The Friar Wire:

    The ninth inning homer last night by Scott Hairston apparently didn't satisfy the Padres.

    Slugging two more round-trippers today -- one in the first inning and one in the third -- the Padres added to the excitement in a 4-2 win today over the Philadelphia Phillies.

    They weren't meaningless home runs this time though, as San Diego came out with a victory in the second of the three-game series against the Phils.  The Friars lost to the Phillies last night despite Hairston's late-inning blast.

    Today's win was only the Padres' third in the last 14 games -- a stretch that has seen them drop in the standings almost daily.

    The home runs, hit by Adrian Gonzales and Kevin Kouzmanoff, drove in three of the Padres' four runs, with the other run coming in on a Tadahito Iguchi basehit in the sixth. 
   
    The Padres amassed 12 hits in the game, the most the team has produced since hitting 11 April 17--a game that game took 22 innings innings to complete.

    Despite the offensive push today, the team still holds the lowest batting average in the National League, at .225, according to SI.com.

    Despite a big day at the plate for Scott Hairston, the Padres fell short yesterday against the Philadelphia Phillies 7-4.
   
     The loss was the team's eleventh in 13 games and denied Greg Maddux his 350th career victory for his third straight outing.

    At a time when no Padres appears to be on the ball offensively, Hairston broke through with his first multi-home run performance of the young season--hitting his first in the fifth inning off Cole Hamels and his second in the ninth inning off Ryan Madsen. 
      
    According to statistics available on SI.com, Hairston's last home runs came in the second and third games of the season against the Houston Astros.  His homerless drought lasted 22 games.

    Hairston hasn't been the only Padre struggling at the plate this season though.  As a team, the Padres rank 16th out of 16 National League clubs with a team batting average of .225.  The team has managed, however, to outperform four other clubs in the home run department.

    Padres relief pitching allowed several late-inning runs Tuesday, which eventually showed to be too much for the team to overcome. 
   
    A lackluster bullpen has continually added to the Padres' woes this season, as it has underperformed pre-season predictions.  With a similar pitching staff to that of last season--which led the National League with an ERA of 3.70--it was not expected that Padres pitching would rank only ninth right now and have have a combined ERA of 4.10.

    The two teams will face off again today in Philadelphia, with the first pitch scheduled for 4:05 p.m. Pacific time.

     Chris Young's two-hit effort tonight wasn't enough to avoid a second-straight sweep for the Padres, as they lost to the San Francisco Giants 0-1 in front of a crowd of 26,789 at Petco Park.

     The defeat came on the heels of yesterday's 13-inning battle, which ended in a Padres loss and left the Friars in a tie for last place for the first time this season.

     Last night's defeat brought on two other firsts--Rich Aurilia's first home run of the season, and the Padres' first experience this season as the only team in last place. 

     Aurilia's homer was only the second hit allowed by Young, whose record now sits at 1-2.  Coming in the seventh inning, the solo shot turned out to be the only thing the Giants needed to send the Padres into the back of the NL West pack, as the Padres struggled offensively for the fourth straight game.  In two games against Houston April 21-22, and now two against San Francisco, the Padres have failed to get more than eight hits. 

     The team strung together only five hits tonight; and hasn't had at least 10 hits since defeating Randy Johnson and the Diamondbacks April 20.

     The Padres return to action against the first-place Diamondbacks Friday night at Petco Park, where they will try to close the gap between the two clubs, which now sits at 7 1/2 games.

     After dropping the first of a two-game home series against the last-place San Francisco Giants, the Padres fell into a last-place tie tonight with Bruce Bochy's crew--only a week after the team was sitting in second place.

     The 3-2, 13-inning loss to the Giants dropped San Diego into the National League West cellar for the first time in '08--a position that has been held soley by San Francisco for the majority of the month.  Wednesday night's game was the third extra-inning loss for the Friars in three attempts, and the second straight home game to go beyond nine. 

