Don't panic, Padres fans, at least not yet. Yes, your Friars have lost a season-high five games in a row, but they remain five games in front of the Giants and remain on track for a playoff berth.
Throwing Wade LeBlanc at Arizona at Chase Field Monday was no way to stop a losing streak, so you can toss that one out. Otherwise, the Padres lost three straight to the Phillies over the weekend because they played like crap. They spent more time arguing with umpires over balls-and-strikes calls than they did trying to get on base or drive in runs. They made all kinds of errors and left a bunch of plays unmade. The two that come to mind of the last point came when SS Miguel Tejada made a weak double-play toss to 2B David Eckstein, who was taken out roughly at the base on his pivot throw. The batter was safe at first and a run scored. The other was CF Chris Denorfia, who has received high praise here this summer, diving for a ball he should have cut off. That, and the batters swinging for the fences, was a sign of players trying to do too much to win.
My bet is Manager Bud Black handles this and the Padres turn things around this week. It's not like they were completely outclassed by the Phillies. Sure, the visitors were better, but not by a whole lot. The Padres have a good team, they just have to play well, like anyone else. Now, come playoff time, we may have a different tune. I'd hate to have to run that Oswalt-Blanton-Hamels gauntlet again, especially when that list doesn't even include their best starter.
My only concern is that if the Padres do fall back to the pack, the wildcard position is being challenged fiercely. Falling behind in the NL West at the end could mean you miss the playoffs entirely. I don't think this is a worry, but it's worth mentioning.
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In this year of college football realignment, intrigue, back-stabbing, and every-man-for-himselfism the upcoming Mountain West Conference season will be marked, in a large part, on group efforts. That's downright weird, but true.
Several teams plan to play two quarterbacks, while a number of others plan to rotate as many as four running backs. The latter number includes conference favorite TCU, which again appears to be head and shoulders above the rest of the MWC in 2010.
BYU, UNLV and Air Force plan to use a couple of signal-callers. The Cougars will start junior Riley Nelson over hyped freshman Jake Heaps. Junior Mike Clausen beat out senior Omar Clayton for the Rebels. Tim Washington edged Connor Dietz for the Falcons' job. The coaches at each say the position battles were close at each school, so the backups will receive plenty of snaps.
The running back group-think includes San Diego State, UNLV, Colorado State and TCU. The latter two both have touted transfers from UCLA, including Raymond Carter, most likely among them to become more of a feature back this fall. Freshman Ronnie Hillman has star potential for the Aztecs, whose use of several running backs is mostly determined by scheme, not an inability to separate the quality of players.
How they stack up heading into the season:
1. TCU -- forget the loss of DE Jerry Hughes, the Horned Frogs have three returning starters with eye-popping stats on the defensive line. Andy Dalton returns at quarterback, though there is no experience behind him if he goes down. The receivers are the second-best group in the conference.
2. Utah -- Oceanside High's Jordan Wynn enters his second season as the starting quarterback. Matt Asiata, who has seemingly been there for a decade, will split carries with Eddie Wide. Early issue could be loss of two projected defensive starters for the season due to injury.
3. Air Force -- Jefferson ought to finally reach his potential and, if he does, watch out MWC. Asher Clark returns at RB. The offensive line is experienced and the defense is almost always good.
4. BYU -- The Cougars are in full makeover mode without QB Max Hall, RB Harvey Unga and TE Dennis Pitta. They could even slip to fifth if the rotating QBs struggle or another team is ready to move up a notch. Lots of new faces on defense, too, guys they hope are faster and more athletic. The schedule opens poorly, with an 0-3 start possible.
5. Wyoming -- Only the schedule keeps me from swapping the Cowboys with BYU. Sophomore QB Austyn Carter-Samuels could be a star in the making and the secondary is experienced. The issue is depth. The starters are good enough, but injuries could ruin a potentially good season.
6. San Diego State -- Of course, if they didn't play in Laramie, I'd be tempted to move the Aztecs up. You know about them. QB Ryan Lindley is ready to break out, and the receivers are among the top group in the nation. Keys are offensive line run-blocking and improvement in the defense getting into opposing backfields.
7. Colorado State -- Valhalla High's Pete Thomas will start as a true freshman, which means growing pains, and the first two MWC games are vs TCU and Air Force.
8. UNLV -- A new coaching staff probably means improvement is likely to be slowed this year, and the QB raises concerns. The loss of reliable WR Ryan Wolfe will also hurt. New coach Bobby Hauck hopes to run more this year. Run defense among nation's worst last year.
9. New Mexico -- The Lobos will probably be better than last year's disaster under second-year coach Mike Locksley, but an 0-3 start is likely with games at Oregon and vs. Texas Tech and Utah. Then they go to UNLV, which is why the Rebels are rated higher.
The season starts with a bang, with Utah hosting Pittsburgh on Thursday. Saturday games include Oregon State vs TCU at the Cowboy's stadium, Washington at BYU, Colorado at CSU and Wisconsin at UNLV. I think the Horned Frogs and Rams emerge victorious. Monday, Boise State, which joins the conference next year, travels to Virginia Tech, and they're at least worth watching. If the Broncos were in the MWC this year, I'd rank them first on the strength of their Fiesta Bowl win over TCU in January.
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I'm thinking BYU is walking off a cliff, long-term. We'll see how it works out. Look for the MWC to join forces in some manner with Conference USA, which has some schools with an SDSU history like Tulsa, UTEP and Houston, and other legit programs like East Carolina and Southern Miss.
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