Look of contender emerging, Towers says

"We could be the 2010 Giants," Towers said. "I think we have the opportunity to go from 70 wins (a number they reached last night) to above .500 and contending for a playoff spot next season."

The 2010 Giants!?  You mean we could be 9 games out of first place at the end of the season with no chance at the wild card?   Okay I realize that Towers is talking about the Giants improving themselves from 2008 to 2009 and that it's better than being 21.5 games out of first place, but the Padres always seem so satisfied and pleased with themselves when they "contend" and are barely above .500.  You think champions talk this way?

Please tell me that Towers and the rest aren't satisfied with being in the hunt and the ability to play spoiler for real playoff caliber teams in September.  That was the message that we always got from the John Moores era: 

"The goal is to play meaningful games in September," he said. "Unfortunately for us, and fortunately, the West is quite competitive.

I thought things had changed.

I see real promise in this club but I was really hoping that they wouldn't just rest on the laurels.

"I don't know if we need to do a lot this winter," said the general manager

This current team has played good baseball for a month and a half, but I am not at all confident that they can play this well over the course of a full season.  I guess they see something that I don't.

I didn't expect Towers to crown this team as 2010 World Champions when interviewed, but I don't like him thinking his job is done because the team could be like the Giants.  That's the not the goal!

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

about 1 month ago: San Diego Padres manager Bud Black, second from left, rubs the ball after pulling starting pitcher Tim Stauffer, left, as catcher Nick Hundley, third from right, and second baseman David Eckstein, right, look on in the fifth inning against the Colorado Rockies in a baseball game in Denver on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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• Look of contender emerging, Towers says - SignOnSanDiego.com
  "We could be the 2010 Giants," Towers said. "I think we have the opportunity to go from 70 wins (a number they reached last night) to above .500 and contending for a playoff spot next season."

• Venable cashes in on Headley's at-bat - SignOnSanDiego.com
  "I had to establish some things with Tim," Black explained later.

• Venable, bullpen fill in for Stauffer | padres.com: News
  "It was ... 'bear down, make pitches and get out of this,'" Stauffer said, summarizing the visit with Black. "He got me out of whatever funk I was in."

• PADRES: Venable helps end Rockies' eight-game home win streak
  "That's been the thing that I've been working on the last couple of days, just trying to tighten up the zone a little bit, just wait for the pitch I know I can hit," Venable said.

• E-Gone: It's been a tough year for Edgar | padres.com: News
  This season hasn't gone well for Edgar Gonzalez, who hadn't played nearly as much with stability at shortstop (Everth Cabrera) and after missing 43 games in July and August with a concussion.

• Richard has had his ups and downs | padres.com: News
  Clayton Richard has had his ups and downs since coming over in the deal for Jake Peavy, but he's hoping to capitalize on his last start in the finale.

• Unfinished Business: It's Back...
  Just be ready by Tuesday, Kouz. Even if you don't get to play in Colorado or Arizona. Make sure you can play in front of the home crowd next week!!

XX Sports Radio: Kevin Towers Interview (MP3) with Darren Smith

• Edgar Gonzalez had a similar injury with his shoulder popping out and back in during college.  He said it took him a few days to feel better.
• In the final 10 games, the Padres are trying to keep momentum going into the off season.  The Padres have only lost 3 series in the last 2 months.  They want to perform well against the division leaders.  Towers wants to continue to evaluate the young guys.  The players never give up and are playing hard.  Towers thought Nick Hundley's drive was going to drop last night,  "We very easily we could have one that ball game."
• Colorado is pretty good. It's great that the players are all home grown.  When they played in Petco, every single guy came through their system.  Offensively they are one of the better teams in the NL, Philadelphia and St. Louis are also good.  "Offensively they are very, very good."
• Everth Cabrera still does things to help the Padres win games.  Cabrera talked to Towers about wanting to play winter ball.  Towers thinks he needs a break.
• Wade LeBlanc has developed a cutter, which works against right handed hitters.  He needs fastball command to be successful.  He has a Trevor Hoffman like change up, but the only way it will work is if he develops his fastball.  Towers saw great things from him in college.  His velocity has dropped though.  After a bad few outings, sometimes you want to give up on them but they battle back and you have to be patient.
  
