BEAT LA

This weekend they are coming:


This Saturday I will be going to Petco Park for the BEAT LA T-shirt give away. I am excited about this because it will be a chance to be around these people (see above) with the upper hand. We have a better record and it is awesome.

My seat is in right field. Andre Ethier is flirting with the triple crown. I am turning 30. Have I looked up Andre the Giant's Wikipedia? Of course. Have I even looked up the solvent Ether? It is my job.

Help me out. I need material.

Life's Better with Baseball

Blame Dallas and Joe for getting me all reflective on why I love baseball when I was writing this last night…

My earliest memories of the Padres came in 1998. Gwynn. Caminiti. Finley. Gomez. Ashby. Hoffman. I was 14 and I had fun watching a team with a legitimate chance at the Series go on to win the pennant and come within 108 outs of that ring. 108 outs! We put up a real good fight ‘gainst those Yanks!

But it wasn’t the Padres that really got me interested in baseball. In fact, from '99-'04, my only Padres memory is being excited about a game I was at in which Deion Sanders played for the Reds and got a hit. I liked Prime Time. So, for a long time, Deion Sanders on the Reds was my lasting Padres memory.

It took a player who I couldn't care less for to really suck me into the game.

On February 15th, 2004, A-Rod was traded to the Yankees and I read an article in USA Today that morning detailing everything that led up to it. More facts came out later when it was revealed that Boston had been ready to trade Manny for A-Rod and Nomar for Magglio. It was the spectacle of the effort behind attempting to move this massive contract that got me. But it didn’t happen for Boston and the Yankees traded Alfonso Soriano for the juicer…

…and the Red Sox won their first World Series in 86 years (with some juicers of their own).

That was the first season I really started to follow baseball. I had an instant craving for everything Hot Stove related. I loved how easy it was for teams to make trades (well, easy for New York) and the A-Rod-Boston-New York drama personified that. Maybe it’s the reason why I still secretly root for the Red Sox. And seeing Carlos Beltran dominate and play fun baseball for the Astros after getting traded from the Royals is definitely why I still have a soft-spot for the Minute Maid gang. The build-up and mechanics of a star player getting traded were fascinating.

And baseball's love affair with no salary cap made free agency a whole other season in itself. The first time I experienced baseball disappointment (besides losing the '98 Series) was Beltran signing with the Mets. I guess that was the fall I became a daily visitor to MLBTradeRumors.com because I remember the buildup of Astros or Mets, Mets or Astros pretty vividly.

All of this led me to the Padres, oh doctor, the Padres. The Red Sox and Astros hooked me, but I still knew who my team was. Every night in ‘04 I’d check the box scores on Yahoo Sports. I watched as Phil Nevin, a baby-faced Peavy and a Mickey Rourke-faced Giles led the Padres into their new downtown stadium. Yep, I have my memories of The Murph, but I didn’t really become “a fan” until Petco. I was new. I didn’t know we should have signed Vlad at the time; I was excited about an All-Star named Brian Giles. I was a doe-eyed fan who just loved having a great ballpark and some interesting players.

Six years later, I’m still invested in the Padres, even if I haven’t been rewarded for it. In my first year as a season ticket holder, I’m even more excited about the strong start of the current squad. Things will change, of course, as they get better (hopefully) or worse (likely). Tim Stauffer is out for 6 weeks because he didn’t take good care of his appendix. And there’s a good chance we’re watching Adrian Gonzalez’ last year in a short-lived Padres career. But things are coming together and no appendix bursting or hometown player leaving will change that. Yes, that’s right, even if we trade Adrian Gonzalez, I still believe this is a Padres team forming into something great. And I’m glad this guy…


… and Carlos Beltran… and the Padres made me care about it all six years ago.

There it is, 2004: Alex Rodriguez to the Yankees. Carlos Beltran to the Astros. The Padres to Petco. And me to baseball fandom. Yeah, it was a big year for MLB.

Oh, and I’m pretty sure last night was the biggest win of the season, even if it wasn’t the prettiest.

