stuff?
#56@Tom Waits: re: Ledezma, I know.
The bad part: About half the Nationals lineup is out, including Zimmerman. Lo Duca is doing color commentary.
#56@Tom Waits: I think that’s always been the operative question with him. I understand that the guy has a great arm, but at some point, isn’t the ability to get guys out more important?
It’s that kind of thinking that makes me moderately uneasy about Baek. I keep hearing that he’s got a great arm and his peripherals aren’t necessarily indicative of his true talent. People have repeatedly made the same excuses for Ledezma, and it doesn’t seem to have yielded any actual results thus far.
#55@Phantom: There was a story on Padres.com that said Baek could get a start soon, I think.
#55@Phantom: Carlin might have kept a run off the board that inning by not letting Milledge steal two bases.
#45@Geoff Young: Fair enough, but the discussions could take place somewhere other than the IGD, couldn’t they?
We have a couple of runners on base here. Let’s get at least one across to even it up again.
#50@Field39: Yeah, he’s brining it, but he’s also throwing too many balls and I’ve noticed a fair amount of foul balls. Maybe he can have a couple of quick innings in the 5th and 6th.
Nick Johnson and Austin Kearns are also injured. This is a bad lineup.
Bases juiced for E Gonzalez. Get it done, Edgar.
Yes!
Padres lead 2-1.
#54@Phantom: If you really have a problem with it, then I’d suggest you do as Kevin and some others advise and simply not respond. It’s hardly fair to engage in a discussion and then tell the other guy he talks too much.
The predictions don’t have to have us “pegged” at anything. Most predictions are going to be a small target, not a range with “Max” and “Min.” What many predictions shared was a skepticism about our ability to compete. So a team that might have a pre-season range of 78-84 wins, like us, suffers some random bad luck and suddenly we’re at 72. That doesn’t render the pre-season skepticism moot because they, like everyone else, didn’t expect the wheels to fly off in April. For example, in BP’s preseason predictions our composite predicted finish was 4th. Ben Murphy picked us as the first NL team to “blast down to the foundations.”
I haven’t seen anyone, even the most skeptical DSers, suggest that the Padres should have had a plan that would have kept them competitive in the face of everything that went wrong from April 15th to now. It’s not unreasonable to fault them for not having a plan that would have mitigated the depth of that free-fall. There were also other options besides bringing back virtually the same team.
Crap, I’m typing so much I missed 2 Padre runs.
Brings home 2 and Barrett goes 1st to 3rd. Looks like a pretty well hit single for Edgar!
Nice sequence. Adrian single, Kouz HBP, Greene sac moved Adrian to third, Barrett walk, Edgar two-run single.
Wilezma with the Sac Bunt; here’s hoping Hairston can come through with a big 2 out knock.
#59@Kevin: Saturday, I think. After he’s “acclimated.”
Wow! According to Gameday/Pitchfx, those were 3 nasty pitches to Scott low and away. Tough break, but we do have the lead!
Hey, I gotta get to work, but y’all play nice this afternoon.
#69@Pat: It was hard hit to the first base side of the second baseman. He lunged for it but was still a good couple feet from it.
DS seems to have its tubes all clogged.
What the heck happened this year? The Padres won 89 games last season, increased payroll by 26% and turned into one of the worst teams in baseball?
Towers said Headley will be up in June, probably the first half of it, on the radio yesterday. Not that that’s surprising, but he did say it.
The slider away is not just Khalil’s poison.
Hairston’s splits this season are bizarre. Useless against LHP, hitting much better at home.
#78@Kevin: Do we have a date for when we could avoid Super Two with him?
#77@Schlom: That’s where I’d draw a distinction. They might have been a 3rd / 4th place team that could easily have won 75-856 games, and then we had a terrible 6 or 7 weeks (even before the pitching injuries). Random bad luck is magnified in shorter time frames. But I don’t think this team is in any way one of the worst teams in baseball, although they have played like it since mid-April.
#80@Phantom: I don’t know. I don’t think anyone knows. I don’t think teams sit back and guess on exact dates, because it depends on the call-ups of other players. I think they just wanted it to be after June 1.
