Among the many things not in the blueprint for the San Diego Padres this year was baseball mortality for star closer Trevor Hoffman and once-time ace starter Mark Prior.
I don't think anyone expected Hoffman to be what he once was, but I don't think anyone believed that 2008's precipitous decline would happen, either. True that in Sunday's blown save opportunity, the Giants never hit a ball hard and that he'd converted his previous eight save opportunities. But he also lost two games in that stretch and gave up five hits and two runs in a pair of innings pitched against Cincinnati. His ERA is up to 5.68 and he's allowed 27 baserunners in 19 innings -- not good when you're normally brought in at the beginning of the ninth.
Like the last time this came up, in April when he was struggling, I don't advocate replacing Hoffman right now. The Giants seeing-eye singles and Edgar Gonzalez' misplay could very well be an aberration, and Hoffman deserves the chance to prove that such was the case. But, like before, we have to keep a close eye on him and not keep running him out there so he can lose leads -- which for the Padres are preciously few.
One of the advantages that Manager Bud Black has right now, which he didn't have in April, is an effective Heath Bell, who in his last seven appearances has allowed no runs, three hits and one walk. Black should accord Bell the occasional save opportunity no matter what Hoffman is up to.
Prior, meanwhile, will have season-ending surgery on his shoulder before ever coming close to making a return to the mound. It was a high-stakes gamble for the Padres to sign him in the first place, where if he'd returned to health and form, he'd be a real asset for the pitching staff. Alas, it didn't happen. I think it was a worthy try by the front office. However, I now wonder whether the USDHS alum will ever be able to pitch again.
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It's June. Do you know where your Chase Headley is? The youngster hit his 10th home run for AAA Portland Sunday and has a .306 batting average. Time to stick him in Petco.
Seems to me this is the day I previously mentioned for his call up.
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Tony Gwynn has just completed his sixth year as the head baseball coach at San Diego State, and if that's not proof that times flies, nothing is. Speaking of things unexpected, Gwynn has not built SDSU into a perennial post-season ball club. Circumstances dictate that he should be given a seventh year at the helm of the program, but for him to have an eighth, his Aztecs darn well better be playing in June.
Gwynn's Aztecs have been a portrait in mediocrity, frankly. They have years that they can't pitch, others when they can't hit and still others when fielding blunders cost them mightily.
He gets a pass for this year's failure to reach the NCAA Regionals because they lost nearly their entire pitching staff from the previous season. They brought in a bunch of new guys, and like first-year players, many of them struggled. Sophomore Stephen Strasburg became a first-team All-American as named by Collegiate Baseball, but everyone else struggled. Much of the conference season saw Strasburg shut out the Aztecs opponent on Friday night, followed by two weekend games in which the other team scored in double digits. Hard to fault Gwynn for a full-scale change in the pitching staff.
Next year, though, he either gets these pitchers "coached up" and some of his young sluggers performing consistently, or the program is going to need to make a change.
There is no excuse whatsoever for the Aztecs to not win the pathetic Mountain West Conference regular season and/or tournament title with its automatic bid four out of every six years. Every so often, BYU and TCU will be good enough to snag a championship. So be it.
Gwynn only has won a regular season championship in his first season and has yet to guide the Aztecs to the NCAA Regionals. His seat is now hot.
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