In The Belly Of The Beast: Padres Win Game One In San Francisco

I couldn't make it to San Diego to support the Padres earlier this week, so instead I came out to San Francisco - the belly of the beast - to root on the team in the final series of the regular season.

Tonight was the most intense baseball game I've ever seen in person.

A few observations:

- Even though he is in his late thirties and has a sore groin, I was still shocked Miguel Tejada was thrown out at home in the first inning. I swear the right fielder still had the ball when Miggy rounded third. Yet he was out by a three steps.

- The Ryan Ludwick, Adrian Gonzalez and Matt Stairs home runs in the second, third, and fourth innings, respectively, were three of the more satisfying moments in the history of non-playoff Padres baseball.

- AT&T Park was absolutely electric. Moreso than I've ever seen Petco. When the Giants rallied in the 6th, and had the tying run at the plate, it felt like the world was ending. At least from my point of view. I know the 8th inning got a little dicey, but the 6th inning was the most nerve-wracking inning I've watched in person. Having a big lead in the 6th inning is nice, but when a quality home team still has 12 outs to play with, and a raucous crowd behind them, the game is nowhere near over. The sixth inning was like my worst fears coming true. I thought Bud Black was making a mistake removing Thatcher after one batter, and replacing him with Gregerson, but to Bud's credit it worked out.

- All of Adrian's mishaps with the glove. I sincerely hope I never have to witness anything like that ever again.

- The ninth inning. Oh my. Just before Aubrey Huff hit his surefire double to deep right field, I'd glanced up and saw that Will Venable - who had shifted over from center - was playing very deep. I don't know who deserves credit for that defensive placement but it was brilliant. Venable ran down Huff's drive and then doubled up Freddy Sanchez who, thinking Huff had either homered or doubled, had already rounded second. The play happened so fast and was so awesome, I'm still not sure I actually saw it. Overheard from the Giant fan sitting next to me, "Oh my God that was deflating."

Plan for tomorrow: after a morning watching the Illini take on Ohio St. at Kezar Pub, it's back to AT&T for Game 2.

Jaysus.

Looking Ahead To Peoria, AZ (aka Spring Training)

Spring Training approaches, folks, and in anticipation of that glorious time of the year, I recently posted a comment over at Ducksnorts asking Geoff Young, the renowned Padre blogger, what he plans to focus on when the Padres take the field in Arizona next month.

Geoff decided to use the comment as the basis for his post today at Ducksnorts.

It should come as no surprise that Geoff highlights several of the most intriguing issues facing the Padres as they prepare for the season. In addition to Geoff's points, I'd just add the following notes:

1. CY watch. While I am optimistic that the Padres as a whole can exceed expectations this season (85 wins and in the Wild Card conversation as late as mid-September if things break right), I am not overly optimistic as to Chris Young's chances to pitch an injury-free, ace-like season. He's just burned me too many times. I'll be rooting for him, but I'll also be keeping a wary eye open to any more shoulder and back problems that could further impede a return of the old CY.

2. Blanks and Headley. A key part of my optimistic projection for the Padres is that Blanks and Headley mash and, along with Adrian, form an actual, real live, scary heart-of-the-order for the Padres. I'm not sure that's possible - a Padres lineup that actually scares people - but if there is any chance of it happening then Blanks and Headley must perform like the #1 prospects they used to be.

3. Query the Padres bullpen? I have high hopes for these guys - Heath, Mike Adams, Luke Gregerson, Ed Mujica, Joe Thatcher - so high, in fact, that I think they have the potential to be the best in baseball. But other than Heath, there is not a long record of consistency and injury-free baseball from this group. In Arizona, I'll be watching for indications that these guys are for real, and that they won't regress or spend a lot of time this season twiddling their thumbs on the DL.

So that's that. Thanks to Geoff for using my question for the basis of a post, and let's get this season underway.

Heath Is In The Fold To The Tune Of $4 Million

The Drinos and Heath Bell agreed to a one-year contract to avoid arbitration. The deal is worth $4 million to Heath and should allow him to stock up on things he likes, like candy bars and ass kickings.

Jed Hoyer may still choose to trade Heath - which might make sense if in return he can get a promising young arm - but for now Heath is on board, ready to close out games for the 2010 Drinos.

Having a closer of Heath's skill might not seem necessary to a team that no one expects to compete, but not having Heath makes it even more likely the team will not compete. It's one of those self-fulfilling prophecies the Greek dramatists wrote about so much.

A Heath Bell-Mike Adams-Luke Gregerson-Edward Mujica-Adam Russell-Joe Thatcher-Ryan Webb bullpen could be rather ridiculous. I'm on board.

Good Pitching Cures Hangovers

Jake,

Stellar game today at home against Cincy. You pitched a complete game 4-hitter with 9 Ks, the only real blemish a 6th inning bomb you relinquished to somebody on the Reds named Dickerson. That kid just got lucky. You were dominant today. I don't recall your pitches looking so unhittable, at least not this season. I see your ERA dropping into the 2s before long with stuff like that.

I feel bad though because I didn't watch every pitch. I was on the sofa in my living room napping off a margarita/red wine hangover (that's a dangerous mix, my friend) and would go in-and-out of sleep while the game played on the television. It seemed like every time I woke up one of your sliders was breaking off at a ridiculously late moment as it passed over the plate, or one of your fastballs was painting a corner of the plate for a sweet called strike. Absolutely nasty.

Needless to say it was one of the best naps I've ever had.

