The Final Two Against the Shanks

I had the opportunity to go to the game again Wednesday but, despite having a ticket in hand, had to sit in the office and watch on mlb.tv the Joba outing Thursday afternoon. It was a sell out too, and a beautiful day.

I'm only a little bit bitter.

Wednesday night, Shanks 8, Pads 5. You could almost predict Peav would be so fired up for this game - his first start at Yankee stadium - that he'd overthrow and not have his best command. There's certainly precedent for that - the two Cardinals playoff games, the Rockies Game 163, last year's game against the Red Sox - though I'm not sure that's what happened Wednesday. A-Rod got into him good for a monster bomb in the third, but other than that it was a couple Damon squeaker base hits, a stolen base, a fly ball McAnulty didn't get to and a Khalil throwing error that got Peav into trouble.

Too bad too because the bats woke up in the late stages of the game. Giles and A-Gon went yard to pull the Drinos within a run going to the bottom of the 7th but the Yanquis bats got to the Drino bullpen (why did Black let Hampson start the 7th - very dubious decision) and pulled away.

Let me say one other thing about our boy Chase Headley. What a beast. I feel privileged to have been at Wrigley for his MLB debut last year - sat a few seats behind his family members who were already wearing a Padres jersey with Headley's name on the back - and to have seen his first bomb, hit at the legendary Stade Fascist in its final season. Even more, Headley's fly out to right center in the third missed being a salami by about five feet, and his fly out to Damon in the second missed being a solo shot by about two feet, so it was nice to see him break through against Farnsworth in the 8th. Well played Chase!

Thursday afternoon, Shanks 2, Pads 1. When you work in New York City and you are sitting in your office watching the Pads play the Yankees on mlb.tv and your co-workers, including your secretary, keep coming in and looking over your shoulder for updates, and those updates are that Joba Chamberlain is pitching well and the Padres can't score runs and the Yankees are in the lead and about to win and then that Rivera just struck out the side ... it's really annoying.

That's all I'm going to say about that.

Oh, but one more thing ...

Go Padres! Dominate the Tigers!