Padres (12-24) vs Rockies (15-21)
Greg Maddux vs Ubaldo Jimenez
7:05 p.m. PT
Channel 4SD
AM 1090, FM 105.7, XM 188
MLB, B-R
The bad news is that we are putting on a lousy show for you. I apologize for it. I’m disgusted with it. This is the most stupid baseball playing I’ve ever seen!
– Ray Kroc, speaking over the public address system at the Padres 1974 home opener, as recounted on page 185 of his autobiography, Grinding It Out.
92 Comments
Rusch is gone. Carlin in the line-up. Gerut is batting 1st.
What d’ya say guys…Can we talk Mark Cuban into buying this team?
For Mad Dog’s benefit, I hope Joe West isn’t behind the plate tonight.
A Padres Fan’s Favorite Lament…
3 hits in a row. 3 hits in a row. Why can’t we get 3 hits in a row? It’s a long, long season so give me the reason we can’t get 3 hits in a row.
Anyone else remember it?
#4@LoyalSufferer: I must have been either living in Chicago (as a Cubs fan) or in the military for that one.
Today, a die hard Padres fan.
I really hope Mad Dog gets his 350th tonight. I’d hate to see it happen on the road.
#6@Turbine Dude:
Yeah….this team needs something good to happen and fast. Good luck Mad Dog.
This is th 1st game I’ve been able to watch in a week.
#7@Oside Jon: Welcome back, Jon.
Not a fan of hitting Giles and Gonzalez back to back. Too easy to bring in a LOOGY to get both of them without facing a righty.
Does every ground ball have to be turned into a double play?
Also, hitting Giles third gives him way too many opportunities for him to ground into a double play.
Re: Yesterday’s discussion on lineups (Kevin).
Wow! Bud actually shuffled the lineup and moved AGon into the 4 spot ( maybe he read my suggestion)! I guess he didn’t read where it’s been proven, though, that this makes no difference in the outcome of a game. I’d prefer Iguchi, Giles, Kouz, AGon, but I guess I can’t complain when the lineup makes no difference, anyway.
#12@Koo: I was behind that experiment (see yesterdays blog). We’ll see what happens.
Padre-killer Andrew Miller with a nice game again today for the last place — Oops, I mean 1st place — Marlins.
Carlin really has a wierd ’squat’. But it seems to work for him.
#12@Koo: Since the organization starting with Alderson is very into sabremetrics, they probably already know it does not make a difference.
OT: Where the hell is LynchMob? Haven’t seen him in here in about 3 weeks.
Hmm I actualyy like tonights lineup, I see what your saying Ben B about the Loogy but that will only be one time through the line up and I think Giles offers the only protection this team has for A-gon.
That was a wicked nasty slider.
And a wicked nasty curve ball to follow for strike 2
Joe West needs to talk to Jenny Craig.
The fewer pitches Maddox has to throw means the longer he can stay in the game and the less chance our relievers will f*ck this up.
#22@Turbine Dude: Can’t win 0-0.
Jody has now been Petcoized.
#23@Field39: Agreed. Need a couple of runs (hey, I’m a glass half full kinda guy).
Jimenez looking good so far, let’s hope it turns out like the last time he pitched against the Padres. He was awesome for the first four innings and the wheels just came off in the 5th:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SDN/SDN200804150.shtml
Should walk Helton and go after Atkins.
Re: M. Prior
Theoretical: I saw Maddux-Prior in a 1-0 spring training duel (rained out in the 6th) the year before last. Maddux had unbelievable movement on his pitches (not to mention a flawless and effortless motion) for a little, pot-bellied guy. Prior looked equally good. Although it was early in spring training — he hadn’t had time yet to injure himself — his stuff was superb.
So, the theoretical is this: If Prior came back with great stuff and pitched out this season with no injuries, would any poster (forget about KT and Alderson, for the moment) be open to signing him to a 3-year, $27 million deal? 2 years at 20 million?
My point is that if Prior has pitches well, he is not going to sign a 1-year deal. He’ll command a 2-year deal on the open market somewhere, and the best I see the Pads willing to give him is an incentive-laden D. Wells-type 2 -year deal (which he’ll never accept).
So, at this point, the ideal situation for the Pads (and their fans) would be for Prior to pitch like an ace for two months and then to trade him to a contender for a prospect.
