San Diego Padres

What do the San Diego Padres have in common with the fleet of garbage trucks dispatched each day by the city of Charlotte, N.C.?The answer: Both have been the subject of mathematical formulas wielded by Lawrence Bodin, a University of Maryland at College Park business professor.Bodin, a serious baseball fan and fantasy league player, set out last year to figure out how the Padres could best get through the expansion draft without losing important players. He has written a report on his research, entitled "Who's on First -- with Probability .4," to be published in the International Journal of Computer and Operations Research.

As part of the effort to upgrade their pitching staff, the Orioles are taking a close look at three right-handers with the San Diego Padres, one of the few teams that have pitching depth.According to sources in both leagues, the Orioles are checking on the performance potential and availability of right-handers Tim Worrell, Scott Sanders and Willie Blair. All three are currently pitching out of the Padres' bullpen, but would prefer to start. The Orioles have continued to talk to the Florida Marlins, as well, about right-hander David Weathers.

The San Diego Padres have taken the National League West race to the limit. They needed a three-game road sweep to overtake the Los Angeles Dodgers and win their first division title since 1984, and they are one game away.Tony Gwynn's bases-loaded single in the eighth inning yesterday broke a 2-2 tie and propelled the Padres to a 4-2 victory that set up today's championship showdown at Dodger Stadium.The victory guaranteed that both teams will make the playoffs, which might figure to remove some of the urgency from today's matchup, but the game still will have a significant impact on the playoffs.

The first trade since baseball owners imposed the salary cap was perhaps the biggest in 37 years, involving as many as 12 players.The Houston Astros yesterday dealt All-Star third baseman Ken Caminiti, ex-Orioles outfielder Steve Finley, pitcher Brian Williams, infielders Roberto Petagine and Andujar Cedeno and a minor-league player to be named or $50,000 to the San Diego Padres for outfielders Phil Plantier and Derek Bell, pitchers Pedro Martinez and...

Scott Erickson, pitcher Minnesota TwinsErickson led majors in hits allowed last year, but tossed a no-hitter against MilwaukeeIP: 9R:0H:0BB:4SO:5Tony Gwynn, outfielder, San Diego PadresGwynn blistered New York and Philadelphia pitching to move into second in National League batting race.22R: 11H: 9HR: 1RBI: 3Avg: .500

The first firing of a major-league manager in 1994 took nearly everyone in baseball by surprise. The most likely second firing should shock no one.Like Buck Rodgers, fired by the California Angels, San Diego Padres manager Jim Riggleman has little talent with which to work. Unlike Rodgers, Riggleman's team is not in a pennant race.The Padres, a Double-A caliber team with a Tony Gwynn here and an Andy Benes there to break up the monotony, lost for the 12th consecutive time Friday night to set a Padres record and fuel speculation that Riggleman's job is on the line.

Albert Belle, left fielder, Cleveland Indians.Belle homered in three straight games against the Orioles, two of them game-winners.AB .. .. .. .. R .. .. .. H .. ... HR .. .. RBI ... ... Avg24 .. .. .. .. 9 .. .. .. 11 .. .. 4 ... .. 7 .. .. ... .458Derek Bell, center field, San Diego Padres.Bell went 5-for-10 with two homers, four runs, and three RBI in a doubleheader with Colorado this week.JB .. .. .. R .. .. .. H .. .. .. HR .. .. .. RBI .. .. .. Avg38 .. .. .. 10 ... ... 17 ... ... 4 .. ... .. 8 ... ... .. .447(through Thursday)

News of the dayAs the strike entered its second week, the effects were starting to be felt by non-playing team employees.The Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants announced layoffs or forced vacations.Meanwhile, George W. Bush, managing general partner of the Texas Rangers, said he thinks the strike will mean no World Series this year. "I hope I'm wrong, but I doubt it," Bush said.Games lostSeventeen games were canceled yesterday.

News of the dayBoth sides said they didn't have any contact with each other yesterday. They also didn't speak with federal mediators.But owners negotiator Richard Ravitch indicated that the talks could resume as soon as Monday.Management discounted a report by ESPN that said large-market clubs, in a desperate situation, might break away and form their own league.Games lostFourteen games were canceled yesterday. The total number missed is 195. Only 474 games remain on the schedule.Quote"I'll be honest.

PHOENIX -- And you thought Eli was bad.Say hello to chairman Tom Werner and the rest of the San Diego Padres' 15-man ownership group. The Padres finished third in the National League West last season, featuring the league batting champion (Gary Sheffield) and home run king (Fred McGriff). Now, they're the laughingstocks of baseball.Werner and Co. say they lost $8 million in 1992, and they've responded with a cost-cutting crusade that makes Eli Jacobs look like Santa Claus. Hey, at least the Orioles had a Christmas tree this winter.

