THE FREAKY FANS AND PRICES AT PETCO

I am still not quite sure what happened yesterday. Why Bud Black decided to put in untested pitchers as opposed to guys like Adams and Gregerson in a game where San Francisco's "Freak" Tim Lincecum was dominating the Padre offense and the game was still within reach?

We ended up losing 8-4 after a mini, all too late, rally in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs yesterday.

In the stands there were mostly fans of the "freak" and the San Francisco Giants. And boy some of these people were complete assholes.

Baseball fans, like most Americans, seem to have short term memory and limited recall when it counts.

The San Francisco fans forgot that the day before their starting pitcher was taken out early in the game and the Padres pitching, combined with some really good defensive plays, allowed their team to score only one time- losing 3-1 in the Padres home opener.

They seem to have forgotten that their team went into the playoffs by the skin of their teeth. If the Padres offense didn't implode in the last two weeks of last season we may have been the ones boasting about being "World Champions".

The Giants finished last year with a 92 -70 record while we finished 2 games behind with a 90-72 final win-loss tally. They forget that in the final series with the Giants we won 2 out 3 games but just came up short.

They seem to forget that a year before in 2009 the Giants finished third ending up being 7 games behind the LA Dodgers and in 2008 they finished 12 games behind the Dodgers as well.

So the Padres last year were not a team to sneeze at and yet these idiots come to a visiting park and act like they are the damn New York Yankees with multiple World Series titles under their collective belts. Before last year Giant fans at Petco were fairly tame but this year they seemed to be just as obnoxious, albeit with higher IQ's, then they Dodger fans Petco Park will see this weekend.

Having to deal with idiots makes going to a game a drag. Sure we want our teams to win but the day before I didn't see Padres fans taunting the San Francisco fans during and after the game. I just kept thinking about Wilson's giant beard and laughed to myself to keep from exploding on a few dick bags in the stands.

People need to grow up and remember what good sportsmanship means I think...and if not then they should be ejected from the damn park- especially if they are being rude and obnoxious in a park that is not their own.

Maybe that is why so many Padres fans stayed away yesterday- they knew that we would have a tough time with Lincecum and didn't want to hear the ravings of fans of a team that has a starting record worse than our own.

But beyond that I think it is a matter of economics.

People are being screwed left and right by politicians, in both parties, beholden to corporations. Politicians are currently looking for ways to make cuts to Medicaid and other programs that help the neediest in this country while not blinking an eye while big companies like GE make a $14 billion profit last year and paid not one single dime in taxes. So I think it is very hard for the average American worker and baseball fan to make multiple weekly trips to the ballpark especially if they are struggling to feed their family or, for some, to even make mortgage payments so they do not lose their homes.

It certainly is tough for me this season. I love baseball and the Padres. I love going to Petco Park but this year I just cannot afford a season ticket or to attend as many games as I did years ago when the price of groceries and gas keeps going up and wages are not.

It is not that I do not support my team- that is what we hear a lot when fans fail to show up at the park...the fans are complacent is the cry from writers and bloggers but I don't think that is the case at all.

The fact of the matter is I, as it is with many in San Diego, cannot afford to support the team's multi-million dollar salaries.

I know at Petco we have some of the most affordable ticket prices in Major league baseball but when you get inside, if you want a beverage or a snack, it is "highway robbery" as one guy sitting close to me the other day said.

A 24 ounce can of Budweiser, that retails at most liquor stores for well under $2, is now a whopping $9.75 at Petco Park. Math majors: what percentage of a mark-up is that?

That is an absolutely ridiculous price to pay for one can of beer. Unless you are really wealthy and have a platinum card, ten bucks is a lot of money for an average fan to dish out for a beer. And $4 for a bottle of $1.19 water at the nearby 7-11 store is just as bad.

But parks like Petco have no choice- it is on the backs of the average fan that revenue is made to pay the insane player salaries in all professional sports in America.

Just look at the major league team payrolls and the average salaries on this page from USA TODAY. They report that the average San Diego Padre salary is $ 1,479,649! Just to play a game of baseball. I have no problem with people getting rich and doing well but seriously folks, do you think a person who plays a sport, should be paid as much as they do when people that go to college for years with multiple degrees are lucky if they make six figures a year?


There are cut backs all over this country- jobs lost, car plants closing, people losing their homes due to foreclosure because of predatory lenders and yet Major League Baseball players and their agents have the audacity to demand millions of dollars a year to play baseball games while every day another person loses a job or their home in America today..

The average fan pays for these high salaries at the ticket booth, at most stadiums, but especially at the concession stands. The mark up is incredible.

Padres owner Jeff Moorad said to Hacksaw on XX1090 the other day that all profit goes back into maintaining the stadium and that he wants to get a high definition scoreboard.

That's fine and dandy but I would like to buy a bag of peanuts or Cracker Jacks without having to take out a second mortgage on my house.

I think that fans want to show up to the games- I have many friends that I invite to come along but they say they just can't afford it. They are die-hard Padres fans as well and do support the team, but times are rough and they have to choose between the grocery store or spending cash they cannot afford to part with at the ballpark.

And if it is a case where it is a dad bringing the wife and kids- by the time they get done buying the tickets and then getting the snacks that the kids want it costs at least $100 bucks or more for a three and a half hour visit to the stadium.

