Results tagged ‘ jake peavy ’
All Tied Up
- 2-2 tie
Shoot, I just lost my whole entry. Oh well. Here I go again…
Well, the Padres played pretty well today. Starting pitcher Kevin Correia went the first two innings and gave up one home run. Heath Bell had a good inning, much better thatn Thursday’s. Hopefully he has found his groove. Meredith, Worrell, Britton, and Patterson each had a good inning. But in the 8th, Oneli Perez ran into Ross Gload, or rather Gload ran into one of Perez’s pitches. That tied up the game after the Padres had had a 2-1 lead for a while.
On the offensive side, the Padres did pretty well. Adrian Gonzalez drove in a run with a double. The next batter, Cliff Floyd, went first pitch (again) and drove Adrian in. Will Venable, Chad Huffman, and Jody Gerut also had a hit each. We also walked seven times.
Today Andy Masur and Ted Leitner were not on the broadcast (probably because of basketball duties), but new TV play-by-play guy Mark Neely joined Jerry Coleman to call the game. It was very interesting to hear Neely doing the play-by-play on the radio when he will usually be doing it on TV. Obvioulsy, TV and radio are very different animals, but I though Neely handed the radio very well. For his first time working with Jerry and calling Padres baseball, that is. I was impressed. He kept us up to date on the score, inning, batter, etc. It was very interesting, and it will be cool to see him working with the other Mark (Grant) this year on Channel 4.
But one thing that I am wondering about is why they are using a commercial that features calls by former Padres play-by-play guy Matt Vasgersian. Isn’t that kind of rude to Neely? Well, Mattie has been here for a long time, so maybe those were the only clips they had. But they should have used clips from the radio! Oh well. I’m sure Neely doesn’t really mind.
Tomorrow, we are playing the Cubs back in Peoria. I could hear a lot more Padres fans in the stands today, but I know there will be a ton tomorrow. Jake Peavy will pitch the first two innings, and then head out to Florida to start training for the WBC. We will miss you, Jake, but make us proud as you represent the USA. Wade LeBlanc will pitch the next two innings. GO PADRES!!
Spring News
There it is: Jake Peavy’s new tattoo! It’s a tribute to his American Indian heritage; he has Creek and Cherokee blood. The tattoo is a phrase, “Hoka Hey”, which means “live life to the fullest”, as well as feathers. Very interesting…
Greg Maddux was in the Padres’ camp for the first time as an instructor yesterday. It’s so funny, beacause he really looks like he belongs there. It hardly seems like he went to the Dodgers at all! I am so glad he is back with the Padres. It was really sad last year when he wasn’t able to get his 351st win for months and months. That was terrible! Then we finally shed him, and he went to a winning team. But he had a great time here in San Diego, and the guys definitely benefitted from him. It is so great that they can get that teaching again from the “professor”.
Today is the Padres’ first official team workout. So exciting! We signed outfielder Emil Brown a few days ago. That is very strange, but I think they know what they are doing. Edgar Gonzalez might not be playing in the World Baseball Classic. Scott Hairston will be playing in the WBC for the Mexico team. To look at him, you would not think he was Mexican! He’s not, but his mom was, so…
Baseball is almost here! I can’t wait…it’s been way too long 
Don’t forget to keep supporting Jack Box…Hang in there Jack
GO PADRES!!
(photo credits: the Union Tribune, padres.com)
#29
Sorry this is kind of late, but I was gone all weekend, and I totally missed the Latest Leaders. But this time I got #29, which is much better than the last time, so I am thankful. In the tradition started by Jimmy, I will dedicate this ranking to #29, first baseman Fred McGriff.
Known as the “Crime Dog”, McGriff was drafted by the Yankees in 1981 draft. He was traded to the Blue Jays in 1982, and got to the majors in 1987. In 1990, he was traded to the Padres for Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter. He led the National League in home runs in 1992, but was traded to the Braves in 1993. He went on the play with the Devil Rays, the Cubs, the Dodgers, and the Rays again. He finally retired in 2005.
