Gaslamp Ball - All Posts

Trevor Hoffman's favorite baseball movie, other Padres too

2013-05-23T17:53:59Z

You may remember that I interviewed Trevor Hoffman over the phone a couple weeks back. Hoffman was promoting Pepsi Max's Field of Dreams game, so I asked him if his favorite baseball movie was Field of Dreams. It wasn't.

I told Trevor that I had asked the same question of Tony Gwynn last year and he had given the same answer with practically the same, if not abbreviated reasoning. Hoffman chuckled and asked "Is that right? Well I guess that means I'm in good company then."

Marty Caswell too asked most of the current Padres players their favorite baseball movies in some sort of weird coincidence. I sometimes forget that all these guys are so young. They're talking about watching "The Sandlot" as little bitty children. I was already well into my golden years when that came out, so it didn't have the same affect on me. Not one of them mentioned the one redeeming part of that movie either, Wendy Peffercorn.

Here's the breakdown:

The Sandlot

Kyle Blanks
Yonder Alonso
Cameron Maybin
Jedd Gyorko
Mark Sweeney

Major League

Nick Hundley
Will Venable
Buddy Black

Bull Durham

Andrew Cashner
Mark Kotsay
John Baker
Trevor Hoffman
Tony Gwynn

Field of Dreams

Huston Street
Joe Thatcher

For the Love of the Game

Luke Gregerson
Edinson Volquez

The Natural

Anthony Bass
Chase Headley

The Rookie

Jesus Guzman

Me? I'm a "The Natural" guy, through and through.

Bob Scanlan recaps Padres loss to the Cardinals

2013-05-23T15:47:02Z

Scan recaps the Padres loss to the Cardinals, as Smith struggles and Gyorko homers.

Five Jedd Gyorko baseball cards that don't exist (but should)

2013-05-23T13:00:00Z

Last night I was bored so I decided to make a mockup of a 1961 Topps card featuring Jedd Gyorko. Why '61 Topps? Well, for one, it's a classic design. Secondly, and more importantly, it would be incredibly easy to mimic. I got kinda locked in and churned out four more cards of him on other old designs. I didn't recycle any of the sets I used when I gave Alexi Amarista the same treatment because that would have just been lazy.

Here are the five cards I came up with along with, like before, an actual card from that set as a frame of reference:

1961 Topps
See, I told you it's a very simple design. I matched it up with Hank Aaron because the Padres weren't around back then and you can't go wrong with the real home run king.

1991 Fleer
I used to think these cards were so ugly when I was a kid but they've grown on me.

1994 Upper Deck Collector's Choice Future Foundation
I was trying to think of what card to do next so I flipped through a stack of cards for inspiration. I came across this one and while it isn't classic, it is simple and that's what mattered to me.

1986 Topps
Montani semper liberi. And don't you forget it.

1984 Fleer
Here's the last one. It only seemed right to use a picture of him in the 1984 uniform on a 1984 card.

There are still so many old sets out there waiting to have current Padres sloppily pasted on them. Maybe I'll make some of John Baker next. Backup catchers need love too.

05/22 Padres Preview: Game 4

2013-05-22T20:00:04Z

The Padres have faced two very tough pitchers in the first two games of this series. Tonight they'll go against the fresh face of Tyler Lyons, who will make his major league debut in the rubber game of this three-game set at Petco Park. Meanwhile, Burch Smith will continue his quest for his first career win as he makes his third ever major league start.

Smith bounced back from an abysmal major league debut by pitching 5 1/3 solid innings, despite yielding five runs on six hits, in a one-run extra-inning loss to the Nationals last Friday.

He'll need to slow down a Cardinals offense that routed the Padres for ten runs last night to snap a four-game losing streak. David Freese could miss his third straight game after getting Spiked in the thumb on Sunday. His replacement last night was Daniel Descalso, who collected five RBI on three hits, including a grand slam. On Monday, however Ty Wigginton took over at third base and went 0-for-2with a walk, was caught stealing, and grounded into a double play.

