Gaslamp Ball: FanPosts

Front Office Mandate: Fashion & Pride

2009-11-03T23:09:37Z

The San Diego Padres have mandated through an internal memo that the "SD" insignia is the official brand of the organization, furthermore stating that all Padres employees must visibly wear the "SD" logo somewhere on their person. This is according to infallible beacon of true Padre knowledge of this world and all worlds, Darren Smith, and it applies to all Padre employees, from the front office on down. It's a good move, and for two reasons:

Fashion: Everyone knows the "SD" logo is pretty much the most fashionable accessory around. It has that obscure mystique that is a key component of any cutting edge look. When you see someone wearing the "SD" insignia, you can be certain you won't find any onions tied to their belts.
Pride: Employees should be proud of the company they work for. They also should not be able to escape their shame. Before, they could hide amongst us, spying on us, carefully noting what meals we consume most and how often we yawn between the hours of 4 and 7, but no longer.

This also applies to one Dave Winfield. This man has made numerous public appearances since this mandate, during playoff coverage and on MLB Network, and yet no "SD." Why no insignia, Dave? Your boss said you have to. Aren't you proud to be a Padre, Dave? You're also walking a very fine line, Dave, as you cannot be granted Prison-of-War rights under the Geneva Conventions in the event of your capture. I wouldn't want to find out what happens to the poor soul who is captured by Yankee fans not bound by international treaties.

WS game 1 OT

2009-10-29T01:03:22Z

Is anyone even watching this game? It sucks having an all east-coast world series doesn't it? Stupid Angels.

But the Phillies sure are making it easier for me to pretend I'm watching my Padres in the World Series. They loaded the bases in the first inning but failed to get a run in. Utley homered with no men on base to right field in the top of the third to make it 1-0 Phillies. Adrian Gonzalez much?

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO FRIARS [Phillies]!!

2009 This Year In Baseball Awards

2009-10-28T20:02:21Z

MLB has opened up voting for the 2009 This Year in Baseball Awards. Usually we can expect to see very few or no Padres on these award lists, but this year there are a few.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/awards/y2009/tyib/index.jsp?tcid=fb-tyib-sd

Padres were nominated under:

Closer- Heath Bell

Setup Man- Luke Gregerson

Oddity- PetCo Bees

One thing about this list though really pissed me off. They have one category of Defensive Player of the Year. Left off of that list was one Kevin Kouzmanoff.

Now I am not a huge Kevin Kouzmanoff fan, but to leave him off that list is just laughable. A year when the Hall of Fame came for his glove due to his record defensive performance at third base and the guy can't even make a list of best Defensive Players of the Year.

His fielding % was as good as or better than four of the other nominees. Not to mention the fewest errors in MLB history at 3B. Three errors all season long!

Hopefully the stadium can win an award for being odd.

Adrian to Red Sox?

2009-10-27T16:27:37Z

So now that we've hired a Boston assistant as our GM, rumors are flying that it's only a matter of time before Adrian gets traded to the Red Sox. Even KT is getting in on the action:

He is a San Diego product and the Padres' one gate attraction, but they know they won't be able to afford Gonzalez when his contract runs out after his $5.5million option year in 2011. In order to get maximum return, the Padres probably will have to trade Gonzalez this winter. Either way, it will be about the most unpopular trade they could ever make. And no doubt, the first bidders at Hoyer's door will be the Red Sox, since he served as GM Theo Epstein's top assistant since 2004.

Sadly, the Padres must deal Gonzalez.

Revenue-sharing money simply isn't enough right now in their market, where a bad local TV package reaps only about $2million and they have $18 million a year in stadium debt. In addition, nobody knows how much it's costing new owner Jeff Moorad to complete his buyout of John Moores. "They're going to have a $40 million payroll for the foreseeable future," said recently fired Padres GM Kevin Towers, "and there's just no way they can devote half of that to one player. It's just a matter of when they decide to trade (Gonzalez)."

I really don't think this has to happen, and will be disappointed if it does.

But if it does in fact happen, what would you want in a trade for Adrian?

I'd want Clay Buchholz, Jacoby Ellsbury, Daniel Bard, plus prospects at minimum.

Thoughts?

ALCS Game 6 OT

2009-10-26T01:39:21Z

Doesn't anyone want to watch the last righteous team left in the playoffs battle the evil pinstripes from New York City? Or are we all still dead drunk celebrating the Chargers' victory over the Chiefs earlier today?

Well, I say we get out there and support the Angels against the trepidations of the big bad Yankees. Go Halos!

