IGD: Padres vs Brewers (14 Aug 08)
Thu, Aug 14, 2008
by Geoff Young
Padres vs Brewers
12:35 p.m. PT
DIRECTV 729 (Brewers feed)
AM 1090, FM 105.7, XM 187
MLB, B-R
Jake Peavy goes up against Ben Sheets on Thursday afternoon. Naturally the best pitching matchup of the series won’t be televised in San Diego.
I guess it works out, though; folks around here are already gearing themselves up for the Chargers. I would, too, if it weren’t for the fact that I find football rather tedious…
Picking up where last year's version left off, the Ducksnorts 2008 Baseball Annual provides in-depth analysis of and commentary on the San Diego Padres. Get your copy today.
August 14, 2008 at 9:09 am
2 notes after reading comments at MadFriars …
Kellen will be back soon. He is taking BP without pain right now.
According to Mike Nutter, the Fort Wayne General Manager, Drew Cumberland slid into home headfirst in the AZL, dislocating his thumb. It doesn’t seem that serious, but it should be enough to keep him off of the field for the last two weeks of the season.
August 14, 2008 at 9:20 am
After 120 games played, the padres are 46 and 74, or a .383 avg.
With 42 games left to play, if the padres can maintain this winning percentage, they will have lost 100 games (16 and 26).
Sorry, but I could not think of anything else to say.
Go Padres, should be a nice day to play ball.
August 14, 2008 at 9:28 am
Don’t forget about Aztec football GY! Well then again maybe we should…
August 14, 2008 at 9:52 am
I wish coaches would stop teaching/allowing kids to slide headfirst; it’s just wrong!
The good news about being in Memphis this week? I can listen to the game on satellite radio in my rental car after work, or at least the last half of the game. Should start at 3:05 Central time and I’ll be off work about 4:30. Cool!!
August 14, 2008 at 10:28 am
#4@Pat: #4@Pat: #4@Pat: Little League rules prohibit the headfirst slide, so you’ll probably see less of it in the future.
August 14, 2008 at 10:38 am
That Steven Strausburg is something else huh? He sure would would look great in Storm jersey this time next year.
August 14, 2008 at 10:42 am
#6@KRS1: Sign him in July, don’t let him throw until the Arizona Fall League, and then not much.
August 14, 2008 at 10:50 am
I can understand some headfirst slides, but never EVER into home or first.
Seriously, who does not know that?
#6@KRS1: He took a no-no into the 7th…crazy. It really is too bad that they are taking baseball and softball out of the olympics starting in 2012…
August 14, 2008 at 10:50 am
#6@KRS1: Strasburg and Latos at LE next season would be pretty awesome. I’m starting to lose hope there, though. The Nats still have a 2.5 game lead in the Strasburg race.
Does anyone know if there are any other legitimate prospects that have been identified yet as a top 3 pick? I don’t see the Padres falling out of the bottom 3, especially now that Chris Young could miss the rest of the season.
August 14, 2008 at 10:50 am
#7@Tom Waits: Amen!
August 14, 2008 at 10:51 am
#7@Tom Waits:
Totally agree! You would hate to see him go Schmidt on us. It would be nothing short of amazing if we could get him in the organization though.
August 14, 2008 at 10:54 am
If the pads do get Strasburg he pronb would not go to LE until 2010, I would imagine he would start out with the Em’s.
I still dont think its a slam dunk that they will draft him, they are looking at the #3 pick at the moment and who knows what the FO will do if he demands Mark Prior/Jared wells type money.
August 14, 2008 at 10:57 am
So I read in DePo’s blog why the Padres are probably taking another chance on Brian Falkenborg. He throws 95-97 mph now instead of the 90-91 that he previously threw. I just want to know how in the hell a 30 year old can gain 5 mph on their fastball overnight?
August 14, 2008 at 11:03 am
SI has a brief snippit about Kyle Blanks in an article about “eye-popping prospects” this week…
Kyle Blanks, 1B, Padres. Huge body, huge power, but has a huge obstacle in front of him in 26-year-old All-Star slugger Adrian Gonzalez.
August 14, 2008 at 11:05 am
#13@JMAR: Mechanics? Weight lifting? New trainer? Cranberry Juice?
August 14, 2008 at 11:32 am
#5@Lance Richardson: This is a good thing. Do you know if other youth leagues following suit?