• Towers says Heath Bell will keep getting the opportunity to make saves.  "He certainly hasn't had the success in September that he's had in the last 5 months."  Towers thinks the work load has robbed him of some of his velocity.
• Darren Smith wonders if Heath Bell's physical size and fitness level has caused him problems.  Towers says Bell does a lot of Wii conditioning in the off season and  that "his big strong lower half" makes him successful. He doesn't do a lot of running, but he rides the exercise bike and elliptical.  The Padres don't have a Wii in the club house.
• Jeff Moorad and Tom Garfinkel is going to continue to evaluate the front office and baseball operations.'
• "The way we've played in the last 6 weeks, I'm kind of enjoying watching these guys play.  Hopefully we finish strong."

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

about 1 month ago: San Diego Padres right fielder Edgar Gonzalez, left, holds his wrist as he leaves the game after injuring himself pursuing a fly ball off the bat of Colorado Rockies' Clint Barmes in the seventh inning of the Rockies' 11-10 victory in a baseball game in Denver on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009. Barmes hit an inside-the-park home run on the play to drive in two runs. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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• Stadiums, hotels attract 'terrorist interest,' feds say - CNN.com
  The Department of Homeland Security and FBI have issued security bulletins to raise awareness regarding "terrorist interest" in attacking sports and entertainment venues as well as luxury hotels.

• Padres lose wild game, E. Gonzalez in Colorado - SignOnSanDiego.com
  The Rockies scored every way imaginable: on the inside-the-park homer, a balk and twice on wild pitches, and they needed every bit of that wacky production.

• PADRES: Edgar Gonzalez separates shoulder
  He rolled over in pain and stayed down as Barmes circled the bases behind Ian Stewart, who had walked. Gonzalez walked off the field holding his left wrist and was replaced by Will Venable. The Padres later said that Gonzalez had a subluxation, or partial separation, of his left shoulder.

• Hacksaw Returns to XX1090
  The Broadcast Company of The Americas is pleased to announce the addition of Lee "Hacksaw" Hamilton to the talent lineup on Double X 1090 Sports Radio. Hamilton’s show will air Monday through Friday from 3pm to 7pm, beginning on Monday, October 5, 2009

• Friars come out swinging, but can't finish | padres.com: News
  Clint Barmes had a two-run inside-the-park home run Tuesday as the Rockies defeated the Padres, 11-10, at Coors Field.

• Edgar leaves with injury for Padres | padres.com: News
  San Diego right fielder Edgar Gonzalez left Tuesday's game in the seventh inning with a partial dislocation of his left shoulder after attempting to catch Clint Barmes' fly ball.

• Kouzmanoff battling tightness in back | padres.com: News
  "I was supposed to run the bases at full speed yesterday in Pittsburgh, but that's when my back started acting up," Kouzmanoff said. "The calf had gotten a lot better. But now it is hard for me to reach down and touch my toes."

• Friars to stick with current five in stretch | padres.com: News
  The Padres won't tinker with their starting rotation over the final 10 games of the regular season while resisting the attraction to look at several young pitchers in a starting capacity over that stretch.

• Agents fire at vans running the border - SignOnSanDiego.com
  This is how I envisioned the outcome of the Padres trying to bus fans from Mexico to games

• LeBlanc heard wake-up call, answered - SignOnSanDiego.com
  “If you can't, major league hitters are going to look for what you think your best pitch is.”

• XX1090 Bud Black Interview (MP3)

We're thinking about doing a new feature where we search through the Padres fan photos on Padres.com and find a fan of the game.  We'll pick the fan or fans with the most spirit for each game or each homestand.  We need a good catchy name for it though.

Padres.com

You're probably thinking to yourself, "Well this is a fine time to start, nerds!  There's only a few games left in the season!"  It's true, but it's also true that there's no way we would have been able to follow through with something like this all season, we can barely get the Game Threads up.

via www.gasolinealleyantiques.com

View full size photo »

When it comes to Padres giveaways do you prefer useful items or display items?  I have a butt load of Padres give aways and my favorites by far are the items I can actually use.

