Results tagged ‘ Cardinals ’
Khalil Greene Dilemma
Khalil Greene is a very interesting man. Before I get to that, I will hit the rewind button.
He began his Major League Baseball career by playing with the Padres during his rookie year back in September of 2003 and has been a huge fan favorite through 2007. I was one of those girls who would scream his name when he came up to bat, including infront of my television. Not so much in 2008– what ended up being his last year with the Padres –because he had a huge meltdown which caused him to literally punch a storage chest. That incident took place inside the Padres clubhouse on last day of July in 2008, after striking out 100 times during that season. I wonder if the Padres still have that storage. Anyway, he was later placed on DL with a broken hand. He did not come back to play ever since that injury.
December 4th, 2008 was when he got traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. I was incredibly upset on that day. I thought he was going to stick around here for a while because he grew up from the Padres organization. So when he got traded, I took an enormous time to reflect and thanked him for what he brought to this club. He definitely shared ups and downs with the fans, but mostly ups because he was a fantastic defensive shortstop for us, set a record among Padres shortstops, and rarely smiled during some games. One of few problems with Jeff Spicoli, I mean, Khalil Greene, was that he didn’t show some kind of expression on the field whatsoever. Whenever he maked an eye-popping play, he would get up, brush dirt off from his jersey, and move on as if nothing happened. Aside from that and striking out too much, I really liked this guy.
He had a smoking hot spring training with the Cardinals so I expected a big improvement from him. Khalil did got off with a decent start but he struggled, again. He eventually got sent to the DL not because of a physical injury. He was suffering with a social anxiety disorder. Because of anxiety disorder, he spent most of his year on the DL. He put way too much pressure on his game and he not only hurt himself but the Cardinals. I felt so awful for him and can’t imagine what anxiety disorders are like, but I don’t think it would be very pleasant. He took time to recover and bounced back. At one point, he hit three homeruns in three straight games against the Royals during interleague games.
With new, strong acquisitions made by the Cardinals, Khalil’s playing time got cut and served as a utility role until the final game of 2009. He failed to impress the Cardinals and got what he deserved; relased from St. Louis and being a free agent.
So January 10th, 2010, Khalil signed with the Texas Rangers for one-year deal as a utility man. I’m not to surprised at all about hearing this news. He has been struggling for couple of years now and he can’t handle the starting role as a shortstop, yet. Since he will be a backup, I expect him to not be a starter on opening day for the first time during his career.
Ok. I called Khalil Greene an interesting person few moments ago. Why? This guy sure likes to mess up. One day, I would hating this guy so much but another day, I would feel bad for him, and even like him later. According to reason #36 of “101 Things Every Padres Fan Should Do Before They Die” I should make a working Khalil Greene robot so I can talk to it and spill out everything about what I have to say.
I wish him the best as a new member of the Rangers.
Keep on rolling
The Angels played a great game against the Red Sox last night by winning with a score of 4 to 1. There were no long balls in this game but it sure was exciting since the Angels got the important win. Even though I missed a lot of fun, the Angels are looking strong so far. I like this team a lot but I’m not a die-hard fan of the Angels. Ever since my brother started following this team, I’ve been following them as well. Well, we love baseball. Not as much as him but you get the idea. Few reasons why the Angels are keep on rolling and need to continue like this: 1. They have a solid everyday lineup. 2. They have a consistent pitching staff. 3. They have a strong offense. No wonder they won the AL West Division and definitely deserved to be a champion.
Angels are off today but I can’t wait for more games at Fenway starting tomorrow. Let’s go Angels! Let’s take the series and move on to ALCS.
As for the Cardinals, they are back in St. Louis and need to step up their games in order to get the win(s). It should be another exciting day for baseball which I am looking forward to.
Balanced out
This is going to be short and sweet entry since I don’t have a lot of time to write. Lots of exciting things already happened during postseason. I can’t watch most of the games so I’m missing out all the fun. I’m rooting for the Angels for AL and the Cardinals for NL. Personally, I want St. Louis to win the ultimate prize again. To accomplish that big goal, Cardinals need to step up their games especially since they lost two in a row against the Dodgers. First game wasn’t good and second game turned out to be just flat out terrible.
Mark Loretta for the Dodgers got a game winning hit in the second game at Los Angeles and the Cardinals lost in a miserable fashion. That’s not enough. Matt Holliday made a costly error in the ninth inning and he felt just as terrible as Cardinals’ closer Ryan Franklin, who blew the save. That’s not good at all, guys. Please do the best you can when this series continues at St. Louis. I want the Dodgers to be done.
