Padres News

"The Union-Tribune has learned that the Boston Red Sox have claimed Padres right fielder Brian Giles off the waiver wire, if only to keep him away from the two teams with better records in the American League. Thus, Boston entered a 48-hour period in which the Sox have exclusive rights to try to work out a trade with San Diego. Giles is not in today's starting lineup for the finale of the Padres' series with the New York Mets-- Jody Gerut's penciled in to play right field -- though Manager Bud Black said the day off was scheduled and Giles is available to play. "Just a regular thing," Black said. "Day game, 37-year-old player." The Red Sox wouldn't seem the most likely team interested in ..."

"The Boston Red Sox have placed a waiver claim on San Diego right fielder Brian Giles, and are negotiating to acquire the 14-year veteran from the Padres. Giles, 37, is hitting .296 with a .391 on-base percentage, 61 walks and 44 strikeouts this season. Boston's interest in Giles might be spurred by concern about the health of third baseman Mike Lowell, who is battling a sore hip, and designated hitter David Ortiz, who has spent time on the disabled list resting a torn tendon sheath in his left wrist. Giles is earning $9 million this year, and his contract with the Padres has a club option for $9 million for 2009 that would climb to $11 million in the event he is traded. Giles has a limited ..."

"Padres owner John Moores has been noticeably absent from Petco Park for most of this season - a fact that's fueled speculation among fans and even players about the last-place team's leadership and direction. Now we know one reason why he's been gone: After his wife, Becky, filed for divorce in January, he agreed to give her exclusive use of the managing partner's box in April, May, June and July, according to a filing in Superior Court. The idea was to "minimize confrontation" between the two. It was a plan that seemed to work as it related to the team - at least until recently. The two since have fought over access to the managing partner's box - a point that seems especially symbolic as ..."

"TURNING POINT In the seventh, Luis Rodriguez's double and Cha Seung Baek's sacrifice ended Pedro Martinez's evening and Brian Giles sent a ball spinning off the bat handle to the left side with such English on it, third baseman David Wright didn't even come close to catching it as it went between his legs. Rodriguez scored to make it 3-2. KEY FACTOR Bullpens, again. This time, the Padres got the best of it. Mike Adams retired Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran with men on first and second and a one-run Padres lead, and Mets rookie Eddie Kunz gave up Chase Headley's homer in the eighth that made it 4-2. PLAYERS OF THE GAME Offense: A tie among the three Padres - Jody Gerut, Brian Giles and ..."

"It's one of the 10 (or so) commandments of sports: Thou shalt act like you've been there before. When he hit his second homer of the game against the Padres in the series opener Tuesday, Fernando Tatis of the Mets did not do that. He had had a multihomer night before, but it'd been such a long time ago. Eight years. It'd been so long, Tatis did nothing to hide his excitement, repeatedly pointing to the heavens and even coming out for a curtain call at Shea Stadium. Jody Gerut understood. While it's not his style to overdo the celebration - Gerut had hit a three-run homer in the same game as Tatis, and he started Wednesday night's contest with another homer on Pedro Martinez's first pitch ..."

"Chase Headley got a luxury-car ride around Manhattan yesterday. Last night, he gave it a ride. Several Padres players are so new, they're still just getting the National League under their belts, familiarizing themselves with the territory. In the case of Headley and fellow rookie call-up Nick Hundley, that meant a free tour of New York, courtesy of an old friend of Hundley's who owns a limo service. Conversely, Headley left a strong first impression on New York, adding a home run last night in the Padres' 4-2 victory over the Mets at Shea Stadium to the one he hit at Yankee Stadium for his first major league homer. "Yeah," he said of the Big Apple, "it's been good to me so far." And while ..."

