It could be a playoff preview this weekend as the Cincinnati Reds come to Petco Park. There are still so many possibilities of how things might work out between who wins the NL West, whether the wildcard comes from this division or the NL East, and simply whether the Padres make it into the post-season at all. But it will be interesting to see how the locals stack up, because they didn't look so hot vs. the Phillies a few weeks ago...1B Adrian Gonzalez has only two extra-base hits and two RBI since his multi-homer game in Denver more than a week ago...As long as I'm banging on Adrian, how about Ryan Ludwick? Brought to the Friars to add some pop to the lineup, his paltry .353 slugging percentage since arriving ranks tied for 9th, barely above the mark posted by diminutive 2B David Eckstein. He's no longer in my lineup...I'm not sure SS Miguel Tejada is deserving of all the kudos in the morning paper for his defensive prowess but, overall, he is the best the Padres have at the position so I would welcome him back next year...Speaking of the U-T, they chided play-by-play man Dick Enberg for suggesting Eck was the team MVP. I agree with Enberg. You see what happened to the Pads when Eckstein got hurt, and as good as Adrian has been this season, his power numbers are down and his inconsistency is up. He's gone weeks between producing power several times in 2010...I've also bagged on Will Venable a lot, but he is 14-for-23 in the past week, though only two of the hits have gone for extra bases and none have left the yard.
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That 27-24 loss by San Diego State at Missouri still tears me up, mainly because the blame falls squarely on the lap of a coaching staff far too experienced to let something like an illegal substitution foul happen when they can basically wrap up the first road win over a BCS opponent since 1999. However, coach Brady Hoke has taken responsibility and appears to have his staff and players on the proper course...A lot has been made of past years when SDSU went into a major opponent's house and barely fell short of an upset, sending fans toward wild expectations before stumbling back to earth with bad subsequent games. In 2008, after leading a pretty sorry excuse for a Notre Dame team in the fourth quarter, the Aztecs got blown out a week later at San Jose State. In 2006, after a strong defensive showing at Wisconsin, the Aztecs lost three more in a row and were uncompetitive in each. In 2004, after knocking current Padres P Clayton Richard on his butt in a three-point loss at Michigan, the Aztecs returned to handily beat Nevada. In 2003, after the infamous three-point loss at defending national champion Ohio State, the Aztecs won two games easily before playing UCLA tough in Pasadena. History does not uphold the theory when Chuck Long is not your nightmare, uh, coach. We'll now find out how they respond under Hoke because Utah State, while battered by injuries, is a pretty good team. QB Diondre Borel is what the national media always wanted Washington QB Jake Locker to be...Neil Spencer returning from a series of tragedies to win the starting job at DT this week is one of the best stories of the year...So Ronnie Hillman scores on runs of 75 and 93 yards at Missouri. The coolest thing, while maybe illegal, was C Trask Iosefa spinning the freshman out of a tackle and sending him on his way to the second score. However, the best thing from a long-term perspective was that on each score he eluded a Tiger tackler who dove at his feet from behind -- and didn't even have to turn his head to do so. He seems to have some sort of sixth sense of where tacklers are and how to avoid them. How many times have you seen guys on long runs get tripped up by a fingernail? I don't think you'll see that too often from Hillman.
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Please, for the love of God, no more newspaper articles about Vincent Jackson until he either reports or gets traded...I'm not seeing much about the Seahawks that can stop the Chargers this weekend other than possible rain. Really, this is a football team bereft of stars and they have a revolving door at LT because their ONE name offensive player, Russell Okung, is injured...Sure, Hassleback is a name player but he's not one of the top NFL QBs...Look for another huge game by TE Antonio Gates...With top draft pick RB Ryan Mathews out with an injury Sunday, Mike Tolbert has been named the starter, but in reality, look for the Bolts to go to the air and handle the ball carrying by committee. The Seahawks run defense looks improved...Cason! Are you for real? Let's hope so. Wow!
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