Padres News

"Friday night could be "Sleeping Bag Night" at Petco Park. Saturday, perhaps graveyard-shift workers should get into the ballgame free. Sunday could become ... well, Monday. You know how the Padres and Rockies get. Yes, it's them again. The Colorado Rockies are in town. Let the marathon begin. The last time these two teams played, neither left the ballpark before closing time at the Gaslamp, having played the equivalent of 2 1/2 games with only one low score at the end."

"The Padres have lost three of Peavy's last four starts; in that span, Peavy has compiled a 2.70 ERA. This season, Peavy has held right-handers to a .147 batting average. At Petco Park, he is 2-1 with a 0.87 ERA this season and 31-19 with a 2.73 ERA in his career. He is 4-4 with a 4.05 ERA against the Rockies, who have won three extra-inning games of at least 13 innings in their last three encounters with Peavy."

"Rubbing shampoo onto his head last August, Shawn Estes was in so much pain that he considered pulling the plug on his comeback from reconstructive elbow surgery. But Estes persisted, and yesterday he returned to the mound for his first appearance with the Padres since his left elbow gave out April 5, 2006. "It was worth it," the 35-year-old pitcher said."

"Padres players have talked so much about digging themselves into a hole, you would think they carried shovels and picks, not bats and gloves. If the Big Dig proceeds apace, the Padres might find themselves back in China before season's end. San Diego lost for the 17th time in 21 games yesterday. They did it by handing the shovels to the Braves, who, with help from three Padres errors and a wild pitch, dug out of holes of 2-0 and 4-1 to claim a 5-4 victory at Turner Field."

"It might have been the last place the Braves thought to look for their first one-run win of the season — the rubble of a game where the Turner Field mojo had given way to what looked like a plague on their house. Both Jo-Jo Reyes and Buddy Carlyle had to leave the game with injuries, and they were the reinforcements. But five Braves relievers allowed only one run in the last 4 1/3 innings and set up the Braves for their first ninth-inning heroics of the season. Matt Diaz hit a walk-off single to left field with the bases loaded to bring the Braves a 5-4 victory over the Padres."

"There are 54 starting pitchers listed on the National League run-support chart, which tracks how many runs are scored by each pitcher's team when he is in the game. No Padre starter is listed in the top half. In fact, three of the seven least-supported pitchers in the league are Padres -- No. 4 Justin Germano (2.91 runs per game), No. 5 Chris Young (2.95) and No. 7 Greg Maddux (3.27). If there's a Padres pitcher who is being aided by the team's offense, it is Randy Wolf, who is getting 4.58 runs per game when he pitches. Of course, 15 of those runs came in two games -- both of which Wolf won."

"The Braves had doubts about Ledezma's ability to sustain effectiveness as a No. 5 starter and dealt him, along with Triple-A reliever Will Startup, to the Padres for reliever Royce Ring last July. Thursday the Braves will face Ledezma for the first time. The Braves limited Ledezma to relief work, and he had a 7.71 ERA in 9 1/3 innings for them."

"Padres apologists don't have the injury excuse to fall back on for the team's ugly start. The Padres, in fact, have been healthier than most teams. The second-place Dodgers, tapping again into a productive farm system, have overcome the loss of two third basemen; the first-place Diamondbacks have coped with the loss of No. 4 starting pitcher Doug Davis, corner infielder Chad Tracy and the delayed arrival of No. 3 starter Randy Johnson. "

"Adrian Gonzalez sees no reason to praise any of the pitchers who are shutting down the Padres these days. "It comes down to, it doesn't matter who the pitcher is out there," said Gonzalez, the best hitter on the team. "Could be a young guy or an inexperienced guy or a veteran guy. Doesn't matter. We're just not producing. "As a team, we're not doing it." Gonzalez was speaking after the team's 16th defeat in the past 20 games, a 5-2 setback at Turner Field Wednesday night."

