Padres Bullpen Once Again Falters

Another strong Randy Wolf start was spoiled by the bullpen and shaky Padres offense - this time a 6 inning, 9 strikeout effort that kept the team in the game. The 3-2 loss at Citizens Bank Park saw Joe Thatcher allow a go ahead home run to Ryan Howard in the 8th. For the 2008 campaign, Thatcher has allowed a run in 6 of 13 outings and has yet to make a single appearance without allowing at least one hit or walk. By comparison, Thatcher allowed just 3 earned runs in 22 appearances for Bud Black in the 2007 season. He also posted perfect appearances (no walks or hits) in 9 of those 2007 outings. A big question for Padre fans has to be why Black continues to trot an ice cold Thatcher to the hill in critical situations. Should the Padres offense have the ability to plate more than a run or two game, the lack of conversion by the 'pen might not be as noticeable. The lineup boasts just a single hitter batting over .260 at the moment, Adrian Gonzalez (2-4, 2B, HR), and only 4 of those hitters managed knocks on Thursday. Streakiness is certainly part of baseball, but at some point the patchwork outfield must begin to draw some attention for possible upgrades. One has to start thinking that a strategy that requires multiple players to have career years in order to be competitive in one of baseball's toughest divisions (if not the toughest) begs revisiting.