Need Some Flan?

Last night the Pads got beat bad. Man, that McCann guy sure can hit the gaps.

Tim knows...



This is why they laugh at us.

Padres, Pitching, Petco

A week into the new season deserves a look into the week of former Padre greats.

In Jake Peavy’s second start, he managed to get two extra outs than he did in his first start, as well as give up 4 extra runs, bringing his 2010 ERA to 8.44. And no, his first two games were not against the Red Sox or Yankees lineups, they were against the Blue Jays and the Indians.

What’s Trevor Hoffman up to you ask? Blowing two out of his four save opportunities so far, with an ERA of 13.50. I wonder if his Hall of Fame cap will have an M on it?

2 innings and 2 home runs given up for Olise Claiborne (Cla) Meredith out in Baltimore.



Two games. Two blown saves. Two innings. I realize this isn’t the end of the world for any of these former Padre stars. Was Cla a star? But it still begs the question: Can any of our pitchers pitch outside of Petco?

I’ll check back in towards the end of May with an update on how these three are doing, as well as look at the home/road splits of the current Padres staff. But, I’m not expecting much.

Opening Day: In Photos

There’s nothing quite like Opening Day at a Major League Baseball stadium. The air has the dewy-sweet smell that only the alchemy of new uniforms, hope and ice cream sandwiches that are clearly left over from last season can provide. It smells like the beginning.

Opening Day at Petco is special, just like every other Opening Day. Here are some photos I took that illustrate the event.


The first thing you see when you walk into Petco from the 7th Ave. entrance is this big banner of the Little League World Series Champions from Chula Vista. Hey, why not showcase the region's best baseball team, amirite?




Here's where we were sitting, just to orient you. They were really good seats, the iPhone camera doesn't due them justice. My friend Lora somehow got them free from her friend Eric. I'm sure it was totally on the up and up and Lora's honor remains intact. It took us forever to find parking, so we missed all the intro hullabaloo (National Anthem, Navy jets, player intros, etc.) but we also missed the rain, so it wasn't all bad. Padre fans booed Jason Heyward in his first at bat, I liked that. Take the kid down a peg.



Just once I wish they'd have a girl's size option in the free t-shirts. ::Sigh:: I suppose that's a first world problem.



Awww, little Adrian Gonzalez graced the cover of the Opening Day program. To think this kid would someday grow up to be the constant subject of trade rumors.


New food item alert! This is a Diego Dog. Its bigger than a normal Friar Frank, comes in a sort of French roll, and is slathered with cabbage, salsa and mustard. It was pretty good. Not $6.50 good, but good.

I can’t believe what I paid for this.

Nothing says Opening Day like bunting!


“The Best Seat in the House” is no longer a Lazy Boy, but a white sectional. Also, some new guy does all the little in-game contests. I guess John Weisbarth got too big.

That's Adrian Gonzalez on second base (trust me), after hitting what would have been a home run in any other ballpark. Like say ... Fenway, for example.

It’s hard to tell due to the shadows, but this is KUSI consumer reporter Michael Turko. That ain’t right! He kept walking around our section and people kept yelling to him. He was eating it up. We also saw former Padres pitcher Randy Jones on the street outside the park on the way in, but I must admit, I didn’t know who he was. I’m a Red Sox fan, deal with it!

I had to get a photo of this baby with industrial strength headphones. 'Cause I mean, what?!

At one point during the game, they had a contest where this guy had to guess which replica of Jack’s hat a bunch of free Jack in the Box taco vouchers were hidden under. If he guessed right, the whole stadium got vouchers for free tacos. And … he guessed right!!! Pandemonium ensued, obvs.

Best parts of Opening Day not pictured:

- At 4:38 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, we got our first Chicken sighting. He pretended to eat a kid’s head, and make out with a female fan. Top form as usual. Unfortunately, too far away for my sad little iPhone camera.

- Will Venable was a double short of hitting for the cycle. I really thought he was going to do it, but no dice. I still think he’s my new favorite Padre.

- Everth Cabrera is also one of my new favorite Padres because his at-bat music was a Cure song.

- I get Chase Headley and Nick Hundley confused. I’m not sure how to remedy this.

- Padre fans didn’t take their hats off for "God Bless America." Is that not a thing out here?

- Oh, and in case you missed it, Padres won 17-2. Happy Opening Day!

From The Fans...

I just got this text from B. Mills, a Friar Fan living in Denver:

"Here at Coors Field, gave a pregame speech to the guys explaining the importance of hits and why we should get more than 2 in a game."

I guess that Spring Training hot streak really rode its way into the regular season now didn't it!

