Baek, Bombs Provide Win At Shea

A solid outing by Cha Seung Baek gave the Padres a chance to make 3 solo shots and a gift wrapped unearned run stand up in a 4-2 road win. The Pads got 1st inning homers by Gerut and Giles and an insurance blast by Chase Headley in the 9th frame. The Friars will have to earn the series win by beating the Mets ace Johan Santana Thursday morning.

2nd Glance


Edgar Gonzalez misplayed two balls Wednesday and was lifted in favor of Tadihito Iguchi. FF feels that Gonzalez has earned the right to be the starter at second and is pressing due to the uncertainty of playing time. Edgar may not be a Gold Glove caliber infielder, but his presence in the 2 hole is much more formidable than Black's lineup with Iguchi. It will be interesting to see what happens with the second base position through the remainder of the season, there is always the (seemingly logical) possibility of a waiver wire deal shipping Tadihito to a contender in need of a veteran who is masterful in the field and streaky with the stick.

Pads Bullpen Cracks Again

The Padres squandered yet another game in this lackluster 2008 season, this time dropping a Saturday night contest to Detroit Tigers 7-5. Brian Giles, who has been playing very well this season, sat out the evening, with Edgar Gonzales sliding into the 3 hole. Paul McAnulty took over in right field. Cha Seung Baek had his moments, both good and bad, though he wasn't helped by a Magglio Ordonez homer that centerfielder Jody Gerut accidentally pushed over the wall while bracing for contact. At the end of the day, Justin Hampson would surrender a bomb to Marcus Thames, who has now hit home runs in 8 of his last 9 at bats. Long story short - we've seen this game numerous times this season. The Friars must right their ship to regain the form that had led what seemed like it would be a successful June.

Friar Fragments:

• Michael Barrett continued to show signs of heating up, hitting his second bomb of the season.
• Heralded rookie Chase Headley captured another hit, accounting for a 5 game mini-hitting streak. He also punched out twice, bring his total to 8 in 20 at bats (vs. 7 hits). We're sure that Chase will cut down the number of strikeouts, but its a scary proposition for a .300 hitter to strikeout more than he hits. Nonetheless, Headley is sporting a 1.050 OPS since being called up from AAA Portland.
  
• Headley manned third base again while Kevin Kouzmanoff continues to recover from a stiff back.
• Gerut had another solid night at the plate, accumulating three base knocks to pull his average to .278
• Giles was out of the lineup due to a sore hamstring, rather than the balky shoulder that required an MRI last week.
  

Sitting On The Walk Of The Bay

The San Diego Padres patience at the plate pays off late as they outlast San Francisco in the opener of a 3 game, weekend set by a score of 7-3 in 13 innings. Common place for the Friars this season has been letting opportunities slip through the cracks, and Friday evenings tilt was no different as highlighted by Kevin Kouzmanoff's tough night that included grounding into a triple play in the 8th and a rally ending twin killing in the 10th frame. The Padres 3rd baseman had a chance to redeem himself in the 13th when he found himself at the plate with the bases juiced and just 1 out; Kouz could not come through again as he popped up to the first baseman. Fortunately for Kouzmanoff and the Padres the Giants pitcher lost the strike zone and walked in the deciding run as he issued a free pass to Khalil Greene. An RBI HBP followed, and a 2 run single by Justin Huber capped the 4 run inning in front of a perfect inning by Trevor Hoffman.

Pad Points:

Cha Seung Baek looked great as he struck out the side in order to pick up his 1st win as a Friar.

The Friars used their 20th pitcher of the season on Friday...its still May!!!

No team in the NL West will post a record of over .500 in the month of May

Bryan Corey (who as previously noted by FF pitches with his spikes on the rubber) had his spikes slip out from under him as he was pushing off the rubber, it was a balk and lead to the Giants tying run on the 7th, it will be interesting to see if Corey makes an adjustment.

Peavy Throws; Friars Swap Righties With M's

The Padres and ace Jake Peavy received good news after the latest MRI showed vast improvement in his right elbow. The 2007 Cy Young winner resumed throwing Tuesday and is working his way back to the mound. Tuesday night not only saw the Padres match a season high win streak (2 games), but the Friars also shipped rookie Jared Wells to Seattle for pitcher Cha Seung Baek. The right-handed South Korean is 29 with a 10-9 major league record in 24 starts (37 appearances) with an ERA of 4.96. The Friars plan to use Seung Baek as a bullpen arm who has the ability to start in a pinch.