Stuff I Was Going to Whine About before We Came Back to Win

by Geoff Young on May 31, 2005 (4) Comments

Okay, so the Pads pulled that one off but at the risk of seeming ungrateful, I have to get a few things off my chest:

Guys Hacking First Pitch with RISP

1st inning
Dave Roberts: Ball, Ball, Strike (looking), Ball, Ball, D Roberts walked

Geoff Blum: Ball, Ball, Ball, D Roberts stole second, Strike (looking), Strike (looking), Ball, G Blum walked
Ryan Klesko: R Klesko flied out to left

Wes Obermueller has thrown 11 pitches in the game when Klesko comes up, and only 3 have been strikes.

3rd inning
Dave Roberts: Ball, Ball, Ball, Ball, D Roberts walked
Geoff Blum: Ball, Strike (looking), Strike (foul), G Blum doubled to deep right, D Roberts to third
Ryan Klesko: Ball, Ball, Ball, Ball, R Klesko walked
Brian Giles: B Giles fouled out to third

Obermueller has thrown 48 pitches in the game when Giles comes up, and only 20 have been strikes. Obermueller ends up walking five batters in 2 2/3 innings, and yet two guys who are top 15 in the NL in drawing walks get themselves out on first pitches with runners in scoring position. What’s up with that?

Bad Relay Throw

If Damian Jackson makes a good throw to the plate on Damian Miller‘s fourth-inning double, Lyle Overbay is out by a mile. Russell Branyan‘s homer is a solo shot, and Gary Glover‘s line out to first ends the inning (or a pinch hitter comes up and forces Milwaukee to go deeper into the bullpen). Jake Peavy most likely gets out of the inning with a 4-1 lead.

But I can’t even stay mad at Jackson because he ended up with two hits and made a spectacular play going to his left in the ninth on a ball hit by Junior Spivey.

Burning Sweeney in the Fourth

Down 4-3, the Pads send their best pinch hitter, Mark Sweeney, up to bat for Peavy to lead off the fourth. Of course, it’s obvious now that Bruce Bochy envisioned his team scoring a boatload of runs late and thus decided to get Sweeney in and out of the game early.

Anyway, stuff like this bugs me, but I can’t even complain with much conviction because it seems like whatever happens, the Padres are destined to win games. Peavy doesn’t make it to the fifth inning, but Dennys Reyes, Brian Falkenborg, and Chris Hammond slam the door until Blum provides the heroics via a three-run homer in the sixth.

Reyes? Falkenborg? Hammond? Blum? Yeah, believe it.

And speaking of Peavy, yesterday we looked at his first 10 starts of the 2005 season vs his first 10 of 2004. Any guesses as to when the last time Peavy failed to reach the fifth inning of a game? Yep, his 11th start last year, July 7 against the Astros at Petco. Check out the lines from those two games:


       IP H ER HR BB SO
2005: 4.0 6  4  1  1  5
2004: 4.0 7  4  1  4  2

Too weird. Kinda like the entire month of May.

In-Game Discussion: Padres vs Brewers (31 May 2005)

by Geoff Young on May 31, 2005 (53) Comments

first pitch: 7:05 p.m., PT
television: Channel 4
matchup: Jake Peavy (5-0, 2.00 ERA) vs Wes Obermueller (1-0, 2.43 ERA)
previews: ESPN | CBS | SI | Padres.com

Ho hum, the Pads won another one-run game to improve their home record to 17-4 and extend their lead in the NL West to a whopping three games over Arizona. Darrell May again kept things close until the bench and bullpen could take care of business. Akinori Otsuka, Rudy Seanez, and Scott Linebrink finished up on the mound, with Miguel Ojeda providing the game winner on a two-out pinch double in the bottom of the ninth that scored Geoff Blum.

Tonight it’s all about Peavy. Wanna know something scary? Peavy is having a better year so far than last year. You know what that means, right? At least one Cy Young vote. Check it out, through 10 starts:

        date IP/G  ERA  H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 P/IP
2004   2 Jul  5.9 1.98 8.69 0.46 3.05 9.00 16.5
2005  26 May  7.2 2.00 6.38 0.50 1.50 9.13 14.2

ERA is about the same, but he’s harder to hit and he’s cut his walks in half. He’s also throwing over two fewer pitches per inning, which is allowing him to work an additional 1 1/3 innings per game. Oh, and he turns 24 today. Happy birthday, Jake!

                               AB   BA  OBP  SLG
Peavy vs current Brewers       32 .250 .324 .531
Obermueller vs current Padres  37 .297 .378 .324

Not much to go on for either guy. Geoff Jenkins (.571/.571/1.857 in 7 AB) is doing virtually all the damage against Peavy. On the other side, Obermueller has a very long name. He’s also put up some real good numbers in limited action this year. Beyond that, I don’t know much about him.

