Padres: Making Opposing Pitchers Look Really Really Good

The Padres lost again yesterday 3-1 to the Phillies. So despite having the best ERA in the National League, they are 6.5 games back in the NL West and haven't won back-to-back games since the first two games of the season.

The reason, of course, for the Padres poor win-loss record is their shameful hitting. Facing Roy Halladay yesterday, probably the best pitcher in baseball, the woes continued. Doc K'd 14 Padres and generally made the hitters look foolish. Even so, because Wade LeBlanc and other Padres pitchers are so quality, the game was there for the taking in the 9th, but once again the team couldn't get a big hit when it was needed.

It should surprise no one that 5 of the top 12 individual pitching performances in the NL this season have come against the Padres. There was Jaime Garcia on April 3 (86 game score), Tim Lincecum on April 6 (80), Carlos Zambrano on April 18 (85), Cole Hamels on April 22 (79), and Roy Halladay (83) yesterday afternoon. No question these are all good pitchers, including in Lincecum and Halladay perhaps the two best overall pitchers in baseball, but that is not a statistic the Padres should be proud of.

With Derek Lowe, Jair Jurrjens, and Tommy Hanson all slated to face the Padres at Petco in the next three days, I don't see how this gets turned around anytime soon.

Lincecum Rides Padres Hard, Puts Them Away Wet

My Dad sent me the above photo this morning and said simply this: "Lincecum - 13 Ks - wow."

Hard to argue with that assessment.

In more positive news, the minor leagues start tonight! The Padres four affiliates are throwing Wade LeBlanc (Tucson), Anthony Bass (San Antonio), Matt Lollis (Lake Elsinore), and Keyvius Sampson (Fort Wayne) as Opening Day starters.

I sense four victories and many firework displays.

Baseball America's Projected 2011 Padres Starting Rotation And Closer ... Made In 2008

Yesterday I listed Baseball America's projected lineup for the 2011 Padres as published in their 2008 Prospect Handbook. Today we look at BA's projected rotation and closer.

Starting Rotation

1. Jake Peavy

Kevin Towers, in what was likely his second greatest trade as Padres GM, dealt Peavy to the White Sox midway through the 2009 season in exchange for three pitchers, one of whom was Clayton Richard who has become a mainstay of the Padres rotation. As for Peavy, he made 17 mostly-mediocre starts for the White Sox last season before his right shoulder muscle detached from his back and his season abruptly ended. If he can approach a Peavy-esque season in 2011, the White Sox look to be favorites to win the AL Central.

2. Chris Young

If only the man could stay healthy. I loved the work CY did in his four starts - three during the ultimately unsuccessful stretch run - last season. Unfortunately it was just that: four starts. If CY and the Padres could somehow find it in their mutual hearts and pocketbooks to reunite for another season or two, he would immediately become my favorite Padre. I like his demeanor, his competitiveness, his work ethic, his overall beastliness. Make it happen, Jed. Bring CY back!

3. Mat Latos

Forget #3 starter. Latos, as a 23-year old, may be the #1. His stellar sophomore campaign - 14-10, 2.92 ERA, 189 Ks, 1.08 WHIP - included a remarkable 15-game stretch where he pitched at least 5 innings and did not allow more than 2 runs in any start. I also liked his gutty performance on the final day of the season in Frisco. Though the Padres lost that game 3-0, Latos manned up, attacked the Giants hitters, and kept the Padres within striking distance. The kid gets it.

4. Wade LeBlanc

Wade has a shot to make the rotation out of Spring Training, although if he does I imagine Jed will think something has gone wrong with his well-laid plans. I like Wade and think he is capable of success in short spurts, perhaps as a change of pace after a hard thrower like Latos, before hitters start to figure out his marginal stuff. The key to winning at Petco, however, is starting pitching depth, so Wade will play a role on the 2011 Padres, whether he makes the team coming out of Peoria or not.

