Posts Tagged ‘Aaron Cunningham’

Where is some of that nastiness ?……

Saturday, September 4th, 2010

Since last saturday’s game with the Philadelphia Phillies, I’ve noticed some lack of nastiness with the boys. Though, the opponents have been coming hard and with vengeance at the Padres. I will give you two factual incidents and they are as followed:

  1. Against the Phillies last saturday afternoon, Phillies’ C Carlos Ruiz went in hard at Padres’ 2b David Eckstein with a late slide to break up the attempted double-play which led to a Phillies run. It was a very crucial moment in the game that allowed the Phillies to pull away.
  2. Today’s game, Rockies’ P Esmil Rogers threw a hard and high one at Padres’ 2b David Eckstein which sent David down on the ground. Eventually, Rogers struck out Eckstein to kill the rally and leave the sacks loaded.

So, where am I going with this ? Well, I don’t see the same tenacity in the Padres. Here are my points:

  1. Last Saturday against the Phillies, Padres’ C Nick Hundley was attempting to score from 2b on a base hit to right field. As Hundley approached home plate, Phillies’ C Carlos Ruiz was essentially an open target as  Ruiz was waiting for the ball from right field. Instead of taking out Ruiz and making him feel the affects of such a collision, Hundley decided to slide. This was a great opportunity to light a fire on the fuse for the Padres. Create something !
  2. When is the last time, that you’ve seen a member of the Padres pitching staff throwing high and inside against the opponents? Once again, a lack of tenacity. You got to try to make something happen, being passive is not the effective way to winning baseball games.

It’s time for someone in that dugout to get their uniform dirty and spark this team. Who’s going to be the Ron Artest on the Padres? I know one qualified candidate but he’s on the DL currently.

Buddy it’s time for a major line-up shake up…….

If I were Buddy Black, I would make out this line-up for Sunday’s finale against the Rockies. Something needs to be done immediately, a potential 10-game losing streak could be very damaging. I equate this to the stock market dropping for 10 consecutive days. You start to lose confidence quickly.

  1. 2b David Eckstein
  2. Rf Aaron Cunningham
  3. 3b Chase Headley
  4. 1b Adrian Gonzalez
  5. Lf Oscar Salazar
  6. C Yorvit Torrealba
  7. ss Miguel Tejada
  8. Cf Scott Hairston

Come on boys ! It’s time for someone else to Pay the Price ! Let’s flatten someone and get back that tenacity on our side of the field. With that being said, I’ll close out this post with a Blues Music video by Chicago Bluesman John Primer, titled “Pay The Price”. Who would have thought the Padres would collapse before the Stock Market ? Not me that’s for sure, but then again that’s why they play the games. It’s September and we are still in the lead !!

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Padres’ GM Hoyer not satisfied and pulls trigger on another deal….

Sunday, August 1st, 2010

An legit big bat is coming to San Diego, it’s about time !! Many of us loyal season ticket holders have been waiting for this day to come. Thank You ! Padres’ GM Jed Hoyer. It has been years since the last big bat arrived in San Diego (Greg Vaughn in 1996). Joining the Padres on Sunday will be OF Ryan Ludwick and he will bring the much needed protection behind Adrian Gonzalez. Let me repeat this San Diegans, the Padres Front Office is very serious about winning the division and going deep into the post season. Remember “We Believe“, that is the motto for the 2010 Padres season. Now, I wonder who will have to be removed from the 25 man roster to accommodate Ludwick ? Let’s take a look at the personnel in question, based on my perspective.

  1. OF Tony Gwynn Jr. This past week Gwynn has come up in critical key situations and strike out looking. Tony is currently hitting at .217 and offensively is regressing very rapidly. Sure, he has a great glove and dynamic speed. Though, I am sure Luis Durango can do the same and better. Gwynn Jr. is a good candidate to be sent down if he has options.
  2. OF Chris Denorfia. As with Cunningham, Denorfia has options but has heavily contributed this season. In fact, Denorfia has been hitting the long ball in July and provides speed as well. A demotion to the minor league does not make any sense but the same could be said for Cunningham.

In terms of pure production overall, I would have to say that Tony Gwynn Jr. is on the bubble. But, just like with the US Economy the bail-out packages are not the best interest for the American public, debt on top of debt impedes the Economy. In baseball terms, a demotion for Denorfia is highly probable and it will not make any sense baseball wise.

Playing left field has been an adventure as of late….

Padres’ OF Scott Hairston has been facing the demons from the outfield the past 2 out of 3 games in left field. On both occasions, Scott has allowed the ball to dictate his awful approach to it. Both times, Scott hesitated and made two critical errors which led to runs for the opponents. Could you have said, Ludwick is arriving just in time ? Perhaps, Will Venable will be starting in Center or Left on Sunday against the Marlins.

Alright Padres Fans, it’s time to close out this post. A blues music video by Eric Sardinas titled “I Can’t Be Satisfied” is dedicated to both Tony Gywnn Jr. and Scott Hairston. How come? Well, Gywnn for striking out way too frequently in key situations with runners in scoring position, and Hairston for his “Barnum and Baily Circus Routine” in left field.

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The break is over, time to stop messing around….

