Are the Padres Done?
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by Nejoshi
The San Diego Padres weak lineup got a little worse yesterday afternoon when nut case Milton Bradley torn his ACL in a bizarre incident involving a fracas with an umpire. Bradley’s short-lived temper and volatile attitude has wasted away some good ability during his time in the bigs, but it’s hard to discount his talent as a ball player. Ask San Diego, a team fighting for its playoff life, about how much they were leaning on Bradley’s offense to carry them through the season and into October baseball. Bradley’s tirade/injury comes on the same day that centerfielder Mike Cameron broke his thumb and index finger. Cameron’s injury occurred when Bradley stepped on his fingers while trying to avoid a collision during a fly ball earlier in Sunday’s game. Talk about a bad day for Bradley.
Bradley insists that he was entirely innocent claiming umpire Mike Winters kept cursing at him incessantly, trying to provoke him. After several seconds of verbal jabbing from Winters, Bradley finally snapped and went straight toward the first base umpire. That’s when Bud Black, the first year manager in San Diego, grabbed his left fielder and held him back. Milton resisted as much as he could, but the old man brought him down to the ground, which is where Bradley’s ACL gave out and effectively ended his season.
The Padres have won consecutive NL West crowns on the hands of one of the game’s most underrated pitching staffs. This year, San Diego has thrown 20 shutouts as a team, which is light years ahead of second place Boston’s 13. They also lead the majors with a 3.61 ERA, a quarter run better than anyone. The rotation is anchored by the 2007 NL Cy Young front-runnerJake Peavy. I’m already giving him the award on the basis of his Triple Crown season. By contrast, the hitting has been terrible, and is the reason why this team hasn’t won in the postseason. Bradley’s addition in late June was a bold statement that this team was going to upgrade their offense in any way possible, even with his history of meltdowns.
The 29-year old outfielder didn’t disappoint during his stint with the Padres, surging to a .300 average with 13 HR, 37 RBI in just 42 games, finally providing some support for the lonely Adrian Gonzalez. The rest of the average lineup around him was improving as well. Rookie Kevin Kouzmanoff had a miserable start of the season, but he has rebounded nicely in the second half, and has put together some good numbers, leading the team in batting average (.275) with 17 HR and 69 RBI. It’s no secret that he has flourished because of Bradley, who has consistently been on base in front of San Diego’s third basemen.
The Padres are irate with how this situation was handled, and are looking for the MLB to take action against Winters. With the Philles and Rockies – are you serious? – closing in on the wildcard, the injuries to Cameron and Bradley couldn’t have come at a worse time. But, with that pitching staff, you still can’t bet against them in the suddenly wide-open National League. The Mets aren’t exactly lighting the world on fire, and the NL Central is the majors worst division. Arizona may have the better record, but I refuse to believe that Bob Melvin’s club could take out this team in a best of five, let alone a best of seven, which is the only scenario in which these two would play.
