Noticed it in the Fanshots that the Union-Tribune has let Tom Krasovic go along with a bunch of other staff as part of some pretty significant layoffs. Here's hoping that he gets another gig soon and that it has something to do with covering baseball. Regardless of what some might think based on how we behave, we actually do admire our local Padres beat reporters. San Diegans have been lucky in that respect. We've seen what passes for beat reporting in other cities and let me tell you... scaaaary.

Good luck, Tom.

via www.signonsandiego.com

via i.a.cnn.net

View full size photo uploaded May 9, 2009

XX Sports Radio: Chris Young Interview (MP3)

...if the media has negative expectations or negative ideas of what our club is, we can't change that, except through our play.  I wrote my senior thesis at Princeton about this, the impact the media has on people's lives...

Ugh. First of all it's bad enough when the media won't shut up about your degree from Princeton, but when you start plugging your thesis like your some sort of media expert, I just can't take it. 

You talk about how you have no control over the media and then you drop in "...except through our play" as an after thought.  That's all you should be worried about.  Look at the first two weeks of the season.  It would be impossible for fans and media to have lower expectations coming into this season but the team plays well and you become media darlings and fan favorites. 

You can also control the media by actually being nice to them and treating them with respect, instead of talking down to them.

When I take the mound out there, I am fully prepared and ready to perform my job.  When reporters come to me and  ask questions I expect the same preparation and thought in their questions that I put into pitching.  It's my profession and I and I'm going to take pride in it. When a reporter doesn't do that, when a reporter comes and asks a stupid question or something that I feel like they've put no time or effort to really research or they are uninformed, when they come and ask the question, I have no problem telling them that I expect better questions and for them to do their job in a better way.

Here's an example of a stupid, uninformed question that caused Young to belittle a reporter.  A reporter noticed that Chris Young switched to a new glove that had light colored leather in the pocket.  The reporter asked if that was a conscious decision he made in order to hide the ball during his delivery.  Is that a bad question?  Bad enough to warrant his response?

Another time we heard that he gave a reporter two minutes for a interview.  In mid interview, Young looked at his watch and walked away leaving the reporter stranded.

Get over yourself CY, interacting with the media and fans is part of your job.

via sandiego.padres.mlb.com

Occasionally we'll get questions from fans visiting Petco Park for the first time asking us about the "must see" spots inside the ball park.  Here is a list that we have compiled that fans can use for site seeing or possibly a scavenger hunt.

1. The "Park at the Park" is a large grass area located beyond centerfield.  On the left field side is a wiffle ball field for young children.  On the right is a knoll where fans desperately try to watch the game from 700 ft away.  Don't worry. There is a large screen on the back of the batter's eye showing the television broadcast. The Park is great for parents with young children who get restless during games.  Kids can play catch, run around and even play on a jungle gym.  Watch your step though, the Park is open to the public during the day and used as a dog park.  Pro Tip: Bring a towel/blanket to sit on.
2. The Tony Gwynn Statue located in Tony Gwynn Plaza located just behind the knoll in the Park at the Park.  The statue was built to commemorate Tony Gwynn's induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.  "Mr. Padre" is surrounded by bricks purchased by fans inscribed with a message to Gwynn. Pro Tip: Don't climb, touch or stare longingly at the statue, security will yell at you.
3. The Never Ending Wheel Chair Ramp behind right field along the first base line.  A modern day marvel, the stunning wheel chair ramp is the only way to ascend or decend the park's levels when in right field.  With many false summits, you'll feel that your epic journey may never end and that you'll perish due to old age.  Fans speak of the feeling that they are walking in place and the crippling fear that they will never reach their destination or see their loved ones ever again.  Pro Tip:  Avoid right field at all costs.  Towards Centerfield their is an elevator that can be used to some degree of success if crowds are small.
4. There is a Field Level Viewing Area on the left field line that can only be reached through The Padres Team Store.  You can pretend you are a 4th outfielder while standing on warning track dirt with only a chain link fence separating you from the playing field.  Once a great place to watch the game, last year the area was cut in half by a large advertisement. Pro Tip: A great place to heckle Left Fielders and stick your fingers through a chain link fence.
5. The Western Metal Supply Building is the historic building located  beyond the Left Field line.  The WMS building houses the Hall of Fame Bar and Grill, premium seats and museum artifacts (i.e. old jerseys, broken glass bottles and other old garbage found while building the ballpark).  The very top of the building is almost always reserved for corporate events.  Pro Tip: If you get to the Bar early you can enjoy a nice view of the game for the first 3 innings or last 6 innings on third floor patio.
6. The Toyota Terrace is a level where the elite gather to eat fine foods, be waited on in their seats and act snooty towards ordinary fans.  Only those with Toyota Terrace tickets are allowed entry to this exclusive level and it's expensive dining.  Pro Tip: Visit the PCL Hall of Fame near Club 19.
7. Replicas of the National Baseball Hall of Fame plaques are located beneath the batter's eye.  Bronze plaques like those in Cooperstown for every Padre in the HoF reside here.  Fans are not allowed entry into this area.  Pro Tip: Make powerful friends who can get you into this secured area.
   
