Oh well ! For the first 5 innings things were looking great in Padres land, then SS Everth Cabrera sustains a wrist injury in the top of the 6th inning. In that same top half inning, the Padres stranded two men on base and in the bottom half of the inning SS replacement Luis Rodriguez made an error which opened the doors for the Phillies. The Padres bullpen could not hold the lead in the bottom of the 9th inning and the Phillies eventually won the game by the score of 5 – 4.
So much on the negative stuff, let’s digest on the positive aspects of the game. A damn good performance by Padres P Josh Greer, considering the ballpark and Greer’s spring training performance which indicates you can never lean on the statistics during spring training. Once again, Greer proves his ability to come up to the big show and perform quite well. If you take a step back and analyze the current Padres starting pitchers, it is becoming quite clear the Padres have alot of options. For instance, at the moment Walter Silva and Cha Seung Baek are on the disabled list. Down on the farm you have Josh Greer and Chad Gaudin, on the mend there is Mark Pryor. This quick assessment does not even include those prospects such as Wade LeBlanc, Nick Schmidt, Cesar Carrillo, Cesar Ramos, and Matt Buschmann.
It’s time for Padres GM Kevin Towers to work his mojo again to rectify the problem at shortstop with the injury to Everth Cabrera. What is the impact of Cabrera’s injury ? First of all, we lost ‘speed’ on the team as Cabrera was definitely a threat on the field and bases as well. Secondly, Cabrera had earned significant playing time and was becoming a major instrument in the team. Thirdly, Cabrera’s injury now has Towers looking outside for some help at the most crucial position. Question is, do the Padres attempt to acquire a stop gap player or one with upside potential. Ah yes ! You know where I am going with this. How about making a trade for Phillies prospect SS Jason Donald. The Padres have leverage in pitching and outfield in the minors, why not pull the trigger and try to get Donald. When Cabrera returns in mid-season, now the Padres have more leverage when the trading deadline nears in July. The key is to collect assets that can be further package perhaps for huge deals later in the season.
Player of the Game
This goes to Phillies LF Raul Ibanez, who had the walk off homer in the bottom of the 9th inning that won the game for the Phillies. I have been very impressed with Ibanez since Raul’s days back with the Mariners. Ibanez has always been consistent and steady at the dish as well in the outfield. The only reason Ibanez was not well known is the fact he was situated in the Great Northwest and on a losing franchise. But within the baseball community, Ibanez has been well known and is a great addition to the Philadelphia Phillies. I am damn sure the Philly fans will appreciate the hard work Ibanez brings to the park every night.
Come on Padres let’s get back on track and start a new winning streak. To conclude this post, here’s Ex-NBA player and musician Wayman Tisdale with a song titled ‘Let’s Do It Again’.
