IGD: Padres vs Diamondbacks (24 Apr 06)

by Geoff Young on Apr 24, 2006 (11) Comments

first pitch: 7:05 p.m., PT
television: Channel 4SD
matchup: Brandon Webb (2-0, 2.51 ERA) vs Chan Ho Park (1-0, 4.86 ERA)
previews: Padres.com | SI.com

Snakes in town for three. This Arizona club is an interesting mix of old (Tony Clark, Luis Gonzalez, Shawn Green, Orlando Hernandez, Terry Mullholland (!)) and young (Conor Jackson, Chad Tracy, Brandon Webb), with some questionable pitching behind their ace. Remind you of any teams we know?

The scary thing about the Diamondbacks is that, beyond the solid foundation of Jackson, Tracy, and Webb, they’ve got some sick talent on the farm — guys like Stephen Drew and Carlos Quentin who will be ready to contribute soon, as well as Justin Upton, who might be the best all-around baseball talent not currently playing in the big leagues. If they ever get some arms, the Snakes could be serious trouble.

For now, they are — like every other team in the NL West — a club with flaws that can be exploited. Webb gets the start tonight, which will be tough to overcome. His groundball-to-flyball ratio just keeps improving; after a ridiculous 4.34 last year, he’s at 4.62 through four starts so far in 2006, to bring his career ratio to 3.82. (For comparison, Kevin Brown’s best single season ratio was 3.64 in 1997, and his career mark was 2.62.)

On offense, Gonzalez and Tracy are swinging the bat well, as are Craig Counsell and Jeff DaVanon. Fortunately, Chan Ho Park has done a good job of neutralizing Counsell and DaVanon over the years. Gonzalez, not surprisingly, is a different story, having hit Park to the tune of .333/.429/.595 in 42 career at-bats.

I’ll be watching a few things tonight. The first is Park: can he build on last week’s strong start at Coors Field and establish himself as a solid presence in the Padres rotation? The second and third are Tracy and Adrian Gonzalez. A couple weeks ago we looked at some possible comps for Gonzalez based on MLEs, and one of the top names that came up was Tracy (incidentally, Green was another). I’m interested to watch them both side by side to see whether their approaches are as similar as their statistical records.

I will be at the ballpark again tonight, so you’re on your own. Be good, and go Padres!

Two Timely Bombs and a Whole Lotta Hangin’ On

by Geoff Young on Apr 23, 2006 (16) Comments

Great win Sunday afternoon against the Mets. I especially liked the way the Padres held off a mid-game charge and finished strong. The momentum started to shift in the sixth, but the home team didn’t let it go down the way I feared it might.

Anyway, a few random observations from the game:

  • Youth continues to be served. Josh Barfield launched his first Petco Park homer, a blast to left in the first inning. Barfield finished the day with three knocks, giving him four three-hit games in the last six days.
  • Brian Giles’ grand slam in the fourth delivered a much-needed clutch hit. Giles knocked a full-count offering from Victor Zambrano 328 feet into the right field porch. Like Julio Franco’s homer Thursday night, Giles’ shot doesn’t go out anywhere else. The Padres need to do a better job of using their home field advantage (even after Sunday’s contest, the Pads have been outscored, 56-31, and outhomered, 15-7, at Petco Park).
  • The other great thing about Giles’ slam is that the entire rally started with two outs and the pitcher at bat. Zambrano had retired the first two batters on a total of three pitches. Then Clay Hensley stepped to the plate and rapped a single to keep the inning alive.
  • Speaking of Hensley, he looked better than the final line would indicate. He sailed through the first five innings and could’ve escaped the sixth with minimal damage had Scott Cassidy been able to do anything in relief of him. I like Hensley in the rotation and think he could be another Brian Lawrence type for the Pads.
  • Thank goodness for Alan Embree and Scott Linebrink.
  • Maybe the Padres need to call more hit-and-run plays with Khalil Greene at the plate. In the seventh, with Vinny Castilla running from first, Greene did a real nice job of staying back on a Chad Bradford 3-2 offering and served it into right field for a single. That’s not necessarily the approach you want to see Greene take all the time, but making a conscious effort to hit the ball the other way every now and then could help him keep his stroke reasonably short.
  • Speaking of Bradford, he made Doug Mirabelli look ridiculous in the following at-bat. I know it’s early, and I’m trying to withhold judgment, but Mirabelli isn’t impressing me at all either at or behind the plate. Barfield’s emergence is making the loss of Mark Loretta palatable, but it still would’ve been nice to get something better than an old backup catcher for him.
  • Can you believe Mark Bellhorn made contact when he needed to and hit a grounder to second in the seventh to bring home the Pads’ final run? Even after that at-bat, he still has fanned in more than half of his plate appearances so far this season.
  • Giles swiped second base in the eighth while Adrian Gonzalez was striking out on a 3-2 pitch. The Padres are now 16-for-16 in stolen bases this year.
  • Trevor Hoffman notched his first save at Petco Park in 2006. I know his on-field numbers alone don’t justify the contract, and I know other closers have their entrance music, but you just can’t top Hoffman trotting in from the bullpen to AC/DC’s “Hells Bells.” Many years, it’s been about the only reason to go to the ballpark.
  • I can’t tell you how glad I am that the Padres don’t have to face the Mets again until August. That is one tough lineup. Those guys are a Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano trade away from being the dominant force in the National League for the next few years.

