I wonder if the Padres realize what they sound like when speaking to the media. They're all running through the Bull Durham soundbites and it makes me wonder if they're even paying attention. At some point, they've gotta just loosen up. It should be painfully obvious to everybody on the team that they aren't getting traded any time soon (because they suck) so why not loosen it up and just get out and fun?

Or maybe they are loose. In which case, they should tighten.

In any case, whatever attitude they have has seriously screwed with their perceptions of reality. Take Hensley for example:

"I felt pretty good," Hensley said. "I just think a couple pitches got away from me. It hurt. I think the results were probably a little worse than I felt tonight.

"I felt like I could have executed some pitches better," he added, "but for the most part I think I felt all right."

See? Somebody needs to remind Clay that 6 earned over 5 innings should never feel "pretty good", especially when "it hurt". Masochist.

In reference to a 27 year old rookie with a (previously) 19.50 ERA off 13 runs in 6 innings, Bud's take:

"He's in the Major Leagues for a reason," Padres manager Bud Black said. "Maybe those numbers aren't indicative of his talent."

And maybe... Juuuust maybe... Your team is terrible. Maaaaaybe the numbers are indicative of his talent and him shutting your team out for six innings is indicative of your team's talent, or even worse for you, your talent as a manager.

The worst part of it all. I'm 99% positive that the one bright spot in this season, the starting pitching, has mailed it in and is waiting for the offseason with a minimum of wear and tear. I'm not saying that anybody's looking to lose games, but it becomes awfully tempting to just ease up on a couple pitches if it means getting out of a game with a 70 pitch count and an early rest. That's my perspective.

Just saying.