I think it is time that Padres players step up to the plate and realize that many, not as fortunate as they are, are struggling even to buy a $5 Park In The Park ticket and perhaps give back part of the exorbitant salaries to the Padres so maybe the ballpark here and in other cities can return to be an affordable fun place for people of all ages and economic status.

Take the greed out of baseball and make it affordable- at the ticket booth and at the concession stands and more people would come to more games.

Keep raising the salaries and the cost of beer, soda and food at the parks to help pay for these multi-million dollar salaries and they will continue to see empty seats. Right now, in 2011, most people cannot afford to spend boatloads of cash at the ballpark every day like they used to in year's past when salaries were reasonable and not over the top like they are now in baseball and all other major league sports.

And there is another group of people that are affected big time by this issue. All the folks that do the work at Petco Park. From the GSR's to the maintenance people, like last year, this year they have already been told that work hours will be cut if attendance is low. I have many friends that work at the park so I am getting this info first hand.

So while player salaries are on the rise these people that depend on that paycheck to just survive may lose pay and valuable hours at work if the average fan cannot afford multiple weekly trips to the ball park.

That is a shame because without all the ancillary folks that make Petco Park clean and function well the highly paid players would not have such a wonderful facility to play in.

So we who write blogs, and even professional sports writers, need to stop wagging the accusing finger at Padres fans for not showing up and start shaking it at the players and their agents who don't seem to give a damn about how their salaries affect prices at the stadiums and subsequently the lack of fans in the seats and the affect on the workers like make Petco Park the great ball park it is to visit.

Next game: Friday @Petco Park vs. The LA Dodgers at 7:05 pm

PLAY BALL!

OPENING DAY BLOCK PARTY EXCLUDED MANY UNDER 21

What a day it was yesterday!

A great home opener with a win against the defending world champion San Francisco Giants in a venue like Petco Park made for a great day indeed!

We beat the Giants 3-1 yesterday and I am not going to rewrite the game highlights that you can find elsewhere.

Instead I have a bone to pick about the block party before the game.

What I didn't care for was the East Village Opening Day Block Party this year.

Last year the whole 4-5 blocks was open to everyone but this year, as it is with most events in San Diego, it became nothing more than a giant merchandising fair.

Aside from the live broadcast from XX1090 am there wasn't much to do with baseball or the Padres at the event- and wasn't that the whole point of it?

Worse was the fact that half of the "block party" was fenced off as a "beer garden" so anyone under 21 missed the great food samples and entertainment stage within the fenced in area.

I don't want to sound like an anti-alcohol person because I have a beer or two myself on occasion but why the hell did we need a beer garden, for people to get sloppy drunk like some I saw did, at 11am in the morning on a Tuesday?

Furthermore baseball, for me has always been a family event. There were loads of moms and dads out with the kids and a lot of young Padres fans around the festival as well.

There was no reason to exclude young fans from enjoying the block party- and really most of the entertainment and free food samples were in the fenced off area.

In the area where all could wander there was a huge row of catering trucks selling food, other booths that were selling stuff that had nothing to do with the San Diego Padres or baseball at all.

So I have to wonder what the planners of this were thinking.

Fine and dandy if you want to have an East Village block party on any other day, but I expected it to be like last year where everything at the block party was accessible to fans of all ages.

Instead, as I walked around, I had everything from cellular companies to people registering me to vote trying to either sell me something or sign something.

Again if this was at a regular block party I wouldn't have cared but this was supposed to be a big pre-opening day game celebration for Padres fans.

Aside from the great day of broadcasting provided by XX1090 am you wouldn't know that it was a baseball related event.

Instead of having a beer garden and all the merchandisers selling their crap, a real Opening Day block party should have focused on the family.

There should have been a lot more to do with baseball and the Padres rather than trying to sell a great new kind of mineral water or the other non-baseball related crap they had on display.

Trevor was back home to join in with others as the Padres celebrated it's 75th year. The Padres could have had a display out there with a bit of Padres history, some of the ball players- past and present on the main stage instead of the crappy band.

They surely could have come up with baseball related things for the kids to do- but instead the people who organized this event went for what they usually do in this city- making a buck however they can.

Again I have no problem with street vendors or small catering businesses trying to make a buck but really, folks, was this "block party" really a pre-game fanfest in anticipation of the first pitch since last October at Petco Park or just a way to make some revenue for the various businesses out there selling their goods?

I think the whole thing was a disgrace.

There should not have been a damn beer garden- period.

This was a family event...because baseball at Petco Park is a family event and kids and those under 21 shouldn't have been excluded from half the block party.

So shame on whoever organized this event. I am going to write to the Padres ownership about that and hopefully next year, when the city does a "Opening Day Block Party" it will be a block party open for all and family friendly with vendors and things related to baseball and the Padres.

In the meantime we take on the Giants again for the last game of this two-game series...hopefully the boys will come through with another win today so we have a lot of momentum when the Dodgers come to town Friday!

PLAY BALL!

PADRES HOME OPENING DAY 2011

It all starts today- well at least here at home.

It's the Padres 2011 home opener, where we can try to get a little bit of revenge on the defending world champion San Francisco Giants today at 3:35pm.

But before the game starts XX1090 is co-sponsoring the Opening Day Block Party behind the park!

