San Diego Padres

Of course we all know by now that Barmes' unbelievable catch was just that. More of an acting job than catching. To his credit, he did make an outstanding defensive play, getting two outs off the pop-up by Cardinals outfielder Ryan Ludwick, that would have otherwise tied the game.  Seeing this catch brought back bad memories from two years ago, when the Rockies beat the Padres in a tie-breaker game for a play-off spot, because of a bad call at home plate.  Did Holliday really touch home plate or not?  I think not, after they showed the play over and over again.  Those dang Rockies are always gettin' lucky.  I'm real close to rooting for the Dodgers in this last series coming up between them and the Rockies.  The bad call at home plate from two years ago just stings too much still.  So what do you think?  Should the MLB use instant-replay challenges like they do in the NFL? At least during post-season games? Hmmm.

Continue reading "Barmes' Unbelievable Catch - Was It Real?"

ndated 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.

Continue reading "San Diego Padres - Lookin' Good!"

Woohoo! Taking the series against the Dodgers, taking the series against the Giants - the Padres are playing their role of spoiler very well. And now it's up to Heath Bell to save the Padres lead tonight of 1-0 over the Rockies. Nice solid start tonight by Edward Mujica. What do you think? Will we see Mujica in the starting rotation next season? He's done well as a long reliever, but I think he could definitely make the transformation to starter. 

Continue reading "San Diego Padres vs. Colorado Rockies"

Well the Giants hit the Pads hard today, taking the series opener by a score of 9-4.  No doubt the Giants really wanted to win today, not just to keep pace with the second place Colorado Rockies, but maybe to soothe the sting of yesterday's loss to the Milwaukee Brewers in the 12th inning, on a Prince Fielder home run.  Whatever the prevailing reason, their offensive performance was hot today, and they certainly seemed to have Padres pitcher, Clayton Richard's number.  Maybe because it was one of those pesky day games.  Richard's ERA for day games is sitting around 7.59, while his ERA for night games is only 3.99.  Overall though, Richard has already proven himself to be an asset to the Padres club.  Jake who?

Continue reading "Tough Series Opener For The San Diego ..."

It's a great day when the Padres beat the Dodgers.  That's something I always enjoy seeing!  What about Tim Stauffer tonight - allowing only one earned run on 7 hits?  It was a notable evening for the Padre offense tonight as well, with Gonzalez hitting his 35th homerun and Kouzmanoff driving in 3 runs for his 81st - 83rd RBIs.

Continue reading "Great Series Finale Tonight Between ..."

The National League West is not a division too many people are getting overly excited about entering the 2009 season. The return of Manny Ramirez to Los Angeles has made the Dodgers the division’s lone true contender for the World Series. Arizona will go as far as its pitching takes it, which could be far, but other than that, there’s not a whole lot to pontificate upon. Yet, somehow, I still managed to write 1,383 words.

Continue reading "The Sports Don's 2009 NL West Preview"

With the MLB playoffs set to begin, there is a subtle difference in the air compared to start of any other postseason. In the NHL, fans can potentially look forward to a great Canadians/Bruins series that is not only exciting, but has a historical kick to it. Likewise basketball fans always have the chance to see if the Suns can finally get past the Spurs and football fans love seeing the rivalry of the Eagles Vs the City of Philadelphia when the Eagles so much as get tackled for a loss.

Continue reading "The Ups and Downs of the MLB Playoffs"

Been a while since I posted, in part because I was out of town last week at a trade show in San Diego. Not a bad place to go for a working vacation, and a week ago we got to take in a game between the Padres and the D-backs. My dad's a rabid D-backs fan, beside which my fandom (or fanhood, as the ESPN ads call it) seems rather small. He brought his own logo-coordinated Arizona hat and shirt, having overcome his anger at their change in colors and logo, which seemed to him (correctly) to be an effort to boost merchandising sales.

Continue reading "A Night at PETCO"

The Boston Red Sox placed a wavier claim on San Diego’s right fielder Brian Giles, and are in the process of acquiring the 14-year veteran for the Padres. Giles who is 37, is hitting.296 with a .391 on-base percentage this season.

Continue reading "Red Sox Not Done Yet?"

It’s the annual midpoint of the baseball season, and for the brief span that is the All-Star break, all eyes are upon the Bronx. As everyone is well aware of, this campaign is the last go around for the world’s most famous, largest, and most prominent ballpark, Yankee Stadium. It seems hard to believe, and even more sacrilegious that this living legend’s days are numbered. Built in 1923 and christened by the greatest ballplayer to ever live, Babe Ruth, the cathedral of baseball will never truly be replaced. Although the Bombers will move a block to Yankee Stadium’s heir, the Mecca of America’s Pastime will still live on in our hearts. Whether you’re a diehard Yankee fan, or Yankee-hater, you still can respect the history and awe that the stadium brings. So when the All-Stars take the field Tuesday night, sit back on your couch, crack open a cold one and soak up the history of Yankee Stadium, as its final chapter is unveiled to all of us.

Continue reading "National League Looks to End Rut"

One of the All-Star Break traditions: Reassessing our predictions from the first half of the season. Some of mine have changed, some have stayed the same—and some were just damn wrong. Living in the West, I will take the contrarian position and roll from west to east in my choices.

Continue reading "Second Half Predictions"

All right. Are you ready for this? As the All-Star break approaches, the Tampa Bay Rays have the best record in baseball. That’s right. At 49-32, they’re a half-game ahead of Boston, the Cubs, and Anaheim. Whoa. Is this one of the signs of the apocalypse?

Continue reading "Hold On To Your Hats"

will likely have to rely more heavily on Kemp, Loney and Laroche then they might otherwise like.

San Diego Padres

Will Kevin Kouzmanoff preform at his pre or post All Star levels?

Kouzmanoff was added last year in a trade with the Cleveland Indians in hopes of providing some badly needed offense. Coming over as one of the more highly touted offensive prospects in the game, the thirdbaseman put up respectable numbers as a rookie hitting .275 with 74 RBI and 18 home runs in the cavernous Petco Park. Prior to the All-Star break, Kouzmanoff was hitting only .228 and was in danger of losing his job. He finally settled in and hit .317 along with 11 of his 18 home runs after the break.

Continue reading "MLB 2008 Preview Part One: National League West"

The San Diego Padres will remember last year as the season that got away.  They were one out away from winning the Wild Card when Tony Gwynn Jr. of the Brewers tripled off Trevor Hoffman.  The Padres went on to have a 2-run lead in extras against the Rockies in that wonderful play-in game before Hoffman again blew the lead.  This team should again contend for a playoff spot though.  They have a suspect line-up, which is led by Adrian Gonzalez.  They brought in Jim Edmonds to help in the middle of the order but they don’t scare many people.  Khalil Greene, Scott Hairston and Brian Giles just aren’t going to cut it.  The rotation is solid up front with CY Young winner Jake Peavy and Chris Young but after that I am not so sure.  Greg Maddux is not getting any younger or any better, Randy Wolf never became the pitcher people thought he would turn into and Mark Prior has question after question as their 5 starter.  Can he stay healthy and if so can he even come close to regaining the form he had back in 2003.  I don’t think this bullpen is very strong either.  Trevor Hoffman gets older and older and he continues to blow the biggest saves.  Everything will have to go this teams way if they are going to stay in this tightly contested division race.

Continue reading "Part III: NL West"