SignOnSanDiego:

I put this quote up earlier but it's really bothering me.  This is Adrian Gonzalez talking about wanting to be in the Home Run Derby.

"If you're from a smaller market, there aren't as many people who want to see you," he said. "They want to see the players from the bigger market. I'm OK with that. I'd love to be in it, but it's no big deal."

Even though Major League Baseball has an open space for him they just aren't sure they want him because nobody wants to see a quiet, meek, little mouse in the Home Run Derby.  Get loud!  Get cocky!  He's got the numbers to be considered but he doesn't have the attitude and he's proving it with his quote.  Maybe he should have said , "Golly gee, I'd like to be in your game Mr. Selig but if you don't want me then I understand I probably don't deserve such a great honor anyway, I just want to thank you for your consideration."

I used to like the humble Adrian Gonzalez, there aren't enough of these types of guys in baseball and when I met him he was extremely nice.  Off the field it's a great characteristic to have, but he needs to grow a pair! 

"You listen to me Selig, I've come to the Big Apple to take a bite and I've found that you're nothing but a little worm in my apple! I will crush you!  I will burn New York to the ground!  Have you seen my stats?  I destroy baseballs and you dare not invite me into your Home Run Derby? San Diego cannot contain my power!  I am a f'n Zeus, I'll shoot lightning out of my eyeballs and set you afire!"

Well, something like that.

At least Adrian will have his brother at the game to watch him...

Second baseman Edgar Gonzalez won't be at Yankee Stadium to watch his brother in the All-Star Game because he'd rather be with his wife. "It's her time. I'll watch Adrian on TV," Edgar said.

Wha-PISHHHH! Wha-Wa-PISHHHH!

Are you kidding me?  Your brother makes the All-Star team and gets to play in Yankee Stadium one more time before it is turned into a parking lot and you've got do yard work, watch chick flicks that have nothing to do with baseball like For the Love of the Game and give her foot rubs?  All Star Break is not her time!  Her time is the off season!

What is with these Gonzalez brothers, they are far too nice.

Also changing the subject, if anybody affiliated with the Padres ever asks you if they should buy, sell or do nothing, you tell them to BUY!  Let them figure out the budget and let them find out where they are going to come up with the money.  That's their job not ours.  We want the best team possible on the field now, not in a few years. We need to keep the pressure on them, we are not giving up.  We need to be united on this.  As fans we always want to see the best and the best costs money, so spend!  I don't care if it puts Moores in the poor house.  Don't give them the easy way out and say "Well there's always next year", that's what a Gonzalez would say.

Matt Vasgersian and Mark Grant were talking about fan frustrations during Saturday nights game. When players make mistakes, fans want someone to do something about it.  They mention that they read Gaslamp Ball and Ducksnorts and that some fans expect players to get angry and throw stuff on the field.  I have a feeling that really reactionary fans are the vocal minority. 

May I speak for all fans?  Cool.

The problem with the current Padres team with the exception of Kevin Towers is that all of them are emotionless on the field and when they talk to the media.  Every player and coach will tell you they see signs of the team turning the corner and that the glass is half full.  Frustrated fans would rather hear nothing, than optimistic statements like that.

I think it was very therapeutic to hear Kevin Towers make statements like he did a few weeks ago .  Fans want to know that somebody related to the team cares as much about the team as they do and will vocalize it.  When fans are mad at the teams play, they want the team and its coaches to be just as mad and try that much harder.

The discussion came about because Paul McAnulty made a catch in shallow left field and a Giants' player tagged up and scored from third, giving the Giants a lead and costing Maddux a win.  McAnulty obviously wasn't thinking that the runner was going to tag up, but he should have been prepared for it.  Maddux chewed out McAnulty in the dugout and clubhouse.  I think both Vasgersian, Grant and the fans were satisfied with the way it was handled by the club.  It was helpful that the Padres Post Game show actually showed Maddux dressing down McAnulty, because then we know that something was done about it.

I'm just really surprised that the coaching staff and players have been making so many fundamental errors.  It's one of the first things that they teach you in little league.  On every pitch, as a defensive player you must think, "What will I do if the ball is hit to me?"  Edgar Gonzalez had the same problem yesterday.  As a major league player, they should be thinking, "What if the ball is hit softly to me? Should I throw home or try to turn the double play.?"

Baseball isn't a sport where extra emotion or adrenaline are necessarily going to help you like it might in a cardiovascular sport.  So while some players do probably feed off the emotion like a Milton Bradley and some are able to perform even when everyone hates them, like Barry Bonds, they are probably the exceptions.

Temper tantrums by emotional players might only be helpful to show other players that they are taking the losses seriously and that if other players don't get their heads in the games they may be the focus of the next tantrum.

While I agree with Matt and Mark that everybody in uniform wants to win, they need to take that message to the fans and not keep it locked up in the clubhouse in closed door meetings.

For the record, while Dex and I believe that Matt and Mark are funny and informative we do not believe they are clowns.  Clowns scare us.

Adrian is our All-Star... our quiet, politically correct All-Star.  A guy who can hit 20 home runs, hit .300 and run really slow.  He's got Gold Glove talent at first base, without too much range and he's all business.  He's probably concerned about the environment and does volunteer work.  He probably reads the New Yorker and listens to NPR.  He's your classic nice guy and he's a little bit boring.

Edgar, Adrian's brother is none of these things.  He's my favorite. It's only been three games and he's already my favorite.  He's got a chip on his shoulder, he's a little bit angry because the system let him down.  Now he's going to take out his anger on opposing pitching.  He's lightning fast... compared to Adrian.  He doesn't have much time left in the majors, he's 29 and too old to be standing around on first base waiting for someone else to move him to second.   He's got places to be and he needs to get home.  Edgar is slim and agile.  He moves with a purpose.  He's desperate and we have no idea what he's capable of.  I like the cut of his jib.

Probably none of these assumptions are true, but in my mind they are all too real.