Great win. Now bring on the Diamondbacks.

IGD: Padres vs Mets (23 Apr 06)

by Geoff Young on Apr 23, 2006 (2) Comments

first pitch: 1:05 p.m., PT
television: Channel 4SD
matchup: Clay Hensley (1-1, 6.00 ERA) vs Victor Zambrano (1-1, 9.00 ERA)
previews: Padres.com | SI.com | ESPN

Padres lost to the Mets, 8-1, Saturday night behind the right arm of Pedro Martinez and the bats of Carlos Delgado, Xavier Nady, and Ramon Castro. On the bright side, Mike Piazza had two of San Diego’s three hits on the evening, including a 425-foot homer into the second deck in left field. On the not so bright side, Chris Young apparently has a thumb injury that will require an MRI.

Mike Cameron, held out an extra day due to the Padres’ need for arms in the bullpen after Friday night’s 14-inning affair, makes his San Diego debut this afternoon against his old uniform. One hopes he’ll be as much of a thorn in the Mets’ side today as Nady has been in the Padres’ side over the first three games.

Clay Hensley makes his third big-league start today against Victor “Thank Goodness He’s Not Carlos” Zambrano. I will be wandering aimlessly around Petco Park, so talk amongst yourselves. Let’s get a split of this series.

Elsinore Photos

by Geoff Young on Apr 23, 2006 (6) Comments

We made it out to the Storm game Saturday night. After brief stops for Indian buffet on Black Mountain Road and a little gaming at Pechanga, we worked our way up to Lake Elsinore.

A guy in the parking lot had bought a bunch of tickets for a group event, and many of his peeps didn’t show, so we ended up in Section 109, off to the third base side, rather than our customary seats behind the plate. The bad news is, the Storm lost, 6-0, and collected just two hits. The good news is, one of those two hits was a double off the bat of left fielder Drew Davidson. He was the “Double-Double” batter of the game, which meant that if he hit a double, everyone in — you guessed it — Section 109 got a free Double-Double at In ‘N’ Out. [Update: Matt reminds me in the comments that In 'N' Out is a regional chain so I've added a link to help alleviate any confusion.]

Needless to say, Davidson is my new favorite player.

Third baseman Chase Headley was hitless in four at-bats, striking out in each of his first two at-bats. Right-hander Mike Ekstrom looked okay. I wasn’t paying close enough attention to give full details, but his fastball was 86-90 mph.

We also got to see one of those plays that only happens in the minor leagues. Storm reliever Chris Jaile uncorked a wild pitch that bounced back to the screen. The runner started to break from third but retreated when catcher Colt Morton pounced on the rebound. Unfortunately, Morton didn’t realize the runner had returned to third and flipped the ball toward the plate, where Jaile was standing but not really paying attention and it sailed past him, allowing the run to score.

On another note, my wife asked me something I’ve been wondering myself for some time. If you’ve ever been to the Diamond, you know that there’s a retired number out on the center field fence: Urso #7. Who is he? Now the head coach at the University of Tampa, apparently a heckuva guy.

Shut up already, where are the photos? Funny you should ask. They’re right here:

Enjoy!