August 14, 2008 at 11:33 am
#15@Coronado Mike: Magic pixie dust?
August 14, 2008 at 11:34 am
#8@Coronado Mike: Going back into first while you’re leading off and there is a pickoff throw made is the only time I could see it.
August 14, 2008 at 11:41 am
Sliding head-first isn’t the worst thing ever. It’s just that most players who do don’t know what they are doing and just want to look cool.
It seemed to work out OK fo Pete Rose and Rickey.
August 14, 2008 at 11:42 am
With Chris Young missing the rest of the season, that certainly helps the Padres in “The Race,” especially if they replace him with Brett Tomko or Shawn Estes.
The Nationals might not be a problem as it looks unlikely that they will sign their first round pick Aaron Crow of Missouri. If they fail to sign him, and they finish last, that would mean that they would pick 1st and 10th in next year’s draft. So they might take a signability pick 1st to save money overall (paying two top talents in those positions would be nearly $10m).
I’m hoping that now that the Mariners ditched their dead weight (Sexson, Vidro) they will improve enough to pass the Padres. Plus they have an interim manager so he’s not going to want to tank any games.
August 14, 2008 at 11:48 am
#20@Schlom: Young is out?
August 14, 2008 at 11:58 am
#21@Kevin: Maybe. Sounds like they’re going to be really cautious on this (as they absolutely should be).
http://www3.signonsandiego.com.....st/?padres
August 14, 2008 at 12:23 pm
#19@Kevin: Word…I was meaning going into first…not-so-much after the runner got there.
#19@Kevin: Did not see them do it often into home or first…
August 14, 2008 at 12:29 pm
And yep, Young is on the DL. Falkenborg activated to take his place.
http://www3.signonsandiego.com.....dl/?padres
August 14, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Got to like Bud’s lineup today — who wouldn’t put one of the worst hitters in baseball in the 2nd spot? That’s the kind of forward thinking that will help win “The Race.” Now if only we can get Jake to go on the DL for September…..
August 14, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Today’s lineup, per FJ …
Jody Gerut, CF
Luis Rodriguez, SS
Brian Giles, RF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Kevin Kouzmanoff, 3B
Chase Headley, LF
Tadahito Iguchi, 2B
Luke Carlin, C
Jake Peavy, P
August 14, 2008 at 1:16 pm
I was going to rant about Jake walking Counsell, but according to GameDay he struck him out on the 5th and 6th pitches of the at-bat. Nice work, Blue.
August 14, 2008 at 1:20 pm
#27@Tom Waits: Jake’s pretty high on a pitch count … which tells me he’s not hitting his target … which tells me he won’t get close calls …
August 14, 2008 at 1:28 pm
13, 15, 17, Nah, its just plain ‘ol flax seed oil. He got some real cheap from some guy up in the Bay Area.
August 14, 2008 at 1:30 pm
#19@Kevin: Of course it’s not the worst thing ever, but it greatly increases the chances of an injury versus sliding foot first. You have to really screw up a foot first slide to have risk to any more than the ankle and knee of the leading leg, but a headfirst slide opens up the fingers, wrist, elbow and shoulder of BOTH arms to injury. It’s just not worth it from a cost/benefit standpoint.
August 14, 2008 at 1:33 pm
#28@LynchMob: It seems like this has been the case a lot this season (high pitch counts, not hitting his spots), which isn’t good since they don’t have any other starter, except for Baek, capable of going more than 5-6 innings.
He does seem to be struggling this season, not as much as ‘06, but much less dominant than in ‘07. He still leads the league in ERA so maybe it just seems this way to me because he doesn’t win very often.
August 14, 2008 at 1:33 pm
#30@Pat: I agree for the most part.
I just don’t agree that it’s always bad for everyone. It’s only 100 percent bad if you don’t know how to do, sort of like everything in life. That’s where most of the injuries would come.
August 14, 2008 at 1:35 pm
#23@Coronado Mike: I agree with you. I was responding to the subject in general.
August 14, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Jake’s been nasty today… and I love the high socks.
August 14, 2008 at 2:03 pm
If a pitcher is leading the league in ERA in an “off” year — at least by perception standards — is he the best pitcher in baseball?
August 14, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Drat! This game is going so fast I’m not going to catch very much (unless we’re looking at another marathon extra inning affair).