"The Mets' continued slumber with the lumber made all the pregame speculation over who interim manager Jerry Manuel would use at closer a moot point. With no Fernando Tatis heroics, the Mets reverted to the 90-pound weaklings who couldn't escape Houston with even one victory last weekend. The Mets, who have failed to score more than four runs six times in their past eight games, suffered a 4-2 loss to the Padres last night at Shea Stadium. A night after Tatis launched two homers to spark a victory, the Mets (59-54) had almost zero energy, and accordingly failed to win a second consecutive game, something they last accomplished on July 25. The Mets fell three games behind Philadelphia in the ..."

"It's not just the Aaron Heilmans that are costing the Mets wins. It's also that the stars aren't aligning. Wednesday night one All-Star wasn't getting it done. The Mets had seemingly escaped trouble and preserved a tie score in the seventh when Pedro Feliciano induced a two-out ground ball to third base from Brian Giles. David Wright couldn't glove it and it skipped by into left field, an error that snapped a 2-2 tie in what become a 4-2 loss to San Diego before 48,018 at Shea. "I don't like making errors," Wright said. "It's not a good feeling to see the go-ahead run cross the plate because of one of your fielding mishaps. . . . I looked at the replay. I think I did all I could do. It had ..."

"As Pedro Martinez walked off the mound in the seventh inning, he pointed to the sky, perhaps for his recently deceased father, then pumped his fist, presumably for surviving two first-inning home runs and seeing out his longest start of the season. With his first pitch of Wednesday night's game, he gave up a 400-foot home run to San Diego's Jody Gerut. It was the first time he had allowed a homer with the first pitch since April 20, 1996, when he was with the Montreal Expos. Twelve pitches later, Brian Giles sent another one into the same spot over the right-field fence. Martínez recovered for six and a third solid innings, but they were quickly erased as a David Wright fielding error ..."

"Before suffering a separated shoulder June 6, Tadahito Iguchi was one of two starting second basemen in the major leagues who hadn't committed an error this season. In fact, Iguchi had not made an error since June 12, 2007 -- a span of 126 games. That streak ended in his second start back from the disabled list Tuesday night in New York on a throw. Iguchi had gone 1,112 innings and handled 624 chances in between errors. Tuesday night's error was also his first in the National League."

"Call it closer by committee, Aaron Heilman's big chance or, simply, "Oh [expletive]!" Whatever your preference, a gaping hole was created in the Mets bullpen yesterday with Billy Wagner's addition to the disabled list. An MRI exam performed on the All-Star lefty revealed a strained forearm, and GM Omar Minaya didn't waste any time placing Wagner on the DL for the first time in the reliever's three seasons with the club. While the Mets were relieved the test didn't reveal damage to Wagner's elbow, they can only hope this latest jolt to the pitching staff - John Maine was placed on the DL on Sunday with a strained rotator cuff - will last only two weeks. Wagner, who was struggling to finish ..."

"In the end to another one-run game between the Padres and New York Mets - just about the only kind they play - it wound up not coming down to that pivotal double switch. Rather, ultimately, it was a double that triggered a double error that settled it for the Mets. Doublespeak? Confusing as all that might sound, you have an idea of what a peculiar evening the wind blew around at Shea Stadium. The Mets had the Padres soundly beaten, then tried their darndest to give the game back, but wound up winning 6-5 anyway. However, just as a 6-2 game got close again on Jody Gerut's three-run homer in the ninth, it was a defensive misplay involving Gerut an inning earlier that decided matters. Gerut's ..."

"It's nothing personal. Not anymore. Whatever vitriol and bitterness Heath Bell may have harbored against the New York Mets since they cut him loose for San Diego, he's gotten out of his system, mostly by using his pitching to beat a point into his his former team. The Padres reliever even is keeping a good thought when it comes to decrepit, rusted-out, cobalt-blue Shea Stadium, which isn't getting nearly the sentimental send-offs that have been given Yankee Stadium's last season over in the Bronx. "This is my first major league stadium, the stadium I dreamed of getting to when I was in the minors, so that makes it a special place," Bell said before last night's opener of the Padres' final ..."

