Final game at Petco

I can't believe there are only two games left in regular season. I went to Petco on a Friday night with a friend of mine who likes the Padres to see the boys one last time before the end. On my way, it was sprinkling. I was worried that it might rain really hard and the game had to be canceled. Thankfully, the rain stopped by the time I arrived at Petco and the weather was back to normal. San Diego has crazy weather sometimes.

Funny story here: When we went near the player gate entrance, there was a guy who was walking like six feet infront of us with gorgeous long hair, skinny jeans, aviator sunglasses, beanie, stylish shirt, and a newsboy bag (?). I thought, "Is that Tim Lincecum?!" Sorry. I don't have picture of "Tim Lincecum" This happened so quickly and I did not expect this to happen. He used the gray thing next to the gate and went his way to the entrance. There was a grouchy looking security guard and stopped "Tim" and yelled him for an ID. The guy who was so stylish looked very p*ssed, and showed his ID. The guard told "Tim" that next time, he needs to go around the fence. I think "Tim" ignored the security guard..

The gate opened and we made my way to find my seat and hung around the field inbox area so I could get autographs. Padres rookie pitcher Mat Latos was socializing with the Elite Group. He has crazy tatoos on both of his arms. On his right arm, it has flowers (I think they were roses and his new ones), a scroll with letters, and old English writing. On his left, he has Major League Baseball logo, U-shape and some kind of bug. Call me weird because I looked at tattos of a guy almost the whole time when really, the point was to get an autograph. If you get a chance to see him up close, I'm telling you the tattos will stand out. Mat seems like a cool, pretty laid-back guy, especially since he loves to talk.

I didn't get any autographs because the Padres were coming in and out of the dugout and they didn't have time to sign except smiling at the fans. Outfielder Drew Macias signed a few though. Catcher Nick Hundley signed only two. Again, it was impossible to get Mat Latos'. But I didn't stop there. My last chance was obviously, David Eckstein. I knew exactly where he signs so I waited in that area for five minutes. He finally came out from the dugout and it was super crowded in that area. Since I already have like five autographs from Eck, all I wanted was a picture with him. I waited a little and did something I have never done before. Here it goes:

Me: (Tapped his wrist gently) "Hey Eck, do you remember me? Thanks for the package you and Ashley sent to me. I'm wearing the jersey right now."

Eck: "Oh hey! I remember you." (Gave me a big hug.) "How's everything going?"

Me: (At this point, I started to freak out but didn't show that so I can be a strong fan. I was just smiling like crazy the whole time.) "Everything's going great. Thanks. Can I take a picture with you?" 

Eck: "Absolutely."

(I finally took a picture with him. Yes. I put my hand on his back and he put his hand on my back. One of the Elite Group didn't look so happy. Oh well. As you can see, the picture I took Eck is now my new picture for my blog.)

Eck: "You know, Ashley is here today. She said she would love to meet you."

Me: "Really? I would love to meet her too. Since I don't know where she is, can you tell her I said hi?"

Eck: (Smiles.) "Sure. Thanks again for your continued support."

Me: "I'm a big fan, and that's what big fans do. Thanks again and good luck tonight!"

Eck: "All right. Have fun tonight!"

Me: (Gave him a big smile.)

Call me crazy for remembering every single words but the chat with David Eckstein is 100% true. Our conversation got longer than from the one before which was a great. It is absolutely amazing when a fan talks to a baseball player, especially if that player knows who you are. I couldn't meet Ashley but someday I will.

Starting pitcher for the Padres was Kevin Correia and Barry Zito was up for the Giants. I went to Petco three times now and I've seen Kevin pitch all three times. I find that awesome because he has done very nice job throughout the season. Last time out, he threw a first career complete game shutout against the D-Backs. Friday was his final outing for 2009 and I really wanted a win for him and the Padres. Barry Zito on the other side has improved but to me, he still needs a lot of work to get back on track. If he does that, there's a possibility that Zito can win a Cy Young Award again.

Things started smoothly for the Padres because they had an early lead thanks to Oscar Salazar, who drove in Adrian Gonzalez for a Padres' 1-0 lead over the Giants in the first inning. In the fourth inning however, Giant's Pablo Sandoval hit a homerun against Kevin Correia to tie the game. There were Giant fans going crazy around me but luckily, Padre fans were there to back me up.

I was fine until the seventh inning. Giants ended up scoring six runs. It was absolutely pathetic to watch. I felt really bad for young Everth Cabrera. He made not one but two costly errors in the same inning for throwing and fielding. He now made 23 errors in the season. Even though the number sounds like a disastor, I understand because that's what rookies do during their first major league career year. They make ton of errors but eventually fix them throughtout spring training. 

Padres try to rally in the seventh to cut the lead by the Giants. Catcher Henry Blanco made it happen. Sort of. He hit a solo shot to left and I went crazy.

Sadly, that was the one and only run in the seventh for the Padres. Both teams did not score any runs in the eight and ninth inning so the Padres lost by the score of 7-2. This is their first loss at Petco this season. That's pretty impressive.

(My last look of Petco Park for the season.) 

I was kind of disappointed since my boys lost for final game at Petco for me. But I had a blast with Eck, even though I didn't spent a ton of time with him. People around me looked totally jealous. Ha! I am definitely looking forward for 2010 San Diego Padres.

Pictures 

These are few examples of work of 5.0 megapixal digital camera that I have owned for a year. I need to get a new one very soon.

More can be found here.