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 !!
The second half of the season has begun and unfortunately for all Padres fans, the results remain the same. Padres just called up Pitcher Mat Latos and will make his major league debut on Sunday against the Rockies. The Sandy Alderson and Grady Fuson protege will finally show those people who had lack of confidence in the Alderson regime that their drafting philosophy was in fact legit. The roster continues to be overhauled with majority of talent that was drafted by Sandy Alderson’s regime. Though, since Alderson has been let go the most prominent front office personnel is Kevin Towers. I would imagine, Towers is being closely watch and observe thoroughly these last few months of the season. As with all cases, new ownership and CEO usually want their own hand pick people, given consideration that recently hired Bob Melvin has been given the title of assessing the current minor league system. This move is quite significant, Towers and Fuson may be the next ones to be let go from their current responsibilities and titles. I, personally think the Grady Fuson has made a huge impact on the Padres minor league system. In my most humble opinion, it is Towers who should be shown the door. With that being said, what will be Mgr Bud Black status? I would re-sign Black for 3 yrs and let him work with the youngsters. Black had worked with many throughout his days with the Angels and deserves a fair shot given consideration the situation he was placed in by Kevin Towers.
The Padres should demote P Josh Greer and cut their loses with Greer. Let’s bring up Carrillo, Buschmann, and any other pitcher who should have a legit shot of starting. I like the fact Tim Stauffer is looking rather quite emotionally and physically strong. I still believe in Stauffer, and most Padres should remember Stauffer was already hurting physically when he got drafted initially. I foresee a starting rotation of Jake Peavy, Chris Young, Kevin Correria, Tim Stauffer, and Mat Latos
It’s time for the Padres to have some fun, and I will conclude this post with a music video by Con Funk Shun, song titled ‘FUN’. Do enjoy Padres fans and let’s have some fun while going to the games.
Padres RF Brian Giles ripped a base hit to right field that allowed pinch hitter Chris Burke to score from 2nd base with the winning run. Ahh, the ex-Pirates player did in his old team and it was about time Giles came through after struggling recently at the dish. Both starting pitchers Pirates’ Ian Shell and Padres’ Kevin Correia fared very well. Though, the Padres had the bases loaded twice in the game and that nearly haunted them until the 11th when Giles came through in the clutch. Another fine performance by the Padres pen tonight Gregerson, Bell, Mujica, and Moreno. The only blemish was the blown save by Cla Meredith in the 6th inning. Padres win ! 4 – 3 Padres win ! 4 – 3.
Player of the Game
Padres RF Brian Giles, who drove a fastball to right field for the game winning hit. Giles had been struggling at the dish and is historically a slow starter.
Quote of the Week If a horse can’t eat it, I don’t want to play on it. ~Dick Allen, on artificial turf, 1970
Knowing Giles attitude about his early season’s struggles, I bet Brian has the mentality of Life’s Been Good. With that being said, a music video of Joe Walsh and the Eagles on the song called ‘Life’s Been Good’.
On the last weekend of April, Pirates and Padres are both 9 – 6 and 1 1 /2 games out from 1st place. Do you think this has those so called baseball experts scratching their heads ? I would imagine so, but then again many people in America are scratching their heads with the current administration’s bailouts. Speaking of, I found a photo on the net that depicts the current situation.
Big Bro Bailouts
Anyhow, back to the baseball and specifically our San Diego Padres. The boys are back in town for a three game series before they hit the road again. This scheduling almost rivals that of the NBA and it’s ridiculous if I were to have a say in it. Going for the Padres tonight is Kevin Correia, who for the most part has been pitching very well. I expect the Padres to win this game and the series too while getting back on another winning streak. All three games should be close and come down to the wire as the Pirates are no push-overs. There is some considerable amount of talent on that Pirate squad such as tonight’s starting pitcher Ian Shell, Saturday’s starter lefty Zach Duke, and Sunday’s starter Ross Ohlendorf.
We must wait until tomorrow to see if the Padres will win this series from the Pirates, until then stay tuned as I sign off this post with a music video of John Mayer titled ‘Wait Until Tomorrow’
Our Padres take the field once again tonight facing the New York Mets in Citi Field. It will be very interesting to see how Padres’ P Kevin Correia fares against the Mets line-up. The key will be to keep Mets’ SS Jose Reyes off the bases and stay ahead in the count throughout the entire line-up. On the mound for the Mets will be ex-Padres lefty Oliver Perez, who at times can be very erratic. The key will be for the Padres hitters to be very patient and work the count against Perez. I predict this game will be another close one, with the Padres coming on top with a score of 7-4. Around 8 pm pacific standard time, we will see if my prediction actually comes to fruition.
