Welcome to Houston, where it’s very muggy outside and very cool inside, as the roof is shut here at Minute Maid Park, where the Padres are playing the first of three games against the Astros, a team that is struggling worse than the Padres.
I’m sitting here watch Chad Gaudin pitch — pitch carefully, I might add — as those Crawford Boxes down the left field line look much MUCH closer than 315 feet. No, this is no place to pitch, not over the course of a season.
Which makes the task laying in front of Saturday starter Kevin Correia even more difficult. Not only must he try to keep the ball in ballpark here and not awaken the train that rolls above left field but he must pitch well to hang onto his spot in rotation.
Correia is 0-2 with a 5.92 ERA in five starts this season and is coming off a start where he allowed five runs on eight hits in 3 2/3 innings, his shortest start of the season. He hasn’t thrown enough strikes, hasn’t pitched well out of the stretch and simply hasn’t shown the Padres enough.
So keep an eye on this start and the one Cha Seung Baek will be making Saturday with Portland on an injury rehab assignment. If Baek can get stretched out enough to 90 or so pitches, if his stuff looks good, you might see him sometime next week — in the rotation.
Cheers, Corey
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Posted by ohy22xd on May 9, 2009 at 12:36 pm
That game was really forgetful. Chad Guadin did the best he can but there was lack of run support! Wandy Rodriguez just shuted down the Padres last night.
http://hyunyoung.mlblogs.com
Posted by friarfreak87@pacbell.net on May 9, 2009 at 7:08 pm
Unfortunately, a 10 year old pitcher that threw 20mph could shut the Padres. I see no desire to win on the team. Besides David Eckstein, I don’t think one player on the team cares if they win or lose. I am getting so sick of watching them try to play baseball.
Posted by hardrock051@comcast.net on May 11, 2009 at 9:58 am
This is extremely painful….Iv’e been a fan for 40 years…we jumped through all these hoops to get the most beautiful ballpark in all of baseball. But yet we have a product on the field that Tony Gwynns team could beat.
We used Spring Training to do what…? we scraped up the floor sweepings of pitchers…that nobody wanted and you gave them all $ 400,000 a year jobs for what…?
We have a manager that never in his life managed anything that resembles organized baseball. We had a multi-millionair owner that that was going through a divorce…so when the dust settles he is still a millionaire, but was too cheap to field a good team.
So instead he dumped this crap in the laps of Jeff Moorad and associates. Thanks John!
Your ticket prices are already expensive and now you want people to pay to watch this team…?
I don’t live in San Diego anymore and have to watch on MLBTV…what a waste..
We need new leadership now!!! We need better pitching Now! Spend some money and quit being so cheap..at $ 5.00 a box for Crackerjacks at PETCO..you can afford it…
Posted by electricmetaphor@gmail.com on May 11, 2009 at 4:59 pm
Once Silva gets back, I’d hope either Gaudin or Correia takes up long relief in the ‘pen and we cut Sanchez. He’s doing terribly. At least Lopez is a rookie, Sanchez has no excuse. Then I’d like to see Banks or LeBlanc get a shot at the rotation. Banks pitched much better last year than either Gaudin or Correia is doing. Then, let’s hope Geer and Silva can stick in the rotation. By the way, how much longer is it expected for Silva until he’s back?
Posted by electricmetaphor@gmail.com on May 11, 2009 at 7:58 pm
what about independent leagues? keith foulke could be a suitable reliver. the newark bears also have some interesting starters…
Posted by lindso247@comcast.net on May 14, 2009 at 6:44 pm
I agree with electricmetaphor – Banks has consistently pitched well, whether it be as a starter or as a reliever. Each game he gave the Padres a chance to win, and never received any run support. I’d like to see them switch things up in the Padres ‘pen and rotation and give Banks another shot. It can’t get much worse for the Pads!