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“Weekend Notebook”

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PADRES….A real opening day struggle….15-strikeouts in the loss to the Milwaukee Brewers…the 44,000-plus were ready to explode, but the big hit never came.

TOUGH OPENING DAY….The big money guys did not come thru. Eric Hosmer-Wil Myers-Hunter Renfroe went a combined (0-10) with 5-striekouts.

OLD DOG DOES GOOD….Clayton Richard induced 10-ground ball outs…allowed just 3-fly ball outs….and retired 13-of-14 at the end this start.

BULLPEN BIG BOYS….The Padres pitching throttled most of the big bats in the Brew-Crew lineup. Lorenzo Cain did have 3-hits…but there was a stretch that Milwaukee’s lineup had just 2-hits over 8-innings.

PACE OF PLAY…Good job, at least for 1-day by the umpires. The game was only 28-minutes old and we were in the 3rd inning…..we were at the (2:28) mark heading to the 9th inning till we wound up in extra frames

MOUND VISITS…The message got to the players, no delay of the game. The first visit to the mound by anybody came in the 7th inning. Veteran umpire Gerry Davis policed it well. Of course it was helped that Clayton Richard works at such a quick tempo.

WELCOME TO THE SHOW….Shohei Ohtani struggled all spring in his DH role (3-28), but promptly strokes a single in his first official major league at bat. He finished his first day at (1-4). Come Sunday, his pitching debut in Oakland against the A’s, this after a (27.00)-ERA in the Cactus League.

MARCH MADNESS…..The Final Four is upon us, and you can view tonight’s semi-final matchup Villanova-vs-Kansas as a title-type game. The other semi has upstart Loyola of Chicago against Michigan and its defense that makes people miserable.

WAITING GAME….So the kid, LiAngelo Ball has filed for the NBA draft after spending the winter player for a (5-20) team in Lithuania. Waiting for his dad, LaVar, to start the sales pitch that the Lakers cannot live without the kid joining his brother Lonzo via the draft.

QB-in-LA…..Searching for a younger quarterback to develop behind Philip Rivers, the Chargers brought in Geoo Smith of the Jets for a workout. Please. He’s been found wanting at three different spots. They do have Cardale Jones, the ex-Ohio Stater, and did workout Louisville’s record setting QB-Lamar Jackson, but I doubt Jackson would be there at the 17th pick, and I don’t know if the Chargers should even use the 17th pick on him.

GULLS IN FLIGHT….The war to finish 2nd and get home ice advantage for the playoffs continues….the mid-week loss to Bakersfield was a stunner. The Gulls just have a tough time matching up with the Condors.

KINGS-DUCKS….What a sprint to the finish line for the NHL wildcard spots, and tonights Kings-Ducks game is huge. Jeff Carter has 13-goals in 3-weeks since spending 4-months on the injured list with a sliced calf injury. He has carried the team in this playoff drive. For the record, the Kings are 6th in Western Conference (93P)…..the Ducks are at (91) tied with the Blues….and Colorado is at (90)….so you have 4-teams…3-slots.

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