5/15 Game Recap: Dodgers vs Padres

Went to tonight's ball game.  It did not turn out like I had hoped, as San Diego lost to LA 4-1.  This is not your normal recap.

1. Since the game was advertised a sellout, I felt we had to get there early.  So, my father-in-law and I left for the ballpark at 3:20 pm.  Thanks to little traffic, we were parked by 3:50 and in the ballpark by 4.
2. Hot Dogs and soda.  mmmmm.
3. The section immediately to our right was loaded with Dodger fans.  Also, the 4 folks immediately behind us were LA fans as well.  They rooted for their team with gusto, and got obnoxious from time to time, but I really didn't have a problem with any of that.  Having spent a great deal of time rooting for favorite teams in opposing ballparks, so long as they aren't in my face or throwing things at people I'm good.  Of course, as the game went on and the Dodgers put a hammer lock on the outcome, they got more and more vocal.  And after the game?  Whooo boy.  Lots of chanting and heckling as they exited the building.
4. Why give out 'Beat LA' t-shirts that are blue?  Yes it was a dark blue, but the Dodgers wear blue too.  Why not Sand (or, egads, brown/yellow)?  Make it stand out, marketing gurus.
5. Also, 'Beat LA' is what they chant in San Francisco at Giants games, and in Boston at Celtics games.  I think the chant originated in the Boston Garden during the 1980s NBA finals, but I could be wrong.  We need something different and original here to poke at the Dodgers.

Some game notes follow next.

1. Gonzo made a heads-up play in the first leading to the lone Padre run.  Instead of running into the 4-3 double play to end the inning, he backed up and avoided the tag long enough to let Headley beat the throw to first, and Scott Hairston to score.  Well done.
2. Then Headley gets picked off first, and all the momentum is gone.
3. I'd never seen someone break two bats in the same at-bat before Kyle Blanks did it in the second inning.  Three innings later Oscar Salazar did the same thing.  Wierd.
4. Coming out of spring training, Correia tended to lose his stuff and command in the sixth inning.  Tonight, after missing a start due to his brother's untimely death, he lost his stuff in the fifth.  We should have seen this coming.
5. Of course, the fifth is completely different if he doesn't bounce that pick-off throw past Gonzo.  Then Carroll's base hit doesn't score Blake (although it would have sent Blake to third).  Would Torre have had Kershaw sacrifice in a first/third, one out situation?  Straight sacrifice, or squeeze of some sort?  The inning gets much more interesting.  It's conceivable the Padres could have gotten out of that inning unscathed, especially if Kershaw hit away and hit into a double play or something.  I wonder if Correia would have approached Russell Martin differently if it was second/third, two out of a tie game.
6. Back to that pick-off throw.  I have a great vantage point for those throws, because my seats line up with the pitcher and first base.  Every one of Correia's throws over at Blake were low.  It was only a matter of time.  
7. James Loney absolutely crushed the HR he hit.  That ball's out of Petco with it's original dimensions.  It's hard to hit a ball out to RC based on how the wind swirls.  Loney is a strong man.
8. I couldn't figure out why Oscar Salazar got the start tonight, until the scoreboard told me he hit .357 last season against LHP. Oh.  Andre Ethier didn't play for LA because he had a jammed finger, at least, according to the Dodger fans sitting around me.
9. Salazar was fooled by the ball Garrett Anderson hit in the sixth that accounted for the Dodgers' last run.  He froze, then broke late.  Then, he fell down on the track trying to pick up the ball.  As Correia came out of the game, I saw feet flutter-kicking out of the corner of my eye.  What the hell?  I looked to my right, and in the aisle is the Dodger fan sitting behind me, laying down like a bug, arms and legs kicking, saying 'OH GOD HELP ME UP!  I CAN'T GET TO THE BALL!'.  Sorry, but that was funny

A weak single to lead off the game, a well-placed double that wasn't hit very hard, and an infield single.  Kershaw was overpowering tonight, and the Padres lost.  I was reminded how little margin for error this Padre team has.  The Padres are 23rd in baseball in wOBA (.311).  Last year it was .310, 2008 it was .311.  The largest difference between this year and the last two has been their defense (second best in 2010 at 13.0, when it was -3.4 in 2009 and -6.5 in 2008) and pitching (#2 in the majors in starter's ERA, #3 in bullpen ERA).  If their pitchers falter, and/or their defense allows unearned runs, they can't make it up with their bats.

The Padres have succeeded this year in spite of their offense.  Let's hope they salvage one game in this series tomorrow.