By the way, it really sucks you have to come up with 75 words to post these stupid things. I can barely write 10 words on my school exams, let alone a fan post intro!

A Poem for our Cowboy

2009-10-25T09:26:16Z

I miss you Gunslinger, you were mine since I was 10.

I miss you Gunslinger, you built a cheap, yet solid 'pen.

I didn't always feel loved, but I knew the love was there.

You were sometimes over budget, but the spending was always fair.

You once lived around the corner, in the town of PB,

I would wave and yell while I jogged by, but you just stared at me.

I saw you wash your bulldog once, I wanted to ask if it was Hoff's,

I saw you making out with a blonde once, I wanted to ask if it was Hoff's.

You've brought me mediocrity, you've brought me many tears,

you've brought me Brian Giles, for a few too many years.

Thanks for all you've given us, I'll remember all the wins,

Thanks for all you've given us, all three Gwynns.

I'll always remember you Gunslinger, your dark, sunken eyes,

I'll remember 13 years of question marks, and 1 year of highs.

Godspeed, Gunslinger.

ALCS Game #5 Thread

2009-10-23T00:19:04Z

'Tec's beloved Yankees taking on Maestro's lil' Angels in what could be the final game of the series. I know you're all as excited as I am, so let's hear what you've got to say. Are you with 'Tec and the multimillionaires or Maestro and the OC?

The Angels are already on the board, looks like they mean biz tonight.

BYOB, I'll be drinking Pabst Blue RIbbon and rooting for no one.

Tony Gwynn is a mutant

2009-10-05T13:52:36Z

First, allow me to illustrate what nomal human beings look like:

Adrian Gonzalez -- .244 average at Petco, .306 on the road (his home run splits are 12-28)

Everybody's favorite Rule 5 pick -- .230, .276 (his stolen base splits are 5-20)

Chase Headley -- .208, .305

Will Venable -- .215, .299

Kyle Blanks -- .216, .288

Kevin Kouzmanoff -- .220, .287

David Eckstein -- .232, .286

Nick Hundley -- .236, .241

Have you noticed the reality? Nobody born on this planet hits better at Petco than they do everywhere else, though Nick Hundley sucks almost as much everywhere else as he does at Petco. But we'll forgive him since he's a pigeon-toed catcher.

So how do you explain Tony Gwynn hitting .279 at Petco and .261 on the road?

Perhaps this is why the Padres front office, and by that, I mean the guy who got fired, is so high on the obese Tony's son.

I just learned to like Skinny Tony a whole lot more.

Kouzmanoff breaks Padres franchise HBP record!

2009-10-04T13:04:05Z

Kevin Kouzmanoff's 3rd inning HBP from Matt Cain was the 36th of his career - making him the first Padre ever to be hit by 36 pitches in his career. The previous record was 35 by Gene Tenace, from 1977 to 1980. Kouzmanoff has now been hit 6 times by the Giants, 8 times on Saturdays, twice by Matt Cain, 4 times by pitchers named Matt, 7 times when he scored a run after reaching base on the plunk, 6 times in the 8th inning, 4 times with two outs in the 8th inning, 10 times in May, and 21 times on even numbered days of the month, but he's never been hit by a pitcher born in Pennsylvania.

Here's how the Padres top ten HBP list looks as of yesterday:

Kevin Kouzmanoff, (2007-2009) - 36
Gene Tenace, (1977-1980) - 35
Khalil Greene, (2003-2008) - 32
Tim Flannery, (1979-1989) - 32
Sean Burroughs, (2002-2005) - 26
Tony Gwynn, (1982-2001) - 24
Nate Colbert, (1969-1974) - 22
Mark Loretta, (2003-2005) - 20
Gene Richards, (1977-1983) - 20
Brian Giles, (2003-2009) - 20
Bobby Tolan, (1974-1979) - 19
Al Ferrara, (1969-1971) - 18
Adrian Gonzalez, (2006-2009) - 18
Chris Gomez, (1996-2001) - 17
Rickey Henderson, (1996-2001) - 17
Ruben Rivera, (1997-2000) - 17
Bip Roberts, (1986-1995) - 16
Phil Nevin, (1999-2005) - 16
Damian Jackson, (1999-2005) - 16
Johnny Grubb, (1972-1976) - 15
Archi Cianfrocco, (1993-1998) - 15
Quilvio Veras, (1997-1999) - 15
Benito Santiago, (1986-1992) - 14
Mike Cameron, (2006-2007) - 14
Xavier Nady, (2000-2005) - 14
Dave Winfield, (1973-1980) - 13
Derek Bell, (1993-1994) - 13
Steve Finley, (1995-1998) - 13
Ryan Klesko, (2000-2006) - 13
Terry Kennedy, (1981-1986) - 13
Mike Ivie, (1971-1977) - 12
Carlos Hernandez, (1997-2000) - 12
Ken Caminiti, (1995-1998) - 12
Ed Spiezio, (1969-1972) - 12
Ozzie Smith, (1978-1981) - 12
Phil Plantier, (1993-1997) - 12
Carmelo Martinez, (1984-1989) - 11
Jim Leyritz, (1998-1999) - 11
Chase Headley, (2007-2009) - 11
Wiki Gonzalez, (1999-2003) - 10
Jerald Clark, (1988-1992) - 10

