Results tagged ‘ Clayton Richard ’
Hello, Goodbye
Before I begin, I want to thank you guys for making this blog on the top 100 for 2010! My blog stood at number 42 and I couldn’t have been in that place without you guys. Thanks for the support all year and for the spread of word or two about my blog. You guys know that I desperately want more readers and to get a higher rank. That’s why I created a Facebook page for Perpetual Saga. Please show your love and “like” my official page!
Now onto the entry. Over the course of the offseason that’s still hanging around right now, Padres made ton of moves and lost and gained players in order to balance out the team. Padres released Adrian Gonzalez, Miguel Tejada, and Yorvit Torrealba, Jon Garland, Kevin Correia, Tony Gwynn Jr., Ryan Webb, and Edward Mujica. Free agents Jerry Hairston Jr. and David Eckstein are still not signed but for some reason I doubt the two middle infielders will return in Padres uniforms this year. In order to make up for the losses, Padres welcomed Aaron Harang, Jason Bartlett, Orlando Hudson, Brad Hawpe, Rob Johnson, Cameron Maybin, Dustin Moseley, and three minor leaguers in the Adrian Gonzalez deal.
But man, Adrian Gonzalez. He’s gone. It’s still hard to believe that Adrian in a Red Sox uniform is a reality. Here’s my take on the Adrian Gonzalez trade. Rival San Francisco Giants were able to sign Miguel Tejada, the veteran shortstop. It was disheartening to see him sign with the Giants not only because he signed with the team that I highly dislike, but also because Padres lost one more veteran player. You guys know that I highly respect veteran players and losing Miguel hit me. Same thing with Yorvit Torrealba and Jon Garland. Yorvit signed with the Texas Rangers while Jon signed with the Dodgers again. Kevin Correia moved from SoCal to the Steel City and he will play with the team that is not in National League west for the first time in his career. Tony Gwynn Jr. went with the Los Angeles Dodgers and I tend to get irritated when Padres players sign with a team that is in the National League west. Ryan Webb and Edward Mujica signed with the Marlins in a Cameron Maybin trade (Which I will mention later.). Although it’s extremely discouraging to see all the great players leave San Diego, the moves were made for the best. Because the Padres acquired new players, I expect this team to change and even improve in a good way.
To me, Aaron Harang “replaced” Jon Garland (Can’t think of a better way to say it.). Jon Garland was a number one starter last season and did a great job by eating up as many innings as possible. Watching him on the mound was not a problem. Now that Garland signed with the Dodgers, it’s time for Aaron Harang to shine. Harang may not crunch down many innings like Garland but I believe that Harang can settle in fine at Petco Park. After all, Petco Park is a pitcher-friendly ballpark. I can’t wait to see Harang will bring to the Padres with his new uniform during spring.
I mentioned about the acquisition of Jason Bartlett and Orlando Hudson in this entry. Both of them are defensive upgrades, and they have a chance to improve on the hitting from the middle infielders last year. Because the Padres signed Bartlett and Hudson, the likely chance of resigning the second baseman and the shortstop from reduced. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to see David Eckstein and Jerry Hairston Jr. back in Padres uniforms. I believe there is still a chance that these two will return but most likely, I don’t see that happening. Jason Bartlett and Orlando Hudson sound like fun and exciting players. I can tell that fans and I will enjoy watching them play. Will they make a huge difference at the middle infield? Possibly.
Padres signed Brad Hawpe and I think this is a great move. He is a first baseman and an outfielder and I believe that he will impact this team somehow. His natural position is first base but he is not “replacing Adrian Gonzalez”. Rather, he said that he is going to do what he needs to in order to help out the team. Hawpe played first base in the Rockies minor league system; however, he moved to right field when he got to the major leagues because Todd Helton was already at first base. Hawpe was also a 2009 National League All-Star. He parted ways with the Rockies last year in August and spent some time with the Tampa Bay Rays. Now that he is back in National League again, I think playing at Petco Park should not be a problem for him.
