NL NOTEBOOK: HOFFMAN CLOSES IN ON SAVES RECORD.Byline: TONY JACKSON
Anthony (Antonio) Jackson, best known as Tony Jackson Staff Writer San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. third-base coach Glenn Hoffman Glenn Edward Hoffman (born July 7 1958 in Orange, California) is a former shortstop in Major League Baseball and the current third base coach for the San Diego Padres. Previously, in 1998 he took over the managerial position for the Los Angeles Dodgers final half of the season when is nine years older than his more celebrated brother. But that doesn't stop some Padres fans from yelling ``Trevor'' at him every time he steps onto the field for batting practice in a jersey that says ``Hoffman'' on the back. ``I guess they think Trevor is going to carry around a fungo fun·go n. pl. fun·goes Baseball A fly ball hit for fielding practice by a player who tosses the ball up and hits it on its way down with a long, thin, light bat. [Origin unknown.] bat and throw batting practice,'' said Glenn, who is in his first year with the Padres after spending the past seven seasons with the Dodgers. In fact, though, there is no better time to be mistaken for Trevor Hoffman Trevor William Hoffman (October 13, 1967 in Bellflower, California) is a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who has played for the San Diego Padres since 1993. He bats and throws right-handed. -- or, for that matter, to actually be Trevor Hoffman -- than right now. The longtime Padres closer entered this weekend's four-game series at Dodger Stadium • • [ just four saves short of Lee Smith's all-time record of 478, and with a solid chance of breaking that mark by season's end Season's End are a British band based in Hampshire. They describe themselves as playing Progressive symphonic metal[1], although they are often tagged as a gothic metal band by reviewers and reference sources[2][3]. . He also came to town with 50 more saves than any closer in history other than Smith. ``It just means I have been going at this for a while,'' Trevor Hoffman said. ``It's not up to me to judge it. It's a statistic that seems to be compared across different eras and with different players, so it's hard to really quantify. What I think is that it means I have been consistent for a long period of time.'' Indeed, Hoffman is on pace to lead the National League in saves for just the second time in his 14-year career. That would seem to suggest he has been more of a steady presence over several seasons than a one- or two- year wonder in the manner of the Dodgers' Eric Gagne, who won the Cy Young Award in 2003 by converting all 55 of his save opportunities. Tough tandem: Cody Ross drove in seven runs for the second time this season when he homered three times in Florida's 15-6 pounding of the New York Mets
Of the 10 homers Ross has hit since being traded to the Marlins from Cincinnati on May 26 -- after the Reds got him from the Dodgers on April 24 -- seven have come in games started by rookie pitcher Anibal Sanchez, who had a no-hitter two weeks ago against Arizona. ``Anibal told me a few days ago, `Every time I pitch, you hit a home run,''' Ross said. He's back: Jose Valentin's lone season with the Dodgers included a .170 batting average and seven errors in 29 games at third base before he went down for the season with torn knee ligaments May 4, 2005. It looked at the time like he might be done. Now 36, the veteran infielder has revived his career with the best team in the N.L. Mets manager Willie Randolph gave Valentin the everyday second base job -- a position he hadn't played in 12 years -- in late May when the club finally gave up on Kazuo Matsui. When Valentin committed a throwing error on a double-play relay last Monday night against Florida, it ended a personal streak of 60 consecutive games without a fielding miscue mis·cue n. 1. Games A stroke in billiards that misses or just brushes the ball because of a slip of the cue. 2. A mistake. intr.v. mis·cued, mis·cu·ing, mis·cues 1. . ``I had some ideas how to play (there),'' said Valentin, who also entered Friday hitting .274 with 15 homers. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: T. HOFFMAN |
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