Thing I'm Thankful For

During the off season it was all you could do to avoid people talking excitedly about the Seattle Mariners. They traded for Cliff Lee and Milton Bradley, they signed Chone Figgins and “The Kid” (not quite “The Kid” anymore) was back for one last farewell tour. That, coupled with the fact that Ichiro was still Ichiro¹, led a lot of people to believe that the Mariners had a strong chance to wrestle control of the AL West away from Anaheim (or rather Los Angeles of Anaheim in California).

The other thing people couldn’t stop talking about this off season was how bad the San Diego Padres were going to be. Every article and television show that I encountered made sure to make a joke about the Padres having zero chance of finishing above fifth place. They were assured of being beat up on by the mighty Dodgers and the... purple Rockies. Adrian was guaranteed to be a member of the Red Sox by July and Tony Gwynn would continue to remind us that he is not his Father.

But here we sit. It’s the beginning of May and the Padres are 19-12 and the Mariners are 12-19. Two teams with opposite expectations at the beginning of the season with opposite outcomes. I was thinking about this disparity today and it occurred to me... Thank God I’m not a Mariners fan.

Since 1999 Padres fans have known to keep their expectations low. Even when we made the playoffs in the early 2000s it was on the back of an incredibly weak division, a division that let a team with a win total in the low 80’s into the post-season play. So now, when things are going well we can be pleasantly surprised and really get on board. But those poor Mariners fans, who since 2003 have been in that same boat, have to deal with shattered expectations and things not working out. If forced to pick between us and them, I choose us, even if they get Ichiro in the deal.

I guess my point is, and I’ve probably said this already, one of the things I love about baseball, and the Padres especially is that the stakes are so low. I find the Chargers tough to follow because the expectations are high and there are so few games, but the Padres play 162 times a year (165 if they make the playoffs) and for most of those games the outcome doesn’t really matter, it’s about the experience. For the last few years Mariners fans have had that too (ever since Bret Boone had to stop taking steroids). But this year they were given expectations and they began to believe and belief is the fist step on the road to misery.

We’re never going to be the Yankees. The pattern is established; we get sold on a rookie in the minors (Burroughs, Barfield, Greene) then that rookie arrives and either performs or doesn’t, but management is already turning our attention to the next guy in line. They do this until it works out and a team gels. Right now gel is forming and it’s awesome to watch and it’s even better because it’s not supposed to happen. Literally every time the Padres make the playoffs it’s a Cinderella story. And that’s kind of cool, because it means management has embraced their small market status. Unfortunately for those poor grunge rockers² in Seattle, their management can’t get comfortable with the idea. So every so often they go out and spend money and acquire players and make people outside of the Pacific Northwest think that there is a chance in hell they can compete (they can’t). And those poor people have to live with the consequences. They should be just like us, a great city to live in, with a great ballpark and one or two players that are totally lovable, but secure in the knowledge that it’s going to take a miracle to win. That’s the beauty of small market baseball.

Sonics Forever.

¹Read yesterday’s post about how Dallas feels about Jamie Moyer, that’s the way I feel about Ichiro times one thousand plus infinity (Ichiro is my favorite baseball player ever, I once wrote a three page essay about it).

²The second worst thing about living in Seattle is that people make grunge rock references. For God sakes that was 20 years ago, let’s let it go America.

Craft and Class

Here we sit, at the beginning of May, in first place and performing well beyond any expectations. As Uncle Teddy says, and I agree, “this is a fun team to root for.” This has been my favorite Padres season since 2006 and I don’t see that changing. Sure, no one in the country knows anything about this squad, but we’re Padres fans, we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Thinking about the Padres issue with obscurity this past week forced me to think about another one of baseball’s hidden gems: Jamie Moyer.



This past week Jamie Moyer became the oldest pitcher to ever throw a shutout. I’ve always been a big fan of Moyer and I’ve even drafted him for my fantasy team a few times. Over the past few years he has become widely recognized as the “Jack LaLanne of baseball,” but before that he accomplished a lot without much acknowledgement. Moyer started his first game for the Cubs in 1986 and between 1997 and 2008 was (statistically) one of the most dominating pitchers in baseball.