Rob Johnson was claimed by the Padres on December. He had ups and downs with the Mariners for almost four years. Now that Nick Hundley’s training wheels are off, he will most likely be the starting catcher this year. Nick benefited from being a backup catcher of Henry Blanco in 2009 and Yorvit Torrealba from last year. It’s pretty exciting for me that Nick will finally have a chance to be a starter. As for Rob Johnson, I really hope that he will improve much more this year than the previous year. I would love to see him develop behind home plate. He’s getting a fresh new chance and he needs to do his best in order to earn his job.
I can’t wait to see what Cameron Maybin is going to bring to San Diego. He’s only 23 but he looks like a very promising player. And even though he hasn’t produced at the Major League level like he has in the Minor Leagues, I can sense his potential. In order to acquire Cameron Maybin from the Marlins, Padres had to give up Ryan Webb and Edward Mujica. Both Ryan and Edward were in the group called “The Penitentiary” last year. They were a part of the outstanding Padres bullpen and I was kind of disappointed to see them go. But there’s an old saying called “it’s all part of business”. Even though Cameron is young, there is a likely chance that he will join the outfield as an everyday player with Ryan Ludwick at right field and Will Venable at left field.
Dustin Moseley was acquired to fill in the missing spot in the pitching rotation. He had few injury problems and was non-tendered by the Yankees.Because of the departure of Jon Garland and Kevin Correia, Dustin Moseley is currently an option as part of the starting pitching rotation. As of now, I see Mat Latos, Clayton Richard, Tim Stauffer, Aaron Harang and Dustin Moseley. Not necessarily in that order. Wade LeBlanc and Cory Luebke will also be competing for the spot. It’s going to be interesting to see who gets the job and who does not.
The players the Padres got from the Adrian Gonzalez trade are right-handed pitcher Casey Kelly, first baseman Anthony Rizzo, and center fielder Reymond Fuentes. I personally think Kelly, Rizzo and Fuentes are great prospects and they will impact the Padres in a positive way. All of them are very young and it will take time to see them in Padres uniforms. I don’t guarantee that those three players will be in action wearing Padres uniforms this year but they have plenty of time.
Offseason is a reality check for the fans; this is what it’s all about. Good or bad, it’s all true. Losing players doesn’t mean I need to panic about it. Looking on the bright side, the moves that were made can make a huge difference for the team. I can’t wait to see how the Padres will turn out to be during the regular season. Baseball is starting to get on it’s way. Hang on!
VIP entrance, press box tour, conversation with the Ecksteins and Padres’ win in one day? Oh my!
First of all, I apologize that the title of this entry is incredibly long. However, this lengthy title does not describe everything I did at Petco Park on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon.
I was able to go to this game with Kaybee, John and my friend because the Ecksteins were so generous to offer tickets for me. If you read this entry, the same thing happened to me last year except that I went to the game with my brother. This year, I wanted to bring my friends but I received many, many requests that they want to tag along with me to go to the game. To be fair for everyone who entered my “contest”, I wrote all of their names and randomly picked three. So this is the reason why I invited Kaybee, John, and my friend. They were the lucky winners out of the bunch.
All of us gathered around at VIP entrance/media entrance/player will call before the game to pick up the tickets. I was astonished that all I had to do was simply tell the worker that a player left tickets for me and show my photo identification. My name was on the system so I had to be in charge of getting the tickets for us. Things went smoothly and two different workers at the VIP entrance really liked my David Eckstein poster, the poster which I will mention towards the end of this entry. So already, two people complimented my poster and it was a great way to start off the day at Petco Park.
The four of us went down to the field level to see what was going on for the Padres and their opponent of the day, the Diamondbacks. The first Padres player in action the four of us saw was Chris Young.
Kaybee was able to get Chris Young’s autograph. I already got his autograph from last year’s Padres Fan Day. All four of us were very impressed because he was so nice to everyone who wanted his autograph. Currently, he is on the DL and did not pitch since April this year. The return of new, healthy Chris Young is a must for the sometime in second half of the season.
Adrian Gonzalez was also signing autographs but again, I already got his autograph last year so no need to worry for me. Kaybee got his autograph but John was extremely close to getting his. My friend? Well, he doesn’t like waiting in a huge crowd trying to get autographs.
Later, we met Angela, the head of the photography crew of Petco Park. Angela contacted me through Facebook and asked me if I want to get a tour around the press box. You read it right. Press box. I responded back “Definitely!”. So Angela camed down to the field level to introduce ourselves and the journey began.
Personally, walking pass by securities felt pretty nervous but I love the fact that Angela was very calm and easy going that we made it to the press box smoothly. Since my friends and I did not want to look like bunch of super fans, I chose not to bring my camera. Plus we had to put our belongings in a room and my camera was in my bag. The reason why the pictures do not look great is because I took them with my phone. Also, people in the room looked busy preparing for the game and gave us a weird look. But I present to you, the press box of the San Diego Padres!
The second picture shown is where analyst Jerry Coleman does his job. It would have been fantastic if Jerry was present in his room but he was in New York, according to Angela. She was kind enough to take a picture of us in his room.
From this perspective, I really felt like Jerry Coleman. We had a very good look at his room and everything was just incredible. After looking around several more rooms, it was time for us to go back to our seats. We thanked Angela for a great tour and I hope to see her again in the future at Petco. She gave us t-shirts for each of us as well.
Also, we saw play-by-play announcer Dick Enberg and Padres radio announcer Andy Masur. We could not say anything to both of them because they passed by us in less than three seconds. It would have been amazing if they stopped by us and say hello. I even had several questions to ask for them. My goal was to have a quick interview with any broadcasters for the Padres but it didn’t work out. Someday I hope to accomplish my goal.
So already, it was about 4:20, which means we had time to relax and watch batting practice from our seats. About five minutes or so later, I saw pitcher Mat Latos’ girlfriend and her friend. Because I interact with them, I had to drop by and say hello. In order to do so, I had to ditch my friends. Sorry guys! I caught up with the ladies and it was so awesome finally meeting them in person. They were extremely nice and we had fun talking some Padres baseball.
After we parted our ways, I went back to my seats where my friends were waiting. About five minutes before 5, we decided to go back down to the field level to wait. Why and for who? David Eckstein signs every single day at Petco Park. For Saturday games, he signs around at 5. He came out from the dugout and started signing. I caught his attention by showing him the poster I made for him. He gave me his big, cute, “Hey!” and gave me a hug. I gave him a big thank you because he and his wife were the ones who provided the tickets for my friends and I. He was kind enough to sign the poster and take a picture with me. He loved my poster too!
This is my third picture I took with him but trust me, there will be more if I go to Padres games in the future. Of course I had to introduce Kaybee, John and my friend to Eck. He was so nice to everyone and made great eye contact. I appreciate him for everything he does to make Petco into a friendly place for the fans. The way he signs autographs everyday and doing his very best are only two reasons out of the bunch why he is my favorite player.
It was almost game time and I was reminded by Ashley, his wife, that she will be coming to our seats and say hello to us. When she came down to us, I was extremely stoked because I finally met her in person for the very first time. Trust me, I was about to scream.
First things first, she is so sweet and down to earth. The five of us had an incredible amount of fun talking with each other. I learned so much about the Ecksteins thanks to Ashley. It is impossible to remember every single thing we talked about but here are some of the great and funny ones that I remember:
1. David drives Ashley’s green Honda Civic, which I think it is adorable and funny. According to Ashley, David does not like anything flashy (If I remember correctly.) but instead, he likes simple things. People make fun of him driving Ashley’s car but I love the fact that he just laughs it off. What a great guy.
2. David watches WWE. That is all.
3. Ashley is the one who reads things off from the Internet. David does not want to read these because people can make up things that are not true. Especially rumors about players getting traded. So Ashley tells him directly about the things she reads. Therefore, David Eckstein does not read this blog.
