RMJ 107 June 1

SUNDAY, JUNE 1 ● Houston, vs San Diego

Drayton has been in attendance this weekend. We sure picked a good time to stink up the place. Seventy-five-thousand people saw us go to the slaughter. I guess that’s the last we’ll see of most of them. Drayton is the guy who really counts, and he will be back. And he will be quite upset if we don’t start winning.

The game today is critical if we are going to gain momentum on this homestand. I thought we might pick up some steam in San Francisco, and let it out on the Padres at home. But the Padres, who had collapsed in a heap of injuries, are healthy now and are anxious to prove it.

           

Mike Hampton pitched his best game of the year by far, and it still wasn’t enough. In the eighth inning, he had a 3-0 lead and the seventh-place hitter, Carlos Hernandez, coming up. Mike got ahead in the count and threw a fastball up-and-in. Hernandez fisted it into right field for the Padres’ second hit of the game.

Quilvio Veras followed with a double down the left-field line. Before we could get the bullpen ready, Tony Gwynn hit a pinch single to left and it was 3-2.

While Russ Springer was rushing to get ready, Hampton struck out Archi Cianfrocco. I sensed that this was his last gasp. I brought in Springer, who came to the rescue by fanning Wally Joyner. At this point, Steve Finley was the hitter, and I knew Bruce Bochy would not pinch-hit for him.

I brought in Wagner. Four more outs. I was confident he could save the day.

Finley sent a single to left, and Bill and I sank lower in our seats in a collective sigh. Ken Caminiti, last year’s MVP and a switch-hitter, came to the plate. Wagner and Caminiti battled to a full count.

After several foul balls, Cammy hit a chopper down the third-base line. All Bill Spiers had to do was catch it and step on the bag, but fate intervened. The ball hit something in the dirt cutout around third and skidded under Spiers’ glove. One moment it was bouncing, the next it was rolling. There was nothing Billy could have done to make the play. Both runners scored, and the Padres had the lead. They added two runs in the ninth, and that’s how it ended: 6-3.

Afterward, I bristled in front of the reporters for the first time.

“That was a tough way to lose,” one of them said.

“Yes, that’s about as tough as it gets. Nobody did anything wrong. We played a good game and lost on a fateful hop. It’s frustrating. I am especially upset that Mike Hampton didn’t get the win after his fine effort. That really could have built his confidence.

“But it’s frustrating from a team standpoint too. We need to get back in a winning mode, and a loss like this makes it hard to believe that things are going to go your way. I’m sure Spiers is frustrated. Wagner, too. It was just a frustrating game all the way around.” 

At this point, a reporter asked, “how frustrating is it, since you were playing the Padres?”

This is where I went off.

“I think I’ve already answered that question,” I said. “And what’s wrong with the Padres? They have Gwynn, Finley, Caminiti, Joyner. They have good pitching, and they won their division last year, even though they had a stretch where they lost 17 out of 19 games. They’re down in the standings now, but they don’t believe they will stay down. And I don’t, either.

“It’s frustrating to lose, but not because it’s the Padres. It’s just frustrating in general. How do you want me to ‘rate’ frustrating, anyway? On a scale of 10? I mean, how many grades of ‘frustrating’ are there?”

The press has been really good to me this year, and I’m lucky they didn’t try to exploit this situation. They seemed to draw back a little and give me some space. At this point, I needed it.

 

We went over to a friend’s house for dinner and watched Game 1 of the NBA playoffs between the Bulls and the Jazz. It was a great game, and Ryan enjoyed sporting activities with their three boys.

When we got home, around 11 o’clock, I had a message to call Gerry. I was excited at the prospect of good news. He has been trying to make a deal involving Listach, and I was hoping he had pulled it off.

It turned out to be another sort of deal. Gerry wanted to send John Hudek to New Orleans and call up Blas Minor. We had a long conversation about it, and I didn’t go to the wall for John, but I did state my opinion that although he has been hit around some lately, I think he is close to getting straightened out.

We didn’t decide anything; just agreed that I would talk to Vern in the morning and call him later on.

Man, oh man! A three-game losing streak and all hell breaks loose. We are only a game-and-a-half out of first place, but we have not played well for a month. We are reaching Gerry’s flash point faster than mine. I’m sure he is feeling accountable to Drayton. Drayton is big on accountability.