Baseball's Future In San Diego

[Kevdog1020]

March 31, 2012

With the recent struggles of the San Diego Padres, there have been grumblings around Major League Baseball that the team could be on the path towards relocation. Over the past few seasons, the rumors of moving the Padres to Mexico and expand baseball south of the border or to move the team up to Vancouver and create a natural AL-NL rivalry between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Padres Franchise in Vancouver have grown louder and louder.

Penny-pinching owner John Moores hasn't come out to dispel these rumors which have made many San Diegoians very uneasy about their hometown team. The 67-year old owner has had health problems recently and there have been other talks about him selling the team to the highest bidder. The San Diego market isn't a huge one for baseball anyway, and with 2 other teams in California it's becoming more and more apparent that we may have 2 Canadien teams in the near future.

Enter 17-year old General Manager Kevin Dombrowski, the nephew of Detroit Tigers General Manager Dave Dombrowski. The San Diego Padres recently hired him to assume control of the franchise, hoping that the infusion of young blood and new ideas packed with the experience of hanging around the Detroit Tigers can bring this franchise from the brink of relocation. Although it may be too late, Dombrowski could potentially give the city one or two final seasons of glory before moving north or south, whatever Commissioner Selig approves.

At a visit to a local children's hospital we caught up with the 17-year old and asked him a few questions about being the youngest GM in Professional Sports. Here is our Q & A with San Diego Padres GM Kevin Dombrowski:

Q: Do you think being a 17-year old kid is going to affect the way other GM's deal with you?
Obviously some of these guys are going to treat me like a child, but you have to understand that I've grown up around most of these guys during my childhood and we have some close personal connections. They know my Uncle Dave has taught me well so they won't be able to take advantage of me. I'm not too worried though, these kids put things in perspective. Sometimes you get caught up in the details, take things for granted. You really need to take a step back and give back to the fans, especially those who are less fortunate. I have a lot of work ahead of me in San Diego, but it's nothing compared to what these kids go through every day. My job is easy.

Q: What's the first roster issue you'll address when you've been granted control of the team?
Well I think first and foremost, the issue is starting pitching. We have multiple young starters on our roster who probably aren't ready for the big lights of a major league roster. There are a couple veteran pitchers out on the market still, most notable Roy Oswalt and Joel Piniero. I think if we could get both those guys, that would be a good first step. But getting one of those guys is a must.

Does the penny-pinching ways of Owner John Moores concern you?
Well right now it does because we have a couple poor contracts on our roster and I don't have much wiggle room. But once I can get some salary relief by dumping these bad contracts, I think the budget is just fine.

Do the rumors of relocation concern you?
No, not at all. Whenever a team is struggling, there are always rumors of moving them. But I signed a contract to be the General Manager of the San Diego Padres organization. If the organization moves, I'll move with them because that's my job. Do I want to stay in San Diego? Of course. We owe it to these fans to provide them with a good team after so many years of mediocrity. But ultimately it's not my decision.

Thank you for your time Mr. Dombrowski, good luck this season.
The pleasure is mine.

[Kevdog1020]

April 1, 2012

The season is about to start, so it's time to publish the annual Top 100 Prospects list. This year 19-year-old right fielder Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals is the #1 prospect overall.

Here is the top 10:
#1 RF Bryce Harper, 19, Washington Nationals
#2 SP Matt Moore, 22, Tampa Bay Rays
#3 SP Julio Teheran, 21, Atlanta Braves
#4 SS Jurickson Profar, 19, Texas Rangers
#5 SP Trevor Bauer, 21, Arizona Diamondbacks
#6 CF Bubba Starling, 19, Kansas City Royals
#7 3B Anthony Rendon, 21, Washington Nationals
#8 SP Shelby Miller, 21, St. Louis Cardinals
#9 SP Gerrit Cole, 21, Pittsburgh Pirates
#10 SS Manny Machado, 19, Baltimore Orioles

Here is what 17-year old Kevin Dombrowski has in his system to start the season:
#45 C Yasmani Grandal, 23, San Diego Padres
#56 RF Rymer Liriano, 20, San Diego Padres
#69 SP Casey Kelly, 22, San Diego Padres
#84 2B Cory Spangenberg, 21, San Diego Padres
#96 3B Jedd Gyorko, 23, San Diego Padres

[Kevdog1020]

April 3, 2012

The New York Yankees will have to find a new closer next year as veteran Mariano Rivera is set to retire at the end of the 2012 campaign. Rivera, age 42, is ready for retirement. "Time takes its toll on this old body. I can't do it as well as I want anymore. It's time to hang up the spikes and make way for a younger guy."

