Andy Addresses Paddack pitching again, finishing strong, Coors Field, Lucchesi and Renfroe
Tags: Sports, San Diego Padres, Major League Baseball, Andy Green, MLB

LHP Joey Lucchesi

While listening to Andy Green’s pre-game media session at Coors Field Friday, thoughts went across to the opposite dugout and something that then Padres manager Bud Black said repeatedly during the Padres’ 90-win season of 2010.

The foundation for 2010 was laid in 2009 when the Padres finished strong to post a 12-game improvement over 2008 when they were 63–99.

“We learned a lot about what we needed to do last year,” Black said in 2010.

Andy Green seemed to be making the same points Friday afternoon at Coors Field while announcing that Chris Paddack will be making another start in Milwaukee early next week and discussing the importance of finishing strong.

“Paddack will start again in Milwaukee,” said Green. “He’s strong and he feels good. I’m comfortable getting him back on the mound and pitching in a road environment against a playoff-type club that’s fighting with every game mattering. That’s good for him. As long as we feel great about where he is health-wise and he feels great about it, we feel that another great thing for him.

“We want him to go through the peaks and valleys. He’s going to learn from coming back from the three straight losses. He’s going to learn from winning games. It’s always been about his health. He’s going to learn from pitching games, from pitching in playoff environments, from pitching in tough places on the road. That game next week could set him up for pitching a pivotal game in Milwaukee at a pivotal time next year and he’s got comfort because he’s been on that mound. That does a lot for a guy. As long as we feel good about his health, we’re going to continue pushing forward.

“We chose Chris for the fourth spot in the rotation at the start of the season because of the way the days off fell early in the season and to maximize the length of his season and the number of times we could put him on the mound. That was part of the equation from the very beginning Right now, the way the group sits, we’re happy to run through it one more time and get Garrett (Richards) back in there as well.

“It’s different with different guys. Garrett and Dinelson Lamet had built up an innings bank before their (Tommy John) surgeries. The way we’ve handled Chris is not indicative of how we’ll handle everybody else. It’s always individualized. Chris had never done that.”

Green said he is hoping all his young starting pitchers have more success next season.

“We hope they all go further next year,” said Green. “The numbers at the end of the year can skew dramatically if the last couple of outings are great or poor. So there’s a lot to do to finish off the season for these guys from an individual perspective and for us as a team to run through to the finish line. We’re going to watch these last couple of outings and push guys to have great ones and hopefully look up at the end of the year and you see a number of guys have really grown and guys who have improved.”

Speaking of Richards, he will likely move into the Padres rotation if everything goes well in a bullpen session Saturday at Coors Field.

“We want to make sure he gets through his bullpen healthy,” said Green. “We’re cautious not to discuss next steps until they’ve completed their current step. If we feel we need to give him another day or two, we'll give him another day or two. Richards feels fine. He’s completely healthy. He’s ready to go. There’s no concerns at all. So, we figure tomorrow will be a normal bullpen and we’ll walk through what we expect our rotation to be and move on. We’ll walk through our rotation tomorrow after we get through that. I’ll give you an update tomorrow.”

Green also discussed how his younger players will react to Coors Field and the fact that Friday night’s starter, Joey Lucchesi, has had good starts against the Rockies and at Coors Field.

“The younger players called up in September are aware of Coors Field,” said Green. “The reputation precedes it. Everyone is aware of how well the ball can carry here, how big the outfield can be and how many hits there are. So we have some offensive guys who are excited and some pitchers who are geared up and ready to have a different kind of outing here. We need to take advantage of the ballpark, square some balls up and put runs on the board early.

“With Lucchesi, it helps coming to the ballpark knowing that you’ve had success here before like Joey Lucchesi has. We’re going to want to see Eric Lauer have success here tomorrow as well. In Joey’s case, it’s just about throwing strikes and executing. He has good enough movement and swing-and-miss that if he comes in today and does what he normally does he’ll be set up for success. Experience helps. The churve still churves here. We’re fine.”

Green discussed rehabbing Hunter Renfroe:

“Renfroe’s doing better,” said the manager. “Hopefully we’re nearing batting practice and then back to game action. It’s just been a slow process for him and he’s frustrated not being able to play here at the end of the year. Hopefully, he’ll be back and finish strong.”