So long KT..... I'm glad you're gone

2009-10-03T07:46:48Z

As I sit and watch another Padre losing season I can't help but comment on your mentality to want losers on our team. What has KT done for San Diego? The organization has always hyped him up, like he could do no wrong. For being in San Diego for so long he should have at least brought us one World Series title. To me, he should have been gone a long time ago; at least last year after the 99 loses. It's time to expect more out of our team. If we keep up with the same attitude we will NEVER win a World Series. KT could not get the job done so I'm glad he's gone. At least we are making moves to get us out of the loser, no win, no championship type of culture that is synonymous with San Diego.

San Diego city water supply to be fluoride-drugged May, 2010

2009-10-03T02:42:26Z

Could the Padres write to Mayor Sanders, asking him to change his intentions to treat San Diego water with fluosilicic acid in May, 2010? The citizens of S.D. voted against this twice. The CDC now recognizes 1/3 million elderly people perish because of broken bones that do no heal timely.

This is linked with the fact that 70% of U.S. public water supplies are now treated with artificial fluosilicic acid waste, to incorporate fluoride into tissues. Fluoride accumulates irreversibly into bone at thousands of times that in water (National Research Council, 2006).

The anemia associated with long-term drinking is something an athlete must avoid and yet most MLB teams play in fluoride-drugged cities except San Diego.

This is an overlooked violation of the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act since the FDA hasn't issued permits to water districts for this. The Oral Health Division at the CDC lobby Congress that such treatments are without adverse effect, but doesn't realize that artificial fluoride is assimilated more into the blood than fluoride under natural conditions where calcium blocks its uptake. The billions of dollars spent on this chemical to drug citizens should be instead given to County Health Services to aid health care reform.

Richard Sauerheber, Ph.D., Chemistry, Palomar College

My season tickets actually went up!

2009-09-28T17:19:33Z

I'm sure this isn't an message that the Padres FO would like to see.

It's the truth ticket prices went up for games. They also went up for season ticket holders that are not buying full season packages.

After all the hype and BS last week, this is what we get? I opened my packet on Sunday and was ready to send in the cancel notice. The ORG set up expectations through the media this last week that ticket prices were going down. My 20 game package went up $100 per seat, not exactly the 86% that remained the same or went down like Moorad is saying.

This just lets me know that Moorad is going to pull the same crap Alderson did. Spin Spin Spin!

Will Padres keep and pay Adrian?

2009-09-28T05:20:18Z

San Diego Padres, soon have a decision, whether to trade or pay Adrian Gonzales. S.D. star player.

L.A. or Boston would be good fits for the left handed slugger.

he padres need to trade Adrian for front line players. Will they be able to meet his 12-18 million dollar a year salary?. The Dodgers would be a good fit or Boston. L.A. has a well supportive Hispanic Dodger community. And can afford, a 30-plus, 100 R.B.I. player. Adrian, loves helping kids and is a dedicated ball player. And is a follower of Jesus Christ, and is a born-again. Adrian works hard and is level headed. Adrian is a model citizen and ball-player.

Coach

Is Gwynn a full time outfielder?

2009-09-26T16:52:04Z

I think Gwynn has played great for us since he came to San Diego from the Brewers. He's definitely become alot more then a legacy pick up for us and has contributed quite a bit, even if he has struggled for a while. But the more I ask, the more I don't get a clear answer if people think he could be a full time CF or RF for us. I think people are set with Venable (no doubt he's earned it) and I think people believe Blanks could play well in the outfield because he did for a short period. But the question remains; do you think Gwynn could or should play CF/RF full time for the Padres in 2010, and why?

I think personally he's shown he can cover ground well and has improved tracking the ball through the outfield. He's a decent hitter who could easily slide into that #2 spot (and would be ALOT better then Eck there) and provide us with two guys at the top who can run and get on base for our power guys.

