SB Nation - Luis Rodriguez

NL West in Review: Shortstops

Poseidon's Fist — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:00:43 -0000

by David Zalubowski - AP

If UZR wasn't so strangely hard on Tulo, the Rockies' shortstop would be even higher above his competition.

This is about as suspenseful as a modern day cookie-cutter horror flick. Not even our pudgy four-letter Philly fan can deny the proper anointment of the NL West's top shortstop in 2009. However, it wasn't quite so clear just last March.

Coming off of a miserable 0.8 WAR season in 2008 (at the same level as Brian Barton and Carlos Gonzalez), Troy Tulowitzki silenced all critics in 2009, giving the Rockies a clear advantage over every team in the West. In fact, the 6.85 WAR that Tulo, Barmes and Quintanilla generated represent the strongest infield position of any team in the division.

Even considering Tulo's down year, the preseason projections had the Rockies as clear favorites in the NL West, with Los Angeles, Arizona, San Francisco and San Diego following in order. Colorado delivered in a big way, representing the division's sole above average offensive unit. Everth Cabrera's surprising rookie season ruined what would have otherwise been an accurate ranking:


Teams	Players	Avg	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG	wOBA*	WAR
1. Colorado	3	.298	32	96	.377	.536	.387	6.85
2. Los Angeles	4	.271	9	54	.330	.371	.321	3.64
3. Arizona	3	.265	12	73	.332	.417	.326	2.49
4. San Diego	4	.231	4	43	.319	.328	.304	1.98
5. San Francisco	4	.255	11	72	.306	.353	.296	0.74

Shortstop was the most stable position among divisional infield positions, as all five teams had clear full-time starters from start to finish. With the positional RAR set at +7.5, here is the graphical RAR representation:

For the full rankings and team rundowns, turn the corner.

Seventeen different men manned shortstop, including Josh Wilson twice (for San Diego and Arizona), and all but five were above replacement level:

Rank	Player	Team	PA	Avg	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG	wOBA*	UZR	WAR
1	Troy Tulowitzki	COL	628	.296	32	92	.377	.551	.362	-1.2	5.07
2	Rafael Furcal	LAD	671	.266	8	45	.331	.368	.321	8.0	3.24
3	Stephen Drew	AZ	586	.262	12	65	.320	.432	.334	3.4	3.00
4	Everth Cabrera	SDP	437	.255	2	31	.343	.362	.335	-11.7	0.84
5	Augie Ojeda	AZ	116	.289	0	6	.381	.371	.331	3.2	0.83
~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~
14	Blake DeWitt	LAD	5	.000	0	0	.200	.000	.141	-0.4	-0.08
15	Luis Rodriguez	SDP	119	.196	1	6	.314	.268	.272	-1.8	-0.12
16	Kevin Frandsen	SFG	20	.056	0	0	.150	.056	.119	-0.2	-0.21
17	Chris Burke	SDP	76	.214	1	5	.276	.314	.268	-2.6	-0.23
18	Josh Wilson	SDP	42	.108	0	1	.195	.162	.141	-2.0	-0.55

For a the full spreadsheet of the players rankings, team rankings and raw data, check this Google Docs link.

Arizona

2009 in Review

After a spectacular second half the previous season, the bright young shortstop took a huge nosedive with the bat this season, falling from a near elite shortstop to a below average league bat. Sound familiar? Augie Ojeda also performed well in 116 PA to usurp Renteria for the fifth most valuable shortstop in the division, just a tenth of a run behind Everth Cabrera for fourth.

2010 in Preview

Diamondbacks fans are hoping for a Tulowitzki-like bounce-back year in 2010 from Drew. Arizona's 2004 first-round pick made $1.5mil last season and is up for arbitration.

Colorado

2009 in Review

Remember in May back when even Rowbots were drawing parallels between Tulo and Khalil Greene/Bobby Crosby? I hardly do myself. Four months later, Tulo finished the season as MLB's third-most valuable shortstop. For some reason, UZR pegs Tulo as a below average MLB shortstop, which is clearly fishy. That plus April/May make his season's ranking all the more incredible. Clint Barmes was solid in in 49 PA, enough to finish seventh in the NL West despite no home runs and four RBIs.

2010 in Preview

Troy Tulowitzki made a paltry $1million in 2009, the second year of a six year contract. He is guaranteed $3.5million next year, but hopefully, he'll cash in with more. He'll pocket $25k each for a Gold Glove and All-Star appearance and $50k with a Silver Slugger.

Los Angeles

2009 in Review

Rafael Furcal was borderline MVP caliber to start 2008, but after an early summer injury, he never really recovered. 2009 started poorly as well, as Furcal hit below .250 for almost the entire first half. The former Brave was saved by an 8.0 UZR - quite strange in that he was average or below average every year of his career up to 2009, and only Elvis Andrus was more valuable defensively. I'm not sure I buy that. Chin-Ling Hu, Blake DeWitt and Juan Castro washed out to about replacement level.

2010 in Preview

Furcal was a below average bat last season, not what Los Angeles was hoping for after signing him to a 3-year $30mil deal before the season. He'll be making $8.5million next season, a value he has reached four of the last five years (Fangraphs). Still at 32, he could certainly regress.

San Diego

2009 in Review

Everth Cabrera was the full-time starter for the Padres at shortstop minus two months he missed with a fractured bone in his hand. The Rule 5 pick impressed greatly with his bat after jumping from A-ball, with a park-adjusted .335 wOBA, comfortably above league average. However, he struggled greatly defensively, as the Rockies saw first hand. His UZR was worst in the division and fourth worst in MLB. Luis Rodriguez was essentially the worst shortstop in the division who got any real number of ABs, but Chris Burke and the San Diego version of Josh Wilson join him as three of the five below replacement level contributors.

2010 in Preview

After an impressive rookie year, Bud Black will be writing Cabrera's name in his line-up card with great regularity. Everth should get a slight bump from the league minimum in 2010, but it won't be much.

San Francisco

2009 in Review

Edgar Renteria's best days appear to be behind him. The 34-year old Colombian was less than half as productive as his prior career-worst season. His .288 wOBA is just pathetic - even Garrett Atkins was better, and he wasn't a defensive asset either. Juan Uribe was solid as a backup, with Ryan Rohlinger and Kevin Frandsen also got some reps.

2010 in Preview

Edgar Renteria was one of the first signings last offseason, before the market crashed. Consequently, his contract looks silly now, as he just finished the first year of a two year $18million contract. Nine million of that will come in 2010, with an obvious $500k buyout to be exercised next offseason. The option year in 2010 is for $10.5million. If Renteria falters there more, the Giants could do a lot worse than using Juan Uribe there.

Free Agent Friday: Second Base 2010

Justin Bopp — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:04:53 -0000

These charts tells me the Royals are now in the Luis Rodriguez sweepstakes.

Click to enlarge

Full data after the jump.

Second basemen	AGE	TYPE	CLUB OPTION	WAR	UZR/150	wOBA	ISO	PA
Felipe Lopez	30	B		4.6	7.6	0.356	0.118	680
Placido Polanco	34	A		3.1	11	0.321	0.112	676
Juan Uribe	31			2.9	16.4	0.351	0.206	432
Orlando Hudson	32	A		2.9	-3.7	0.342	0.134	631
Craig Counsell	39			2.8	18	0.336	0.124	459
Adam Kennedy	34			1.7	-11.4	0.337	0.121	587
Mark DeRosa	35	B		1.7	N/A	0.327	0.183	576
Jamey Carroll	36			1.5	7.4	0.317	0.063	358
Ronnie Belliard	35	B		1.3	6.6	0.339	0.174	287
Jerry Hairston Jr.	34			1	4.1	0.312	0.144	433
Nick Green	31			0.4	-29.7	0.290	0.130	309
Alex Cora	34			0	-9.3	0.288	0.059	308
Mark Loretta	38			-0.2	0.7	0.311	0.085	204
Luis Rodriguez	30			-0.5	-23.7	0.268	0.058	251

Click for Free Agent Fridays 2010:

1B | 2B | SS | 3B | LF | CF | RF | P

Data Source: FanGraphs.com

FA/Age Source: mlbtraderumors.com

RL & Lg. Avg wOBA Data: Jeff Zimmerman

NL West in Review: 2nd Basemen

Poseidon's Fist — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:00:36 -0000

More photos » by Matt York - AP

Felipe Lopez only got in a half season in the NL West, but was he good enough to be the best 2B in the division in 2009?