I would love to see the Pads go after the Cubs Rich Hill (currently demoted to AAA), by the way. I’ve seen him close up and the guy has Cy Young stuff if he ever learns to be consistent in his form and gains a little more control over his location. I’d do a Pads top prospect (Inman, Latos) plus a mid-level prospect for Hill in a second. I think Hill would thrive at Petco.
#25@Turbine Dude: I have lost my ability to suspend disbelief.
Man this is very boring soo far!!! I love boring baseball but I’ve seen this game like 300 times over the last 4 years. Negative enough? Oh well…..I still want us to win. How about some action???????????
I know I don’t talk here a lot anymore but a notable transaction is once good for 2years LHP from the Jays Gustavo Chacin got DFA’ed.. is he worth more of a flyer than Sean Henn??
Gooch with a big time stolen base!
C. Quentin with #9 for ChiSox and J. Vazquez pitching well again. At least the D’Backs don’t have those two anymore. (They got C. Young in the Vasquez deal).
This situation is where Kouz should be batting with AGon on deck to protect him.
Thank you AGONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
See Kevin, it’s all about shuffling the lineup! (lol)
Hey, the Padres scored runs first tonight.
El Hombre came through. EE-haah.
#35@Koo: Yeah, that would have worked better.
I don’t believe that lineups DON’T matter; you want your best hitters to get the most ABs. But several smart people have looked at “protection” and found that it doesn’t really exist. Hitters are who they are. Kouzmanoff is a worse hitter than Gonzalez unless they’re facing LHP. It doesn’t matter if you throw Kouzmanoff nothing but fastballs, he’s still going to be the worse hitter of the two and the hitter who should get fewer chances.
OG should get a lot of credit for a terrific at-bat.
Stealing bases and scoring runs at home….what the hell is going on tonight?
Re 39: AGon would have had a salami if Kouz had been in the 3 spot.
This is a trick I learned in the dark days of 2002-03 to maintain my mental equilibrium; I’m going to bed while the Padres are leading. From now until I wake up, the Padres have won. Hopefully that will be true after I wake up as well.
That was our first three run inning in two weeks. Our last was the second inning on April 26th.
#42@Koo: Sure. It’s not like Kouz has ever grounded into a DP against a RHP or anything. Or just struck out or popped out. Then they walk Hombre and the next hitter grounds into a DP>
#43@Tom Waits: Easy to do when your 3 hours ahead of the game.
That was a great inning it was exactly what this jaded Padres fan needed!
Late….but heard from the hallway….A-GONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLL
Thru top of 5th …
Pitches-strikes – U Jimenez 76-45; G Maddux 58-39.
Ground balls-fly balls – U Jimenez 3-2; G Maddux 7-7.
Batters faced – U Jimenez 17; G Maddux 18.
… a master at work, indeed!
#17@Turbine Dude: Yo! Been buried … and won’t be online for long tonight either … check out these pics from last Sunday @ Lake Elsinore taken by a MadFriars subscriber …
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dirkhansen/sets/72157604893877448/
wow thats where speed can help you…
Re 45: Selective hitter, runners on the corner with O outs. Kouz gets ahead in the count, sits dead red, put Giles in motion. That’s the way to play the game and have a big inning (something the Pads have been terribly lacking), my friend. Besides, if there is no such thing as protection, why wouldn’t they pitch to AGon with 2 outs? Not that I’m complaining about the 3-run bomb…
#50@Koo: What do you mean exactly?
#43@Tom Waits: 2003 Padres also started 12-24.
Worst Padre start in history after 36 games was Bowa’s ‘87 squad which started at 8-29; another bad one was ‘94 squad at 10-26.
wow Giles is stealing bags tonight, makes me feel a little better about Bards CS %
Willy Taveras is really trying to pad his defensive stats by taking every single ball to the outfield.
Seems like a quick hook for Maddux, getting pulled after only 68 pitches. If the bullpen was better I wouldn’t worry so much but the way the pen has been pitching I’d like to see Maddux left in a little longer.
#55@Schlom: yeah but I feel good with bell at home and I will be holding onto my seat tightly when Trevor comes in in the 9th.
#55@Schlom: They could have let him go one more. 80 pitches is his 100.
Worked out well with Meredith. Hopefully Bell and Trevor can close the deal.
#58@Schlom: Meredith had fire in his eye tonight. He looked like the Meredith of August/Sept. 2006..
Scotty with a nice steal and Jody getting lucky. He went on that.
