| time: | 7:15 p.m. PT |
| tv: | 4SD |
| sp: | Brett Tomko (4-11, 5.36) vs Matt Cain (7-16, 3.68) |
| pre: | Padres.com, B-R.com |
Brett Tomko is an anagram of Bottom Trek. Matt Cain is an anagram of Attic Man.
I wish there were a super hero called Attic Man and he played for the Padres…
Tunes: Joe Pass, Kenny Burrell.
For the working magician, the best tool in his toolbox is a little thing we like to call the false expectation. If played right, it can stun an audience into total submission.
Need a break from the current season? My article on the ’73 amateur draft is now up at Hardball Times. Where’s Dave Winfield when you need him…
“What About Bob,” the tenth episode of the regrettably short-lived Dresden Files, opens with Harry’s father receiving word that he’s landed a job on a cruise ship. Moments later, after telling young Harry the good news, the father suffers a heart attack and dies.
False expectation.
Seems like only yesterday the Padres had a seven-game winning streak and an intact outfield. Now they’ve got a four-game losing streak and an inadequate supply of duct tape.
The latest addition is Jason Lane, who has come over from Houston in exchange for a player to be named or cash. Lane is expected to join the Padres in San Francisco on Tuesday, along with minor leaguers Chase Headley and Drew Macias, who have been recalled from Double-A San Antonio.
If you’re keeping score at home, this gives the Padres an outfield of Brady Clark, Brian Giles, Scott Hairston, Terrmel Sledge, Lane, and Macias. Only three of these guys were on the roster before September, so if the Padres manage to reach the playoffs, presumably we’ll see Giles in center field?
Of course, that is a pretty big “if,” given that the current rotation consists of Jake Peavy and a whole lot of pitchers who aren’t getting the job done. If they can’t contain the Giants (4.18 R/G), how will they fare in Milwaukee against a real offense (4.91 R/G)?
I miss the seven-game winning streak. I miss Milton Bradley and Mike Cameron. I miss the pre-injury version of Chris Young.
I miss Dresden Files.
Oh well, we knew it was only a matter of time…
It is clear that Milton Bradley has problems. Still, just because you’re crazy doesn’t mean they’re not out to make you crazy.
On a more practical note, here’s hoping that Bradley’s latest episode serves to galvanize the Padres. Oh, and in the above video, the tower’s collapse was provoked by external forces.
September 24, 1969, San Diego: Padres 3, Giants 2 (box score)
San Diego, with some help from the Giants defense, jumped on Juan Marichal immediately in this one. Jose Arcia and Roberto Pena singled to lead off the first. Ollie Brown then doubled home Arcia. After Marichal fanned the next two batters, Ivan Murrell flied to left for what should have been the final out of the inning. Jim Ray Hart dropped the ball, though, allowing Pena and Brown to score, and giving the Padres a 3-0 lead.
Al Santorini held San Francisco in check until the eighth inning, when his control escaped him. A walk, two hit batsmen, and a fly ball resulted in a run, making the score 3-1. Tom Dukes replaced Santorini and got out of the jam without further damage. Dukes then surrendered a home run to pinch hitter Bob Burda in the ninth before sealing the Padres’ 3-2 victory in front of nearly 15,000 fans at San Diego Stadium.
| time: | 1:05 p.m. PT |
| tv: | 4SD |
| sp: | Greg Maddux (13-10, 3.95) vs Jeff Francis (16-8, 4.25) |
| pre: | B-R.com |
Welcome to the final home game of the 2007 regular season. Let’s make it a good one…
September 23, 1969, San Diego: Padres 5, Giants 4 (box score)
The Padres wasted no time in getting to San Francisco starter Frank McCormick. After Jose Arcia led off the first with a single, Roberto Pena doubled him home and took third on an error. One out later, Al Ferrara singled to left, plating Pena. A Nate Colbert double to left put runners at second and third with only one out. With Ivan Murrell at the plate, McCormick balked home Ferrara. Murrell then grounded to second, scoring Colbert and giving the home team a commanding 4-0 lead.
If you’ve been following along all season, you know that the ’69 Padres could give up a lead, and that’s exactly what they did. The Giants scored a single run against Clay Kirby in the second to make the score 4-1, which it remained until the seventh.
That inning, Kirby’s control deserted him. After retiring Willie McCovey to lead off the frame, Kirby walked the next two batters and then plunked Leon Wagner to load the bases. Frank Reberger replaced Kirby on the mound and walked pinch-hitter Bob Burda to force home a run. The Giants scored again on a sacrifice fly to pull the visitors to within one run. San Francisco added another in the eighth to tie the score at 4-4.
Then the Padres did something unusual: they came back and won the game. With Frank Linzy on the mound for the Giants in the ninth, Pena hit a one-out single to right. Ron Slocum came on to run for Pena and promptly took second base on a wild pitch. Ollie Brown then singled to right-center, ending the ballgame. The Padres, despite their best efforts, had won, 5-4.
| time: | 7:05 p.m. PT |
| tv: | 4SD |
| sp: | Jack Cassel (1-0, 2.87) vs Mark Redman (1-4, 9.28) |
| pre: | B-R.com |
Mark Redman is the best pitcher ever. Not really, but if I tell you what I really think, he’ll throw a no-hitter. Go Padres!
FYI, I’ll be at BlogWorld & New Media Expo in Vegas this November. If you’re interested in attending this industry event, discounts are available via Knuckle Curve. I’d love to see you out there!
September 22, 1969, San Diego: Giants 4, Padres 2 (box score)
Endure the present, and watch for better things.
— Virgil (not Ozzie)
In the Padres’ case, they would have to watch for a very long time. Then again, Virgil had been dead for 2,000 years, so length is a relative concept.
The Giants scored first. In the third, Ron Hunt and Jim Ray Hart each notched RBI singles against San Diego’s Mike Corkins to take a 2-0 lead.
The Padres came back in the bottom half. With one out, Jose Arcia singled to center. After Roberto Pena struck out, Arcia stole second and then scored on an Ollie Brown single.
In the sixth, San Diego tied the game at 2-2. That sounds nice, but it should have been much nicer. Despite two doubles and a triple, the Padres managed to score only one run. Pena committed the cardinal sin of making the first out at third base when he tried to stretch his double.
The next inning, the Giants untied the game. Hunt led off with an infield single, bringing up rookie left fielder George Foster. San Francisco manager Clyde King pulled Foster back and sent 38-year-old Willie Mays to the plate. Mays promptly smacked his 13th homer of the season (and the 600th of his career — thanks to reader Jim Parish for the heads-up!) over the left-field fence to give his team a 4-2 lead it would not relinquish.
Don McMahon, who had replaced starter Ron Bryant to start the sixth, picked up the win. Corkins took the loss, falling to 1-3 on the season. Brown and Nate Colbert each had two hits and an RBI for the home team, which had lost its fourth straight and 106th game overall.
Recent Comments