8. At the corner of section 230 you can watch Padres pitchers warm up in the Bullpen.  Pro Tip: Don't yell at the players or you'll be asked to leave.
9. Anywhere on the upper deck along the first base line you will be treated to panoramic views of the Coronado Bridge, the San Diego Bay and on clear days the Coronado Islands and even Tijuana.  Pro Tip:  Don't look at the unsightly warehouses, train tracks and homeless villages to the South.
10. There is a Aircraft Carrier Model located at the ground level of the Never Ending Wheel Chair Ramp.  Pro Tip:  There are real Aircraft Carriers in the San Diego Harbor.

More photos » by Tom Mihalek - AP

Browse more photos »

XX Sports Radio: Heath Bell (MP3)

• Heath Bell is a little bit of a Star Trek fan, he's going to see it next Monday.  Bell didn't like TNG, he's a fan of the original.
• Bell has been getting a lot of air time because he doesn't give generic quotes.  "I actually kinda say what I mean"
• Bell explains his comments about Houston Street.  Bell apologized via letter and Street accepted his apology via text.
• Baseball is a fraternity and everybody has each others phone numbers.
• It's frustrating in the Padres clubhouse because the offense isn't scoring runs.  The bullpen and starting pitching has turned it around but the offense is in a funk because of the lack of timely hitting .  "I still see guys, you know, not try too hard.  They try their best."
• Bell is frustrated that he can't help the team when the offense doesn't score.  Trevor Hoffman told him not to get frustrated.
• Bell doesn't want to second guess Bud Black, but wants to let him know that he wants to pitch.  "I totally understand his reasoning for not bringing me in."
  
• His teammates understand that Bell speaks from the heart.  He just wants everybody to appreciate the San Diego Padres.  Some teammates told him not to throw them under the bus.  He hasn't heard any negative comments about him.  Bud Black has his back.  "I just want the whole Baseball Nation to know that the San Diego Padres are a team."
• Bell finds it a little bit disappointing that fans aren't showing up to the games.  The last three games had the lowest attendance in the history of Petco Park. "For some unknown reason their not showing up.  Any way we can make them to show up, let me know.  If I have to entertain a little bit, do a back flip before I run on the mound, you guys let me know."
  

