Padres Press Clips Monday, May 8, 2017
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Padres Press Clips Monday, May 8, 2017 Article Source Author Page Tonight, Matt Bush finally makes it to Petco Park UT San Diego Krasovic 2 Padres' series finale vs. Dodgers postponed, rescheduled to UT San Diego Lin 5 Sept. 2 Jarred Cosart gets win in rehab appearance UT San Diego Sanders 7 Padres' finale with Dodgers rained out MLB.com Powers 9 Sanchez placed on 10-day disabled list MLB.com Powers 10 Cahill to face Rangers on extra day of rest MLB.com Sullivan 11 This Day in Padres History, 5/7 Friar Wire Center 13 Padres On Deck: Pitchers Lucchesi, Kennedy; 2B Urías Have Friar Wire Center 14 Big Nights Padres, Rangers set to begin home-and-home series STATS STATS 16 1 Tonight, Matt Bush finally makes it to Petco Park Tom Krasovic A weird homecoming tonight awaits Matt Bush, the former San Diego prep star whose unhinged behavior punished the John Moores-owned, hometown Padres for drafting him -- first overall, 13 years ago -- over a pricier player their scouts preferred in Stephen Drew. For the first time as an active big leaguer, Bush, 31, will walk into Petco Park. He arrives as a relief pitcher for the Texas Rangers, not as a shortstop for the Padres. The Mission Bay High alumnus returns as a recovering alcoholic and former prison inmate. When he enters the visiting bullpen wearing Trevor Hoffman’s number — 51 — he'll be armed with a 98-miles-per-hour fastball, a reconstructed right elbow and the routines of the 12-step recovery program. “I am glad for Matt Bush,” said former Padres executive Dick Freeman, who was the team’s president and CEO in 2004. “I hope things are working out for him personally. I hope it has got a good final chapter to it.” “I think,” Bush told “Real Sports,” an HBO show, “it’s about picking myself up, making a choice, staying sober and still being able to come back.” It was not Bush’s fault that the Padres drafted him after cutting an 11th-hour deal with his adviser, agent Jeff Moorad. But it took Bush only hours to make the Padres begin to regret the move. On the same day that the team pledged him $3.15 million, Bush irked Padres players and coaches. The team had introduced him at Petco Park, the newly opened venue funded largely with public money. Padres big leaguers wanted to thrash Bush for hogging time in the batting cage even after they told him to leave, and for creating a mess in their clubhouse with his gear. The following day, Padres executives fumed after the discovery of damaged furnishings in the owner’s suite, where Bush and people close to him had watched the Padres game. Things would get a lot worse. Before he played a game in the Arizona rookie league, Bush got into an altercation at a bar. 2 Learning Bush was accused of biting a bouncer that night, a furious Padres executive dubbed him The Count. As in Dracula. The Padres had only themselves to blame. Drew was a “clean” prospect -- scouting vernacular for a player who raised no significant character or health blemishes. Rating the Florida State shortstop, Padres scouts assigned him the top grade for the Class of 2004. Cost was the concern. Drew would command more money than Bush. And his adviser, agent Scott Boras, had a contentious history with Moores. Long Beach State pitcher Jered Weaver, now with the Padres, drew some support. But his quirky behavior during a tournament at Petco Park had turned off one Padres executive. His unorthodox delivery caused some nitpicking. And Boras was advising him, too. Rice pitcher Jeff Niemann held some appeal. Padres reports were mixed on future Detroit Tigers star Justin Verlander of Old Dominion. Several teams rated Bush a first-round talent -- but with the draft a week away, he wasn’t on the Padres’ short list for No. 1. “I didn’t really know who Matt Bush was at that point in time,” recalled Freeman, who wasn’t part of the scouting discussion but checked in with General Manager Kevin Towers and Moores. Signaling a late shift toward Bush that stunned the scouting industry, Towers, Bill “Chief” Gayton and other Padres evaluators attended one of Bush’s games within a few days of the draft. About that time, Moores and Moorad watched a Padres game together from the owner’s box. “I never heard anyone say, ‘Don’t draft these guys,’ ” Freeman said of speculation that Moores forbade his baseball men from drafting Drew or Weaver. “I heard people asking questions like, ‘Are they really worth that kind of money?’ Those kind of questions can sow doubt in people’s heads, but they’re not necessarily bad questions.” Freeman blamed himself for the draft outcome, saying he should’ve made sure everyone “was on the same page” about the financial variables. Making it even more important that they sign their top draft pick — a fact not lost on Boras -- the Padres had forfeited their second-round pick when they signed David Wells that offseason. The Padres would achieve staggering improvement in 2004. Winning 87 games, they bettered their ‘03 record by 23 wins. They set a franchise record that still stands by drawing over 3 million fans. But the muddled process and the Bush decision made for one of the maddening episodes in franchise history. Drew went on to have a decent career, and Weaver excelled in the American League, which is more difficult for pitchers. 3 Months before they backed off Drew and Weaver, the Padres got a $2-million discount on 2003 top draftee Tim Stauffer and to the dismay of manager Bruce Bochy and other field personnel, made no offer to free-agent Vladimir Guerrero although he had privately implored the Padres to come after him. By the time Bush made it to the big leagues last May, having spent 51 months in prison for a drunken hit-and-run conviction, none of the pivotal figures of 2004 were still with the Padres. Bush and Weaver will be in Petco Park tonight, completing another surreal circle in Padres history. 4 Padres' series finale vs. Dodgers postponed, rescheduled to Sept. 2 Dennis Lin In just the third-ever rainout at Petco Park and the 18th in franchise history, Sunday’s series finale between the Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers was postponed. The Padres made the announcement less than three hours before game time, citing “unstable, inclement weather including prolonged rain showers and possible thunder and lightning throughout the afternoon.” The game has been rescheduled to Sept. 2 at 12:40 p.m. To better accommodate a doubleheader, a previously scheduled contest against the Dodgers will be pushed from 5:40 p.m. to 7:10 p.m. This marks Petco Park’s first rainout since July 19, 2015. There had been 820 games played here since the only previous rainout, on April 4, 2006. Tickets for Sunday’s postponed game are valid for the same seats at the new game time on Sept. 2. Fans with tickets to both games that day will be asked to exit the ballpark after the first game and re-enter for nightcap. The Padres do not offer refunds for rescheduled games, but tickets can be exchanged prior to the rescheduled game at the Petco Park advance ticket windows for any remaining game during the 2017 regular season, subject to availability. While rain fell over San Diego on Sunday, the Padres made one roster adjustment. Catcher Hector Sanchez, who took a foul ball off his right foot Friday, was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a foot contusion. Reliever Kevin Quackenbush was recalled from Triple-A El Paso. All-time San Diego rainouts: April 27, 1970 (vs. Expos) April 14, 1971 (Cubs) May 7, 1971 (Reds) May 28, 1971 (Mets) June 5, 1972 (Pirates) June 6, 1972 (Pirates) April 8, 1975 (Giants) April 9, 1975 (Giants) Sept. 10, 1976 (Astros, doubleheader) May 8, 1977 (Expos, doubleheader) April 15, 1978 (Giants) April 28, 1980 (Braves) April 29, 1980 (Braves) 5 April 20, 1983 (Braves) May 12, 1998 (Mets) April 4, 2006 (Giants) July 19, 2015 (Rockies) May 7, 2017 (Dodgers) 6 Jarred Cosart gets win in rehab appearance Jeff Sanders Dinelson Lamet started strong Sunday afternoon. Jarred Cosart was even stronger. The Padres’ rehabbing right-hander closed Triple-A El Paso’s 3-2 win over host Nashville with four shutout frames. Cosart struck out four and scattered two hits and a walk to earn the victory after Lamet (2.48) opened the game with 10 straight outs. The right-handed Lamet (2.48) finished with six strikeouts and a run on allowed on two hits and a walk in four innings. He threw 48 of his 71 pitches for strikes in an outing shorted to accommodate Cosart’s second minor league rehab appearance. Cosart (hamstring) allowed a run on three hits and two walks in two-plus innings for Lake Elsinore on Tuesday. This time, Cosart pushed his pitch-count to 65 (44 strikes) as he built up stamina to return as the Padres’ long reliever. Right-hander Phil Maton (3.75) saved his fifth game despite allowing a run on two hits. He struck out two. Nick Buss (.451) and Jose Pirela (.306) both went 2-for-4 with an RBI, Dusty Coleman (.193) doubled in a run and Franchy Cordero (.250) collected two hits. DOUBLE-A SAN ANTONIO (16-14) Missions 7, Corpus Christi 1: RHP Kyle Lloyd (3-3, 4.00) struck out five and allowed a run on six hits and two walks in 6 2/3 innings.