Lyons is getting the call for St. Louis due to injuries to to Jake Westbrook and Jaime Garcia. He's made eight starts for Triple-A Memphis this season, going 2-1 with a 4.47 ERA. The left-hander will become the Cardinals' third rookie starter and sixth rookie pitcher to take the mound this season.

Despite putting up just one run against Adam Wainwright last night, the Padres team that Lyons will face is one that has been clicking offensively. They've averaged nearly five runs per game over their last 20 games and have gone 16-9 over their last 25, a record bested only by the Cardinals, who have gone 17-8 in that stretch. Chris Denorfia has been a huge contributor, hitting safely in each of his last four games, including two 3-hit nights.

Next Game

St. Louis Cardinals
@ San Diego Padres

Wednesday, May 22, 2013, 7:10 PM PDT
Petco Park

Partly cloudy. Winds blowing out to center field at 5-10 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 60.

Complete Coverage >

Bob Scanlan recaps Padres loss to Cardinals

2013-05-22T16:17:51Z

Scan recaps the Padres loss to the Cardinals last night. Rubber match today.

Cardinals 10, Padres 2: We Scored On Wainwright!

2013-05-22T05:14:20Z

Well, that sure was bad, wasn't it? What was the worst part, do you think? Edinson Volquez imploding in the 5th inning? Anthony Bass imploding in the 8th? The offense imploding in general? In fairness, the Cardinals are the best team in baseball right now, and Adam Wainwright is one of the best pitchers in the league. If you expected this to be easy or a guaranteed win just because the Padres have been part of so many sweeps, you were wrong.

But let's look at the good stuff. We scored on Wainwright, and we did it early! Jedd Gyorko picked up a leadoff double in the 2nd and moved to second on a Chris Denorfia single. He scored on the next play as Alexi Amarista grounded into a double play. Amarista also grounded into a double play to end the game, but we're focusing on the good here. The good guys picked up one more run in the 9th on a pair of singles from Yonder Alonso and Gyorko and a throwing error by Daniel Descalso. Thus endeth the good stuff.

Edinson Volquez was looking pretty good through the first four innings. He had some tough luck in the 3rd as Descalso reached first when Alonso knocked a sharp grounder down but couldn't complete the play. Descalso scored on a Matt Carpenter double deflected by Amarista. But it was just one run, and Volquez recovered to sit the Cardinals down in order in the 4th. Unfortunately, he imploded in the 5th, allowing 6 of his 8 hits and 4 runs. He'd pull it together for one more inning after that, but the damage was already done. Despite avoiding the walks that have typically been his Achilles' Heel and picking up 5 strikeouts, Volquez left the game having allowed 5 runs, all of them earned.

When Anthony Bass came in to relive Volquez, he sat the Cardinals down in order and picked up two strikeouts. The 8th inning wasn't as good. It started badly as Matt Holliday struck out but reached first anyway on a wild pitch. It got worse when Allen Craig singled. With one out, Bass intentionally walked Jon Jay to load the bases and set up a double play. Descalso made him pay by hitting his second home run of the year.

Even Tyson Ross didn't come out of tonight's game unscathed. He came in for the 9th inning and gave up a run on two singles, an error, and a sacrifice fly. Not that it mattered at that point.

Burch Smith will try to pick up his first career win against Tyler Lyons, who will be making his major league debut. A win tomorrow gives the Padres a series win and a winning record on the homestand. First pitch at 7:10 PM.

