Quote from Stergios on August 9, 2024, 7:57 am

Thanks Ultra!

Am I crazy or did our fortunes turn around only when you began to start the series threads??

Quote from WindsorUK on August 9, 2024, 9:27 am

You might be on to something, Stergios!

Ultra, you now know what's expected of you! No pressure.....🤣

Quote from Randy Manese on August 9, 2024, 9:39 am

1st game of the series could be the toughest one because a healthy Cabrera can be very hard to hit.  Further, we still have to see if Martin Perez can come close to his debut with us - if he can and go a good 6, then we should have an excellent chance in the opener.

Just want to give a big kudo to Higgy for running to first as if his life depended on it on what should have been a game-ending double play grounder and a loss for the Padres yesterday.  His hustle apparently surprised Cruz and he made that bad throw that allowed us to come back and win the game.  Higgy showed the spirit and determination that has propelled this team to a win-loss record I believe none of us Padres fans ever thought would be that good at this point in the season in 2024.  Go Padres!

Quote from ultratvfan on August 9, 2024, 10:38 am

Quote from Stergios on August 9, 2024, 7:57 am

Thanks Ultra!

Am I crazy or did our fortunes turn around only when you began to start the series threads??

Coincidence. But, thank you anyway.

Quote from Stergios on August 9, 2024, 10:43 am

Quote from Randy Manese on August 9, 2024, 9:39 am

1st game of the series could be the toughest one because a healthy Cabrera can be very hard to hit.  Further, we still have to see if Martin Perez can come close to his debut with us - if he can and go a good 6, then we should have an excellent chance in the opener.

Just want to give a big kudo to Higgy for running to first as if his life depended on it on what should have been a game-ending double play grounder and a loss for the Padres yesterday.  His hustle apparently surprised Cruz and he made that bad throw that allowed us to come back and win the game.  Higgy showed the spirit and determination that has propelled this team to a win-loss record I believe none of us Padres fans ever thought would be that good at this point in the season in 2024.  Go Padres!

Yup.  The “little things” that the box score doesn’t reflect are super important.  Like a guy gunning it down the first-base line on a close play or taking that extra base on a single.   We’re also making less base-running errors than last year.

Quote from Jeremy Hill on August 9, 2024, 1:29 pm

Brito added with Vasquez going down. This is more questionable than Edwards to me. They're clearly hoping a couple fresh arms can help cover some ground after heavy bullpen usage in Pittsburgh. I'm surprised to see Brito who didn't make it out of the first in either of his last 2 outings after returning from a 3 week shutdown.

Quote from Jeremy Hill on August 9, 2024, 1:42 pm

I know our former "slapdick" prospect Xavier Edwards has been killing it for the Marlins. They don't seem to have much offensive talent left beyond him. Their pitching looks a little bit better. With some guys down with injuries and a whole bunch more traded away this is a team that we need to dominate.

Quote from Randy Manese on August 9, 2024, 2:15 pm

The Brito experiment as a SP was a dismal failure at El Paso just like it was for the Yankees when the put him in the rotation last year.  Looking at what he did with the Padres earlier in the season, there were a couple of blips - one in mid-May and the other toward the latter part of June, but most of the time he was decent; I felt more comfortable with him on the mound more often than not than I did with de los Santos, Kolek or even Matsui.  Since we didn't need Vazquez to start until next week at the earliest, I can see getting a fresh arm up since I believe Jacob has to spend more time in the minors before he can be recalled.  I think Brito will benefit psychologically by getting away from the pitching hell-hole that is EP and also not having to continue to try to be a SP, when he knows he hasn't had a lot of success in that role.

I can see this kind of juggling act with the pitching staff to go on for the remainder of the season as Shildt/Niebla/Preller try to ensure that arms are strong and fresh as we head down the backstretch.   Padres pitchers seem to have a lot of confidence in how Shildt/Niebla take care of them so we can hope that all these moves will result in continuing to move the team forward for that playoff spot.    Go Padres!

Quote from ultratvfan on August 9, 2024, 4:07 pm

I think the pitching is fine. Jacob did not need to be sent down and Shildt should have waited to see how Martín Pérez does tonight before making any moves. The management is just over protective of the pitching staff.

Nolan Ryan pitched for 27 years without a problem. In one game, 50 years ago he pitched 13 innings, 19 K and a pitch count of 235 before pitch count was a thing. It has been said that he was a physical anomaly, pitching at a high level into his mid-40s.