Spring Training is almost here! All 34 Padres pitchers and their six catchers are reporting to Peoria this Saturday, on Valentine’s Day. How sweet. Anyway, as I look ahead to Spring Training 2009, I can’t help but look back at my first Spring Training in 2008.

I was an upset, slightly recovering young Padres fan, SO ready for baseball. The offseason had been long and hard for me, dealing with the reeling blow of Game 163. But finally, finally, Padres baseball was back, and boy was I starving for it. The first game that was on the radio, I locked myself in my room and listened to the entire thing. It was a noon game. It was so great to hear the voices of Ted Leitner, Jerry Coleman, and Andy Masur, to hear them calling some Padres baseball. I remember “noticing” that the pitchers were not quite to mid-season form yet. It was a high-scoring game. But newcomer Jody Gerut had a few hits, as well as Jim Edmonds (ugh). We lost the game like 8-6.

Now, as most of you know, I was really obsessed with the Padres back then. It was bad. I think I listened to like every Spring Training game that month. I would cram all my schoolwork into the morning and then lock myself in my room for the whole game. I don’t think I will be doing that this year. You know, it will be great to hear Padres baseball again, but I don’t need to be listening to every second of the pre-season games.

Anyway, while I was locked in my room listening to baseball, I would knit. It’s great to sit there and listen to the radio, but sometimes you kind of need something to do with your hands. And no, knitting is not just for old women. It’s actually quite hip for teenagers. So, I found this pattern that was relatively simple, and I made this blanket:

What I did was knitted about 45-50 squares and sewed them all together. It kept me busy all month during the games last year.

I think it should be a tradition for me for a while to knit something during Spring Training. I would love to make another one of these blankets, but I don’t know what I would do with it! Plus, the fuzzy yarn is kind of expensive, and that blanket took a lot of yarn! I’m thinking about making pillow covers this year, in that same fuzzy stuff 🙂

In other Padres news, we traded our number one draft pick from 2004, Matt Bush, to the Toronto Blue Jays for a player to be named later or cash considerations. I hope we get a good player for him. Good riddance. Bush was a troublemaker, plus he couldn’t succeed as a baseball player. He’s got a great arm, there’s no doubt about that. But he’s abusing his talent. It’s pretty sad, actually. But hopefully the cold air in Toronto will cool him down a bit.

Also, Jake Peavy gave an interview for the first time this offseason. I wasn’t able to listen to it yet, but the article on padres.com was very good. He’s going to be with the Padres for at least a part of this season. It’s great news!

One more note: The Padres’ beat writer, Corey Brock, has re-started his blog. This guy is a great writer, and his entries are very entertaining. Plus, I want his job someday 🙂 Check it out: Who’s your Padre?

GO PADRES!!!

(photo credit: ME!!)