IGD: Padres vs Mets (22 Apr 06)

by Geoff Young on Apr 22, 2006 (18) Comments

first pitch: 7:05 p.m., PT
television: Channel 4SD
matchup: Chris Young (2-0, 2.95 ERA) vs Pedro Martinez (3-0, 3.66 ERA)
previews: Padres.com | SI.com | ESPN

As much as any team can need a win in April, the Padres needed that one Friday night against the Mets. Rich Campbell at San Diego Spotlight breaks it down nicely, noting the solid play of youngsters Josh Barfield and Adrian Gonzalez on the right side of the infield.

Also, there was no small amount of redemption for the bullpen and Geoff Blum, who had been the goats in Thursday night’s heartbreaking loss. To get six shutout innings from Trevor Hoffman, Scott Cassidy, and the eventual winner Brian Sweeney was huge. Same with Blum scoring the game-winning run moments after finally collecting his first hit of the season.

Speaking of redemption, how about Woody Williams? After not making the rotation out of spring training, Williams has jumped back in and looked better with each start. He kept Mets hitters off balance for eight innings Friday night, and if the Padres hadn’t been so intent on stranding runners (16 in all), he would’ve gotten the victory. Regardless, not a bad start for a 39-year-old pitcher coming off a disappointing season.

But wait, the news gets better. For the first time in 2006, the Padres expect to have their starting center fielder in the lineup. Mike Cameron played six innings at Lake Elsinore Thursday night, and a full nine on Friday. Ben Johnson has done a solid job in his place the past few days while Dave Roberts reacclimated himself to left field (and he looks very comfortable in left), but the whole complexion of the outfield defense will change with Cameron out there. I’m pretty psyched about his return.

The other good news is that the Mets bullpen has been very busy the first two games of this series, working three innings in the opener and eight innings Friday night. The downside, of course, is that tonight’s starter, Pedro Martinez, frequently doesn’t need a bullpen. We’ve seen some outstanding starting pitching so far in this series; expect more of the same on Saturday.

On a personal note, I didn’t get out to Elsinore last night like I’d hoped. I’ll be up there tonight to get my first look at Chase Headley and Mike Ekstrom, among others. In other words, you’re on your own this evening. Talk it up, and go Pads!

IGD: Padres vs Mets (21 Apr 06)

by Geoff Young on Apr 21, 2006 (22) Comments

first pitch: 7:05 p.m., PT
television: Channel 4SD
matchup: Woody Williams (1-0, 4.50 ERA) vs Brian Bannister (2-0, 2.50 ERA)
previews: Padres.com | SI.com | ESPN

Brian Bannister is former big-league pitcher Floyd Bannister’s kid. You know about Josh Barfield, whose dad had a pretty nice career himself. And now for some truly useless information:

Name DOB career vs Bannister
AB BA OBP SLG
Floyd Bannister 10 Jun 55 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Jesse Barfield 29 Oct 59 59 .237 .297 .610
Julio Franco 23 Aug 58 31 .419 .514 .742
Stats courtesy of Retrosheet.

For what it’s worth (probably not much), three men hit more homers off Bannister than did Barfield: Tom Brunansky, Gary Gaetti, and Dave Winfield. And it kills me that a guy older than Josh Barfield’s father beat the Padres Thursday night.

Maybe tonight will be better.

There Goes the Bullpen

by Geoff Young on Apr 20, 2006 (38) Comments

Sigh. Thanks to all of you who suggested the title for this post.

I don’t even know where to start. Jake Peavy was cruising. He had a 2-1 lead through seven and had thrown just 96 pitches. The one run he allowed came on an inside-the-park home run by Kaz Matsui on a ball that Brian Giles almost caught.

The Padres had the bases loaded and nobody out to start the eighth. Geoff Blum pinch hit for Peavy and popped weakly to Carlos Delgado at first. Then Eric Young pinch hit for Dave Roberts and grounded sharply to third for an inning-ending double play.

So much for that.

Scott Linebrink comes in and gives up a leadoff double just inside the third base line off the bat of a former Padre who allegedly can’t hit right-handers. After retiring Matsui, Linebrink makes history by serving up a two-run jack to Julio Franco, the oldest player ever to homer in a big-league game. In Linebrink’s defense, the ball lands in the right field porch and probably doesn’t leave the yard in any other park.