Well that’s enough of bad news. On the much brighter and better side, the Angels won against the Reds Sox in game 1 in Anaheim. This game was a pitchers’ duel between John Lackey and John Lester. Things were going so tense until Lester for Boston gave up a huge three-run bomb to Torii Hunter.
The Angels were on top by three runs but Kendry Morales provided run support for more comfortable lead. Angels ended up winning 5 to 0 and shut down the Red Sox in a great fashion.
I can see a big sign that says “DANGER AHEAD” for the Cardinals. If they lose another game on Saturday, they are out of the competition and will have to start preparing for 2010. I do not want that to happen so early. Pressure is on and I know the Cardinals can overcome that. As for the Angels, they need to continue to play like this and I would love to see them in ALCS and even World Series.
A loss to the Padres, but a chat with David Eckstein? Priceless
Shocking, but true at 2:32 P.M. on 8/21/09
On a normal Friday afternoon, something amazing happened to me. I recieved an e-mail from Ashley, David Eckstein’s wife. She used her personal e-mail and I’m keeping the address private. Anyway, she offered me free tickets to a Padres game against the Cardinals on Saturday. HOLY MOLY. As soon as I read what she sent me, I was in shock for good twenty minutes. I’ve been dying to go to that game for months! Well, they made my wish come true. Here’s part of what she sent to me:
I found your blog a couple of months ago and when I read you wanted to go to a Pads/Cards game, we figured we could make that happen. It means a lot to have positive and supportive fans like yourself and that should be rewarded.
Epic win, right?
The next day (08/22/09)…
was game day! Yay! I couldn’t go to sleep at all on the day Ashley sent me the e-mail. I got ready to go to Petco on a Saturday afternoon. My brother went with me because he wanted to go. Shocking, isn’t it? He ended up going there to kill time. Oh well. I hurried my butt off while dragging my brother along and went to the VIP/Media/Player Will Call to get the tickets.
My seats were section 111 and it was not bad at all. When I opened my envelope, I couldn’t believe I was watching a game at a ballpark for free. So my brother and I went down to the visitors side to see what was up because I couldn’t see one Padre warming up. And guess who I saw?
Ever since he left San Diego, I’ve been missing this guy like crazy. Sure we have a very talented young shortop Everth Cabrera, who replaced Khalil Greene. But I miss Greenie’s plays and at-bats. When he came up to bat during BP, I literally yelled, “Khalil!!”. He saw me, and gave a little wave. That was completely made up of win.
After thinking about him for more, I went to the Padres side. Manager Buddy Black and Kevin Kouzmanoff were sitting outside the dugout and chatting with each other. Mat Latos was also there.
Kouz was signing autographs at the Padres dugout area. I was way in the back so I thought I had no chance. But thanks to one of the Elite group, I got Kouz’s autograph. He asked me, “Did you get an autograph?” So I said, “No.” Kouz made an eye contact at me! That nice man said, “Ok. Throw them to me.” I threw the ball and sharpie and signed my baseball. After I got my belongings, I said “Thank you.” Kouz gave me a nice smile.
Getting Mat Latos’ autographs was really impossible so I just took pictures of him.
My brother and I were talking about how the game will go and suddenly, Kevin Correia popped out of the dugout. By the way, when I went to a Padres game last month with three awesome bloggers, Kevin pitched on that night as well. It was great to see him again.
I was reminded by Ashley that David will be signing around 6:35. I waited and waited, and he finally came out from the dugout. At first, I thought I had no chance to tell him thank you or anything. I kinda pushed people to get close to him. Sorry fellas but there were way too many of you! A baseball player knows me so deal with it.
This was my plan: 1. Use my brother’s baseball to get an autograph. 2. As soon as he gives it back to me, say what I want to say to him. Well guess what? It totally worked! I got his autograph again and as soon as he gave the ball back to me, I had the best ten seconds of my life.
Me: Eck, thank you so much for the tickets.
Eck: Oh that was you? (Smiles)
Me: Yeah. It really, really means a lot to me.
Eck: No problem. My wife and I thank you for your positive support for the team.
Me: It’s all I can do as a fan.
Eck: Your name is Hyun Young, right? (Pronounced PERFECTLY in a FIRST try.)
Me: (Gave him two thumbs up.) Yay! You got it right!
Eck: Haha. Well, have fun tonight!
Me: You too Eck, thank you!
Eck: (Smiles one last time at me.)
Oh my goodness. THAT WAS SO INCREDIBLE! I didn’t lose my cool and talked to him as if he was my friend, I swear. My heart kept pounding but I didn’t show any of the nervousness I had to him. Whole bunch of people around me looked totally jealous! I can’t believe he pronounced my name perfectly ! It’s hard to pronounce that all my teachers couldn’t say it right for the first time. David Eckstein is THE man. I know I said thank you way too much, but his wife read my blog. I couldn’t take a picture with him since it was so crowded.
I also got Chase Headley’s autograph. My arm was about to fall off since I was holding my baseball and sharpie for about a minute. He finally signed it! I said, “Thanks Chase.” but didn’t say anything back nor smile. Oh well.
It was almost time for a game so me and brother bought ourselves a 5 for 5 deal. I was so starving that I ate a hot dog in like two minutes. Before the first pitch, we quickly sat in our seats. At 7:05, Kevin Correia threw the first pitch.
I was excited to see this man.
It was amazing to finally see Albert Pujols at a ballpark, not infront of my television. First inning did not go so well. Matt Holliday hit a huge three-run homerun off of Kevin Correia. ARGH!! I heard more cheers then boos. That’s not good at all.I like the Cardinals, but I rooted for the Padres the whole time. I think there were more Cards fans then Padres fans in the house. About fifteen people around me were wearing Albert Pujols shirts, Yadier Molina jerseys, etc. So Cardinals were leading by three runs already.
But the bottom of the first, I finally saw David Eckstein’s at-bat.
Last month, I couldn’t see him because he was on the DL. I’m so glad he is back in action and ready to play solid baseball.
I think it was either second or third inning that I saw Friar Race… again! 70′s, 80′s, 90′s and Swinging Friars participated. 70′s Friar ended up winning.
But I have NEVER seen anything like this.
There was Zombie Friar, or whatever. It was… strange.
When it was Eck’s turn to bat again later in the game, I saw this and yelled in joy.
YAY!!! This is a great, great news to hear. Padres and I definitely need him for almost everything.
Back to the game.
At some point during the game, I started to panic since the Padres had one hit, which was from the one and only David Eckstein. Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter even got a hit towards right field.
That was so embarassing! Kevin did not look sharp on the mound. What happened to the guy who goes six to seven strong innings by giving up three or less runs? Well that guy just vanished. Joe Thatcher, Luis Perdomo and Ryan Webb did some relieving and did ok jobs.
After a quick meeting on the mound, Padres bullpen got a little better.
In the ninth inning, we were down by seven runs. Oh and Yadier Molina took over first base. Interesting. Remeber this. Padres were down by six runs against the Phillies back in April and won at Philadelphia. I was expecting something similar like that will happen. Eck led of the inning but flied out to center. Adrian got out as well. It was up to Chase Headley to start the rally. He does is with a single. Will Venable also got a hit. Kouz came up to pinch hit since he didn’t start thirdbase. Unfortunately, he flied out to center and the game was over in a 7-0 loss to the Cardinals.
Even though the Padres lost, I’m happy that Eck and I talked to each other. Oh man, I wish I have a video of this! He is such a nice guy, no doubt. Chris Carpenter was again, solid while Kevin Correia struggled. So by the end of the game, I got:
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Two autographs (well, it was really three)
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The most delicious 5 for 5 deal
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Great pictures
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August Padres Magazine
- The best ten seconds of my life so far.
Quick shoutout to the Ecksteins
David and Ashley,
Thank you guys so much for the incredible offer. Me and my brother (Well, not so much for him since he’s not a Padres fan.) had a great time at the ballpark. The Padres lost but it still was a lot of fun. Ashley, you totally shocked me with an unexpected e-mail and the ticket offer! You are so generous and I really appreciate for what you did for me. David, I had so much fun talking to you! I never talked to a player like that so it was absolutely amazing. I’m so glad you are staying in San Diego for another year!
Again, thank you so much. You guys are incredible. And I can’t wait for the package that I’m going to get from the one and only Ecksteins!
Thanks again,
Hyun Young
Rematch against the Cardinals
Last week, the Padres played against my another team, the St. Louis Cardinals. I have been waiting for that series since the beginning of the season. Anyway, that three-game series was bittersweet. I like the Cardinals, but I did NOT want my Padres to get swept.
