There went my prediction for a Padres sweep. Maybe the Lakeside Little League All-Stars will do better than our Padres. They couldn't do worse.
Richard laments about the sacrifice bunt and its proper use, so I won't go over that again even though it irked me as well. Instead I'll just mention that it really isn't against the law to leave a pitcher in for more than an inning if he's dealing pretty well. We watched Linebrink and Hammond cruise. Stauffer was going pretty well. Not one of those guys could've stuck it out for another inning? I mean, come on. Also, the first pitch strike is important, Aki, but it's not that important. If you're not going to locate a really nice breaking ball, or a solid fastball on the outside corner, then I don't mind if you lose one, personally. Actually, that one Aki really lost hurt quite a bit too, so maybe don't lose any at all.
Also, it's not such a bad thing for the team to do really little things like return to first base on a pop fly out. Or better yet, if the coaching staff could do the really little things like remind the players how many outs there are, and where they should go. No joke, if your team is playing like little leaguers, somebody's gonna have to remind them of the fundamentals.
Good luck, Padres. You're gonna need it.
(Five game losing streak gets us a bitter open thread.)
Filed under: