Padres News

"The Rockies' season has taken a detour. With back-to-back losses to San Diego, they have a day off in Phoenix today before they begin a three-game series against the Diamondbacks on Tuesday. The Rockies are a loss from the worst record in the major leagues, a far cry from where they had expected to be six weeks into their defense of the 2007 National League pennant. They are finding reason to think things are about to get better, though. They finally have begun to get quality starting pitching that goes beyond the dominating efforts of Aaron Cook, including: * Right-hander Greg Reynolds, who made the quickest rise through the minor leagues in franchise history by starting what became a 6-1 loss to the Padres on Sunday afternoon at Petco Park. "

"Just 22, Reynolds is officially a big-leaguer. He has three baseballs, a printed-out lineup card and a loss to prove it. Reynolds showed off his cannonball sinker, but two errant fastballs became souvenirs, spoiling his debut as the Rockies fell 6-1 to the last-place San Diego Padres."

"Who's hot: Zambrano is unbeaten in his last five starts, including four victories. Catcher Henry Blanco is 5-for-14 (.357) lifetime against Maddux. Former White Sox second baseman Tadahito Iguchi is hitting .400 (16-for-40) since April 30 and has not committed an error this season. Who's not: Alfonso Soriano is a lifetime .125 hitter against Wolf, and Derrek Lee is .207. Padres shortstop Khalil Greene is 3 for his last 21, and catcher Josh Bard is 4-for-35. The Padres have been outscored 68-29 in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings."

"The drama was taken out of Greg Maddux's return to Wrigley Field this week when he won his 350th game late Saturday, becoming only the third pitcher since the 1920s to do it. San Diego closer Trevor Hoffman handed Maddux the ball after saving a 3-2 victory over Colorado. "I'll take any free ball I can get," Maddux said in typical low-key fashion. "I'll give it to my kid, let him go play with it.""

"TURNING POINT When he stepped to the plate in the fourth with two on and none out, Adrian Gonzalez was hitting .186 at Petco Park this season and seven of his eight homers had come on the road. Then he went the opposite way off Ubaldo Jimenez for a 370-foot homer. KEY FACTOR Luke Carlin struck out three times. But can any other catcher say he caught a pitcher's 350th win in his major league debut? There have been only nine opportunities."

"The Padres have used their first draft pick on a college pitcher in two of the three years since CEO Sandy Alderson and farm overseer Grady Fuson joined the franchise. But that doesn't mean the trend will continue next month when the club selects 23rd overall in the amateur draft. "There's not a lot of quality college pitching," said Fuson, vice president of scouting and development. "There's not a lot of pitchability there. It's a very erratic year for college pitching. "In a perfect world, we'd probably go player this year," Fuson added, referring to the first pick."

"Five years after claiming reliever Scott Linebrink out of the No. 1 spot, the buy-low Padres are hoping that Sean Henn, a reliever they claimed Friday, can blossom for them. Because they had the worst record in the majors, the Padres had first dibs on Henn after the Yankees waived him, just as with Linebrink when the Astros waived him in 2003. General Manager Kevin Towers said Henn often reaches 95 mph with his fastball and could become a seventh-inning fixture or, down the road, a starter. Towers gleaned from Yankees personnel that Henn needed to get out of New York."

"Greg Maddux deserves better than this and, odds are, he is going to get it. Maddux has too much to offer and too little time left to be stuck pitching for these Padres at this point in his Cooperstown career. He can still help somebody chase a pennant. He should not be stuck shackled to the Oblivion Express. There's a deal to be made for the pitcher who finally earned his 350th career victory on his fifth try Saturday night at Petco Park. Everybody needs pitching, and most teams need it enough to shrug off Maddux' age, his radar gun readings and his sophomoric affection for bodily functions. "Somebody wants him," Padres ace Jake Peavy said Saturday. "He can help somebody. It sucks that this is probably the last year of his career and he's got to sit here and be a part of this and have (this be) the last thing he remembers in baseball -- if this thing doesn't turn.""

