2004 September

Archive for September 2004

Resistable Forces, Movable Objects

Thursday, September 30, 2004
by Geoff Young

The Giants bullpen tried to give the game to the Padres. The Padres hitters tried to give it back. In the end, some sloppy defense and a well-placed fly ball tipped the balance in the Pads' favor. It may not have been pretty, but it was effective. Thanks to an extended stop at The Field for prawns and chips, and a pint of Boddington, we didn't get to the ballpark till the second inning. And, by design, we never did make it to our assigned seats, choosing instead to wander around the park and take in the sights. As for the game itself, three moments stand out for me: David Wells struck out Barry ...

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Giant Problem

Wednesday, September 29, 2004
by Geoff Young

Brian Lawrence threw too many hittable two-strike pitches and the Giants hit 'em. Not particularly hard, but well placed. And in a microcosm of the season, the Padres had chances late but couldn't capitalize. Down two in the ninth, with runners at first and second, nobody out, and Phil Nevin, Ryan Klesko, and Rich Aurilia due up, opportunity knocked. But nobody opened the door, and ultimately the Padres went quietly, their season following close behind. David Wells vs Noah Lowry tonight. It's been a great year; go out and cheer on the guys as they wrap up the inaugural season at Petco. Mark Loretta's chance to win the hits title has all but vanished. Now we're pretty much down to Jake Peavy's pursuit of the ERA ...

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Odds, Ends, and Points Between

Tuesday, September 28, 2004
by Geoff Young

Bullet points today: Wells wants guaranteed contract if he returns to Padres (U-T). I love what David Wells has done for this ballclub, in terms of on-field performance and the impact he's had on the kids. Signing Wells on the cheap this past winter was a brilliant move. But a large part of what made this a brilliant move was the fact that it was on the cheap. The kind of guaranteed money Wells is talking about now doesn't seem to make a lot of sense for the Padres, especially when there are so many good pitchers hitting the free agent market. Wells is ...

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Playing Catch-Up

Monday, September 27, 2004
by Geoff Young

It's what the Pads are doing, and it's what I'm doing as well. We're going to cover a lot of ground today, so get comfortable. First off, the Padres completed their sweep of Arizona on Sunday, behind more great pitching from Jake Peavy. The young right-hander allowed one run in six innings and now needs just 1 2/3 innings in his final start to qualify for the ERA title. If he qualifies, he pretty much is going to win the title. At this point, even if Carlos Zambrano were to throw back-to-back nine-inning shutout in his final two starts, Peavy would need to allow three runs or fewer in those 1 2/3 innings to finish on top....

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And Now Things Get Interesting

Thursday, September 23, 2004
by Geoff Young

Apologies for the lack of recent updates. I've been busy contemplating some disturbing musical questions, such as whether it is possible to apply McCoy Tyner's use of quartal harmony to AC/DC songs. (Answer: In theory, yes; in practice, don't go there.) Anyway, we made it out to Petco Park last night and saw the best game I've seen Jake Peavy pitch in person since he was at Elsinore back in 2001. Actually, his line against the Dodgers was almost identical to the line he posted on June 30, 2001 while with the Storm. Yes, I realize that is a tremendously geeky thing to know. But I'm okay with it. So last night Peavy went out and completely abused the Dodgers. He fanned ...

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Good Eaton

Friday, September 17, 2004
by Geoff Young

The Padres needed Adam Eaton to step up, and he did. Three out of four in LA is real nice. Now it's off to San Francisco. Damn Brewers didn't cough up Barry Bonds' 700th homer so most likely we'll have to suffer through that. My strategy is to plate 6 or 7 runs in the top of the first tonight, then serve up a two-out solo shot to Bonds. Let him do his thing, and then beat the Giants. Hey, it could happen. In other news, with Khalil Greene out for the year, and now Sean Burroughs and Rich Aurilia unavailable, the Padres went out and traded for Alex Gonzalez. This is the older Alex Gonzalez, who has played with the Blue Jays, Cubs, ...

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Two Down, One to Go

Thursday, September 16, 2004
by Geoff Young

After the obligatory fifth starter thrashing, the Padres came back to win the third game at Dodger Stadium. Brian Lawrence allowed the first five batters to reach base but settled down and held the Dodgers to three runs in six innings, becoming the first Padre 15-game winner since 1998. The bad news is that it looks like Khalil Greene is out for the regular season with a broken finger. Brilliant rookie campaign. We'll leave it to the powers-that-be to figure out who the ROY should be. Meantime, the Pads are still very much in the hunt. Rich Aurilia and a resurgent Ramon Vazquez will split shortstop duties in Greene's absence. Yeah, it's a dropoff, but these ...

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