Posts Tagged ‘Peavy’

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We are here to stay……

Sunday, June 13th, 2010

I’ve been traveling back and forth to the greater Los Angeles basin the past two weekends and I will tell you this much. The Angelenos are very very aware of the Padres. In fact, most of them are very reserved about making any type of remarks in regards to the Padres. What does this tell me? The Padres have many people outside San Diego wondering if this team is for real. As we draw closer to 4th of July, I guarantee the fans in LA, SF and Colorado will be more on the edge due to the rise of the San Diego Padres. How come ? To be quite honest a few well respected baseball people have noticed the Padres and here are some of the comments and quotes:

  1. During St. Louis Cardinals series in San Diego, Redbirds Manager Tony La Russa came away very impressed with the Padres. You can read La Russa’s thoughts.
  2. After completing six game series with the Padres, New York Mets RF Jeff Francoeur comments on the Padres.

I am sure as the season progresses there will be many more positive comments on the Padres. For now, the team will continue to play outstanding ball and make some noises. Speaking of noises, there has been a few made in the midwest from ex-Padre Ace Jake Peavy.

Hot Air has arrived in Chicago, though it’s not the Humidity….

Former Padres’ Ace Jake Peavy continues to take shots at the Padres organization. Unfortunately, this brings back memories of 2008 season when both Trevor Hoffman and Jake Peavy were very critical of the Padres Front Office (Sandy Alderson’s Regime) philosophy. Basically, it was the veterans who were very boring, slow and ineffective during the 2008 while Alderson, Grady Fuson, and a few others in the Front Office were rebuilding the Padres farm system. Ironically, now those two players whom were very critical of their franchise, are now non-productive for their respective teams Cubs and Brewers while the Padres are flourishing. Mind you, the pitching staff was built by former GM Kevin Towers but the positional players were all drafted by Alderson and Fuson oversight. The Padres current farm system is the reflection of the hard work that Alderson and Fuson put forth during 2005 thru 2009. Being a player, Jake Peavy should focus more on lowering his 5 + ERA and closing that 8 game gap from 1st place than his previous employer activities. We (San Diegans) still haven’t forgotten that Peavy did not win any post season game during the 2006 and 2007 seasons with the Padres.

Do you believe in Miracles?…..

Yesterday afternoon as I was spending time with relatives, we were watching MLB Network on cable. The MLB Network was showing the 1988 World Series game 1 and the heroics of Dodgers’ LF Kirk Gibson. I made a bold comment that I felt Padres’ 2b David Eckstein will be OUR Kirk Gibson for the magical 2010 season. Many people in the house simply look at me with deers in the headlight stare, as I had caught them off guard with the comment. I see many familiar traits between the 1988 Los Angeles Dodgers and 2010 San Diego Padres. Though, Padres have more team speed and a better pitching staff overall.

Well to close out this post, I will dedicate this music video to Chicago White Sox P Jake Peavy. A song by Ruth Brown and BB King titled “Ain’t Nobody’s business”, do enjoy.

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The New Kids on the Block…..

Saturday, May 1st, 2010

As April closes, the Padres are in FIRST PLACE in the National League West Division. Yup ! You heard that right Padres Fans ! With all due respect, I take my hat off and congratulate Ex-Padres CEO Sandy Alderson and Ex-Padres Baseball Operations Grady Fuson. These two people laid down the foundation and literally built up the farm system from ground zero. A few journalist who covers baseball fail to acknowledge this and give credit to former GM Kevin Towers. I disagree completely, though I will admit Kevin Towers did make some trades, most notably the Jake Peavy and Scott Hairston which brought in a handful of pitchers. Fox Sports baseball analyst Ken Rosenthal had alluded that Kevin Towers had built this team. If Rosenthal had did some homework, he would have found over the course of 15 years, Towers was never known for his farm system.

May is here and things are going to get even more interesting. So far the Padres are making news around the league and some players have been on ESPN and MLB Network highlights. According to Fox Sports Baseball Power Rankings, the Padres are 8th and if you don’t believe me check this out here. I still believe this Padres team will end up the NL Wild-Card entry. The style of baseball they play can legitimately be successful in any ball park. This team reminds me like those St. Louis Cardinals, that Whitey Hertzog had with the rabbits (Vince Coleman, Ozzie Smith, and Willie McGhee) and Bomber (Jack Clark). Though, our Padres version has more power with Adrian, Kyle Blanks, Will Venable and Chase Headley.

