Rockies-Padres: A Long Game and Random Thoughts on Salaries

The Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres had another epic on Thursday night to follow up on their one-game playoff last October.

Thursday at Petco Park in San Diego, the Rockies and Padres went scoreless after nine innings as aces Jeff Francis and Jake Peavy both brought their "A" games to the mound.

After the Rockies scored in the 14th to break the deadlock, the Padres responded with a run of their own.

The game dragged on until Colorado got the go-ahead run in the 22nd inning, and hung on for the 2-1 victory.

It was an interesting game, if you happened to catch any or all of the action. But it only brought on a disagreement on the Zonk on OA (www.overanything.com), which once again had to do with players' salaries.

Someone commented that there was no sympathy for the players on both sides being tired from the 22 innings because they're all highly paid, which brought about the rebuttal as to why fans like to bring up salaries in any sporting discussion.

My question is, why shouldn't salaries be brought up? It's fair game since it's heavily publicized by the media.

Every time a top free agent flops, for example, he gets talked about a lot. Obviously, Barry Zito of the San Francisco Giants has been scrutinized by many already for not giving a lot of quality innings in his brief stint thus far in 'Frisco.

And seriously, shouldn't highly paid athletes be expected to do more? I mean, if they have to play for over six hours, which was the length of the game in San Diego, so be it.

I mean, after all, a lot of hitters failed in the game to drive home the winning run in the first 21 innings.

So, if they had to play the equivalent of two full games and some, too bad.

How can it not be about money and salaries in professional sports?

Don't tell me that New York Mets fans out there are happy with Johan Santana's 1-2 start in the 2008 season. Yes, Santana has a fine 3.05 ERA and will turn his won-loss record around soon. I'm sure those who root for the Mets, however, expected a 3-0 record and an ERA around 1.50 instead.

I mean, the lefty is expected to be the savior in Queens and is making almost $17 million this season. And a 1-2 record for that money?

I also made a big deal last season about high-priced players' salaries, when Roger Clemens made his mid-season comeback for the cross-town Yankees and was outpitched in his second start by the less heralded Oliver Perez of the Mets.

Clemens, by the way, had received a $28-million prorated contract to pitch for the Yankees--which worked out to about $4.5 mil per month. Perez was just a .500 pitcher making less for the season than what the Rocket was earning in a month.

And throughout the 2007-08 hockey season, I also brought out salary comparisons (thanks to Globe and Mail's NHL salary database) when taking shots at high-priced goaltenders when they get outplayed by inexpensive rookies.

How can salary not be a factor in talking about athletes?

The Rockies-Padres game was the longest since 1993. And I point out something else that happened 15 years ago too, and it had to do with the feud between former Met ace Dwight Gooden and then-manager Dallas Green.

I quote from Champions! The Saga of the 1996 New York Yankees by John Harper and Bob Klapisch, about Gooden recollecting an incident from 1993:

Doc had suffered what he called "a real bad game" against Florida and was "hung out to dry" by Green.

"I just didn't have it that day. It was just one of those things," Gooden said. "But he (Green) kept sending me out there every inning...After the game, he told the reporters, 'Gooden makes a lot of money, he should pitch a lot of innings.'

Well, I would have to take Green's side here. After all, if you're the ace of the staff and you're one of the highest-paid players on the team (Gooden was No. 2 behind Bobby Bonilla on the '93 Mets) you damn well better suck it up for the team.

So, really, if the Rockies and Padres and any other team out there has to go 20-plus innings to settle a ballgame, that's their job.

No sympathy here.