Can M's Solve Padilla?

Vicente Padilla, who the M's face today in Texas, suffered an absolute collapse last year, going 6-10 with a 5.76 ERA. I'd written him off and was surprised to see him back with the Rangers. I'd figured he was toast. Not so much--Padilla's 5-2 with a 3.02 ERA.

What was even more surprising was his performance last week against the M's. Say what you will about the M's offense (make sure you cover your kids' ears first) but Padilla was throwing mid-90s heat the whole game...his final pitch was a 94 mph fastball that blew Wladimir Balentien away.

That speed has been the biggest change for Padilla. According to Pitcher Cards, Padilla's fastball is about 2 mph faster than last year. John McLaren noticed the change in the M's opening series against Texas, telling Rangers beat writer T.R. Sullivan: "I really don't remember Padilla throwing that hard. The scoreboard said 97 and I looked at my coaches and said, 'Am I reading that right?'"

As it turns out, Padilla was hurt last season--he pitched with a sore triceps until June, going 3-8 with a 6.69 ERA. Hence the bad, bad numbers.

Padilla's two counterparts at the front of the Rangers' rotation haven't done their part--Kevin Millwood just went on the DL with a groin injury and Jason Jennings is doing his best Jeff Weaver impersonation.

So Padilla's really the only thing keeping the Rangers out of the cellar (and the M's in it). Let's hope the M's can speed up their bats and put the Rangers right back down there. Game's at 5:05pm.