Player of the Month – April

This is a tie between LHP Wade LeBlanc, 3B Chase Headley, and RHP Tim Stauffer. All three players had a profound affect on the Padres record during April. LeBlanc, substituting for Chris Young has been very impressive and surely earned a starting spot in the rotation. As I had mentioned before on a previous post, the Padres are going to make a move or two before May. Well May is here, give and take a week or so, the move is coming. Headley has assumed the clean-up spot and providing great protection for Adrian Gonzalez. Not only that, Headley has driven in runs when the opposing pitchers have walked Adrian intentionally. As for Stauffer, his value continues to skyrocket just like a few silver junior mining stocks are doing at the moment. Stauffer has provided the Padres outstanding long relief and has been vital in keeping the staff fresh. Kudos to these three players, and Padres fans, let’s give them a round of applause during the games when these player names are announced.

As I close out this post, and the Padres are creeping up on the so called experts charts, here’s a song titled ‘The Creeper’ by Blues artist James Cotton. Let’s Go Padres, send out a signal MAY DAY !…THE PADRES ARE FOR REAL !!…

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Balls Flying, Bats Cracking and the Catcus league is here…..

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

Ahhh Yes ! It’s that time of the year, Spring Training is here and the San Diego Padres are in camp. The games have begun in Florida and Arizona which brings synergy and faith to all baseball fans throughout the world. I am really looking forward to this year’s Padres ballclub, because I really do think they will surprise many so called experts and those who think the Padres will do nothing at all. I will go out on the limb and say the Padres will be a wild-card entry for this upcoming season. Yes ! You heard that right from my mouth and it’s just been posted in this blog as of now. I know, the majority of you are probably laughing your behind off at me for such an outlandish remark. Though, in truth I have many reasons to make such a prediction as I just did. For starters, I think this team will finally play to the style that fits Petco Park and will cause misery for many of the visiting ballclubs. This is vastly different than the previous Padres teams which did not adequately fit the Petco Park theme. In doing so, the previous teams (Padres) were playing on a level playing field with their opponents, whom in several cases had more power to their line-ups. Now, the Padres are styling their ballclub to pure speed, defense and pitching which to me is a winning formula for any ballpark. Though, it will be more apparent in ballparks like Petco Park, Chase Field, Dodger Stadium, Coors Field, and AT&T Park. Now, we will see how injuries come about to play within the Division during the Catcus and Grapefruit leagues and the shaping of divisional rivals rosters. I truly feel strong about our 2010 Padres Ballclub as they are flying beneath the radar and can appear out of nowhere like a stealth fighter/bomber to have a profound impact on the Division and National League.

The past week or so, I’ve been reading alot of bulletin board material in regards to Ex-Padre Ace Jake Peavy. Mr Peavy has been on the borderline of poaching a Padres’ property in 1B Adrian Gonzalez. I know players become tight with each other and share mutual respect, but that should remain in the clubhouse and shouldn’t be thrown out in the public to be use as leverage. Chi-Sox Pitcher Peavy has been trying to push the Chi-Sox Baseball folks to go out and acquire Adrian Gonzalez. Unfortunately, Jake should focus on learning American League Hitters who will present him a great challenge if you take into account the smaller size of ballclubs around the junior league. I find Jake’s comments very humorous because essentially, he is the San Diego’s Nate Keading Equivalent in terms of baseball. They both are very productive players during the regular season, but when it’s “Money-Time” as Magic Johnson refers to the playoffs, only do a few really standout and become the James “Big-Game” Worthy. In this instance, Peavy and Keading had opportunities to prove themselves and yet failed miserably. Therefore, being a Padre fan I am excited that Peavy is pushing hard to get Gonzalez. Why? If the Padres can get 4 players for a Pitcher who didn’t win a game in the playoffs and only pitches ever 5th day. Just think what the Padres can get for an All-Star, Gold Glove, and full-time producer like Adrian. I am thinking the bidding must begin with the minimum of 7 players. The real question is, can any team out there really afford to give up 7 players? Come July, those teams who are willing to pull the plug will arise if and only if the Padres are out of the running. Though, as many of you have read, I seriously doubt the Padres will be out of it this year and will shock many so called experts. The price for Gonzalez will be much higher then, just like an ounce of Gold and Silver with the economic crisis coming to a head soon.

As I conclude this post with Jake Peavy’s comments on Gonzalez and Padres franchise, a befitting video would be BB King and his friends with the song of ‘Rock Me Baby’. Yes, the Padres are gonna rock alot of people this year and maybe one ballclub out there will rock us with a package of players that the Padres can’t afford to turn down.

