The Padre Post

Matt Diaz singled home the winning run with one out in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Braves to a 5-4 win over the Padres in the series finale. It was the Braves sixth straight win, and the Padres dropped to 12-23 on the year.

The Padres pitchers held the Braves in check all day, the only earned run being the winning run. Wil Ledezma threw four strong innings in his first start since being moved to the rotation. He allowed just one unearned run and only gave up two hits. The loss went to Joe Thatcher, who dropped to 0-4 on the year.

Adrian Gonzalez went 3-5 in the game, and Kevin Kouzmanhoff had two RBI’s. Chipper Jones had a hit for the Braves, to the surprise of no one. Yunel Escobar had two hits, and three runs to lead the Braves to victory. Greg Norton had his second straight game with a pinch hit, and drove in two runs.

JoJo Reyes was taken out of the game after just 2.2 innings with a blister on his finger. His replacement, Buddy Carlyle, strained a muscle in his neck. The Braves used seven pitchers in the game. Manny Acosta took the win for the Braves.

Callix Crabbe had two errors in the game for the Padres. The Braves stole three bases.

The Padres dropped the second game of the series to the Braves 5-2. Tim Hudson was impressive going seven innings and allowing just two runs on six hits. He picked up the win to improve to 5-2. Brian McCann had three hits to support the winning effort.

The Padres had just six hits and starter Randy Wolf gave up all five runs in six innings. Kevin Kouzmanhoff had two hits, the only Padre with a multi-hit game.  The Padres did turn a season high four double plays in the game.

Chipper Jones continued his season long tear, having two hits. Greg Norton had the big hit, a day after being picked up by the Braves. He drove a single into the outfield, scoring the go-ahead run in the bottom of the seventh.

The series concludes today with Wil Ledezma against JoJo Reyes. The Braves have now won five in a row, the Padres have dropped their last three.

Jair Jurrjens continued to impress early in his first full season and Chipper Jones cannot be explained anymore. Jurrjens picked up his fourth win of the year by a score of 5-3, beating his win total last season with the Tigers. He struck out eight Padres in just six innings allowing just one run. Jones smacked his tenth homer of the year over the left center fence. His average stands at .426 for the year, the only player over .400.

The Padres almost tied the game in the ninth, when Adrian Gonzalez pulled a hanging curveball just foul down the right field line. Brian Giles had a huge game, going 4-5 with two runs, but he could not carry the offense. Gonzalez had two RBI’s in the game and one hit.

Chris Young dropped to 2-3 with the loss. He went just five innings giving up nine hits and five runs. Mark Kotsay also homered off Young in the fourth, an inning after Jones went deep. He had two hits, runs and RBI’s. Yunel Escobar had two hits for the Braves as well.

Jeff Bennett picked up the save for the Braves, the first of his career.

Greg Maddux was pounded for 11 hits in 5.2 innings in a loss to the Marlins 10-3. Glendon Rusch threw just .1 innings and allowed three runs in relief, and Wil Ledezma was hit around for the first time this year. He gave up two runs in 1.2 innings, but did K three.

Andrew Miller was strong on the Marlins side. He threw six innings and gave up only four hits and two runs. He also walked two and K’d four. His ERA dropped down to 7.96. He also picked a runner off first.
Dan Uggla, Mike Jacobs, and Hanley Ramirez provided a lot of the firepower. Uggla had two doubles and a homerun, knocking in three runs and scoring three. Jacobs had three hits, scoring one and driving in one. Ramirez had two hits, two walks and scored two runs. Matt Treanor also had two hits, and he drove in two. The ageless veteran Luis Gonzalez had two hits and two walks.

Adrian Gonzalez hit his eighth homer of the year for the Padres in the losing effort. He was the lone Padre with two hits.

The top of the Padres order provided all the firepower Jake Peavy needed to win 7-2 over the Marlins. The 1-5 hitters combined for ten hits, five runs and four RBI’s. All starters had hits except for Peavy.