5. Drew Miller

Another injury-plagued career. Drew pitched poorly in 2008 and then, as the '09 season began, underwent Tommy John surgery. A second surgery on his ulnar nerve followed later that summer. He finally made a comeback last season in Fort Wayne and gave up 5 hits and 4 earned runs in 3.1 innings pitched. He did strikeout 5 of the 16 batters he faced. He retired voluntarily last May, a few days after his last outing.

Closer

Heath Bell

Well done, BA. Well done. What more can I say here about Heath? He was probably the best closer in baseball last season and I only wish he could have showcased his beastliness in the playoffs. The Padres will likely deal him at the trade deadline in 2011, gathering another haul of future monsters. Until that time I'm just going to enjoy watching him dominate the ninth inning for the Drinos.

Padres Need To Get Back On Track

First of all, I have to thank my advisor Father D.P. McGillicutty for having the Bevormo family out to his house in Southampton on Friday night. I also need to thank master designer PKOH for inviting the Bevormo family to his wedding on Saturday night.

Of course, I thank these two individuals not just for the excellence of both events, but for the fact the events worked to distract me from two disappointing losses to the Dadgers over the weekend. Unfortunately, I had time to watch Sunday's loss live and in color, but that's my own fault.

A few thoughts from the weekend's games:

- Tony Gwynn had that Kemp bomb on Friday night. If he makes that catch the Padres might have the momentum to sweep the series.

- Speaking of Friday night, how soon things turn. After the first inning Friday night - maybe around 7 PM PDT - the Padres had just swept the Giants and Adrian Gonzalez had just smoked a monster bomb. Just 48 hours later the Padres had lost three straight games and it looked like no Padre hitter would ever hit a HR again. Or any other type of hit for that matter.

- Wade LeBlanc. Pure monster. Through 35 innings across 6 starts he's sitting at a 1.54 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, and a .337 BABIP. I'm no statistician but that high BABIP tells me that, if anything, LeBlanc has been unlucky in his first 6 starts. (Of course I don't understand BABIP so that could be an entirely incorrect conclusion.)

Tonight, the domination of the Giants will hopefully continue under the steady hand of Clayton Richard. But Matty Cain stands on the mound in the bottom half of each inning so a win could be a tough road to hoe.

Up In San Fran

Last night's game between soft-tossing lefties Wade LeBlanc and Barry Zito felt interminable. And that last inning when Heath Bell kept throwing breaking pitch after breaking pitch to the immortal Eli Whiteside aged me about 14 years.

That's right. I'm now 47.

Another thing I didn't like about last night's game: Scotty "Bombs" Hairston making the final out of the 2nd inning at third base, leaving Adrian standing in the on deck circle. C'mon, Scotty. You've got to stay at second there and let Adrian blast you in.

A thing I did like about last night's game: after Kyle Blanks looking horrendous on Ks in his first two at bats, the camera cutting to Adrian talking to Kyle on the bench. Kyle walked in his final three at bats and took noticeably more aggressive swings. Nicely done, Adrian.

Tonight we've got Clayton against Matty Cain. If the Drinos pull this one out too - and I'm at the point where I almost expect the Padres to win every night - then I'll continue to be very pleased.

Wade Goes Again Tonight

Wade LeBlanc - he of the gaudy 0.52 ERA - throws tonight against the Denver Mountains.

I'm sensing a pure, unadulterated Padres victory.

Wade LeBlanc: What A Beast

I have no doubt that Wade is going to get it dun tonight against the Brewers.

In his first two starts of the 2010 season, Wade has been, in a word, dominant. He shut down the D'Backs, a team known for hitting bombs and scoring runs, over 5 innings, striking out 7 and giving up only 1 run. Then, in that bandbox in Cincy, he pitched 6 innings of 3-hit ball, dropping his season's ERA to a miniscule 0.82.

What are the odds we see more of the same tonight in the friendly confines of Petco Park.

