Game Recaps

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Unraveling

Monday, June 2, 2008
by Geoff Young

That sucked. In case you'd forgotten how 2007 ended, the Padres gave a nice little encore Sunday afternoon in San Francisco. They battled back from a deficit, took the lead in extra innings on a two-run homer, then watched Trevor Hoffman give it back, with the game ending on a bizarre defensive play. As was the case with Scott Hairston last October, Adrian Gonzalez' dramatic home run is now just a footnote, not the story. Nobody cares that he pounded the first pitch he saw from rookie left-hander Alex Hinshaw over the center field fence at PhoneCo Park. Nobody cares that he sat on ...

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Posted in Game Recaps | 32 Comments »

Notes on a Victory

Wednesday, May 28, 2008
by Geoff Young

Satisfying win on Tuesday night. The last two games I've attended have followed the exact same pattern: Randy Wolf serves up a two-run homer in the first, settles down, and watches his teammates play long ball late. To the bullet points: Hard to complain about a victory, but I'll do it anyway. The Pads really should have put Shawn Hill away early. He had zero command. I love watching Adrian Gonzalez play first base. Aaron Boone hit a grounder down the line at third to start the sixth. Kevin Kouzmanoff made a nice backhanded grab, then fired across the diamond well ahead of Boone. The throw came ...

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Posted in Game Recaps | 63 Comments »

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Those Who Snooze Don’t Always Lose

Wednesday, May 21, 2008
by Geoff Young

We were walking west along J Street, just past Fire Station 4, when the crowd erupted. Cardinals fans seem to travel with their team, so we assumed that the visiting team had extended its seemingly insurmountable 2-0 lead. I was in a lousy mood before we even got to the ballpark -- I forget why, but it seemed important at the time. The game wasn't helping any. In the bottom of the first, after Jody Gerut drew an eight-pitch walk to lead off the inning, Tadahito Iguchi rapped into an easy 6-4-3 double play and I just smiled. It wasn't the smile of a happy man, mind you, more like the thing Jeff Kent does right ...

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Posted in Game Recaps | 130 Comments »

Shadow Puppets

Tuesday, May 20, 2008
by Geoff Young

For those of you who might have "missed" Monday night's game, here is a quick recap: The Cardinals scored their first runs of the game on a fly ball to deep left that Scott Hairston dropped into the stands for a two-run homer. They scored their next run on a bases-loaded HBP to Yadier Molina -- yes, that Yadier Molina. They scored their next run on a homer by Cesar Izturis -- yes, that Cesar Izturis. Then Albert Pujols homered, which is fine because, well, he's Albert Pujols and that's what he does. Then Todd Wellemeyer drove in a run -- yes, that Todd -- wait, who the heck is Todd Wellemeyer? The game ended. I see the white flag. I'm not prepared to acknowledge it just yet, but ...

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Posted in Game Recaps, Roster Notes | 127 Comments »

The Shape of Things to Come

Wednesday, May 7, 2008
by Geoff Young

Top of the ninth, two on, one out. Adrian Gonzalez steps to the plate. Braves manager Bobby Cox summons ex-Padre Royce Ring, who promptly hangs a breaking ball. Gonzalez swats it high and deep down the right-field line. He, catcher Brian McCann, and plate umpire Wally Bell all watch as it sails into the Atlanta night... just foul for strike one. Ring proceeds to fan Gonzalez. After a pitching change, Kevin Kouzmanoff lofts a harmless fly ball to center, into the waiting glove of another ex-Padre, Mark Kotsay. Game over. The Padres lose again. That's the season in a nutshell so far. The Padres play poorly, and then, when they get opportunity, it fizzles... or misses by a few feet, whatever. I'm not prepared to ...

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Posted in Game Recaps, Roster Notes | 161 Comments »

Winning Is Better Than Knitting

Thursday, May 1, 2008
by Geoff Young

Winning is so much more fun than losing, n'est ce pas? Every starter except Jim Edmonds and Chris Young collected at least one hit on Wednesday in the Padres' 4-2 victory over Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park. Tadahito Iguchi broke out of a season-long slump with four hits, while Adrian Gonzalez and Kevin Kouzmanoff each homered. (The Padres, who allegedly can't hit, have outhomered the Phillies, 4-1, in the first two games of the series.) Young looked solid for the most part. He gave up a two-run bomb to Chase Utley in the first, but if Utley isn't the hottest hitter on the planet ...

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Posted in Game Recaps | 60 Comments »

Monkeys on Roller Skates

Thursday, April 24, 2008
by Geoff Young

Thanks to reader Lance for hooking us up with seats two rows behind the visitors dugout on Wednesday night. First time I've been anywhere near that close at Petco Park, and it's a whole different experience. For a guy like me who lives in nosebleed, just, wow. Also, belated welcome to all the folks at Gaslamp Ball who came over and hung with us while GLB was unavailable. Good to see so many familiar names as I browsed through the IGD.The national story will be that Trevor Hoffman blew a save. Hooray for the media. Here are some other stories that won't get as much play: Brian Giles struck out ...

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Posted in Game Recaps | 73 Comments »