From there — aw, who cares. Just know that by the time the Mets were finished, they’d plated six runs and effectively ended the ballgame.

The Padres went gentle into that good night, without so much as a baserunner in the final two innings. The pisser isn’t that this was a winnable game but that it was darned near a won game. The Friars had to work pretty hard to blow it. Do you know how difficult it is to load the bases with nobody out and not score a single run?

Some games you win, some you lose. Others gnaw at you for a long time. You know which this one is.

IGD: Padres vs Mets (20 Apr 06)

by Geoff Young on Apr 20, 2006 (56) Comments

first pitch: 7:05 p.m., PT
television: Channel 4SD
matchup: Jake Peavy (1-2, 5.50 ERA) vs Steve Trachsel (1-1, 4.09 ERA)
previews: Padres.com | SI.com | ESPN

The Mets come to town Thursday night to begin a four-game series at Petco Park. New York has gotten off to a hot start, winning 10 if its first 14 games of the season. The Mets are doing it with good hitting (Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, David Wright, some guy who used to ride pine for the Padres) and great pitching (what’s up with Tom Glavine’s strikeout totals so far?)

As for the Padres, they took the final game of the Rockies series in convincing fashion, 13-4, to finish their road trip at 5-4. The bats started to heat up toward the end of the trip, although how much of that is due to Coors Field remains to be seen.

Adrian Gonzalez has been leading the way for most of the young season, with veterans Vinny Castilla and Brian Giles also starting to get on track. Now rookie Josh Barfield is getting into the act, and even Khalil Greene, who hasn’t been getting many hits to fall, continues to show an improved approach at the plate. He leads the team in both ISO (.264, 25th in the NL) and P/PA (4.15, 21st in the NL). About the only guy not at least showing signs right now is catcher Mike Piazza, who hasn’t done much outside of Opening Day.

On the pitching side, the patchwork bullpen has been spectacular. As for the rotation, let’s just say you’d rather not see a team use 7 starters through its first 14 games. Chris Young, who starts Saturday night against Pedro Martinez, has been better than expected, and Jake Peavy, who gets the call tonight, looked good his last time out.

There it is. Go Padres!

Here Comes the Bullpen

by Geoff Young on Apr 20, 2006 (22) Comments

Don’t look now, but the Padres have the lowest bullpen ERA in the big leagues:

IP ERA H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9
49.0 2.94 8.08 0.73 3.31 7.53
Stats through April 19, 2006; courtesy ESPN.

Alan Embree, Scott Cassidy, Scott Linebrink, and Trevor Hoffman have allowed three runs among them in over 26 innings of work. Heck, even Dewon Brazelton threw two scoreless innings on Wednesday. Isn’t April fun?

IGD: Padres @ Rockies (19 Apr 06)

by Geoff Young on Apr 19, 2006 (62) Comments

first pitch: 12:05 p.m., PT
television: none
matchup: Chan Ho Park (0-0, 5.59 ERA) vs Zach Day (1-1, 7.45 ERA)
previews: Padres.com | SI.com

So I’m sitting here trying to think of something to say about today’s rubber match between the Padres and Rockies at Coors Field. I’m having trouble coming up with a theme — maybe a string of related events which, when tied together, lead to greater insights — so I end up constructing pompous sentences like this one.

I could talk about the Padres’ inability to get a hit with runners in scoring position. I could talk about the baffling early season park factors of Coors Field and Petco Park. Or maybe Clay Hensley’s solid start despite coming down with food poisoning over the weekend. Or the Brian Giles play at the plate that I missed because I couldn’t hold out for dinner any longer and didn’t feel like cooking. Or the continued strong work by the bullpen. Or the fact that a victory today means the Padres finish the nine-game road trip with a winning record.

Or I could punt and throw out some song lyrics, but what would they say? Maybe something with “park” in the title. Or “Wednesday.” I found two songs called “Wednesday” — one by Tori Amos, the other by Jimmy Eat World. I can get behind both artists, but I don’t know either tune real well. And besides, I’d rather quote obscure Poi Dog Pondering songs.

So where does that leave us? I guess the best thing is to come clean and admit I’ve got nothing. Now back to you…