"With New Orleans Zephyrs duffel bags and Binghamton Mets T-shirts cropping up in a handful of lockers, Shea Stadium's home clubhouse is beginning to look like a farm-system reunion. In the last week alone, left fielder Daniel Murphy and relief pitcher Eddie Kunz have had their first taste of the majors. Fernando Tatis, who spent most of the previous five years kicking around the minors, is one of this season's replacements who had been a big leaguer before. And on Tuesday night, Tatis's two home runs and four runs batted in at Shea Stadium carried the Mets to a 6-5 victory over the San Diego Padres, ending the Mets' four-game losing streak. "I can't describe how I'm feeling right now," ..."

"Kevin Towers was fed up. For the second season in a row, were stealing bases at a major-league high rate against his Padres. "We have to find a catcher who can throw," the club's general manager said on June 26. ".... It puts us at a huge disadvantage when a single turns into a double or triple." Nine days later, the Padres promoted catcher Nick Hundley from Triple-A Portland with the expectation that Hundley would apprehend thieves. Hundley wasn't expected to throw like a young Pudge Rodriguez, but he has nabbed 29 percent of would-be base-stealers (5-of-17). "He's also been a deterrent," said Padres bench coach Craig Colbert, a former major catcher. Several of Hundley's throws to second ..."

"The Mets, appearing dysfunctional, helped the Padres ascend to their season peak to date by losing all four games in San Diego from June 5-8. Mets manager Willie Randolph, who had been under siege for several weeks, was fired soon thereafter. Having lost 11 of 17 games since the All-Star break, the Padres will pay their final visit to Shea Stadium, where they have gone 97-109. Young's outing will be his second for the Padres since he suffered a skull fracture and facial fractures from the line drive hit by Albert Pujols on May 21. Tuesday he came off the disabled list and overpowered the Diamondbacks, striking out eight across five scoreless innings. He is 0-1 with a 7.07 ERA against the ..."

"When the Mets returned home from San Diego two months ago after losing four straight games to the cellar-dwelling Padres, they stood a season-high 7-1/2 games out of first place. A week later, Willie Randolph was fired. And the Mets eventually overtook the Phillies and Marlins for first. Now, after a 1-5 road trip to Miami and Houston, the Mets' division deficit is back to three games and their standing back to third place. And the prospect that the Mets could be relegated to trying to play spoiler during a season-ending series against the Marlins at Shea is not out of the question. Although the Mets twice left the bases loaded in a 4-0 loss to the Astros on Sunday, the current concern ..."

"It seems like Greg Maddux could pitch forever. He probably could, if he were allowed to face the Giants time and again.A day after beating defending Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy, the Giants couldn't solve their toughest riddle. Maddux pitched six tidy innings while recording his 30th victory against the Giants, tying him with Don Sutton and Phil Niekro for the most in the club's San Francisco era, and the San Diego Padres avoided a series sweep with a 4-1 win Sunday.Maddux has mastered the Giants over his career and been downright unbeatable ever since rejoining the N.L. West with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2003. In 10 starts over that span, he is 6-0 with a 1.90 ERA, held the Giants ..."

"In the Giants' five decades in San Francisco, Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax had nothing on Greg Maddux. Nor did Bob Gibson and Steve Carlton. Nor Tom Seaver, Orel Hershiser, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz. A Giants nemesis of historic proportions, Maddux has handled orange-and-black-clad batters more than any other pitcher since the Giants moved west in 1958, and here's anon his future: Maddux, 42, hasn't ruled out playing beyond this season. "From what we see, he should be pitching another 10 years," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "He really shuts us down. We try to figure him out, but he throws his glove out there, and we have a tough time." It happened again Sunday. Maddux tossed his ..."