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The Trigger has been pulled twice on one day……

Saturday, August 1st, 2009

On this Saturday morning 1 Aug 2009, one day after Padres GM Kevin Towers had pulled the trigger not ONCE but TWICE in his attempts to rebuild his mess that has occurred under his watch. Let’s really analyze what took place on Friday 31 July:

  • GM Towers sent Padres Staff Ace and Homegrown talent Jake Peavy to the Chicago White Sox for 4 pitchers, Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Dexter Carter, and Aaron Russell. Hmmm, okay that is fine and in a span of two weeks the Padres have acquired 7 pitchers. But the real problem has yet to be addressed –Offense–.  As I continue on with the analysis, quoting Towers directly “Maybe there’s a Jake Peavy in the bunch” Well if there is one, it is highly probable that in a couple of years the Padres will once again trade great talent for prospects. Even Sox GM Kenny Williams said after the trade “To get a number 1, you have to pay the price. Clayton Richard, we believe, especially going to the National League and in San Diego’s ballpark,” Sox GM Williams told him.  “You are about to be a very successful and rich man. You are going to do well over there.” See article posted on Padres.com. As I alluded before, I surely hope the Padres do attempt to keep the players they acquired from this trade for a good time frame like 4-5 years. This franchise needs stability and consistency from the coaching staff to the players.   I am not against that at all, but what seems to be a consistent behavior pattern here is the Padres have no real plan. Hello ! it’s the offense that needs some major league talent, and you can have the best pitching staff while still losing close games. Speaking of the Offense, my second vital point is about to be made.
  • Padres’ GM Kevin Towers once again fails to admit failure in his inability to grab the best qualified hitting coach and fires coach Jim Lefebvre. This is the FOURTH batting coach change in the last FIVE years, once again a consistent pattern. In the current software business, companies who acknowledge they have failed, are the ones in the long run who will become successful. Simply, because they shown they care and take the accountability for their own actions. Having fired FOUR coaches in FIVE years simply tells me, the person in charge of hiring is unsuccessful and a failure at trying distinguish good coaching abilities from the crop of wealth that remains in the leagues.

So, the real question is when will the other two triggers will be pulled. I am specifically referring to either Gonzalez or Bell trade and the firing of Towers. Before the public (fan base) can learn to trust the Padres’ Baseball Operations, the Baseball Operations must learn to trust the public’s knowledge of the game. What really is the point here is, the truth about truth is itself counter-intuitive. Corrections do not diminish creditability. Corrections enhance creditability. Standing up and admitting your errors makes you more believable, it gives your audience (fan base) faith that you will right your future wrongs.  Being willing to be wrong is a key to innovation and for all successful organizations. The ball is in the Padres’ Front Office and Baseball Operations court now, the clock is ticking.

As for the team, the Padres have been on a winning streak and showing signs of life which is very entertaining.To wrap up this post, I have a song by Aerosmith, titled “Train Kept on Rollin”. This is a cool video by some young man playing his guitar to the song.

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More shuffling the cards of decks though the dealer remains the same….

Saturday, July 18th, 2009

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.

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Is it worth watching anymore?…..

Sunday, June 14th, 2009

I am back to posting after taking leave due to the fact I had sustain an elbow injury to a nerve. In that time span, I have seen the Padres have a winning and losing streak. People had asked me what do I think about the Padres last winning streak and my response was “This streak resembles much like the Market’s Bear Rally. It’s just a mirage of what’s head of us –storm and turbulence–”. The latest set back of Jake Peavy along with Scott Hairston, has set the tone for the rest of this season. This team is out of it and all fingers are now pointing towards Padres’ GM Kevin Towers. Everything has occurred under his tenure with the Padres and time has come to hold someone accountable for this. This is surely not General Motors, Wait a Minute ! Maybe it is and Padres fans are paying out their pension plans. Hahahaha…Hey Padres fans, most of you hated Sandy Alderson and who’s next for this latest debacle? Let me hear your thoughts, don’t be shy. Who should be accountable for this ? Sound off. Remaining status quo is unacceptable in any failing organization/company, unless it’s the government and we won’t go there.

As a long time season-ticket holder, I am entertaining thoughts of raffling off my remaining season tickets for 10.00 per game. I will most likely entertain 20 bids per each raffle. Not bad, considering they are toyota terrace seats and in this economy, hell it’s a deal ! Stay tuned for more details later. Otherwise, let’s hope this organization’s Front office wises up, otherwise this Bear Padre Rally can only last so long.

Ahh, it’s Dangerous now, both economically and baseball wise for San Diegan’s. Here’s the Ying Yang Twins song called ‘Dangerous’

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Only 7 hits in the last 19 innings…..Uh ?