     The team's last home game, April 17 versus the Colorado Rockies, resulted in a 2-1 loss in a team-record 22 innings, and didn't technically end until April 18--at 1:21 a.m.  Including that 6-hour, 16-minute defeat, the Padres have posted a 1-6 record in the week since.

     Wednesday's loss was also Greg Maddux's second failing attempt at earning the 350th victory of his career--but not because of a bad performance. 

     With a 1-0 lead in his pocket as all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman took the mound in the ninth, Maddux's 350th was only three outs away from becoming reality.  But with one out, Giants catcher Bengie Molina homered off Hoffman to give the future hall-of-famer his second blown save of the season and send the game into extra innings.

     The deciding run came in the top half of the 13th for the Giants, as Emmanuel Burriss scored on Fred Lewis' bloop single.  The Padres followed with a scoreless effort in the bottom half of the inning.

     The Padres' inability to muster more than one win over the past week has not only dropped the team from second to last place in the division, but has also dropped the team's record versus division opponents to 6-10. 

     The Padres will have a chance tomorrow to climb out of the basement as they meet the Giants again at Petco Park, with Justin Germano scheduled to start on the mound.

    Yesterday's 6-0 win over the Colorado Rockies propelled the Padres back to two games over .500, a position the team hadn't enjoyed since losing two of three to the San Francisco Giants April 7-9.

    Since then, the Padres are 3-1, and the team will meet the Rockies for game two of a three-game series tonight at Petco Park.  A win tonight would push the team above the 50 percent mark for wins since the beginning of the Giants series.

    Meanwhile, the Dodgers own a record of 6-8 through last night's games and have gone 2-6 since April 7.

    Neither team has bragging rights over one another as of yet for this season, as the two clubs have split their six head-to-head match-ups so far this season with three wins apiece.

    There is still plenty of work to be done for the Padres to reclaim first place in the West division, which is led by Arizona with a record of 11-4 through today's afternoon victory over the Giants.

    The Padres currently trail the D-Backs by 2 1/2 games, but that lead could shrink to two should the Padres win tonight.

     For some Padres fans, nothing may truly make up for the potentially incorrect call last Oct. 1 against the Rockies, granting the game-winning run to Colorado in the Padres' play-in game for the National League Wild Card.

    But Wednesday night, Randy Wolf answered the prayers of Padres fans with a 1-hit, 112-pitch effort against against Colorado in a game the Padres one 6-0.  Wolf flirted with history for more than six innings, as he hadn't given up a hit through 6 2/3 innings.

    Then Colorado's Brad Hawpe apparently decided he had had enough.  With no one on base and two outs in the seventh, Hawpe dinged Wolf for his first allowed hit.  Wolf retired the next batter, but the damage had already been done.

    Wolf did not return for the eighth inning. But his reliever, Kevin Cameron turned in a one-hit effort himself as he pitched the remaining two innings. 

    The Padres compiled seven hits against the Rockies' Ubaldo Jimenez, Kip Wells and Ryan Speier.

    According to a story on NBC11.com, the Padres, Rockies, New York Mets and Tampa Bay Rays are the only four teams to have never thrown a no-hitter.
   

     The Padres dropped a second-straight one-run game to the Giants Wednesday, making Friday's game in Los Angeles one with a lot hanging in the balance.

     Not only does the team have to prove it can compete with their rivals from up north, to whom they lost two of three in their last series, but it has to overcome the possibility of falling into the hole that is a losing record.

     After Wednesday's loss, the Friars already trail the Diamondbacks by 2 1/2 games in the West.  And they're only 1/2 game ahead of the Dodgers and Rockies, meaning a Padres loss Friday would drop the team from second to either third or fourth in the division, depending on what Colorado does Friday.

     Friday's mound matchup at Chavez Ravine features the two teams' premier pitchers, just as did the first 2008 game between the clubs. The Padres won that game 4-1, but not without contoversy--which leads into the last hurdle the Padres face Friday.

     After the scrutiny surrounding the video showing dirty pitching fingers of Padres pitcher Jake Peavy at the end of the shutout performance, Friday's game will no doubt have many watching Peavy very closely. 

