Padres in 2014

I'm rewatching #BloggersTakeOver this morning to prep myself for the flash flood that will be tonight's season opener. A season opener which I will not be attending. BUT as Dex says Tony Gwynn once told him, real fans show up for the second game. It's confusing this year because we have both Opening Night and Opening Day. So technically Opening Day is the second game of the season, although it still includes special Opening Day festivities so does it count? Is the third game of the year, then, the Tony Gwynn Opener? Whatever the case, I'd been planning on being at the April 1st game since the 2014 season schedule was released, before the first day of the season was moved to March 30th, and I will be there on Tuesday as planned.

TODAY THOUGH. The day has finally come for our Padres to take the field at our beloved Petco Park to start their journey to a 2014 World Championship title. One-hundred and eighty-two days ago, the lights turned off on the last day of the 2013 season and we were left to wait all Winter and Spring for another chance for our boys to make their mark on San Diego sports history. The road to the playoffs all starts today when our team faces our Southern California rivals, and the team picked by many to take the division this year, the Dodgers.

[in Dex voice] AS ANDREW CASHNER ONCE TOLD ME, "Aim small, miss small." For those unfamiliar with the quote made famous by The Patriot, but used commonly by hunters, the meaning behind it is that if you aim your weapon at something large (like a person or animal) and you miss, then you miss that thing entirely. But if you aim at something smaller (like a button on the person's coat or a spot on the animal's fur) and you miss, you may still hit the larger target. I think "Aim small, miss small" should be our motto this year. Players always say in interviews that they like to focus on one game at a time, so we fans need to keep that in mind too. Aim at winning games or series or homestands or road trips. If our Padres miss, the season is still in play.

ANYWAY. I'm glad we've made it through another offseason. I'm glad I have you Gaslamp Ballers to help keep me (semi-)sane through the Winter and then be here to get excited with me through Spring Training. I hope to see some of you familiar faces, and meet some new ones, at the ballpark this season.

I hope you all keep up with the game threads this year and all you lurkers (I SEE YOU) feel comfortable enough to join in some time. I'm looking forward to our Padres and Gaslamp Ball having a lot of fun this season and celebrating lots of good times while comforting each other through minimal bad times.

KEEP THE FAITH!! PADRES IN 2014!!