In his career Rivera has 603 saves with a 75-57 record and a 2.21 ERA.

Also in the news today is the San Diego Padres. The Padres, who many expect to be bottom feeders this season, are heavily into negotiations with 34-year old SP Roy Oswalt. The deal is rumored to be 1-year/$5,500,000 range. Other teams expected to pursue Oswalt are the Pittsburgh Pirates, Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics, and Chicago Cubs.

The Padres also announced that they have inked 33-year old journeyman SP Joel Pineiro to a 1-year/$1,000,000 contract with $200,000 in incentives for pitching over 200 innings. Pineiro is 104-93 with a 4.41 ERA in 12 seasons in the MLB.

Following the signing Manager Bud Black announced that Pineiro would be the Padres Opening Day starter when they face off against the Los Angeles Dodgers for a 4-game set in San Diego.

[Kevdog1020]

[beachbomer]

Nice start, I will be following.

[Kevdog1020]

April 6, 2012

It wasn't the most exciting game for the fans, but both pitching coaches will be going home happy after the Padres defeated the Dodgers 1-0 at PETCO Park last night. Joel Pineiro, whom the Padres signed just a few days ago, took the ball for the Padres and gave them a magnificent performance. Joel went 8 innings and allowed 4 hits while striking out 4 batters. He left the mound in the 8th inning to a standing ovation before the 42,406 person crowd, just under the capacity for PETCO Park.

But even after Pineiro's 8 inning performance, the Padres were still trailing. The bottom of the 8th inning slotted Pineiro, Evereth Cabrera and Orlando Hudson to be up. None of which had gotten hits up to that point. Manager Bud Black sent power hitting 1B/OF Kyle Blanks to pinch hit for Pineiro, ending his night. Blanks got hit by relief pitcher Kenley Jansen's first pitch of the game. Jason Bartlett then ran for Blanks which ended up being San Diego's break. Jason Bartlett was running on his 1-0 pitch, which catcher AJ Ellis ended up throwing into centerfield, giving Bartlett an extra base. With a runner on 3rd and 0 outs, there was no way the Padres weren't going to squander this opportunity (they had a similar situation in the bottom of the 5th, Black called for the suicide squeeze, Pineiro missed and Will Venable was stuck in a pickle and eventually got thrown out). Evereth Cabrera hit a sac fly to centerfield that allowed Jason Bartlett which was all the scoring the Pads needed.

Huston Street got into a little trouble in the 9th, allowing runners to reach 1st and 2nd with 2 outs but got AJ Ellis to ground out to short to end the threat and earning him his first save of the season. Tomorrow, the Padres send out LHP Cory Luebke (6-10, 3.29 ERA last season) to face Chad Billingsly (11-11, 4.21 ERA last season).

[Kevdog1020]

April 7, 2012

After 18 total innings, the Padres finally allowed an earned run in the top of the 10th inning to the Dodgers. The Dodgers went on to score 3 runs that inning (2 earned) which was the difference in a very sloppily played game by the Padres defense. 5 of the Dodgers 7 runs ended up being earned on 3 errors (2 by Josh Guzman and 1 by Chase Headley). Teams like the Padres can't afford to lose the games because of poor defense, they need every sure win they can get but unfortunately their fielding let them down.

Cory Luebke pitched 5 innings and allowed 9 hits and 4 runs (all unearned). Because of the multiple errors recorded, he exited after 5 innings with a 78 pitch count. Without errors, he would've been sitting pretty at 5 innings and 0 runs on his way towards a 'W'. The jams that were caused by errors, Luebke couldn't get out of which ended up being the difference maker.