"TURNING POINT With the score tied 1-1, runners on first and second and one out in the sixth, Chase Headley fell behind in the count 1-and-2. But he worked Kevin Correia for a walk to load the bases and fellow rookie Nick Hundley followed with a sacrifice fly to put the Padres ahead to stay. KEY FACTOR For only the seventh time in his career, Greg Maddux allowed two or fewer hits and no walks over six or more innings. He also retired the last 10 Giants he faced en route to his second straight win and No. 352 of his career … leaving him two behind Roger Clemens for eighth place on the all-time list. PLAYERS OF THE GAME Offense: Brian Giles doubled and scored the go-ahead run in the sixth, ..."

"Left-handed Padres hitters might be at a disadvantage at Petco Park. But right-handed Padres hitters are faring better at Petco than on the road - if the totals of the club's three leading right-handed power hitters are any indication. Scott Hairston, Kevin Kouzmanoff and Khalil Greene have each hit more homers at Petco this season than they have on the road. Nine of Hairston's 17 homers have come at home. Nine of Kouzmanoff's 15 and seven of Greene's 10 also have come at Petco. Padres right-handed hitters have hit 33 homers at Petco this season compared with 19 for left-handed hitters. Overall, the Padres have out-homered opponents 52-50 at Petco. The Padres have hit 55 homers on the ..."

"Jody Gerut said the fly ball he caught in the ninth inning Sunday swerved like no other he has seen. Barring Wiffle Balls, that is. "You needed a fourth dimension to see it," quipped the Stanford man. Bengie Molina's drive was tailing toward right-center as speedy baserunner Randy Winn scooted off second base with the Padres leading 4-1 and none out. Suddenly, the ball darted left, as if moved by remote control from the Giants' dugout. "I've never seen a ball do that," Gerut said. "It changed planes in midair." Gerut, the Padres' center fielder, reacted with the aplomb of an NFL receiver snagging an errant pass. He cut right and vaulted diagonally, then made a diving catch. A grateful ..."

"Skeptics who doubted Greg Maddux's sincerity when he said he preferred to stay in San Diego, even though it meant pitching for the last-place Padres, found out that he wasn't kidding. Had Maddux agreed to leave the West Coast leading up to Thursday's trade deadline, he may have been pitching for an Eastern team Sunday, rather than directing the Padres toward a 4-1 victory that denied the Giants a three-game sweep at Petco Park. Maddux said it was an easy decision to exempt clubs right of the left coast from the trade menu. Making his point, he reached into the only clubhouse stall next to his and pulled out a glove. Emblazoned on the leather was the name Chase Maddux. "This is Chase's ..."

"The short answer is that there are no short answers. The Padres are all about process and infrastructure now, and they are no more likely to make a big splash than is a malnourished minnow. They are counting on your confidence in lieu of blockbuster deals. They are depending on your patience and your tolerance and your cash. They are a last-place baseball club contemplating a year-over-year attendanceof 300,000, yet disinclined to dramatic action. "If you're working for the short term, you go sign somebody in November and that's what you sell from November till April 1," CEO Sandy Alderson said. "If that is part of a more viable longer-term plan, then it makes sense. (But) if it's only ..."

"TURNING POINT After a single in the seventh, the Giants' Fred Lewis stole second base despite a good throw from catcher Josh Bard. The next batter, Giants RBI leader Bengie Molina, slapped a single to right, scoring Lewis and breaking the scoreless tie. KEY FACTOR The Padres left seven runners on base - including three in the sixth inning. Kevin Kouzmanoff flied to right (the second time in four at-bats he'd left the bases loaded), ending San Diego's best scoring chance. PLAYERS OF THE GAME Offense: Lewis notched two hits and had a crucial steal to set up and score the first run of the game. Pitching: Looking like the 2002 AL Cy Young Award pitcher the Giants signed, Barry Zito out-dueled ..."