Browse more photos »

Introduction

Before getting to the second base rankings, I thought I would touch on a peripheral discussion on the accuracy of WAR. It is important to understand that even the WAR found at Fangraphs isn't absolute. The methodology of chosen inputs can make the final numbers vary slightly, or in some cases, drastically. The best example of this is this year's season by Ricky Nolasco, who was a 4.0 WAR pitcher from Fangraphs, but just a 1.0 WAR pitcher via Rally's historical database. The quick explanation is that Fangraphs' input is FIP, while Rally's is more based on actual runs allowed and BABIP.

In my case, I'm using Statcorner's component park factors, while Fangraphs has their own methodology for park effects. That is why some of my numbers will vary some from Fangraphs' data. For instance, I have Orlando Hudson as a 2.52 WAR second baseman, while Fangraphs has him at 2.9 WAR. Which is right? I think it's a matter of preference.

A few weeks ago, Dave Cameron wrote an article entitled WAR: It Works, which defended their methodology by finding a 0.83 correlation between a team's total WAR and final record (for comparison, Pythageorean W-L has a 0.91 correlation). So it does a decent job, but there's some understandable noise in the data.

Method

See the full methodology as explained last week. Last Monday, I omitted stolen bases and caught stealings from my value calculations. It turns out Fangraphs' positional splits are accurate to positional at-bats, and Baseball Reference's positional splits are not accurate for stolen bases and caught stealings. As it turns out, first basemen don't steal much, so that omission made practically no difference.

However, second basemen do tend employ the running game, so I did the extra legwork of utilizing ESPN.com's positional splits to extract SB/CS data. It didn't make a great deal of difference. Four teams saw their team wOBA* increase by .001, while the Rockies dropped by .001. Clint Barmes, who led all NL West 2B in caught stealings with nine, was the only prominent player to be affected, who dropped one slot in the rankings.

Read the results after the jump.

Results

No NL West team had complete personnel consistency at second base, but that didn't stop Arizona from far surpassing the rest of the division with some surprise production from their second-sackers.


Teams	Players	Avg	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG	wOBA*	WAR
1. Arizona	4	.298	15	49	.372	.448	.362	5.97
2. Los Angeles	6	.283	12	77	.356	.424	.347	3.19
3. Colorado	5	.231	31	98	.281	.441	.301	0.80
4. San Francisco	7	.236	17	80	.281	.329	.281	-0.26
5. San Diego	5	.246	2	58	.315	.314	.292	-1.04

Brendan Scolari's calculations had Arizona projected to be the weakest team at second base this season, but the other four teams fell in line as expected from there.

Your graphical plot of the RAR for all five teams, with the positional RAR set at +2.5.

The second base position was exceedingly interesting, in my opinion. To wit: the most valuable player was also the fifth least valuable fielder; the worst and best fielders came from the same team; the man with the third most homers was the fourth worst second baseman; and, one team had four second basemen in the top seven in the division:

There were 27 total second basemen, and you can view the complete rankings and data here in Google Docs. Here are the top and bottom five:

Rank	Player	Team	PA	Avg	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG	wOBA*	UZR	WAR
1	Orlando Hudson	LAD	627	.285	9	62	.359	.420	.345	-3.7	2.52
2	Felipe Lopez	AZ	375	.305	6	25	.366	.417	.351	3.8	2.25
3	Ryan Roberts	AZ	199	.303	7	16	.374	.506	.383	2.3	1.65
4	Clint Barmes	COL	551	.238	22	69	.286	.437	.301	7.0	1.60
5	Juan Uribe	SFG	131	.274	6	15	.331	.538	.380	3.5	1.25
~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~	~
23	Edgar Gonzalez	SDP	54	.234	0	3	.315	.319	.289	-2.1	-0.17
24	Ian Stewart	COL	73	.235	8	26	.274	.632	.349	-7.5	-0.39
25	Luis Rodriguez	SDP	102	.200	1	7	.294	.256	.266	-4.1	-0.48
26	Emmanuel Burriss	SFG	220	.238	0	13	.292	.267	.265	-3.7	-0.53
27	Eugenio Velez	SFG	106	.198	1	8	.226	.287	.231	-4.7	-0.80

Arizona

2009 in Review

Felipe Lopez barely played half a season for the Snakes, but his stellar first half offensively and plus glove defensively kept him in position to finish second best in the division. Ryan Roberts had the best rate stats of any divisional player with over 100 PA (he surpassed Clint Barmes for WAR when I added the SB/CS factor), and he was joined in the top seven by Augie Ojeda and Rusty Ryal, who led the entire team in wOBA in a small sample. All four players had positive UZR scores.

2010 in Preview

AJ Hinch will most likely choose either a starter from the pool of Ryan Roberts, Rusty Ryal and Tony Abreu going forward into next season. It is possible that an unnamed free agent would be thrown into the picture, but I personally don't expect it. The fact that the hands down best team at 2B in 2009 has such a question mark going into 2010 with only Lopez subtracted speaks to the relative weakness of the position in the NL West.

Colorado

2009 in Review

Clint Barmes had a heck of an enigmatic season. He was easily the most valuable defensive 2B and had more than twice the home runs of any other player. However, his Ryan Howard impression was completed by having a poor average and batting average, and he led the division in caught stealings, helping Roberts to surpass him. Ian Stewart was third in the division in home runs, but he posted the worst UZR by far, completely negating Barmes' defensive contributions, at least statistically. Omar Quintanilla contributed enough defensively to stay out of the bottom five despite a 2-for-28 mark with the bat.

2010 in Preview

Rumors abound that Dan O'Dowd is going to lock Barmes down to a multi-year contract, so it appears he will have the position locked down going into spring training, though Eric Young Jr could provide a completely different toolset.

Los Angeles

2009 in Review

Orlando Hudson had an All-Star first half, but his defense has slipped and Ronnie Belliard (who had a strong stretch in his own right by finishing8th in just 42 PA) of all people took starts from him down the stretch. Blake DeWitt, Juan Castro and Mark Loretta provided negligible negative value.

2010 in Preview

Hudson will be a Type A free agent and probably won't be retained by the Dodgers. By trading Tony Abreu for Jon Garland, Ned Colletti gave up his best internal option for the position going forward. There's no way they go with Loretta or Castro full time, and Blake DeWitt seems to have regressed after perhaps playing over his head in 2008. Los Angeles could go with Belliard, but second base is certainly on Colletti's offseason shopping list.

San Diego

2009 in Review

Grit is not an input for WAR, so almost all of David Eckstein's value goes unchecked. He combined his light hitting with the second worst UZR in the division. Oscar Salazar and Chris Burke played a small role, but Luis Rodriguez and Edgar Gonzalez really hurt the team, as both were in the bottom handful both with the bat and glove. As a team, the running game was essentially non-existent, as the Padres only stole four bases from second base. All five second basemen posted negative UZR scores.

