Kuzul

They were called the Cinderella team of 2010: a collection of second-hand, ragtag players who stepped it up all season long and put together a season of shock and awe in San Diego.

Now, with just three games left in the regular season, all the magic potions in the universe may not be enough to help the San Diego Padres.

In the last of a four-game set with the Chicago Cubs, the Padres could only muster three hits in a crippling 1-0 loss, their second such defeat in the series.

San Diego scored a total of five runs in the four-game series and was held without a hit today from the third inning on.

That kind of offense won’t win a Triple-A division, let alone the National League West.

It’s been said that it’s not necessarily the best team that wins championships, but the hottest. The Padres certainly don’t qualify in that regard.

Since the last week of August, the Padres have averaged less than three runs scored per game. No matter how good the pitching staff, and the San Diego staff have certainly held their own, that type of production during the last month of the season in a heated pennant race doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.

This weekend, the Padres travel to the Bay Area to take on the team hell-bent on sending them to the golf links next week: the San Francisco Giants.

The Giants will send Matt Cain, Barry Zito, and Jonathan Sanchez to the mound for the season-ending three-game set, hoping to close it out tomorrow night. The Giants’ magic number to clinch the NL West is one, and only one win is needed to snuff the hopes of the Padres.

The Atlanta Braves have a say in the matter as well, leading the wild-card race by two games. One Padres loss combined with a Braves win shuts the Padres out of the playoffs altogether.

The Padres can only blame one thing: themselves. In an interview with Associated Press writer Bernie Wilson, Padres outfielder Ryan Ludwick said, “I think it’s disappointing the fact we haven’t played our best baseball at times this month.”

“But everyone who goes out there is giving their best effort. It’s tough. We all take our job very seriously. We want to win. We want to perform. Unfortunately, as of late, it’s been kind of a rough go.”

Kind of a rough go? More like a nightmare. Mike and the Mechanics had it right—all the Padres need is a miracle.

Doug is a featured columnist for Examiner.com and Green Celebrity Network.

For continuing sports updates and coverage, you can follow Doug on Twitter @ Sports_A_Holic.

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What do you think of when you read or hear “Every Four Years?” The Presidential elections?  The Olympics?  World Cup Soccer?

Nope, not if you are a fan of the San Diego Padres‘ infielder David Eckstein.

“Every Four Years” means David Eckstein wins a World Series.

In 2002, the biggest little man in major league baseball helped lead the then-Anaheim Angels to a World Series championship over the San Francisco Giants. The 5’7″, 175 lb. Eckstein led the majors with three grand slams that season.

In 2006, Eckstein was named World Series MVP for the champion St. Louis Cardinals.  Following a 1-for-11 start at the plate in the first two games of the World Series, Eckstein finished 8-for-22 with four RBI and scored three runs.

The World Series victory with the Cardinals placed Eckstein in elite company as one of few starting shortstops who have won a World Series in both the American and National Leagues.

Flash forward to 2010. It just so happens to be four years since Eckstein’s last World Series title, and the Padres are in the midst of an NL West pennant race.

As Dick Enberg put it in last Wednesday’s broadcast against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Adrian Gonzalez has been the Friars’ Most Valuable Player, but Eckstein has been the team’s most clutch player, while also mentoring younger players with his outstanding work ethic and hustle on each and every play.

Eckstein is the only infielder in major league baseball this year with at least 80 games played and no errors.   Despite missing 28 games because of a calf strain, Eckstein has played in 105 games this season and provided near-flawless defense.

In a recent poll of 313 major league players conducted by Sports Illustrated, Eckstein was chosen as the player who had gotten the most out of his talent. He got 25 percent of the votes, well ahead of the 13 percent earned by Boston‘s Dustin Pedroia.

In this new-age style of baseball, reliant on power numbers and jaw-dropping statistics, Eckstein has relied on another outlet to get the job done: his heart. 

