There was a time last year when I was tiring of Phil Mickelson, a guy who appeared destined to never quite fulfill our fondest hopes. He was/is a good guy, unlike his chief rival, and we wanted nothing but the best for him. Even the great career that he has had until now seemed a little bit like an underachievement when compared to our imaginations.
No more. With a scintillating win at The Master's, the San Diego native is no longer a mild disappointment, the golfer who couldn't win the big one. He's now won three times at Augusta, and the 2010 version might be the greatest of them all. He overcame a 5-stroke deficit in the third round and the attack of the killer leaf on Sunday.
There's no more reason to be tired of Mickelson or to call him an underachiever. He's now right up there with Nicklaus and Palmer as one of the greatest ever to walk the links.
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The Padres started last season by going 9-3 and then stunk the next several months. It hopefully will be a polar opposite in 2010 because they absolutely sucked this first week. Maybe some home cooking and Petco-friendly pitching will help them turn things around.
They've played the kind of ball that gets managers fired. There are plenty of Bud Black detractors in this town who'd love nothing better than to see him let go by the new ownership. I'm not one of them and don't see Jeff Moorad and Tom Garfinkel as being rush-to-judgment guys.
Still, they've been horrible on defense, the bullpen was terrible until Saturday and the hitters make Mario Mendoza look worthy of Cooperstown. The signing of Jon Garland looks like a mistake after two starts. That's not going to sell seats during a first homestand to be played in somewhat cooler than normal weather.
The good news is the Padres have completed just six of a scheduled 162 games. Like the 2009 team, they might turn things around in the opposite direction. I think they will. I'm almost certain Garland will, based on his track record. The question, for their ability to compete in the NL West, is how long it will be until the turnaround comes.
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