Hot August nights had helped the San Diego Padres once again climb to the top of the wildcard standings and to within two games of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the division title. However, the month of September has brought some heat of its own with face-offs against some NL West foes that have left the Friars fried.

There are a number of factors that will dictate success or failure, division title or wild card, baseball in October or golf. With the 40-man roster in effect, manager Buddy Black has his hands full. Add to that some significant roster moves and the makeup of this team is quite different. Two very important returnees are Michael Barrett and Clay Hensley.

Michael Barrett, just recently activated from the disabled list with concussion-like symptoms, appeared in his first game since his injury on September 2. Concerns regarding his mental status placed Barrett in a pinch hitting role for a while Manager Buddy Black evaluated the situation. He got his first official start on September 9^th and another on the 12^th. Nevertheless, Black is paying close attention to Barrett who admitted having trouble focusing during game situations.

“We’ve got to make sure he’s honest with us about how he feels,” said Black. “We don’t know how he’s going to be feeling, whether the clarity is there…But the three games in Tucson he said he felt fine and he was thinking clear.”

Black says he is looking at the way in which Barrett responds to signs from the dugout when he’s catching and signs from third-base coach Glen Hoffman when he’s hitting. Black is also judging Barrett’s pitch selection to make sure his backstop is thinking clearly.

Pitcher Chris Young is expected to once again ignite the starting rotation. Although his first two games back were un-Young-like, his September 9^th appearance at Coors field demonstrated that he might be improving. Black feels that his right-hander is just rusty.

“Chris is feeling normal,” said Black. “(He has) some after-gameday soreness in the arm and the back.

“He was erratic, in the zone and outside of the zone. He was rusty and his mechanics got a little bit out of whack and as much as he tried to reel everything back in, it just wasn’t happening.”

Black attributes much of Young’s initial difficulties to preparation. “What had happened, due to his oblique, was that he wasn’t able to do his normal in-between-starts routine. He’s a guy that does a lot in between starts. Maybe not with the intensity of throwing (in a game) but he and Darren (Balsley) do a lot of drills…It’s to keep him fine-tuned because, being 6’10”, he has some longer levers. He has to stay sharp on his drills and mechanics and that carries over to the game. I think he was unable to do a lot of the drills because of the injury.”

Hopefully, the warm San Diego air will ease Young’s oblique and Barrett’s concussion. The contribution of these two players could be difference between postseason success and regular season failure.