Seven thoughts on the seventh day…
1) Small tweaks are starting to add up to a defensive problem for the Padres. I’m not worried about their current three-game losing streak. Heck, by the time you read this column, their Sunday magic may have already put a winning touch to the weekend. But I am worried about how this team’s defense is shaping up for the playoffs.
Losing Tony Gwynn to a broken hamate bone has turned out to be a bigger blow than expected to the Padres’ mojo. While Chris Denorfia has been swinging an almost ridiculously hot bat during the summer, he is clearly not the equal of Gwynn defensively. Gwynn’s speed and range were Gold Glove-caliber, while Deno is average at best and leaves his feet too much, turning hits into triples.
Miguel Tejada has hit well, played with passion and seemingly over-achieved defensively at shortstop. What was supposed to be a major issue for the Padres has been a pleasant surprise so far. But Saturday’s 3-1 loss to Philly contained a play I’ve been waiting to see for a while.
In the fifth with a runner at second base and one out, Tejada was challenged defensively…to his left. He had made a couple of nice plays in the hole to his right so far, but I hadn’t seen him make a rangy play to his left. Shane Victorino hit a ground ball up the middle which I’m convinced Everth Cabrera would have caught…probably Jerry Hairston Jr. as well pre-shin splints. Tejada dove and couldn’t get it, and the Phillies were on the board.
It’s just one play. But while Tejada’s solid positioning and strong arm have served him well so far at shortstop, you can’t escape the fact that his range is limited. Baseball saw this two years ago, so the Padres might as well keep their eyes open. David Eckstein is a similar player at second base. He’ll make the play on everything he catches, but some balls are going to get through.
Center field, shortstop, second base…the most important defensive positions on the diamond, and right now the Padres are average at best. Hairston had defended well at both short and second this year, but his range had seemingly decreased in recent weeks as well. Now Jerry’s out of the lineup for some time defensively, meaning it’s Tejada or nada at shortstop, and Eck all the way at second base. Keep an eye on this as the season continues into October.
Note: in Sunday’s starting lineup, Will Venable is starting in center, as Chris Denorfia has a sore back. I’d like to see Bud Black try out Venable more in center in the coming weeks. If you’re not going to have Gwynn’s services available, Venable has the most range of the remaining Padres outfielders.
Six more thoughts, including a Chargers/Saints review and an unbelievable story from Del Mar, after the jump:
2)
Along the same lines, defense will prevent the Giants from making a run at the Padres. San Francisco came into the season with a team very similar to San Diego. Great pitching, solid defense in the outfield, and very questionable hitting. Giants’ GM Brian Sabean and Padres’ GM Jed Hoyer each had to decide how to approach their respective team’s struggling lineups.
He's "Pat the Bat" but his glove ain't all that
Sabean made the choice to revamp from the outside, and each move he’s made has crippled the Giants’ defense. Pat Burrell is a DH in left field, and Jose Guillen is one of the worst defensive outfielders around in terms of range. Around the infield, there are no standouts and a couple of louts (I’m looking at you, Kung Fu Panda).
Any wonder this team just played a 12-11 game at home, where they committed five errors? Combined with the struggles of their starting pitchers (and of course, the problems are inter-related) and you’ve got a team which is collapsing on multiple fronts.
3) Things I liked from the Chargers game on Friday night:
Ryan Mathews (again)- Ball-control offense
- Run defense (mostly)
The combination of Cam Thomas and Vaughn Martin give the Chargers legit beef on the defensive line. If Ron Rivera can manage the substitution patterns he wants to get the right matchups on the field, the Bolts could be better up front than anticipated. I expect lots of teams to do what the Saints did on Friday, which was to go hurry-up and try to limit San Diego’s ability to substitute.
Mathews is going to make this offense so much better, it’s not even funny. We’ll have another Chargers video up later tonight on this subject, but his 3rd-and-1 sweep for 16 yards is just another on the list of “wow” moments the rookie has already provided in preseason.
His biggest contribution, though, will come in the natural fight and desire he brings to gain those extra couple of yards. L.T. used to fight for yards like that when he came into the NFL, but time (and thousands upon thousands of hits) led Tomlinson to seek the safety of the sideline or the ground on contact. I’m sure a veteran running back calls it “being smart”.
Mathews doesn’t know better yet, and that will give the Chargers offense those 3rd-and-3’s which were once 3rd-and-6.
4) Things I didn’t like from the Chargers game on Friday night:
- Stupid penalties (again)
- Pass rush (as usual)
- Cason on the corner
Can this Chargers team be a championship-level defense? I believe Eric Weddle when he says the defensive secondary is playing together in a way they haven’t seen in years. I believe what I see up front, even while knowing there are no obvious stars in the group. But the linebacking corps looks like the same old group of rascals that could cost the Bolts a big game.
Is Shaun Phillips determined to lead the league in dumb personal fouls? Will Shawne Merriman ever actually play, or will he remain in injury limbo for the rest of his Chargers career? Seems like Lights Out is more like Light Flickering, he’s never quite in or out and it’s starting to annoy me. I thought Larry English was supposed to replace that flickering bulb anyhow.
Kevin Burnett has looked terrific in preseason, and Stephen Cooper seems like himself, but there are questions remaining unanswered right now in the linebacking corps, and the Shaun/Shawne portion of the locker room is where the biggest question marks are directed.
Meanwhile, Drew Brees had all the time in the world to throw on Friday, but I can’t necessarily blame that on the Chargers. After all, there are three Pro Bowlers on a Saints offensive line which returns all five starters, and Brees is a master of quick release and fast-break offense.
