Five Good Questions with . . . Nick Canepa of the San Diego Union-Tribune about the Padres

Today's Five Good Questions is with San Diego Union-Tribune sports columnist Nick Canepa....Nick has been with the paper since 1974....on Sept. 25, 1978, a PSA airliner crashed in San Diego, at the time the worst airplane disaster in United States history, and Nick helped put together the story which won the Tribune staff a Pulitzer Prize....Nick was kind enough to respond to five questions about the San Diego Padres.....

Q1. It seems as if the Padres have not missed a beat with Bud Black as the manager. What differences are there in managerial styles between Black and former skipper Bruce Bochy?
Bud Black bunts. Bochy didn't like the bunt. Black also will hit and run, but he has little speed. Other than that, I don't see much difference.

Q2. When it happened, was it a surprise that Bochy left San Diego for the job in San Francisco? Are there still any hard feelings about him leaving to a divisional rival?
I don't think Bochy's move at all surprised. He isn't (Padres general manager) Sandy Alderson's kind of manager. He got more money. He's better off.

Q3. Jake Peavy (photo) may be the best pitcher in baseball that no one on the east coast knows about. Tell us a little about Peavy.
Jake may be the best pitcher in baseball right now. He's a funny guy. He'll talk the day he pitches, which is rare. He's tremendously competitive. Firey. Jake doesn't like to give anything up. I'm expecting a no-hitter from him one of these days. Just great stuff.

Q4. Petco Park is known as a pitcher's park. However, there has been some discussion about moving in the fences. Why would the organization want to do that when the team is built around pitching?
Because they don't have anything else to think about. They should leave the fences be. Alderson says he's tired of watching drives into the alleys die off. But he now says chances are less than 10 percent. Owner John Moores is against it, but says he'll go along with Alderson if that's what he wants. This is a team built around pitching.

Q5. How have the "old men" David Wells and Greg Maddux been so far this year? How effective will they be late in the season during the playoff hunt?
They've been about as expected thus far. I suspect these two guys can pitch until they drop. I know Wells can throw forever. Good clubhouse guys, too.

I want to thank Nick for his time....it is much appreciated....