If I were Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun, and I basically am, I probably wouldn't even come to the ballpark today.

Latos, LeBlanc, Gallagher, Poreda & Italiano LLP

Mat Latos led a bevy of the Padres young pitchers in a solid set of outings this afternoon, paving the way for a 9-3 Drino beatdown of the M's.

I know Chase, Kyle and Aaron Cunningham all had good days with the bat, but what really caught my eye - or ear, in this case, because I was listening to Ted Leitner and Jerry Coleman on the radio broadcast - was the solid pitching of Latos, Wade LeBlanc, Sean Gallagher, Aaron Poreda and Craig Italiano.

Latos had some good stuff early on, a walk to Griffey his only real mistake over 2 full innings. Wade had a little trouble in his two innings, though that was partly the fault of a Chase Headley error at third base. According to Leitner, Wade's stuff looked good.

The last three guys though really sounded impressive. The combined line for Gallagher, Poreda and Craigers Italiano this afternoon was 6 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 3 walks and 3 Ks. Aaron Poreda was particularly impressive in that he had all 3 Ks.

All three of those guys are key swing prospects for the Padres. If all three swing to side of good - meaning become beast pitchers - then the Drinos will have a sick amount of depth on their pitching staff.

Today was a good sign.

Jed Hoyer Dispenses With Grady Fuson

Looks like one of Jed Hoyer's first moves as Padres GM is removing Grady Fuson as vice president of scouting and player development. Fuson was on the job for 5 years.

Scouting and player development is probably the most important job on a mid-to-small market team, so I have no problem with Jed bringing in his own guy for the job. I'm also confident that Jed will select someone who will know what he's doing. I have no specific reason to be confident about that, but I am.

For Grady's part, he did an okay job in his 5 years. Successes and potential successes include Kyle Blanks, Will Venable, Mat Latos, Nick Hundley, Wade LeBlanc and Chase Headley. Disappointments and potential disappointments include Matt Antonelli, Cesar Carrillo, Cesar Ramos and Nick Schmidt. That's not a complete list. That's just a list I copied from an article in the U-T.

As with any new hire, it will take a few years to know if Jed is moving the Drinos player development system in the right direction. I like the direction the system moved last year with all the power arms KT traded for, and the development of players like James Darnell and Jaff Decker. Hopefully Jed can do even better.

LA LA

I am in Los Angeles.

And so are the Padres.

LeBlanc v. Kershaw in about an hour.

The Padres Starting Rotation

Trust me, Monkey, I know how you feel. That's the exact reaction I had this morning when I woke up and read the news that the Padres were calling up Walter Silva and Wade LeBlanc to replace the injured Jake Peavy and Chris Young in the starting rotation.

I knew this was coming ever since news broke of the Peavy-CY injuries, but to actually see it in print this morning had me taken aback.

Just take a look at the five men making up the Padres starting rotation as of this moment (career numbers in parentheses):

Kevin Correia (17-27, 4.58 ERA, 1.47 WHIP)
Chad Gaudin (30-31, 4.62, 1.53)
Josh Geer (3-3, 5.04, 1.35)
Wade LeBlanc (1-3, 8.02, 2.06)
Walter Silva (0-0, 6.52, 1.76)

Doesn't exactly call to mind the 1971 Orioles. In fact, it barely calls to mind the 1971 Padres (I'd give my favorite merino full zip sweater for a little Dave Roberts and Clay Kirby right now.)

But I digress. I don't want to take anything away from these five "Gentlemen of the Mound." I'm sure they'll do the best they can and, obviously, I wish them well. In fact, when Geer throws this afternoon against the M's, I'm going to do him the honor of stopping work immediately and devoting my full attention to his outing on mlb.tv.

I figure that's the least I can do to show support for young Mr. Geer.

Good luck today, Josh.

And Monkey, relax. At least you have a sweet green turtleneck to wear.

Best,
Bevormo