Sunday, September 27, 2009

Padres lose 4th in last 6 to last place D'Backs

Sunday September 27, 2009

I guess Kevin Correia knew something the rest of us had missed. The Padres bullpen just cannot get the job done against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Last night the bullpen came in and gave up a grand slam to give away the game.

Today at Chase Field in Phoenix, Edward Mujica, a guy who should still be part of the bullpen gave up 4 runs and the rest of his pen mates came in and gave up 3 more runs.

The Padres lose the game 7-4 and another series against the last place Diamondbacks.

In their last series against the Diamonbacks in San Diego both losses were on the bullpen (Heath Bell and Adam Russell).

In the series before that in Arizona in July two of the 3 losses were on the bullpen.

See a pattern here?

1st off, the Padres are having a real hard time beating one of the worst teams in baseball, going 7-11 against the Diamondbacks.

2nd, the bullpen is to blame for 7 of 11 losses. 2 losses are on Kevin Correia, one on Chad Gaudin, and the other on Jake Peavy.

A lesson for the Padres starting pitchers, make sure you pitch a complete game if you want a win against the Diamondbacks.

Padres come home to finish up their season with 2 against the Dodgers and 3 against the Giants.

On to 2010.

Cory Luebke / Team USA win World Cup over Cuba

Sunday September 27, 2009

Padres prospect Cory Luebke went 4 2/3 innings giving up 2 runs on 6 hits while striking out 7 as Team USA defeated Cuba 10-5 to win the Baseball World Cup Gold Medal in Nettuno Italy.

Dodgers top catching prospect Lucas May went 2-4 with a 3 run homer and 4 rbi overall to pace Team USA offensively.

Luebke went 11-4 with a 2.78 ERA over 23 starts for the Padres High A Lake Elsinore Storm and the AA San Antonio Missions minor league teams.

He is considered one of the Padres top 5 pitching prospects by most scouting organizations.

Congratulations Team USA!

Adrian Gonzalez becomes 4th Padre with 40 HR season

Sunday September 27, 2009

With a 2 run blast to Right Center off Diamondbacks starter Billy Buckner in the 4th inning, Adrian Gonzalez became the 4th San Diego Padre to hit 40 home runs in a season.

Gonzalez joins a list that includes Greg Vaughn (50 in 1998), Phil Nevin (41 in 2001) and Ken Caminiti (40 in 1996).

Considering the difficulty hitting for power in Petco Park, this may rank as one of the more impressive (and improbable) 40 home run seasons I have ever seen.

How hard is it to hit a home run in Petco? 27.4% less home runs have been hit there than in a league average ballpark and more than 50% less than places like Coors Field, the new Yankee Stadium, and Cincinnati's bandbox. For left handed hitters it is closer to 40% less home runs hit in Petco. Gonzalez is a left handed hitter.

Congratulations Adrian! I have really enjoyed watching you play baseball and I hope I get to watch you play in a Padres uniform for many years to come.