Friday, July 16th, 2010

As BP finally capped the oil spillage in the Gulf Coast, Oil rigs are now traveling to Africa to seek promising oil drills in the sea. There is new hope for finding oil and the Padres are about to start off the second half of the 2010 season with hope of a playoff run. It’s time for all americans to stop messing around and take note of the spot price rise in Gold, Silver and Oil. The underlying fundamentals will never lie if you only take the time to perform some due diligence. With that being said, the same can be applied to the 2010 San Diego Padres as this team got what it takes to win the division and NL Pennant. The clock is ticking for Padres’ GM Jed Hoyer and the entire baseball front office. I personally think a big time starter will provide the last missing piece to this great Padres jigsaw puzzle. My hope is to see the Padres finish the year with 90 wins, Gold at 2,000 and Silver at 45. The real question is, do the San Diegan’s believe what’s happening before their own eyes or are they living off the past history and have no faith in the Padres. All I can say is, I expect Wade Leblanc to win 7 games in the second half and Aaron Cunningham to lead the offensive attack with 8 homers. It is good to have dreams as we all do know, if you dream enough some do come true. It all starts in believing…

As the Diamondbacks come into town for this weekend series, I have a Blues Music Video by Rock Band Aerosmith, off their Honkin’ on Bobo blues cd, titled “Stop Messin’ Around’. Yes Padres and Padres fans, time to stop messin’ around and let’s take care of unfinished business — capture the NL Divison and NL Pennant —

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Who are these Padres ?……..

Sunday, July 4th, 2010

Oh Yeah ! Guess what the boys are starting to get some national attention. Prior to this 2010 season, the only attention this franchise received in the national media was the comment Dodgers’ Owner Frank McCourt made in reference to his divorce proceedings “This will not be like the San Diego situation (Moores divorce proceedings)”. Well Mr. McCourt you have two things to worry about now, your franchise and the Padres. This past week, the Padres made the front page of USA Today Sports Section titled “Happy to crash party, Surprised Padres stand on top NL West” Since Aug 09, the Padres have had 8 consecutive winning months in baseball ! No other team has done that at all ! This is so similar to the silver situation, like silver the Padres are slowly getting the attention until one day they explode upon the national scene. The only question now is, who will reach the 90 mark, will it be silver at 90.00 per ounce or the Padres with 90 wins ? This second half promises to be an exciting one both baseball and economic wise.

The internal BIG BAT comes through AGAIN…..
On the day he arrived back from Portland, Padres’ OF Aaron Cunningham came through with a double in the bottom of the 8th Inning to set up the winning run. Aaron hustled immediately out of the batter’s box and turned a single into a double, this exemplifies the 2010 Padres — it’s all about hustle– I will say this much, Cunningham continues to MAKE the PLAYS and I firmly believe the Padres have the big bat internally. I rather see the Front Office go after another starter to supplement our rotation.

Potential commodities on the market
There are a few pitchers who I think can be traded if the price is right, they are Chicago White Sox Galvin Floyd, Blue Jays Brandon Morrow, and Orioles Brian Matusz. It will be curious to see whom the Padres Front Office goes after and attempt to acquire as another front-line starter.

Yes ! It’s that time to close out this post with a blue music video. This is Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band and Blues long time Guitarist Humbert Sumlin singing “Standing on Top of the World” and “We gonna Fly”. Yes Padres fans can you dig it !!! The Padres are sitting on top of the NL West and National League.

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No need to look elsewhere, the big bat resides within internally…..

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

Over the past few weeks, voices throughout the local and national media have been saying the Padres need to acquire a big bat to round out the line-up. I disagree completely, how come? Because, the past week watching the Padres in person at Petco Park, I believe that big bat is here already. Though, the question does the Padres Front Office and Coaching staff agree as well ? You may be asking who’s that big bat ? Well, no need to look elsewhere, it’s Aaron Cunningham whom blasted a Grand Slam in his first at bat as a Padre. But, it wasn’t just that initial at bat, the second time around Cunningham blasted another deep fly to the farthest part in the Park deep right center for a ground rule double. On Sunday, once again Cunningham drove a blast to the same part of the Park for a ground rule double. In my most humble opinion, the big bat has arrived and let’s see what Aaron Cunningham can do playing regularly. Keep in mind, the Padres are in the driver seat equipped with many pitchers and there is no hurry to make a trade. Let the other teams come knocking at the door and showing their hand. After all, the Padres are in First Place !

Who’s on the bubble???……

Within the next few weeks, several moves will have to be made by the Padres Front Office. Question is who will be sent back to Portland ? Kyle Blanks ? Tony Gwynn Jr. ? Chris Denorfia ? What about the pitching staff ? Is Kevin Correia in jeopardy of losing his starting slot? Will Tim Stauffer return as a reliever or starter? I have extreme confidence in the Padres Coaching Staff and Front Office, that they will make the best decisions for the club based on performance. We don’t really need to make a trade at this point, but there are moves that have to be made to accommodate those who are coming off the Injured Reserve.

As I close out this post, it’s great time to be San Diego Padres Fan. Come on San Diegan’s it’s time to “Believe Now” in this Team. A music video of Blues Guitarist Joe Bonamassa, titled “A Bridge to Better Days”. Do enjoy and Padres are for real !!

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