He had five All-Star game apperances, including being the MVP of the 1994 All-Star game. He won one World Series and three Silver Slugger awards. He ended his career with a batting average of .284, 493 home runs, and 1,550 runs batted in.
He is currently hosting a radio program in Tampa. He is also an assistant baseball coach for a high school in Tampa.
Big thanks to Rays Renagade for recommending this player to me!
In Padres news, Jake Peavy has a new tattoo! It’s a tribute to his Native American heritage. Wow.
There are these really cool videos from Spring Training that are being posted on the Padres’ website. They are part interviews, part footage of players working out. I love being able to see how the players are doing, and just to see the players! In the latest video, they showed my boy Kouz taking some grounders. It was so cool to see him again! Hopefully his shoulder and back will be OK this year.
In other randomness, have you guys heard about Jack Box? Yes, the founder of Jack-in-the-Box. Well, at the beginning of the month, he got hit by a bus! He suffered a massive head trauma, which is not to say that his massive head had a trauma, but his head had a massive trauma! So for all you Jack-in-the-Box fans, you gotta go support Jack and his family in this tough time. Join the Facebook page, or send a get well card, or sign up for updates, or just watch poor Jack on the webcam. But be sure to watch all the footage from all the events that have transpired since the accident. They are hilarious, er, ahem, so sad! Support Mr. Box!!
http://www.hangintherejack.com/
GO PADRES!!
(photo credit: wikipedia.com)
Spring Training Memories
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!!)
Don’t Trade Jake!!!
Uh oh. Here come more problems for the Padres fan. With the imminent sale of the Cubs, the trade talks for Jake Peavy are heating up again.
The talks during the fall were pretty stressing. First we negotiated with the Braves for a long time. It didn’t go through, though Atlanta was able to put together a fairly good package. Then we started talking with the Cubs. The talks intensified during the winter meetings to the point that it looked absolutely certain that he would be traded by the end of that week. But on the last day, the Cubs backed out.
Things were pretty quiet after that. The club said that they would no longer be shopping Jake, but they said that teams could approach them. So, I think Padres fans have kind of assumed that Jake will be the Opening Day starter. Well, at least I hoped that. But now, with less than three weeks until Spring Training, the talks are starting to pick up again.
Now, I believe we are over our $40 million budget right now. I mean, it’s not easy to built a team on that little. But if we trade Jake, we would shed $11 million. It almost looks like we have no choice but to get rid of him. But we really shouldn’t. Two words: the fans.
We’ve already lost two of our stars, our fan faves in Trevor Hoffman and Khalil Greene. Petco Park has these huge posters of our star players around the outside of the park. We’re already going to have to replace two of them.
We do not want to have replace three of them. I don’t know who they will replace them with though. We already have an Adrian Gonzalez one somewhere. I think they should put up a Kouz one, and maybe Chris Young. Anyways, as Jen would say, I digress.
Point is, as soon as the Cubs get officially sold, the talks with the Padres will probably pick up big-time. Sounds like the Cubs already have a lot of pieces lined up. This deal could very well get done in the next few weeks. Now that would be plain sad. We need our ace. We NEED him. It would not be fair to him or his family to move him right before Spring Training starts. I just want him to stay. I don’t care if he takes up a lot of our salary. He’s the guy now. The Padres’ biggest star, and the one who will draw the most fans. That’s bad for the front office, though, because Jake only pitches every five days. Oh well. The Padres need this guy, on the field, in the clubhouse, and in the community. We’ve lost a lot this offseason. Stop it, Padres. Keep Jake. Keep your fans coming to the stadium. If you trade Jake, you’re going to be hard-pressed to get a good crowd this year. For the sake of your fans and your players, don’t trade Jake.
Looking Ahead to the 2009 Padres
Welcome to 2009! I think this will be a great year in MLB. It will just be great to have baseball back! And I’m sure Spring Training will be here before we know it! I am very excited.
So, last night the MLB Network launched. It’s really exciting for the world of baseball fans. But not so much for me, because I don’t have cable, and as a result I don’t get to watch ANY baseball on TV, not to mention the MLB Network. So, am I less of a fan because I can’t watch baseball 24/7….just kidding. If I did have it, I would be glued to the TV 24/7 and my family and friends would hate me. It would also wear severely on my education, and I don’t think my parents would let me do that. Oh well.