The Padres offense showed up today (by the Padres standards anyway). They cranked out 7 hits and 4 runs with Chase Headley going 2-4 with 1 RBI and Jason Bartlett going 2-5. After 4 innings, the Padres trailed 4-1 but they chipped away at the lead and tied the game in the 7th. Will Venable hit a solo homerun in the 6th inning. The others runs were scored by stringing together a hit and by playing small ball.

Tomorrow, the pitching matchup will feature Tim Stauffer (9-12, 3.73 ERA last season) and Aaron Harang (14-7, 3.64 ERA last season).

Following the game, we reached General Manager Kevin Dombrowski following the game and asked him about free agent pitcher Roy Oswalt. Dombrowski said that Oswalt's decision will come "any day now".

[Kevdog1020]

April 8, 2012

It was a pitchers duel early, with both Aaron Harang and Tim Stauffer baffling opposing hitters. After 6 innings, it was a 0-0 tie with only 4 hits being recorded all game (Harang had allowed 1, Stauffer had allowed 3). That all changed in the top of the 7th inning when Matt Kemp singled and Andre Ethier doubled to give the Dodgers runners on 2nd and 3rd with no outs. Stauffer almost escaped, striking out James Loney and Juan Uribe. But then ex-Padre Josh Bard came to the plate and hit a 2-1 pitch 386 feet into the right field bleachers, knocking Stauffer out of the game.

Aaron Harang was brilliant, pitching a 2-hit shutout while striking out 7. The only Padres to reach base were Orland Hudson and Josh Guzman. He only faced 29 batters, 2 above the minimum number of batters that a pitcher can face in the game. It was his first shutout since the 2009 season, when he was with Cincinnati and he only needed 96 pitches to do it, making the feat even more impressive.

We caught up with Padres Manager Bud Black after the game and he gave us his thoughts on Harang's performance, "Aaron is a very good pitcher, it's unfortunate that we didn't hang onto him because if we had, the roles would've been reversed today." Black, of course, was referring to Harang's success with San Diego last season where he went 14-7 with a 3.64 ERA. The Padres had the opportunity to give him a new contract but ultimately decided that they could not afford to pay him a salary of $17,000,000 over 3 seasons which is what the Dodgers offered him.

Tomorrow, the Padres will try to salvage this series as they send out LHP Clayton Richard (5-9, 3.88 ERA last season) to face Dodgers LHP Chris Capuano (11-12, 4.55 ERA with the Mets last season). Hopefully for the Padres sake, they can improve on their .144 batting average (tied for 15th in the NL) and get back to a .500 record.

[Kevdog1020]

April 8, 2012

Tailgaters and fans of the Miami got the surprise of their life before yesterday's game as fan favorite, Heath Bell, drove into the stadiums parking lot in a custom built luxury RV. He chose a parking spot amongst the many other tailgating fans and joined them for some pre-game revelries. "These are hands down, the coolest fans in all of baseball. How could you not want to come hang out here," Bell said while grilling brats on the RVs custom fold out grill station.

By the time he had to depart for pre-game warm-ups and exercises, the bus was swarming with several dozen fans, all trying to get a chance to shake hand and get a picture with the humble star. Bell went on to say, "I love coming down here. I feed off the energy of the crowd. It's great to shake some hands, hear some stories and have that positive energy going into the ballpark." When asked, Bell confirmed that he plans to make pre and post game tailgating at his RV a regular occurrence.

[Kevdog1020]

April 9, 2012

The Padres bats exploded yesterday at PETCO Park. The Padres racked up 15 hits and 10 runs, most of them in the early stages of the game to defeat the Dodgers and split the series 2-2. The first inning scoring was set up by two 1-out walks and a Chase Headley single which loaded the bases. Jesus Guzman and Cameron Maybin then kept the rotation going singling in runs. Guzman finished 2-5 with 2 RBI and a run and Cameron Maybin finished 3-3 with 1 RBI and 2 walks.

