Five wins in a row. A share of first place. Sweet? No, spicy; vaguely like doner kebab. Some days you get only one hit. Some days, that’s all you need. On Tuesday, against the Giants, it was enough. Ladies and gentlemen, break up the Padres. (Oops, shouldn’t say that out loud… it could happen, you [...]
Author Archives 
Me, Elsewhere: Early-Season Surprises
While I’m working on the recap of Tuesday’s victory, here’s a little something to keep you busy: My latest Hardball Times article looks at some of the more unexpected performances over the first two weeks of 2010. There’s no real Padres connection, although former Friars Rickey Henderson, Miguel Olivo, Tony Clark, David Ross, Russell Branyan, [...]
Bobblehead Goes Yard, Padres Move into Second
How predictable. The Padres win Monday night on a walk-off homer from David Eckstein. Yawn. Wake me when something exciting happens. Wait, that David Eckstein? Those Padres?
Brooms, Cliches… It’s All Good
Another day, another thrashing of the Diamondbacks bullpen. I’m going to miss those guys. Here’s how the Padres won their weekend series against Arizona: Starters IP H R ER HR BB K SD 15.2 8 3 0 0 10 17 SD 15.2 8 4 1 0 10 17 Ari 17.0 11 2 2 1 11 [...]
Change Is Good, and So Is Winning
We made it to our first game of 2010 on Saturday night. I was prepared to hate the new 5:35 start time, but it turns out I didn’t. We had to rearrange our eating schedule, although that worked out well, as it resulted in a Lolita’s carne asada burrito after the game. Speaking of change, [...]
Chasin’ the Snakes Away
Getting a late start on a lazy Saturday. I wasn’t planning to write today, but how can I not say a few words about the season’s best game so far? It didn’t start out that way. Most of the night was an exercise in frustration. As Tim Hudson did on Thursday, Edwin Jackson had trouble [...]
Friday Links (16 Apr 10)
This week’s links are proudly sponsored by coffee. Give yourself a present… Uno Oh, To Be A Padre In August ’80 (Baseball-Reference). Steve Lombardi notes that the Padres played three games of 17 innings or more within a 12-day stretch back in 1980. Yikes. Bill James for Nobel (Sabermetric Research). This article from Phil Birnbaum [...]
People Showed Up to Game 2; I Wasn’t One of Them
Thank goodness for the day off on Tuesday. The season is a grind, and sometimes you just need a break. I don’t know about you, but after a week’s worth of games on the road and one grueling home date, I was ready to get my mind off baseball… if only for a little while. [...]
That’s One Way to Lower Your ERA
by Geoff Young on Apr 19, 2010 (2) Comments
I mentioned that in Friday night’s victory over Arizona, third baseman Chase Headley committed two errors but was charged with only one. The U-T’s Tim Sullivan informs us that official scorer Bill Zavestoski later reversed course. According to Sullivan, Padres media relations manager Bret Picciolo, manager Bud Black, and pitching coach Darren Balsley all spoke [...]