CongratuLatos

Mat Latos just had what Mud Grant would call a heck of a week in the big leagues. He threw two consecutive complete games, the second and third of his career. The way I recall his first one is that he pitched the first no-hitter in Padres history but the official scorer remembered it otherwise. I usually make it a point to watch Mat's starts since I live in Reds country and I can. I missed his most recent start because, you know, the whole tornado thing, but he was ON when I watched last Monday. He struck out 12 in that one and 8 more on Saturday, giving up only a single run in each outing, lowering his season ERA by nearly a run. He was rewarded with the NL Player of the Week Award for his effort.

Monday's Mat Latos

I wasn't glad to see Mat Latos go, but since he got traded and there's nothing I can do about it, I'm glad it was to Cincinnati. A lot of my friends are Reds fans and I've always watched and listened to a lot of their games over the years since they're the closest Major League team. I was talking to my friend Nic- a Reds fan- after the trade and said that I'd still watch his starts and be rooting for him. Nic asked who I'd root for when Mat faces the Padres. Of course I'd root for the Friars and said as much immediately. I thought for a second and added a caveat. In the wildest, most ridiculous best case scenario, I'd like him to throw a no-hitter and lose 1-0 on an unearned run. But, since that's pretty imfrigginprobable, I'd just like to see Latos perform well and take a no-decision in a Padres win. I realized I just set it up for some a-hole to make a snide remark about the Padres winning being pretty imfrigginprobable, so go for it; just know in advance that you're a terrible person.

Every Uni Number In The Sixties

I was going to title this "Saturday's Sixties & Seventies" but, as it turns out, nobody has worn a number in the seventies for the Padres in the regular season. Only nine have worn one in the sixties. Steve Fireovid wore 62 in '81 & '83 and Andy Hawkins wore 63 in '82. Carlos Hernandez had 65 in '97 and Rodney Myers put on 66 in 2000-'01 and Chan Ho Park followed with 61 in '05-'06. Nick Hundley wore 61 when called up in '08; Matt Antonelli got 62 the same season and Mat Latos was given 61 in his first taste of the Majors in '09. Most recently, Sean Gallagher wore 63 in '09 & '10. I find it surprising, with the relatively vast parade of Quad-A cameo type guys the Padres have had through the years, that there haven't been more. Secondly, I noticed that the use of uni numbers in the sixties only popped up on rare occasions, for a brief period of time each. It was used for call-ups/ plug-ins Fireovid and Hawkins in the early '80s and for the same sort of thing in '08 and '09. I wonder if there was an organizational rule against it in other seasons and who ultimately makes the call. Hmmm, I wish I had the resources to interview Equipment Managers... Oh, and lastly, for the record, Kyle Blanks's 88 is the only number above 66 worn by a Friar in a regular season game.

Haiku Time: See Ya Latos

Your shit's electric
The Reds got such a great arm
Goodbye, McMuffin