4. Ashley has her clothing line for Star Wars. She has her website called, Her Universe. Please check it out! She works so hard to make her products for the female Star Wars lovers. She created her clothing line so the female Star Wars fanatics do not have to worry about purchasing Star Wars shirts that are made for guys. Everything Ashley created is gorgeous and chic and feel free to click here to see her creations.
5. Ashley calls David ”The grandpa of the Padres” because he gets along with his teammates but does not have a “best friend”. I think this is very cute.
At first, I was nervous because Ashley was right behind us. Meaning a row. It is not like everyday that a famous person sits right behind you so that was a really unforgettable moment. But because of her friendliness, she helped us to interact with each other smoothly and I thank her for the help.
Also, Ashley was supposed to sit in a different section but she was so nice to stop by us first before the game even began. Our conversation got longer and longer and I did not want this to end. She went to her seat in the middle of the game and she gave us a big hug. In the end, we talked to each other for about an hour, three innings in terms of a game. I did not pay attention to the game very well because I had a blast talking with Ashley.
I honestly don’t know how to explain this game very well so I’ll leave here some of the pictures I took.
On the left is Scott Hairston’s wife and on the right is Jerry Hairston’s wife. Stalker much? I think so too. But they were literally three rows in front of us.
So I am 3-0 this season. Meaning all of the games I went to this season so far, the Padres won all three games. Saturday July 17, 2010 marks the day as the best Padres game I went to in my life so far. When I go to more Padres games in the future this year, I hope to improve my record and stay undefeated. Meeting people and doing something new every time at Petco is always fun. What’s better than touring the press box, having a full conversation with the Ecksteins plus being 3-0 this season? Nothing.
First Game of 2010
The title of this entry is straightforward. On a gorgeous Saturday afternoon, I went to Petco Park with my friend for the very first time this season. It was his first time this year as well. On my way up to Petco, I was extremely nervous and my heart was beating non-stop. I know it sounds very silly, especially since this is coming from a huge Padres fan. I didn’t know what to expect for the 2010 season at Petco Park and I was excited above and beyond. I also wanted my plans to work out smoothly as possible. My plans were:
1. Talk with David Eckstein and see if he remembers me.
2. Meet up with my Twitter follower.
3. Watch a great Padres win without missing an action.
I waited for my friend and after I found him, we went inside the Petco Park for a great adventure. First person I saw was the one and only David Eckstein taking a batting practice. Several minutes later, Scott Hairston was signing autographs. I was able to get his just in time.
Pretty picture of Scott Hairston’s autograph, I know.
About ten minutes or so later, I saw my follower from Twitter, Danny. We promised to meet up and we did. I love bloggers/twitter people meetups. It’s so easy to talk Padres baseball together and I enjoy meeting new people.
Not too long later, pitcher Clayton Richard started signing as well. I was able to get his autograph as well and I even took a picture with him. He was extremely nice and I was very impressed.
After Clayton Richard signed, none of the Padres showed up to the field. However about an hour later, David Eckstein came out from the dugout or clubhouse to sign autographs for the fans. I figured out that he still signs everyday at Petco and I really respect him for showing class and doing the very best for the fans. He is a wonderful guy and San Diego will not be the same without him.
While he was signing, I just had to interrupt and say hello to him. It was so nice that he still remembers me! He gave me a big hug and I nearly fainted. No dialogue of the conversation this time because I was freaking out and became way too excited. But he did ask me how is everything going and I replied to him I’m doing very well. We even took a picture together that is literally made up of win.
I asked him nicely if he can take a picture with me showing a thumbs up sign and he did! I was very, very impressed but at the same time, I knew he would do such things like this because he is an overall excellent person. It was sad and hard saying bye to Eck but I told him good luck.
According to my friend, he didn’t sound too enthusiastic when he was signing to other people but when he turned around and saw me, his eyes really lit up. My friend also said that the fans gave a “What?! How does he know her?” look. I felt such like a celebrity among the crowd. The best part is that Eck gave me a big “Hey!” that everyone can hear about 10 feet away. His “Hey!” is really adorable, by the way. So as a conclusion, this is now my new profile picture in my blog and it will probably not change, unless Eck and I take another picture that is just as great as this or even better.
It was almost game time so my friend and I quickly settled into our seats.
The lineups looked like the following.
This was literally starting pitcher Wade LeBlanc’s first pitch.
Wade started to struggle already in the first inning but he settled down and was very consistent throughout his outing.
David Eckstein’s very first at bat was a hit!
Chase Headley grounded into a force out so David Eckstein was out at second base. But thanks to Adrian Gonzalez, he hit a two-run shot to drive in Chase. At this point, Padres took the lead with a score of 2-0.
Starting pitcher for the Mariners was Cliff Lee. At first, I was very nervous that he will dominate the Padres because he is one heck of a good pitcher. But rather, he struggled which was a very good thing for the Padres and the fans.
It was also fun seeing Ichiro with my own two eyes at a ballpark. We all know that he is a big shot in Japan and even here in the United States. It was a pleasure watching him but of course, I did not root for him.
Yesterday’s promotion was a soccer-style scarf and it was spectacular. At some points during the game, we put our scarves up like so shown in above.
Jerry Hairston Jr. got a productive out with a sacrifice fly and catcher Yorvit Torrealba scored. At this point, the game was 3 to 1, Padres with the lead.
Bottom of the 8th was when things got very interesting. Chase Headley hit a double to drive in Will Venable. It was now 4 to 1 Padres. Oscar Salazar came up to pinch hit and he responded a pitch by hitting a three-run shot to drive in Chase Headley and Adrian Gonzalez.
Now the score was 7 to 1. Reliever Edward Mujica did a good job not giving up any runs to the Mariners in the ninth inning. The Padres ultimately beat the Mariners 7 to 1!
It was very nice to start off the season (Well, for me.) with a win. I was very impressed with Wade LeBlanc and he out shined Cliff Lee. This win was very nice, especially because I was in the stands rooting hard for my Padres.
So in the end, I got:
- Two autographs (Scott Hairston and Clayton Richard)
- A big hug from David Eckstein
- A nice conversation with Eck
- Padres soccer-style scarf
- Great Padres win
- Over a hundred pictures
- Perfectly worked out plan
Feel free to click here to check out more. This night was another fun one at the ballpark and unforgettable. I hope to make more trips to Petco Park this season.
Introducing… the 2010 San Diego Padres (Part 2)
(Continuation of section 3 of part 1)
Matt Stairs
He will be definitely added on the Padres’ 25-man roster on Sunday. Matt Stairs signed a minor league deal during the off season and I thought this move was great. He won a World Series ring with the Phillies in 2008 and I always love when the Padres acquire players who claimed the ultimate prize. He is obviously one of the vetrans of this club and I am looking forward to see him to play. Especially in pinch hit situations because Padres did not have a strong pinch hitter throughout the seasons. Matt Stairs can change that ’cause the first thing that comes up to my mind when I think of him is pinch hit situations. I will be definitely looking fowrard to that situation throughout the season.
Now for part 2.
5. Young and experienced players: pitchers
I would like to add more things from this entry because really, I mentioned about the five pitchers.
Padres pitching rotation looks like the following below:
1. Jon Garland
2. Chris Young
3. Kevin Correia
4. Clayton Richard
5. Mat Latos
Looks like a big name is missing. What is it? That’s right. It’s Jake Peavy. We don’t have Jake as the number one starter anymore. So what? Loss of an ace should not be an impact towards a disastorous team when we have players that are solid and stepping up their games. Now, don’t get me wrong. I still like Jake and miss him. Trading him away was heartbreaking but it was part of buisness in the baseball industry. Personally, this move was acceptable because now the young guys can push themselves even more to be the starter.
For example, Clayton Richard.
He was one of the pitchers we got from the White Sox. He pitched the day after Jake Peavy left and wow, Clayton blew me away. He made a great first impression to the Padres fans. To me, first impression is very, very important. Clayton accomplished it well and that is the reason why he is one of my favorites. Ever since that day, he looked strong on the mound and I am still having fun watching him pitch. He is one of the youngsters but he can pitch extremely well at times. I am looking foward to see him everytime he goes on the mound.
Padres have another young starting pitcher who is totally going to blew the fans away.
When Mat Latos made his major league debut last July, he also made a great impression. Even though he got the loss on that day, he continued to pitch well whenever he got the ball. He is a big deal so the hitters need to watch out. He has a great fastball and can domintate the opposing players by throwing consistenet amound of strikeouts. Congrats to Mat for making on the fop five. By the way, this guy can throw some serious gas.
The top three pitchers Jon Garland, Chris Young and Kevin Correia is going to continue to pitch well and help out the young pitchers. Jon Garland is known as an inning eater and having him as the number one starter was an excellent move. He continues to pitch well and he will be an impact for this team. Not to mention he is pretty dang hot.
Chris Young is 100% back and this is a big, big must for the Padres pitching rotation. He was unhealthy for the last two seasons and it was devestating. His absence made the rotation shaky and the Padres needed him so much when he was placed on the disabled list. This is 2010 and a brand new, clean season for Chris. I can’t wait to see him again on the mound and hopefully he can deliever great things like he did during 2007, his All-Star season.
Kevin Correia is one of my favorite because he totally stepped up his game last season and made a really good impression. Also, it was his best season of the career. I like this guy a lot and he is fun to watch. I hope he can improve the performance from last season and continue to impress me.
6. Bullpen and closer
Bullpen is a pleasant surprise with mixture of young and experienced pitchers.
One of the youngsters is Luke Gregerson.
He joined the Padres late Spring Training of 2009 and he is very consistent on the mound. Last year was his first full season in the majors but I liked this guy from the start. He looks strong and impressed me as well. I hope to see him healthy and solid this upcoming regular season. He is a key ingredient towards a strong bullpen.
Another bullpen pitcher that is capturing my attention is Mike Adams.
He is an amazing pitcher with very good numbers. He must stay healthy or the bullpen can become disastorous. Mike is a solid pitcher but one of the problems he have is injury. I hate when guys especially like him gets injured and impacts the team in a horrible way. He was once again injured last season and I really want him to not go near the disabled list. His stuff is nasty and will blew the batters away.
And of course, how can I forget Heath Bell?
Last year, Heath took a giant step by taking Trevor Hoffman’s spot. As a first year as a closer, he made an excellent impression for not only Padres fans but fans across America. He lead the National League in saves and this was great way to represent San Diego. I am really proud of this guy and hopefully he can deliever the same pitching like he did last year for this season. He even made into the All-Star roster for National League and it was a lot of fun watching him. Heath is not only a great pitcher but a freaking hilarious guy. His bright personality can definitely bring the club up, not down.
Wrap Up
I am so pumped for 2010 season to kick off on Monday. Get ready Padres fans. This is going to be a fun, exciting winning season for San Diego. I guarantee it. With mixture of youth and veteran players, this one heck of a team will surprise so many people and prove the haters wrong by consistency, power and most importantly, energy.
Quest for the Start
At this point, it’s not too early to start thinking about pitching rotation for the Padres. I think pitching is like an egg for making an omlet. In this case, having great pitchers will make the team environment much brighter and better. Without solid pitchers, any team is going to lose ton of games, especially if the offense can’t step up. Also, pitchers are the ones who can prevent the opponent team’s offense from scoring runs. So therefore, pitching always comes first in my book. I see a lot of promise from the young pitchers and mentorship towards those young pitchers from the more experienced players. I have been doing some thinking about the pitchers we have and came across with top five pitchers who are going to be a great impact for this team. They are: Jon Garland, Kevin Correia, Chris Young, Mat Latos and Clayton Richard.
Jon Garland:
Acquiring Jon Garland was a smart move made by the Padres. The 30-year-old is obviously well-experienced on the mound and what he has to show looks great. His numbers are not eye-popping yet they are still decent. His ERA per season is usually around 4 but like I mentioned so many times, number does not matter the most.