The big inning though, was the second inning. This is where the Padres scored 5 runs, putting the game out of reach at the time. 5 players hit singles and 3 runs were scored before the Dodgers decided to pull starter Chris Capuano. Matt Guerrier came on and loaded the bases before letting up a 2-run double to RF Will Venable, who finished 1-5 with 2 RBI.

Although Clayton Richard pitched very well (6.0 IP, 6 hits, 2 ER, 6 K), he never really had an easy inning. Errors in the 2nd and 3rd caused him to allow 2 unearned runs early and then he was tagged for 2 more runs in the 6th. If not for errors by Josh Guzman (3) and Orland Hudson (1), he probably would've went out for the 7th inning and saved the bullpen an inning.

The Padres went on to put up a 2-spot in the 5th inning off of a Chris Denorfia solo homerun and a couple hits to score a second run and also a 7th inning insurance run. The bullpen was solid, with Andrew Cashner pitching a perfect 7th inning. Joe Thatcher came on in the 8th and got 1 out before getting himself into a little trouble, but Ernesto Frieri got out of the bases loaded jam and then went on to pitch a scoreless 9th inning as well.

If there is one thing for the Padres to hang their hats on this series, it is the success of their pitching. They held all star OF Matt Kemp to 4 hits in 18 at bats and only 3 RBI. Their 1.75 starters ERA is good for 4th in the NL and their bullpen ERA of 1.46 is good for 5th in the NL. One thing to improve on would be their defensive efficiency (.698 -- 8th in the NL). Even with the struggles of their hitting, they were in 3 of the 4 games before their defense took them out of one of the games with multiple errors.

The Padres have tomorrow off before beginning a 3-game set with the Arizona Diamondbacks (1-2). The Padres are expected to skip Edinson Volquez's spot in the rotation and throw Joel Pineiro (1-0, 0.00 ERA in 1 start) to face off against Trevor Cahill (12-14, 4.16 ERA last season with Oakland).

[Kevdog1020]

April 9th, 2012



Weekly Team Power Rankings -- Week 1:

Teams (Total Points, Tendency):
1) Milwaukee Brewers (186.0, ++)
2) Atlanta Braves (186.0, ++)
3) Houston Astros (123.0, ++)
4) Detroit Tigers (123.0, ++)
5) Toronto Blue Jays (122.0, -)
6) Texas Rangers (122.0, -)
7) San Francisco Giants (122.0, +)
8) New York Yankees (122.0, ++)
9) Cincinnati Reds (122.0, ++)
10) Chicago Cubs (122.0, ++)
11) Philadelphia Phillies (120.0, o)
12) Minnesota Twins (120.0, +)
13) Kansas City Royals (120.0, ++)
14) San Diego Padres (91.0, --)
15) Oakland Athletics (91.0, --)
16) Seattle Mariners (89.0, --)
17) Los Angeles Dodgers (89.0, -)
18) Pittsburgh Pirates (60.0, --)
19) Los Angeles Angels (60.0, -)
20) Baltimore Orioles (60.0, ++)
21) Washington Nationals (58.0, --)
22) Tampa Bay Rays (58.0, --)
23) Cleveland Indians (58.0, o)
24) Chicago White Sox (58.0, +)
25) Arizona Diamondbacks (58.0, ++)
26) Colorado Rockies (57.0, --)
27) Boston Red Sox (57.0, o)
28) Miami Marlins (42.0, --)
29) St. Louis Cardinals (40.0, --)
30) New York Mets (-6.0, --)

Players of the Week

AL: 1B Adam Lind, Toronto Blue Jays 7-9 (.778), 1 HR, 2 RBI in 2 games.
NL: 1B Bryan LaHair, Chicago Cubs 5-9 (.556), 1 HR, 4 RBI in 2 games.

[Kevdog1020]

April 10, 2012

Despite his solid numbers, some fans questioned the value of the Roy Oswalt signing even as San Diego officials paraded him before the media this afternoon. Oswalt will surely bring a lot to the club, but he comes at a price of $5,500,000 over 1 year. With the Padres financial questions, fans were questioning how the signing of Oswalt would affect the financial well-being of the franchise, especially since the team isn't supposed to do well this season.