21 - 24

Games Back: 4.5

Streak: Lost 1

Games Left: 119

Final - 5.21.2013	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
St. Louis Cardinals	0	0	1	0	4	0	0	4	1	10	13	1
San Diego Padres	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	7	1
WP: Adam Wainwright (6 - 3) LP: Edinson Volquez (3 - 5)

Complete Coverage >

Tucson Padres @ Omaha Game Thread: Clayton Richard's second rehab start

2013-05-21T21:46:07Z

Clayton Richard will be starting for the Tucson Padres this evening in his second rehab appearance since coming down with a nasty case of the brownwater. He'll be caught by a familiar face as Yasmani Grandal, also with the TuPads on a rehab stint, is in the starting lineup for the third time in four games.

Richard pitched well in his first rehab start, allowing only one run on four hits over six innings against Iowa last Thursday. He threw only 85 pitches, striking out eight batters and walking none. He got stuck with the loss but that doesn't really matter since won-loss records are garbage.

Since joining Tucson Saturday for a ten-game tuneup before he can rejoin the major league Padres, Grandal has seen action in three games, starting two. In that time he has gone 3-9 with a double, a run, and three RBI.

Hopefully both players will continue their progress and carry that into their major league returns. They are both set to come back next week, providing neither of them shits the bed, figuratively or literally.

As always, you can listen to the game online for free via 1290 AM: The Source.

Padres in Omaha, gametime 4:35 pm - Anna 4/Robertson 9/Petit 6/Grandal 2/Allen 7/Galvez 5/Rivera 3/C. Decker DH/J. Decker 8/Richard P.
— TucsonPadres (@TucsonPadres) May 21, 2013

05/21 Padres Preview: Game 45 vs. St. Louis

2013-05-21T19:40:31Z

You wouldn't realize it just looking at the teams' records, but the Padres and Cardinals have been equally hot lately, each going 16-8 in their last 24 games. The Padres have bounced back from a dismal 5-15 start to the season and now find themselves just two games under .500. The Padres also have the best record in the NL West this month, tied with the Diamondbacks at 11-7. They'll look to improve on that tonight and clinch the series win with Edinson Volquez on the hill.

Volquez was riding his own little hot streak, going 3-0 with a 2.49 ERA over four starts, before his most recent outing against the Nationals. But Washington tagged him for five runs in five innings on Thursday, giving him his first loss in five starts. The right-hander has struggled against St. Louis in the past. He has a lifetime 2-4 record with a 5.32 ERA against the Cards.

Matt Holliday has gone 7-for-17 with two homers and Carlos Beltran is 5-for-12 against Volquez. Ty Wigginton, who may make the start at third base again tonight for David Freese, is 4-for-12 with two homers off Volquez. But the Cards offense had trouble getting production at the plate last night. They combined for just four hits and one of their runs scored only because of an error by Chase Headley. Jon Jay was the star of the night for St. Louis, going 2-for-4 to improve his average to .354 since moving out of the leadoff spot in the lineup. Since April 22nd, he's hit mostly in the 6-spot, collecting 15 RBI during that stretch. He's also hit safely in 15 of his last 16 starts.

However, the Padres offense has been on fire as of late, and is looking to give the Cards another run for their money. They lead the NL in runs scored (92) over the last 19 games, including last night's three-run five-hit performance against one of the stingiest pitchers in the league in Shelby Miller. They've especially thrived in San Diego, wining 12 of their last 15 played at Petco Park and hitting 21 homers in 23 total home games this season.

But tonight they'll face another tough opponent in Adam Wainwright. He's 5-3 this year with a 2.51 ERA and is coming off a start in which he struck out eight batters while issuing just one walk against the Mets. He was tagged with the loss in that outing, however, as he yielded three earned runs (four total) on six hits through six innings of work. Prior to that, he tossed a two-hit shutout against the Rockies that took 120 pitches. Wainwright has a career 3-2 record against San Diego in five starts while boasting a miniscule 0.97 ERA.

Next Game

St. Louis Cardinals
@ San Diego Padres

Tuesday, May 21, 2013, 7:10 PM PDT
Petco Park

Adam Wainwright vs Edinson Volquez

Partly cloudy. Winds blowing out to right field at 5-10 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 65.

Complete Coverage >