"Jake Peavy, no stranger to a baseball season gone bad, pitched for a Padres team that lost 98 games five years ago. After giving up one run in seven innings and bearing the defeat Saturday night, the Padres ace admitted to being at a loss for what to say or do. "I'm as frustrated as I've ever been," Peavy said after Barry Zito pitched the Giants to a 2-0 victory at Petco Park. "No athlete likes to be in the situation we're in. "We've got to get better. We've got to play better. Bottom line, I've got to play better, and the other 24 guys on this team will tell you we've got to play better. "It's as frustrating as it gets. When you can't find a way to do anything right, it's frustrating. "I ..."

"When manager Bruce Bochy jogged to the mound with two outs in the eighth inning, he didn't want to pull Barry Zito even though the Padres' scariest hitter, Adrian Gonzalez, was coming up with two runners aboard. "That was his ballgame at that point," said Bochy, who left the mound without signaling to the bullpen. Closer Brian Wilson called Bochy's decision "one of the greatest, most respectable things I've seen." Zito thought it was pretty cool, too. He retired Gonzalez on one pitch to complete eight shutout innings for the first time since Aug. 21, 2004, against Tampa Bay, and Wilson threw a perfect ninth to earn his league-leading 30th save and close out a 2-0 victory. Before Saturday, ..."

"The Giants' lineup had a new look and the club a new direction Friday night. Ivan Ochoa was a major part of it. Eugenio Velez insisted that he be included, too. Left out of a lineup that was Manager Bruce Bochy's first sincere concession toward youth, Velez hit a pinch double off San Diego Padres closer Trevor Hoffman to put the Giants ahead in the 10th inning. Then Ochoa became a time-warped version of Omar Vizquel as he turned a game-saving double play with the bases loaded in the bottom half of the inning, rescuing closer Brian Wilson in a 3-2 victory at Petco Park. In his fourth major league start, Ochoa conjured his 11-time Gold Glove-winning teammate and personal idol. The shortstop ..."

"One day after the trade deadline, the posting of Friday's lineup was much anticipated, and Giants manager Bruce Bochy not only leaned toward youth, but vowed to stick with it. He seemed to mean it this time. Fred Lewis was introduced as the new No. 3 hitter, and three-quarters of the infielders were rookies, including shortstop Ivan Ochoa, whose nifty game-ending play reminded teammates of 11-time Gold Glove winner Omar Vizquel. It didn't take long for Lewis' presence to be felt - his first-inning sacrifice fly ended the Giants' scoreless streak at 23 innings. The bullpen ruined another Tim Lincecum gem, but the Giants won 3-2 in the 10th on Eugenio Velez's RBI double. Lincecum collected ..."

"Eugenio Velez wanted to keep his pinch-hit at-bat against San Diego closer Trevor Hoffman simple. It worked. Velez hit a 2-2 fastball from baseball's all-time saves leader off the wall in right field to drive in the go-ahead run in the 10th inning and give the San Francisco Giants a 3-2 victory over the Padres on Friday night. The Giants then survived a bases-loaded scare in the bottom of the inning before closer Brian Wilson got Kevin Kouzmanoff to hit into a game-ending double play. "I'm really not trying to do too much there," Velez said. "I'm looking for a fastball and I saw the fastball. You have to do something with it." Velez's double scored Emmanuel Burriss, who had a bloop single ..."

"Peavy is coming off a 127-pitch outing at Pittsburgh, the third-highest total of his career. He allowed only one run over seven innings while striking out 11. Peavy is 4-3 at Petco Park this season with a 1.45 ERA, the lowest home ERA in the major leagues. He is already 3-0 against the Giants this season with a 1.33 ERA and is 11-6 lifetime against San Francisco with a 3.27 ERA. Zito is 3-2 with a 4.67 ERA over his past six starts, although he has allowed 24 walks in 34˜ innings. The Giants are 6-6 in Zito's past 12 starts after going winless in his first nine starts. Zito is facing the Padres for the first time this season. He is 1-2 lifetime against the Padres with a 3.72 ERA. The Giants ..."