" Should you happen to run across John Moores around mealtime, be sure to pass him some Pepto-Bismol. If the Padres' owner is about to eat Jim Edmonds' contract, indigestion would seem inevitable. But the time has come for aggressive action, and the time has passed when Edmonds could be counted on as a productive ballplayer. "

"When the streaking Braves finally produced their first late-innings win of the season, the decisive hit came from the only Atlanta player with a higher batting average than Chipper Jones. Newly acquired bench player Greg Norton hit a bases-loaded, pinch-hit single in the seventh inning Wednesday night, breaking a tie and propelling the Braves to a 5-2 win against the San Diego Padres at Turner Field."

"According to the Phillies, Wolf turned down more guaranteed money from them before accepting a one-year offer from the Padres last season. Wolf is giving the Padres what they wanted, but it doesn't appear the Padres are giving him what the first-place Phillies might have given him: Solid support. Three times, Wolf has allowed two runs or fewer in six innings, yet not picked up the victory. He is holding right-handers to a .221 batting average. Against the Braves he is 4-9 with a 5.02 ERA."

"For the second season a row, the search for a back-end starter has the Padres pulling pitchers from the salvage yard rather than from a pool of advanced prospects. Left-hander Wil Ledezma, who has pitched for the Padres, Tigers and Braves, will start tomorrow for Justin Germano, whose 13.50 ERA in the last three games will move him into the bullpen."

"It's inexcusable for a major league team to lose 100 games in a season. Just ask Padres General Manager Kevin Towers, who made that statement several times in 2003 before the Padres wound up with 98 defeats. Don't look now, but this Padres team is on pace to lose 103 games. Sure, only 20 percent of the season is done, but by losing 15 of their last 19 games -- including Tuesday night's 5-3 decision to the Braves at Turner Field -- the Padres (12-21) are stirring up memories of 2003, their final year in Mission Valley."

"While so much around them has gone awry in the early part of the Braves' season, Chipper Jones and rookie pitcher Jair Jurrjens have been like beacons shining through it all. Jurrjens pitched six strong innings, and Jones hit a decisive two-run homer in a 5-3 series-opening win against San Diego on Tuesday night at Turner Field, as the Braves won their fourth in a row since a four-game losing skid."

"After each of his past three outings, Young has said he is pleased with the life on his fastball, which he attributed to increased arm strength. Young, who will be working on an extra day of rest tonight, said it takes him 2-3 months to fully build up his arm. He also has cut down on his walks since detecting a delivery flaw after an erratic performance at Dodger Stadium on April 12."

"Since 2007, the Padres have stolen fewer bases than any National League team. They have allowed the most stolen bases and the highest stolen-base success rate, yet also have the majors' best ERA (3.75) in that span. Major league clubs have different ways of valuing the stolen base. Here is one team's formula: A single is worth about .4 of a run, a stolen-base ranges from from .1 to .25 depending on the base and the number of outs, but on the average it's close to .16. The cost of a caught-stealing or pickoff is about minus-.49 runs. The threshold for making a stolen base worthwhile is to succeed on 75 percent of attempts."

"Scouts who have seen a lot of the Padres consider them among the slowest and least athletic teams in the major leagues. Some coaches and players regard the Padres as perhaps the slowest team in baseball. Among the team's field regulars, only outfielder Scott Hairston has better than average speed, and it is only slightly above average. Even reserve Callix Crabbe, one of the few stolen-base threats on the team, has average major league speed from home plate to first. A few Padres players, in the scouting vernacular, are sun-dial slow."

"It just so happens none of the "Big Three," as Braves fans know them, is pitching during the series between the Braves and Padres starting tonight at Turner Field. Both Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux pitched Sunday, and John Smoltz is on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation. They didn't have tee times on the off-day Monday either, though Smoltz said he and Maddux probably would get together for a bite to eat. But having all three pitchers at Turner Field perhaps one last time is still enough to bring out some goose bumps..."