From XX1090, "Come out and join XX 1090 sports radio with the East Village Association on April 5th for the 2011 Alexander & Associates Tax Professionals Padres Opening Day Block Party. We'll be broadcasting all day, starting with Hacksaw at 10a and leading right up to the 3:35p game time.

This is a FREE event for families and Padres fans of all ages. Celebrate with XX1090 on two whole blocks downtown on J street. We'll be doin' it up big from 11:30a - 5:00p on J, between 7th st and 9th."

It was a real fun time last year and I will be down there taking some pics to send on my twitter account.

As for how the team will do today, we are coming off a great series where we took 2 out of 3 games from a team that historically we have a hard time beating in their home stadium so I believe the momentum is still there.

I haven't seen the line-up yet but I hope Buddy Black goes with the opening day in St. Louis line-up and the guys continue to play small ball today.

So here's hoping we come up with a win today at the sold out Petco Park today!

On another note...the Dodgers are coming this weekend...and that means their unruly and rude fans who always stink up Petco Park will be there too.

Last year I watched, in my section, as Dodger fans got drunk, picked fights with Padres fans and got ejected from the Park.

Sadly during the Giants series with the Dodgers something horrible happened. The two scumbags in that police sketch below, according to NBC LA, beat and left in critical condition a 42-year-old Giants fan.

"Police said the argument started when the two men began taunting three men in Giants gear as thousands of baseball fans left the stadium after Thursday night's 2-1 Dodger victory, Detective T.J. Moore said.

The Giants fans tried to distance themselves from their assailants, and two made it away from them, but one was struck with fists on the back of the head and as he fell, his head hit the ground in Parking Lot 2 on the third base side of the ballpark, Moore said.

Both attackers then kicked the victim, who suffered a head injury, and ran, Moore said. When the victim's friends turned around to look for him, they saw him on the ground and made their way back to him.

Contributions from the Giants and Dodgers increased the reward offered for information in the attack on a San Francisco fan to $50,000.

The fan was attacked in the parking lot at Dodger Stadium after Thursday's season opener. Bryan Stow, a 42-year-old paramedic from Santa Cruz, was is in a medically induced coma.

Spokesman Josh Rawitch said Monday the Los Angeles Dodgers will contribute $25,000. Giants spokeswoman Staci Slaughter said the team will pledge $10,000. After the attack, Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich announced a $10,000 reward. Stow's employer contributed $5,000."

I know this isn't the fault of the Dodgers organization. For some reason ganstas up there and even here in San Diego love wearing Dodger caps. I think the organization needs to speak out against the types of cowardly scumbags that attacked this fan and wannabe ganstas that use their team logo as a sign of being a tough guy.

I spoke with a source at the SDPD and they told me that the police will be "very present" at the games Friday, Saturday and Sunday but still watch your back if you are out at the games.

I think that is why San Diego and San Francisco fans hate the Dodgers so much- I don't think it is the team itself (although they didn't win any love from me with fat ass Manny Ramirez last year) I think it because we cannot stand the Dodger fans who can't act like decent human beings at sporting events.

Here's hoping that Giant fan recovers and the Dodgers help to pay the guys medical bills.

And here's hoping we have a home opener win today!!

See you around the block party later today.

PLAY BALL!

PADRES RETURN TO SMALL BALL AND WIN BIG

As Cory Brock's headline from yesterday suggests "Little things add up as Padres roll over Cards" and the little things are something known as "small ball".

Wikipedia defines it as such:

"In the sport of baseball, small-ball is an informal and colloquial term for an offensive strategy in which the batting team emphasizes placing runners on base and then advancing them into position to score a run in a deliberate, methodical way. This strategy places a high value on individual runs and attempts to score them without requiring extra base hits, or sometimes without base hits at all, instead using bases on balls, stolen bases, sacrifice bunt or sacrifice fly balls, the hit-and-run play, and aggressive base running with such plays as the contact play. A commonly used term for a run produced playing small-ball is a 'manufactured run'."

And that is how we managed to beat the St. Louis Cardinals in the second game of the season yesterday by a score of 11 - 3! I am still laughing at the Boston area bloggers who suggested that because we no longer have "power hitter" Adrian Gonzalez we now had the worst line-up in Major League Baseball (see my post from March 31, 2011).

Their beloved Red Sox were slaughtered by the Texas Rangers yesterday by a score of 12 - 5.

The Red Sox are 0 -2 on the season and the Padres are 2-0! Again who has a terrible line-up, Boston bloggers?

On the XX1090 am broadcast, Ted Lightner, kept saying the 2011 team looks like 2010. It may look like it with the two consecutive wins to start the season but there is a big difference.

While we had a lot of great guys on the team last year, it seemed to me and my buddies at Petco Park that many, when it really counted, went up to the plate swinging to get a home run.

In some ways I think it is a blessing that we traded Adrian Gonzalez because now there isn't someone to keep up with. I really liked Adrian- he is a good guy and did a lot for the local community but I think not having a super star power hitter on the team will make a big difference in play this year.

This team, as opposed to last years, seems more into playing the game of baseball rather than playing the game of pumping up individual stats- to hopefully gain a good bonus or a pay hike in the following season. At least that is the conclusion my buddies and I came to watching a lot of the play last year.

