Knuckle Curve » david_wells

NL Divisional Showdowns, Battle of ‘77 Expansion Teams

Geoff Young — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 16:06:45 +0000

Introductions? We don’t need no stinkin’ introductions. Here are your games for a Friday:

American League

Mariners at Blue Jays, 4:07 p.m. PT — This is the only weekend series in the AL that features two winning teams. You’ve also got the whole “battle of ‘77 expansion teams” going in this one. Whatever happened to Leroy Stanton and Otto Velez, anyway?

National League

Mets at Braves, 4:35 p.m. PT — The Mets just got swept in Philadelphia and now lead the Phillies by a mere 2 games. The Braves, for their part, are only 4 1/2 back in the NL East. If the Mets are going to win the division, it sure isn’t going to be easy. The opener in this weekend showdown features right-handers John Maine and Tim Hudson. Maine’s overall numbers (13-8, 3.68) obscure the fact that he’s been brutal (3-4, 5.94) since the All-Star break. He’s allowed six runs in three of his last five starts. Hudson, meanwhile, has enjoyed a terrific resurgence this year. The guy we saw from 2001 to 2003 most likely is gone forever, but even if he continues to perform at 2004-2005 levels, that’s pretty darned good.
Dodgers at Padres, 7:05 p.m. PT — This divisional showdown features a truly dreadful pitching matchup, so what else is going on here? David Wells faces his former team for the first time since leaving, as does Milton Bradley on the other side. Bradley, in case you didn’t get the memo, has been terrorizing NL pitchers since coming to San Diego on July 7. He’s hitting .345/.441/.655 in 33 games with the Padres (compare with the more ballyhooed Mark Teixeira’s .327/.416/.664 in 27 games with Atlanta).

I’ll be keeping an eye on the Padres, of course. If you have no general rooting interest, though, and are looking for a potentially great game, go with the Mets and Braves.

Happy watching…

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Dodgers Sign Wells

Geoff Young — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 15:22:13 +0000

Hey, finally some good news. The Los Angeles Dodgers have signed 44-year-old left-hander David Wells, who apparently doesn’t know when to say when.

Wells spent most of the season pitching for the San Diego Padres. It’s great to see that he is doing everything he can to help propel his former employer toward the playoffs.

[Tip o' the Knuckle Curve cap to Baseball Musings.]

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Wells Vows to Beat Diabetes

Geoff Young — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 21:23:39 +0000

San Diego Padres left-hander David Wells has type 2 diabetes. My colleague Kendra James offers her thoughts over at Diabetes Notes. I don’t have much to add to what I’ve already said at Ducksnorts. Here’s hoping Wells can learn to live with diabetes and enjoy continued success on the diamond and in life.

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Knuckle Curve on Suicide Fan

Geoff Young — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 16:05:27 +0000

The estimable Aaron Brazell at Suicide Fan has been kind enough to have me on his show. Listen as I hem and haw about whether Roger Clemens will return to pitch another year, how tough the AL Central is, and David Wells’ re-signing with the San Diego Padres.

There’s also some good football coverage on the podcast, for those of you who aren’t still crying over their team’s untimely removal from the playoffs (Geoff raises hand). That reminds me, I should give a shout-out to James at Squib Kick. If you’re gearing up for the Super Bowl, you’ll want to give Squib Kick a spin.

And that’s the last time I’ll talk about football here until… um, until the next time. Yeah, that’s it.

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