"Trevor Hoffman doesn't want to hear about his spiffy save percentage this season. "I don't want to talk about it," the all-time save leader said recently when it was noted his save conversion rate of 88.4-percent this year is close to his career mark. "We're 30 games under .500. It's irrelevant." It's Hoffman's bottom-line numbers without a save on the line that are deviating far from his career norm. The closer entered Friday night's game with the score tied, gave up a go-ahead run, then suffered his sixth loss in seven decisions when the Giants held on for a 3-2 victory at Petco Park. The save went to Giants closer Brian Wilson, but more deserving of it was Giants shortstop Ivan Ochoa, a ..."

"Tadahito Iguchi's return from the disabled list Friday ultimately will mean fewer starts at second base for Edgar Gonzalez, who's not carping about it. "He's proved it in his career," said Gonzalez, a 30-year-old rookie who nonetheless was back at second Friday night. "He's put up the numbers in his career. He's a good player. The manager knows what he's doing." After Iguchi separated his right shoulder on June 5, Gonzalez became the second baseman and went on a 38-game tear that yielded a .338 batting average, five home runs and nine doubles. He slumped, though, and twice recently has been replaced for defense. Manager Bud Black said he'll use both players at second and as a backup to ..."

"As the Padres feared, shortstop Khalil Greene fractured his left hand on Wednesday night when he slammed a storage chest at Petco Park in frustration over his seasonlong slump. Greene's return for this season is doubtful, according to the club. Greene said after the 7-3 defeat to the Diamondbacks that he was in "excruciating pain" after fouling a ball off his shin during the seventh inning. After the at-bat ended with Greene's 100th strikeout, Greene went to clubhouse tunnel. There, Greene said, his frustration got the best of him and he drove his left hand into a storage chest. Greene said the response was more in reaction to a difficult season than his throbbing shin. He is batting .213 ..."

"Jake Peavy originally was scheduled to start Friday night, but after throwing 127 pitches Sunday in Pittsburgh, his turn was pushed back a day. Banks' first start as a Padre was against the Giants on May 31 in San Francisco. He took a shutout into the ninth, when the Giants scored an unearned run. Banks allowed six hits in one of two complete games pitched by the Padres this season. Banks ended a four-game losing streak Saturday in Pittsburgh, although he gave up two homers and allowed five runs over 5 2/3 innings. Banks has given up four or more runs in four of his past five starts and has a 6.59 ERA since June 26."

"Petco Park has this effect on hitters, one that Jody Gerut didn't grasp until he joined the Padres this year. "I didn't know it was forcing its players into psychotherapy," Gerut cracked. Gerut was joking. Yes, joking. Still, after only half a season with the Padres, Gerut can understand why Padres past such as Phil Nevin and Ryan Klesko gladly would have dynamited the ballpark's right-field wall and right-center fence if it meant erecting barriers closer to home plate. Twice this season, Gerut, who homered Wednesday night, has been Petco'd - suffered an out on a drive that would have gone for a home run to right-center in most ballparks. When Diamondbacks right fielder Alex Romero ran a ..."

"Pitcher Greg Maddux Wednesday night packed a glove for Dodger Stadium in anticipation that the Padres - who want to shed more than $3 million of his salary - might trade him to Los Angeles Thursday. "I'm bringing this glove," Maddux said while pulling a black glove onto his left hand. "Do the Dodgers wear blue spikes?" Maddux may not be the only Padres player out of the lineup Friday when the club resumes play. Shortstop Khalil Greene almost certainly will sit out because of a hand injury suffered Wednesday night when Greene - frustrated by his season-long hitting slump and the pain of hitting a ball off his shin - socked a storage chest near the dugout. "It's not good," Greene said of his ..."