I can't tell you how many times adults and kids alike got all excited at the park last year when we had men on base and a big chance to score and we would see whoever was up at bat swinging hard at crappy pitches.

They would either strike out or pop out ending the rally.

The last two days I think we saw a different sort of play. Yes it is nice to get a grand slam or perhaps hit a big homer that drives in a couple of runs. You get a lot of press for that accomplishment.

But it is even better, as proved by yesterday's rally that scored six runs, that timely hits- whether a single, a double or a sacrifice bunt to move the runners home is one of the best ways to play ball.

Go ahead and smack one out of the park if a pitcher makes a mistake and serves you up your bread and butter pitch but don't go to the plate with the idea that you have to hit the ball out of the park.

Chances are that won't happen....as was proved time and time again last season...especially in the last few weeks.

So we will see if we can sweep the Cardinals today.

For the 2011 season the team's success, in my opinion, will be guaranteed if they continue to play as a team and play the game of small ball.

It apparently works out well...the proof in the pudding was yesterday's game!

FOOD AT THE PARK: One of my favorite San Diego restaurants will be serving up their pizza at the park this year. Namely the folks at Filippi's Pizza Groto.

" The San Diego Padres announced today a partnership with Filippi’s Pizza Grotto, making the San Diego-based family of restaurants PETCO Park’s pizza vendor. Padres President and COO Tom Garfinkel made the announcement.

“Filippi’s Pizza is an authentic San Diego brand, beloved among San Diegans, and the Padres are excited to welcome them into our family of valued corporate partners,” said Garfinkel. “We are committed to ensuring our fans have a terrific experience at PETCO Park, and that includes providing them with great tasting food.”

Under the multi-year partnership, Filippi’s will sell their famous pizza (cheese, pepperoni and veggie) at five locations inside PETCO Park (sections 113, 115, 311, 320 and Mercado/Home Plate), beginning on Tuesday, April 5, when the Padres open their season at home against the San Francisco Giants.

"Filippi's is proud to be the Official Pizza of the Padres starting this season," said Bobby DePhilippis. "We look forward to providing baseball fans at PETCO Park authentic restaurant-style pizza prepared in the family tradition of the freshest and finest Italian ingredients."

Filippi's Cash and Carry, the original deli grocery, opened on India Street in 1950, and has grown to become a successful line of 14 family restaurants: 10 within San Diego County and two in Riverside County, as well as restaurants in Napa and Cabo San Lucas. Today, each Filippi's Pizza Grotto is owned and operated by family members of the original founders."

If you are in San Diego and love real Italian food Filiippi's Pizza Groto is fabulous!



The downside is that I suspect the price for a single slice may cost, at Petco Park, nearly as much as ordering a small pizza at the restaurant. It is a little ways from Petco Park but still a great after the game venue to go have a celebratory dinner!

In a post later this week I will look at concession prices (I still think charging $4 for a $1.19 bottle of water is ridiculous the way the economy is these days) and the fact that many people who do the grunt work at Petco may get their hours cut again this year if people don't come out to the games (I have many friends that work at Petco Park so that is where I get my info about this) and why I think the players need to step up to the plate to help out!

Meanwhile...I am dusting off the broom for today- just in case small ball helps us sweep the St. Louis cardinals today!

Game starts at 11:15am Pacific Time today.


PLAY BALL!

PADRES WORK AS A TEAM

I am laughing my ass off this evening. As we all know Adrian Gonzalez is no longer with the Padres and is playing for the Boston Red Sox.

Well as the post-game show on XX1090 am was starting yesterday I came across a Boston area blog called FENWAY FAITHFUL REPORT.

On the blog was a post that was titled. "Without Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego Padres Have the Worst Lineup in Baseball"

Here is a little of what was written:

"Gonzalez went 30-and-100 and led the team in nearly every offensive category last season. No one else on the roster posted more than 13 homers or 58 RBI.It’s pretty safe to say that without the slugger in 2011, the Padres will have the worst offense in baseball."

Really now?

Is that why we won the opening game of the season against a tough opponent like St. Louis 5-3 yesterday?

Of course this idiot will say that it was because of the throwing error but I beg to differ.

What we saw yesterday was a TEAM.

Boston always seemed to be star struck to me- boasting a huge payroll they can buy big names and look to one or two guys to carry the team.

Last year it just was not Adrian Gonzalez and the 30-100 stats that almost got us to the playoffs. It was a team effort- and that is the difference Mister Fenway Faithful between your club and ours.

The guys who were in the line up yesterday are a great combination of players- some with a lot of experience and not just a bunch of journeymen players.

And we saw that yesterday as the scappy Padres kept fighting back and eventually took the lead in the 11th inning and beat the Cardinals.

So go ahead and get excited about Adrian you all in Boston.

He did help the team last year but just as many times as he hit the ball I sat in frustration at Petco Park when our "slugger" would come up with men on base and two outs and a big chance to either take the lead or get some add on runs and he would time and time again - STRIKE OR FLY OUT!

Yet our guys yesterday turned four brilliant double plays and had some timely hitting. The only downer was when we had the bases loaded and we left those men on base.

Doesn't seem like we have that bad of a line-up after all, does it?

The team will do just fine without Adrian Gonzalez- he was a local hero to many that came to the park but he was no Tony Gwynn.