You're probably pumped today from your performance, but I bet you're also stoked based on what the boys in the bullpen did in last night's dramatic 16-inning 6-5 win over the Redlegs. I missed the game because I chose to eat salami but from what I see in the box score, the bullpen was perfect. Just look at these numbers:

Joe Thatcher - .1 IP, 1 K
Greg Burke (MLB debut, sorry I missed it, Greg) - 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 K
Cla Meredith - 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R
Heath Bell - 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 K
Edward Mujica - 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 K
Luke Gregerson - 3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 3 Ks
Luis Perdomo - 3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 K

I'm no mathemetician, Jake, but that looks to me like 10.1 innings of relief pitching, with 0 runs allowed and 8 Ks. I'm no chef either but that looks like a recipe for victory.

And all that relief pitching set up Nick Hundley's 2-out, walk-off bomb in the bottom of the 16th.

What a weekend of Padre baseball.

Best,
Bevormo

Zach Herr ... And Other Top Padres Minor Leaguers

After the first month or so of the season, here is this humble blog's ranking of the top Padre minor league performers. Yesterday, we ranked the top hitters. Today, we rank the pitchers.

Looking over the list, I'll make a few introductory comments:

1. I'm not a huge fan of the Padres pitching prospects. The big problem is that the guys who were supposed to be the marquee guys - Cesar Carrillo, Nick Schmidt, Cesar Ramos - have succumbed to injury and/or are maxing out at AAA. Lower down the ladder there is intrigue with the likes of Mat Latos and Adys Portillo, but that's more a conversation about the 2012 Padres than anything else. I'd love for Simon Castro to join that group. I really would.

2. Are the Padres ever going to recover from losing Joakim Soria in the Rule V Draft? That was an absolute dagger to the organization. Along with the John Moores divorce and the Khalil Greene regression, nothing has hurt the Padres more than their bullpen failures last season and early this season. You need three solid/stud relievers to win in this league. A Padre bullpen with Soria, Bell and Hoffman (they could have paid him sans divorce) would be better than the current Meredith, Sanchez, Bell situation. Though that is no fault of Heath's. What a monster.

3. Greg Burke should be pitching for the Drinos any minute now. After another bullpen meltdown last night (3 walks Edwin? Really?) the Drinos need to try something new. Burke has earned a shot. (Incidentally, so have his Portland teammates Scott Patterson and Joe Thatcher. Look for a Drino bullpen shakeup in the next few weeks.)

Without further ado ...

1. Zach Herr, LHP, Fort Wayne: Coming out of the bullpen for the TinCaps, Herr has been perfect this season. He is 2-0 with a .45 WHIP and a, wait for it, 0.00 ERA. Add to that his 18 Ks in 11 innings (and 4 holds) and you see why I put a relief pitcher at the top of these rankings. These stats don't even include another perfect inning he threw last night, a little 1-2-3 work in the bottom of the 8th to help preserve the TinCaps 8-7 win. Nice work, Zach.

2. Corey Kluber, RHP, Lake Elsinore: Corey is off to a 3-1 start with a 2.51 ERA, a .94 WHIP and 25 Ks in 28.2 innings pitched. Not bad for another guy almost no national scouting service ever mentions as a legitimate prospect, and who BA dropped out of their top 30 Drino prospects this year. He was a fourth round draft pick in the pivotal 2007 Drino draft (where the Padres had 11 picks in the first four rounds) and is looking to turn a few heads and raise a few eyebrows this year.

3. Greg Burke, RHP, Portland: The Drinos AAA closer, Burke, as I noted above, is due for a call up. I'm ready to see what he's got and I figure the Drinos have nothing to lose. Is he really going to be any worse than Sanchez, Perdomo, Gregerson or Mujica? If he throws strikes I don't see how he could be. Burke is currently sitting at 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA and a .92 WHIP. He's K'd 13 in 12 innings and has 5 saves.

4. Anthony Bass, RHP, Fort Wayne: The Padres 5th round pick last June, Anthony is a sleeper out of Wayne State. He pitched well at short-season Eugene last summer and is continuing that success so far this season. He is 2-2 with a 2.19 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP, and has K'd 20 in 24 innings. I'd like to see the WHIP a bit lower and the Ks a bit higher but I could really say that about any pitcher. Just based on looking at his stats, Anthony seems to know how to pitch. That alone should carry him up to at least AA.

5. Jeremy McBryde, RHP, Lake Elsinore: Arguably Jeremy could have been ranked at the top of the list. His stuff is perhaps better than most guys in the Padre system not named Peavy, Young, Bell, Portillo or Latos. That said, he seems to be a bit hittable (yes, I know he threw a 6-inning, 8 K gem last night, yielding only 2 runs, but hear me out). He is sporting a 3.86 ERA so far which, if my math is correct, is getting close to 4.00. His WHIP is a stellar .79 and he has K'd 20 in 14 innings (remember, this doesn't include last night), but I don't like that ERA. If he continues to lower the number of runs he gives up, I'll be happy to move him up the list.

6. Evan Scribner, RHP, San Antonio: Evan was a nice snake last year in the deal that sent Tony Clark back to the D-slacks. On the season he is 0-1 with a 2.53 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP out of the bullben for the Missions. He's also K'd 14 in his 10.2 innings, and racked up 4 saves. Evan should compete for a Drino bullpen slot in 2010, if he doesn't snake an audition with the big club later this season.

7. Nathan Culp, LHP, San Antonio: Until last night, Nathan was having a strong season. He was 1-1 with a 2.91 ERA and 1.06 WHIP pitching for the AA Missions. One concern was his only 11 Ks in 21.2 innings, and that may have exposed him a bit lat night. Nathan is not much of a prospect but his status as a lefty will earn him some looks this year and next. Especially if he can keep that WHIP in the low 1s.

Okay, so that's the list. Let's hope May is a dominant month up and down the system.

I'm pretty sure it will be.