2010 in Preview

Kevin Towers extended Eckstein through 2010 with a $1 million deal in August, so he is unequivocally the starter going forward, especially with signs pointing towards very minimal free agent spending this offseason

San Francisco

2009 in Review

The position looked to be weak going into the season, and it was. Freddy Sanchez was unable to get on the field consistently after being acquired, but Juan Uribe picked up the slack by not only performing well (his wOBA* at second was just four points behind the best in the division for those with 100+ PA) but having a career season overall. Emmanuel Burriss and Eugenio Velez each got a well deserved Simon Cowell treatment for their poor auditions, and the team seemed that Kevin Frandsen is not the answer. The Giants' combined wOBA of .281 was by far the worst in the division.

2010 in Preview

As Rox Girl noted yesterday morning, the Giants signed Sanchez to a 2-year deal on Friday, paying him $6million/year, more than he's ever made in his career. On the surface, Sanchez is not much of a threat in the division, as he has regressed due to age in recent years and he dealt with a multitude of injuries of late. In 2008, he provided just $1.8million in value, and though he provided the Giants almost no value in 2009, he did have $10.1million total. And after seeing the terrible play at second and need to validate the Tim Alderson trade, it's no surprise Brian Sabean decided to go this direction. At any rate, barring injury to The Mole, the Giants will be much improved at second base in 2010.

Twins Second Base In 2010: The Devil You Know?

Jesse — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:35:12 -0000

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

Browse more photos »

Stop me if you've heard this off-season story before...the Twins have an opening at second base.

When the Twins traded Luis Castillo at the 2007 trade deadline, it was seen as a curious but defendable action. Since then second base has been a carousel of mediocrity, with Minnesota starting Nick Punto, Alexi Casilla and Luis Rodriguez the rest of the way in just '07. '08 began with Brendan Harris and Matt Tolbert before Casilla and Punto and even Matt Macri saw starts. This past season saw the usual suspects cover the position once again, and while no new names were pulled from the hat it still means there were six guys getting starts over the last two-and-a-half seasons at second base.

It's difficult to be too hard on the front office for not bringing in an everyday second baseman last year. Punto had proven himself to be a versatile and valuable glove man over the years, even if 2009 wasn't as strong. Casilla has been, for the last two years, the guy that the organization has wanted to step into the role long-term. And as far as versatile swingmen are concerned, you could do worse than Harris. Additionally, as a position that typically doesn't provide a lot of offense, it kind of made sense that the vacancy at second base sort of fell to a secondary concern last winter.

Moving into 2010 it's impossible to not see second base as a primary concern. While the Devil You Know, or Devils, will still be around, their cumulative performance was one of the worse in baseball this season. Twins second basemen hit a combined .209/.302/.267 in 2009, with their .569 OPS by far the worse in the game. San Francisco's combined .611 OPS was good for a distant 29th.

Defensively the prospects weren't much brighter. As a group Twins second basemen accumulated a -7.0 UZR/150, 28th in the league. A -10.4 RngR was only slightly better at 27th.

The tricky bit, the part that sneaks into my brain and every other optimist's brain out there, is the bit that says Well, there's still some upside here. Casilla's still young, Punto finished strong at the plate and actually played strong defense down the stretch to end the year as the only Minnesota second baseman to finish the season with a UZR/150 not in the negative. Aye, that's the rub. THE RUB!

For the third consecutive season, the Minnesota Twins enter the off-season without an incumbant at any of the three infield positions to the left of first base. Each of the last two years I've said the exact same thing: as long as they fill two of those three spots with a quality player, I'll be happy. But even saying that I knew that second base wasn't the biggest concern. For the first time in these three years, I believe that it's just as important for the Twins to improve at second base as it is for them to solve their issues at third and short.

But with so many internal options available the organization will need to be creative if they aren't going to go the route that most of us expect them to take. If they want to think outside the box and go for a guy like Dan Uggla or Kelly Johnson, the trend of internal promotion that's plugged the gap in the middle infield over the last couple years will need to be bucked and some of those familiar faces, the Punto's and Casilla's and Harris's's's and Tolbert's, would likely find themselves donning new uniforms in 2010.

I'm hoping that the organization takes a few calculated gambles this off-season. I would like nothing more than to see this team make a move for a guy they believe can start 130 games at second base next year; not just start but own the position. He doesn't have to be an All-Star or a Gold Glove winner, but some value on at least one side of the ball would constitute an upgrade. That's what I want.

Poll

Where will the starting second baseman come from in 2010?

The Devil You Know (Internal)

284 votes

The Devil You've Probably Heard Of (External)

218 votes

502 votes | Poll has closed

Padres Anagrams

jbox — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 22:29:12 -0000

Dex was just showing me this website that figures out an anagram for your name. I decided to do it for each of the Padres. Surprisingly in some cases the anagram actually describes the person. It's remarkable!

NAME	ANAGRAM
Jeff Moorad	MAJOR OF FED
Tom Garfinkel	GNATLIKE FORM
Kevin Towers	I'VE NETWORKS
Paul DePodesta	UP PLEASED TOAD
Grady Fuson	FURY GONADS
Bud Black	BALD BUCK
Heath Bell	HELL! BATHE
Greg Burke	KRUGER BEG
Kevin Correia	CROAKIER VEIN
Sean Gallagher	HAS LARGE ANGEL
Luke Gregerson	OK GREENER SLUG
Mat Latos	AM TOTALS
Wade LeBlanc	CLEAN BAWLED
Edward Mujica	DRAW MAD JUICE
Luis Perdomo	I'M PROUD LOSE
Aaron Poreda	POOR AND AREA
Cesar Ramos	OR MASSACRE
Clayton Richard	A CONTRARY CHILD
Adam Russell	SMALL AS RUDE
Tim Stauffer	MATURE STIFF
Joe Thatcher	HA! REJECT HOT
Ryan Webb	BRAWN BYE
Eliezer Alfonzo	RAZZLE OF ONE LIE
Henry Blanco	LYNCH ON BEAR
Nick Hundley	UNKINDLY CHE
Everth Cabrera	BRAVER CHEATER
David Eckstein	KINDEST ADVICE
Adrian Gonzalez	DAZZLING ON AREA
Edgar Gonzalez	NAG DAZZLE OGRE
Kevin Kouzmanoff	KNAVE FUNK IF ZOOM
Luis Rodriguez	GURU IDOLIZERS
Oscar Salazar	ALAS! CZAR OR AS
Anthony Gwynn Junior	JOY! NOW HURTING NANNY
Chase Headley	ELSE HEADACHY
Drew Macias	A WEIRD SCAM
Will Venable	WELL! EVIL BAN
Gaslamp Ball	SMALL BAG PAL

San Diego has become spoilers deluxe

Poseidon's Fist — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 22:00:52 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Chiu - AP

The Padres have given four playoff contenders the tortoise and the hare treatment in recent weeks, leaping past them for the series win. Hopefully the Rockies can buck that trend as violently as they did the Reds' winning streak.

Browse more photos »

On the surface, there are three big reasons the Padres can take this series from the Rockies.

1 - The Padres are so hot right now.

Quiz any of your friends and ask them which NL West team has won their last five series. Not the first-place Dodgers. Not the awesome Rockies. It's the Padres - seriously, and they weren't cupcake series either. They beat the Braves, Marlins, Giants and Dodgers - all playoff contenders, all on the road.

The Padres are just playing much, much better baseball in recent weeks. In fact, San Diego is 27-26 since the All-Star Break, the exact same mark as the Los Angeles Dodgers and a half game behind the Giants' 27-25 mark for second in the division. (The Rockies are 34-19, by the way). And all of that came after starting the second half 2-10. Are the Padres really 25-16 since July 28? Yes. Yes they are. But don't worry, the Rockies are 27-15 in that span, so they can't rob us of that. Plus, their two game win streak has nothing on our seven.

2 - The series will be in San Diego.