Wherever David Eckstein has played, winning has followed. 

Entering the final week of the 2010 regular season a half-game behind the San Francisco Giants in the NL West, Eckstein and the Padres are on a collision course for a pivotal three-game series in San Francisco this weekend. 

If Eckstein can help bring the city of San Diego its first professional championship, he might have to consider taking his “Every Four Years” regime from the playing field to politics.

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Miguel Tejada is playing grown man baseball at a grown-up time for the San Diego Padres.

Tejada became the 129^th player in MLB history to reach 300 homers Wednesday evening against the Los Angeles Dodgers. But that isn’t the only milestone the 36-year-old veteran is looking to accomplish this season. 

It has been seven years since Tejada has played in the postseason. Both he and the Padres are in search of their first World Series ring.

Acquired the day before the July 31^st trade deadline, the Padres’ acquisition of Tejada didn’t resonate throughout the MLB headlines for long.  Yet, it is tough to argue in favor of any other deadline pickup having more of an impact.

Tejada has eight homers in 194 at-bats for the Padres after hitting just seven in 401 at-bats for Baltimore earlier this season. He is also batting .273 with 28 RBI in just 49 games.

The Padres initially acquired Tejada for his veteran bat and presence. While he has surprised Padres management with his glove, he hasn’t surprised himself.

“We discussed the options [when Tejada was acquired]: left field, third base, second,” manager Bud Black told the San Diego Union-Tribune.  “Then we put him at shortstop and we watched just to see what we had.”

What the Padres saw was a 14-year veteran, six-time All-Star, and 2002 MVP with serviceable range that has committed just two errors in 49 games.

“I feel like I can get to any ball that anybody hits.” Tejada told the Union-Tribune. “I really had it in my mind I could still play short, my natural position. I was training in the off season to keep my legs really strong, to keep in good shape just in case somebody needs me to play short.”

Eligible for free agency at season’s end, Tejada would prefer to stay put. Given the uncertain future of Everth Cabrera and the free agency of David Eckstein and Jerry Hairston Jr., the Padres may be in need of multiple middle infielders next season.

“He’s been valuable,” Bud Black said of Tejada. “I think (keeping him) is definitely worth discussion as we move into the winter.”

“I would love to stay here,” Tejada said. “I love to play with the young guys. I love this team. Right now, I’m enjoying the moment. I enjoy the situation right now and I try to take it one day at a time.”

Tejada has a negative image in the court of public opinion due to previous alleged steroid allegations and pleading guilty to one count of perjury on Feb. 11, 2009 for lying to Congress.

Those will be interesting facts in building a Cooperstown Hall of Fame case for Tejada someday.

By the time he’s eligible, he’ll likely rank second or third all-time for homers by a shortstop and somewhere between fifth and seventh in RBI. He also won an MVP award and amassed a very impressive consecutive games streak—162 games in six straight seasons from 2001-2006.

It’s safe to say a World Series ring in 2010 would bolster his Cooperstown resume. 

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The Padres have been leading the NL West for virtually the whole season. Recently, a week or so ago they extended their lead to 6.5 games over the Giants. 

At this point, the team showed no signs of slowing down. Their pitching was still magnificent and their hitting was getting it done. 

The Padres also seemed to show no signs of having a major weakness, even though they didn’t have a major strong point besides their pitching staff. 

It has surprised me, as a San Francisco Giants fan, that the Padres entire pitching staff has been so successful though. 

Garland? Richard? LeBlanc? Correia? Everyone of these guys has had an average to above average year so far. But how have they continued this success throughout the whole year? Well it may be the teams that they have been playing, and their schedule having a big part of it because they were a last-place team last season.

Their ace, Mat Latos, this season is a rookie. He has been absolutely outstanding the entire season. He has the poise of a veteran out there on the mound, but you have to remember that he is still a rookie. Down the stretch he may falter a bit, but we will have to see.