While currently being the oldest active player in baseball, he became the winningest pitcher in Mariners history and the oldest Phillie to ever get a hit. He's won the Roberto Clemente, Lou Gehrig and Branch Rickey Awards. In 2007 when Moyer pitched against Randy Johnson, they were the oldest lefty pitchers to oppose each other in MLB history. Moyer also won a world championship with the Phillies two seasons ago, and during that run became the oldest southpaw to ever start a playoff game. And while accomplishing all of that he quietly accumulated 262 wins. Pretty amazing considering that he was told to retire at least three times: In 1993 by the Baltimore GM, in 1995 by the media and in 1996 by his wife. At every turn he kept plugging away, believing in his ability and adjusting every aspect of his game to achieve success. At age forty he won twenty games. At forty-one he won twenty-one games all with an average fastball speed of 81 mph. Craft.

The thing I love about a guy like Jamie Moyer is that he understands what being able to play baseball for a living should be all about: gratitude and fun. And through his off-the-field work, charity organizations, and general joy while on the mound it certainly seems to me he cares. As fans we spend outrageous amounts of money to support our favorite teams and players. We also spend countless hours debating their futures and loving them to no end. I can honestly say, having met a handful of pro baseball players (I know, I’m cool), that the majority of these guys couldn’t care less about what you think. Most of them feel entitled. They think they deserve the Hall of Fame, the start, the adoration and of course the money - cause if they don’t get it then they won’t play (Yep, I still haven’t let go of 1994 completely). But not Jamie Moyer, he does nothing but work hard and constantly adjust his approach so that he can continue to have the greatest gig of all time. Fans love Moyer and he loves them back. More importantly, when I think of a player like Moyer or others, like “Super” Joe McEwing, David Eckstein, Dave Cone, Eric Davis, Sean Casey, Mark Grace, David Ortiz or Tony Gwynn - I know that they love baseball just as much as I do. And as a fan, that’s all that really matters. I paid $35 to see you play with a ball, you better have a friggin’ smile on your face when you play with it.

Unfortunately, guys like Jamie Moyer live in obscurity. Sure, a lot of baseball fans have heard of him. People who live in the cities he’s played in definitely know him. However, he doesn’t throw 95mph or strike out eight guys a game so few remember him. But, I’ll tell you who never forgets about Moyer: Major League batters. When Moyer finally does decide to retire, which I hope is never, he will have numbers that are “on the cusp” of the Hall of Fame. To Moyer’s discredit he is not a flashy Hall of Fame pick, but in my mind he is a Hall of Fame player to the highest degree.

So next time you get upset that your favorite player was caught with steroids (Jeter is next) or some NFL player shot/stabbed/ran over/blow torched some guy or their wife - remember Jamie Moyer. He is what it’s all about. I only wish ESPN made a bigger deal out of guys like Moyer and their accomplishments rather than Tiger and his failures. In 2003 a reporter in Seattle asked Jamie Moyer what the secret to his longevity was and he replied with, “A short memory.” When asked if he had regrets he replied with, “I wish I was good the whole time.” When asked the question about his will to succeed by Craig Sager after the 2008 World Series Moyer smiled and replied, “It’s just a game.” Class.

Thanks For April

Last night I went to bed after the 10th inning because I felt secure with my team’s ability to pull it out. I was able to do this because I was confident that the Pads would keep the train moving. Sadly, it didn’t happen. The Rockies won in the 12th off a home run by Ian Stewart while I was sound asleep. Whatever, we are still battling for first place on the day after Cinco De Mayo. Overall, the first month of the 2010 season has been refreshing and exciting. Thanks guys! Thanks for allowing me to be be able to go to bed early and not worry about you. I don't expect it to last, but thanks.

Dallas' Running Diary Padres V. Brewers 4/30

This past Friday night Josh Elwell convinced me that we should arrive early to Petco for the first ever Padres Beerfest! There would be dozens of tents and local breweries and a special appearance from the cast of the film Beerfest! For some reason that last detail was the kicker for me. I have no clue why though. Was I going to hang out with them? No. Would I buy them a beer just so I could say I did? No. Would I even actually see them? Not likely. However, I still went. There are not enough words to describe how much of a mess this beerfest was. I can only tell you that Josh and I entered the “fest” at 5:20pm, bought two overpriced beers at once and left the “fest” at 5:35pm to go watch batting practice.