My favorite item is probably the beach towel because they are consistently the best giveaway and really they are hard to mess up.  Even an ugly design isn't going to stop you from using it.  I use my Padres beach towels a few times a week during the summer and mostly use my hideously ugly Orangeriffic towel.  I love how the towels are so thin that you never have to throw them out they just disintegrate one day and disappear in the dryer's lint collector.

My second favorite item is the Padres Floppy Hat.  Although as I mention in that link, the Padres floppy hats have been real hit and miss.  If they could just give me a simple design that is actually wearable I'd get one every year.  I've had far too many with huge ass flower prints on them or little dancing friar patterns.  Don't get me started again on the Orangeriffic one from 2003.  Seriously, the reversible light tan and blue, with small Friar Logo and interlocking SD on the opposite sides was the best.  I think it was from 2000.

Some of the give away caps are okay and even though I'm not a real big cap person I'll occasionally wear some of the giveaway caps to the beach or to paint in or something.  Still it's always nice getting a cap even if I don't wear it all the time.  I've got about 30 give away Padres hats in my closet that have been worn once.  My favorite cap isn't a cap at all it's the Tony Gwnn throwback visor.  It's brown and yellow with Gwynn's signature embroidered on it.

I used to wear Padres giveaway shirts a lot in the 90's.  I think I wore the Caminiti Jersey shirt the most.  I remember wearing that Padres 2000 shirt a lot too because I had like 6 of them.  Shirts are always nice to get but you have to fit in an XL and the design has to be somewhat decent.

As far as the display items go, I'm not too big of a fan.  In general I don't like the clutter of little figurines and stuff.  Again, I lean towards the display items that have a use.  The Padres wall clocks, magnet schedules, the Friar piggy bank, the Nacho Libre Mask, etc. 

The ticket holders, figurines, bobble heads and models are my least favorite.  I have mini magnet bobble heads of Khalil, Peavy and Bochy on my window sill though and I had that Khalil Green figurine (with perky butt) on my desk for years. The display item that has no real use but is just so weird that I also keep it on my desk is the Tony Gwynn Russian Nesting Dolls. 

In General I think the Padres do a good job of giving fans a mix of items for display and use and they always seem to come up with some real quirky items that rarely disappoint.  It is funny though to go to a season ticket holder event at the beginning of the season when they have all the left over giveaway items that nobody wants.

I'm going to try and make a list of giveaway items from memory:

Continue reading this post »

More photos » by John Heller - AP

about 1 month ago: San Diego Padres' Chase Headley slides into second base with a double as Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Ronny Cedano waits the throw in the ninth inning of a baseball game on Monday, Sept. 21, 2009 in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/John Heller)

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• Fired-up Padres defeat the Bucs - SignOnSanDiego.com
  "Only giving up the one run was pretty good," said manager Bud Black. "Heath didn't cave in. That was as big a part of the game as anything, saving those runs. Bases loaded. No outs. On the road. One run. That's pretty good."

• PADRES: Headley, Padres hammer Pirates
  "This would have been a tough one to lose," said Headley, who went 5 for 6 with two runs and two RBIs. "I give a lot of credit to the guys on the bench. Everybody came back into the dugout (after the Pirates tied it in the ninth) and kept a good attitude and kept fighting."

• Journeyman Correia now staff's role model - SignOnSanDiego.com
  "It's new to me, being the one with all the experience. I was always with older teams in San Francisco Now I'm the one with more time under my belt. It's been fun to pass things on."

• Headley's fifth hit delivers Padres' win | padres.com: News
  It might have been even better for the third baseman if one of those doubles could have been stretched into three for a cycle, but it just wasn't meant to be. "It's pretty hard not to have an idea that it's there," Headley said. "To be honest with you, it'd have to be something where somebody fell down and pulled a hamstring or something for me to get a triple in this ballpark. It's something neat to think about, but it's not something you can try to get."

