EVER HEARD OF AN INSURANCE RUN?

by Jason Martinez
sdpadrefan.com
posted 5/19/08



As bad as the Padres have played his season, there has been nothing worse than watching the Padre bats go into a coma
after the 6th inning. Sure, the bullpen has lost a lot of games in the late innings and is now 2-12 after Heath Bell blew an
8th inning lead in yesterday's game. But the bullpen is not the problem. How about an offense that is batting .208 with a
.274 on-base percentage, .293 slugging percentage, and 35 runs scored in 45 games from the 7th inning on? Those stats
make their .250/.320/.382 numbers through the first six innings of a game look Ruthian. I say we've got a problem here. I
guess we should've known there was a problem when they scored just one run in that 22-inning marathon against the
Rockies earlier in the season.

Surprisingly, no player has been worse in the late innings than the best hitter on the team, Adrian Gonzalez. While he's
carried their offense all season long, his damage has been done early in games, as he's batted .331 with 10 home runs
and 31 RBI's before the 7th inning. After the 7th, it's been a totally different story. Gonzalez is batting just .145 with one
measly homer and two RBI's. In plate appearances considered "Close and Late", Gonzalez is just 3-for-29. So what is the
deal? Well, my guess is that he's probably not getting a lot to hit and expanding the zone, especially late in the game.
Apparently, Kevin Kouzmanoff and Khalil Greene are not striking fear in opposing relievers.

Only Tadahito Iguchi (.255 BA) has been decent in the late innings and Jody Gerut is 4-for-10 in his short stint. Besides that,
there really isn't anyone else that needs mentioning. They've all been really bad. Unacceptably terrible. In fact, I believe I
have pinpointed why the team has been among the worst in the majors this season. It's simple, baseball is a nine-inning
game. It's not freakin' little league guys. You keep playing after six in the pros.

Any suggestions? How about getting rid of 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and replacing it with an energy-inducing song,
like "Lose Yourself" by Eminem? Or maybe "Hell's Bells"? Yeah, I know that's Trevor's song but he's not really using it much
these days, is he? Or how about a 30-minute power nap? Espresso break?

I'm at a loss. This team is getting harder and harder to watch. I hope the youth movement starts real soon, especially if Jake
Peavy is out for more than a few starts.