After seeing Randy Wolf try and dive to make a catch while shagging BP we went to the Padres Team Store. I can’t tell you how expensive everything in that store is. It’s almost embarrassing. However, I did find an all orange Padres beanie for $15! I’m pretty sure I am the only Padres fan who would (and did) purchase that item, and am convinced the Padres made it just for me. Thank you Jeff Moorad.

We find our seats and meet (presumably) our season seat neighbors. Section 120 just above Field Level. Not bad.

TOP OF THE 1^ST INNING

- Clayton Richard is on the mound for Padres. This is the first time I’ve gotten to see Richard pitch this season. He’s 1-0 with a 0.82 ERA. Not bad.

- Richard strikes out Rickie Weeks, Josh says, “That’s the beginning of a perfect game. I’m calling it now.” Cursed.

- I’m slowly figuring out that our seat neighbors are exactly like us if all we cared about was baseball and Frank TV.

BOTTOM OF THE 1^ST

- Dave Bush on the mound for the Brewers. Josh gives him 4 innings. I give him 5.

- Tony Gwynn JUNIOR draws a leadoff walk.

- The Bobblehead is up! At-a-boy!

- Gwynn steals, Eckstein moves him to 3^rd.

- Josh just said the words “Ryan Klesko” and immediately A-Gonz grounds into a double play. The curse of the Surf Dog lives.

END OF THE 1^ST: PADS - 0 BREWERS - 0

In between innings they show a picture of Bob Uecker on the Jumbotron and wish him a quick recovery. From what? He’s still alive? Are they trying to raise him from the dead?

TOP OF THE 2^ND INNING

- A guy in the stands makes a diving catch for a Prince Fielder foul. Best play so far.

- I spot someone with an Eric Owens “Dirty Shirt.” My heart swells. He should have retired a Padre.

- Perfect game is over as Fielder walks. No-hitter still intact.

- Was anybody else aware that Gregg Zaun is still playing? Or that he spells his name with two g’s at the end?

- No-hitter over as Zaungg singles.

- Alcides Escobar looks like he is 12. I hate getting old. He also bats like he’s 12. Strike out.

First Jeff Krapf sighting. He picks a kid who can’t read to introduce Will Venable over the PA. Come on Krapf! Test these kids!

BOTTOM OF THE 2^ND

- Ladies and Gentlemen… left fielder… Matt Stairs!

- He walks. It matters not. Hundley and Hairston Jr. out

END OF THE 2^ND: PADS - 0 BREWERS - 0

TOP OF THE 3^RD INNING

- The guy who sells the Hot Chocolate at Petco wears a backpack full of it and pours it like a keg. He looks like the Kay-Bee Toys version of the Rocketeer.

- Jody Gerut up for the Brewers. I liked him when he was a Padre. I like him more as a Brewer.

- Hairston Jr. makes two errors (scored as hits - bull) and now Weeks is on 3^rd and Braun on 1^st. Two outs, Fielder up.

- Hundley makes a bad ass play and saves the inning.

Jeff Krapf does the Jack in the Box game. A huge piece of me hopes he says “Deuce” again. He doesn’t. It’s okay he’s proven himself.

BOTTOM OF THE 3^RD

- Tony Gwynn JUNIOR proving his worth hits a single. Only 2,750 more till you matter.

- Eckstein (working the count) hits a double. At-a-boy!

- They walk A-Gonz to get to Headley. Will history repeat itself once again? Nope. Headley flies out, Gywnn tags up and scores but Eckstein gets tagged out trying to reach third (okay, he’s not superman, it’s fine if he gets tagged out every once in a while).

END OF THE 3^RD: PADS - 1 BREWERS - 0

FOOD BREAK!!! Josh and I go on a quest for garlic fries, which proves to take way too long, and we don’t find any. What? Bummed. Josh gets the Kept Faith Combo #1 and I get regular fries and a ½ pound RJ Slugger. A huge freaking hot dog that is (surprisingly) delicious. On our search we run into one of the guys from Good Neighbor, a very funny sketch comedy group. Do yourself a favor and watch their videos. Our food break takes way longer than expected…

BOTTOM OF THE 6^TH INNING

- Dave Bush still in the game. We were wrong.