St. Louis Cardinals. Oh my. They are looking like a one heck of a team right now, and getting closer to playoffs if they continue to play like this. Great offense, great pitching. Great club. Key players such as Albert Pujols (obviously), Matt Holliday, Mark DeRosa are really helping themselves and the team.
The heartbreaking game for me was game three of the three-game series. Padres were winning 5 to 4 until the bottom of the ninth inning. Padres’ closer Heath Bell blew a save by allowing the Cardinals to tie the game. And then, Colby Rasmus stepped up to the plate, blasted a huge two-run homerun, and made the fans leave Busch Stadium with big ol’ smiles.
I just didn’t get why Heath couldn’t save the game. We totally should have won. But, it was what it was and the boys took a tough loss.
After an ugly sweep for the Padres, my boys in blue and sand returned home to open up a three-game series against, yet another NL Central team, the Chicago Cubs. There were great offense by the Padres and took the series from them. Cubs are now looking themselves quite a lot of games back from first place. Take that!
Padres vs. Cardinals (8/20/09)
Tim Stauffer had the command while Joel Pinerio was up for the Cards. Stauffer has been really struggling lately. Oh yeah. He has been throwing way too many pitches. Right now, he doesn’t look great at all. Joel Pinerio on the other side is just lights out. He yet dominated the Padres again and the Cardinals ended up snatching the first game out of four from us.
Rookie infielder Brendan Ryan went deep while bases were loaded in the second inning. As soon as he let go of his bat, I was thinking, “That one’s gone. Shoot.” And just like that, the Cardinals were leading by four runs with only one hit. How is it possible to make bases loaded without allowing a base hit? Apparently, Tim Stauffer was able to do it.
David Eckstein grounded out when bases were loaded with two outs when we had a chance to take the lead or at least tie the game. Unbelieveable how he did that, struck out in the first inning and left runners on bases.
I call him “Dr.Eckstein” since he knows so much about baseball. He does what needs to be done, plays every single game with passion, and just about every other good stuff. Oh, and setting a great example to the young guys as well.But that game was just forgetable. It was so shocking how he couldn’t provide enough runs. He still is a doctor though.
It was another bad game for the Padres and they just cannot seem to figure out how to take control of the Cardinals lineup.Starting pitchers for the Padres lately are really struggling, throwing more then usual and giving up ton of runs to the other teams. Not good at all boys. Offense had been pretty quiet also.
A bright side I could think of right now is Kyle Blanks. The big 6 foor 6 kid know how to swing the bat and blasts a homerun. That run by the Padres was the one and only run which was a longball. He even hit a big walk-off homerun against the Cubs few days back. Kyle is doing an amazing job for the Padres and I am looking forward to see him play more and hit more.
Khalil Greene, I freakin’ missed you and welcome back to San Diego.
Even though I saw his actions last week, it wasn’t enough. I wanted to see more from him and I did. He came up to pinch-hit in the ninth and my heart was pounding as soon as I saw him. When I heard his name, Padres fans gave him a nice standing ovation and it was something I expected. Khalil was with the Padres for six years starting from 2003. He was definitley a fan favorite (especially girls like me) and still remains as one of my favorite shorstop, or now third baseman. Whatever. Throughout the game I kept thinking, “Where’s Khalil?!” In the ninth, all my attention was towards him, no one and nothing else. He, unfortunately struck out swinging.
People can call him whatever they want. Weird, quiet, not emotional, etc. Deep down, he really is a great guy. When I look at what he has to stay, I feel proud. He is passionate about his career as a baseball player. When Khalil was sent to DL twice due to social-anxiety disorder, I just kept praying for him that he’s going to be all right.
Although he had some hard times in San Diego, I loved watching this guy play. I really appreciate him for his time as a Padre.
Covering missing pieces
I know I haven’t been blogging for several days, but I’m happy to get back on track and start talking about the Padres. The last entry was about Everth Cabrera’s dramatic walk-off homerun against the Mets on last Saturday. Unfortunately, my boys could not sweep the Mets at home. Johan Santana on Sunday was just lights out. Still, Padres took three games out of four so I can live with that.
He even helped himself with an RBI single. Mets ended up winning on that day by the score of 5 to 1. There was a VERY scary moment during the game. Homeplate umpire got hit on his head by Padres’ infielder Luis Rodriguez’s hit. Ump was ok but it sure was horrible to watch.
