Game Notes: Padres 14, Rockies 3 (4-20)

These were hard game notes to write.  So many talking points, and wonderful moments to send you to bed happy.  The Padres opened up a mammoth can of whoop-ass on the Rockies, winning the first game of the series 14-3.

You can find an actual informative rundown of the game from MLB.com by click right here.

Derek Norris, natural Xanax.

He is such a soothing player to watch at the plate.  I would imagine if I was wearing a heart rate monitor during the game, I would be damn near flatlined when he comes up.  Not because he’s boring, but because he inspires such calm confidence in myself, the fan. You don’t get too excited thinking he’s going to hit a 500 foot homer, but you also don’t get worried thinking he’s gonna do something irrational. Today, he was 3-5 with two doubles and an RBI.  On an unrelated note, his face reminds me of an ent from Lord of the Rings.  He’s quickly becoming my favorite Padre.

 OD’s first hit: 

The visuals from the dugout after Odrisamer’s first hit in the 3rd were nothing short of heart-warming.  Cory Spangenberg was smiling like a little girl who just got a pony for her birthday, Yonder jumped out of his seat and pulled on his hair like he just saw a god-damned UFO,  Kotsay was banging on the top rail of the dugout like he just took a double shot of Fireball.  Not that it’s been lacking this season, but it’s always awesome to see genuine team spirit and emotion from the boys.  At first base, OD was playing it cool, shrugging it off, but couldn’t hide a smile.  What a great moment. Then, I read this tweet and felt a little bad for him.  Hope he learns to say “fuck you guys” ASAP.

OD going deep into the game:

The bullpen’s been worked hard in the last two series…you’re going into Coors Field.  Not a good combo.  OD said, probably in Spanish, “Chinga that noise, I got this.”  He quietly dominated the game into the 7th while giving up only two runs on six hits. In the process, he gave our key relievers a much needed rest. Garces and Rearick, fringe pen members, finished the game off with not much ado.

Don’t fight the power:

I can’t remember so many Padres going the other way with the ball with such regularity. Norris, Yonder and Middlebrooks have especially shown an ability to take an outside fastball the other way. Two of Norris’ hits today went to left field, Middlebrooks has homered a couple times to the opposite field, and Yonder is developing a propensity for the 5.5 hole.  People who know shit about baseball say that’s a good sign.

Kemp’s 3 hits and 4 RBIs:

I honestly don’t know what to say or what superlative to use.  It’s like the Tao.  That which can be spoken of is not the true Kemp.

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