Extra Bases Wanted

Vin Scully described the Padres attack on Friday night as that of a "angry moth". Give the legend credit for avoiding such obvious terms as "lacking", "anemic", or "Punch and Judy". The story has its upsides. The Friars lead the National League (NL) in batting average and overall hits by a wide margin of 15 (15% more than the next closest team, the Marlins). Over their 112 hits through Friday night's game, the Padres have just 20 extra base hits (EBHs). This is despite placing third in the NL with 427 plate appearances. In fact, the average NL team has hit 19 doubles and 31 EBHs in 2008 and Florida has as many bombs as the Friars do EBHs. For fans, this translates to less than two (1.8) EBHs per game so far this season. Nothing explains the team's early season struggles more than their punchless hitting. The good news is that they are hitting well and FF expects those doubles, triples and home runs to become more common. Let's just hope the starting pitching can continue its torrid pace in the mean time.