Padres @ Brewers: 8/11-8/13
I wish we can face the Brewers more! OK. They have Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, Mike Cameron, Trevor Hoffman and other great players but for some reason, the Padres can totally crush them. For example, on a normal Tuesday night at Milwaukee, Padres pounded the Brewers BIG TIME.
Clayton Richard was again, solid on the mound. He is just getting better and better everytime when he pitches. Pitching wise was great, but on the offensive side? All I can say was “WOW.”
Padres were just hitting and hitting. Unfortunately, David Eckstein didn’t enjoy the party. He went only 1 for 5 with a single and a run scored. With a total of 13 runs and 22 hits, I couldn’t stop smiling and yelling for 15 minutes. Now that’s what I call a teamwork.
I’m just getting started with Adrian Gonzalez. Holy smokes! He went 6 for 6 in nine innings of baseball, not extras. Watching him doing his job and helping the team to earn a victory got me pumped up. When he was 5 for 5 and up to bat in the ninth inning, I just hoped for a simple base hit. After a clean hit between first and second, I literally clapped for him. I mean, Adrian Gonzalez is now the very first Padre to go 6 for 6 in nine innings of work. On the other hand, he is the fourth Padre to get 6 hits in one game.
The next day, there was not a blowout for the Padres but still ended up winning. Starting pitcher Kevin Correia didn’t have his best stuff like he usually does. Correia didn’t get a win but the team helped him and snatched a victory from Brew Crew. Adrian continued to do his work and the Padres earned a victory by the score of 6 to 5. Closer Heath Bell earned his 29th save.
On the final game of the series, there was big offense from both teams. Ceser Carrillo made his major league debut since Padres definitely needed another arm for the starting rotaiton. But who is this guy? I never heard of him. Comparing that rotaion to opening week’s, I know right off the bat that we made a lot of changes. Prince Fielder blasted two homeruns and led the team to a huge lead. However, my boys did eveything they can but it wasn’t enough. Adrian (Yes, him again.) got his 30th homerun of the season. After that homerun, he now has 30 homeruns in three consecutive seasons starting from 2007 when he proved he can flat out hit.
In the end, Padres took another series and crashed a party at Milwaukee. Sorry Brewers fans!
Padres @ Cardinals
I have been waiting for this series for months. It is so weird that the Padres are finally playing my another favorite team for the first time this season. Why couldn’t they play earlier? Anyway, as all of you know, David Eckstein was a Cardinal and honored as 2006 World Series MVP. Eck returned to St. Louis and got a very nice ovation. That’s my boy! It was also good to see Khalil Greene back. Since his time on the starting lineup got short, I didn’t get to see him start on third or short. Oh well. He got a hit so I’m alright.
Mat Latos’ performance was so not like him. This is the rookie who only gives up two or less runs everytime he pitches. However, Mat gave up seven runs, that made a career-high for him. .
He gave up a homrun to Adam Wainwright, AKA a pitcher. Although I like the Cardinals as well, Padres always come first and that homerun shouldn’t have happened. By the way, Adam Wainwright’s homerun was HUGE. Cardinals ended up winning with a comfortable 5-run difference. Kevin Kouzmanoff earned his 15th homerun of the season but it was definitely not enough. There was almost no offense, and below average peformance by the starting pitcher. Cardinals scored nine runs while Padres in sand earned only two runs. I’m not freaking about it though.
Other Padres news
David Eckstein, I love you. I love having you here in San Diego. So why do you want to have a talk with the Cardinals general manager? After 2007 season, you left the team and signed with the Blue Jays. Here’s the fact I know: You didn’t want to leave but there was no other choice. I understand you had tremendous years in as a Cardinal. Being named as an MVP feels great. I know that for sure. But it has been almost three years that you departed St. Louis. Don’t drag it please. You are a classy guy and I just want you to have fun with the young kids in San Diego. I mean, that’s what you said. You love to be a part of the rebuilding Padres and set a huge example to these group of kids. They need someone like you to learn how the real game of baseball works. Stay here and have a great time. That’s all I want from you.
Padres pitcher Chris Young is now officially out for the 2009 season. His right shoulder has been bugging him since June. Padres are not seeing any progress from Chris and he will have a surgery on Monday. I just wish him for the best for next season and recover from the injury quickly as possible.
So little thoughts
High School is already starting to haunt me. I’m ok, but it’s insane to start school on late July, right?