- The Padres show a little life. I feel nothing but the curdling noise of the RJ Slugger trying to claw its way out of my body.

END OF THE 6^TH: PADS - 1 BREWERS - 0

TOP OF THE 7^TH INNING

- Gregerson in for Richard. I disagree with this decision, as Richard looked great. Seven strikeouts!

- I’m proven right as Dave Bush gets a hit.

- Someone started tossing a beach ball around. People start booing. This is not my beautiful house, this is not my beautiful wife.

- Hairston Jr. makes a great play to throw out Bush at 2^nd.

- Weeks steals 2^nd.

- The usher finally gets the beach ball and pops it. People now boo the usher. Make up your minds! Pro-beach ball or anti-beach ball, you can’t have it both ways!

BOTTOM OF THE 7^TH

- Ok, after the 7^th inning stretch it’s official - The RJ Slugger was a bad idea.

- Hairston Jr. leads off with a double.

- Hundley sacrifice bunt, Hairston Jr. to 3^rd.

- “Scoot” Hairston up. Come on, man, give your older brother a ride home! Scooter homers! Josh and I yell, “Brothers!” repeatedly until Scoot reaches home where his brother is waiting. They give a double high five. We give an “Ahhhhh.” Brothers.

END OF THE 7^TH: PADS - 3 BREWERS - 0

They show a montage on the jumbotron of “Pet Bloopers.” More disturbing than what people have filmed these pets doing are the homes these pets are living in.

TOP OF THE 8^TH INNING

- Mike Adams in to pitch. I’m not totally okay with this. If you read my last diary you know he kind of imploded on the mound.

- He does not look sharp. Throwing a lot of pitches. He pulls it together, but it takes him almost 30 pitches to get out of the inning. We need him to rest a bit.

Jeff Krapf is doing “Guess the Attendance” with a lady who is not good at this. She guesses 23,669. Not on overpriced beerfest night, lady! He gives her another chance to get it right and she does - 29,636. Jeff gives her a $25 gift certificate to Coco’s. So I guess she loses (I guess we all lose).

BOTTOM OF THE 8^TH

- They finally take Bush out. Villanueva in.

- I’m surprised at how many Brewers fans are in attendance. I like Brewers fans. Like Padres fans, they get it. And by “it” I mean 3^rd place finishes and a future of maybes.

- Headley reaches first on a foul tip 3^rd strike. Steals 2^nd. Josh notes, “Headley’s on pace for 60 steals this year!”

- The 85-year old Oscar Salazar in to pinch-hit.

- The Wave starts to go around and Salazar doesn’t. Strike three.

- A drunk guy yells at the Wave, “C’mon! It’s not football! Stop it!”

END OF THE 8^TH: PADS - 3 BREWERS - 0

TOP OF THE 9^TH INNING

- Bell in to close it out. He sprints in from the bullpen. The crowd seems to be giving him a bit more love than usual. Trying to shove in Trevor’s face maybe?

- Bell strikes out the first batter. Metal riffs everywhere!

- Gregg Zaungg singles. Zaungg looks like Robert Patrick. Or a rapist. Or Canadian.

- Bell finishes it off with a strikeout and pop out!

END OF THE GAME: PADS - 3 BREWERS - 0

Amidst the post-game celebration of high fives and “Bro-Hymn” what looks like a shirtless 12-year old boy runs on to the field. My section goes wild. It is, in fact, a shirtless 12-year old boy half streaking. Security guards are on the move, are they gonna? Yes, indeed they do tackle the boy. Way to go security. Class all the way. As the boy is being escorted off the field fans are giving him a warm round of applause. He gives a subtle wave to the fans. At-a-boy! The future friar faithful look just fine.

My home record now stands at 3-0.

Let’s keep this train moving Pads!

Tim Tebow's Facebook

Part one in what hopefully will be my recurring weekend series which I am calling "O'Donnell's Picture Pages". Next week I have some groundbreaking, controversial news to break. Stay tuned...