Brian Giles gets one game winning hit. Does that mean his slump is over? If you write article titles for the UT then, yes it does. Giles' slump, Padres' skid both end with one swing. Giles is still hitting .164, but he had a hit and two walks. Maybe this is the beginning of the end.
"This whole game's based on confidence, no matter how long of a career you've had," said Giles, who also had two walks. "I've been through this before. I was worse off in '04. ... Usually it happens in the middle of the season or the end of the year, when you've got some numbers to back you up."
Remember how the good times came to an end and we had a three game losing streak going into yesterday's game. I sure do. It seemed even longer than it was because of the two off days. Jody Gerut doesn't know anything about this so called "losing streak".
"We had a losing streak?" said Padres leadoff man Jody Gerut. "It never felt like a losing streak. That's another good thing about this team."
Also remember how everyone was worried about Adrian Gonzalez's thumb would be seriously injured because he was hit by a liner up the first base line? Guess who wasn't worried... Jody Gerut.
Said Gerut: "Gonzo's like in a bubble. He's protected. I wasn't worried. He's in a bubble, kind of like Albert Pujols."
Cliff Floyd is sick of being injured. If you remember Kevin Towers said that Floyd would probably start a rehab assignment in Lake Elsinore, but those plans have been scrapped.
"Doctors are a little concerned about parts of the knee," Black said.
Baek however is ready to go. His rehab assignment should start Monday when he's scheduled to throw 60 pitches. He'll need at least three starts before they consider taking him off the disabled list.
"I was so excited in spring training," Baek said. "It's been difficult. ... But today I feel wonderful."
We were at the game last night and here were some topics of discussion:
- Could any of the players throw a ball from home plate, down the right field line, over the wall, into the Petco Porch? I think it's 350+ feet and the wall is like 10 ft high. We threw a baseball on a football field at got it about 70 yards with our weak arms, so it might be possible. Running start and crow hop are okay.
- We sure would like to see the Padres mix up the ball girls. They are the same every year. Let's have some variety. Glad they are being made to wear batting helmets though. Security and umpires don't wear helmets. I'm surprised umpires haven't been forced to wear any yet.
- Got the Five for $5 last night. That is some kinda nice deal. I got the veggie hot dog again. I'm not a vegetarian but after eating too many old hot dogs last year when they were selling for a dollar, I can't get back on the horse. Veggie dogs are good, I recommend them. You also get a soda, bag of peanuts, bag of popcorn and a cookie. The bag of popcorn reminded me the old days when you could buy a bag of popcorn three feet tall at Price Club. That's how delicious it was. We were talking about how it's such a great deal that the Padres will start phasing it out next year. First it will only be a very few food stands, then it will be only on certain days, then you'll get three items for $5 dollars and then it will one day disappear. Eat up while you can.