There was good news and there was bad news for the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night.
The good news was that recent call-up Justin Hampson pitched very well over 3.2 innings, shutting down the Rockies. The bad news was, that the Padres needed Hampson for 3.2 innings.
After starter and MLB ERA leader Chris Young went down after 2 innings pitched with a strained abdominal muscle, Hampson came in and threw nearly four innings of shutout ball and was an integral part of the Padres 5-3 win over the Colorado Rockies. After the game manager Bud Black said that Young would likely miss his next start, previously scheduled for Sunday.
Victory and everything that goes with it aside, if Chris Young is down for any significant amount of time this ball club is in some serious trouble. For a team last in all of baseball in runs scored, they need their starting pitching to be lights out and with Young, Jake Peavy, Justin Germano, Greg Maddux and David Wells, it has been for most of the year. However now, with Young down for at least a week, if not more, this team will need a little boost from the bats in the lineup to keep pace with the Dodgers, Rockies and Diamondbacks.
On to the win, the Padres were able to put 3 runs up on the board against rookie Ubaldo Jimenez in his 7 innings pitched and then added two more against reliever Ramon Ramirez to get the win.
Jimenez was making only his second start of the season and the third start of his Big League career. He did all he could, keeping the Rockies in it for seven innings and giving them a chance to gain some ground on the 2nd place Padres who are 4.5 games up on Colorado. If Jimenez can keep this up, he may become an invaluable piece of the puzzle for the Rockies who are searching desperately for some quality starting pitching to help them keep up in the intense arms race that is the NL West.
The Rockies now need to focus on getting All-Star slugger Matt Holliday back to form as his offensive numbers have dropped off the radar. After being one of the hottest batters in all of baseball before the All-Star Break, Holliday has cooled off dramatically since going a pitiful 8 for 45 in his past 13 games for an average of .167. Holliday has added 2 homers and 8 RBI in that span but Colorado needs him at his 1st half form in order to even think about contending in the very treacherous NL West.
We should find out fairly early tomorrow whether or not Young will be hitting the disabled list, and if indeed he does, be sure to monitor the situation in San Diego. Long thought to be in the market for one more arm, it might become necessary rather than optional for Padres GM Kevin Towers.
Showing posts with label Padres. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Padres. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Adrian Gonalez
Searching for reasons why San Diego hasn’t pulled away from the pack in the NL West yet this season? Well, consider Adrian Gonzalez the answer.
The big time power threat for the power-starved Padres has been in one enormous and encompassing slump since May 29, and we have the stats to back it up.
The first 199 at-bats of his season, from April until May 29, Adrian Gonzalez put up All-Star caliber numbers. He had 12 homers and 37 RBI to go along with his 60 hits and a solid .302 average. His 41 K’s were fairly decent as well. The first 2 months of the season was setting the stage for a great year, and a Padre NL West Championship, or so the Padres organization thought.
Since May 29, Adrian Gonzalez has gone in the tank. Since that fateful day in late-May, Gonzalez has put up miniscule numbers, hampering greatly the Padres chances at the NL West crown. Hard as it is to believe, Gonzalez has only stroked 2 homers and a meager 15 RBI in the stretch since late-May. He has 137 AB’s since May 29, while putting up 29 hits for a .212 average.
That's not what the Padres need from their clean-up hitter. He has also matched his strike out total from the first 2 months despite the fact that he has 62 less at-bats. 2 home runs just isn’t going to cut it for your run producer, and the recent acquisitions of Michael Barrett and Milton Bradley aren't going to fill the gaping void that Gonzalez's disappearance has caused.
The stat discrepancy is just so noticeable for Gonzalez and his success is in direct correlation with the Padres success. Its not just coincidence. Without Gonzalez hitting like he can for the Padres, they are in some serious trouble as their All-Star rotation can only do so much when they don't get the run production to back them up.
If any team needs some help in the middle of the lineup going into the second half of the season, its got to be the Padres of San Diego.
The big time power threat for the power-starved Padres has been in one enormous and encompassing slump since May 29, and we have the stats to back it up.
The first 199 at-bats of his season, from April until May 29, Adrian Gonzalez put up All-Star caliber numbers. He had 12 homers and 37 RBI to go along with his 60 hits and a solid .302 average. His 41 K’s were fairly decent as well. The first 2 months of the season was setting the stage for a great year, and a Padre NL West Championship, or so the Padres organization thought.
Since May 29, Adrian Gonzalez has gone in the tank. Since that fateful day in late-May, Gonzalez has put up miniscule numbers, hampering greatly the Padres chances at the NL West crown. Hard as it is to believe, Gonzalez has only stroked 2 homers and a meager 15 RBI in the stretch since late-May. He has 137 AB’s since May 29, while putting up 29 hits for a .212 average.
That's not what the Padres need from their clean-up hitter. He has also matched his strike out total from the first 2 months despite the fact that he has 62 less at-bats. 2 home runs just isn’t going to cut it for your run producer, and the recent acquisitions of Michael Barrett and Milton Bradley aren't going to fill the gaping void that Gonzalez's disappearance has caused.
The stat discrepancy is just so noticeable for Gonzalez and his success is in direct correlation with the Padres success. Its not just coincidence. Without Gonzalez hitting like he can for the Padres, they are in some serious trouble as their All-Star rotation can only do so much when they don't get the run production to back them up.
If any team needs some help in the middle of the lineup going into the second half of the season, its got to be the Padres of San Diego.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Game of the Day
Well tomorrow should be a dandy. There are five different pitching match-ups that truly intrigue me enough to sit down and watch. Balancing family obligations and two jobs, I'm hoping I can check out two. It may be a late night tomorrow but here's hoping, and thank you mlb.tv.
GAME OF THE DAY
San Diego (Justin Germano) vs. San Francisco (Tim Lincecum)
Two of the brightest young stars out west go head to head in this showdown of NL West rivals. San Diego's got the edge as Lincecum has been struggling and simply put, San Francisco isn't very good.
The Padres have just come off a series loss to the Red Sox though , but they still hold the edge as Germano has been solid thus far in 07. Germano's rocking a 2.63 ERA through 48 innings and has a nice 24K/7BB ratio. Lincecum will be just fine in time but he's on the rocks right now. I'll take the Padres.
Check out the game of the day if you can but don't sleep on some other great games. Jason Bergmann makes his return to the rotation for the Washington Nationals as they take on Tim Hudson and the Braves. Bergmann had been lighting it up early on but has missed a month with shoulder inflammation. Hudson's been having a bit of a hard time lately so this should be a decent tilt. I haven't seen the Nationals much this year so this one is a definite option.
Also, Jeff Francis of the Rockies will take on Jason Marquis of the Cubs. Both pitchers have quietly been having solid if not spectacular seasons for their respective clubs and a pitcher's duel wouldn't be a shock in this one.
One of my favorites takes the mound Monday night when Ben Sheets and the Brewers host the Astros and Jason Jennings. The Brewers are just a lot of fun to watch these days and Sheets has been hot lately.
And finally, the Toronto Blue Jays head into Minneapolis to face Kevin Slowey and the Twins. While Slowey hasn't been on par with some of the other top rookie pitchers, he also has held his own for the Twins and will look for his 3rd win against the recently mortal Roy Halladay. The Jays just swept the Rockies while the Twins have gone 9-4 in their past 13.
Lots of choices for you tomorrow, and with the end of inter-league, we're now on the final countdown towards the All-Star Break and the trading deadline. Things are just starting to get interesting. Enjoy the show.
GAME OF THE DAY
San Diego (Justin Germano) vs. San Francisco (Tim Lincecum)
Two of the brightest young stars out west go head to head in this showdown of NL West rivals. San Diego's got the edge as Lincecum has been struggling and simply put, San Francisco isn't very good.
The Padres have just come off a series loss to the Red Sox though , but they still hold the edge as Germano has been solid thus far in 07. Germano's rocking a 2.63 ERA through 48 innings and has a nice 24K/7BB ratio. Lincecum will be just fine in time but he's on the rocks right now. I'll take the Padres.
Check out the game of the day if you can but don't sleep on some other great games. Jason Bergmann makes his return to the rotation for the Washington Nationals as they take on Tim Hudson and the Braves. Bergmann had been lighting it up early on but has missed a month with shoulder inflammation. Hudson's been having a bit of a hard time lately so this should be a decent tilt. I haven't seen the Nationals much this year so this one is a definite option.
Also, Jeff Francis of the Rockies will take on Jason Marquis of the Cubs. Both pitchers have quietly been having solid if not spectacular seasons for their respective clubs and a pitcher's duel wouldn't be a shock in this one.
One of my favorites takes the mound Monday night when Ben Sheets and the Brewers host the Astros and Jason Jennings. The Brewers are just a lot of fun to watch these days and Sheets has been hot lately.
And finally, the Toronto Blue Jays head into Minneapolis to face Kevin Slowey and the Twins. While Slowey hasn't been on par with some of the other top rookie pitchers, he also has held his own for the Twins and will look for his 3rd win against the recently mortal Roy Halladay. The Jays just swept the Rockies while the Twins have gone 9-4 in their past 13.
Lots of choices for you tomorrow, and with the end of inter-league, we're now on the final countdown towards the All-Star Break and the trading deadline. Things are just starting to get interesting. Enjoy the show.
All-Star Preview?
Watched the Padres play the Red Sox this afternoon. This game had been hyped all week long and while it wasn't quite the pitching duel I had expected, it was worth the watch. Jake Peavy took on Josh Beckett, and Beckett came out on top. Beckett was on it all game long going eight strong, leaving it for Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth. Maybe a point of interest here, but David Ortiz just couldn't hit this series and struck out 3 times today and went 1 of 11 overall.
Peavy just couldn’t find it, and due to some rough patches early, he had to leave after five with over 100 pitches thrown. His NL leading ERA jumps a little bit, but he’ll be alright. Royce Ring threw really well in relief, as did Trevor Hoffman.
There is definite talk of these two pitchers starting the All-Star game in a couple of weeks, but it's hard to believe that Beckett would get the nod over Dan Haren of the Athletics who has been filthy all year and leads the MLB in ERA. Peavy should have his locked up for mid-July but Brad Penny may pitch his way into a repeat appearance as the starter at the mid-summer classic.
And on one final note, what’s Julio Lugo doing still starting for the Red Sox as July approaches? Seriously now, with an average under .200 and dropping, can’t Theo Epstein add someone to fill the glaring hole?
Peavy just couldn’t find it, and due to some rough patches early, he had to leave after five with over 100 pitches thrown. His NL leading ERA jumps a little bit, but he’ll be alright. Royce Ring threw really well in relief, as did Trevor Hoffman.
There is definite talk of these two pitchers starting the All-Star game in a couple of weeks, but it's hard to believe that Beckett would get the nod over Dan Haren of the Athletics who has been filthy all year and leads the MLB in ERA. Peavy should have his locked up for mid-July but Brad Penny may pitch his way into a repeat appearance as the starter at the mid-summer classic.
And on one final note, what’s Julio Lugo doing still starting for the Red Sox as July approaches? Seriously now, with an average under .200 and dropping, can’t Theo Epstein add someone to fill the glaring hole?
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