Padres lack a spark in (another) loss to Giants
The Padres lack of starting pitching is already a problem, USMNT doesn't show up against Portugal, Tiger Woods steps away from golf to focus on his health, and a bunch more in today's Front Row Seat.
As previously noted, I am on vacation. that means this write-up will be short and also that my ability to watch sports while on vacation has been diminished.
As such, I missed German Marquez’s entire 1st start for the San Diego Padres last night. I got home from dinner, put on the game, and Kyle Hart was mowing down Giants hitters for two straight innings with what looked like a hell of a sweeper before he ran out of gas in his third inning of work.
I am not a fool, as far as I know, so I will not be drawing any long-term conclusions like “Craig Stammen is in over his head” or “Marquez is doomed to be the worst pitcher we’ve ever seen” or “a bad third inning for Kyle Hart means the first two innings were worthless.”
That being said, the dreadful vibes from last year’s Padres team do seem to have carried over a bit to this year’s squad. I’m still hopeful they can find a way to shake them off.
Now, onto the links…
San Diego Padres
Márquez’s rough debut adds to Padres’ early-season woes - MLB.com
“You could tell right away he didn’t have his breaking ball, and that’s his bread and butter,” manager Craig Stammen said.
In total, the duo of Buehler and Márquez has combined to allow seven runs across seven innings in the first two games of this week’s series. The Padres have trailed for 16 of the 18 innings this series, which isn’t much of a recipe for success.
Two big innings by Giants, poor all-around play doom Padres - San Diego Union-Tribune
The job of a back-of-the-rotation starter is to give his team a chance to win, and Germán Márquez did not do it on Tuesday.
The Padres briefly appeared capable of overcoming that. Then they didn’t give themselves much of a chance.
They made it a game by putting together their biggest inning of the season, but the combination of an ineffective starter, a reliever who tired and a defense that wasn’t at its sharpest were too much to get past.
The Padres Bet On Themselves—And Won - Baseball Prospectus
Ownership might take home a $3.5 billion payout, more than quadrupling their valuation from 2012. The secret to the San Diego Padres being in line to sell for more than any MLB team ever, despite how dire things were ownership- and franchise-wise not all that long ago: is giving their fans consistent reasons to give a shit.
Odds & Ends
‘Why not us?’ Mauricio Pochettino asked the USMNT. Belgium and Portugal answered. - The Athletic
When Mauricio Pochettino gathered his U.S. men’s national team players on the first full day of a crucial March training camp, he spoke to them about belief. He exuded a calm confidence that built around the U.S. team this fall, that swept up fans who dared to dream. They talked then about doing “the impossible,” about charging deeper into a men’s World Cup than ever before. Now, standing on a training pitch outside Atlanta last week, Pochettino asked his players: “Why not us?”
And on Saturday and Tuesday, Belgium and Portugal delivered answers.
The answer was Vitinha’s pass to Bruno Fernandes on Tuesday night. It was Jérémy Doku’s electrifying 1-v-1 ability three days earlier. It was, in Pochettino’s words, “small details,” the type that separated the USMNT and European powers over the past week — and over the past decade.
Roger Goodell defends diversity policy after Florida AG challenges Rooney Rule: ‘We are well aware of the laws’ - Yahoo Sports
Goodell, speaking Tuesday at the league’s annual meeting, dismissed the notion that the Rooney Rule conflicts with Florida law. He also confirmed the league is not eliminating its policy.
“No, no, the Rooney Rule’s been around a long time,” Goodell said. “We’ve evolved, we’ve changed it. We’ll continue to do that as the circumstances warrant …
“[But] one thing that doesn’t change is our values, and we believe that diversity has been a benefit to the National Football League.”
The Knicks Look Stuck. Do They Have a KAT Problem? - The Ringer
It’s hard to describe just how quickly the Knicks fell into disarray against the Houston Rockets, just days after their deflating loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the defending champions—both games broadcast nationally on NBC with a concern-trolling Reggie Miller on the call. Self-inflicted errors compounded the struggles of the already languid New York offense, which couldn’t get into its actions with any urgency. The Houston defense ultimately took New York on a guided walk through basketball hell, culminating in a dispiriting 111-94 loss.
Affidavit: Tiger Woods Had Hydrocodone Pills In His Pocket, Was “Sweating Profusely” After Crash - Defector
Tiger Woods was “sweating profusely” and appeared “lethargic and slow” after his crash last weekend, according to an arrest affidavit released Tuesday. The golfer told investigators with the Martin County Sheriff’s Office that he had taken “a few” prescription drugs earlier in the day, and a deputy later found two hydrocodone pills in Woods’s left pocket.
Wood was arrested Friday on suspicion of driving under the influence and refusing to submit to a drug test, after the black Land Rover he was driving swerved to avoid rear-ending a pickup truck that had slowed down to make a turn. The Land Rover clipped the back of a trailer attached to the pickup truck, causing the SUV to roll over onto the driver’s side. Woods is currently out of jail on bail and has pleaded not guilty.