When a team is 15 games below .500, it's noteworthy to see that San Diego has a 36-34 home record (that's more home wins than the Braves and as many as the Phillies).

3 - The Rockies have a tendency to play down to their competition.

Now, I'm going to tell you all three of those are either false or don't matter. The overbearing factor is that none of these rank in importance even close to the starting pitching matchups, and Colorado has a distinct advantage in the bookend games with a chance on the wild card Saturday. The Reds just came into Coors Field as the hottest team in the league and left on the business end of a four-game sweep. Either say momentum is valid or it is not - either way, the Rockies and their 7-game win streak look good there.

As for Petco Park, the Rockies are 4-3 there this season, including a series win out of the chute from the ASB. Plus, Colorado's 36-33 mark on the road is actually a tick better than the Padres' home record.

As for playing down to competition, fuggedaboudit. It doesn't happen anymore. Under Jim Tracy, the Rockies have won 12 of 15 series against sub-.500 competition, including six straight. The three losses were to the Astros in his first road series, the Independence Day series vs the Snakes and that Mets debacle. Of the 11 teams the Rockies have faced this season that are currently under .500, they have a winning record against all sans the Mets and Astros. Playing down to competition is a myth. This team crushes bad teams more often than not.

So is there any reason to expect the Rockies to drop this series? Not at all. But there's a reason they play the games. Let's not get complacent like the Dodgers and Giants did.

Should you choose to reach out to Padres fans in the most friendly and jovial of ways, head to Gaslamp Ball.

San Diego Padres (63-78, W2, 4th, 20 GB)

Friday-Sunday: 3-game series at Petco Park

The Bats: D+

San Diego is dead last in hitting in MLB at .242 and runs at 550. They have the fifth-least stolen bases and have the third worst wOBA, besting only the Reds and Giants. Of course, if we knock their pitchers for the friendly confines of Petco, we have to give San Diego a little credit for playing have their games in a stadium equipped with an offensive straitjacket. Their OPS+ of 94 is fairly decent, all things considered. Their lineup won't be confused for an average big league lineup, but they are not the joke their park makes them out to be. For reference, the Giants come in at 81 and the Reds sit at 80. Another important note is that every single batter in the lineup is hitting better now than they were the did when we last faced them. Here's that lineup.

LINEUP	Avg	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG	wOBA	OPS+
Everth Cabrera - SS	.255	0	10	.352	.380	.321	103
David Eckstein - 2B	.266	1	45	.323	.337	.340	84
Adrian Gonzalez - 1B	.274	37	85	.405	.559	.383	164
Kevin Kouzmanoff - 3B	.257	17	84	.304	.421	.299	99
Chase Headley - LF	.260	11	52	.337	.396	.304	103
Will Venable - RF	.279	10	32	.343	.478	.308	125
Nick Hundley - C	.220	6	21	.302	.376	.278	87
Tony Gwynn Jr - CF	.258	1	14	.333	.327	.272	84

I'll ignore wOBA since it isn't park-adjusted. Instead, note how half of that lineup is above average from OPS+, and that could jump to five-eighths with a good series from Kouzmanoff.

Drew Macias (.174, 1, 6) is listed as the lone backup OF, though Oscar Salazar (.310, 3, 8) and Edgar Gonzalez (.205, 4, 13) are IFs that have also recieved starts in the outfield. Luis Rodriguez (.211, 2, 16) joins Salazar and Gonzalez as IF relief options while Eliezer Alfonzo (.180, 2, 8) and Henry Blanco (.236, 5, 13) fill the roles as the typical September backup catcher duo.

Hop after the jump for the scouting report on the arms, the D, the pitching matchups, the hot/cold players and injuries.

The Arms: D

San Diego has used a mind-boggling 13 starting pitchers this season, all of them for at least three starts. They'll add a 14th tonight. That instability is in stark contrast to the Rockies, who have four mainstays in the rotation since Week 3. They have traded away the only two starters that have performed above average by Statcorner's definition. Their rotational tRA of 5.36 really shows why there has been such a revolving door, though injuries have been a part as well. Fangraphs lists the Padres as having the 3rd worst pitching staff on the weight of the 2nd worst "rotation."

The bullpen has been decent, led by All-Star closer Heath Bell. Edward Mujica has been solid, though he has been moved into the rotation to replace Mat Latos.

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Heath Bell	5-2	57	0	0	0	37	3	59.0	41	13	13	2	19	65	1.98	1.02

The last time we faced the Padres, they had zero left-handed pitchers on the roster. They have rectified that in a big way, adding Aaron Poreda and Clayton Richard from the Peavy deal and calling up Wade LeBlanc, Joe Thatcher and Cesar Ramos. Of those, all but Richard are utilized in the bullpen.

From the right side, Bud Black can turn to Luke Gregerson, Greg Burke, Sean Gallagher, Luis Perdomo, Adam Russell, and Ryan Webb.

The D: C

UZR really doesn't like San Diego's infield defense up the middle, though their D on the corners has made up for it. Gwynn and Venable are solid in CF and RF, though Chase Headley-3B-convert is below average in left. For the season. It's not terrible pertinent given the myriad players logging innings, but their team FG D value is right in the middle of the league. Interestingly, their errors, range factor, FG D value, UZR and fielding percentage are collectively closer to the Rockies than any other team.

The Ballpark: VERY VERY VERY STRONG pitcher's park

You probably knew that. However, it's park factor is 89, which is more influential on the pitching side than Coors Field has been for hitters since 2005. The park factor at Petco will affect stats more than any other park. If there's a place to make an MLB debut as a pitcher, this isn't a bad place.

Probable Pitchers:

Tonight, 8:05 pm MDT

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Jorge De La Rosa	14-9	28	27	0	0	0	0	159.2	154	85	80	20	71	162	4.51	1.41

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Edward Mujica	3-4	63	0	0	0	2	1	77.0	77	35	30	12	16	60	3.51	1.21

De la Rosa continues to be one of the winningest pitchers in the entire league since June 1, as he'll go for his 15th win, which would tie him with Jason Marquis for third in the NL. He has a nice matchup in attempting to get his 13th win in 15 starts, as he faces Edward Mujica, a reliever who will be making his first start of his professional career, minor leagues included. He'll be replacing Mat Latos, who has been shut down for the season after reaching an innings threshhold. Mujica has been stretched to over 4 innings and 50+ pitches before this season, so as far as a transition goes, he's not a terrible candidate. He has had a strong season but got touched up for 5 runs over his last two relief appearances. The 25yo right-hander has a strong splitter to go with low 90's heat and a slider. His K/BB is impressive, though he's dinger prone. Regardless, there's no way the Rockies should lose a bullpen start with DLR on the hill. Favors: ROCKIES strongly

Saturday, September 12, 8:05 MDT

AA and AAA Stats	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Esmil Rogers	11-7	5	27	26	0	0	0	153.0	164	80	76	11	54	129	4.47	1.42

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Tim Stauffer	4-6	11	11	0	0	0	0	59.1	61	25	23	7	21	47	3.49	1.38

Esmil Rogers gets the call from AAA to make his MLB debut, allowing Ubaldo Jimenez to push forward to the Giants series. Rogers, who is listed at 145 pounds in the Rockies program (a bit outdated), dominated AA Tulsa before getting the call to AAA, where his statistics took a sound beating. Security Service Field didn't help, where he sustained a ridiculous .434 BABIP against. He'll need to watch his walks more than anything, as very little of that can be blamed on altitude. May he take after another Domincan hurler. In 9 of Tim Stauffer's 11 starts, he allowed 3 runs or less, and in the two outliers, he only permitted four. He has consistently given San Diego chances to win games, and they've won the last three times he took the mound. He has dealt with pitch count issues though, only getting past the fifth inning twice in his lasat seven outings. Perhaps the Rockies' patented patience will render him ineffective. His four pitches come in around 90, 85, 80 and 75 on average, led by a strong slider. His fastball has only been used half the time this season. Favors: PADRES moderately

