SAN DIEGO -- The Padres Clayton Richard is a different pitcher in this go round in San Diego.Richard proved that by blanking Colorado for seven innings as San Diego routed the Rockies, 14-1 on Thursday night.I think Im smarter and Im taking things easier, Richard said. I have an understanding that on the mound doing less is more. It creates better stuff and more consistency.After two earlier stints with the Padres, Richard was claimed off waivers when released by the Chicago Cubs on Aug. 3. It was his second impressive start since Aug. 27, when he blanked the Miami Marlins over seven innings in a win.Richard missed the 2014 season after undergoing a left shoulder operation. Hes bounced around since, but it appears hes bounced all the way back.You bet on the person and what he has done in the past, Padres manager Andy Green said. As he gets distance from his surgery hes returning to form. Hes one of those guys that works harder than everybody and Ive learned not to count those types of people out.Richard (2-3) was sharp as he scattered six hits, walked two and had eight strikeouts.I think consistently it was about being down in the zone and throwing strikes,Hes doing so with a different arm slot, dropping down more three-quarter on his release.Instead of staying up top Ive kind of let the arm goes where it wants to, Richard said. Im just relaxed and not worrying about getting on top on the ball.Ryan Schimpf hit a three-run homer and tied a career-high with four RBI to lead the offensive outburst.Schimpf, a rookie second baseman, hit his 18th home run of the season, all coming since July 1.Keith Hessler and Brandon Morrow pitched the final two innings. Cristhian Adames spoiled the shutout with a one-out homer in the ninth off Morrow.Every position player in the Padres starting lineup had a hit. Travis Jankowski, Yangervis Solarte, Alex Dickerson and Schimpf had two each. Derek Norris added a two-run homer in the eighth.Jeff Hoffman (0-3) lasted 2 2/3 innings but it was hardly all by his own doing. He gave up seven unearned runs, six hits and two walks. It was his shortest stint in his four career starts.`I think its just a matter of command and getting in tough counts, Rockies manager Walt Weiss said.San Diego tacked on three runs in the fifth on Richards RBI groundout after German Marquez walked the bases loaded in his major league debut. Jankowski added a two-run single.The Padres dinged Hoffman with a seven-run third, highlighted by Schimpfs three-run blast. It tied a season-high for runs in an inning for the Padres after they sent 11 batters to the plate.San Diego had a little help from Adames as all the runs were unearned.With Luis Sardinas at third, Jon Jays two-out grounder kicked off Adames glove at shortstop for a run-scoring error. Wil Myers, Solarte and Dickerson followed with singles, with the last two bringing in runs.The error didnt mean anything, Hoffman said. That stuff happens. You just gotta go out and make the next pitch and get out of it.Then Schimpf went deep over the fence in center field. Sardinas got on for the second time in the inning with an RBI single for a 7-0 lead.Green said Norris was to undergo an X-ray after taking a foul tip off his right shoulder in the ninth inning.TRAINERS ROOMRockies: Reinstated RHP Jason Motte from the DL. Motte has been out since July 26 with a strained right rotator cuff.Padres: RHP Jarred Cosart could miss his next start after straining his right groin and hamstring when leaping for an errant throw on Wednesday.UP NEXTRockies: RHP Tyler Chatwood (10-9, 3.94) is 6-1 on the road, with a 1.82 ERA which leads the majors. Hes 2-0 with a 1.84 ERA in two starts against the Padres this year.Padres: RHP Luis Perdomo (7-8, 5.92) has given up three earned runs or less in 10 of his last 14 starts. Two of the wins have come against the Rockies, one in relief.Fake Shoes 2020 . 4 Villanova with a 96-68 drubbing on Monday. Wragge hit 9-of-14 from behind the arc, matching Kyle Korvers school record for 3-pointers in a game set in 2003, as Creighton (16-3, 6-1 Big East broke a conference record with 21 treys in the rout. Cheap Shoes Free Shipping . -- Most satisfying to Russ Smith about No. http://www.wholesaleshoesusa.com/ . Catch all the action on TSN2 at 11pm et/8pm pt. The nine-time Big 12 champion Jayhawks are positioning themselves for another title, as they have run out to a flawless 6-0 mark in conference play thus far. Wholesale Shoes Authentic .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have recalled forward Kevin Porter and defenceman Chad Ruhwedel from the minors as part of a five-player roster shuffle made by the NHLs worst team. Discount Shoes For Sale . -- Vincent Lecavalier got everything but the desired result in his return to Tampa Bay.Sports fans want clear resolutions using objective measures to determine which team is best.Simple: Win something, get something. Survive and advance.Thats the way professional sports and most college tournaments work. It has never been that way in college football and while the playoff has injected some objectivity into the way a champion is determined, in many ways it is as subjective as ever -- mostly because it has to be.