Saturday, May 2nd, 2009

Hello Kevin Towers ! Hello ! Time to pull the trigger and let’s make a blockbuster deal. Standing pat is no longer acceptable and action is required now. Those Dodgers have not beaten us the last 4 games, it’s the Padres inability to hit and deliver in clutch situations. Other than Adrian Gonzalez, no other hitter on the Padres puts fear into the opposing pitchers. Bring up Kyle Blanks and package a few current regulars for some major league caliber players. Two runs in the last 19 innings and wasted great outings from Peavy and Young for only to lose to those Dodgers by one run each night. Down right embarrassing and now Towers is on the hot seat to make some significant changes before more fans gives up on the Padres.

You Got To Be Kidding Me
This weekly award goes to Padres’ RF Brian Giles, who leisurely charged a ball that was hit to swallow right field that allowed Dodgers’ CF Matt Kemp to take 3rd base. This is not acceptable for any player and especially a veteran like Giles. The Padres should never give up on plays and it’s way too early in the season for type of plays to be made like this.

To capped this post, I developed a video titled ‘Coolest & Strangest Plays of the Week’ in Baseball. Do enjoy Padres and baseball Fans.

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May Day ! May Day ! SOS Towers do something quick !…..

Saturday, May 2nd, 2009

The Padres are slipping down faster than the US Dollar and it’s time for GM Kevin Towers to do his Obama’s bailout impression…Get Some Help ASAP ! How long can the Padres dink around the line-up to get Giles going ? Giles is not a lead-off hitter and by far his skills in RF have deteriorated. In order to acquire pitching the Padres must face the situation of potentially dealing Giles, Kouzmanoff, and Peavy that will bring a few prospects who could be major-league ready.

Last night’s game in Los Angeles was very hard to accept when the fact the Padres out hit the Dodgers and still lost the game ! Two games in a row where the Padres had a legitimate chance to win the games, they come up short. This is not the pattern I like to see and something must be done now. The games where Peavy and Chris Young pitch in, Padres should win and if they don’t it’s going to be a very very long year which may resemble 08 season. Gawd I hope not ! For my sake as a long time season ticket holder.

As the Padres seem to be fighting against Big LO now and the way things have gone as of late. I thought this next music video is very befitting, Led Zeppelin titled ‘Dazed and Confused’

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Back to Blogging while Padres are in La-la land….

Thursday, April 30th, 2009

It has been hectic the past 6 days for me. One, I had to deal with the passing of my cousin’s husband who fought a year against leukemia and passed away a week ago. These kind of events really puts everything into perspective and shows how fragile life is.

As for the Padres, they have been on a downward spiral ever since Mgr Buddy Black decided to give P Health Bell a rest in a game which the Padres lost to the Phillies. Big MO has disappeared since then and the Padres are resembling like the team which had lost 99 games last year. The injuries continues to pile on the Padres along with some horrible showings by Jake Peavy and Chris Young. The offense is still there though the pitching has been downright horrible. You would think the amount of money these pitchers make they could go atleast 7 innings. Geesh, back in the old days if you didn’t go 9 innings you were considered a whimp. So, I expect today’s pitchers to go atleast 7 innings not 5 !

Watching the game against the Dodgers, I can’t believe RF Brian Giles took his sweet time throwing the ball back into the infield as Dodgers’ CF Matt Kemp took 3rd on a swallow ball hit to right field. This is the prototypical example where Giles weak arm has been exposed. It’s time to move Giles to LF and let’s have a powerful arm in RF. Last Saturday’s game in Petco, where Jody Gerut played in RF against the Pirates. Jody had chased down the ball into the right field corner, actually threw a strike to 2nd to keep the runner from advancing home. Before our Padres continue to spiral downward, Mgr Black should start to make some moves with the starters and particularly the starting pitchers as well.

Come on Towers, pull a trigger and make a blockbuster deal ! It’s about time to make a bold statement.

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Padres and Phillies rained out…..

Monday, April 20th, 2009

Well, technically speaking the Padres won another series as the last game of what was to be a four game series was rained out. The Padres have done something that no one, including those so called baseball experts could envision. That is, coming out of the starting gates taking 3 of the first 4 series (Giants, Mets, and Phillies) and splitting with the Dodgers. Yes, three potent teams Mets, Phillies, and Dodgers by far very explosive offense. Atleast, the Padres have set the tone that they are a team to be reckon with and will compete to the very last strike.

Now, it’s on to San Francisco and the Giants are waiting to get revenge on the Padres. The Padres will have Jake Peavy and Chris Young going for this short two game series with the Giants. I just hope Big MO is on the plane and will make an appearance during the upcoming series. By the time, the plane lands in Frisco I am sure Padres GM Kevin Towers will have an announcement on a roster move or two. Stay tune Padres fans, check Corey Brock’s blog and twitter for the latest update information on the Padres.

While the Padres make that cross country flight back to the west coast, specifically San Francisco. Here’s a jam by Brian Culbertson titled ‘Say What’

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