"TURNING POINT The Padres were leading 2-1 when Greg Maddux intentionally walked Luis Gonzalez, who has batted .321 against Maddux, to bring up No. 8 hitter Matt Treanor with one out in the fourth inning. Treanor belted a two-hopper to the glove side of third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff. The ball went off Kouzmanoff's glove for a run-scoring single. Pitcher Andrew Miller then grounded out to second baseman Tadahito Iguchi, scoring Dan Uggla from third and putting the Marlins ahead for good."

"The Padres have lost 14 of their past 18 games, making today's open date more appealing than most. "It's probably a good time for us," said manager Bud Black, whose club lost two of three in both Philadelphia and Miami on the nine-game trip. "There are times when you are rolling along, getting your wins, and you want to keep playing, but at this point, it's more opportune for us to have a day off.""

"As the Padres try to catch the Diamondbacks and Dodgers, among others, it becomes more apparent that the farm systems of those rivals did a stupendous job this decade. Both Padres rivals, because of stellar youth movements, appear to be set up for success not only this year, but for the next few years. Beyond the homegrown talent that led it to the National League Championship Series last season and the majors' best record at present, Arizona had other prospects who were better than those in several other organizations, the Padres' included."

""It's a little bit of frustration, and a little bit of trying to get us going," Gonzalez said after the Padres were pasted 10-3 for their seventh consecutive series defeat. "Maybe he was feeling we were a little dead in the dugout. It was a little more of him trying to get a fire under us than him being mad at the umpires. "I think it was the right time to do it." When Holbrook banished him to the air-conditioned clubhouse at Dolphin Stadium, Black met up with starting pitcher Greg Maddux."

"Let's not assert that the Padres should just pack it in now. Nor that the Dodgers and Rockies and Giants should, either. We can't say with full conviction that if you're not the Arizona Diamondbacks, your chances of winning the NL West are zero. Even though, well, they probably are. All that stuff about the first month being meaningless in the long run? Just stuff, as it turns out. Statistically speaking – and does baseball speak any other language? – Arizona would be defying the odds and history by not finishing the regular season as repeat champions. "

"Greg Maddux made his major-league debut on Sept. 2, 1986, and it is doubtful Marlins starter Andrew Miller paid much attention. Toddlers rarely have more than a passing interest in baseball. Miller, who was born in 1985, had his best start as a Marlin on Sunday in a 10-3 victory over the San Diego Padres at Dolphin Stadium that denied Maddux his 350th career victory."

"Greg Maddux made his major-league debut on Sept. 2, 1986, and it is doubtful Marlins starter Andrew Miller paid much attention. Toddlers rarely have more than a passing interest in baseball. Miller, who was born in 1985, had his best start as a Marlin on Sunday in a 10-3 victory over the San Diego Padres at Dolphin Stadium that denied Maddux his 350th career victory."

"Any win credited to Miller this season is big for the Marlins, who supported their lauded lefty's six-inning, two-run effort with 16 hits in a 10-3 thumping of the San Diego Padres at Dolphin Stadium. The series-winning victory came at Maddux's expense. Making his fourth bid at 350, Maddux allowed five runs (four earned) on 11 hits through 5 2/3 innings."

"The hitters will tell you when you're finished. That's been true ever since Cy Young was still a pitcher and not an award. Former 20-game winner Matt Morris, even at 32, found this out recently in Pittsburgh. Randy Johnson, with an ERA pushing five, may be finding this out in Arizona, and he will hardly be the last hurler to get the memo in such a cold, cruel fashion. Greg Maddux? He may be 42 and the Marlins may have cuffed him around for 11 hits on Sunday, marking the second time in four starts he has surrendered at least that many, but something tells you he will be smart enough to get out while the getting's good. He certainly isn't going to stick around just to pad his already Cooperstown-worthy numbers."

"Actress Jennifer Aniston livened up Friday's Padres-Marlins game, appearing in left field between innings as part of a movie that was being filmed at Dolphin Stadium. Padres reliever Heath Bell admitted that he was little star-struck upon seeing Aniston, whose duties carried her past the visiting bullpen a few times. "Dude, I watched a lot of 'Friends,'" Bell said, referring to the TV show that moved Aniston into stardom. Bell added that he was bummed for Brad Pitt and Aniston when the two were divorced."