When it came down to it the padres couldn't afford the millions he would have wanted so with dollar signs in his eyes- as it sadly is with most professional sports players today- he chose to go elsewhere instead of compromising and staying here in his hometown for the hometown fans like the great Mister Padre Tony Gwynn did for 20 seasons.

Oh and one last thing...

Boston lost the season opener to Texas 9-5 today.

Adrian Gonzalez drove in three runs during his debut with the Boston Red Sox...but apparently your combined line-up couldn't scratch out a win, could they Mister Fenway Faithful?

Now who exactly has the "worst line-up in baseball?"...at least over the past two days?

NEXT GAME : April 2, 2011 @St Louis 1:15pm Pacific Time

PLAY BALL!!

OPENING (AWAY) DAY 2011

Here we go...

I kind of lost track of doing this blog last season- probably because I was at the stadium too much LOL.

We start off the season in St. Louis against the Cardinals and then come home on April 5th to take on the World Champion San Francisco Giants.

Could MLB come up with a harder set of opening day opponents than these two teams?

Adrian Gonzalez is gone- off to Boston to make more money.

I will address the player salaries verses the way hours are already scheduled to be cut for Petco park workers real soon here on this blog.

Today however let's stay away from drama and celebrate something that many of us wait through a long, long winter for.

The line-up today looks nothing like the Padres of 2010.

One person that I will miss is David Eckstein.

Here is the starting line-up for today:

The game has just started so I will update this post after the game!

PLAY BALL!

Live Updates- Well we just had the golden opportunity of the game in the top of the 8th. Score was still; tied 2-2 and the bases were loaded with two outs and the Padres do what they usually do. Swing at crapola pitches when it really counts. on a 1-2 count Hawpe flied out to the short outfield. Inning over ...let's see if we can have another rally or will this one be a walk off by either team?

Bottom of the 8th- You would know Matt Holliday- mister "I really touched home plate even though I really didn't" when he was with Colorado just hit a home run. Padres 2- Cardinals 3.

If we lose today it is the teams fault- once again Padres players chocke when the big hit was needed. We will see what happens in the top of the 9th...pretty easy to guess what that will be.

But wait...

That was last year's team!

With two outs in the top of the 9th our new center fielder Cameron Maybin hit a 2 out solo 400 foot plus home run to dead center! So we stay alive..3-3 tied...let's hope for extra innings!

And indeed we got them...

In the top of the 11th we went ahead 4-3 on an error by St. Louis- great base running by Chase Headley !! But looks like center fielder Maybin is hurt :( Plus we just got another add on run - score 5-3 Padres!

As the bottom of the 11th opens Cameron Maybin is still in the game so I hope that kid is alright. He seems to be a really good player and i am glad we picked him up.

And now is HEATH BELL time...

The end result:

PADRES WIN THE FIRST GAME OF THE SEASON 5-2 OVER THE ST. LOUIS CARDINALS!

Mar 31/11 1 2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	R	H	E
Padres 0 0	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	2	5	8	0 «
Cardinals 1 0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	12	1

RIGHT CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL BOXSCORE.

Next Game: Saturday @ St Louis

ABC 1989 World Series Game 3 Earthquake

NBC News on 1989 San Francisco Earthquake - Oct., 1989

HOME OPENER: PADRES WIPE OUT BRAVES 17-2

Maybe it was because San Diego Chargers football star Philip Rivers threw out the first pitch- because the opening day game yesterday that I attended produced a football- like score.

San Diego scored a Petco Park record 17 runs on Monday, and Blanks and Venable led the charge. Blanks finished with a homer and five RBIs.

Blanks still has nine strikeouts in 25 at-bats, but his power potential remains more than a fantasy temptation. Mixed-leaguers should double check the wire to see if he's available.

He's a bench play that will be an ever-day starter in the near future. Same goes for Venable (3-for-5, HR, 4 runs, 2 RBIs SB).

Both Venable and Blanks were on hit short for completing the cycle.

Perhaps it was just the energy of the day- being at home in front of their fans made these guys play like a major league team. Or perhaps they took a good look at the kind of ball Colorado played and decided they wanted to emulate them.


Out of the 17 runs there we only two home runs that accounted for 5 of the runs. The rest came from the Padres doing what they failed to do on their first road trip- playing small ball, getting timely hits that move the runners either into scoring position or all the way home.

That is how you win ballgames.

You don't leave multiple men on base and squander scoring opportunities because each batter is trying to get that big hit. Pitcher Kevin Correia proved that even a bloop single- just feet behind the first baseman can produce runs and help lead to a win as opposed to a loss that should not have been.

So it was an exciting day yesterday- from the great street party behind the stadium to seeing friends I haven't seen since the 2009 season ended it was a perfect day for baseball and a hell of a way to start the season in our home field.

Hopefully that momentum will carry into Wednesday when we take on the Atlanta Braves again.

I just had to take a picture of the scoreboard-we watched Padres history yesterday and I hate to cast a shadow on anything but I doubt that we will see scores like this a lot this seaso0n...but then again miracles can happen...look at the 1969 Mets!




You can right click here for the game wrap up via the San Diego Padres website!

TWO MORE DAYS

Two more days until I can go back home...well at least the place feels like home during the baseball season.