     Peavy is likely to pay close attention in making sure his fingers don't look suspicious Friday night.  Therefore, a Padres loss by way of a poor pitching performance by Peavy could solidify in some fans' minds that he did cheat in his last outing, whereas another dominating performance could silence naysayers.

     All right.  We've all heard the rumors, the 'dirty' jokes, and the defensive statements floating the past couple days around Jake Peavy. 

     Ever since the close-up photos of Peavy's hand during his last start began stirring the pot of suspicion stew, I've wondered whether it could be true.  Could Peavy really pull a fast one on all of us?  Could he really have used some substance on his hand to doctor up the baseball during that game?

     Well, after mulling over these questions in my head for the past couple of days--grimmacing at the bitterness of this stew not only tasted, but further stirred by the media--logic has reminded me of one thing.

      I don't like stew.  Or at least not when it's ingredients aren't mixed right.

     So just what makes this so hard to swallow?  Well, first off, let's look at who was likely to have started the rumor. 

     The story broke after the Padres beat the Dodgers in a gem-of-a-complete game thrown by Peavy, when a fan began disseminating what he noticed at the end of the telecast--some smudges on Peavy's three pitching fingers.

    Now, as a fan of baseball, I detest nothing more than cheating; and my wish is not to defend Jake Peavy simply because he is a Padre.  My backing of the pitcher is based on nothing more than his track record and logic.  I may be wrong, but I seriously doubt it.

     First off, the fan who broke the story--or, arguably, non-story--was likely a Dodger fan.  I know the game was on Fox, which means any one of the possibly millions of fans watching across the nation could have been the accuser--with no ties to either of the two teams.  But logic tells me that the majority of those watching the game somewhat cared about who won.  Very few people I know watch sports if they don't.  So it was likely either a Padres or Dodgers fan.  And logic also tells me that it's unlikely that a Padres fan would have opened a can of worms like this on one of his own guys.

     Any baseball fan in Southern California knows that it's a rare sight to see a Padres fan befriend a Dodgers fan.  And the Padres' success over the past several seasons over the rival Dodgers has those up north begging for any excuse.  Trust me, I've heard it all.  Ok, well maybe not all, but I've heard a lot of excuses.  

     Second, Peavy didn't just start having success over the Dodgers--or anyone for that matter.  He's been dominating for a while now.  I guess if I was a fan of the Dodgers, against whom, according to a story on the Dodgers Web site, Peavy has a lifetime record of 10-1 with a 2.21 ERA, I'd be looking for excuses too.

     But is it realistic to think that he would risk his reputation at a time when he has no real need to gain an edge, when he's already ringing up 200-plus every year.

     Probably not.

    I know what naysayers would say next: Well maybe he's been doing it the whole time?

     Give me a break.  Do you really think he would have made it this far, and had such great success for this long without having something like that noticed.  This isn't anything like the steroid debate--one in which there really is no way to prove innocence.  I mean, how do you convince someone that something didn't happen when there is no record of it.  Peavy has a basis for argument Roger Clemens or Barry Bonds didn't have when accused of steroid use--several seasons of game tape.

     My last point is based on what Peavy has admitted to doing.  He admits to using a completely legal substance while on the mound--rosin.  Anyone who has ever used rosin knows that when mixed with dirt--which there is plenty of on a diamond--it smudges in a way much like that seen in the photos.  Plus there are other factors that may have contributed to the dirty fingers seen in the photos, including a tradition held by the majors for decades.

     According to a 1999 New York Times article, mud--yes, mud--has been rubbed into the leather of baseballs used in pro games since 1938.  It has been the preferred method of softening the leather of a brand new ball since the mud was discovered by Burns Bintliff of Largo, Florida--a former professional player and umpire--earlier in the '30s.

     Do you think it's possible, just possible, that a mix of sweat, rosin, dirt, and maybe a tad of residue from the balls could dirty up a pitcher's three pitching fingers.