Peavy allowed the Marlins just two runs off five hits in 5.2 innings. He K’d 10 Marlins hitter in the game too. His opposition, Ricky Nolasco, lasted just 4.2 innings giving up 10 hits and six runs. Adrian Gonzalez had a huge game against the Marlins pitching. He hit his seventh homer of the year among his three hits. Tad Iguchi, Kevin Kouzmanhoff, and Jim Edmonds all had two hits each.

Jeremy Hermida had another three hit game for the Marlins, his second of the series. Mike Jacobs hit his eighth homer of the year in the first inning, providing the only two runs off Peavy.

Dan Uggla hit two homers and drove in four runs to propel the Marlins to a 6-4 win over the Padres. Mark Hendrickson threw a solid seven innings to earn the win, his fifth of the season. He scattered five hits that turned into three runs, the big blow being two run homer by Khalil Greene.

Kevin Kouzmanhoff had four hits, going 4-4 on the day. Only three other players had hits for the Padres, including Greene’s homer.  For the Marlins, Uggla had the big game with two homers, but not to be outdone, Jeremy Hermida had three hits to support Hendrickson.

Justin Germano was roughed up for nine hits and six runs in just 5.2 innings to drop him to 0-3. Wil Ledezma threw a scoreless eighth with two K’s to bring his ERA to 1.08 and continue his solid start. Hanley Ramirez stole his tenth base of the year for the Marlins, also being caught for the fourth time immediately after taking second on trying to steal third.

The loss drops the Padres to 11-19.

2008 Spring Training and season tickets are available on the official Padres website at their ticketing center. The spring home schedule opens February 29, and other options are available including the 13-Game Flex Plan. You can also renew your season tickets and purchase group packages. Check it out.

Corey Brock at MLB.com thinks that Padres followers can look for a five-man rotation in the starting pitcher position sometime this season, and the starting five aren’t just run-of-the mill substitutes (even if most of the star credit belongs to one player). “Granted, the majority of these imposing statistical accomplishments and awards belong to veteran pitcher Greg Maddux,” he allowed in a January 30th blog entry on mlb.com. Even if Maddux has the most impressive string of accomplishments, a pitcher like Jake Peavy is someone to watch. Last season saw him lead the league in ERA, victories, and strikeouts, win the National League Cy Young Award, and score a $52 million contract extension. Mark Prior could be just as impressive if he can make a full recovery from an April shoulder surgery.

For more details, see Corey Brock’s entry.

The Padres signed hometown boy Mark Prior to a one year deal in another pickup of an injury plagued pitcher.  Earlier in the month, they picked up Randy Wolf to a one year deal and you wonder if the logic is, if they pay Prior and Wolf to the equivalent of a decent starter, one of them will pan out making the production of the other gravy.  Still, if Prior can come back and with the pitcher friendly ballpark, I think his signing is a risk worth taking.

I haven’t had much time to post but the Padres have been pretty busy this December.  They traded for Jim Edmonds to fill the spot vacated by Mike Cameron and they also signed Michael Barrett and Tad Iguchi.  Tad will most likely get the nod as the starting second baseman while Barrett will get the backup catchers job and he’ll make $3.5 million after he accepted the Padres’ offer of arbitration.

I like a lot of these moves.  Having a veteran backup catcher in Barrett is a solid move and gives us depth at that position.  And while Iguchi probably doesn’t have the pedigree of Marcus Giles, he’s a solid workhorse you can bank on playing the position day in and day out.

Chase Headley heads the list of Padres top ten prospects put out by Baseball America.  He struggled when he got a cup of coffee in September but he rocked Double A pitching with an impressive OPS of 1.017.  Right now, Headley looks like he’s ready for the Padres but they have to make room for him.

Last year’s first round pick, Matt Antonelli comes in at number two.  The second baseman made a nice transition to Double A last year and while he hasn’t played at Triple A, he looks to be the favorite to win the starting second base job this spring.

Matt Latos is number three and he’s the top pitching prospect.  He has yet to play a full season in the minors so he’s still at best a couple of years away.  Left handed hurler Wade LeBlanc and right hander pitcher Drew Miller round out the top five.  Nick Schmidt, the team’s first round pick in 2007, came in at number nine.