Paul DePodesta has started a blog at http://itmightbedangerous.blogspot.com/
Based on the questions Corey Brock gets in his email, I’m scared for DePo.
Bell appears to have his velocity back. According to Gameday, he was hitting 96-98 against Holliday, right about where he was last year.
#61@Dex: THANKS … looks like comments are moderated … so it’s not that “dangerous”
…. BREAKING NEWS… Angry God Denies Padres Fans Prayers for Insurance Run… BREAKING NEWS… Again.
Trevor Time. Cross your fingers.
Why is Hoffman in for these high-leverage situations still? A lead-off walk with a 1-run lead. Danger.
I used to be relieved when we got to this point in a game. Now I cringe.
#63@LynchMob: If he gets 20 questions that say “So, what exactly do you do?” He’s gotta answer one of them, right?
Mark Prior had a setback. Probably gone for 2008….
Trevor is 100% in May … so far!
OMG!!!!!!!!! We actually won a game!!!!!!! WoooooooHoooooo!!!!!!!!
Yowza!!
Hoffman still has good stuff folks.
Whew! I’ll take the win, but 5 hits is not going to win a lot of games going forward. I hope the roster shake-up brings a few more hits and runs. Gerut and Carlin did not do much tonite.
Mad Dog finally got his 350th! And, did it at home. Nice.
Yes!!!! Win………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….We won!!!!???!!!
More to come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How about we rip off 25 straight wins? Go 2007 Colorado Rocky on the rest? Alright…..settle down…………
That was nice.
As great as it is, and with no disrespect, I feel like we need a replacement for:
DEATH… TAXES… HOFFMAN!
Something that reflects less certainty… more doubt about its possibility, but hope that it might be. Something like…
HEAVEN… REBATE CHECKS… HOFFMAN!
#78@dprat: I’m not a ‘band wagon’ type of person. I still need to see Trevor perform like this about four more times before I’m convinced.
K.Greene’s glove work was phenomenal tonight.
Will Inman had another good start at San Antonio tonight.
#79@Turbine Dude: Exactly my point. I’ll never be convinced again. I’m just trying to express hopefulness tinged with anxiety.
#82@dprat: Well, you just expressed my feelings to the head on the nail.
#4@LoyalSufferer: I know I’m a little late to the party, but I have to say thanks for the lyrics to that song. I could only remember the first line, and I’ve been walking around singing it for a month!
#66@Geoff B: Have you seen the rest of the bullpen? The last two high leverage situations went to Joe Thatcher.
Guess a lot of patience is still in order in regards to farm system.
Tom King gets moved up two levels to Portland after hitting .158 at A level Lake Elsinore and 37 year old Shawn Wooten was signed by Portland yesterday. Wooten played on San Antonio (AA) last year and was cut by the Padres in July. This year a 5 for 33 start at AAA level for the Mets farm team in New Orleans resulted in his release.
PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Beavers announced today that infielder Tom King has been transferred to the team from Class A Lake Elsinore.
King, 23, was batting .158 (12-for-76) with two doubles, five walks, four RBIs and eight runs scored in 19 games with the Storm to start the season
Maddux: 350 wins.
Hoffman: 530 saves.
RHP Greg Reynolds, the Rockies’ first-round pick in the 2006 draft, is expected to make his major league debut as the Rockies’ starter in Sunday afternoon’s series finale. … The Padres had four stolen bases for the first time since Aug. 10 at Cincinnati.
Well, tonight was a good night to make my first game attended this year.
I think its time for a new poll…
#50@Koo:
1. Kouz is not a selective hitter. He walks, but not that much. He’s also much weaker against RHP. With no outs and your best hitter coming up, running Giles when you the best XBH threat on the team is in the on-deck circle reduces your chances of a big inning. You’re also making the huge assumption that Kouz necessarily gets ahead in the count.
2. They wouldn’t pitch to Agon because he’s the best hitter in the lineup. How does that contradict the notion that “protection” doesn’t exist? You’re always going to target the weakest possible batter. Whoever hits behind him, Kouz is still Kouz. He still has the same weaknesses and strengths.
The way to have a big inning is to get lots of runners on and have multiple extra-base hits. The best way to do that, my friend, is to have as many good hitters as possible in the lineup. Putting Adrian behind a DP threat like Kouzmanoff doesn’t make Kouzmanoff a better hitter.
#61@Dex: That’s awesome! Thanks for the heads-up. I’ve added DePo’s blog to the sidebar here and, of course, to PadreBlogs.com.