For a pre-game music video, here’s something along the lines of the current winning streak. The song by Whispers ‘Rock Steady’ signifies the Padres pitching.
On a cool partly cloudy day in San Diego, the Padres came from behind and defeated the Dodgers 4 – 3. This game had it all, homer, triples, doubles, good pitching and suspense. From a baseball fan perspective, this was one of those games that can fire up a ballclub. Padres’ P Kevin Correia battled Dodgers’ P Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers were in control of the game until the 8th. Though, the Bums have many opportunities to put away the Padres and never did so. As the Padres hung around and 1B Adrian Gonzalez blasted a solo shot to left centerfield, that awoken the crowd and Padres. 3B Edgar Gonzalez ripped a blast to the deepest part of the ballpark for a triple and the fans were hollering with excitement. Eventually, C Nick Hundley drove in pinch runner SS Everth Cabrera with the tying run. But the Padres were not finished, as SS Luis Rodriguez smacked a double to right center, scoring Hundley from 1st with the go ahead run. In the top of the 9th, Dodgers’ 2B Orlando Hudson smacked a triple to lead off the inning and those Dodgers fans were dancing in the stands. Next, came up Dodgers’ LF Manny Ramirez and Bell managed to get Ramirez to ground out to shortstop. After a walk to Dodgers’ RF Andre Ethier, Heath Bell got Dodgers’ C Russell Martin to hit into ending 4-6-3 double-play. Padres Win ! Padres Win !
Player of the Game
Los Hermanos Gonzalez (aka The Gonzalez Brothers) Adrian and Edgar. Adrian smacked an opposite booming homer to deep left center field that started the rally in the 8th. Edgar, continued the assault with a towering shot to left center that went for a triple.
This comeback win will do good for the Padres in terms of confidence and the Dodgers have awaken the kids. On that note, here’s a video of Switchfoot called ‘On Fire’.
On a sunny glorious Santa Ana day in San Diego, CA, the Eve of Opening Day 2009. Padres fans throughout the county of San Diego and elsewhere are ready for some baseball. From various publications such as newspapers, websites and other sport related media, the Padres have been forecast to finish in last place. Ahhh, so what ! That’s like many financial brokers telling their clients for the past 7 years not to place any investments in commodities like gold and silver. What do they actually know ? Nothing, basically just blowing smoke and acting like the herd mentality. Same goes for the so called experts on baseball. I like the role of the underdog and to put things in simple terms. I feel the Padres are going to overachieve their expectations and become a surprise player in the NL West Division. In the end, the Padres may not win the division but they certainly have just a good chance of winning it or at worst case have a profound affect in who wins the division.
On Monday 6 April, the Division battle and supremacy of So Cal baseball begins as the Los Angeles Dodgers come into town for a four game opening series. Speaking about the Dodgers, just recently during Spring Training one of their pitchers had made a remark about our Padres. Here is the remark and great bulletin board material – “You can’t give up on a season,” said Estes, who spent parts of the past two seasons with the Padres. “As players, you’ve got to give yourselves a chance going into it. But there’s definitely going to be some growing pains. Even though many of their (Padres) kids have a year or two under their belt now, it’s going to be a long year, I think.” Back on 5 March on this blog I said the following – “Hmmm, well all I can say is I hope Estes can stay on the roster the whole year unlike his time in San Diego. Otherwise, it’s going to be a very long year again for him in LA.” I just have one question that is – Where is Estes now ? Oh I forgot he’s in AAA. Well, Estes long year is starting out as well and tomorrow the Dodgers will find out the Padres will be a nemesis once again.