August 14, 2008 at 2:08 pm
#32@Kevin: OK, so I’m being a tad hyperbolic.
August 14, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Assuming Peavy is done, he leads the league in ERA.
Lincecum does not pitch today.
August 14, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Good job, Padres.
Peavy won’t fall below .500.
August 14, 2008 at 2:46 pm
The ball that Cameron caught at the wall was going to be a home run, by a few inches.
August 14, 2008 at 2:50 pm
#40@Kevin: Looked like it was going to hit the wall to me. Doesnt matter though I guess since it was caught.
August 14, 2008 at 2:55 pm
#35@Kevin: Probably not, at least not when he calls Petco home and has missed some time. But he’s in the discussion. I’d have to put Webb over him.
August 14, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Two of the outs in the seventh were great plays — Cameron and a diving catch by the left fielder — and one was an odd call — Gerut supposedly not touching home plate.
Where was that ump when Holliday didn’t touch the plate?
August 14, 2008 at 2:57 pm
K.
Death.
August 14, 2008 at 2:58 pm
That stunk.
August 14, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Especially since it was Cameron.
August 14, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Fly out to center.
Taxes.
August 14, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Ground out to short.
Hoffman.
August 14, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Kapler’s been a great story this year.
August 14, 2008 at 3:04 pm
15 straight save chances converted.
No. 550 of his career.
August 14, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Hoffman has had a rough season (although just three blown saves), but 26 saves in 47 team wins is pretty good.
Of course, that’s probably just a result of lots of close wins, just like K-Rod and the Angels.
August 14, 2008 at 3:33 pm
#51@Kevin:
Comparing Hoffy to the AL MVP?
August 14, 2008 at 3:58 pm
#52@Stephen: The only worse than that is when a reliever wins MVP.
August 14, 2008 at 4:02 pm
#51@Kevin: It’s because anytime the Padres have a 4-6 run lead in the ninth, they bring in Bryan Corey, who promptly creates a save situation for Hoffman.
And it’s not quite as impressive as Brian Wilson’s 32 saves in 50 wins.
August 14, 2008 at 4:48 pm
John Sickels at Minor League Ball has a review of his preseason top 20 Padres prospects:
http://www.minorleagueball.com.....-top-20-pr
August 14, 2008 at 5:06 pm
An interesting Q&A at DePo’s blog this afternoon …
What’s up with Peavy being allowed to throw 116 pitches today?
Given Jake’s history…wouldn’t keeping him under 105 or so seem like a smart decision?
Is that a discussion the front office is comfortable having with Bud Black?
August 14, 2008 2:44 PM
Paul DePodesta said…
It’s something we talk about often. I haven’t spoken with Buddy about it today, but I do know that Jake has had five days off instead of four in between starts in each of the past three turns in the rotation, and he only threw 97 pitches six days ago. Due to that, my guess is that Buddy felt he had a little more room to work with today.
August 14, 2008 3:44 PM
August 14, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Gerut was so safe. You can see from the replays that he swiped home with his hand.
I hate umps resistance to technology. We need instant replay, we need electronic balls and strikes.
August 14, 2008 at 6:35 pm
#57@jay: Gerut had plenty of time to go back and touch the bag, if any of his team mates had told him , that the umpire never gave the safe sign.
August 14, 2008 at 7:39 pm
#54@Ben B.: Plus, Wilson is a great songwriter.
August 14, 2008 at 7:56 pm
#56@LynchMob: That might be a good schedule for Peavy always. It would still be good for him to make 100 pitches than 120, but more rest might lengthen his career.
August 14, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Updates:
Kouzmanoff: .280/.318/.460
August: .277/.306/.574
Headley: .268/.338/.464
AP story talks about how some think Peavy has been dodging No. 1 starters of late. Peavy disagrees:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....=280814125
August 15, 2008 at 5:56 am
#57@jay: I’ve heard it reported the umps are in favor of using replay for the HR calls as is currently being discussed. It can’t be used for every close play though. The games are already too long as it is.
August 15, 2008 at 7:03 am
#54@Ben B.: Hoffman is going to owe The Piranha dinner or something after the season is over.
#61@Kevin: They were saying on the radio that Peavy’s been inconsistent - I don’t get it, Peavy is leading the NL in ERA. What do they expect, a 1.50 ERA???