XX Sports Radio: Tony Gwynn Interview (MP3)

• Tony Gwynn went to the doctor yesterday "Everything's fine"
• Strasburg's final game will be this Friday night.  The team is going to try and work out a deal to borrow the softball team's metal seats to get more people into the game.
• Strasburg wants to win, he doesn't get caught up in all the hoopla.  Tony Gwynn tips his cap to the marketing department for promoting the team so well.
• It's tough balancing the need for the Aztecs to win and protecting Strasburg's arm for the future.  During the season they had him pitch once a week on Fridays while under a pitch count.  In a couple weeks Gwynn will have to make difficult decisions when Championship tournaments start.
• Strasburg started as a freshman at 6'3 and 240 lbs.  His conditioning has made him a better player.
• Gwynn denies making the comments to Buster Olney saying that Strasburg would be the number one starter for the Nationals.  "I don't know where Buster got that".
• He thinks Scott Boras will go for record money.
• Gwynn thinks if Strasburg would be the Padres or Seattle's #3 and one of the better pitchers for the Nationals.  So he's pretty much confirming the comments that he didn't make to Buster Olney.
• "He's gonna get hit, there's no question about that.  I don't think he's gonna be one of those guys that are going to flat out over power guys at the Big League Level or even at the Minor League Level."
• He's going to be successful.  People overlook how athletic he is.  He reminds Gwynn of a taller version of Greg Maddux in the way he plays defense.

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

• Kevin Towers likes to celebrity watch from his seats behind home plate in Dodger Stadium.  It's hard for him to hide his emotions when things aren't going well for the Padres, sometimes he'll have to leave his seat.
  
• The Dodgers are a good team:  "It's my 14th year, probably the best offensive Dodger club in some time.  Do they have enough pitching?  We'll have to wait and see."
• Josh Geer reminds Towers of Brian Lawrence.  He knows which pitch to throw to keep guys off balance.  Geer will pitch in a way to give your ball club a chance to win.  Geer has no fear.  He and Eckstein are winning type players.  Geer has won his entire career.  He locates well and changes speeds well.  He has the ability to limit damage.
• Headley has discomfort from the left hand side, when he hits right handed he's okay.
• It's tough to keep Hairston's bat out of the line up.  We'll probably start seeing him a bit more than Gerut.
• The Padres think Baek needs at least one more rehab start.  When Baek comes back he's going into the rotation.  Geer or Correia will go to the pen or to AAA.  Balsley likes Correia a great deal, but it's tough to bounce Geer if he keeps throwing like he does.
• Kevin Towers is meeting with Grady Fuson this weekend about getting Kyle Blanks into the outfield in the next couple of weeks.  "This kids time should be here real soon".  They need him in the line up to protect Adrian Gonzalez.
• Darren Smith asks what it takes to get a manager in the hot seat.  "The hot seat comes from fans, talk radio, it comes from newspapers."  Darren fires back that Padres employees sometimes feed info to the media. Then he asks if anybody is on the hot seat now.  KT responds: "I'm sure there are a couple relievers that are on the hot seat right now, I just haven't had enough time to really think about it"
• Asked about dumpster diving for players.  "Those dumpsters are running dry"

Everybody is probably familiar with Padres Pre-Game roving reporter Chrissy Russo.  We interviewed her a couple years go.

Get your eyes of Chrissy's legs!  Look at how I put Gaslamp Ball on her computer screen.

She is also the Weather Girl on Fox 5's morning news.  They promote her more than the show.  Have you heard the radio commercials?  "Chrissy Russo is HOT in HD"

I was just talking to this lady yesterday and her husband will not go to work until he sees Chrissy doing the weather.  He has to see what she's wearing or work just won't be possible. 

We also get a ton of web hits from people searching google for "Chrissy Russo Short Skirt".  She's a San Diego phenomenon.

She even plays along with it, making statements like "The truth is that I've always worn skimpy bikinis and I probably always will"

Now Fox 5's website has Chrissy Russo's Outfit of the Day.  Pure Genius.  I'd like to see Channel 4 play up this angle some more.

I think this one is my favorite outfit so far:

via www.fox5sandiego.com

JBox and I complain about the music at the ballpark all the time. Sure, there are inspired moments musically. Hell's Bells comes to mind. Overall though, the music is lacking.