Thoughts?

Poll

Should Gwynn play outfield (CF/RF) on a full time basis in 2010?

Next year's team

2009-09-23T20:51:36Z

To me, I think the Padres offense is in pretty good shape and if the front office is smart about things, their offense could really be special next year. We don't know exactly what the payroll will be set at, but it seems like Moorad said it will raise a bit, so conservatively I think we can expect something around 50-55 million. If it all breaks right, this team could take a big leap forward.

After pay raises to Adrian & co. I think our payroll sits right around 30-32 million, essentially leaving about 20 million dollars for additions and arbitration.

It wouldn't surprise me for the Pads to make one minor splash in free agency to kick off Moorad's first off-season. Sure, the splash will be smaller, but there is one guy in particular who could be a nice fit. Mike Cameron. He played well in SD before and liked it, due to age won't be able to command many years. I think if we offered 2 years, 15 million we would probably be able to get it done. I'd also look to sign Matt Murton for OF insurance, who could probably be had slightly over the minimum (COL has no space for him)

Next, I would turn to 2B as the next position to fill. On the FA market, there's soem real depth and someone like an Iwamura would really be a ncie upgrade and come within our price rang. However, the idea that intrigues me most is Dan Uggla of FLA. He's coming off a down year and FLA will certainly look to trade him and move Coghlan back to 2B. One of their big needs is at closer and we have Heath Bell entering arb., who they already tried to trade for at the deadline apparently. I think Bell for Uggla would be accepted by FLA, and I think it would be a good deal. Bell is probably looking at 4-5 mil in arb, and Uggla is looking at 6-7.

Thirdly, I think catcher is a position I'd want more options at. Chris Iannetta will likely be the most attractive trade option out there, but it's unlikley to expect COL to deal him within the division. So, I think a good guy to look at would be JR Towles. Towles had a good minor league track record, but has stunk in each of his chances at the bigs. HOU is probably over him and Ed Wade had a good working relationship with KT. I don't think it would take too much (perhaps Greg Burke and/or Corey Kluber) and would give us a good upside option (worst case beign we just stick with Hundley).

Finally, I think we could use a little more upside in the rotation. This is the most unrealistic option I present, but what about trading the arb eligible Kevin Correia and Kevin Kouzmanoff to MIN for Francisco Liriano. Liriano is about to enter arb himself and is coming off a real down year. The guys got some kinks, but even in this terrible year his expeced ERA was in the mid 4.00's. I think worst case with him, you have a leauge average pitcher in PETCO and best case could be the Liriano of old.

Obviously another hidden bullpen gem (as the Pads always seem to find) would be nice too, but look at this team if these 4, somewhat reasonable, scenarios happened.

SS Everth

CF Cameron

1B Adrian

LF Blanks

3B Headley

2B Uggla

RF Venable/Murton platoon

C Towles/Hundley

Bench

RF/LF Murton

CF Gwynn

UTL Salazaar

2B/SS Eckstein

Rotation

1. CY

2. Liriano

3. Latos

4. Richard

5. Stauffer/LeBlanc/Gallagher

Pen

CL Adams

SU Gregerson

LHR Thatcher

MR Worrell

MR Russell

MR/LR Webb/Perdomo

LR Stauffer/Gallgher

The pitching would still have a ton of question marks, but the upside to this team is pretty undeniable, and for certain that is an above average offense and defense

PRESENTING: Forgotten Names of Padres Past, a boring look at guys who used to play for us updated

2009-09-23T00:51:58Z

Okay so one night I got bored and decided to look back at the rosters of the last few years and see where some of those guys ended up and who they play for now. It was fun for like a couple minutes but then it got real depressing when I saw just how many of those guys are still gritting it out in the minors. It was then that I decided to write up some of those names for you guys to read about, whether you want it or not.

Now I know this fanpost might (will) elicit a lot of why's and who gives a ****'s, and that's all fine and good, but what I really hope happens is for us to just reminisce on all these names of open thread past. Some we cared about, some that we didn't, and some we wish had never entered our collective conscience.

I decided to stay more recent with the names (last 2-3 seasons) since any further back and you just get guys that are retired and doing who knows what. The names included will range anywhere from "who the crap is that" (Jim Brower) to "I have a jersey with his ****ing name on it" (Sean Burroughs).

2008 Padres

Josh Bard: Yeah he's with Washington now, hitting .234/.293/.363. He got plenty of playing time when Jesus Flores went down, playing in 82 games. He's also throwing out 26% of baserunners, which is at least improved from the 8% and 16% from his two years with us.

