I'm really not that pissed at all. Trevor's gonna blow some saves. He's still a pretty damn good closer. Yeah, he should have never walked Cruz. But if Adrian catches that ball by Pence, we're all in a different mood today.

All in all, I thought we played pretty well yesterday. I'm loving our offense and our pitching looks to be pretty solid.

As I said in the thread last night, Trevor blew two in April last year and then made it halfway thru the summer before it happened again. And I think it was SammyG who pointed out a month or two ago that the majority of closers in baseball this season are either unknowns or aren't really closers. I'll stick with Trevor.

No one jumped all over Maddux at the beginning of the game when he gave up two bombs. No one screamed "RETIRE!"

Let's focus on the positives from last night - Giles, Gerut, Huber/jbox, A-Go and sdsuaztec4 leaving the thread. Those were all great things and they are getting lost in the hysteria.

I like our chances with Wolf on the mound. It should help negate the daytime factor of Petco that allows fly balls to fly out of there.

And I'm not trying to defend Trevor here, but did anyone else notice that Maddux's change wasn't dropping last nite? That, combined with 6 HRs, make it seem like maybe it was a bad nite for finesse pitchers.

A frustrating loss. But I still would rather take my chances with Trevor.

Trevor has now blown 3 of his last 4 saves.

If you are in a position where you have the choice of either:

(a) throwing the change, crossing your fingers, and hoping you didn't just give up a 9th inning walk,

or,

(b) grooving that 82mph heat right in someone's wheelhouse.

Why do (a) with Jose Cruz, Jr. ("We named the dog Indiana"), and (b) with Berkman?

Why finesse the guy who hit 6 homeruns last year, and challenge the guy who hit that many after breakfast today?

Does Barrett call the pitches? I thought he gets the signals from the dugout.

I don't put that completely on Barrett. Maddux had an off game.

Otherwise, I say Glen Hoffman is to blame for P-Mac popping up two bunts.

Before I get into the whole Trevor thing...I need to understand what you meant by your comments about the way Barrett "called" the game.

First off, how do we even know if he was the calling the pitch selection? How do we know he wasn't getting that directly from the dugout? I think blaming Barrett for calling a "weaksauce game" is incredibly presumptuous.

While I agree with you that Jake at times is a "smart" pitcher...there are times when his heart gets the best of him and he makes poor decisions. To say he's the only guy on the staff "that could basically call his own game the whole way through" is crazy. Maddux understands pitching better than anyone in that rotation...maybe even better than anyone in the game. He understands his limitations...whereas Jake sometimes does not.

One last thing, to say that I have an "irrational tendency to overreact to circumstances" is flat-out f**king bullsh*t and I am appalled at your baseless accusation. I will never forget this, Dex. Ever.

is saying Trevor should be a setup man...

For Cla Meredith. Jeez.

...Skip Bayless is right.

As much as I admire Heat, I think his role is as the 7th/8th inning important-part-of-the-lineup guy. Cla was the closer for the UofR Spiders and while in the Boston system. He has the make up to be a successful major league closer.

Why do you think he's pitched the ninth inning in all the four-run lead games the last two years (not a statistical save, but he is finishing the game alot, even already this year)

Heat is like old Linebrink or Broxton, an intimidating flame thrower to come in and get your 2,3,4,5 hitters and pass the baton. He does his job and he does it well. But I wouldn't annoint him the closer in waiting.

By the end of the year, i'd like to see the 7th,8th,9th guys reversed from Cla, Heat, Trevor....

HELL BELL NO TREVR MUSTB;EH DESTYOUDS!

...before Trevor's job title/responsibilities is/are adjusted?

Is there a number or ratio? A certain amount of consecutive days/weeks/months of poor performance?

I'm curious to hear from those who aren't already calling for his head.

I personally think it would be offensive to change closers right now, given Trevor's history with the club. Not that he hasn't pushed me to the limits of sanity, and made me cut myself to forget about the pain-- the real pain, the Black Pain in My Heart-- but he's clearly earned the honor and right to close games for the Pads.

What I expect from Trevor this year is what the Indians got from the back of their bullpen last year. A closer who racks up saves despite an unsettling ERA & WHIP, who has a dominant 8th inning guy(s) in front of him.

i had a weird thought this morning about trevor's blown save. and i wonder if it didn't have a little bit to do with maddux.

one of the keys for a manager working the bullpen is to continually switch-up what the hitters are seeing so that they can't get comfortable. i'm wondering if the starting pitcher would effect how batters see trevor's pitches on any given night. they would have to, right?

if a hitter is seeing peavy's 95mph fastball all night, even though peavy might be out of the game it's going to make trevor's changeup that much more effective. i would assume anyways. so when the starting pitcher is throwing 85mph fastballs and mixing in a very good changeup, and then the closer comes in throwing 85mph fastballs and a very good changeup.....the hitter is immediately familiar with the speeds and can be a little bit more comfortable in the box.

not that it would happen (and i'd be one of the last to ask trevor to stop being our everyday closer), but i'd almost believe that it would be better to use Bell to close for Maddux, Germano and Wolf (i think he's a soft-thrower. i don't know enough about him though) and Trevor to close to Peavy and Young.

I don't really have much else to say other that... Well, and that Kevin Towers' arguments for why Trevor will ONLY be effective as a 9th inning guy (e.g., how he uses hitters' impatience to get outs) should be required reading before saying ANYTHING about his relief role. You don't necessarily have to agree with those reasons, but at least know them.

The thing is, once Trevor blew the save last night, he blew it hard.

He had the bottom of the order of a thoroughly unimpressive offense. He gives up a run? Fine. That happens. Padres have the bottom of the 9th to work it out. But that sort of spectacular implosion with the Berkman shot is what gets us all worked up and worried. And memories are still fresh from Game 163, I'd imagine.

Anyway, this morning it looks a little better. It was just another game, and the Padres have a lot of them to go. Silly to get too worked up over one tough loss.

17 LOB is one of them.
Maddux giving up 3 hrs.
Berkman allowed to steal 3rd base.