Tough Loss on April Fools Day

Apr 1, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Mets catcher

(44) signals to New York Mets center fielder

(not pictured) to come home after Cowgill hit a grand slam against the San Diego Padres during the seventh inning of a MLB opening day game at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The Padres drop opening day to the Mets by a final score of 11 to 2.  While I wish this was some bad April Fool’s prank, it is what it is.  The Padres start the season with a bad game, getting only 4 hits off the lefty Jonathon Niese.  Some of the low lights for the Padres include giving up 2 hits and walk to Niese, one hit of which was a 2 out RBI poke to left field.  Niese almost matched the Padres by himself in terms of offensive production.  Another dagger to the heart was Brad Brach giving up a grand slam to Collin Cowgill.  There was some bad Padres luck here, as the ball was only a touch above the HR line.  Although to be fair, even it was a touch lower, with 2 outs, it would have been a 3 run base clearing double.  Edinson Volquez lasts only 3 innings and exposes the bullpen to early work.  All in all, it was a rout.

Well, they say there is no crying in baseball, and it is a long season ahead.   With the injuries, morale is down for sure.  We need Buddy Black to steady the ship and just completely reset the day from the memory bank like we were playing MLB 2K on the Xbox.  Shake it off, move on and try again tomorrow.  One bad game is fine, let’s not make it a habit.  There were some positives, including Yonder Alonso getting a solid line drive HR off a LHP.  Jedd Gyorko recording his very first MLB hit with a double.  Chris Denorfia and Carlos Quentin showing plate discipline and taking walks.  Also consider that 9 of the 11 Mets runs were scored with 2 outs in the innings.  While that may seem like a bad thing, it sometimes is a sign of bad luck.  If you think about it, 2 times out of 3, a hitter coming up to bat with 2 outs, simply ends the inning.  Give or take a few percentage points.  Expect to see improvement in that area next game on pure statistical regression.  All in all, it really was just one day of many, and I look forward to seeing the Padres exuding their grittiness to come back and play with composure.  Go Padres!