The dearly departed Washington Nationals announced Monday that former San Diego State P Stephen Strasburg will make his long-awaited major league debut against Pittsburgh on June 8, barring rainouts. The timing of his first big league start has been the subject of considerable discussion, and this date has been rumored for about a week. Now it’s as confirmed as it ever will be. Kind of funny that now only an act of God could derail the debut of someone the good Lord has so gifted.
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It was interesting reading the letters to the sports editor in the San Diego Union-Tribune Sunday, which expressed opposing views on whether the local baseball franchise was interesting to watch. One writer claimed the punchless Padres were boring, and another stated that Little Ball was fun to see.
My take is somewhere in the middle. I think Little Ball is indeed a lot of fun if executed well. The Friars execute Little Ball terribly. Except for David Eckstein and, in some cases, Tony Gwynn, these guys are only good on the basepaths. But it's more than running to execute Little Ball. Part II is at the plate, where they can't bunt or execute the hit-and-run. Sure, the guy on first might steal second, but the hitter can’t put wood on the ball for hit-and-run plays, sac flies or grounders to the right side of the infield.
I like the basic idea of Little Ball, but it's only fun if well-played.
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Before LF Kyle Blanks got hurt there was a lot of talk about whether he should be returned to AAA to regain his swing. My choice for a ticket to Portland after the weekend is RF Will Venable, who refuses to take the outside pitch the other way. He tries to pull EVERYTHING. In Sunday's game, he came up with runners on second and third and one out, and the National's pitcher fed him a steady diet of baseballs on the outside part of the plate and he was totally unable to poke anything toward left field. Sure, a grounder that direction might not have scored a run, but it could have.
Since that 4-for-5 game at LA that made such a big splash, he's 6-for-35, just under .200, with no extra base hits.
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My favorite Padre now, behind Eckstein, is OF Chris Denorfia. This guy is a gamer -- and a keeper. In about the same time period, he has three more hits than Venable, including a pair of doubles, and three more RBI. With Scott Hairston possibly coming off the DL in a couple of days, the Padres are going to have a big decision to make.
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Nick Hundley and Yorvit Torrealba are the co-MVP's of this team, by the way.
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Yes, I wrote that I wanted GM Jed Hoyer to start working to bring in an outfielder who can actually hit, and that remains the case. But it should also be noted that scoring and hitting is way off all around the major leagues, from the Phillies being shut out by the Mets three games in a row to the Padres doing nearly the same to the Giants every series and the two perfect games in about three weeks.
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