A night after being so short-handed that he needed utility infielder Robert Andino to play center field for just the second time in his career, Orioles manager Dave Trembley's bench was back to full strength. That meant All-Star Adam Jones returned to the lineup for the first time since Sunday after being held out because of back soreness. Felix Pie, who had started five straight games in center field in Jones' absence, was available for Saturday night's game after being removed Friday with tightness in his left hamstring, though he didn't start with left-hander Jeremy Sowers on the mound for the Cleveland Indians.

It was way back in 1983 when a 15-year-old California girl and her baseball fanatic father were watching the World Series on television and she became smitten with the ice-blue eyes of the Orioles' young shortstop. About a decade later, Wendy Harding fell in love for real with her now-husband Charles, a big-time San Diego Padres fan. But the 39-year-old Long Beach, Calif., woman never completely tossed away her crush on Cal Ripken Jr. And Charles Harding is OK with that. "I've always said that Cal Ripken is the only man who could come between me and my wife," joked Charles Harding, whose wife placed first this year in the San Diego County Fair's sports division for her Ripken memorabilia collection.

A reader alerted us that the San Diego Padres released Walter Young from their Triple-A Portland affiliate. Let's see, the Pirates gave up on him, the Orioles did the same, and now the Padres have cut him loose. Maybe we built him up a little too much. As if he needed to be super-sized. I still don't see the harm in keeping him on a Triple-A roster, or Double-A if that's what he needed. But can this many teams be wrong? It doesn't sound like many female readers of this blog are too upset with Keith Hernandez's comments Saturday night about the Padres' massage therapist.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - His first baseball glove wasn't even a glove. It was a milk carton, fashioned into a makeshift catching device for the poverty-stricken fields in the Dominican Republic. So maybe Deivi Cruz has a tendency not to blink when he looks at this next challenge. The Orioles signed him to replace Mike Bordick, who made one error last year - yes, one - in the best defensive season for a shortstop in major-league history. Bordick made his lone error April 10 and then set records for shortstop excellence by playing 110 consecutive games and fielding 543 consecutive chances without a single error.

MILWAUKEE - Baseball's annual All-Star festival has everything a fan could want, but the 73rd midsummer classic will be played in the shadow of everything that baseball fans have come to fear. The All-Stars will come out tonight at Miller Park for what is supposed to be the sport's most fan-friendly event. Curt Schilling will start against Derek Lowe in a dynamic pitching matchup. Super-sluggers Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa will bat in the same lineup. Milwaukee, long one of baseball's backwater towns, will be the center of the baseball universe.

SAN FRANCISCO - The Hall of Fame careers of Barry Bonds and Rickey Henderson have converged this weekend at Pacific Bell Park, where every inning of the three-game series between the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres seems to burst with historical significance. Bonds continued to chip away at Mark McGwire's single-season home run record last night with his 68th of the season in a 10-5 Giants victory, the long homer coming just one inning after he broke Big Mac's National League record for walks with his 163rd of the year.

What do the San Diego Padres have in common with the fleet of garbage trucks dispatched each day by the city of Charlotte, N.C.?The answer: Both have been the subject of mathematical formulas wielded by Lawrence Bodin, a University of Maryland at College Park business professor.Bodin, a serious baseball fan and fantasy league player, set out last year to figure out how the Padres could best get through the expansion draft without losing important players. He has written a report on his research, entitled "Who's on First -- with Probability .4," to be published in the International Journal of Computer and Operations Research.

The San Diego Padres have taken the National League West race to the limit. They needed a three-game road sweep to overtake the Los Angeles Dodgers and win their first division title since 1984, and they are one game away.Tony Gwynn's bases-loaded single in the eighth inning yesterday broke a 2-2 tie and propelled the Padres to a 4-2 victory that set up today's championship showdown at Dodger Stadium.The victory guaranteed that both teams will make the playoffs, which might figure to remove some of the urgency from today's matchup, but the game still will have a significant impact on the playoffs.

As part of the effort to upgrade their pitching staff, the Orioles are taking a close look at three right-handers with the San Diego Padres, one of the few teams that have pitching depth.According to sources in both leagues, the Orioles are checking on the performance potential and availability of right-handers Tim Worrell, Scott Sanders and Willie Blair. All three are currently pitching out of the Padres' bullpen, but would prefer to start. The Orioles have continued to talk to the Florida Marlins, as well, about right-hander David Weathers.

The first trade since baseball owners imposed the salary cap was perhaps the biggest in 37 years, involving as many as 12 players.The Houston Astros yesterday dealt All-Star third baseman Ken Caminiti, ex-Orioles outfielder Steve Finley, pitcher Brian Williams, infielders Roberto Petagine and Andujar Cedeno and a minor-league player to be named or $50,000 to the San Diego Padres for outfielders Phil Plantier and Derek Bell, pitchers Pedro Martinez and...