No special Padres news lately. Except Adrian Gonzalez’s major-leading 314 consecutive appearances ended on a Tuesday night. Friars lost to the Braves yesterday by the ugly score of 9 to 2. Braves just kept hitting and hitting and hitting. It was endless! Altogether they finished the game with 17 hits with 9 runs. Tim Stauffer who started game for us looked lost. And I mean LOST. Edward Mujica came over to help him but it was just as bad as Tim Stauffer’s outing.
On the bright side, Padres’ young guys are still looking great. Talk about Everth Cabrera. I freakin’ like this guy a lot. He is very athletic and makes fantastic plays at shortsop. Everth makes everything look so easy. He totally deserves to be on top 10 plays or Web Gems on ESPN. If you don’t know much about him, you have to do some research of him now. He reminds me of Khalil Greene back when he WAS great wearing a Padres uniform. But that’s a different story which I will not mention today.
Other Padres news
1. Padres starter Chris Young is now on the 60-day disabled list instead of 15 days. He was on DL since June 19th due to strained right shoulder. I don’t see great progress from him but thank goodness he will not need a surgery. I just wish that Chris will be fine and hopefully return before the season comes to an end. If he can’t, all I can do is wait.
By the way, that picture was from Fan Day back in April. He’s really nice too 
Well, not when he had a huge fight between Cubs’ Derek Lee. I have never seen the ugly side of Chris before that day. Oh well.
2. This is not really a Padres news but my blog is at padreblogs.com! I was very excited to see that. I’ll have to go grab the badge later.
3. I’m keeping track of the days when the Padres will play against another favorite team of mine. Padres will be at St. Louis next week and have a four-game homestand the following week. I don’t know if I will be attending one of the games in San Diego, of course, but it will be GREAT to watch a game between my two favorite clubs.
Plan A: Beg Convince my parents.
Plan B: My dad’s friend. He knows how much I love the Padres so I’m hoping it will work.
Plan C: Get free tickets in someway shape of form.
4. We are 44-64 and 22.5 games back from first. It’s going to be a very, very rough road to get back over .500 or better. I believe in my guys that they will bounce back somehow.
Dudes, seriously?
Hello everybody. I just came back from my two-week vacation and it was fantastic. I hope you guys enjoyed my two special entries I posted during my trip. But that’s not the main idea of this post. If you guessed “Padres”, congratulations.
(Please be aware of my negative words I’m about to use right now.)
Obviously, the Padres are playing like crap right now. Six-game losing streak and getting NO hits in one game is completely unacceptable. Oh yeah, they got swept by the D-Backs who were last place. I’m sure they were very happy to move up and push the Padres down to the bottom. I couldn’t watch two weeks of baseball and I’m glad I did. Seriously, what is going on with this team?
I had so much hope that Padres were going to do so much better while I was gone. It didn’t happen and things turned very, very ugly. I am extremely upset, disappointed and sick.
My second favorite team?
.
Should I change my background? I’ll have to think about it. My head really hurts right now. Padres are going to play against the Giants very soon and I don’t think I’m going to watch it from first inning to ninth like I usually do for other games. What happened to the Padres that were in first place in NL West earlier this season? (Dodgers were behind them. Ha!) What happened to the Padres who bounced back from a game that they almost lost and eventually won?
What I can do to at least help the team is cheer on them. I’m going to Petco on the 18th with excellent bloggers. It’s unfortunate that Eck can’t play on that day because he is on the DL. That was almost like a slap in the face.
Changes for the Padres were up and down like a roller coaster. Especially down since two fantastic outfielders Jody Gerut and Scott Hairston moved on to next part of their Major League career. Jody is a Brewer and Scotty is an A in Oakland. The smart moves made by the front office was getting Tony Gwynn Jr. and calling up rookie shortstop Everth Cabrera.
To conclude all this, Padres need to get their heads in the game and get back on track.
Great start, great end
Happy Father’s day everyone! Yesterday’s game was a tough one by my boys. The bullpen just could not hold on to the lead which costed the game, but the Padres avoided the sweep and won the final game out of three. Friars celebrated Fathers’ day by having nine Padres’ dads throwing the first ceremonial pitches to their sons. I think Adrian and Edgar’s father needed two baseballs! Anyway, that was so sweet. No other words to describe it.