Sunday, September 13, 2:05 MDT

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Jason Marquis	15-10	32	28	2	1	0	0	189.2	185	83	77	12	60	95	3.65	1.29

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Clayton Richard	4-2	8	8	0	0	0	0	40.0	45	24	24	6	23	31	5.40	1.70

THAT's the Jason Marquis I know. The 15-game winner returned to form after two subpar outings while recording a season high in strikeouts. He has absolutely tormented the Padres this season, allowing just 1 run in 16 innings over two starts, one at each ballpark. He induced 17 ground balls in both. More of the same please, Jason. Clayton Richard came over in the Jake Peavy deal. He's a five pitch lefty, utilizing a fastball, slider, cutter, curve and change, though the curve is used far less than even Aaron Cook uses his. He can pump it to the mid-90's but sits in the lower 90's. He could pose a problem for Rockies' hitters, as he has taken to Petco Park very well, going 3-0 with a 1.88 ERA in four starts there, though he has been torched by Atlanta and San Francisco once each in his last three starts. Aside from Rogers' debut the day before, this pitching matchup interests me most. Favors: ROCKIES moderately.

Hearth Bell has been unscored upon in 11 of 12 outings, including 7 straight. Adrian Gonzalez has three home runs this month. David Eckstein's .286 average is the second best average amond Padre regulars this month behind Will Venable, who is 8-for-24.

Tony Gwynn Jr has managed just one single in his seven September games, and Everth Cabrera is hitting just .182 this month. Edward Mujica surrended 4 ER in his last two innings after going 18.1 IP and allowing just three.

Outfielders Brian Giles and Kyle Blanks are on the 15-day DL along with RHP Mike Adams. 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff is questionable for tonight's game with a calf injury. RHP's Cha Seung Baek (forearm), Chris Young (shoulder), Shawn Hill (elbow) and Mark Worrell (elbow) are on the 60-day DL along with Cliff Floyd (shoulder).

Poll

Will the Rockies be the next victim to Bud Black's spoiler hex?

Heck no. The Rockies are rolling and playing like the best team in the National League. A sweep means another doubel digit win streak.

49 votes

Not exactly, but the Padres will take a game. You never know when a no name pitcher goes nuts at Petco. It may be Esmil, but it just takes one Clayton Richard to ruin a sweep

94 votes

I believe in hexes. There's no way we get swept. The Padres didn't sweep anyone else in their streak (Washington doesn't count), but they are a legit force.

16 votes

Yep. Gut punch sweep.

7 votes

166 votes | Poll has closed

101 Damnations. Reds lose 7-4.

Brendanukkah — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 20:08:39 -0000

More photos » by Elaine Thompson - AP

"They're not a good team," said Bud Black. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

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Final - 7.30.2009 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E

San Diego Padres 1 1 0 0 4 0 1 0 0 7 11 0

Cincinnati Reds 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 4 9
0

WP: Tim Stauffer (1 - 2)
LP: Johnny Cueto (8 - 8)

Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Final - 7.30.2009	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
San Diego Padres	1	1	0	0	4	0	1	0	0	7	11	0
Cincinnati Reds	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	3	4	9	0
WP: Tim Stauffer (1 - 2) LP: Johnny Cueto (8 - 8)

Will Venable. Venable went 4-5 with a run and four RBI. His three-run homer in the fifth proved to be the margin of victory.

Key Plays

The Reds first inning woes continued when Johnny Cueto walked Luis Rodriguez on a questionable fourth ball. Adrian Gonzalez's double moved him to third where he scored on Kevin Kouzmanoff's sac fly.
The Padres doubled their advantage in the second inning when Kyle Blanks led off with a single. Will Venable hit a ball that Brandon Phillips couldn't come up with, and Blanks took third. He scored on a double play ball hit by Henry Blanco.
The Reds threatened to make it interesting in the fourth as Joey Votto and Phillips led off with consecutive doubles. Jonny Gomes walked to put runners on first and second with no outs, but trade rumor subject Edwin Encarnacion showed how much he liked playing in Cincinnati by grounding into a double play, and Laynce Nix grounded out.
Still, a 2-1 game was pretty exciting! And of course it didn't stay that way. Luis Rodriguez singled to lead off the fifth for the Friars, and was replaced on the basepaths one out later by a Kevin Kouzmanoff force out. Cueto might have escaped, but why do that when he could just let the wheels fall off? Chase Headley doubled, scoring the Kouz, and Kyle Blanks was hit by a pitch. Dick Pole whispered some sage advice to Cueto, who then promptly gave up a homer to Will Venable.
Headley, Blanks, and Venable provided the Pads' final run in the seventh. The first two walked, and Venable singled. 7-1 Padres, and it seemed like a bad game was about to be reapeated.
Okay, only mostly repeated. In the ninth inning, the Reds attempted a rally. Encarnacion, in perhaps his last at bat as a Red, singled and Laynce Nix walked. Pinch hitter Adam Rosales then stepped in and cranked a three run homer of his own (Suck it, Venable!). And then the Reds still lost by three.

via FanGraphs

Other News

This was Tim Stauffer's first win in three years.
The Padres have won three in a row, their longest winning streak this season since they won ten in a row from May 15-25. That streak, of course, started with their sweep of the Reds.
The Padres finished the season 6-1 against the Reds. They're 35-61 against everyone else.
Positives... positives... oh! Craig Tatum had two hits, raising his average to .150.

The ancient, mystical society of No-Homers will not stand for all these homers! Reds win, 6-4.

Brendanukkah — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 02:37:01 -0000

More photos » by David Kohl - AP

They're not solo home runs if you hit 'em in pairs! (AP Photo/David Kohl)

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Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Jonny Gomes. I'm so in the tank for this guy, you'd think I was obc. Gomes went 2-3 with a walk, hitting two solo homers that proved to be the margin of victory. Props to Joey Votto for getting the team fired up.

Key Plays

The game started out beautifully as Willy Taveras reached on a fielding error and Alex Gonzalez singled. Then Votto, unaccustomed to seeing runners on base, tried to check his swing on a third strike. The ump said he went around, Votto said that was fucking horseshit, and Dusty just kinda sat there. Votto got tossed, but he left the spirit of vengeance in the clubhouse. Brandon Phillips immediately went all Ghost Rider and hit a three run homer.
Willy Taveras threw out Kyle Blanks at the plate in the second. Wha?!
Jonny Gomes homered to lead off the Reds half of the second. Homer Bailey was staked to a four run lead against the light-hitting Padres. Cautious optimism crept into the fans.
Willy Taveras threw out Adrian Gonzalez at third base in the fourth. Clearly the time traveling toaster has altered the past and returned us to a world not our own. This is indeed a disturbing universe.
Edwin led off the Reds half of the fourth with a home run into the upper deck.
In the fifth inning, the Padres finally got on the board. Kyle Blanks doubled, then came home on a single by Luis Rodriguez.
Back to back homers by Everth Cabrera and Adrian Gonzalez made it a 5-3 game. Red Reporters shifted nervously in their seats.
GOMES! In the bottom of the sixth, Gomes hit his second homer of the night and tenth of the year to put the Reds back up by three.
And so it would stay until Coco Cordero allowed a home run to Kevin Kouzmanoff before retiring the side. Reds win!

