Padres have nothing to say
SAN DIEGO – Doug Brocail showed remarkable agility for a big man as he tried to shake off a handful of inquisitors after the San Diego Padres’ bullpen did it again.
“Honestly, the only people talking about this scoreless streak are y’all,” the 39-year-old reliever said. “We don’t even talk about it. It’s bad luck, so I’m not talking about it.”
With that, Brocail escaped to a players-only area of the clubhouse.
Actually, the bullpen’s season-opening streak of 28 1/3 scoreless innings is getting noticed in quite a few quarters, especially by the club’s rookie manager.
“Well, I’m running out of adjectives here for these guys,” Bud Black said Wednesday night after Cla Meredith, Scott Linebrink and Brocail combined for nine straight outs, including Barry Bonds on a harmless fly ball, in a 4-0 win over the San Francisco Giants.
“I’ve got to get in the dictionary and start looking up some other words to describe these guys. It’s been awesome,” said Black, a former big league pitcher.
Nine games into the season, the seven relievers – all right-handers – have combined to throw the equivalent of three straight shutouts, plus 1 1/3 innings. They’ve also earned three of the team’s six wins.
It’s the best start for the Padres’ bullpen, which is closing in on the longest stretch of scoreless relief innings in club history (32), set Aug. 5-22, 1978.
For the most part, the relievers are treating the streak the same way players deal with a no-hitter in progress.
“I think it’s something that nobody really wants to talk about, to be honest with you,” said closer Trevor Hoffman, baseball’s all-time saves leader with 484.
“It’s a streak that people are making a big deal of because it’s a fairly lofty number to start a season out with, but it’s too early to tell,” Hoffman said. “You’re a couple of crooked numbers away from blowing this thing up and nobody’s going to give a crap in July. It’s something where if a run’s given up, I don’t think it’s going to change the demeanor of how people are going to approach their game plan.”
The scoreless streak will end at some point, of course. At the least it shows the importance the two-time National League West-champion Padres have placed on building a strong bullpen.