Here is the transcript from the press conference:

Q: Mr. Dombrowski, how can the Padres afford to pay Roy Oswalt $5.5 million dollars this season with all the publicized financial issues this season?
Well that's a good question, Mr. Moores gave me a budget at the beginning of the season and I fully intend to use that budget to improve the team.

Q: But will Oswalt really make that much of a difference? Are 5 or 6 more wins going to make a difference when you have a losing record?
I believe that the acquisition of Oswalt makes us playoff contenders, especially with the new Wild Card rules that allow 2 teams to make the playoffs as wild card teams. Anyway, the NL West isn't usually an overly strong division and with the pickups of Pineiro and Oswalt, I think we can swing the division in our favor.

Q: But what about hitting, you're team is hitting .216 on the season?
We have our own plans for hitting, I don't want to disclose them just yet though. We have Carlos Quentin on his way back to the team, I've reached out to a few low-priced free agent hitters and we have both 1B Yonder Alonso and C Yasmani Grandal in the minors. If their services are needed, then I will proceed to make a few moves to make room on the rosters. Alright guys, I have to go and make a few phone calls. Thank you for your questions.

In related news, the Padres signed 1B/3B Matt Macri to a minor league deal, then immediately promoted him to the Active roster. To make room for Macri and Oswalt on the 40-man roster, RF Jeremy Hermida and SP Anthony Bass were placed on waivers. Teams have 3 days to claim them.

[Kevdog1020]

April 11, 2012

Joel Pineiro and Trevor Cahill were dealing, it's too bad one of those pitchers had to lose. Pineiro cracked first and then the D'Backs exploded for 5 runs off of reliever Edinson Volquez and the Padres had not chance of a comeback. Cahill went 9 innings and allowed 2 hits while striking out 5 and walking 3. Pineiro dropped to 1-1 after going 7 innings and allowing 6 hits and 2 runs while striking out 3 and walking 1.

Only Orlando Hudson and pinch hitter Josh Guzman got hits for the Padres. Meanwhile for the D'Backs, Gerardo Parra went 3-4 with 1 GS and 4 RBI. Miguel Montero was also 1-4 with 2 RBI. 5 of the 7 runs were scored on Edinson Volquez, who went 1 inning and allowed 4 hits, 5 runs and 2 walks in his new role as a reliever.

Tomorrow, Roy Oswalt will make his San Diego debut. He will face off against SP Ian Kennedy, who is 0-1 with a 3.38 ERA on the season. If we see vintage Roy, then the Padres won't need to score too much. It should be an exciting day at PETCO Park!

[Kevdog1020]

April 12, 2012

The Padres dropped last nights game to their division rival, the Arizona Diamondbacks but a bigger issue than the loss is the loss of a key player, OF Cameron Maybin. Maybin injured himself on a 2-RBI double in the 6th inning and had to leave the game. We will bring more news to you as it becomes available.

Roy Oswalt was everything but vintage Roy, he allowed 7 hits and 4 runs in 7 innings while allowing 2 walks and striking out 4. He was battling his control all night, from the first inning where he hit a batter to the 4th and 5th innings where he walked batters that ended up scoring. But he was Roy Oswalt and battled through 7 innings, saving our bullpen a whole 2 innings.

Despite the 4 run performance by Oswalt the Padres were still in the game thanks to some timely hitting. Will Venable tripled in the 4th inning before being doubled in by John Baker. Unfortunately, the Pads couldn't get Baker in and were trailing 2-1. After the D'Backs scored 2 in the 5th to make it 4-1, the Padres scored 2 runs on Cameron Maybin's 2-RBI double.

The game remained 4-3 until the 9th inning, when Ernesto Frieri allowed a 2-run homerun to Chris Young which put the game out of reach. Tomorrow, the Cory Luebke (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will try to salvage game 3 and prevent a 3-game sweep. He goes up against LHP Joe Saunders (12-13, 3.69 ERA last season).

