Let's start with the premise that your hook is quicker in a pennant race.
Agree? Good. Does that put Padres P Kevin Correia on the hot seat? I'm just asking, not advocating.
However, the Grossmont High grad went just five innings Monday night against the Rockies, allowing six earned runs, six walks and two home runs -- at Petco Park, not Coors Field. By my count, Correia has had one quality start in the past month, when he equaled the definition of the statistic by allowing three runs in six innings to the Mariners. His last win was May 31 against the Mets -- the game in which the Padres scored 18 runs and Correia allowed six.
Correia has rarely been dominating but he's usually consistent, yet he has made it out of the fifth frame just once in his last five starts.
You clearly don't want to push a panic button but a trend has set in here that is worth watching, especially with Tim Stauffer about ready to rejoin the team following his appendectomy.
In his favor: last year showed he can go a full year as a starter, so he's liable to work his way out of his slump. The Padres have won five of his last seven outings despite him.
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So Stephen Strasburg is human, after all. His teammates are all too human.
The San Diego State alumnus had the audacity to three earned runs in six innings-plus at Atlanta, while his Washington teammates were unable to cobble together a single score. He did his part, even though he said he didn't have his best stuff and gave up on his curveball too early. He blanked the Braves through six innings. In the absolutely devastating seventh inning -- words I use in jest -- he was "rocked" by a walk, two bloop singles, an error and a sacrifice fly. He needs to return his signing bonus, obviously.
He's going to lose a lot of games like this, playing for the Nationals.
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One of the saddest sights in the season so far was of Tigers flame-thrower Joel Zumaya in considerable pain with an elbow injury. The Bonita Vista High alumnus missed most of the past two seasons with shoulder injuries and worked his rear off trying to get back to health. He immediately went on the disabled list. His comeback season saw him with a 2-1 record and 2.58 ERA.
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Back on the SDSU front, the recruiting Web sites are reporting two key commitments. One is mens basketball 6-foot-10-inch center Bryant Crowder, a well-traveled JC center who runs the court well. The other is football quarterback Chad Jeffries of Glendora High in the San Gabriel Valley, who didn't become a high-profile prospect until he started going to camps and coming away with MVP awards. He apparently wowed observers at SDSU's recent camp, and coach Brady Hoke offered him immediately. It should be said this is only a verbal, and Oregon State will probably pursue the kid.
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