"It's early, but the last-place Padres appear capable of landing in the Top 10 of the amateur draft for the first time since 2004. Draft order is determined by win-loss record, starting with the worst team, and the Padres entered Friday night's game with the worst record in the major leagues. The Padres' weak track record in this area, though, is an apt reminder that a good draft position isn't a guarantee of landing a future star or even a solid major leaguer. One of several reasons the Padres' farm system has generally underachieved the past two decades is the failure to capitalize on its past five Top 10 picks."

"Jake Peavy seethed as he approached the dugout, slammed his cap down and, blue eyes bulging, screamed a few choice words. "You've gotta be kidding me," Peavy yelled. No, Peavy wasn't impersonating a Padres fan. But on this balmy night at Dolphin Stadium, it was the only tirade the last-place Padres inspired, at least among their own. San Diego, which had lost 13 of its past 16 games, got at least one hit from all eight field starters and eased to a 7-2 win over the Marlins, though not before Peavy fumed over his inability to close out the sixth inning."

"Pitching isn't the problem with the San Diego Padres, so when they actually score some runs, opposing teams are in big trouble. The Marlins found that to be the case Saturday night. The Padres scored three runs in the fifth inning, giving reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy plenty of cushion to beat the Marlins 7-2 in front of an announced crowd of 37,689 at Dolphin Stadium."

"Manager Fredi Gonzalez already rearranged his batting order. The way the backend of the rotation is performing, maybe a starters' shakeup isn't far behind. Remove Mark Hendrickson and Scott Olsen from the equation and the four pitchers that have started for the Marlins are a combined 2-8 with an 8.36 ERA. Ricky Nolasco was charged with the last of those defeats Saturday after giving up six runs on 10 hits over 4 2/3 innings of a 7-2 Padres win at Dolphin Stadium."

"With the Marlins riding a season-high three game losing streak and leading hitter Josh Willingham lost for at least the next 10 games, manager Fredi Gonzalez decided to tinker with his lineup. Gonzalez saw immediate results Friday night. Florida's new-look produced a first inning run and Dan Uggla -- dropped to sixth in the lineup -- hit two home runs as Florida ended its losing ways with a 6-4 victory in front of 14,562 (not including 754 canines) at Dolphin Stadium."

"Dan Uggla's two homers probably weren't enough to steal any scenes from Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson on Friday. But Uggla should still consider it a successful screen test. Uggla put a pair of Justin Germano pitches in the seats, the second coming with two on in the sixth, as the Marlins topped the Padres 6-4 at Dolphin Stadium. Luis Gonzalez added his 349th homer in support of Mark Hendrickson (5-1), who pitched seven innings."

"Scott Hairston will be in center tonight when the Padres open a three-game weekend series against the Marlins in Florida. Justin Huber will be in left and Jim Edmonds is out of the lineup despite getting a single Thursday night to snap a 0-for-22 slide and raise his average to .160."

"In three starts at Miami, Peavy is 1-2 with a 1.83 ERA in 19 2/3 innings. He is 1-0 with a 5.25 ERA on the road this year and 2-1 with an ERA of 0.87 at home. In 86 at-bats against Peavy this season, right-handers are batting .163 and have struck out 25 times."

"Khalil Greene said his poor start offensively had nothing to do with attempting to justify the two-year, $11 million contract he signed last offseason. "It's just a number, a digit," the shortstop said yesterday. "It didn't change me." A few hours later, the former Key West, Fla., prep star, playing in front of a few childhood friends, hit his first home run of the season. The 397-foot drive off Marlins left-hander Mark Hendrickson came in Greene's 30th game and 114th at-bat."

"The Padres have 132 games to salvage a season that's threatening to go "poof" just as fast as the Marlins' three home run balls zoomed Friday night. All three homers, which rocketed Florida to a 6-4 win, came on slow balls from Padres starter Justin Germano."

