Tag Archive for ‘matt stairs’ rss

The ‘W’ Word

A win? Huh, there’s a novel concept. It was just like old times on Monday night, with the Padres doing the little things… strong pitching, strong defense, timely hitting. What more do you need? As strategies go, it beats hoping the Giants and Rockies keep losing. To the bullet points: Tim Stauffer did a great [...]

Three Years Ago Would Have Been Good, Six Would Have Been Better

Yesterday I joked about traveling through time. Today I’m wishing it were no joke, as the Padres have acquired third baseman Miguel Tejada and cash from the Baltimore Orioles for right-hander Wynn Pelzer. What? No Adrian Gonzalez to Boston for some wicked good chowdah? Eh, maybe another year. I’ve pointed out that Tejada, once a [...]

Me, Elsewhere: Not Tall, Just Good

My latest Hardball Times article focuses on the little people. I’m not talking metaphorically here: I thought it might be fun to highlight some players who enjoyed considerable success despite being “vertically challenged.” Since I’m such a fan of creating fake teams, I decided to assemble a squad of short players who were also very [...]

With Half a Season Remaining, I’m Already Running Low on Ellipses

One of the joys of east coast road trips is that, thanks to the day gig, I almost never catch any of the action. I heard exactly two pitches as I started driving home on Tuesday evening: strike one and game over. Well, that was a nice way to pass the time during my commute. [...]

Hundley Rises Up to Challenge of His Rival, Beats Nationals Twice

Friday Clayton Richard was efficient (7 IP, 74 pitches, 52 strikes) in Friday’s 5-3 loss to the Nationals but made a couple of mistakes. The big blow was a three-run homer off the bat of Josh Willingham in the fourth. He absolutely crushed a ball to dead center.

Seven Bullets for Seven Wins

Random thoughts from Friday night’s victory over the Reds… Kevin Correia did a nice Adam Eaton impression, dominating and then unraveling. Correia had a no-no through five but couldn’t make it out of the sixth. The Padres have scored 35 runs in his four starts. Or, to put it another way, 47.3% of all runs [...]

Friday Links (23 Apr 10)

A friend of mine recently attended a wedding where “Dust in the Wind” played at the reception. How does that work? “Nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky… Hey, baby, relax… don’t you know that you’re the earth and I’m the sky?” Whatever. Go read stuff… Earth Bullpen Usage (Daily Baseball Data). Here’s a [...]

Kids Do the Darndest Things

The boxscore shows that Everth Cabrera was caught stealing in Friday afternoon’s loss to the Rockies at Coors Field. What the boxscore doesn’t show is how it happened. With the Padres trailing, 3-0, in the eighth, Cabrera slashed a single to left field, bringing up Matt Stairs to bat for starting pitcher Clayton Richard. On [...]

So Close, No Matter How Far

The tricky thing about spring training is figuring out what means anything. I guess that’s no different from the rest of life, but when someone tells me that Chase Headley has a boatload of RBI in the Cactus League, what am I supposed to do? “How nice for him,” I could say as I smile, [...]

The Game, It Was on the TV

I watched a few innings of the Padres split-squad game against Cleveland on TV Wednesday night. It was 1-1 in the second when I turned it on, 10-2 in the sixth when I turned it off to pick up Mrs. Ducksnorts from the airport. Some observations: For whatever reason, the Indians feed was being broadcast [...]