At the Movies

I didn't bother with last night's game; I watched House of Flying Daggers, instead. Beautiful film to look at, even if the story didn't quite sweep me away into its fantasy world from start to finish like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon--the film which director Zhang Yimou has been consciously trying to top with this project and Hero. Still it had some scenes that could be suitable for framing, and the experience of it certainly must beat watching Kyle Lohse bury the team in a 5-0 hole before the bats scratch back into the game, only to see J.C. Romero melt down in the 9th to put it all out of reach, anyway.

On the bright side, Lohse hung in there for 7 innings, and Crain threw just 5 pitches for his appearance in the 8th, so everybody in the pen but Romero should be fresh for the rubber match. The top four batters in the lineup rustled up 6 hits, but Jones and Morneau scuffled against the lefty pitching in the #5-6 slots, as one might expect. The current arrangement of the batting order is something that might bear some rethinking, at least when the team is facing a lefthanded starter.

However, the team is 8-5 in June, and this was the first loss of the month that wasn't by just one lousy run. So far this month, the offense has scored 71 runs, or 5.46 runs per game. Meanwhile, the pitching has a 3.42 ERA in June, as the team has allowed 3.92 rpg. Things are going pretty well, even considering Morneau's slump; the run differential for the month gives the club a .660 expected winning pct. Given some better managing or a little more luck on the last road trip, getting one or two more wins wouldn't have been out of line with the team's performance of late.

I like our chances of taking the series today with Joe Mays facing Brett Tomko, a generally mediocre righthanded pitcher who is 2-6 with a 4.68 ERA on the road this season. And then maaaaaan am I looking forward to that matchup of Santana and Jake Peavy on Sunday afternoon. For the first and perhaps last time in my life, I'm jazzed about watching a Padres game. I guess that makes this interleague homestand all worthwhile. Now, whether this Saturday evening might be more profitably spent watching Brad Radke vs. Brian Lawrence or going to the theatre to see Mr. & Mrs. Smith or Batman Begins is another matter entirely. I'm leaning towards the movies again. Any recommendations?