I am really excited to see friends and fellow fans at Petco Park Monday as we have our home opener against the Atlanta Braves.

What I am not too thrilled about is the state of play I have seen thus far. Yes I know the season has barely started but there are some fundamental playing mistakes that bother me.

On the top of the list is the head first slide.

I cannot understand why players do that- ok it is easy to sit here and second guess but seems like spikes up when sliding is always more effective. Then the defense has to worry about getting a spike in the face while trying to make the play.

The elimination of Chris Young from the Atlanta series worries me as well. The pitching has been ok- although I think the middle relief needs some work. But once again this year, small ball seems to elude the Padres players.

Seems like every time we get a base runner he is either left there or thrown out.

Bases loaded in the top of the 8th today and again they were not able to capitalize on that- that has been the problem with this team the last few years. Plenty of scoring opportunities but when it counts they somehow can't manage to get it done.

In the top of the 10th there were some timely hits that got Kyle Blanks to third base...then a pitching change...and just like in the 8th Venable was unable to move the runners.

Same scenario in the 12th- bases loaded again and no deal- a fly out that ended the inning.

Sometimes I think these guys try to hard, in these situations, to hit it out of the park rather than trying to hit a bloop single that would have put the team ahead by a run. That's 9 men left on base since the 8th inning as of the 12th inning.

Finally in the 14th Adrian Gonzales doubled home the go ahead run making the score 5-4. And that means it's Heath Bell time.

And of course after a double play with two outs there would be a bloop single stretched into a double...tying run on second base. An intentional walk, which was a good move in my opinion by Buddy Black, and then Bell - who I think purposely creates drama strikes out the side...and finally...

The Padres win 5-4 and Heath Bell gets the second save in two tries.

On a positive note the bullpen was awesomely good tonight.

So we will see what happens- maybe when they come home, in front of the hometown fans they will start playing like a major league team ....so far I have seen AAA at best and that just will not do because I believe we have the talent on the team...they just need to tighten up and play like a team.

RIGHT CLICK HERE FOR TODAY'S GAME RECAP

HE'S BACK!!

Really happy with the performance of Chris young this evening.

Until the bottom of the 7th inning Young held on to a one hit, 5-0 shut out against the Arizona Diamondbacks.



Luke Gregerson came in as a relief pitcher and quickly gave up a run and blew the shut out. Maybe it is because it is his first outing this year but this guy didn't really have good command tonight. After loading the bases Cesar Ramos came in followed by Adams who was able to serve up a fast ball that resulted in a long fly ball out taken care of by Scott Hairston.

The 7th ended with a score of 5-3...which at least gives us a chance to see Heath Bell for the first time this season.

Tonight's game didn't exactly make me feel super confident about our middle relief pitchers. Hopefully that will be worked out because along with good starting pitching, that stays healthy, we need solid and reliable middle relief paving the way, if need be, for Heath Bell to come on and get a save.

In the bottom of the 8th inning Mike Adams was in again and after a walk - with the tying run on first base ended the inning leaving the score remaining 5-3. Adams was sharp and on the money tonight and I can see this guy being a possible closer if he stays with the Padres.

In the top of the 9th Adrian Gonzales came through with his second home run of the season with a big time insurance run making the score 6-3. There was talk during the off season of a possible trade- I am so glad hometown guy Adrian stayed home with the Padres.

With that Heath Bell came in for his first save attempt of the 2010 season and true to form he did the job giving the Padres their first win of the regular season and his first save in one attempt this year.


FINAL SCORE:

SAN DIEGO- 6
ARIZONA- 3

1-1 ON THE SEASON SO FAR.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH HIGHLIGHTS FROM TONIGHT'S GAME

GO PADRES!

LET THE GAMES BEGIN

Finally after a real long winter the 2010 baseball season is here and we didn't start off very well today playing in Phoenix against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

From the AP:

"Stephen Drew hit an inside-the-park home run and Dan Haren held San Diego to three hits in seven innings in the Arizona Diamondbacks' 6-3 win over the Padres on Monday."

"For the second year in a row, someone hit an inside-the-park homer on opening day — former Diamondbacks player Emilio Bonifacio did it for the Florida Marlins last year, which was the first one after 41 years."

"Drew's was the sixth inside-the-park home run in the franchise's 13-year history and the fifth by any player at Chase Field."

"Adrian Gonzalez and Kyle Blanks hit consecutive two-out homers off Bob Howry in the ninth for San Diego".

It would have been nice to start the season off with a win but who would have thought that there would have been another inside the park homer in this game.

The one that really matters is our home opener, here at Petco Park on April 12th. In that game we will be taking on the Atlanta Braves.

I am pleased that Adrian started the year off with a homer and am really glad that we held on to Kyle Blanks...I have a feeling if he stays healthy this year he will do well.

So hurray!

It really is spring when baseball starts.

The Friars try again tomorrow starting at an odd 6:40PM PT start time and you can catch all the action on XX SPORTS 1090...BE SURE TO TUNE IN AN HOUR EARLY FOR PRE-GAME STUFF...ESPECIALLY WHEN WE ARE AT HOME!


JUST RIGHT CLICK HERE TO VISIT XX SPORTS 1090!

My favorite American League team- the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (still think they should go back to being the California Angels) are about to start their home opener.