"Dan Haren gave the Diamondbacks a little scare Wednesday, but nothing like he gave San Diego. Haren felt a slight cramp in his right hamstring while running the bases in the D-Backs' decisive four-run fifth inning, but it turned out to be nothing more than a false alarm for San Diego's hopes. Haren survived a two-run first inning and the minor irritation to make his 11th consecutive quality start, and the D-Backs kept hitting, pounding out 13 hits in a 7-3 victory while winning their second series on this trip. Included on the bus ride to Los Angeles for a four-game series starting today was a load of confidence. "We're playing the way we should be playing," said Chris Snyder, who had one ..."

"On the eve of the non-waiver trade deadline, the Dodgers and San Diego Padres were in discussions about a potential deal involving pitcher Greg Maddux, according to baseball sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the talks. The deadline is 1 p.m. today. The Dodgers acquired the veteran right-hander Maddux at the trade deadline from the Chicago Cubs in 2006 and went on to reach the playoffs. He signed with the Padres as a free agent the next winter. Maddux, 42, is 4-8 this season with a 4.29 earned-run average. He has 351 career victories. He has a full no-trade clause in his contract and has said he would accept a move only to a contending team on ..."

"Greg Maddux again told the Padres that he wants to stay on the West Coast, which probably leaves the Dodgers as the only potential trade partner for the right-hander going into Thursday's trade deadline. The Padres want to shed the final two months of Maddux's $10 million salary. General Manager Kevin Towers said he briefed Maddux on the trade market about two weeks ago and again Tuesday. "His position really hasn't changed," Towers said. "He only wants us to focus on West Coast-contending teams. That kind of eliminates our options, other than one club." Towers acknowledged that the Dodgers are probably that club. Dodgers GM Ned Colletti has traded for Maddux once, and it turned out to be ..."

"Doug Davis took a little hop off the mound as the ball went over his head, pounded his glove once and spit. "I was thinking - it was a good run. Get the next guy out," said Davis, who retired the first 20 batters before Brian Giles lined a single to center field with two outs in the seventh inning to end his perfect game Tuesday. The Diamondbacks' heroics hardly stopped there. Right fielder Alex Romero saved Davis' 3-0 victory with a running catch at the fence in right-center field on Jody Gerut's deep fly with two outs and the bases loaded in the eighth inning as the D-Backs won for the fifth time in six games. Romero did not seem to have a chance to make the play, but caught it with his ..."

"Micah Owings' return to the rotation did not go well, leaving the Diamondbacks to ponder their starter for Saturday's game against Los Angeles. Owings gave up eight runs, all with two outs, in three innings of the D-Backs' 8-5 loss to San Diego. "It's real frustrating. I'm disappointed I let the team down," Owings said. Owings gave up a two-run home run to Khalil Greene in the second inning and a three-run home run to former UA catcher Nick Hundley to cap a six-run third. It was Owings' first start since July 9 at Washington, after he was called on to lend a hand to a depleted bullpen during the Chicago series from July 21-23. Yusmeiro Petit pitched two scoreless innings in relief of ..."

"At the plate: The Padres have the National League's second-worst offense, averaging just 3.81 runs per game. 1B Adrian Gonzalez and RF Brian Giles remain productive hitters, and LF Scott Hairston - a former Diamondbacks player - is having a nice season, too, hitting .259 with 17 home runs. SS Khalil Greene always hits the Diamondbacks well, but he is having a disappointing season, with a .215 average and a .259 on-base percentage. On the mound: Some injuries and a lot of ineffectiveness has hurt the Padres, as their pitching staff hasn't been as good as in past seasons. RHP Chris Young, who returns from the DL in this series, has made just 10 starts. The biggest surprise has been the ..."

"On the eve of Sunday's induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Rich "Goose" Gossage had a dream that he couldn't shake. "I woke up early, about 5 a.m., and couldn't sleep worth a darn," Gossage said. "I woke up in a sweat and I couldn't find my suit and I had to go out in front of all those people with sweats that had writing all over them, had some writing on the seat, and it was very strange this morning. I woke up and then I went, 'Thank God, it wasn't real.' "So I'm not sleeping very well. There's a lot of anxiety. I pitched in a lot of good ballgames, but this is over the top." Gossage, who just turned 57, needn't have worried, although he didn't wear a suit. He and Dick ..."