So what are the reasons for this Padres losing streak? 

Well since the Padres do not have a prolific scoring attack in their arsenal, they rely almost entirely on their pitching. There are exceptions though. Since the Padres have been playing teams with mediocre or worse pitching staffs almost all season, they can still win without a perfect pitching performance.

But now that the Friars schedule has started to get harder, they are faltering a bit. They have been playing small ball all year long, and this has worked when playing weaker teams and by pitching well. How many times have you seen them score on sacrifice flies, RBI groundouts, or heads-up plays? 

Too many to count. That has been a main part of their offense, but things are changing. They can’t play small ball if their pitching fails them against the Phillies or Cardinals, and the Padres don’t have enough of a scoring threat to overcome large deficits.

Once in a while it may happen, but their home ballpark isn’t Coors Field, where all you need is a broom and a whiffle ball to hit one out. They are playing in a pitchers’ friendly ballpark where comebacks are scarce.

They can still overcome this losing streak and win the West, but there is a long road ahead of them.

They have to fend off the pesky Colorado Rockies first, who are slowly creeping up in the standings. Then the Giants come in town for a four-game series on Thursday. This will be a huge part of the season for both teams.

The Giants are now only two games back in the division, and are gradually building momentum, while the Padres have hit a brick wall. 

The Padres have to dig deep to stay in first place and reach the postseason, but with their lack of experience how will they do down the stretch? 

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The great thing about the sport of baseball is that you can debate the players, stats, teams, and anything else you can think of until you are blue in the face.

That is what makes baseball fun. No other sport can stir up the debates that baseball can.

However, one thing in baseball is not debatable is that the San Diego Padres have baseball’s best bullpen so far in 2010. From day one they have been dealing, and they haven’t slowed down since.

Padre relievers lead all of baseball in bullpen ERA (2.81), BAA (.214), OPS against (.606), WHIP (1.07), and K/9 (9.7). That, my friends, is called getting it done.

What is more fascinating than how the Padres’ bullpen is dominating hitters is how they came together. The Padres’ bullpen came together as a bunch of throw-ins and cast-offs.

Let’s take a closer look at how the Padres’ 2010 bullpen came to be…

Heath Bell: Traded by the New York Mets in November of 2006 with Royce Ring to the San Diego Padres for Jon Adkins and Ben Johnson. Bell has a 2.56 ERA and 81 saves in four years in a Padres uniform.

Luke Gregerson: Sent by the St. Louis Cardinals to the San Diego Padres in March of 2009 to complete an earlier deal made on December 4, 2008. The St. Louis Cardinals sent a player to be named later and Mark Worrell to the San Diego Padres for Khalil Greene.

Gregerson has a 3.01 ERA with 11 K’s/9 in two seasons in a Padres uniform. I think the Cardinals would love to have him back.

Mike Adams: Traded by the Cleveland Indians in July of 2006 to the San Diego Padres for Brian Sikorski. Adams was once released by the Padres in 2007 and no team picked him up, so San Diego picked him back up. Since then he has a 1.84 ERA in 152 innings.

Joe Thatcher: Traded by the Milwaukee Brewers in July of 2007 with Steve Garrison (minors) and Will Inman (minors) to the San Diego Padres for Scott Linebrink. The only lefty in the Padres’ pen, Thatcher has a 1.33 ERA in 2010 and has a 3.41 ERA with a 9.4 K/9 ratio in four seasons in San Diego.

Edward Mujica: Sent to the San Diego Padres in April of 2009 by the Cleveland Indians as part of a conditional deal. Mujica has been very solid in a San Diego uniform in two seasons since coming over from the Indians. He is having his best season in 2010 with a 3.31 ERA and 0.85 WHIP.

Ryan Webb: Traded by the Oakland Athletics in July of 2009 with a player to be named later and Craig Italiano (minors) to the San Diego Padres for Scott Hairston. The Oakland Athletics sent Sean Gallagher (July 28, 2009) to the San Diego Padres to complete the trade.

