My Padres made a terrific comeback in the top of the 9th inning yesterday in Arizona.  The D-backs were leading 3-1 when Adrian Gonzalez singled leading off the inning.  Kevin Kouamanoff then doubled to RF and reached 3rd base as A-Gon scored on an error by Arizona.  Kouz on 3rd with zero outs trailing by just one run, 3-2.  Then the horror…

Rookie Chase Headley struck out and Khalil Greene weakly grounded out to 2nd base ruining our chance to tie the game without needing a hit.  PH Brian Giles then grounded out as well to end the game.

Headley and Greene were disgusted with themselves after the game.  Headley was adamant that his being a rookie was no excuse for failing to bring the run in.  He said he was way too aggressive in that situation. 

Yesterday’s Results:

D-backs 3, Padres 2

Dodgers 5, Giants 3

Marlins 10, Rockies 5

Standings:

D-backs          44-45       ——

Dodgers          43-45        .5

Giants            39-50         5

Rockies          37-52         7

Padres           35-54        9

Today:   Marlins  7:05 PDT              Maddux (3-6) – Nolasco (9-4)

Scott Hairston homered twice, including an opposite field “splash down”, to lead My Padres to a 4-2 victory over the D-backs.

Jake Peavy was masterful on the hill as he held Arizona to just 1 run, on 3 hits, in 7 innings of work. 

It was the 2nd win in a row over the struggling D-backs and gives the Padres a chance to sweep the series this afternoon.

Hairston had 3 hits total with 3 RBI’s and Adrian Gonzalez added a long HR for the 4th Friar run.

Yesterday’s Results:

Padres 4, D-backs 2

Giants 5, Dodgers 2

Rockies 12, Marlins 6

Standings:

D-backs   43-45      ——

Dodgers   42-45       .5

Giants     39-49        4

Rockies   37-51        6

Padres    35-53        8

Today:  @ D-backs  1:10 PDT            Banks (2-3) @ Johnson (4-7) 

Cha Seung Baek flirted with the first Padres no-hitter for 5.2 innings and led My Padres to a 5-1 win over the Arizona D-backs.  Baek was fabulous as he finished with 6 shutout innings, striking out 7 while issuing only 1 walk. 

Heath Bell pitched a very good and very important 1.2 innings when the score was just 2-1.  The Friar offense would tack on 3 runs in the 8th and 9th innings, but Bell’s performance really was a relief.

Bud Black gave a lot of credit to Nick Hundley who made his MLB debut last night behind the plate.  Hundley is known for his defensive abilities and, according to Black, did a great job calling the game.  Hundley also got his 1st major league hit with a single to CF in the 5th inning.

A huge play came in the bottom of the 6th inning with the D-backs threatening after breaking up Baek’s no-no bid.  LF Chase Headley made a perfect throw to home to nail Justin Upton at the plate to end the inning and maintain the Sand and Navy advantage of 2-0.

Yesterday’s Results:

Padres 5, D-backs 1

Dodgers 10, Giants 7

Rockies 18, Marlins 17    (Colo trailed by 9 runs)

Standings:

D-backs        43-44        ——

Dodgers        42-44          .5

Giants          38-49           5

Rockies        36-51          7

Padres         34-53          9

Today:  @ D-backs   5:10 PDT          Peavy (5-5) @ Davis (3-3) 

Independence Day is the perfect day to talk about the great Jerry Coleman.  Jerry has been the radio voice of My Padres since 1972, excluding 1980 when he took a leave of absence for one year to manage the Friars.

I haven’t had the privilege to listen to him very much as KFMB and now XX 1090 doesn’t reach to Utah, but when we travel to San Diego to go to games we always listen in on headphones at the game.  Also, when games are not on TV, or MLB.TV, then we listen to the Padres broadcast over the internet.  Additionally, this is the first year we’ve had a DVR so when the Padres play Colorado and Arizoma MLB blocks the Channel 4 broadcast, and we’ve paused the TV feed to match the internet radio feed and listen to Jerry, Ted Leitner, and Andy Masur.

Mr. Coleman is known for his famous “Ohhh Doctor!” call when something really good happen to the Padres, and “You can hang a star on that one!” for a great defensive play.  After a good play we always look up to the booth to see if Jerry will actually hang a star out the booth attached to a string.  He is a marvelous announcer who was honored in 2005 with the Ford C. Frick Award at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

But he should be most remembered for his service to this country and all Americans for defending our freedoms in both World War II and the Korean War.  He was a Marine Corp pilot and flew 57 combat mission in the Pacific during WW II. 

After WW II he went back to his career as a minor league baseball player and was promoted to the Yankees in 1949.  He was a good hitting, great fielding 2nd baseman for the dominant Yankees.  He won the MVP award for the 1950 World Series.

In 1952 he was called to military duty again; this time for the Korean Conflict.  He flew another 63 missions.  His couragous and decorated service earned him 2 Distinguished Crosses, 13 Air Medals, and 3 Navy Citations.