     If my theories are ever proven wrong--or if even somewhat sufficient evidence comes along to really discredit any of them--I will gladly look deeper into this.  In fact, I'll do the journalistically-correct thing and look deeper into it anyway.      

     But for now, a video clip showing a few dirty fingers just doesn't do much for me.  There are just too many other posibilities and too few reasons to think it was anything else.

     Jake Peavy, Brian Giles and Jim Edmonds must have had a bet today, because all three players hit their first home runs of the spring.

     In a 12-7 loss to the Texas Rangers, both Peavy and Giles cleared the fences, while Edmonds' shot came in a minor league game as he hopes to get ready to compete at a normal level with the rest of the club by opening day.

     Earlier in the day, the injured outfielder expressed in an MLB.com story by Corey Brock his hopes to pile up some at-bats at the minor league level back in Arizona, while the team finishes up Cactus League play and prepares for the March 31 season opener. Cactus League games for the Padres conclude Thursday with a game against the Seattle Mariners.   

     Well, Edmonds so far seems to be making the most of those at-bats, as he went 3-4 at the plate with the one bomb.  According to Brock, he did not play in the field.

     Edmonds isn't the only Padre to be coming off injury to have a good day Wednesday, though.  Giles hadn't even started a game until last week, recovering from off-season microfracture knee surgery.  And yet today he slugged one over the right field fence.

     As for Peavy, his home run didn't help his cause much, as he allowed four runs in three innings of work.  One bright side though was the total of five K's for the 2007 NL Cy Young Award winner.  Nothing new for Peavy, who last year donned the pitcher's version of the triple crown with the league-lead in wins, ERA, and strikeouts recorded.

    Questions abound the mind of Padres manager Bud Black when it comes to what names will adorn the outfield uniforms on his opening day roster card.

    Monday's home opener is only five days away, and center fielder Jim Edmonds still hasn't chased down or swung at any balls in a game for nearly three weeks.  Edmonds strained his right calf March 6 early in a Cactus League game against Colorado.  The Padres won the game 10-3, but they lost big at the same time, as they were forced to sideline the 37-year-old multiple gold glove winner.

    It's not the first time Edmonds has dealt with injury recently, nor is it completely surprising.  If healthy, he poses to be a great asset to the team, having won his last gold glove as recently as 2005.  But Edmonds experienced a  slowdown last season as he recovered from shoulder and hammer toe surgery following the '06 season.  Despite the loss in production, he still led the Cardinals in outfield assists with eight.

    In a March 26 Corey Brock article on MLB.com, Edmonds said he plans on staying behind in Arizona after the team breaks camp following Thursday's game, hoping to participate in some minor league games before the season opens.  Despite some swelling earlier this week in the injured calf, Edmonds is optimistic.

    "It's getting better," Edmonds said.  "I've been running and doing everything.  I know I'm going to try to get in as many [Minor League] games as I can in the next five days and get as many at-bats as I can."

    Since Edmonds' early exit, Manager Bud Black has had to plan for two possible opening day rosters--one with, and one without Edmonds.  He did, however, say Wednesday that Edmonds was "doubtful" for opening day, according to Brock's article.
   
    He's also had to gague whether or not regular right fielder Brian Giles will be ready for duty March 31 against the Houston Astros. 
   
    Giles started in his first spring training game last week after spending the early part of camp rehabilitating from microfracture surgery on one of his knees.  His prognosis is looking better. With 18 at-bats so far this spring, Giles is hitting .389 with an on-base percentage of .421.

    Should Edmonds' 'doubtful' status hold up,  Paul McAnulty may be a starter for the time being.  With Scott Hairston, Edmonds, Giles and McAnulty the only four outfielders on the active roster, he would be the only one left. 

    On the 40-man roster, but not the active roster, is Chase Headley.  Though not someone the team would normally utilize as an outfielder, the team's struggle with injuries this spring led to Headley trying the outfield on for size for the first time.
   
    In 43 at-bats over the spring, he batted .349 and slated four round-trippers.