After a great start of the ballgame, it was time to get to the wire. Kevin Correia for the Padres stepped on the mound and the game began. Kevin Correia. All I can say is wow. He didn’t just dominate or shut down the opposing teams, but got his job done by not giving up ton of runs and hits or walking a lot of batters. Last four outings for him got me pumped up.
He’s getting better and better when he’s pitching and that is something I like to see from him. His progress is very positive and today was yet another great one. Since Jake Peavy and Chris Young are in the DL, Kevin is doing a fine job filling in the holes. He is actually our number one starter now since Jake is missing. So the bottom three starters bumped up two numbers each and got new four and five starting pitchers. Those two are Wade LeBlanc and Walter Silva who pitched on Friday and Saturday. They are learning and eventually will get the hang of being starting pitchers.
In the beginning of the season, Kevin Correia just could not pitch. He walked way too many guys, didn’t trust his stuff and just could not win. Kevin turned things around lately and it’s fun to watch him now. Like when he retired first 14 batters for the A’s, my goodness, that was awesome. Oakland’s Orlando Cabrera broke that slump for the team but no big deal. In 6.2 innings, Kevin allowed only one earned run, two hits and struck out seven. With a game like that, he deserved the win and he did. Bullpen today did a great job by not giving up any runs so it was nice to watch them do what is right. Heath Bell got his 19th save of the season and the Padres win it!
On the offensive side, things went pretty well. My boy David Eckstein was 3 for 4 with three singles. He boosted his average to .264 now. Yay! Catcher Henry Blanco got his 500th career hit which was a solo shot. Congrats Henry! Edgar drove in a run and Kouz knocked in two runs by going deep. That’s the way to do it. Stay hot Kevin!
After Padres got their victory, Kevin waved at his dad and he waved his son back. That was a great father-son moment for the Kouzmanoffs.
Monday is an off-day and Padres will face Mariners again. This time, it will be at Seattle for three games. Six more interleague games and it’s over!! I hate watching them face AL teams and Padres should feel the same too.
Cardinals Chat
Since the Cardinals won against the Royals today, manager Tony La Russa got his 2500th career win as a skipper. Congrats Tony! Albert Pujols hit a grand slam on that day. He now leads Majors in homeruns with 26. Sorry Adrian, but you still have plenty of time. Well Khalil Greene, a redbird who is now playing at third, left the game early because he got hit by a pitch from Royals’ starting pitcher on the right knee. Later, I figured out that he got a bruise on the knee. The pitcher didn’t mean to hit him so I don’t blame him.
Poor Greenie. That has GOT to hurt. Stinks for him and myself because he has been playing so good. Khalil homered three times in three consecutive games now. Last time he did that was when he was a Padre back in 2004 against the Rockies. Last two games for him was a rollercoaster ride. On Friday, he left the game early (again!) after fouling a ball off his left foot., but got a solo shot on that day. Saturday, he got a three-run bomb in the ninth to extend the lead for the Cardinals and won 7 to 1. Sunday, he blasted another homerun. Like I said, he had to leave the game.
Be prepared for me going on and on the Cardinals sometime. I will even write only about the Cards one day and you will see why I follow this team as well not just because of Khalil. He may not be a bright person as others, but he has a special place in my heart.
If you have a chance to see a Cardinals game on television or at the ballpark, look out for Khalil Greene because he will just make you blind for a minute by his flashy plays. I’ve known him since 2005 and that fact is true for sure. This one play by him when he did a pirouette to throw the ball to get the man out got me thinking, “You are just not supposed to be able to make that play.” over and over again.
He was released by the Padres on December 4th 2008 and I was very upset for one whole enitre month. The very first player I knew from the Padres was him and it was so hard for me to deal with it. He was knocked down last season but is rebounding this year as a Cardnial. I know his weaknesses and strengths because I paid attention to him so much ever since I saw him with my own two eyes.
Looks like I got some ranting to do about him. Oh yeah, the Cardinals too.
Padres drop the first game out of three
It was a tough game in Colorado. The Padres just couldn’t seem to score runs out of Jason Marquis, the starting pitcher for the Rockies. He absolutely dominated us. Chris Young in the other hand, did an average job. The problem with him was that he allowed six walks and only two strikeouts. Chris gave up only one earned run in the second to Rockies’ catcher Yorvit Torrealba. Final score was 3 to 0, Rockies getting away with a win from us. Chris got the loss and he got it because of no run support. Jim Tracy took over for Clint Hurdle and won a first game as Colorado’s new manager. It’s unfortunate for Clint Hurdle. But it was time for him to move on. Back to the game now.