You can catch the play by play for that game on AM 830 KLAA and you can right click here to listen online!

GO PADRES!

GO ANGELS!

IT'S ALMOST HERE

OPENING DAY APRIL 12, 2010

I JUST CANNOT WAIT- IT ISN'T SPRING IF THERE ISN'T BASEBALL!!

The Green Fields of the Mind

From A Great and Glorious Game: Baseball Writings of A. Bartlett Giamatti
by A. Bartlett Giamatti, et al

"The Green Fields of the Mind "

It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops. Today, October 2, a Sunday of rain and broken branches and leaf-clogged drains and slick streets, it stopped, and summer was gone.

Somehow, the summer seemed to slip by faster this time. Maybe it wasn't this summer, but all the summers that, in this my fortieth summer, slipped by so fast. There comes a time when every summer will have something of autumn about it. Whatever the reason, it seemed to me that I was investing more and more in baseball, making the game do more of the work that keeps time fat and slow and lazy. I was counting on the game's deep patterns, three strikes, three outs, three times three innings, and its deepest impulse, to go out and back, to leave and to return home, to set the order of the day and to organize the daylight. I wrote a few things this last summer, this summer that did not last, nothing grand but some things, and yet that work was just camouflage. The real activity was done with the radio--not the all-seeing, all-falsifying television--and was the playing of the game in the only place it will last, the enclosed green field of the mind. There, in that warm, bright place, what the old poet called Mutability does not so quickly come.

But out here, on Sunday, October 2, where it rains all day, Dame Mutability never loses. She was in the crowd at Fenway yesterday, a gray day full of bluster and contradiction, when the Red Sox came up in the last of the ninth trailing Baltimore 8-5, while the Yankees, rain-delayed against Detroit, only needing to win one or have Boston lose one to win it all, sat in New York washing down cold cuts with beer and watching the Boston game. Boston had won two, the Yankees had lost two, and suddenly it seemed as if the whole season might go to the last day, or beyond, except here was Boston losing 8-5, while New York sat in its family room and put its feet up. Lynn, both ankles hurting now as they had in July, hits a single down the right-field line. The crowd stirs. It is on its feet. Hobson, third baseman, former Bear Bryant quarterback, strong, quiet, over 100 RBIs, goes for three breaking balls and is out. The goddess smiles and encourages her agent, a canny journeyman named Nelson Briles.

Now comes a pinch hitter, Bernie Carbo, onetime Rookie of the Year, erratic, quick, a shade too handsome, so laid-back he is always, in his soul, stretched out in the tall grass, one arm under his head, watching the clouds and laughing; now he looks over some low stuff unworthy of him and then, uncoiling, sends one out, straight on a rising line, over the center-field wall, no cheap Fenway shot, but all of it, the physics as elegant as the arc the ball describes.

New England is on its feet, roaring. The summer will not pass. Roaring, they recall the evening, late and cold, in 1975, the sixth game of the World Series, perhaps the greatest baseball game played in the last fifty years, when Carbo, loose and easy, had uncoiled to tie the game that Fisk would win. It is 8-7, one out, and school will never start, rain will never come, sun will warm the back of your neck forever. Now Bailey, picked up from the National League recently, big arms, heavy gut, experienced, new to the league and the club; he fouls off two and then, checking, tentative, a big man off balance, he pops a soft liner to the first baseman. It is suddenly darker and later, and the announcer doing the game coast to coast, a New Yorker who works for a New York television station, sounds relieved. His little world, well-lit, hot-combed, split-second-timed, had no capacity to absorb this much gritty, grainy, contrary reality.

Cox swings a bat, stretches his long arms, bends his back, the rookie from Pawtucket who broke in two weeks earlier with a record six straight hits, the kid drafted ahead of Fred Lynn, rangy, smooth, cool. The count runs two and two, Briles is cagey, nothing too good, and Cox swings, the ball beginning toward the mound and then, in a jaunty, wayward dance, skipping past Briles, feinting to the right, skimming the last of the grass, finding the dirt, moving now like some small, purposeful marine creature negotiating the green deep, easily avoiding the jagged rock of second base, traveling steady and straight now out into the dark, silent recesses of center field.

The aisles are jammed, the place is on its feet, the wrappers, the programs, the Coke cups and peanut shells, the doctrines of an afternoon; the anxieties, the things that have to be done tomorrow, the regrets about yesterday, the accumulation of a summer: all forgotten, while hope, the anchor, bites and takes hold where a moment before it seemed we would be swept out with the tide. Rice is up. Rice whom Aaron had said was the only one he'd seen with the ability to break his records. Rice the best clutch hitter on the club, with the best slugging percentage in the league. Rice, so quick and strong he once checked his swing halfway through and snapped the bat in two. Rice the Hammer of God sent to scourge the Yankees, the sound was overwhelming, fathers pounded their sons on the back, cars pulled off the road, households froze, New England exulted in its blessedness, and roared its thanks for all good things, for Rice and for a summer stretching halfway through October. Briles threw, Rice swung, and it was over. One pitch, a fly to center, and it stopped. Summer died in New England and like rain sliding off a roof, the crowd slipped out of Fenway, quickly, with only a steady murmur of concern for the drive ahead remaining of the roar. Mutability had turned the seasons and translated hope to memory once again. And, once again, she had used baseball, our best invention to stay change, to bring change on.