"Exactly a week after he hit the low point of the season with a two-game stint on the bench, Howard went 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored, crushing what would prove to be a game-winning home run in the bottom of the eighth to lead the Phillies to a 3-2 victory over the Padres."

"Ryan Howard mashed a home run last night at Citizens Bank Park that left everybody wondering: Could one at-bat jump-start a season? And what about the possibilities once he gets hot, Jimmy Rollins returns, and both join Chase Utley and Pat Burrell in the Phillies' lineup? Howard hit the game-winning homer to right field in the eighth inning of a 3-2 victory over the San Diego Padres. Adam Eaton allowed two runs in six innings, and Brad Lidge picked up his seventh save."

"Germano allowed only three earned runs over his first three starts -- 20 innings -- but has given up 16 earned runs in 8.1 innings over the past two games. He said he had his best fastball Saturday, when he struck out a season-high five batters, but the Diamondbacks, assisted slightly by a flawed Padres defense, reached him for six runs. Right-handers are batting .319 against Germano, who has held lefties to a .209 batting average. He has never faced the Marlins."

"An hour before the Padres jumped ahead of the Phillies last night, only to end up losing 3-2, club CEO Sandy Alderson spoke optimistically of the team's chances to rebound from an 11-17 April. "I don't think there's anybody in April that outperformed expectations," Alderson said. "There's a lot of upside on this team. How much, in reality, remains to be seen." "

"For the Padres, Howard's launch, off a pitch that routinely yields an out or a called strike, was more than a blow that would beat them 3-2 in the decisive game of three between the teams. It was yet another reminder of many in the young season that opposing teams have some exceptional talents. Suffice that Thatcher could have thrown that same low, outside fastball with impunity a hundred times to most hitters without allowing a homer."

"Despite his long and colorful career as a baseball executive with some of the major leagues' best and worst teams – the latter including the first San Diego Padres team – E.J. “Buzzie” Bavasi will be most fondly and frequently remembered as a storyteller whose anecdotes could fill a wing at Cooperstown. And the best part? Besides the delight and whimsy with which Bavasi told them? Virtually all his stories were first-person accounts. Most of them true, too. Bavasi, 93, passed away in San Diego Thursday of natural causes."

"Just one victory is all it was, and if you want to get persnickety about it, the Padres, by stranding 14 runners in nine innings, taxed their bullpen more than they should have. But after defeats in 11 of the previous 13 games, any victory is especially sweet, particularly one on the road against a winning opponent and early in a three-city trip. "

"The Phillies lost 4-2 to the San Diego Padres Wednesday night, but really, it could've been so much worse. "I wasn't sharp and was behind in every count," Phillies starter Jamie Moyer said. "I had pitches on the plate but below the zone. "I got what I deserved." That goes for the entire team as Moyer allowed four runs in 5 1/3 innings and the offense did almost nothing in front of 36,648 fans at Citizens Bank Park Wednesday night."

"Adrian Gonzalez hit Jamie Moyer's 2-0 pitch into the right-field seats for a two-run home run in the first inning, lifting the spirits of a Padres club that had lost 11 of 13. Yes, the Phillies tied it in the first, on a home run by the scorching-hot Chase Utley. But Gonzalez's fifth homer had given teammate Chris Young mistake room, and the 2-0 advantage was the Padres' first lead in four days."

"The slow start by the Padres hasn't fazed Tony Clark, a clubhouse sage who's known much gloom and joy since entering the majors in 1995. Clark has counseled several younger teammates, sometimes after being sought out. "You understand that it's a long season, yes," said Clark, whose primary role is as a pinch hitter. "But, too, when things aren't going well, everything speeds up. It's easier said than done, but you do your best to slow and simplify.""

"After defeats in 11 of the previous 13 games, any victory is especially sweet, particularly one on the road against a winning opponent and early in a three-city trip. "Hopefully," Gonzalez said after the 4-2 triumph over the Phillies, "this is the start of something good to happen on the road trip." Cozying to a ballpark that hitters say feels tiny compared with Petco Park, Gonzalez and Kouzmanoff homered early against 45-year-old Jamie Moyer"