Like I said, Chris didn’t have the best stuff.
The only mistake he made was a hit to Yorvit Torrealba. There was lack of run support from the Padres.
Jason Marquis, however, was on a roll.
Padres could not solve Marquis at all! He tossed eight scoreless innings and struck out six Padres, even my boy David Eckstein. Speaking of David Eckstein, he had a good moment in the fifth inning.
He also stole a base in the third inning. When he was at the plate in the fifth, Jason Marquis “accidently” threw a baseball and knocked Eck to the ground. The ball did not hit him, thank goodness. Marquis threw it really close to Eck and he fell to the ground to dodge that ball. What a scary moment! I would have been so mad if he got hit by a pitch! He got hit 5 times already. But he got up as if nothing happened, brushed himself, and got a clean single on the very next pitch. That was beautiful. Normally, when players get into that kind of situation, they would just blow if off. But Eck did a totally opposite thing and came back from the fall. He showed professionalism and always have fun playing. That’s why I love this guy. Great job Eck!
Things got ugly in the bottom of the sixth inning. It was bases loaded for the Rockies with two outs. Next batter was Yorvit Torrealba and reached on base by fielding error by Kevin Kouzmanoff. Two runs scored and the score was 3 to 0. Poor Kouz. He made great plays before the sixth as well. So he was charged with first error of the season. Funny but sad story here: After he made an error, I said, “Ah come on Kouz! That was a routine grounder. You totally should have made that play.” Sorry Kaybee. I just had to say it. The next inning when David Eckstein came up to bat, he grounded into a double play! That was definitely a karma for me.
That was the ball game folks. Padres had oppertunities to score runs but they blew it. They grounded into more then two double plays so that was pretty sad. Hopefully they can turn things around in game two of the three game series. Josh Geer is up against Jason Hammel. Last outing for Josh against Colorado back in April was amazing. He only allowed one earned run. This should be a good game to watch and I just hope that we can win!
Picture:
That’s the foul ball from my teacher I talked about the other day. Sweet! The black spot is where Giants’ Travis Ishikawa hit the ball. I think.
15-Day DL for Greenie:
This news is especially sad for me. All of you guys know that I still love Khalil Greene, right? If you don’t then now you know. But anyway, he was put on DL on Friday due to social anxiety disorder.
A person with socail anxiety disorder is afraid that he or she will make mistakes and be embarrassed or humiliated in front of others. The fear may be made worse by a lack of social skills or experience in social situations. The anxiety can build into a panic attack. As a result of the fear, the person endures certain social situations in extreme distress or may avoid them altogether. In many cases, the person is aware that the fear is unreasonable, yet is unable to overcome it.
(I just got that straight from Web MD)
Oh no! This is very devistating 
I love Khalil as much as Eck, Trevor and Jake, my four favorite players. He’s been really struggling in St. Louis. Khalil wanted and gave his best to bounce back from a tough season he had last year with the Padres but it just didn’t get going. I think the beginning of the season was the slowest start for him in his career. Cardinals’ skipper Tony La Russa said that Khalil put a lot of pressure on himself. That is 100 percent true because he hurt his own left hand by punching a storage chest (last season, didn’t play remainder of the season, blah blah blah) and when the Card played the Pirates a week ago, he left PNC with one hand bleeding!
This is what Albert Pujols said:
“I haven’t talked to him about what he’s going through, but I think I can help him with what he’s dealing with in the box,” He said. “Khalil’s got a lot of ability. I know he’s more than a .240 or .250 hitter. If there’s something I can do to help and he wants it, I want to help. He’s a good guy. He’s here to help us win.”
I miss Khalil like crazy ever since he left San Diego last year. He always took his game very seriously, and I know personally how being too critical of one’s performance can affect it. I just hope that this is not serious and he gets back to baseball soon. But first, he needs to take real good care of himself before he can even touch the baseball.
Sorry if I’m going on and on about Khalil. However, I have a lot of things to talk about this guy. This guy has so much potential and I know it. He puts wayy too much pressure and he’s only hurting himself and the team. Man, I wish I KNEW what’s bothering him! Khalil, please see a pyschiatrist and relax. Those are the only ways thay will help you. Ugh, I feel so awful for him and can’t imagine what anxiety disorders are like, but I wouldn’t think it would be very pleasant. Best of luck to Greenie, not just as a Padres fan, but as a fellow human being.
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