Michael Barrett: Went to Toronto as most you know, but only played in 7 games before going on the DL for 2 months. Now he's in AAA playing mediocre ball. Sounds like the Michael Barrett we all...knew.

Luke Carlin: Rounding out the catchers we have Luke, who signed a minor league deal with Arizona last offseason. He did play for them in some of June and July, but did no better for them than us (.176/.263/.176).

Justin Huber: Everyone's favorite (?) Aussie outfielder signed with the Twins after the 2008 season and has rocked Minnesota with a .500 average. We'll just leave it at that.

Paul McAnulty: The perennial disappointment P-Mac went to Boston in the offseason but was released after hitting only .233 with AAA Pawtucket. Now he's in the Rockies organization, drawing far fewer John Kruk comparisons, leaving us with the very real possibility that he'll play against us one day, bringing back countless memories of that one face he makes when he strains himself too much. Ah yes, there it is. Oh, and here's a picture of him dressed as a sumo wrestler. Just cause.

Callix Crabbe: Yeah, that OTHER speedy minor league middle-infielder we got through the Rule V draft and made it on the Opening Day roster. Except this one played just like a minor leaguer, and never amounted to a hill o' beans. He went back to Milwaukee after his forgettable time with us, and became a free agent after the 2008 season. Now he's with Seattle's Triple-A team hitting .210/.303/.324. Yawn.

Tadahito Iguchi: He plays in Japan now with the Chiba Lotte Marines. Remember when he hit that one walk-off home run in extra innings on a Saturday afternoon during a FOX broadcast? Yeah, neither did I. But he did do this once, which makes him still pretty awesome.

Chip Ambres: All I remember of him is that he was huge and he played right field a couple times. For what it's worth, he went Boston then got traded to the Mets and now plays at AAA for them hitting a ho-hum .262/.319/.423.

Kevin Cameron: A decent reliever that we got from Rule V, that I guess frustrated the team enough with his walks to let him go after 2008. Now he has a 3.44 ERA in 18 innings with the Oakland A's. Good for him.

Clay Hensley: Mr. Hottie himself gave up home run #554 to Barry Bonds, and was sent to AAA the day after. Then he was non-tendered. Then he joined the Astros. Then he got released. Then he joined the Marlins. And then he pitched in 118 innings in AAA with a 3.24 ERA. He'll probably get called back to the big leagues eventually with numbers like that, and that can only mean another chance for KT's most hated man.

Wilfredo Ledezma: Pitches in the Blue Jays organization now, with a 4.41 ERA so far this year.

Justin Germano: Now here's a funny thing. I had always thought he went to Japan after we let him go (which he did), but then I look at his Wiki page and it says that he plays goalkeeper for the Ottawa Senators (which he doesn't). So I don't know what Senators fan thought it would be funny to write that, or why they chose a fringe MLB player to do it to, but it's more than a little curious to think about.

Chad Reineke: Traded to Oakland for J.D. Pruitt (who?) and made one start for their big league club, giving up 4 earned in 5 innings.

Trevor Hoffman: Retired happily after 15 wonderful seasons as the Padres closer.