But anyways, 2009 is here. The Padres this year are going to look a lot different than the team last year. I would like to look at some of the players who were on the team last year, and how different it will be this year.
BUD BLACK, MANAGER
Last year, the second year manager was going into the season after a 89-74 record the year before. His team had been one game away from the playoffs. But last year, something went horribly wrong. He was put in charge of a team that lost 99 games. I really do not think it was his fault. He has the ability to coach a team far into the postseason, if he has the right pieces. He doesn’t have enough pieces here, though. In 2009, he’s going to have to lead a team made up of mostly rookies. Let’s see what he can do with them.
JOSH BARD AND MICHAEL BARRETT, CATCHERS
Josh Bard went into 2008 with a fairly good season under his belt. He was at one point in 2007 our best player with runners in scoring position. But 2008 was not so great for Bardo. He was riddled with injuries for the majority of the season. He did have a few good games, but he was not that great in 2008. Michael Barrett was not our guy. In 2007 and 2008, he was plagued with injuries, and in the time he did play, he was bad. He was very frustrating to the fans. He just never turned on. Josh Bard is going to the Red Sox for 2009. That will be very interesting, but very exciting for me. I love the Red Sox and I love Bardo, so it works out. I don’t know where Barrett will end up. Maybe he can go somewhere and have a good season. We’ll see.
CHRIS YOUNG, STARTING PITCHER
Last year, CY came into Spring Training after a frustrating oblique strain in 2007. He was able to regain his old form for part of the season, but was never the same after he got hit in the face with a batted ball. He was able to salvage a bit of the season though. Going into 2009, he will be the #2 starter behind Jake Peavy. Hopefully he will be able to stay injury-free this season. This guy is a good pitcher, and he’s a solid part of our rotation. If he can stay healthy, he will be a positive part of this rotation.
JAKE PEAVY, STARTING PITCHER
Jake went into the 2008 season with the NL CY Young award and a new contract extension. Things did not go very well for Jake, though. He was out with an injury, and his offense couldn’t score runs for him. He did do a fairly good job, considering, but he finished the season with a 10-11 record. You know that Jake was not happy about that. After enduring trade talks for the past few months, hopefully he is here to stay for the 2009 season. Believe me, we need this guy in our rotation. He brings so much to the team, and it would be a huge blow to give him away. Hopefully he can return to his form of 2007.
ADRIAN GONZALEZ, FIRST BASEMAN
Adrian was really good in 2007. He was amazing in 2008. He was such a positive on this horrible team, it was incredible to see. Adrian’s all about teamwork, the team effort, but he had a wonderful season induvidually. 36 home runs, 119 RBIs, and he won a Gold Glove. I don’t think he had a game off during the season. He doesn’t complain, he just goes out there every day and plays baseball. He’s very humble, and he does a lot of charity work. It’s pretty amazing. This year, he will be the first baseman. He’s almost becoming a veteran on this team of young guys!
SCOTT HAIRSTON, OUTFIELDER
Last year, Scotty was fighting for a spot in the outfield. This year, he will be doing the same thing. He will probably be on the bench (again), but he’s not a bench player. He does a lot better when he can play every day. Unforunately, our outfield situation is pretty much locked up with Chase Headley, Jody Gerut, and Brian Giles. But we’ll see. Hopefully Scotty can find a spot on this team. He really is a great player; he’s hit 4 or 5 walk-offs for us in the last two years. Plus he can play a wonderful center and left. He filled in very nicely when Jody Gerut needed a day or two last year.
EDGAR GONZALEZ, INFIELDER
Last offseason, Edgar was signed to a minor league deal with the Padres. This was pretty exciting because 1) He has grown up watching the Padres, and 2) he would be joining his younger brother Adrian. Edgar didn’t make the Opening Day roster, because Tadahito Iguchi had his position of second, but when Iguchi went down with an injury, Edgar was called up. He made his major league debut after 8 years in the minors. How incredible is that? And doing it on his younger brother’s team no less! He was really good with us, too. This year, he looks to be the starting second baseman.