Webb has been perhaps the most inconsistent Padres reliever, giving up 48 hits and 14 walks in 46.1 IP, which is why he was optioned down to Triple-A on Saturday. He did, however, sport a 3.30 ERA.

Tim Stauffer: Drafted by the San Diego Padres in the first round (fourth pick) of the 2003 draft. Clearly has never lived up to his fourth overall draft selection but has carved out a nice niche for himself in the Padres’ bullpen.

He has been their “swing man” this year and has posted a remarkable 1.17 ERA in 38.1 IP.

So to recap, that’s seven relievers; six were traded for, and one was drafted. Those are some unbelievable acquisitions by former GM Kevin Towers and current GM Jed Hoyer.

Obviously the GMs got lucky with some of these acquisitions like Gregerson or Adams. Nine times out of 10, guys who are the “Player to be Named Later” don’t have all-world seasons like Gregerson is having in 2010.

While the Padres might have gotten lucky in some cases, they have proved that spending big money on relievers is not a valuable use of resources. The Padres have proved that a team can build a bullpen through smart trades and low-priced talent.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

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Just when I think I’ve heard it all, this story comes down the pike.

The San Diego Padres are in the middle of a pennant race in the National League’s Western Division, leading by six games over the San Francisco Giants with just over a month to go.

You’d think the last thing they’d want to do is affect their home field, or stadium, in any way during said pennant race. Unfortunately, you’d be wrong.

The Padres have decided that hosting a soccer match, in the middle of September, was a brilliant idea and will do just that on September 14th between Chivas Mexico and Chivas USA. Why is that a bad idea? I’m glad you asked.

Mark Zeigler of the San Diego Union Tribune has an article out this morning and he describes just what has to be done for Petco Park to be ready for this match.

The pitching mound, or what Padres’ closer Heath Bell calls “their office,” will have to be removed for the game and rebuilt in time for the Padres to return home on September 24th against the Reds. The team will be at home on the 12th, two days before the event, which gives their grounds crew just 48 hours to remove the mound as well as home plate and sod over the infield.

Padres’ president, Tom Garfinkel, is in favor of the idea and tells Zeigler that their grounds crew will be able to handle it just fine, “We have a great grounds crew. We have a lot of confidence it won’t be an issue.”

While I appreciate Garfinkel’s optimism, the last time Petco Park hosted a soccer game, in 2005 between Mexico and Sweden, it presented “several organizational headaches” according to Zeigler.

There are a lot of soccer fans in the city of San Diego, as well as surrounding cities, that would flock to see a game like this. But why Petco Park and why would they schedule something like this in the middle of a pennant race?

Bell has been more than outspoken about this idea calling it “asinine,” and I for one agree with him. Qualcomm Stadium is available and only has one game scheduled between now and the end of September so why not there? The answer to that would be the fact that the last time a soccer game was played there, it drew just 5,000 fans. That number looks a whole lot smaller at Qualcomm than it would at Petco.

The last time Petco Park had an event there, Comic-Con, a section of left field had to be completely re-done. One thing that isn’t being mentioned is the fact that there are going to be a lot of guys running around in cleats which will most certainly leave holes in the right field section of the outfield.

It’s one thing to have to tear down and rebuild the pitching mound, but aren’t the Padres the least bit afraid of their players, or visiting players, turning an ankle in a hole left from the game?

While I’m sure the Padres believe they have the best grounds crew in baseball, putting this kind of pressure on them is unfair. They’re going to be ultimately held responsible if the field isn’t completely restored by the time the Padres return home at the end of the month.

If it affects the team, even a little bit, Garfinkel won’t be admitting it was a bad idea or admitting that it was too much for this grounds crew to handle. Instead, the finger will be pointed at them for not getting the field in playing condition for the most crucial part of a pennant race.

