Twinsies 3, Drinos 1

I turned it off.

I'm not gonna lie to you. When Hoffy gave up that bomb to Brendan Harris I shut down my computer (mlb.tv ... there is no substitute ... other than living in S.D. and getting Channel 4 in HD that is) and walked away. It's not that I was even that upset with Hoffman (I should have turned it off after Gerut failed to get the bunt down in the 8th). I kind of figure giving Hoffy anything less than a 2-run lead these days basically amounts to a 50/50 proposition that we will be tied or losing after his inning.

Thus every career must end.

Whoa, whoa, whoa ... don't get me wrong. I'm not saying the Padres should shelve their copy of AC/DC's Back in Black just yet (prediction: Hoffy ends the year with a semi-respectable 3.88 ERA and 38 saves), but the writing is on the wall. Hoffman is not the closer he was in his prime (I know, news flash), nor is he the closer he was 2 years ago or even for 98% of last year. He is now what you would call a "risky closer." Someone of the Todd Jones type. If anyone thinks Trevor is going to bounce back and go on a run where he saves like 20 games in a row (the kind of run the Pads would need to get back in this race), well, I'm afraid I don't share your optimism.

But like I said, I don't blame Trevor. The Padres offense is growing increasingly inept and forcing our bullpen, including Trevor, to be absolutely perfect every night. That's a pretty high standard, perfection. Perfection is rare. Off the top of my head the only things I can think of that are perfect are A Few Good Men, the Mexican model Blanca Soto, the bacon appetizer at Peter Luger's and the series finale of Cheers.

And let's face it, the Padres bullpen is no Luger's bacon app.