TREVOR HOFFMAN, CLOSER
Last year, Trevor was coming off a heartbreaking blown save. He did get a little cleanup surgery for his elbow in the offseason, and he was as good as new going into 2008. He wasn’t the best record-wise, but he was so sharp mechanics-wise. In fact, his stuff was the best it’s been in years. But the Trevor-bashers were out in hordes. A blown save, and they screamed to kick him off the team. It was pretty sad. Trevor finished pretty well. He had 30 saves. He is the best closer of our time, with 554 saves in his career. It’s pretty amazing. After bad negotiations with the Padres, he is now a free agent. Maybe the Padres will still be able to get him back. We’ll see. The fans would really like him back!!
HEATH BELL, PITCHER
Last year, he was just getting ready for his role as set-up man to Trevor Hoffman. This year, he might have to replace Trevor Hoffman. How do you replace a guy like Trevor Hoffman? Heath has 1 career save; Trevor has 554. Heath has the closer’s mentality. He’s said that he would be willing to replace Trevor someday…but only if Trevor handed off the role to him. I’m sure Heath would be content with staying in the set-up role if Trevor was able to come back. But right now, it looks like Heath will be the closer for this team. That’s pretty sad. I mean, it’s great for Heath, but the Padres have had 1 closer for 15 years. We want that closer back.
Many other players have taken different directions, are doing different things. This team will be very different. But general manager Kevin Towers has said that the majority of our signings will be late January to early February. We could still have a great team. And I think it will be a pretty good year of Padres baseball.
Wanted: A New Owner
Not much happening baseball-wise around here. Of course, the news about the team being sold is making quite a stir. I believe Jane over at Confessions of a She-Fan is starting a collection for anyone who wants to contribute to buying them, but I’m not sure if we will be able to gather up $300+ million. I’m just hoping that we will sell the team, and that we will get a new owner who will bring a different philosophy and a different way of doing things. We need change. We need someone who can built a team but make it appealing to the fans as well. I mean, there are some great guys on the Padres team right now. Jody Gerut is a really good player, and he was so much fun to watch last year. There are all these exciting young guys who are fresh from the minors. They are great, exciting players, but the average fan won’t come out to watch rookies. He (or she) comes out to watch stars like Jake Peavy, Manny, A-Rod, you know, the big names. Obviously, the Padres are not going to get a star as big as A-Rod, because we don’t have enough money. But we need players that the fans would have heard of somewhere. An Omar Vizquel might be known. Having Greg Maddux here was great, because he’s pretty much a legend, but we had him for a fairly low price. We have about $20 million available for the rest of our roster. It is pretty scary. Jake Peavy (if he stays) and Brian Giles take up half our payroll. It’s sad. We still need a shortstop, a veteran catcher, possibly a closer (Trevor…), and more bullpen help. Oh, and more starting pitching. Can we get all we need for $20 mil???? We’ll just have to see.
Well, it rained hard all day yesterday. It was a really good rain. Today is kind of cloudy, but I think the rain is over. It was great. Christmas is in a week…
News on a Tuesday
So, there is some interesting stuff going on around San Diego. First off, it appears that owner John Moores will try to sell the club. Moores had been a good owner. He was instrumental in getting Petco Park built. But it is time for him to go. So, we will have to see who wants to buy a club who just lost 99 games and whose payroll is ridiculously low. But a new owner would bring new hope to Padres fans, so I really hope it works out.
In other exciting-ish news, CEO Sandy Alderson said that they are no longer approaching clubs about trading Jake Peavy. This is good news, but it doesn’t mean that Jake won’t get traded. Teams could still approach the Padres and try to make a deal. It is still very likely that he will get traded. The Padres will need to make an official announcement that they will not trade Jake before I relax. It would just be so amazing to have Jake here, pitching on Opening Day against the Dodgers. Sigh. I really hope he stays, for all our sakes.