That is why it breaks my heart, that game--not because in New York they could win because Boston lost; in that, there is a rough justice, and a reminder to the Yankees of how slight and fragile are the circumstances that exalt one group of human beings over another. It breaks my heart because it was meant to, because it was meant to foster in me again the illusion that there was something abiding, some pattern and some impulse that could come together to make a reality that would resist the corrosion; and because, after it had fostered again that most hungered-for illusion, the game was meant to stop, and betray precisely what it promised.

Of course, there are those who learn after the first few times. They grow out of sports. And there are others who were born with the wisdom to know that nothing lasts. These are the truly tough among us, the ones who can live without illusion, or without even the hope of illusion. I am not that grown-up or up-to-date. I am a simpler creature, tied to more primitive patterns and cycles. I need to think something lasts forever, and it might as well be that state of being that is a game; it might as well be that, in a green field, in the sun.

From A Great and Glorious Game: Baseball Writings of A. Bartlett
Giamatti, © 1998 by A. Bartlett Giamatti.

PHILLIES BEAT LA DODGERS IN 5

Well they did it...

The Philadelphia Phillies beat the LA Dodgers 10 - 4 to in the NLCS 4 -1!

Oct 21/09	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Dodgers	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	4	8	0
Phillies	3	1	0	2	0	2	1	1	0	10	8	0 «

The last time a Philadelphia baseball team had back to back world series appearances was way back in 1929 and 1930 when Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics beat the Chicago Cubs in '29 and the St. Louis Cardinals in 1930.

This was the fifth time the Philadelphia Phillies met the LA Dodgers in a NLCS matchup

So I am pleased the Phillies won.

I have a bad taste left in my mouth from the vile Dodgers fans that permeated my section at Petco Park this season and the fact that they have that non- team player Manny Ramirez their team.

You know that I was proudly waving around my "BEAT LA" towel when we got those this past season!



As far as the Angels go...

Well the Yankees don't want to get too cocky- although it is an uphill climb to win one at the Big A and then the next two at Yankee Stadium we have to remember last year's ALCS between the Red Sox and the D Rays.

After blowing a 7–0 lead late in a potential series-clinching Game 5 and a 3–1 series lead, they almost didn't make it to their world series and Boston played hard enough to get it to game 7 which the Ray's eventually won.

So the Angels have a choice tomorrow- play like they really want to go to the World Series or let the team that George bought go to another world championship...their last being in 2003.

If the Yanks do win the ALCS then you know I will be rooting for the Phillies to repeat.

Partly because San Diego is a National League town, but mostly because I have never been a Yankee fan. As a kid I always was a Mets fan...don't ask me why...I just loved that team and even Shea Stadium as a kid!

Congrats to the ...



...and good luck Angels tomorrow night!


Click here to see who won past NLCS contests!


Click here to see VIDEO highlights of tonight's game!

ANGELS WIN IN 11

Finally the Angels get timely hitting after another extra inning game.



SERIES SO FAR- YANKEES 2 wins - ANGELS 1 win



But us Angel fans cannot breath easy yet.

It is almost imperative that they win the next two games at home. Otherwise they will have to win game 6 or 7 back in the Bronx at Yankee Stadium.

GO



Click here for the game wrap up in the LA Times.

CAN THE PHILL'S REPEAT?

While I am rooting for the....



it might be fun to see Philly repeat...something that has not been done since 2000 when the Yankees bear my childhood team...the Mets...giving them the third consecutive World Series win.

Certainly the people of Philly were happy last year after the Philadelphia Phillies broke the 25 year drought!

So I guess if I am rooting for a National League Team, since my Padres are not in it, I would go with Philly! At least because of the name...Philip...Phillies...Philly! LOL

Here is a recap video I found from last year.

Game Times

Series begins Friday
Game	Matchup	Day	Date	Time ET	TV
Gm 1	LAA @ NYY	Fri	Oct. 16	TBD	FOX
Gm 2	LAA @ NYY	Sat	Oct. 17	TBD	FOX
Gm 3	NYY @ LAA	Mon	Oct. 19	TBD	FOX
Gm 4	NYY @ LAA	Tue	Oct. 20	TBD	FOX
Gm 5*	NYY @ LAA	Thu	Oct. 22	TBD	FOX
Gm 6*	LAA @ NYY	Sat	Oct. 24	TBD	FOX
Gm 7*	LAA @ NYY	Sun	Oct. 25	TBD	FOX

Series begins Thursday
Game	Matchup	Day	Date	Time ET	TV
Gm 1	PHI @ LAD	Thu	Oct. 15	TBD	TBS
Gm 2	PHI @ LAD	Fri	Oct. 16	TBD	TBS
Gm 3	LAD @ PHI	Sun	Oct. 18	TBD	TBS
Gm 4	LAD @ PHI	Mon	Oct. 19	TBD	TBS
Gm 5*	LAD @ PHI	Wed	Oct. 21	TBD	TBS
Gm 6*	PHI @ LAD	Fri	Oct. 23	TBD	TBS
Gm 7*	PHI @ LAD	Sat	Oct. 24	TBD	TBS

• League Championship Series are best of seven games.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/schedule/ps.jsp?y=09