The Inevitable Dustin Moseley Shutout Win

What goes around comes around.

The Padres have been shutout 7 times this season, and only scored 1 run in Dustin Moseley's first four starts, but yesterday reversed the polarity of those two trends, and won 7-0 over the Hated Dadgers.

I wasn't able to watch the game, but in looking at the highlights, Dustin's pitches had a lot of bite. Most notably, he K'd Matt Kemp looking in the 7th with a pitch that bit at the absolute last moment over the outside corner of the plate. Pure nasty.

After six starts Dustin's ERA stands at 1.63, good for second in the National League, and fourth best in all of baseball, behind some no-namers like Josh Johnson, Jered Weaver, and Dan Haren. He's not doing it with gaudy peripherals, but like the saying I just made up goes, why worry about peripherals as long as you're keeping earned runners from scoring?

The First Annual Anthony Rizzo/Jaff Decker/James Darnell April 2011 Padres Minor League Honor Roll

After last night's glorious 5-2 victory over the Hated Dadgers, the Padres finished April 10-17, 8 games back of the Colorado Rackies. From an offensive standpoint, they played about as poor as they could possibly play, finishing at the bottom of the NL in all three triple-slash categories. These are not numbers for the faint of heart: .211/.293/.308. But that's why I feel some optimism heading into May. The Padres can't continue to hit that poorly - they really can't - and they have 11 games this month against the Pirates, DBacks, and Nationals. Sure, they get the Rockies too, but I'm guessing they finish May just a few games under .500, poised to hit the ground running in June.

In the meantime, and speaking of optimism, let's take a look at the top Padres minor league performances in the month of April. A lot of guys swung some big time wood last month, and a few other guys pitched well, so it would be an oversight not to commend them.

Tucson Padres

1B - Anthony Rizzo: .400/.471/.744
3B - Jesus Guzman: .344/.439/.467
2B - Logan Forsythe: .313/.429/.525
RHP - Jon Leicester: 1-0, 2.84, 11/8, 1.16 WHIP

If Rizzo doesn't make the May Honor Roll, it's because he's raking in the Diago.

San Antonio Missions

3B - James Darnell: .410/.520/.705
CF - Blake Tekotte: .375/.474/.675
OF - Jaff Decker: .316/.449/.759
LF - Dan Robertson: .270/.405/.460
1B - Cody Decker: .298/.337/.714
RF - Sawyer Carroll: .333/.377/.579
C - Kyle Phillips: .344/.362/.500
SS - Beamer Weems: .324/.390/.500
RHP - Anthony Bass: 3-1, 3.45, 18/7, 1.15 WHIP
RHP - Casey Kelly: 2-0, 4.10, 19/9, 1.48 WHIP
RHP - Brad Brach: 7 saves, 3.97, 19/1, .97 WHIP

Who plays second base for the Missions? That guy needs to get his act together (just kidding: it's usually Vinny Belnome who just missed making the April Honor Roll).

Lake Elsinore Storm

3B - Jedd Gyorko: .380/.442/.652
3B - Edinson Rincon: .369/.419/.524
CF - Reymond Fuentes: .306/.344/.400
RHP - Chris Fetter: 1-2, 3.32, 22/2, 1.29 WHIP
RHP - Jerry Sullivan: 3-1, 3.32, 13/8, 1.58 WHIP
RHP - Matt Lollis: 1-4, 5.13, 29/8, 1.14 WHIP
RHP - Erik Hamren, 4 holds, 1.69, 15/1, .66 WHIP

Fuentes: feel free to go ahead and start flashing some power anytime you're ready.

Fort Wayne TinCaps

3B - Jake Blackwood: .321/.360/.631
C - Tommy Medica: .323/.397/.523
RHP - Keyvius Sampson: 3-1, 1.29, 28/8, .67 WHIP
LHP - Mark Hardy: 1-3. 2.31, 13/7, 1.07 WHIP
LHP - Andrew Werner: 1-3, 3.27, 21/6, 1.09 WHIP

The lack of name prospects in the everyday lineup when Tate and Williams are injured is startling. But all hail Keyvius, and a shout out to Peorian Andrew Werner.

The relentless progression of time continues. May starts today.

If You Are A Dodger Fan, You Didn't Like Yesterday's Bomb Show at Petco

Nick Hundley, Ryan Ludwick, and Cameron Maybin all went yard yesterday afternoon to lead the Padres to a 7-2 beatdown of the Hated Dadgers.

