COLORADO – Jake Peavy will get two more starts before the All-Star break.
But he might get an extra day's rest before each start. Ditto for Greg Maddux.
“We'll see how it works out,” manager Bud Black said yesterday, admitting that Peavy could be pushed back until Saturday, although Friday would be his normal fifth day.
If he stuck to a five-day rotation, Peavy would start Friday night in Arizona and next Wednesday at Petco Park against Florida. But his time would come up again on the Monday of the All-Star break.
“With days off the next two Thursdays before the break, it might benefit everyone to get an extra day,” Black said.
Recently, Peavy, Maddux and Randy Wolf have been sticking to a five-day rotation with Cha Seung Baek and Josh Banks working around the off days. Baek, for example, has started on four straight Saturdays.
“Cha Seung indicated to me he feels better working with extra rest,” Black said. “But a lot of this has to do with the way it has fallen.”
Over 35 days between June 9 and the start of the All-Star break, the Padres will have had five days off after getting only five days off the first 10 weeks of the season.
NL worst
Black used “bewildering” to describe his reaction to what has happened to the National League West this season.
“It's that way to me and everyone else,” Black said. “I can't put my finger on it.
“Our offense is down a little from what we expected. And our bullpen is not where we expected it to be. And everyone in the division has had injuries. I think everyone in the division is frustrated.”
Balancing act
Even on the best of teams, pitchers and hitters operate on parallel planes.
So while Peavy stated a fact Sunday when he said a quality start (three runs allowed over six innings) isn't enough these days because of the Padres' run production, Black could see the other side of the equation.
“Right now, we're not scoring runs,” Black said. “But it works both ways. Someone throw a shutout. Let's do that. A couple well-pitched games might take the pressure off the offense and we'd get more runs.
“A shutout works, too.”
The Latin beat
The Padres have bid a franchise-record total of more than $4 million for three players in Latin America – Venezuelan pitcher Adis Portillo, Venezuelan outfielder Luis Domoromo and Dominican shortstop Alvari Aristy.
According to two sources, the Padres are likely to land all three. Signing day for international amateurs is tomorrow.
Portillo, a right-hander, will get close to $2.2 million. Domoromo will get around $1.2 million and Aristy around $1 million.
Later in July, the Padres expect to house several of their signees in the franchise's new facility in the Dominican Republic.
Staff writer Tom Krasovic contributed to this report.