FanGraphs

Other Notes

This was Cordero's first save since July 19, and only his second since July 8.
Votto had been thrown out once before for arguing a called third strike, on July 12 against the Mets. Different umpiring crew, for those of you who are persecution minded.
Our outfield featured a player who finished second in Rookie of the Year voting (Taveras), a player who finished third in Rookie of the Year voting (Gomes), and a guy who spells his name with a Y. On the injured list are Jay Bruce (5th, RoY) and Chris Dickerson and Ryan Hanigan, who should have gotten consideration this year. Joey Votto of course finished second in RoY voting last year. Mostly I'm including this because I was unaware Gomes had finished so high, but it's worth remembering that we do have some good young talent on this team.
Homer Bailey tied a career high with 7.1 innings. He has a non-losing record for the first time since the end of his debut season.

Final - 7.27.2009	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
San Diego Padres	0	0	0	0	1	2	0	0	1	4	7	1
Cincinnati Reds	3	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	X	6	5	0
WP: Homer Bailey (2 - 2) SV: Francisco Cordero (23) LP: Josh Geer (1 - 7)

Complete Coverage >

Austin Kearns' Walk-Off Single Wins IT!! (Not A Typo!!) Washington Nationals 3, San Diego Padres 2.

Ed Chigliak — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 21:26:16 -0000

More photos » by Evan Vucci - AP

4 months ago: Washington Nationals' Austin Kearns, foreground, just right of center, is mobbed by teammates after hitting a game-winning single in the 10th inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres on Sunday, July 26, 2009, in Washington. The Nationals defeated the Padres 3-2. From left is Ronnie Belliard, Anderson Hernandez, Ryan Zimmerman, Josh Bard, Kearns and Alberto Gonzalez. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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Unbelieveable...

When Adam Dunn’s RBI single in the bottom of the eighth put DC up 2-1, it looked like the Nationals might finally reach 30 wins. John Lannan had been lifted for a pinch hitter after 8.0 IP, so DC closer Mike MacDougal made his way to the mound. Top of the ninth, 2-1 Washington, and the Nationals' closer on to end it. MacDougal got Chase Headley, uh, chasing a sinking two-strike fastball inside at 97 mph. Kevin Kouzmanoff popped out No. 2 up over second, and MacDougal just had to get the hulking, .188 hitting, infielder Kyle Blanks. Blanks gets a first pitch fastball at 97 mph and demolishes it...oh no...deeep to left and GONE!! Tie game. 2-2 Unbelievable...(only if you’ve just joined the Nationals’ ‘09 Season In Progress...)

Even More Improbable...

When Dunn's winner didn't win it, and the Nationals went down in order in the ninth, it didn't look good for DC. Mike MacDougal, who came back for the tenth, gave up a one-out single to Eliezer Alfonzo, and was lifted for left-hander Joe Beimel. Beimel got back to back flyouts from Drew Macias and Everth Cabrera, and the Nationals got their second chance to walk off with a winner. Padres' righty Greg Burke took over on the hill and gave up a bunt single to "Everyone's Favorite" Nyjer Morgan. A sac bunt by Willie Harris moved Morgan to second. Burke walked Nick Johnson to face Zimmerman and the Padres' pitcher popped up the Face of The Nationals' Franchise to bring up the slumping, defeated, popless Austin "Blue Grass" Kearns. Burke throws outside for ball one, and then tries to come inside, Kearns turns it inside out, lining to right center and into the gap, Morgan rounds third, and scores easily!!! AUSTIN KEARNS WITH THE WALK-OFF WINNER!!! Austin Kearns who has hitting .196 going into the game...Austin Kearns who hasn't had an RBI since June 27th. That Austin Kearns, who has never quit or complained. That Austin Kearns wins it.

Nationals win, 3-2 final.

Miss The Excitement? The DC Faithful Were Watching!!!

Check Out The Gaslamp Ball GameThread...(We Totally Outcommented Them)

BACKPAGE:

• "Cool Hand" Lannan Deserved The "W"

For The Completists, Full Game Report After The JUMP...

Nationals now 30-68.

BACKPAGE:

• "Cool Hand" Lannan Deserved The "W"

DC lefty and yes, "Ace" John "Cool Hand" Lannan allowed just one run on five hits in eight innings pitched this afternoon, and when he was lifted after 81 pitches, 59 of which were strikes, and Adam Dunn hit his RBI single in the bottom of the frame, it looked like Lannan was in line for his 8th win of '09. Mike MacDougal blew it, of course, but that shouldn't lessen Lannan's effort. 11 groundouts, 10 flyouts, 2 K's and just 1 walk issued. After a 19-pitch first inning, Lannan needs just 30 pitches to get the Nationals through the top of the fifth. Lannan gave up two doubles in the sixth, and the second one by Kevin Kouzmanoff scored Will Venable, who'd hit the first two-bagger, for a 1-0 Padres' lead. Lannan got a fly ball from Kyle Blanks for the final out of the sixth, and returned for the seventh and eighth, holding the Padres to one run long enough for DC to catch up and take the lead.

GAME REPORT:

San Diego Padres At Washington Nationals. Game 98 Of 162.

Everth Cabrera’s on with an infield single when a grounder bounces off Nick Johnson’s gloved hand. John "Cool Hand" Lannan gets a fly ball to deep right center from Will Venable. Cabrera moves himself up, stealing second with Chase Headley at bat. Headley flies out to Adam Dunn in left. Willie Harris makes a hop-step as he catches Kevin Kouzmanoff’s liner, and Lannan’s through the first...Willie Harris works the count full against Chad Gaudin and takes a 10-pitch walk. Nick "Two-Spot" Johnson's at bat when Willie Harris is thrown out at second. Johnson grounds out to Oscar Salazar at first. Ryan Zimmerman takes strike three low and inside, but the Ump likes it.

Kyle Blanks flies out to Josh Willingham in right. Oscar Salazar gets a fastball up high for a swinging K. Luis Rodriguez singles on a line drive to right, and Eliezer Alfonzo gets a grounder through John Lannan and up the middle. But Lannan gets a groundout from the pitcher to complete his second scoreless...Adam Dunn grounds into the percentages. Josh Willingham pops out foul of first. Josh Bard lines a two-out single to center. Gaudin gets Alberto "The General" Gonzalez to chase junk out of the zone.

John Lannan snags grounder back to the mound from Everth Cabrera and a fly ball to right from Will Venable. Ryan Zimmerman throws high to first, but close enough to get Chase Headley...Luis Rodriguez does a Jeter-jump throw to get Anderson "Elvis" Hernandez at first. John Lannan hits a bloop single to left. Willie Harris walks to put two on for "Two-Spot" Johnson. Nick Johnson flies out to the track in left. Ryan Zimmerman K’s looking, this time Gaudin goes outside with the two-strike heater.

Ryan Zimmerman throws to first to get Kevin Kouzmanoff for the first out of the fourth. Kyle Blanks pops out behind second. John Lannan fields a grounder to the mound from Oscar Salazar and throws to first to end a quick frame...Adam Dunn flies out to left for the first out of the frame. Josh Willingham K’s swinging over a 2-1 slider. Josh Bard pops out to the catcher.

John Lannan gets a weak grounder to third from Luis Rodriguez that Zimmerman handles. Alberto Gonzalez throws out Eliezer Alfonzo and Lannan gets a grounder to second from the pitcher...Alberto Gonzalez sends a spinner to first, Chad Gaudin fields and makes the tag. Anderson Hernandez gets jammed and grounds out to second. John Lannan lines a two-out single to right, but Willie Harris’ fly ball to center ends the fifth.

Everth Cabrera grounds out to Alberto Gonzalez at short. Will Venable doubles off the left center wall with one down. Chase Headley grounds to left for Adam Dunn who makes the catch, spins and throws back in. Kevin Kouzmanoff flies to right center, Josh Willingham dives but misses, Willie Harris retrieves it, but Venable scores, 1-0 Padres. Kyle Blanks flies out to right and it’s 1-0 in the sixth...Nick Johnson flies out to Will Venable in center. Ryan Zimmerman pops out to Luis Rodriguez behind second. Adam Dunn grounds to first, Oscar Salazar’s throw to Gaudin covering is on the mark.

