May 12, 2012; Philadelphia, PA, USA; San Diego Padres Cameron Maybin (24) beats the tag of Philadelphia Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz (51) to score during the seventh inning at Citizens Bank Park. The Padres defeated the Phillies 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

Edinson Volquez was traded for Josh Hamilton when it seemed like there was still a pretty strong possibility that Hamilton would end up dead in a New Jersey off ramp ditch.  He also had a pretty good season for the Reds after the trade and was subsequently suspended for violating MLB’s substance abuse protocol.  Now, he is a member of the San Diego Padres.  He was traded for the best hitter in baseball, battled injuries, inconsistency and was outed as a cheater.

He’s had a weird career trajectory for sure, but it can not be denied that Volquez has great stuff.  There are times that it looks like if the opposing batter would just stand there and not swing the bat, he would walk everyone.  You know damn well that this Phillies roster is not going to take pitches.  Good stuff and impatience is not a good combination as evidenced by the fact that the Phillies could only muster one run against the enigmatic right hander.   (more…)

There are really no high aspirations for a game featuring a ridiculously lopsided pitching match-up.  Apparently there is a reason for this phenomenon as Tim Lincecum defeated Kyle Kendick with a 4-1 victory.  Lest you think that Kendrick pitched badly, he was actually pretty good tonight.  In fact, the game was reasonably manageable until the Giants tacked on some insurance runs on some poor defense by Michael Martinez in the seventh inning.   (more…)