South Side Peavy

A look back at April 7, 2010. Jake Peavy is on the mound to start his first full season away from the San Diego Padres.

I'm not saying this picture was or wasn't taken on April 6, 2010.

Scan Post

The one thing that jumps out at me after the first series is that the in-game Channel 4 Padres broadcast is - for the most part - doing a great job. Last year was rough. Mark Neely being thrown in there as the guy to replace Matt Vasgersian was hard to take in. Having Matty was like having LT in 2004. Neely had no shot to fill those shoes. It was like Bubby Brister replacing Elway. This year, however, the sound of Dick Enberg’s voice is perfect for sipping a few beers and eating peanuts on my couch (my official beer for the 2010 season is Bud Light Golden Wheat because its colors are the same blue and orange as the 98 Padres. Cammy would agree).

And then there is the Post-Game show...

Let’s talk about this guy:
This image is why I won’t let myself fall in love with golf.

Bob Scanlan’s job is to analyze the results of the game you just watched from the perspective of a guy who played (he bounced around the league during the 90s). He likes to call his breakdown of a game his “Scanalysis”. Yeah, I’m pretty sure he is proud of it. After Wednesday’s 5-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, he came on with Jenny Cavnar (who almost pulls off that Michelle Beadle thing, but doesn’t try hard enough) and did a standard Scanalysis of what happened. “This was a ballgame that really came down to a few pitches and that is how Major League Baseball is. Kevin Correia - for the most part - didn’t throw a bad baseball game, but he made three mistakes that cost him this ball game. That’s the way Major League Baseball goes.” Then he went on to talk about his website bobscanlan.com, claiming that if you send him an email, he will definitely read it.

Well, let’s see how it goes. This was sent to Bob after watching the Post Game show:

Dear Bob,

You totally get what baseball is all about. There is a right way and a wrong way to play the game and nothing gets by you. So hey, I have this blog with my friends thekeptfaith.blogspot.com. I think it is pretty cool, but I really wish I could evaluate it the way you evaluate the Padres. I wish I could Scanalize it, but you know there is only one Bob Scanlan. Oh well, it is what it is. I guess sometimes the success of a blog comes down to a few posts. That’s the way the Internet goes. Man, your teeth are really white. I wish mine could be that white. Anyways, keep up the good work.

Nick

45 minutes later he replied with:

Hey Nick,

Thanks for the kind words. I checked out your blog and it looks like you have plenty of content. I might know a little about baseball, but I don't know squat about websites, blogs, social networking, etc. I just started my site a few months ago and trying to get it exposure just like yours. My philosophy is that with so much crap out there, you just have to keep screaming what you believe until people start to listen. Keep sharing your inisghts, thoughts, and passionate beliefs, and you will be found.
Wish you all the best, and that your faith in the Pads is rewarded.

Thanks for your email, and for watching the show!

Scan

BobScanlan.com
Twitter.com/HeyScan
facebook.com/pages/Bob-Scanlan/177020318317

Right back at you, Scan!

Heath's Bells

Why am I actively rooting for Heath Bell to be traded? Two reasons.

First, while I agree with Joe, admiring Kyle Blanks’ courage to ignore his last name (see below), I don’t admire Heath Bell’s courage. The courage to ignore his last name and not piss on Trevor Hoffman’s grave by using "Hell’s Bells" as his entrance music. And if you’re wondering, Hoffman’s grave was dug sometime in 2006; his corpse occupied the mound from 2007-2008. I definitely would have pissed on that grave and Heath Bell should have too. "Hell's Bell's" was too perfect of a choice. Or, at the very least, like we've mentioned here before, he could have used the “Saved by the Bell” theme song for 9th inning duties. “Blow Me Away” is such a shitty pick.

But, more importantly, Mike Adams plays for my fantasy team and I'm weak on saves. That's why Bell should be traded.

This is my first year seriously playing fantasy baseball and I’m hooked. I love playing around with my roster (just traded Randy Wolf for Mike Gonzalez and dropped James Loney for Francisco Liriano – this is the year Liriano puts it together, trust me). But, the biggest move I can make rests on the shoulders of Hoyer and co.

This is probably the reason old-school baseball guys hate the idea of fantasy baseball. You stop rooting for the team and focus in on the individual player. Well, for that reason and because David Eckstein’s grittyness isn’t accounted for in traditional 5x5 scoring.

My fantasy reasoning for wanting Heath Bell gone does have real world logic though and does show I'm putting the Friars first. Mike Adams has legitimate potential as the closer. He’s been dominant the past two years. If Heath Bell can get flipped for a solid prospect and our 9th inning doesn’t miss a beat, then what’s stopping you, Jed?

Besides, like I said, I really need saves.