Padres stink

Hey everybody, Jax here, blogging on the deck for a change.

The only thing worse than getting beat by the Padres is watching a perfectly good complete game by Barry Zito go to waste. Last night Scott Hairston continued to own the Giants with two walks, a hit and a home run to down the Giants 2-1. Hairston photo by Pictopia.com.

The Padres are barely out of the NL West cellar (don't worry, it's May) and I hope to God the Giants can win the rest of the series. Unfortunately, we've got Jonathan Sanchez starting tonight, who is a head case if I ever saw one. This guy will be lights out for an inning, then completely lose his cool and walk like five guys and just swear at himself on the mound. He has decent stuff, but I can tell just by watching him on TV when he gets frustrated and has no command. Imagine what the hitters can tell!

He is the like the opposite of Andy Pettite, who's got that hat pulled down so low you wonder how he can see at all. Sanchez (or "Sanchy" as Giants Manager Bruce Bochy likes to call him) has been rumored for a trade.

However, SF Chronicle Giants beat writer Henry Schulman pointed out on KNBR last night that May is no time to trade anyone--especially with Sanchy's stock sinking. The time to trade is closer to the trade deadline. Teams will be more desperate and the Giants can get a better deal to trade him for a hitter. Who knows, maybe the Giants will be in contention. They're second in the NL West right now, 7 1/2 games back. Maybe the wildcard is doable.

The Giants also can't afford to lose Sanchy right now because their next best starting pitcher is Madison Bumgarner, who is a prospect with exactly one start so far in Double A. He has a lot of hype surrounding him, but still.

So, in other words, we're in for Headcase Sanchez tonight. I hope this guy doesn't play poker--he'd lose his shirt.

Jax