• Padres relish games against contenders | padres.com: News
  "At the same time, we have our own things going on in this clubhouse. We're trying to have a strong finish for our season for ourselves, to make a push and continue to build something for next year. The idea of being a spoiler, if that ends up happening, is great, but for me anyway, it's not a driving force in my motivation."

• Poreda works on command since callup | padres.com: News
  Aaron Poreda, who was the key acquisition in the Jake Peavy trade, has been working hard in side and bullpen sessions to build a foundation for next year.

• Unfinished Business: Pitching Wins It All
  Let me tell you, he looks pretty hot in black, but his colors will always be Padre blue... Miss you Jake!!

More photos » by Philip Scott Andrews - AP

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L.A. Laker Ron Artest was doing a news conference in San Diego yesterday at the Chargers media center and jokingly said he'd like to play for other San Diego professional sports teams. 

Associated Press:

"And I'm also here to say that next year I'll be trying out for the San Diego Chargers, so I look forward to that. Hopefully I can play some baseball. Is there a baseball team here?"

You're wearing the hat, he was told.

"I know I'm wearing the hat. I just love the SD. The logo looks great. I didn't realize there was a baseball team in San Diego."

The Padres are more of a fashion statement than a baseball franchise.

More photos » by Keith Srakocic - AP

about 1 month ago: Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Steve Pearce, left, tags out San Diego Padres David Eckstein in the first inning of the baseball game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

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• PADRES: Correia remains an unexpected ace
  "It's just that I'm the guy with the most experience in the rotation and I'm the only guy that's been in there all year," Correia said. "I don't think it's the position the Padres wanted to be in, but I'm happy to be in the position to get us some wins."

• Correia carries Padres to win over Pirates | padres.com: News
  San Diego got an outstanding start from workhorse right-hander Kevin Correia and downed Pittsburgh, 4-0, in front of 24,028 fans on Sunday afternoon at PNC Park.

• Cabrera's rookie campaign elicits praise | padres.com: News
  The odds that Padres shortstop Everth Cabrera will win the National League Rookie of the Year Award are pretty slim. But Cabrera, who debuted in the Major Leagues as a member of the Padres' opening day roster in April, merits consideration.

• Unfinished Business
  I LOVE YOU JACOB EDWARD PEAVY!!!

• Randy Jones Home & Away Bobbleheads (SGA 5/31/03) " .400 in '94
  "I HAVE A RANDY JONES AWAY JERSEY BOBBLEHEAD!!!"

• Hey, I Can See the Off-Season from Here
  For my money, Kouz is a slightly above-average defender at third (which is better than he was when he got here; among other things, his throws don’t tail nearly as much as they once did) who has good hands and who comes in on the ball very well, but who doesn’t have a lot of lateral range.

• Who's your Padre?: Wondering about Luis Durango ...
  He has, from what I've seen, one legitimate tool: His speed.

• Padres keep pouring pitching at Pirates - SignOnSanDiego.com
  Kevin Correia continued his strong September, pitching seven strong innings and the Padres shut out the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0 on Sunday.

• From SBNation: When you click on topic tags like that it only shows the stories that have been tagged with it, leaving out FanShots and FanPosts. The tags on those are used to formulate the related content box below them.

More photos » by Keith Srakocic - AP

about 1 month ago: San Diego Padres' Oscar Salazar, left, is tagged out by Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit as he tried to score from second in the second inning of the baseball game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

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Padres beat the Pirates earlier today with Correia pitching a shutout.  I saw about half the game and I can tell you that it was a story of ground rule doubles and speed.  PNC Park chops up super balls and uses them as warning track dirt.  Everth Cabrera and Luis Durango are fast like The Flash.  When you combine those two things you get yourself a win. 

I originally mistakenly said that the Padres had won the series. As Gaslamp Baller jodes0405 tells us, it's a four game series!  It threw me off because while listening to the pregame show Ted Leitner was talking about the Padres needing to win this game to take the series, which is true but I misunderstood.  Leitner went on to talk about how Kouzmanoff should win the Gold Glove, which I also didn't understand.

Apparently Kevin Kouzmanoff might be ready to play on Monday which will make his little fan club happy.