For example, after a win, we're subjected to Rock and Roll Part 2 by the genuinely, seriously disgusting Gary Glitter. This needs to be fixed. Is Rock and Roll Part 2 a bad song? That's debatable. It has a nice enough drum beat. Easy enough to sing along to. But look at this video and think about the whole underage Vietnamese girls thing and tell me that I'm wrong for puking whenever the Padres win:

The winning run is scored. I'm happy for two seconds. Gary Glitter fills my ears, I imagine this video and his kiddie porn / statutory rape habit and I literally throw up on whoever's standing near me.

So my terrific idea. Keep in mind that JBox often refers to this as the best idea I've ever had. We want something that people feel good about. We want something easy to sing. We want to get ready for Arnold legalizing it. We want Wigwam by Bob Dylan:

Think about that. How rad is that? Everybody singing along. Walking out of the park all happy. Smoking their newly legalized doobies. Life is good and nobody gets puked on.

More photos » by Denis Poroy - AP

In my ideal scenario, you'd actually see the batter's face in this photo. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

Browse more photos »

I know this sounds bad, but after breaking the losing streak last night, I look at tonight's game with Peavy on the mound and I can't help but think that we're going to just start another losing streak. The offense still looks lackluster and while the pitching at the start of the rotation appears to be coming around, I'm not confident that Jake didn't do himself a fair bit of drinking last night to celebrate with the boys. Does that make him better or not so much better?

Jim Lefebvre says to put the blame on him:

"These players are busting their butts, doing everything we ask them to do. They just haven't had that luck, but we're close, real close.

Everything, Jim Lefebvre? Everything? Maybe somebody should try asking them to score a few runs now and then.

Here's something to think about. I'd mentioned David Sirlin before, and the seemingly obvious, but apparently ignored concept of "playing to win". Summarized briefly: When people compete at activities, they unecessarily play according to unwritten rules that limit their chances of winning.

Well, Sirlin points out a Malcolm Gladwell "playing to win" article. There's a terrific recount of a coach who had his girls basketball team apply the unconventional strategy of running a full court press every time the other team inbounds the ball. He knows his team isn't really talented at basketball. Since it's super tiriing to run full court press all the time and since he figures it would take longer to learn all fundamentals, he has them run more at practice as opposed to wasting time learning how to shoot. Everything is layups.

So that got me to thinking even more that a team should really capitalize on that sort of thing and get Eddie Gaedel like midgets on the team. I'm thinking dudes under five feet tall. If you get like 3 or 4 of them on a team, you can almost guarantee getting an extra run or two to top off a rally. Bases loaded? Let's guarantee a run by pinch hitting the little guy. Other manager trying to turn your batters around with a pitching change? Little guy time.  

Somebody tell DePodesta! I think we're on to something!

John Weisbarth is listed as two different actors on IMDB:

	1.	John Weisbarth (I) (Actor, Treasure (1990))
	2.	John Weisbarth (II) (Self, No Brainer (2008))

About a month or so ago I noticed this and sent the correction to IMDB, asking them to combine the two entities.  They ignored me.

Now it has become my personal mission to get IMDB to make the change, no matter the cost.  When I say "personal mission", I really mean that I want you to start a letter writing campaign or at least send the correction yourself, because I don't know what else to do.  When I say "no matter the cost", I really mean I don't care how much time or effort that you have to spend.  Make no mistake if this doesn't get changed promptly, I blame you!

This is our hour, our chance to make a difference in this crazy, mixed up world.

I submit to you the proof that John Weisbarth acted in the movie "Treasure" in 1990:

Exhibit A: Gaslamp Ball's Interview with John Weisbarth

JW: As far as the Treasure goes, here's your review. A low budget take-off of the Goonies filmed entirely on location in San Diego. It was an awesome experience...but a bad movie. You'll definitely get a laugh out of it but I would be surprised if you can get all the way through it.

Exhibit B: Photographic Evidence!  A picture of Weisbarth pointing to and signing said movie.

Gaslamp Ball rests!