[Kevdog1020]

April 12, 2012



There have been grumblings around Major League baseball that the San Diego Padres are shopping star closer Huston Street. The San Diego front office would neither deny or confirm the report saying, "If someone calls us with an offer we will listen."

According to Yahoo! Sports baseball writer Tim Brown, the Padres have contacted the Tampa Bay Rays about Carlos Pena. This offer would seem to make sense for both teams as the Padres are in desperate need of a good hitting and fielding first baseman and the Rays could use a strong relief pitcher with the absence of Kyle Farnsworth for 2-3 more weeks.

[Kevdog1020]

April 13, 2012

Cory Luebke turned in a good performance, allowing 4 hits, 3 runs and 4 walks while striking out 9 hitters over 6 innings but failed to get the win behind another stagnant effort by the Padres offense. Luebke's 4 walks would be the killer for him because the 3 runs wouldn't have scored on 4 hits alone.

The Padres did get 7 hits off of the D'Backs, but couldn't turn those hits into anything through the first 8 innings. The 9th inning was a different story though. Will Venable hit an RBI double in the 9th, then with runners on 2nd and 3rd and 1 out Matt Macri struck out and Chris Denorfia grounded out.

The Padres will now go on a 6-game road trip to Los Angeles and Colorado while the D'Backs will go to Colorado before having a 9-game homestand.

[Kevdog1020]

April 13, 2012



The San Diego Padres addressed a concern today, coming to terms with the Tampa Bay Rays on a trade that will send 27-year-old first baseman Jesus Guzman, 24-year-old starting pitcher Anthony Bass, 28-year-old right fielder Jeremy Hermida and 28-year-old closer Huston Street from the Padres to the Rays in exchange for 24-year-old minor league starting pitcher Alex Torres, 33-year-old first baseman Carlos Pena, 21-year-old minor league starting pitcher Matthew Spann and 19-year-old minor league second baseman Johnny Eierman.

There had been rumors about a Street for Pena trade, but the Padres also throwing in 1B/LF Jesus Guzman came of a surprise to some people. According to a source close to the Padres organization, the team was fed up with Guzman's lack of a glove. Since Pena is a great fielder and power hitter, Guzman became expendable. The addition of Guzman, Bass and Hermida (the latter 2 of which were just placed on waivers) allowed the Padres to get high rated prospects SP Matthew Span (Rookie Ball), 2B Johnny Eierman (Short-Season A) and SP Alex Torres (Triple A). According to scouts, Torres is a future ace of a staff and has posted good numbers in every single stop on his way to the MLB.

To date this season Guzman is hitting .182 with no home runs. While Pena is batting .250 with 3 home runs, 7 RBIs and 5 runs scored in 6 games. He has 6 hits in 24 at-bats.

[Kevdog1020]

April 14, 2012

The Padres dropped their fourth straight game last night after a massive bullpen implosion that brought the Dodgers 5 runs in 2 innings. The game went pretty smoothly for about the first 6 innings. The Dodgers scored 1 run in the 1st, 4th and 5th innings off of pitcher Tim Stauffer. Stauffer went 6 innings while allowing 9 hits and 3 runs. At the same time, the Padres scored a run in the 3rd and 2 in the 6th.

Then the bullpens came into play. In the bottom of the 7th inning, the Padres brought on Andrew Cashner. Cashner allowed 4 runs, 4 hits and 2 walks in his 1 inning of work, including a 3-run homerun by James Loney (who also hit a solo homerun off of Tim Stauffer in the 4th inning).

The Padres came right back in the top of the 8th though. Kenley Jansen allowed 2 walks before being pulled in favor of Scott Elbert. Elbert allowed a single to Will Venable to load the bases. Kyle Blanks and Evereth Cabrera both got RBI walks, then Jason Bartlett grounded into a fielders choice with the Dodgers throwing the runner out at the plate. Orlando Hudson hit a sac fly to left field and Elbert walked Nick Hundley. The Dodgers brought in Javy Guerra, their 3rd pitcher in the inning with the bases loaded and 2 outs. Rookie CF Blake Tekotte got an RBI HBP before Guerra got Headley to strike out looking.