When asked about his military career he quickly dismisses it and labels those who gave their lives during the wars as the real heroes.  But he is one of my greatest heroes.

Thanks Mr. Coleman.

Randy Wolf had no command for his second start in a row and the offense was non-existant for their second game in a row as the Rockies clobbered My Padres 8-1.

I still have some hope, dreams, that this season can be salvaged, mostly due to the troubles the D-backs and Dodgers are having.  But the Friars need to start playing a lot better, and soon.

Some Great News:  My Padres spent over $4 Million signing 5 international players yesterday.  They had promised to put a huge effort and big dollars into Latin America and the rest of the baseball playing world…and they did just that.  This splash on the heels of the opening of the new $8.5 Million Dominican Republic Padres baseball center gives me great hope the future is indeed bright and makes this terrible season, so far, easier to take.

Yesterday’s Results:

Rockies 8, Padres 1

Brewers 4, D-backs 3

Dodgers 4, Astros 1

Cubs 6, Giants 5

Standings:

D-backs          42-43       ——        (Leading the division and under .500)

Dodgers          40-44        1.5

Giants             37-48         5

Rockies           34-51         8

Padres            33-53        9.5

Aaron Cook pitched a 5 hit shutout against My Padres to lead the Rockies to a 4-0 win.  He showed why he is putting himself into the upper echelon of the better pitchers in the NL.

Turn the page and get ‘em today.

Yesterday’s Results:

Rockies 4, Padres 0

Brewers 8, D-backs 6

Dodgers 7, Astros 6

Giants 2, Cubs 1

Standings:

D-backs        42-42       ——

Dodgers        39-44        2.5

Giants          37-47          5

Rockies        33-51          9

Padres         33-52         9.5

Today:  @ Rockies  6:05 PDT           Wolf (5-7) @ Jimenez (2-8)

My Padres erupted for 12 unanswered runs after falling behind the Rockies 8-3 and ended their 8 game losing streak with the 15-8 win.

Edgar Gonzalez and Brian Giles both had 4 hits to lead the way.  E-Gon smacked 2 HR’s among his 4 hits.  Edgar’s batting average is now up to .325 as he is making most of his long overdue chance in the majors.  Kevin Kouzmanoff and Jody Gerut also homered for the Slugging Friars.

Greg Maddux got roughed up for 8 runs in 4.2 IP, but the bullpen was spectacular in shuting down Colorado the rest of the way and giving the offense a chance.

The most exciting part of the game for me was the comments of Adrian Gonzalez following the game saying that he and Giles had discussed the possibility of turning the season around in these 12 games left before the All-Star Break.  They concluded that if they could go 8-4 in these 12 games they could be within 6 games of Arizona and still be within striking distance. 

I’m glad they see it the same way I do.

Go Padres!!!

Yesterday’s Results:

Padres 15, Rockies 8

D-backs 6, Brewers 3

Astros 4, Dodgers 1

Cubs 9, Giants 2

Standings:

D-backs         42-41        ——

Dodgers         38-44         3.5

Giants            36-47          6

Padres          33-51         9.5

Rockies          32-51         10

Today:  @ Rockies  6:05 PDT            Banks (2-2) @ Cook (10-5)

My Padres went 1-8 on this homestand after their 9-2 loss to the Mighty Mariners yesterday.  It was the 8th loss in a row and the 12th loss in the last 13 games.

Jake Peavy said, “I knew when I gave up the home run (a 2-run shot by Adrian Beltre making the score 3-0) that the game was probably over…”  Ouch.

The Friars are now 19 games under .500, but still mathematically in the NL West race where the 1st place D-backs are exactly at .500.

Yesterday’s Results:

Mariners 9, Padres 2

Marlins 4, D-backs 3

Angels 1, Dodgers 0

Giants 11, A’s 1

Tigers 4, Rockies 3

Standings:

D-backs        41-41         ——

Dodgers        38-43          2.5

Giants          36-46            5

Rockies        32-50            9

Padres         32-51          9.5

Today:  @ Rockies  6:05 PDT        Maddux (3-6) @ De La Rosa (2-4)

Yesterday’s Results:

Mariners 4, Padres 2

D-backs 6, Marlins 2

Dodgers 1, Angels 0

Giants 1, A’s 0

Tigers 7, Rockies 6

Standings:

D-backs       41-40         ——

Dodgers       38-42          2.5

Giants          35-46           6

Rockies        32-49           9

Padres         32-50          9.5

Today:  Mariners  1:05 PDT         Peavy (5-4) – Bedard (4-4)

At least our uniforms were really cool looking last night…

Yesterday’s Results:

Mariners 5, Padres 2

Marlins 3, D-backs 1

Dodgers 6, Angels 0

A’s 4, Giants 1

Tigers 7, Rockies 1

Standings:

D-backs        40-40          ——

Dodgers        37-42           2.5

Giants           34-46            6

Rockies         32-48            8

Padres          32-49           8.5

Today:  Mariners  7:05 PDT       Baek (1-3) – Silva (3-9)