Maybe the Padres should play all their home games at 1:05 PM when, as Mark Grant put it, there's a "jet stream" blowing out to left center.

Incidentally, I love the above photo taken by my boy Dilip Vishwanat. Nick Hundley should love it too. It actually makes him look fast and athletic.

Anytime You Can Lose To The Dodgers Twice In One Day, You Have To Do It

Because Friday night's game was suspended due to rain, the Padres and Dodgers finished two games yesterday evening. The Padres lost both, in no small part due to Tony Gwynn, Jr.'s offensive and defensive heroics. At the conclusion of the first game, Gwynn singled in the winning run in the top of the 11th, and, in the bottom half of the inning, cut off Nick Hundley's apparent lead off double and held Nick to a long single. Nick would be doubled up at second a few pitches later. Then, in the first inning of the second game, Gwynn doubled and came around to score the first run of the game, the only run the Dadgers would need in a 4-0 shutout win.

Gwynn Jr., with about 1/100th the hitting talent of his father, strikes me as a below-average hitter who, when he is motivated to focus and concentrate, rises almost to the level of average hitter. Unfortunately, his moments of focus and concentration are few and far between, seemingly arising only when he wants to show someone up, such as the team that cut him in the offseason. Or, as when he tripled off Trever Hoffman during the final weekend of the 2007 season, against the team his Dad played for but that never drafted the son. Perhaps that is a trait borne of a privileged upbringing and a famous last name that has provided him more chances than he otherwise would have been given. Or maybe it's just hard to lock in with consistency when you have middling talent. I don't know.

All I do know is that Gwynn Jr. is becoming a Padre killer.

I Sure Wish Jerry Hairston, Jr.'s Tibia Wasn't Fractured

This isn't good for business.

But we play on.

Tonight the Padres start the final 13-game stretch in L.A. against the Hated Dadgers. A win would be most welcome.

Whither Luke Gregerson?

The Padres won yesterday for the first time in 10 games, defeating the Hated Dadgers 4-2 at Petco Park. A number of Padres played well in the game - Nick Hundley, Aaron Cunningham, Mike Adams, and Heath Bell come to mind - but Luke Gregerson again struggled to get outs.

Luke has not been effective so far in September. In his 3 appearances in the month, Luke has faced 13 batters and recorded only 3 outs, amounting to 1 full inning pitched. Over that inning, he's given up 6 hits, 8 runs (7 earned), walked 3, struckout only 1 and given up 2 homeruns. Bud Black pulled Luke last night after only 8 pitches, handing the ball over to Mike Adams to get the final two outs of the 7th inning.

This is not the first time Luke has struggled this season. During his first four apperances of July, Luke faced 17 batters across 2.2 innings pitched and gave up 6 hits, 7 runs (all earned), walked 4, K'd only 1, and allowed 2 bombs. Almost a mirror image of his first three appearances this month.

I'm not ready to close the book on Luke for the season. Far from it. In fact, I'm optimistic he'll turn it around. After that dismal start to July, Luke came back with a huge inning-and-a-third scoreless performance against the Rockies right before the All-Star break. That kind of resolve in the face of tough circumstances - coupled with a dominant slider that will no doubt resurface - is why Luke will be clutch these next three weeks.

After all, Luke went to high school in Morton, IL, just across the Illinois River from my hometown of Peoria. They don't breed half-hearts and cowards out in Morton. They breed country boys who know how to get things dun.

I bet Luke starts getting it dun tonight.

"It's like a nightmare, isn't it? It just keeps getting worse and worse."

You know that part in The Color of Money when Tom Cruise's character, Vincent Lauria, loses to veteran hustler Grady Seasons (played by real-life pool star Kevin McReady), and as Grady sinks shot after shot, he says to Vincent, "It's like a nightmare, isn't it? It just keeps getting worse and worse."

Of course you do. It's one of the great "hate-the-bad-guy" scenes in film history.

The Padres 10-game losing streak is the baseball equivalent of Grady Seasons running the table as Vincent sat on the side watching it happen, powerless to stop it.

All we can hope for at this point is that the Padres can pull off a trick shot and turn the tables on this losing streak. Like Vincent did to Grady.

Tonight against the Dodgers, Latos is Vincent. And his hair is perfect.

