Remember this guy? Trevor Hoffman? Yeah, he's good, really good. That's why he doesn't play for the Padres anymore.
Two teams have recently entered my "death watch" phase: the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Diego Padres have hit all-time lows this past week by trading away some players that frankly made them much better teams. The effect has been demoralizing on the players' and fans' morale.
So demoralizing in San Diego, that the total homer radio announcers in San Diego have even turned on the players, saying stuff like, "It's hard to justify the employment of any of the baseball operations people there," and "It's pretty obvious that they just weren't even trying."
From a gambler's perspective, it's really unfortunate that the Padres aren't playing the Phillies for a few more days. I'd continue to egregiously bet irresponsible sums of money against them.
Now, there are a few good players on the Padres, and they're just good enough to get dangerous, especially against an equally horrible team in the Washington Nationals. I think they'll improve somewhat when David Eckstein comes back, and they're no longer starting a minor-leaguer you've never heard of at 2B (who wasn't good enough to start there at the beginning of the season). Because they're young and they do have talent, they may rattle off a few in a row against the Nationals and the Reds.
When they play the Brewers next week on July 31, I will be checking the pitching probables with my wallet in hand.
But for the moment, they have lost five in a row, and ONLY WON THREE GAMES DURING THE MONTH OF JULY. Pulse? Do you feel a pulse doctor???
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On the other hand, the White Sox are putting together a nice little run, and whupped the Devil Rays the past few days. Before Buerhle's perfect game, this team was still cranking on all cylinders. Beware of the White Sox at home, they are playing superb baseball there.