The Padres sent Brad Brach out to pitch the 8th inning and he allowed a solo homerun to Mark Ellis, which was enough to beat the Padres. Brach dropped to 0-2, while Guerra improved to 2-0. Tomorrow, the Padres look to snap a 4-game losing streak and will send out Joel Pineiro (1-1, 1.20 ERA) to face Aaron Harang (1-0, 0.00 ERA). Last start, Harang shutout the Padres, allowing 2 hits while striking out 9.

Game Notes: Kyle Blanks went 0-3, with 2 BB, 2 RBI and 1 run scored. He had 2 RBI walks. Carlos Pena went 0-2 with 1 run in his San Diego debut.

[Kevdog1020]

April 15, 2012

Carlos Pena had a monster game in his second start with the Padres, going 2-5 with 2 HR and 3 RBI, including a go-ahead 2-run shot in the top of the 10th inning off of Dodger reliever Jamey Wright.

The Padres jumped out on Aaron Harang early this game, scoring 1 run on Carlos Pena's first homerun, a solo shot over the right field bleachers and then 2 runs in the 3rd off of a 2-run homerun by Will Venable. Harang went 7 innings and allowed 5 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks while striking out 4. His 3 runs were allowed on 2 homeruns.

Joel Pineiro had the game on cruise control for awhile, allowing his first hit in the 5th inning -- a single to Andre Ethier. There was no trouble in that inning, but trouble immediately started in the 6th. Tony Gwynn Jr. led off the inning with a double. Pineiro struck out Aaron Harang before allowing Gwynn to score on a Dee Gordon single. Juan Uribe was up next and parked a 2-1 pitch over the left field fence to tie the game. Pineiro left after the 6th inning, having allowed 4 hits, 3 runs and 1 walk while striking out 6 in 6 innings.

The game was without incident until the top of the 10th, when Chase Headley walked and Carlos Pena homered, which was his 2nd of the day. The Padres new "closer-by-committee" strategy sent out Joe Thatcher to close the game out. He let up a leadoff walk to Tony Gwynn but then sent down the Dodgers in order to earn his first save of the season. Luke Gregorson, who pitched the 9th inning got his first win of the season.

After the game, it was learned that Cameron Maybin has a high ankle sprain and will be out 5-6 weeks. The Padres placed him on the 60-day DL (retroactive to April 11th) which created a spot on the 40-man roster. That spot has yet to be filled but is expected to be taken by Free Agent OF Willie Cabrera who the Padres offered a contract. The Padres called up MR Josh Spence from Triple A to take Maybin's place on the active roster. Spence was 0-0 with 3 saves in 6.1 innings. He has allowed 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out 6.

[Kevdog1020]

April 16, 2012

Clayton Richard was on last night at Dodger Stadium. He made 2 mistakes (the only 2 hits he would allow), a leadoff double to Chris Capuano in the 3rd (Capuano would later score) and a solo homerun to Mark Ellis in the 6th. He was very good the rest of the game, only struggling with his control (he walked 5, but none of the runners would score). He exited after the 7th inning with the Padres trailing 2-0.

Chris Capuano was just as good as Richard. One start removed from an awful performance against the same Padres team, he allowed 4 hits and 1 walk while striking out 9 in 6 innings of work. His ERA dropped from a ridiculous 47.26 to a more respectable (still not great) 7.56 ERA in 1 start.

Following Richard's exit, Edinson Volquez pitched an inning and allowed 2 unearned runs (off a throwing error by Chase Headley) and 2 hits to put the game out of reach for San Diego.

But it wasn't like the Padres didn't have opportunities. They put runners on 1st and 2nd in both the 8th and 9th innings with 1 out, but Blake Tekotte and Kyle Blanks grounded into double plays to end the scoring threats.

The Padres will have to rebound from a rough stretch when they travel to Colorado to face the Rockies (6-3). They will send out Joel Pineiro (1-1, 2.14 ERA) to face Jeremy Guthrie (2-0, 4.50 ERA) as the Padres try to get back to winning ways.