Oscar Salazar pops the first pitch of the seventh straight up. Luis Rodriguez grounds out to second. Alberto Gonzalez throws a strike to first to get Eliezer Alfonso for the final out of the frame...Josh Willingham takes Chad Gaudin’s hanging curve to left and just over the wall for a solo shot and a 1-1 game. Josh Bard flies out to center. Alberto Gonzalez drops a hanging curve in short right for a one-out single. Adrian Gonzalez steps on first and throws to second, Everth Cabrera makes the tag cause he has to, double play.

Tony Gwynn, Jr. flies out to Dunn in left center. John Lannan issues a one-out walk to Everth Cabrera. Will Venable up, and Lannan picks Cabrera off first!!! Picked!! Will Venable K’s chasing a two-strike bender...Luke Gregorson vs Nyjer Morgan. Morgan flies out weakly to center. TAWH lines a single to right in front of the "Two-Spot". Nick Johnson grounds to short, Cabrera tosses to Luis Rodriguez, who drops it, both runners safe and Zimmerman up with two on. Ryan Zimmerman K’s looking at a fastball outside, or so he thinks. Adam Dunn gets down low to get a sinking fastball that he rips for an RBI single, 2-1 DC!! Josh Willingham pops out to the infield to end the eighth.

Chase Headley goes down swinging for the first out of the ninth. Mike MacDougal gets a fly ball from Kevin Kouzmanoff out to Anderson Hernandez for the second out and Kyle Blanks is up next. First pitch GONE!! HR TO LEFT and it’s tied at 2-2. Unbelievable...only if you’ve just joined the Nationals’ ‘09 Season In Progress...Adrian Gonzalez grounds out to end the Padres’ ninth...Josh Bard grounds out to second. Alberto Gonzalez grounds weakly to second. Anderson "Elvis" Hernandez K’s hacking to end the ninth.

Luis Rodriguez lines out for the first out of the tenth. Mike MacDougal gives up a one-out single to Eliezer Alfonzo who lines to left. MacDougal’s done. Joe Beimel’s on to face Drew Macias. Macias flies out harmlessly to left. Everth Cabrera pops out to short center and it’s 2-2 middle of the tenth...Nyjer Morgan drops a perfect bunt and beats the throw to first. Willie Harris against Padres’ reliever Greg Burke. Willie Harris gets a successful sac bunt down. Nick Johnson gets the intentionals when Burke falls behind and Ryan Zimmerman’s up with two on and one out. Zimmerman flies out to center. Austin Kearns rips a line drive to the right center gap and it falls in!! Nationals win when Morgan scores!!! 3-2 final on Kearns’ walk-off win!!! KEARNS? KEARNS??

Nationals win, 3-2 final.

San Diego Padres, Baffled By Rain, Drop 13-1 Decision To the Washington Nationals.

Ed Chigliak — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 06:38:32 -0000

More photos » by Evan Vucci - AP

4 months ago: Washington Nationals' Adam Dunn watches his grand slam leave the park against the San Diego Padres in the second inning of a baseball game on Saturday, July 25, 2009, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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It all went right tonight, except for the weather and the K's. The Washington Nationals scored 13 runs on 16 hits, with two home runs, one each by Ryan Zimmer--THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!! THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!! and Adam D---SHAKE N BAKE!!! SHAKE N BAKE!!! Ryan Zimmerman went deep in the first for his 17th HR, and the 2-run blast gave DC an early 2-0 lead over San Diego and their right-handed starter Tim Stauffer.

There was a three-hour and eleven minute rain delay in the bottom of the second, but the Nationals came back ready to play. Padres' right-hander Luis Perdomo took over on the mound and got Ronnie Belliard and Wil Nieves swinging to start the home-half of the frame. But then the Padres' 25-year-old right-hander walked Washington starter J.D. Martin, who was left in so DC didn't burn a player coming out of the delay. Nyjer Morgan singled Martin over to third, and the pitcher/walk scored on Cristian Guzman's RBI single. 3-0 DC. Ryan Zimmerman walked to bring up the Big Donkey, Adam Du---SHAKE N BAKE!! SHAKE N BAKE!! GRAND SLAM!!! 7-0 Nationals on Adam Dunn's 4-run blast to straight center...The Nationals scored six more, and after five hours and twenty-two minutes, they improved to 29-68 on the season with the 13-1 win.

Nationals win, 13-1.

Miss The Game? The DC Faithful Were Watching...

Check Out the SBN's Padres blog's GameThread...Gaslamp Ball

BACKPAGE:

K's, Hits and Runs.

Tyler Clippard Night At Nationals Park...

Doghouse: Game 97 TSF Rating.

For The Completists, Full Game Report After The JUMP...

Nationals now 29-68.

BACKPAGE: (under construction)...

• K's, Hits and Runs.

Of the 43 Nationals who stepped to the plate tonight in DC's Nationals Park, only 6 would ground out and just 3 would fly out. The Padres' pitchers, five of them total, collected 15 K's, (K-Leaders: Wil Nieves - 4, Nick Johnson -3, Ronnie Belliard -2), but they also gave up 16 H and 13 runs, every one of them earned, including the two Ryan Zimmerman (3 for 4, 3 RBI's) knocked in with his 17th HR and the four Adam Dunn (2 for 3, 5 RBI's) scored with his Grand Slam, which was his 25th HR of '09. Cristian Guzman goes 3 for 4 with 3 runs scored, Nyjer Morgan 4 for 5 with a triple and 3 singles, leaving the top four hitters in DC's lineup a combined 12 for 17 with 11 runs scored and 9 RBI's.

• Tyler Clippard Night At Nationals Park...

After the three-hour delay, DC starter J.D. Martin walked and scored a run in the Nationals' second, and was out for Nationals' reliever Tyler Clippard, who proceeded to pitch 4.0 scoreless over which he allowed just 1 hit and 1 walk while collecting 7 K's. Clippard ended his outing with a 1.93 ERA, 24 K's and his first win of the season, and he's now allowed 5 runs (4 earned), 11 hits and 8 walks in 18.2 IP in '09. The Nationals' 24-year-old reliever was called up in the last week of June after he'd gone (4-1) with 42 K's and an 0.92 ERA in 24 games and 39.0 IP with the Nationals' Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse. After allowing 3 hits and 2 ER in his first '09 appearance with DC, Clippard's given up just 2 earned runs in 16.2 IP.

• Doghouse: Game 97 TSF™ Rating.

GAME REPORT:

San Diego Padres At Washington Nationals. Game 97 Of 162.

Tony Gwynn, Jr flies out to Adam Dunn in left for the first out of the evening. D.C. right-hander J.D. Martin gives up a long fly to right to Everth Cabrera and it falls in against the wall for a one-out double. Nick Johnson trots to first to force out Adrian Gonzalez as Cabrera takes third. Kevin Kouzmanoff grounds to short, and J.D. Martin’s got a scoreless frame...Nyjer Morgan bounces one off the out-of-town scoreboard and takes an ill-advised turn around second, but he ends up safe when the relay bounces by Kouzmanoff. Cristian Guzman grounds to short...and Morgan’s caught in a rundown too far off third and tagged. Ryan Zimmerm....THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!! THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!!! Two-run HR to the red seats in the outfield. 2-0 Nationals. Adam Dunn beats the shift with a single through second. Nick Johnson chases a two-strike change off the plate. Josh Willingham flies out to Chase Headley in left to end the first.