I don’t have a problem with Petco Park hosting a soccer match, nor do I have a problem with the sport itself though I’ll freely admit that I’m not a fan of it. I have a problem with the timing and how it may affect their ultimate money maker.

This could be the best shot the Padres have to get to the World Series. Changing the field, even the slightest bit, could turn the tide of this race and cost the team that shot.

It’s a bad idea, plain and simple, but they’re going through with it anyway.

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The San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants play the first game of a three-game set that is sure to be an epic battle between two NL West teams.

Both are locked in a battle for the top spot in the division, there’s already trash talk going on, and both want a series win in a big way. The winner of this series will definitely be in the driver’s seat.

There will be several things to watch for during this series and several keys for each team to come out on top, but here are 10 things to watch for over the next three days.

Some may even surprise you. Are you ready?

Begin Slideshow

Not only is Mat Latos living up to high expectations, he is also quickly becoming the Padres’ most efficient and effective starting pitcher.

Latos outdueled Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez, whose solid outing wasn’t enough to derail Latos and the Padres’ belated bats.

Latos (4-3) allowed a run and four hits over six innings while striking out six as the Padres beat the Seattle Mariners 8-1 on Sunday before a crowd of 33,315.

The 22-year-old Latos, with just 19 career starts under his belt, has won three of his last four starts and allowed a total of three earned runs over his last four starts, covering a 29-inning span.

He has also lasted at least six innings and allowed two runs or fewer in five consecutive starts. 

Hernandez (2-4) allowed just three runs, two earned, and seven hits in seven innings of work. He also struck out six.

Once Hernandez departed, trailing 3-1, things got ugly in a hurry.

Reliever Jesus Colome loaded the bases on two singles and a walk to start the eighth inning and then was replaced by Kanekoa Texeira—who promptly yielded back-to-back doubles to Chris Denorfia and Nick Hundley to drive in four runs. Will Venable drove in the fifth run with a sacrifice fly to left field to give the Padres an 8-1 lead.

Latos turned over his product to the bullpen, as Luke Gregerson, Ryan Webb, and Joe Thatcher combined for three scoreless innings.

San Diego (26-18) features the lowest ERA in the National League at 3.03 despite the 15 runs surrendered Friday. So far in 2010, the Padres have proven capable of providing just enough offense to go with that pitching to make things work.

The Friars split two games against the red-hot Dodgers and then won the last two games in Seattle (16-28) after dropping Friday’s 15-8 rout. They came to Seattle in first place in the National League West and left in first place.

The Padres return to San Diego for a nine-game home stand, starting Tuesday against Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals (26-19).

San Diego will look to send a message—and get a little revenge—against the NL Central-leading Cardinals.

St. Louis has sent the Padres packing in San Diego’s last two playoff appearances.

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On Sunday May 16, one run was all the Dodgers needed in the final match of a three-game series to complete a sweep of the first place San Diego Padres.

The win was their seventh in a row.

Entering the series, the Padres found themselves returning home fresh-off their second sweep of the Giants this year.  After a successful road trip, they were looking to find similar results against the Dodgers in San Diego.

However, the Dodgers had other things in mind after also sweeping their last opponents—the Arizona Diamondbacks. 

In their first match up of the season, the visiting Dodgers gave the Padres a taste of their own style of play with some timely hitting and solid pitching.

The Dodgers pitching—which has been a weakness all season long—outperformed the Padres pitching staff, which still leads the National League in ERA with 2.69 after Sunday’s game.

Padres hitters were limited to one hit with runners in scoring position, going a combined 1-for-12 in the series. 

Los Angeles hitters took care of business when it mattered, batting a total 7-for-19 (.368) with runners in scoring position (RISP) in the series.

GAME 1—Dodgers 4, Padres 3

Dodgers RISP: 3-10 (.300), Padres RISP: 1-5 (.200)

Another solid pitching performance was turned in by San Diego starter Jon Garland 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 KOs.  But it was a seventh inning two-run home run from Matt Kemp which gave the Dodgers the lead for good. 