Still, somebody better touch the darn QB if the Chargers want to get to the promised land. Haven’t seen much of it so far outside of safety/corner blitzes.
Last but not least, is Antonie Cason going to hold up to the pressure? Norv Turner was complimentary toward Cason during Saturday’s press conference, explaining away the touchdown that went through his hands as a mistake he’ll correct.
Maybe he will. But mistakes on the corner usually lead to six points, and Cason has made enough mistakes during his time in San Diego to make you wonder if he’ll be a persistent target for opposing quarterbacks.
5) My first high school Top-10 list of the year looks like this:
Cathedral Catholic- Vista
- Oceanside
- Eastlake
- Helix
- Mission Bay
- Point Loma
- SF Christian
- Ramona
- Escondido
Hey, what do I know? None of these teams have taken the field yet, so I’m going on a respected source’s say-so, along with spreading around the ‘dap to some of the top programs around the county.
Cathedral Catholic is the closest thing I’ve seen to Mater Dei or Concord De La Salle in San Diego County, so they go to the top until proven otherwise. Vista is supposed to be even better than last year’s talented team, and while Oceanside lost a ton (thankfully, much of the talent going to Brady Hoke and SDSU), the Pirates are a “reload not rebuild” type of program.
Teams like Mission Bay and Escondido will have a lot to prove with superstars Dillon Baxter and Ricky Seale moving on to college, while it looks like Eastlake has more than enough to withstand Tony Jefferson’s departure to Oklahoma.
I left La Costa Canyon off my Top-10 list because with head coach Darrin Brown having left along with a lot of senior talent, I need to see them succeed before they earn a ranking. My eyes are still on you though, Mavericks.
We’ll be back out covering the Friday Night Lights like no one else on 619Sports.Net this fall. If you are (or you happen to know) a college upperclassmen or above and would like to join our prep football reporting crew, please drop me a line at craig@619sports.net with your qualifications.
6) Will our local college quarterbacks be allowed to stay upright this season? It could determine the fate of both SDSU and USD.
A visit to Toreros practice last Thursday (where we taped a number of video interviews you’ll see in the coming week) revealed a USD team with some great skill players on offense. I think Sam Scudellari can have a big year throwing to John McGough, Godfrey Smith and tight end Patrick Doyle.
The question is, will Scud have time to fire? Four new starters on the offensive line could lead to Scudellari running for his life. At the practice I witnessed, it was tough for Sam to get off anything short of a quick pass or bubble screen without getting hit.
Same question goes for the boys at Montezuma Mesa as they get ready for the opener against Nicholls State next Saturday. Lindley, with time to operate, should have a career year throwing to Vincent Brown, DeMarco Sampson and Alston Umuolo. Ronnie Hillman’s injection of speed into the running game will keep defenses from pinning their ears back.
But there’s a lot of inexperience up front for SDSU and I wonder when conference play starts if Lindley will be under duress. Ryan hasn’t shown great accuracy or touch on quick, short passes in his Aztecs career, the best remedy for a pass rush. He’s been a guy who needs a pocket to work from so he can aim downfield.
Hopefully, Lindley’s improved on those underneath passes. Otherwise, keeping him clean will be a difficult and demanding task.
7) Overheard on the felt this week…the story of a lucky day at the races. 
You can’t believe everything (or even many things) you hear at a poker table. But this man’s story I believe, and the Del Mar Racetrack results back up his account of fortune turning on a scratch and a scramble.
On Wednesday, the 6th race at Del Mar was a $15,000 purse claiming race for three year olds and upwards, fillies and mares. Our hero (we’ll call him Mike) was dragged out to the racetrack with his buddies. Mike is not a horse player, not even close. His previous trips to the track have been fun but never profitable.
As the sixth race rolled around, Mike was drinking beers with his buddies and making small bets (saving his money for the poker table). He filled out a $2 exacta ticket, putting the 8 horse (Celebration) together with a couple of medium longshots, the 5 horse (Entabeni) and the 10 horse (Tribul Witch).
As the horses were being loaded into the starting gate, the 8 horse spooked and bucked, bolting early. He was scratched, and so was Mike’s trifecta.
Except, Mike’s trifecta didn’t have to be scratched…but it did have to be changed. It was announced over the track public address system that the betting windows would re-open for 3 minutes so players could take out the 8-horse and replace him with another entrant.
Mike, busy chatting with a friend, frittered away at least a minute of his three-minute window. He wasn’t even sure if it was worth it, but decided last second to go ahead and change his ticket. By this time, he had to wait for two other people in front of him at the betting window.
As Mike reached the window, he told the cashier “take out the 8 horse and replace him with the 1″, handing him the proper trifecta betting form. The 1-horse (Too Pink) happened to be a 46-1 longshot.
“It’s too late,” said the cashier, “the time’s up”.
“Run the ticket”, said Mike.
The cashier obliged, and voila! A betting slip popped out of the computer, meaning the bet was in on time and valid.
“Wow, that must have gotten in at the literal last second,” said the cashier, “because my screen said there were 0 minutes remaining.”
Mike settled back in to watch the race…and was promptly on his feet and screaming as Too Pink hit the wire first, followed by Tribul Witch and Entabeni.
The $2 exacta ticket, originally a loser, then switched at the last possible second for a winner, paid $7,008.00.
Now that’s what I call being lucky. Hope you have a very fortunate week as well!
Craig Elsten -
Chainsaw -