2007 Padres

Rob Bowen: Released by Oakland before this season and is now a free agent. Yep.
Marcus Giles: Last I heard he had decided to not report to the Dodgers' Triple A team while in the car driving there. Turns out he also signed with the Phillies but didn't make the team. I guess he lives in San Diego now as a free agent, wondering if his brother really is injured.
Milton Bradley: Hm.
Jack Cassel: I think there might've been a point that people saw him as more successful than his brother, but after last year that's definitely over. Now he's in the Indians organization with a 5.78 at AAA while his brother quarterbacks the Kansas City Chiefs.
Hiram Bocachica: Little Mouth signed with the Saitama Seibu Lions after he left us, and helped them win the Japan series with a home run in game 7. Plus he has his own [awesome] website.
Terrmel Sledge: The greatest Padres left fielder of the last 50 years, ol' Secret Pop now plays for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters on the same team as Yu Darvish and Brian Sweeney (who'll show up later on this list). A nation wept when it was announced that he had left for Japan, and the Padres could never recover from such a devastating blow. They were 177-148 with him and now 132-181 without him, and I'm almost certain that KT still says him name out loud in his sleep. I mean, who can forget his big home runs against the Giants down the stretch, and his dances with Dave Roberts in left-center? And making this face after striking out? Pfft, not me.
Royce Ring: The other reliever we got for Jon Adkins and Ben Johnson was released by Atlanta after we traded him for Wil Ledezma (in one of the more inconsequential trades we've ever made). He got picked up by St. Louis and now pitches for their AAA team with a 3.04 ERA. Exciting, no?
Doug Brocail: Still pitching pretty well for Houston, but has been on and off the DL all year. He's on it right now, actually.
Mike Thompson: Went to Pittsburgh after he left the Padres, but never reached the big leagues before he became a free agent this year. Now he does...whatever, I dunno. I remember when Channel 4 showed his friends in the stands during his big league debut at Arizona, and now I wonder what those guys do now that he's not playing. Do they offer him words of encouragement, telling him that "things'll work out soon" and "it'll all be okay in the end", or do they urge him to consider other alternatives to professional baseball? Has he found a nice, well-paying job to support himself and his family (?) in the meantime? I hope so.
Brady Clark: He may or may not have cost us game 163 with his play in CF, since he was the replacement when Mike Cameron got stepped on. After that he went to the Mets and made the Opening Day roster cause Moises Alou was injured. When he got sent back down a month later he got injured himself and missed the rest of the season. Now he's a free agent doing who knows what with his life. He has a respectable .277 career average so I hope he signs on with someone, but he may not be healthy enough or something. Here's him attempting to catch a ball in game 162.
Oscar Robles: My only memory of Oscar Robles is him pinch hitting late in a game to lay down a bunt like every other game. After 2007 he was claimed by the Phillies but now plays in the Mexican league for the Mexico City Reds hitting a robust .351/.432/.465 in 100 games. But he only had 3 sacrifice hits, so I don't think he's trying hard enough.
Morgan Ensberg: He's a free agent now, but he played with the Yankees in 2008 and went to Spring Training with the Rays this year. I guess he's like buddies with Derek Jeter now or something. Probably thinks he's better than us.
Jose Cruz Jr.: Once the owner of the best socks in baseball, Jose Cruz Jr. went on to play for the Yankees and Astros in some capacity, but now does analysis work for MLB.com. Or at least that's what Wikipedia says, since I can't find any signs of his "analysis" on MLB.com. Beyond that though, there's this pretty cool interview with him about getting released from the Astros, the team his more successful dad played for. It's kinda like what's going on with Tony Gwynn Jr., except Jose Cruz Jr. hardly played at all and only hit .122 and never contributed. Still though, it's interesting hearing from someone about getting cut and not having a whole lot of other options afterwords.

2006 Padres

Doug Mirabelli: Eh, who cares.
Josh Barfield: Still gritting it out at AAA Columbus hitting .252/.271/.331, which is a shame since he was pretty good in 2006.
Ben Johnson: Ah yes, that guy. Since being traded to the Mets for Heath Bell and Royce Ring, Johnson never really got a lot of looks at the major league level. He mostly was called up whenever someone got hurt and was back and forth all year until he was released in May of 2008. He has yet to sign with anyone else. But I have to ask, was he always this...large? It looks like he gained a lot of weight when he was in New York. Also, Johnson has the unfortunate distinction of being the guy that the Padres got in a trade INSTEAD of Albert Pujols. Oh yes, that's right. The Padres wanted either Pujols or Johnson and they let the Cardinals choose between the two. They chose Johnson.
Dewon Brazelton: The gem of Spring Training 2006 never got it together during the season, and was let go after it was over. He then spent some amount of time with the Royals, Pirates, and Cardinals, but never reached the majors. He now plays for the Camden Riversharks, a non-MLB affiliated team in the Atlantic League.
Jon Adkins: The final piece of the Heath Bell trade, Adkins only ended up throwing 1 inning for the Mets before getting released that October. Cincinnati picked him up and let him throw 3.2 innings with 1 ER. Basically he never got a lot of chances to stay in the majors, so now he's the closer for the Lotte Giants in Korea, and the only white guy on the roster.
Brian Sweeney: As mentioned earlier, Sweeney went straight to the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters after being with the Padres. Here's a picture of him with his kids, and here's a nice article on him from last year.
Jim Brower: Probably the only name so far that I have no recognition of at all. He only pitched in 6 games with a 9.39 (!) ERA for the Padres, so that probably explains why. After jumping around a couple teams (Yankees, Reds, Cubs, Astros) he settled in Japan with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp.
Mark Bellhorn: Mark's only real shining moment with the Padres was when he helped spark a 5-run comeback against the Dodgers at the end of April that started another one of their magical months of May. Yeah, it's pretty sad when his best moment was when he simply contributed to something special. Now he's in the Rockies organization hitting .270/.371/.510. At least he's got a ring.
Todd Walker: KT got a lot of flack when he traded for a second baseman to fill our hole at third base, but Todd didn't do all that badly down the stretch, hitting .282/.366/.419. Once we released him, he went and signed with Oakland, but only played in 17 games before getting dropped. He doesn't seem to be playing still so he probably retired (he's 36).
Manny Alexander: Alexander filled in a couple times for Khalil but never hit over .200. After leaving the Padres he went to Washington, then fluttered around in Italy until the Phillies signed him to a minor league deal in July of this year. That being said, he doesn't seem to have played at all for the Phillies' minor league teams, leading me to believe that Wikipedia has lied to me again. Beyond all that though, he may or may not be responsible for ruining some kid's life back in 2000 (long article). If that's true then I hope he never plays again.