X Factor

Xavier Nady, pinch hitting for Rudy Seanez, led off the seventh with an infield single. He stayed in the game and played left field, striking out in his only other at-bat, in the ninth.

Notes and Links: Special “Winning Is Fun” Edition

by Geoff Young on May 31, 2005 (1) Comments

Today’s edition features recaps of the latest Padre victory, injury updates, changes at the hot corner, a couple of tasty interviews, and more of the best out on the web.

Rickey and the Dawgs

by Geoff Young on May 30, 2005 (Comments Off) Comments

Caught Monday evening’s Surf Dawgs game against Chico at Tony Gwynn Stadium. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I’ll let these speak for themselves.

Tony Gwynn Stadium

Rickey leads off second

Rickey warms up in the outfield

Rickey trots in to the dugout

Former Padres catcher Terry Kennedy manages the Surf Dawgs

Former Tigers first-round pick and San Diego native Matt Wheatland delivers a pinch single

In-Game Discussion: Padres vs Brewers (30 May 2005)

by Geoff Young on May 30, 2005 (246) Comments

first pitch: 7:05 p.m., PT
television: Channel 4
matchup: Darrell May (0-0, 5.53 ERA) vs Victor Santos (2-4, 3.02 ERA)
previews: ESPN | CBS | SI | Padres.com

The Pads completed the sweep of the Giants in San Francisco Sunday afternoon and have now won 20 of their last 25 games. Only St. Louis has put more runs on the board in the NL this year than the Friars. With the Dodgers beating Arizona, the Padres are now up by 2 1/2 games in the NL West.

Phil Nevin still hasn’t gotten it going (would you believe that he and Damian Jackson have the same number of walks?). On the positive side, Brian Giles and Ryan Klesko are back to their old tricks, and Dave Roberts is having a career year (he already has 16 extra base hits; his single-season high is 25). Jake Peavy is his dominant self, and yesterday’s starter, Adam Eaton, appears to have stepped his game up a level. The bench and bullpen are improved over last season, and the club is looking like a serious threat.

The Padres return to Petco tonight to start their longest homestand of the year against Milwaukee. The Pads have the best home record in baseball, but will be put to the test Monday behind nominal fifth starter May.

                          AB   BA  OBP  SLG
May vs current Brewers    48 .271 .304 .604
Santos vs current Padres  35 .286 .419 .429

Small sample, but a .331 ISO? Yikes. Of the 13 hits May has allowed to these guys, 9 are for extra bases. Carlos Lee (.250/.318/.650 in 20 AB) has faced May most often. Presumably former Padre Jeff Cirillo (.091/.231/.091 in 11 AB) won’t get the start tonight. Cirillo, who is still on the Pads’ payroll this year, is hitting .277/.376/.406 for Milwaukee. One of the Brewers’ most productive hitters so far has been USD alum (go Toreros!) Brady Clark, who is batting .335/.396/.478 and who leads the league in runs scored with 39.

For the Friars, not too many have faced Santos, with Nevin having the lone homer. Opponents are hitting .257/.381/.514 against Santos in the first inning this year.

X Factor

Xavier Nady got a great view of a great game Sunday afternoon but did not participate in the contest.

In-Game Discussion: Padres @ Giants (29 May 2005)

by Geoff Young on May 29, 2005 (275) Comments

first pitch: 1:05 p.m., PT
television: Channel 4
matchup: Adam Eaton (7-1, 3.49 ERA) vs Jason Schmidt (3-1, 4.79 ERA)
previews: ESPN | CBS | SI | Padres.com

Just got in from Vegas; thanks to Jay for posting the key pitcher-batter matchups in yesterday’s comments. Here they are:

Padres vs Schmidt:

Good: (AB/BA/OBP/SLG/OPS)
Sweeney: 20/.350/.458/.750/1.208
Hernandez: 15/.400/.526/.867/1.393
Jackson: 13/.308/.438/.615/1.053
Blum: 13/.231/.286/.538/.824

Ugly:
Nevin: 20/.200/.261/.250/.511
Klesko: 41/.171/.286/.317/.603
Giles: 27/.074/.324/.222/.547

Giants vs Eaton


Good:
Bonds (who cares, but his OPS is 1.227)
Alou 16/.375/.412/.813/1.224
Tucker 8/.500/.500/.625/1.125
Durham 16/.250/.400/.688/1.088
Alfonzo 20/.300/.391/.600/.991
Snow 21/.286/.348/.524/.872

Ugly:
Vizquel OPS with 6 AB .250; Marquis Grissom (out) has an OPS .274 in 28 AB's

Jay also had this commentary to offer, and I think it’s spot on: “I know it is asking for way, way too much, but today looks like a day to see Nady, Sweeney in there (I say give Nady a go if your big guns are so bad against Schmidt).”