Cristian Guzman’s standing near second in the shift and Chase Headley’s grounder supports the numbers. Nick Johnson fields and steps on first to retire Drew Macias. Luis Rodriguez takes a one-out walk from J.D. Martin. Ronnie Belliard can’t knock down a grounder from Jose Lobaton, so Rodriguez takes third...Three hours and ten minutes later, the opposing pitcher grounds out to end the top of the second...Padres’ righty Luis Perdomo is on the hill, when we come back...Ronnie Belliard and Wil Nieves both K swinging, but J.D. Martin works a two-out walk. Nyjer Morgan singles up the middle to move J.D. Martin from first to third. Cristian Guzman sends a slow chopper toward second, Everth Cabrera throws to first, late, Guzman beats it, Martin scores, 3-0 Nationals. Ryan Zimmerman walks to load the bases for Adam Dunn. Dunn takes a fastball to deeeeeeeeeeeeeeep center and GONE!! SHAKE N BAKE!! SHAKE N BAKE!!! SHAKE N BAKE!!!! 7-0 Nationals. Nick Johnson has a Discerning Eye, and he uses it to draw a two-out walk. Josh Willingham K’s swinging to finally end the second.

Tyler Clippard gets a fly ball to right from Tony Gwynn,Jr. Everth Cabrera singles deep in the hole at short, beating Guzman’s throw. Adrian Gonzalez takes strike three, but Clippard gets squeezed on a 1-2 fastball inside and eventually walks Gonzalez. Tyler Clippard throws a two-strike fastball by Kevin Kouzmanoff, who guessed wrong. Chase Headley flies out to Adam Dunn in left to end the top of the third...Ronnie Belliard grounds out on the first pitch he sees from Perdomo. Wil Nieves K’s swinging at some at a fastball inside and Perdomo gets Clippard swinging to end the third.

Clippard drops a two-strike bender on Drew Macias, who K’s swinging. Luis Rodriguez flies out to Adam Dunn in left. Jose Lobaton swings through a full-count fastball upstairs and Clippard’s through two scoreless...Nyjer Morgan makes Perdomo rush the throw on a swinging bunt, and Morgan takes second when the throw to first bounces. Cristian Guzman K’s swinging, which does no good at all. Ryan Zimmerman flies out to deep right, Drew Macias makes the catch. Adam Dunn gets called out looking a fastball that might have been outside.

Oscar Salazar gets a pinch hit opportunity in the fifth. Clippard throws a 94 mph fastball right by him for a swinging strike three. Clippard drops a 1-2 curve in on a befuddled Tony Gwynn. Everth Cabrera flies to center and Nyjer Morgan sprints in to make a catch at his waist...Right-hander Mike Ekstrom gets Nick Johnson swinging over a slider for the first out of the Nationals’ half. Josh Willingham hits the out-of-town scoreboard on one hop for a double with one down. Ronnie Belliard works the count full and walks. Wil Nieves K’s chasing junk out of the zone. Tyler Clippard gets a little of his own medicine as he K’s swinging through a fastball.

Tyler Clippard throws a two-strike fastball by Adrian Gonzalez. Kevin Kouzmanoff pops out behind second. Headley K’s and Clippard’s through the top of the sixth...Nyjer Morgan lines a single to left to start the DC sixth. Guzman singles off Ekstrom to put two on in front of Ryan Zimmerman. Zim doubles to right, Morgan scores, 8-0 Nationals. Guzman takes third on Zim’s double and scores on Dunn’s sac fly. 9-0. Willingham singles, Zim scores, 10-0. Ronnie Belliard gets a new pitcher, Joe Thatcher, who comes on for Ekstrom. Belliard K’s when he can’t hold up on a slider outside.

Logan Kensing starts the seventh inning at just after 12:19 pm EST. Drew Macias draws a leadoff walk. Luis Rodriguez gets one to the warning track in center where Nyjer Morgan makes the grab. Jose Lobaton grounds to second, Anderson Hernandez to Guzman to Nick Johnson at first, double play!...Padres’ left-hander Joe Thatcher’s back. Wil Nieves K’s swinging over a nasty curve. Austin Kearns grounds out to Luis Rodriguez at second. Nyjer Morgan K’s chasing a curve that breaks away and under his bat.

Joe Beimel gets pinch hitter Will Venable swinging. Tony Gwynn, Jr.’s sharp grounder hops on and gets by Nick Johnson for a one-out single. Everth Cabrera lines to right, Gwynn moves to second, 1 down, 2 on for Kyle Blanks. Ryan Zimmerman fields Banks’ grounder and steps on third for the force. Kevin Kouzmanoff lines a single to left and Cabrera scores to make it 10-1 DC. Eliezer Alfonzo grounds back to the mound to end the top of the frame...Cristian Guzman lines a single to center off Edward Mujica. Ryan Zimmerman goes the other way with a single, Guzman to second, and each of them move up a base when Anderson Hernandez singles. Nick Johnson lines a trademark single to right to score two and make it 12-1 Nationals. Willie Harris grounds into a force at second that scores Anderson Hernandez, 13-1 Nationals. Alberto Gonzalez grounds to short, Everth Cabrera to Luis Rodriguez to Adrian Gonzalez, double play.

Mike MacDougal on. Alberto Gonzalez catches a pop out Drew Macias. Luis Rodriguez grounds out to short and Jose Lobaton flies out to finally end the game. 5 hours after it started...13-1 final.

Nationals now 29-68.

SB Nation - Luis Rodriguez

NL West in Review: Shortstops

Arizona

2009 in Review

2010 in Preview

Colorado

2009 in Review

2010 in Preview

Los Angeles

2009 in Review

2010 in Preview

San Diego

2009 in Review

2010 in Preview

2009 in Review

2010 in Preview

Free Agent Friday: Second Base 2010

NL West in Review: 2nd Basemen

Introduction

Method

Results

Arizona

2009 in Review

2010 in Preview

Colorado

2009 in Review

2010 in Preview

Los Angeles

2009 in Review

2010 in Preview

San Diego

2009 in Review

2010 in Preview

San Francisco

2009 in Review

2010 in Preview

Twins Second Base In 2010: The Devil You Know?

Where will the starting second baseman come from in 2010?

The Devil You Know (Internal)

The Devil You've Probably Heard Of (External)

Padres Anagrams

San Diego has become spoilers deluxe

San Diego Padres (63-78, W2, 4th, 20 GB)

Friday-Sunday: 3-game series at Petco Park

The Bats: D+

The Arms: D

Probable Pitchers:

Will the Rockies be the next victim to Bud Black's spoiler hex?

Heck no. The Rockies are rolling and playing like the best team in the National League. A sweep means another doubel digit win streak.

Not exactly, but the Padres will take a game. You never know when a no name pitcher goes nuts at Petco. It may be Esmil, but it just takes one Clayton Richard to ruin a sweep

I believe in hexes. There's no way we get swept. The Padres didn't sweep anyone else in their streak (Washington doesn't count), but they are a legit force.

Yep. Gut punch sweep.

101 Damnations. Reds lose 7-4.

Final - 7.30.2009 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 RHE San Diego Padres 1 1 0 0 4 0 1 0 0 7 11 0 Cincinnati Reds 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 4 9 0 WP: Tim Stauffer (1 - 2) LP: Johnny Cueto (8 - 8) Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Key Plays

Other News

The ancient, mystical society of No-Homers will not stand for all these homers! Reds win, 6-4.

Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Key Plays

Other Notes

Austin Kearns' Walk-Off Single Wins IT!! (Not A Typo!!) Washington Nationals 3, San Diego Padres 2.

San Diego Padres, Baffled By Rain, Drop 13-1 Decision To the Washington Nationals.

Final - 7.30.2009 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E

San Diego Padres 1 1 0 0 4 0 1 0 0 7 11 0

Cincinnati Reds 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 4 9
0

WP: Tim Stauffer (1 - 2)
LP: Johnny Cueto (8 - 8)

Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game