Latos At The Ravine

Mat just gave up a two-run double to Russell Martin.

Eeeew.

But Miggy T did hit a bomb.

2-1 Dadgers in the 4th.

(And the Gints are smoking the Rockies 7-0 in the 7th.)

Padres Go To L.A. For Four

The Dadgers are on the precipice, hanging on for dear life in the NL playoff picture. I like to imagine them balancing on the thin edge of the "D" in the Hollywood sign, ready to spill forward and plunge down the escarpment at the slightest push.

I hope tonight the Padres - led by our boy Clay Richard - can get that nudging started with a win at Chavez Ravine. Tonight's game starts a four game set that, if the Padres sweep or take three out of four, could knock the Dodgers out cold.

On the other hand, the Dadgers could salvage their season if they win three of the four, a move they may be positioned to do with Kuroda, Ted Lilly and Chad Billingsley scheduled to pitch in the series.

Meanwhile, one casts a wary eye East, to Denver, where the Gints and the Rockies start a two game series tomorrow night. The Rockies have won four straight, while the Giants are winners of three in a row. Both teams fancy themselves competitors for the NL West lead the Padres have held since April.

Things could not be more critical these next four August nights.

Blanks Getting the Elbow Rebuilt

Our boy Blanksy is going under the knife to have his elbow repaired. Tommy John surgery for a leftfielder.

This a year after a foot injury kept him out of the last month of the season.

Makes you wonder if the big guy is a bit frail. Kind of like Chris Young. Or Yao Ming.

What this tells me is that the Padres need to sign Adrian stat. Give him the 8 years, win a Series, then ship him to the Yanks in Year 4 for a couple prospects.

Get it dun, Jed.

(Oh and go Padres tonight against the Dadgers.)

Pedro Guerrero Was Good

The first year I was cognizant of baseball was the Summer of '82 and I remember watching a Game of the Week and seeing this beast named Pedro Guerrero manning the outfield for the Dadgers.

My first thought was, "Why aren't the Padres ever on the Game of the Week?"

My second thought was, "Who is this monster beast in the Dodgers outfield and why don't the Padres have anyone remotely as badass as this guy?"

The envy I had for the Dadgers with a player like Guerrero wasn't diminished at all when his final numbers for '82 came in: 32 bombs, 100 ribeyes and a .304 batting average.

Though they were a solid squad, the '82 Padres didn't have any guys that reached even one of those benchmarks. Terry Kennedy led the team in all three major categories with a .295 21 97 line. Not at all shabby - especially for a catcher - but not quite the magical line of a .300 average, 30 bombs and 100 RBIs.

It shouldn't surprise you that with a beast like Guerrero the Dadgers had a better record than the Padres in '82 and finished the season only a game behind the first place Bravos.

At that point I never thought the Drinos would ever have any beasts like Guerrero.

But lo and behold just two seasons later the Padres fielded a roster with the likes of Tony Gwynn, Steve Garvey, Graig Nettles and Kevin McReynolds, all solid monsters who helped lead the team to the World Series.

Just goes to show you how quickly things can change. Last season the Dadgers were well ahead of the Drinos in terms of talent, wins and just about any other category one could think of. Now, less than a year later, it is the Padres who own first place in the NL West and - if they continue at their present pace - will taste the playoffs while the Dadgers sit out October and plan for Summer 2011.

The chance to stick a fork in the Dadgers begins tonight.

Let's get this dun.

Cesar Ramos Outduels Billingsley, Dodgers

Nice debut, Cesar.

In his MLB debut - against the first-place Dadgers on a night they could clinch the division title, no less - Cesar threw 5 innings, giving up 4 hits and 1 earned run. He also K'd 2, including Manny to end an inning with runners on base.

It was only one start, but Cesar now becomes another young Padres pitcher that has earned a shot to make the 2010 rotation by way of a strong outing this September. All of a sudden it's a crowded field of candidates: Chris Young, Kevin Correia, Tim Stauffer, Sean Gallagher, Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Mat Latos, Cesar Ramos, Wade LeBlanc, Josh Geer, Edward Mujica, Cesar Carrillo, and probably a few others I'm not thinking of.

Jerry Coleman - or maybe it was Ted Leitner - said it the other night: Spring Training is going to be very very interesting.

LA LA

I am in Los Angeles.

And so are the Padres.

LeBlanc v. Kershaw in about an hour.