Yesterday, on the final day of scheduled games before the All-Star break, the Padres salvaged a win over the charging Colorado Rackies to finish the first-half of the season all alone in first place in the NL West.Nice.
I have been watching the first-half of the season with great interest, but admittedly have had my focus drawn to the World Cup over the last month. Now that the WC is over and done with, the focus is now fully on baseball for what promises to be a solid second half of the season.
Yesterday's game, in fact, provided one of my first fist-pump moments of the season, when Rackies' pitcher Matt Belisle errantly threw to home in the top of the 8th, allowing Aaron Cunningham and Jerry Hairston, Jr. to score the tying and go-ahead runs when the ball skipped past Miguel Olivo. Then our boy Everth topped it off with a two-run pop-up bomb in the 9th to give Heath the cushion he needed to close out the game.
What a fine way to enter the break.
The second half starts for the Padres next Friday and promises to be a tense battle of wits and baseball acumen. To hold on to first place and ice the NL West, the Padres need to improve their play over the next two-and-a-half months, no small feat given their stellar play to date. Production from last August's heroes, Will Venable, Kyle Blanks and E Cab, as well as continued dominance from the starting rotation and bullpen, is a must. A trade for another starting pitcher may be in order.
Suffice to say the roster will change a bit over the next twenty days. Here's hoping Jed makes all the right moves.
No comments:
Post a Comment