The good news is, Sweeney and Jackson in are in today’s lineup. The bad news? Giles and Klesko play, Nady sits.

X Factor

Xavier Nady started in left field Saturday. Batting seventh, he singled in four at-bats. He also drove in the tying run in the seventh on what should have been an infield hit; unfortunately first base umpire C.B. Bucknor missed the call at first, so it was just an RBI ground out. Nady had one other nice at-bat; in the fourth, after falling behind 0-2, he worked the count full before flying to the warning track in left.

Pads have already clinched their second straight series win on the road against a division rival and a winning record on the road trip. Today they go for the sweep against one of the tougher right-handers in baseball.

In-Game Discussion: Padres @ Giants (28 May 2005)

by Geoff Young on May 28, 2005 (11) Comments

first pitch: 1:05 p.m., PT
television: Fox
matchup: Tim Stauffer (1-1, 4.44 ERA) vs Noah Lowry (2-5, 5.75 ERA)
previews: ESPN | CBS | SI | Padres.com

Las Vegas is a place an existentialist could love. The notion that things don’t have any intrinsic meaning until we assign meaning to them is just so damned transparent in this town. That could help explain its popularity.

That, or the buffets.

Or Tony Bennett. He’s playing the Golden Nugget this weekend, which is where we’re staying. And although Bennett may have left his heart in San Francisco, on Friday night it was the Padres who left a hurt on the city by the bay, defeating the Giants, 9-3.

Thanks to various sports books’ insistence on highlighting the battle for second place in the NL West, I managed to catch only a few innings of the game. When I checked in, the Pads had a 5-1 lead and Brian Lawrence was getting to the part of the game where guys start smacking the ball all over the field off him.

Uh-oh.

But Lawrence – with help from third baseman Geoff Blum – minimzed the damage and escaped the inning with a 5-3 lead. What happened next was beautiful: The Padres scored four runs in the top of the next inning. It was about this time that I could no longer find the game on television. So I followed along on the ticker, and the score never changed.

Finally I was able to find a screen with the game on just as the Pads were finishing their half of the ninth. I’m thinking to myself, Now this would be a good time to use Brian Falkenborg. You know, save the key guys in the bullpen a little. Yeah, Jake Peavy spun the complete game on Thursday, but still.

So I’m watching as the Giants come to bat, and I look at the Padres pitcher. Who is that? Holy smokes, it’s Lawrence. And what does he do in the ninth? He finishes the game, very quietly and efficiently. Back-to-back complete games. Unreal.

Lawrence throws a gem. On the road! The bullpen gets another day of rest. How well does this set up the pitching staff for the final two games of the series. Oh, and the Dodgers beat the Diamondbacks, so the Pads are now 1 1/2 games up on the second-place Snakes.

And that, my friends, is as sweet as any tune Tony Bennett ever sang.

Stauffer goes this afternoon. Let’s see if he can figure out lefties (.343/.439/.629) and get the win.

X Factor

Xavier Nady entered the game as a defensive replacement for Ryan Klesko; he grounded out to shortstop in his only at-bat. Funny that a guy most known for his offense has become a LIDR.

In-Game Discussion: Padres @ Giants (27 May 2005)

by Geoff Young on May 27, 2005 (4) Comments

first pitch: 7:15 p.m., PT
television: Channel 4
matchup: Brian Lawrence (2-5, 5.47 ERA) vs Brad Hennessey (2-0, 3.66 ERA)
previews: ESPN | CBS | SI

Jake Peavy must’ve done something right Thursday night; he made the front page of ESPN and SI’s baseball web sites this morning. I didn’t get to watch the game, but I’ve read through your comments and it sounds like he pretty much dominated. I guess a two-hit shutout will do that. As for Royce Clayton, I think he’s closer to DeBarge than to Dave Chappelle’s Prince, but either would work in a pinch.

I don’t have time to break down the pitcher-batter matchups but here is how Lawrence does against the Giants (hint, be glad Barry Bonds isn’t around). And no Padres have faced Hennessey, so there.

X Factor

Xavier Nady entered the game as a defensive replacement for Ryan Klesko; he singled and scored in his only at-bat.

Go Pads!

From the Vault: My Last Name Should Have Been Walker

by Geoff Young on May 27, 2005 (2) Comments

[With so many folks abuzz about OBP these days, I thought this would be a fun one to bust out again. It was originally posted October 6, 1997, in Ducksnorts' pre-blog days. Enjoy!]

Something is terribly wrong with me, I’m convinced of it. When most people go to a ball game, they like to see homeruns, diving catches, blazing fastballs. Me, I like walks. That’s right–the good old bases on balls. I enjoy watching a batter work the pitcher, fouling off the good pitches, laying off the bad ones, and then trotting down to first base, a potential run despite not “doing” anything.

