FRUSTRATING SEASON GETS WORSE

Any chance of Khalil Greene bouncing back and improving upon his anemic batting average through the remaining two months of the season went out the window when he took out his frustration on a clubhouse storage locker during Wednesday's embarrassing loss to Arizona. Greenie is going on the DL today and will more than likely miss the rest of the season. According to Buddy Black, Luis Rodriquez will replace him at shortstop. Too bad the Padres didn't retain the services of Geoff Blum. We could have used a guy like him this season. Then again, we could have also used guys like Mike Cameron and Milton Bradley, but that's another story.

Someday we'll all look back at the 2008 season as being the "Murphy's Law" season. Almost anything that could've gone wrong has gone wrong. All you have to do is compare the opening day roster to today's and review the club's injuries to see that this has been one of the worst seasons the Padres have ever experienced. Or, you can ask the season ticket holders who are desperately trying to sell their tickets for remaining games. And many are selling them for far less than face value. The Padres would be wise to extend their $1 hot dog and drink specials through the rest of the season.

For true baseball fans, however, a night at the ballpark is still enjoyable--even if your team is one of the worst in the majors. Making upcoming appearances at Petco Park are teams that, at least for now, are in the hunt. For example, on the home stand beginning August 12, the Padres will host Milwaukee (wild card contender) and Philadelphia (leads the NL East). Both teams have excellent players that are worthy of watching. It might be kinda fun to sit in the stands and say, "Let's see, I wish we had that guy...and that guy...and, of course, that guy."

One team the fans will look forward to seeing in September is the Dodgers...especially now that they have future Hall-of-Famer Manny Ramirez patrolling left field. (Our friend Harry will have a field day with him). I predict, however, that Dodger fans will outnumber the Friar faithful by a 2-1 margin. I know of fans who flatly refuse to sell their tickets to Dodger fans. What does it matter at this point? Let them have their fun.

By trading for Ramirez, the Dodgers sent a clear message that they're going for it this year. They certainly have the pitching. All they needed was a power bat in the middle of their lineup. Had the Padres made a similar move last season, they would have been in the playoffs. And, with a pitching staff that had the lowest ERA in the majors, who knows how far they could have gone.

Arizona, who made a run at Mark Teixeira before he got traded to the Angels, did not make any significant moves other than recently adding big John Rauch to their bullpen. Sorry, D'Backs...I give the edge to L.A.

One final note: Although I don't fully understand why the White Sox traded for Ken Griffey Jr., I'm glad that Junior will have an opportunity to get a ring. It certainly wasn't going to happen in Cincinnati.