"The Dodgers host the Giants on Monday night, and the Padres visit the Diamondbacks, meaning somebody in the National League West has to win. Which, at this point in the season, pretty well sums up the state of baseball's worst division. Somebody has to win it, right? Arizona is the division leader, but in this case the Diamondbacks are looking like the tallest midget in the circus. They begin play Monday two games over .500. Los Angeles is one game behind, and Colorado is six back. The Giants, who all but replaced Barry Bond's recliner in their clubhouse with a white flag at the start of the season, are 10 games out, and San Diego is 13 games behind Arizona. Fortunately for us, we're in ..."

"Ballplayers like to say that it's not how one starts the baseball season, but how one finishes it. Padres minor leaguer Kellen Kulbacki would agree. The former James Madison triple-crown winner started slowly but has gone on a hitting rampage for advanced Single-A Lake Elsinore, batting .411 in July and .373 over the last two months with 15 home runs and 10 doubles in 177 at-bats. Not long ago, Kulbacki was an easy out. In April he batted .164 in 18 games with Single-A Fort Wayne. In May, he batted .221 for Lake Elsinore. Improved health %u2013 both physical and mental %u2013 are two factors. A hamstring injury shut down Kulbacki for five weeks in spring training. The player also had to ..."

"Padres right fielder Brian Giles wasn't surprised to see the Pirates remove two of their best performers %u2013 Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte %u2013 during Friday's game because they were being traded. "That's how it was when I was here," Giles recalled. Giles was a mainstay for the Pirates from 1999 through August 2003, when he was dealt to the Padres. He grew accustomed to seeing the front office trade major leaguers for prospects and nonprospects, largely because the Pirates were headed to another losing season. The Pirates' last winning season came in 1992. Giles rated the nucleus of the 2003 Pirates as pretty good. But Pirates management, citing financial duress, broke up the team that ..."

"The Padres may be having a crummy season, but they still know how to have a good time. On a humid night in Pittsburgh, the final stop on their longest road trip, Brian Giles told jokes before the game, then the hitters went out and produced a laugher. Led by Adrian Gonzalez, who hit two home runs, the road-happy offense hit four home runs in building an eight-run lead, which set up a 9-6 victory that Trevor Hoffman secured at PNC Park. The Padres (40-65) have won consecutive games for the first time since July 4-5. The mirth extended to postgame antics, whether it was reliever Heath Bell impersonating Gonzalez, or outfielder Jody Gerut speaking for Gonzalez as reporters gathered nearby. ..."

"Padres minor leaguer Matt Bush, drafted first overall in 2004, recently was involved in an off-field fight in which he suffered bodily harm, according to persons close to him. It happened near a pub/grill in Peoria, Ariz., across from the Padres' compound. Padres farm system overseer Grady Fuson said Bush, 22, is still participating in workouts at the club's training site. "Obviously people are going to know he was in a fight," Fuson said. "To the extent of that fight, people are going to have to guess. How it was caused, there was support there for him. "Obviously, there are some consequences out of this. But those are in-house." Fuson said there are "no comments to make" on the ..."

"Three jerseys from the Yankees, Padres and White Sox sit still in the glass exhibit in the Baseball Hall of Fame, receiving glimmering reflections from the nine championship rings at the base. The marquee on the volunteer fire department on Route 28 praises his career. A local watering hole has a grainy photo of him serving cold beer. Reminders of Goose Gossage are everywhere in Cooperstown, be it the collector's pins in the Hall of Fame gift shop to the screams of "Goose" as he enjoyed a Saturday morning round of golf with his family. When he becomes the first Colorado-born player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame today, he will represent the rise of the reliever and the evolution of ..."