And I don’t just mean Frank Thomas or Barry Bonds, guys who obviously are going to draw their share of free passes by virtue of the fear they instill in opposing hurlers’ hearts. Not to take anything away from those guys, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out there are a lot of times when as a pitcher you’re better off not giving them anything to pulverize and taking your chances with the next batter. (Though there is talent in knowing enough not to swing at junk–ask Mel Nieves.)

The ones I love to watch are guys like F.P. Santangelo, Dave Magadan, and John Cangelosi, to name a few. They draw obscene amounts of walks and it’s not because the pitchers are worried about them going yard. Cangelosi I can understand–he’s tiny, and it’s next to impossible to throw him a strike. But Magadan? The guy is 6’3″ and has virtually no power, but his batting eye is incredible.

Magadan is the kind of player that drives opposing pitchers (and most fans) out of their minds. He’ll make a pitcher throw 10 or 11 pitches in an at bat. In August, in a game against the Yankees, he launched a foul ball into the second deck along third base, and some kid caught it. The very next pitch he fouled to the exact same spot, to the exact same kid. I don’t remember how the at-bat finished, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he drew a walk.

I don’t mean to belittle the homer or the diving catch or even the blazing fastball. They’re all great parts of a great game, and I’ll always enjoy them. But there’s a perverse pleasure I take in watching a guy get rewarded not for hitting a homer or even a single, but just for being patient. So here’s to you Mr. Magadan; God bless you, and the next time you’re trotting down to first after ball four, listen for me – I’ll be the idiot screaming like you hit the ball 500 feet.

In-Game Discussion: Padres @ Diamondbacks (26 May 2005)

by Geoff Young on May 26, 2005 (82) Comments

first pitch: 6:40 p.m., PT
television: Channel 4
matchup: Jake Peavy (4-0, 2.29 ERA) vs Brandon Webb (6-0, 3.32 ERA)
previews: ESPN | CBS | SI | Padres.com

Now that was an ugly game. Nobody really deserved to win it, but the Snakes hung on to reclaim first place in the NL West.

Who do you blame in a 12-11 loss? Well, this was pretty much a team effort. Poor starting pitching, poor relief pitching, overaggressiveness at the plate where a baserunner or even a ball hit solidly into play could have made a difference, questionable bench substitutions. This one had it all.

One interesting outcome of the loss is Akinori Otsuka has been bumped from the primary setup role. The reason I say “interesting” is that we’ve talked in numerous In-Game Discussions about the slavish obssession with a set bullpen pecking order. (This is less a complaint with Bruce Bochy than with what has become the status quo in MLB, for those wondering.) The fact that Scott Linebrink will assume what had been Otsuka’s role shouldn’t really be much of an issue. Nor should it preclude the likes of Chris Hammond and Rudy Seanez from working the eighth if needed.

But I digress. Thursday night sees the staff aces square off against each other yet again. Their previous matchups this season:

23 Apr @ Ari
        IP H R ER HR BB SO
Peavy  7.0 4 1  1  0  1  8
Webb   8.0 5 1  1  0  1  5

29 Apr @ SD
        IP  H R ER HR BB SO
Peavy  8.0  6 3  3  1  1  7
Webb   6.0 12 4  4  1  2  3

With luck, Peavy can stay true to form and give the Pads 7+ innings to help rest an overworked bullpen.

                                AB   BA  OBP  SLG
Peavy vs current Diamondbacks  148 .257 .309 .480
Webb vs current Padres         156 .224 .267 .295

Luis Gonzalez (.458/.519/1.000 in 24 AB) absolutely owns Peavy. Alex Cintron (.286/.412/.643 in 14 AB) and Craig Counsell (.308/.438/.615 in 13 AB) have done very well also. What’s up with Counsell this year, anyway? He’s always been a pest, but now he’s almost impossible to get out.

You know the story with Webb; he abuses most everyone in the lineup. He also is much tougher earlier in games than late:

Inn. 1-3: .151/.225/.194
Inn. 4-6: .327/.365/.495
Inn. 7-9: .359/.372/.590

Padres batters lead the NL with 173 unintentional walks; they’re second with 31 stolen bases (at a respectable 74% rate).

X Factor

Xavier Nady started in center field Wednesday night. Batting seventh, he went 2 for 3 with 2 RBI before being removed for Damian Jackson as part of a double switch in the fifth. The decision to remove a key hitter in the middle innings of a tie game was “interesting” and was one of the many reasons this loss was a true team effort. I keep expecting to see Kerry Robinson called up from Portland any moment.

And in the awkward segue department, I’ll be in Vegas tonight and for the next few days, so chat away without me. I’ll check in when I can (i.e., when I’m not downing Heinekens at the Golden Nugget Sports Book).

Let’s take this series, shall we?