Predictions
I say the Padres will finish the season with a record of 84-78 which will place them in 3rd place. The Arizona D’backs will win the division with a record of 90-72, the Dodgers will finish in 2nd at 86-76, the Giants in 4th at 79-83 and the Rockies in last at 70-92. The Dodgers will finish the 2009 series with the Padres at 9-9 which will basically cost them the division title. I am not going to toss out some statistical analysis on how I derived those results mentioned above. As I note a quote by a former player “Baseball statistics are like a girl in a bikini. They show a lot, but not everything. ~Toby Harrah, 1983″ But what I will do, is give you some basic fundamentals. The Dodgers have lost Lowe, Saito and Bremmel Beimel from their pitching staff. In this game, you can never have too much pitching. The D’backs picked up P Jon Garland and that’s a tremendous benefit. The Giants, well stayed at status-quo despite acquiring P Randy Johnson and SS Edgar Renteria. I feel both are on their downward cycle in terms of productivity. The Giants young arms in Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Jonathan Sanchez will keep them in the games. The Rockies ? Gone is Holiday who in my opinion was the difference maker in that line-up. The Rockies pitching is suspect and extreme volatility in terms of production just like the current financial markets. That leaves us with the Padres, who will surprise many with a full year of production from P Chris Young and pleasant surprises in Correia, Silva and Prior. Yes, Mark Prior may have an impact in the 2nd half of the season. The offense will be an upgrade from the previous seasons and there will be some exciting baseball played at Petco Park. How will my predictions turn out ? Well in 6 months or so, we will all find out and you might have a chance to throw me under the bus. Though, I am just being a speculator and a contrarian at that. There is always a silver lining in every dark cloud, which poses the next question. Which will come first the spot price of silver at 25.00 per ounce or the Padres 25th win of the year ? I say the latter !
The Dodgers are about to arrive in San Diego later this evening, and in the meantime. The Padres get to work-out today at Petco, sign a few autographs while soaking in the so cal sunshine. It’s about time we get down to business San Diegan’s, baseball is here Opening Day 2009 ! Time to get our backs off the wall and get down to support our Padres. Which leads to the video of the day, by Kool & The Gang ‘Get Down on it’.
Padres’ Mgr Bud Black announced his starting rotation. Jake Peavy, Chris Young, Walter Silva, Kevin Correia, and Shawn Hill. I really like the way the rotation has been set and it’s a good one to start off with against the Dodgers. I am curious who will be the other reliever that Kevin Towers hinted that may be acquire on Wednesday.
During tonight’s game, Duaner Sanchez and Luke Gregerson looked very sharp. Both had good control and threw strikes, in fact Gregerson pitches had tremendous movement. As I had alluded before, I have faith in Towers ability to build the pitching staff.
A good way to conclude this short post, would be a song by the Beatles titled “A Day In Life”. Keep Up the Faith Padres Fans ! Opening Day is coming soon….
Opening Day 2009 is 10 days away as Padres’ GM Kevin Towers attempts to piece-meal the pitching staff together. One avenue that Towers is most likely observing closely is those players who are Out of Options. Most notably are from the Tampa Bay Rays franchise, pitchers Jason Hammel and Jeff Niemann, Angels Jason Bulger and Shane Loux, and D’backs Yusmeiro Petit. If I were a betting man, the odds that Hammel or Niemann along with Jason Bulger will be with the Padres is fairly reasonable. I don’t think our western division foes D’Backs will give away Petit. Bulger would be a tremendous upgrade in the pen and Hammel or Niemann could compete for one of the starting slots. Let’s see what eventually unfolds while Towers is working his mojo !
More pitchers on the way…..
The deal for Khalil Greene came to a closure as the Cardinals sent pitching prospect Luke Gregerson to the Padres. I really like this acquisition and Gregerson may have an opportunity to pitch in the big show this year. Gregerson’s fate all lies in what unfolds the next 10 days, depending on what other player acquisitions the Padres do complete. For now, consider Gregerson to start the season in the minors. In other news, the Padres signed RHP Shawn Hill to a minor league contract. Hill has a great opportunity to compete and crack into the starting rotation immediately. Though, as spring training winds down, I like Walter Silva alot. Who knows, perhaps Kevin Correia will end up in the pen. Lastly, do not forget the Dodgers owe the Padres two pitching prospects from the Maddux deal. If I am not mistaken, those two prospects should be named at the conclusion of spring training.
While Padres’ GM Kevin Towers and the Front Office works into the midnight hours, here’s a song played by BB King, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Etta James, titled ‘Midnight Hour’
Matt Clark became the first Missions player in two years to hit for the cycle as they rallied from a 5-1 deficit to beat the Hooks in 10 innings Saturday night at Whataburger Field. […]