2005 Padres

Sean Burroughs: Pretty much the only reason I reached back to 2005 was so I could include Burroughs. The Bachelor sucked with the Devil Rays and then sucked with the Mariners before becoming a permanent free agent in 2007. He's a career .280 hitter and had that one hit in the bottom of the 10th to end Petco's first game, so he's got that going for him. He also has a Facebook fan page with a picture of him where he has at least 3 chins. I hope one day some bored San Diego writer decides to do research on where he is now, like they did with Ryan Leaf. I'd read that.
Robert Fick: Robert Fick and his face full of freckles played with the Nationals after we released him and now plays for the Phil Nevin-managed Orange County Flyers. All I remember about him is that he was a decent bench player and a total goofball according to Mark Grant, who mentioned it every time he went to bat.

**UPDATE** more names

Pedro Astacio: This guy had like the biggest...backside that I had ever seen on a major league pitcher, and I would feel weird saying that but Mark Grant said it once on air too so it's okay. We released him in 2005 so he went and signed with the Nationals, putting up a 5.98 ERA in 17 starts. He became a free agent in 2007 and hasn't pitched since, but he's apparently an amateur Jai Alai player who's trying to get Pakistani citizenship so he can play there. I couldn't find anything else about this, so Wikipedia better not be lying to me this time.
Chris Hammond: The Padres were the second to last team Hammond played for, as he left us for the Reds in 2006. He put up a 6.91 so he pretty much retired after that. Overall he had a pretty good, long career as a starting pitcher/reliever over 16 season. Or at least good compared to some of the other names on this list. I still have fond memories of Mark Grant orgasming over his 58 MPH changeup.
Darrell May: We traded Terrence Long and Dennis Tankersley for him so I guess our standards were pretty low. He did beat Johan Santana on that one Sunday game in Minnesota, but that wasn't enough for KT cause he traded him and Tim Redding to the Yankees for Paul Quantrill. In New York he had a 16.71 ERA in 7 innings, so he pretty much sucked. Once they let him go he did sign on with the Twins and Reds, but didn't pitch in the bigs for either of them, and hasn't pitched since. Here's him on his wedding day in 2008. Or at least someone else named Darrell May who looks an awful lot like him.
Miguel Ojeda: You probably remember that he went and played with the Rockies in 2006, but might not have known that he was traded to the Rangers during the season. He signed with them again for 2007 but was demoted on April 1 to AAA and designated for assignment a month later. He appears to be playing for Venados Mazatlan (or Mazatlan Venados?) along with Walter Silva, Ruben Rivera, and Esteban Loaiza. He has a son named Leonardo.
Adam Hyzdu: When this guy came over from Boston with his long hair and devil-may-care attitude, I kind of saw him as someone who represented the "craziness" of the Red Sox clubhouse, which I admired at the time. Now I kinda hate it and subsequently dislike him. I guess he went back to Boston in 2006 and then signed on with the Rangers after getting released. In 2007 he played for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, but didn't sign a contract so now he's a free agent who'll probably never play again.
Tim Redding: As a lot of you probably know, Redding actually had some pretty good seasons in 2007 and 2008 for the Nationals, enough to get a nice contract from the Mets. He's still with the Mets now, pitching well in his last couple of starts. I'm not sure if they'll keep him around next season when they get Santana back, but he could sign with someone else. This is good news for him since he looked really bad as a Padre.
Paul Quantrill: 2005 was actually his last year in the majors, as he finished the year with the Marlins. He played for Canada in the WBC in 2006, and announced that he was retiring. He's now a coach on the Canada WBC team, meaning he'll only coach once every 4 years.
Adam Eaton: It was no secret that he struggled big time in Texas in only 65 innings yet still earned a contract from Philadelphia. Well he struggled there too in 2007 and 2008 but managed to get a ring out if it anyway (which he got booed for when he went to pick it up). He's since played (terribly) for Baltimore and Colorado in 2009, mostly in relief (just 8 starts). He was designated for assignment on Sept 9th and is now playing for the AAA Sky Sox in Colorado Springs. This picture makes me feel sad. And this one makes me laugh.
Akinori Otsuka: The man that truly pioneered Corky's commercials, and the other half of the Chris Young-Adrian Gonzalez trade never could forgive the Padres for trading him to the Rangers. He did very well for Texas in 2006 and 2007 (2.11 and 2.51 ERAs) despite having nagging injuries. After he became a free agent in 2007 he underwent elbow surgery in 2008, and is now a free agent who hopes to sign on with someone. He's 37 years old but he's had some good years, so we might see someone take a chance on him. I for one woud love to see him with the Padres again, but that probably won't happen.
Joe Randa: The Joker left the Padres for Pittsburgh in 2006, and ruined Chris Young's no-hitter ("get that Mike!!") that year. After 2006 though he retired, and is now a host on some radio show in Kansas City (Sports Radio 810). He doesn't appear to be on the "Personalities" page on their website, so either he got fired or Wiki lied yet again.

