A sweep of the defending world champs is always a nice way to kick off the first homestand of the season. Brett Tomko pitched reasonably well but didn’t get the win in the 2-1 contest. He worked with an 89-93 MPH fastball, 82-85 MPH breaking pitch, and occasional change-up. Tomko mixed his pitches well and worked quickly. His command was a bit shaky at times but for the most part he looked good.

D’Angelo Jimenez is becoming a real pest at the plate. Here are his Wednesday night at-bats against starter Rick Helling:

• Bottom first, none on, none out: Infield single to second base, seven pitches.
• Bottom third, none on, one out: Swinging strikout, five pitches.
• Bottom sixth, none on, none out: Ground out to first base, ten pitches.

Jimenez grounded out on just two pitches later in the game batting from the right side against southpaw Eddie Oropesa. But while the starter was in there, Jimenez saw 22 pitches in three plate appearances. He made Helling work. And, as he has in each game so far this season, he got himself on base.

Ramon Vazquez is starting to grow on me. I’ve been skeptical of him since the Pads acquired him but every time I see him play, he does something to impress me. In the field, Vazquez has good hands and quick reactions (apparently he played volleyball professionally back in Puerto Rico for a few years). And at the plate, he has a good working knowledge of the strike zone and can drive the ball into the gaps. He’s a gritty, intelligent ballplayer. Fun to watch.

I don’t understand why some people dislike Rick Sutcliffe so much as an announcer. He knows a lot about the game, and he’s entertaining. My favorite line of his tonight was, in describing a Padre staff member, "His idea of a balanced meal is eating a hamburger using two hands." No, not the most clever line I’ve ever heard, but funny nonetheless. And it’s fascinating (to me, anyway) to hear him talk about things like pitch selection and mechanics.

Down at Mobile, Dennis Tankersley is back to his old tricks. Eight punchouts in five innings. Vince Faison is making some noise. I’d questioned the decision to start him at Double-A, but his strong postseason performance of last September appears to have carried over to 2002. He had a double and a homer in five at-bats last night, and he’s now hitting a cool .240/.321/.520. It’s still awfully early, but if he’s still doing this a month or so from now, things could get interesting.

Speaking of interesting, Corey Patterson now has drawn six bases on balls this year in just 25 at-bats. It took him 131 at-bats to walk that many times in 2001.

Home opener at Elsinore tonight. I’ll be there, in my customary spot behind home plate. I hope to get some good pictures. Full report tomorrow.