"Trevor Hoffman pumped his fist and screamed "yeah" twice as Padres infielders Tadahito Iguchi and Khalil Greene turned a game-ending double play Saturday night. Hoffman was extra excited, not only because the Padres had won for just the fifth time in 23 games, 3-2 over the Rockies, but also because he had secured Greg Maddux's 350th career victory. The all-time saves leader gave the ball to Maddux. "I'll take any free ball I can get," Maddux quipped."

" Jim Edmonds was not the problem. He was the symptom. He was the bridge too short, another in a series of stopgap question marks by a ballclub long lacking in home-grown answers. If the Padres are unwilling to compete for top-drawer free agents, and unable to push prospects through their pipeline on a regular basis, they are bound to put some square pegs on the payroll. You can't continue to rely on scratch-n-dent ballplayers without expecting a rude reckoning somewhere down the road. That reckoning is here, though Edmonds is now gone."

"Greg Maddux became the ninth pitcher in big league history to win 350 games, reaching the plateau in his fifth try and leading the San Diego Padres to a 3-2 win over the Colorado Rockies on Saturday night. With Adrian Gonzalez hitting a three-run homer and the Padres ending a five-game losing streak, Mad Dog held the Rockies to an unearned run — set up by his three-base throwing error — and three hits in six innings. He struck out one and walked none."

"His talent is chilling. The lapses are maddening. One moment Ubaldo Jimenez is da Vinci. The next, he's Etch-A-Sketchy. Saturday's potential masterpiece was spoiled by a fourth-inning ink spill, the Rockies falling 3-2 to the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. "I am not happy with the result," Jimenez said. "But I can take a lot from this game." "

"Jim Edmonds has been released and Jody Gerut recalled from Triple-A Portland. Does that answer the question in center? Gerut, 30, came up as a center fielder with Cleveland. But the center field in Cleveland was much smaller than the one at Petco Park. And that was also two serious knee injuries ago. Scott Hairston opened the season in center for the Padres when Edmonds was on the disabled list and spelled him at times this season. But Hairston is a corner outfielder by trade."

"This will be Maddux's fifth attempt at win No. 350. He is 0-3 with a no-decision in his first four attempts and has allowed 17 runs (16 earned) on 36 hits in 26 innings in those starts. Maddux is 14-8 with a 4.14 ERA in 27 starts against the Rockies. He faced Colorado six times last year and was 2-3 with a 4.28 ERA. Maddux has a 2.08 ERA in two starts at Petco Park this season without getting a decision."

"Gone was the eight-time Gold Glove center fielder who clearly was not up to his own high standards, the Padres quickly cutting their losses after too many losses on the field, even if it cost them $6 million for little more than a month's work by Jim Edmonds. In his place Friday night was Jody Gerut, also no newcomer to the major leagues at 30, but coming off two knee injuries and two years trying to get back to The Show."

"Jim Edmonds was not the problem. He was the symptom. He was the bridge too short, another in a series of stopgap question marks by a ballclub long lacking in home-grown answers. If the Padres are unwilling to compete for top-drawer free agents, and unable to push prospects through their pipeline on a regular basis, they are bound to put some square pegs on the payroll. You can't continue to rely on scratch-n-dent ballplayers without expecting a rude reckoning somewhere down the road."

"Jim Edmonds Friday became the first victim of the Padres' horrible start. The 37-year-old center fielder was released before the Padres dropped a 4-2 decision to Colorado before 31,057 Friday night at Petco Park -- the Padres' fifth straight defeat and 18th in 22 games. The victim Friday night was Jake Peavy, who doubled and scored in the third to give the Padres a 1-0 lead."

"Potential became promise. And promise has now evolved into consistent performance. It's pretty simple: when Aaron Cook pitches, the Rockies expect to win. It doesn't matter who they face or where they play. Cook is their ace, a burden he couldn't handle last season. It's hard to imagine where the Rockies would be without the right-hander this year - last place in the National League West is a great guess. On a cool Friday night, Cook bested reigning Cy Young winner Jake Peavy in the Rockies" 4-2 victory, their third straight as the they crawl back to respectability. "

"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."