Ramon Ortiz, 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 2 KOs, with his first start of the season became the eighth different starter for the Dodgers, threw 86 pitches.

Five Dodgers pitchers came out of the bullpen to back up Ortiz, and pitched five shutout innings.

GAME 2—Dodgers 4, Padres 1

Dodgers RISP: 3-7 (.429), Padres RISP: 0-5 (.000)

Clayton Kershaw (3-2) pitched seven strong innings, allowing just one run while striking out seven.  Ramon Troncoso and Jonathan Broxton pitched flawless eighth and ninth innings, respectively. 

James Loney, batting cleanup, hit his fourth homer of the season, a solo shot in the second inning.  Jamey Carroll and Russell Martin drove in two more runs in the fifth inning, and Garrett Anderson, playing for the injured Andre Either, had an RBI triple in the sixth inning.

The Padres sole run came in when Scott Hairston scored on a Chase Headley ground-out via fielder’s choice.

GAME 3—Dodgers 1, Padres 0

Dodgers RISP: 1-2 (.500), Padres RISP: 0-2 (.000)

Chad Billingsley (4-2) 7.1 IP, 4 H, 6 KOs along with Hong-Chih Kuo 0.2 IP, 0 H and closer Jonathan Broxton 1.0, 0 H—who picked up three saves over the weekend—combined for a shutout. 

Padres rookie starter Wade LeBlanc (2-1) 7 IP, 1 ER, 4 KOs only allowed two hits.  He was pitching no-hit ball until Russell Martin hit a line-dive RBI that zipped right by his head.

The timely hit from the leadoff-man in the sixth inning drove in Jamey Carrol from second base to score the only run of the game.

NOTES

Despite suffering three consecutive losses and being swept for the first time this season, the weekend series left the Padres with one consolation—the match up drew near sell-out crowds at Petco Park in San Diego.

An estimated 126,819 people were in attendance over the three games.

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It was “singles night” at PETCO Park Thursday night for the San Diego Padres, as they battered the Brewers with 13 singles, with no extra-base hits, to a final score of 9-0.

Who says singles can’t have a good time?

Wade LeBlanc continued dishing donuts and combined with Tim Stauffer for a shutout of the normally slugging Brew Crew.

LeBlanc pitched 6.1 shutout innings, continuing his current streak of just one run allowed over his past 17.1 innings pitched

He picked off his major league-leading fifth runner of the young season in the first inning. To top it off, LeBlanc even contributed at the plate with a career-high three singles, raising his season batting average to .667.

Padres management will have a difficult decision to make with the imminent return of preseason presumptive staff ace Chris Young.

Although LeBlanc was a call-up from AAA-Portland to replace CY in the rotation when the big man went down, there is absolutely no plausible reason to move Wade LeBlanc to anything but his next scheduled turn in the starting rotation.

So far this season, LeBlanc’s record is 2-0, and his ERA is a minuscule 0.52.

Backups Oscar Salazar and Yorvit Torrealba made significant contributions to the Friars’ series-opening victory. Salazar took full advantage of a rare start in right field and had two hits and the team’s first run batted in to get things rolling in the Pads’ four-run bottom of the fourth inning.

Torrealba not only did a splendid job defensively behind home plate but also excelled with the bat by providing two hits and three runs batted in.

The Friars broke the game open in the bottom of the fifth inning with seven consecutive hits, scoring five additional runs.

At that point the Brewers waved the white flag, saved their bullpen, and called upon reliever Jeff Suppan to mop up the rest of the game and get the Brew Crew to their hotel for the night.

Bud Black will send Clayton Richard (0-2, 3.75 ERA) to the hill tonight as the Padres look to give the lefty his first win of the season and extend their home winning streak to eight.

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