(Fans) look into this process and they want it to black and white, but college football has never been black and white, said former Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese, a member of the playoff selection committee for the first two years. College football has always been gray.The current College Football Playoff selection committee is about to dive into one of those gray areas, maybe setting a precedent for the future of picking the final four. Ohio State cannot win the Big Ten, but the Buckeyes were second in the rankings last week and figure to be in the same spot Tuesday when the latest and second-to-last committee top 25 comes out.Ohio State added to its resume Saturday by beating Michigan, which had been No. 3.So the Buckeyes (11-1) will be like a golfer in the clubhouse on championship weekend, sitting on a top score hoping not to get caught while Penn State (10-2) and Wisconsin (10-2) compete for the Big Ten title and hope winning it is enough to make up ground. If Penn State (10-2) wins it will have what seems like a particularly good argument to make the playoff ahead of the Buckeyes. The Nittany Lions beat Ohio State 24-21 in October, won the division they share and would be Big Ten champions.Simple, right? Win something, get something. In this case a playoff spot.The problem is this isnt the NFL and there are so many other variables to consider.There are huge variations in nonconference scheduling and very few matchups of top teams. To focus solely on conference plays is to render nonconference games such as Ohio States victory against Oklahoma meaningless. Or Penn States loss to Pitt. Even within a conference, schedules can be drastically different, especially when three of the Power Five conferences have two seven-team divisions.Setting strict requirements for teams to qualify for the playoff and leaving the selection committee with little room for subjective reasoning creates the possibility of boxing out a worthy team.Theres crazy combinations out there, Tranghese said.Take Wisconsin, which lost to both Ohio State and Michigan, but gets to pllay for the Big Ten title because the West division is so much weaker than the East.ddddddddddddWhen the conference commissioners created the playoff and the selection committee, there was much discussion about making only conference champions eligible for the final four.Coming on the heels of the first and only one-conference BCS championship game featuring LSU and Alabama out of the SEC, emphasizing conference champions was viewed as a way to make it less likely that one league would put multiple teams in the playoff.Ultimately, the selection committee was charged with picking the four best teams and best was left intentionally vague. The committee was given recommendations, not requirements.The protocol calls on committee members to consider conference championships, strength of schedule, head-to-head results and common opponents, When circumstances at the margins indicate that teams are comparable.It also says a non-conference champion can be included in the playoff if it is unequivocally one of the four best teams in the country.The protocol brings some objectivity into the discussion. When in doubt do this. How it is applied is subjective.You and I could chose to interpret the protocol differently, but that was the intent of the commissioners, Tranghese said. You factor all of that into your thinking. It gets discussed. It gets analyzed and you think about it.As of last week the 12-person committee had no doubt Ohio State belonged in the top four.Does the selection committee see a small margin of separation this week between No. 2 Ohio State and No. 7 Penn State? We do not, said committee chairman Kirby Hocutt, who is Texas Techs athletic director.It seems more likely that, barring an upset of Clemson in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game, the fourth playoff spot will come down to the winner of the Big Ten championship game and the winner of the Pac-12 championship between Washington (11-1) and Colorado (10-2).The circumstances are very different, but just two seasons ago, in the first year of the playoff, Ohio State leap-frogged both TCU and Baylor in the last rankings to take the fourth spot after a lopsided victory in the Big Ten championship game. The Buckeyes should not feel too comfortable this week.The only (ranking) that matters, Tranghese said, is the one at the end.---Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP ' ' '