So there you have it, ~~3.1~~ 4 years worth of former Padres in one long list. I realize most of you will skim it but whatever. It was kinda fun thinking back to 07 and 06 when we were contending and stuff.

Poll

Was this a waste of time?

Yes

36 votes

No

109 votes

145 votes | Poll has closed

San Diego Padres - Lookin' Good

2009-09-22T21:53:17Z

Woohoo! Lovin' my Pads these days! After taking three out of four games against the Pirates to win their fourth consecutive series, the Padres are headed to Colorado to hopefully continue their role as spoiler in the NL West. What a difference from last season, when the Padres were hard-pressed to come back in a game, any time they were down by two or more runs. This season, how many times have they been down by four, five, even six runs, and they fight back to win a game. I love it!

I am so proud of this 2009 San Diego team. They started off strong at the beginning of the season, in spite of having several inexperienced youngsters on the team They hit a long rough patch when they were suddenly inundated with injuries prior to the All-Star break, losing some key veteran players, and suddenly the San Diego Padres were more like the "San Diego Rookies." But man, have these young players stepped up! I mean, obviously they are going to be eager to prove themselves, and I think they have done just that. Cabrera, Venable, Headly, Blanks, Gwynn - they have been impressive. And of course our remaining veterans have done no less - Gonzalez, Eckstein, Kouzmanoff. Is Brian Giles still on the team? JK, but seriously, we probably don't even need him now, so I'm wondering what will happen for him next season.

I am very excited about next season. These Padres have shown a tremendous amount of heart as a team, especially during the second half. And finally we seem to have a solid starting rotation of pitchers and a strong bullpen. And our late relievers? Adams, Gregerson, Thatcher (coming around this season), and closer Heath Bell? Pitchers that I think other teams are not looking forward to facing these days. So awesome. If they can keep this group of players together, I think this could be at least, a division-winning ball club in another season or two. go Pads!

Meet up for Padres Fans 9/24

2009-09-22T18:44:16Z

Hello my fellow #Padres fans! I'm starting this post for the end of the season Meet up!
YES Another one!

We still have some awesome hats to give away. A group of Padres fans are going to meet up and watch the game on the 9/24. I know it's an earlier start, so some people will have to come late, but I think it's worth seeing how many people we can get together. Everyone is invited

Plan is to meet at the Bullpen:
8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San diego, CA 92111
(858) 503-6786
www.bullpenbar.com

Date: 9/24
v. Rockies 5:40 start time.

Open Game Thread: Padres @ Pittsburgh 09/21

2009-09-21T23:30:53Z

I'm not too surprised that neither Dex or Mr. box (or, for that matter, Kev) put up a game thread. I figured that at least 'tec would have put up one of his "blah blah blah" pieces or perhaps jodes would have created a coherent one. Oh, well, I guess ol' TTG has to do everything for you people...

It's the top of the second; Adrian hit a two run blast and Garrett Jones responded in the bottom of the first with a solo shot, his twentieth of the year.

Open Thread?: 09/19/09 Padres vs. Pirates

2009-09-19T18:00:44Z

So I had to take a test this morning and I was all excited to come back and hop into the open thread but, alas, there is none.

Clayton Richard is pitching, which seems to be a good thing. But we are playing a team who is last in its division, so of course that's a bad thing. Seems like a good balance.

Luis Durango is out again and Drew Macias is in. What is up with that?

It's already the top of the sixth. I suppose we should get this started.