Well, it was raining hard all day yesterday here in San Diego, so naturally we were stuck inside. My friend had recorded the Padres’ last game of the season, and I hadn’t finished watching it yet. It was a really pathetic game against the Pirates, a 6-1 loss. We left 11 runners on!!! It was pretty sad, but it was cool to see all my players again, watch Kouz make incredible plays, just watch some baseball. Boy do I miss it! Well, the Padres’ first Spring Training game is February 25. I can’t wait!
Padres, Rain, and Christmas
There is not much going on in baseball right now. Well, the Yankees signed A.J. Burnett, I guess that’s big news. The Padres non-tendered Clay Hensley and Charlie Haegar recently. Now, Haegar I can understand. He is a knuckleballer, and not too good at it. He lost at least 3 games for us, I’d say. It was kind of sick. But Clay Hensley is a bit of a head-scratcher. Clay is a fairly good pitcher, and he’s been with the Padres for quite a while. But he has been riddled with injuries for the past few years. It’s kind of sad, because he is a great guy, but obviously the Padres don’t have him in their plans.
Speaking of plans, let’s take a look at the Padres rotation for 2009. We will (hopefully) have Jake Peavy, Chris Young, and Cha Sueng Baek. From what I’ve heard, the other two spots will be filled by young guys who pitched with us in ’08, like Josh Geer. I am guessing that the other spot will be filled by a young pitcher. We’ll probably get to look at a lot of guys in Spring Training. Wade LeBlanc and Chad Reinike might get some looks, but it’s very likely that we will get another starter sometime this offseason.
The weather is so beautiful here in San Diego. It is raining like crazy, and it’s supposed to rain all day. I absolutely love the rain. It’s like amazing.
Well, it’s certainly starting to feel like Christmas, even in San Diego. I have three Christmas parties this week…
Kaity
Looking Forward to the Weekend…
Tomorrow = two words: pitchers and catchers. WHOOOHOOOO!!! We are finally back to baseball! Sure, they are basically just running and streching, but they are running and streching in preparation for baseball. It is so exciting! How many long, hard months have we been waiting for this? Too many. Way too many.
It’s going to be a tough season for me and all Padres fans. I just read a preview for the Padres and 2009 looks very bleak. It was a depressing article, actually. It seems very likely that Jake Peavy will not end the season with us. We’re not going to win that many games with the team we are planning to put on the field. And I mean, VERY depressing article. But I need to have hope that this team will play above expectations. I mean, who thought the Rockies or the Rays would get to where they went? We can win. I know that. I am dying for my team to prove that they are better than what people expect them to be. I am a Padres fan, and proud of it. We may lose a lot of games this year, we might lose our All-Star, CY Young winner and ace Jake Peavy, but I will stand by my team and I will support them through the good, the bad, and the ugly. It just won’t be easy.
But now, here is the most shocking news of all. You all know that I am super excited about tomorrow, and that the Padres’ 2009 season is finally getting started. But…I am not going to be here! *gasp*! No, I will not be in San Diego, and no, I will not be in Arizona (that would be amazing!!), but I will be up in the mountains with a group from my church. We will be serving a group of about 700 teenagers in a camp up there. We serve them all their meals, but we get some time to ourselves to have Bible studies and stuff too. It’s going to be a lot of fun, and I am really looking forward to it. There is two feet of snow up there right now from the storm last weekend, and there’s another storm coming in today. It is going to be very cold. I’m really hoping that we’ll be able to get up there before it starts snowing. It would be a big hassle to try to drive through the snow and everything. I have never been in falling snow in my life, but I have a pretty good feeling that I will be this weekend. It’s going to be very cold, but I am very thankful that we have heated cabins with bathrooms on the inside. It’s going to be an adventure, that’s for sure. So, if any of you think of it, we would really appreciate prayer as we minister to a lot of hurting teenagers, and also safety on the road with the inclement weather.
We’re leaving this afternoon, and we’ll be back on Monday afternoon. Also, if there’s any big news in the baseball world, feel free to leave me a comment so I can catch up on everything when I get back. Of course, you can also just leave a comment saying how much you miss me
I’m really going to miss blogging and reading all of your blogs! Hey, you could also post links to entries you write so I can definitely read them when I get back! OK, OK, I do want a lot of comments when I get back 
See you Monday! And GO PADRES!!!