Having said all that, I don’t understand most of it.
#80@Phantom: There’s no real accurate way to predict it; it depends on how much service time other players have. Anytime in June should be safe.
Super Two is less important than him not reaching free agency until after the 2013 season. That’s what burned the Mariners with Arod. Two pointless early callups cost them an entire season of their best player. Hard to imagine how many games that 2001 Seattle squad could have won with him at SS.
Thru 5 full …
Pitches-strikes – J Lannan 58-35; W Ledezma 86-51.
Ground balls-fly balls – J Lannan 6-2; W Ledezma 2-6.
Batters faced – J Lannan 19; W Ledezma 20.
… this bottom line looks OK for Ledezma … a few too many balls, I s’pose …
I noticed that Khalil has hit the ball to right field twice in his first two at bats and it seems like he’s been trying to go to right more often in the last few days. The overall results aren’t good, especially at Petco, but I’m guessing someone got through to him. If he’s looking to pull everything, he doesn’t have a chance at those low and outside sliders. And if he’s not hitting the ball to right field, there’s no reason for any pitcher to throw the ball middle to inner half against him. I’ve also noticed the same thing from Hairston lately, as well. He’s hit the ball hard to right field, mostly for long outs, but that will eventually force pitchers to come back in.
I’m guessing that it’s easy for a right-handed batter playing at Petco to fall into that habit since hitting the ball to right is almost always an automatic out.
#84@LynchMob: Ooops, that previous set of numbers did not yet include Lannan’s bottom of 5th … here’s thru 5 full …
Pitches-strikes – J Lannan 74-44; W Ledezma 86-51.
Ground balls-fly balls – J Lannan 6-5; W Ledezma 2-6.
Batters faced – J Lannan 24; W Ledezma 20.
#81@Tom Waits: See I’m kind of torn on this season. Ideally, I’d like to finish in last place so they can draft Steven Strasburg. But realistically, I don’t see how they can finish worse then the Giants, Nationals or Mariners. Plus the fact that Strasburg might get injured between now and there are no guarantees when the Padres draft players — they’d either pass on him or draft him and he’d immediately get injured. As I said, it’s probably not going to happen but it least it would give the fans some sort of interest the rest of the season.
Ledezma made it through five, with a lead. Good for him.
#61@Pat: Don’t look at me, I just work here.
#87@Schlom: I believe it was Mark Ase who brought up that it’s worse to win 75 games than 65, from the standpoint of the talent you can acquire. But the team still has to attract fans. Playoff appearances lead to season-ticket sales; losing 100 games does not.
Unlike you, I think the Padres would pop Strasburg in a heartbeat, regardless of bonus demands, assuming he has another strong season. That’s the kind of argument an executive like Alderson MUST be able to make to his boss.
Very small sample, but Brian Corey’s stats with the Padres are impressive, thus far.
0.93 ERA; 9.2 IP, ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 K
The strike zone appears to have grown to the outside.
#91@JMAR: 2 k’s in 9 ip say that ERA is unsustainable.
Really, Cla? A four-pitch walk with a one-run lead? That seemed like a good idea to you?
Cla Meredith needs to be removed from the 7th inning role NOW
I can’t remember when he made it through a 7th without giving up a run.
So much for my Cla could be the future closer idea I floated before the Seattle series a couple weeks ago. Ever since he gave up that HR to Beltre, he’s been awful.
#93@Tom Waits: Of course an 0.93 ERA is unsustainable. It’s hard for even the greatest relievers to sustain a sub-2.00 ERA. However, with the way this bullpen has underachieved, it’s good to have a veteran like Corey come in and help solidify things. He’s only given up a run in 1 of 9 outings. As I’m writing this, Cla Meredith has given up another lead, damn it.
#95@Loren: Well, somebody has to pitch in the 7th. The bullpen is mostly long relievers. Maybe Corey.
#90@Tom Waits: Well, we would have thought that last season as well, right?
#97@JMAR: It’s the “stats are impressive” that I disagree with. His luck has been impressive.
Is a minor league veteran the same as a veteran? Dude’s got 68 major league innings and is nearly 35 years old.