I did not hear much about him up until when I found out that he signed with the Padres. He spent majority of his career with the White Sox and had ups and downs. At the Fan Fest two weeks ago, I heard him talk about his pitching and also impressed me by saying to the fans that this team can surprise others and this is a better team than people think. That’s when I started researching about him and thought whether looks good or not. So from that day, I have been eager to see what he can offer.
Jon Garland is competing for a number one spot for the pitching rotation and he may have a chance to become the one. Padres fans and the team will have to keep an eye on him.
Kevin Correia:
Kevin Correia struggled early last year but turned things around when four out of five starting pitchers were placed on the disabled list. He stepped up his game and became a new leader of the pitching staff. His numbers impressed me and also looked solid on the mound. So does that mean that he is going to be a number one starter? No. I can tell is that he may repeat the numbers he made from last year but he may need to step up his game even more if he wants to be number one.
When he was with the Giants for six years, he struggled and played as mostly the back of the end guy. Last year was his personal best and I am really proud of this guy for having that kind of year with us. I am looking foward to see him throughout the spring training and the new and better side of him during the regular season wheter he is going to be the number one starter or not.
Chris Young:
Dear Chris Young, please don’t get injured again during the season again.
Overall he is a great pitcher but he needs to stop getting hurt. We already established that. He spent majority of his season on the disabled list last year and the year before that, which was not good at all. He does look healthy after his shoulder sugery he had and I am extremely glad he looks confident enough to pitch very well.
Due to the injuries he had, there is a big question mark on my book if he should be the number one starter or not. The realiability did go down a bit but he is still one of my favorite pitchers. 2007 was his best career year so far. He was even a starter for National League at the All-Star Game and his ERA was microscopic. That year, he totally blew me away with his pitching. I foucused on him so much. If injuries can stay away from him, he can bounce back healthy and can really turn things around from the meltdown from 2008 and 2009. Here’s to a much brighther season for him.
Mat Latos:
Mat Latos caught my attention from the start because of what I heard about him when he was with the minors. Although he got a loss when he made his major league debut, he grew and grew as time progressed and I see a lot of promise from this young pitcher.
He does not look solid enough to be the number one starter but at least he can do is make it to the top five. I know he can achieve that because of what he has to show is amazing. I am starting to really like this guy and he even seems like a great person with an awesome personality.
This year will be his second year for Mat Latos and I hope to see no sophomore slump from him. He has so much talent along with potential and I hope he can prove to the fans that he has the ability to use the what he has on the mound.
Clayton Richard:
Finally, Clayton Richard is the one who looks good enough to lock himself in the starting rotation. When Jake Peavy got traded to the White Sox, Clayton Richard was the one that I looked forward the most among the four pitchers we got from Chicago. First impression was great, which was great to see because it was a day after when Jake got traded. Like Mat Latos, Clayton Richard experienced in the majors for such a little time. He did, however, made his major league debut in 2008 with the White Sox.
“Going into spring training not knowing exactly where everybody fits is a good problem.” said Clayton at the Fan Fest. This is a great quote from him and I agree 100%. Clayton can be one of the starters or not. We will have to wait and see. But I doubt he is not going to be a starter. Second half of the season last year was when I saw an audition full of young players including Clayton to compete for a spot. He impressed me for the remainder of the 2009 season and he deserves to be a starter. I see a lot of promise from him as well and he is continuing to grow. When the season rolls on, he should look consistent and ready to rock an roll when he starts.
Hyun Young’s rotation
The five pitchers I mentioned are my favorite and they should be locked in for the pitching rotation for now. Yes, there are still question marks left and spring training did not even start yet. However, the top pitchers are the ones who look very strong. Even the youngsters Mat Latos and Clayton Richard.
So my rotation?
Young, Correia, Garland, Latos, Richard.
This is not the final answer and it will change sometime. For now, this is what the rotation looks like. When my boys start playing during Spring Training, my answer will be as a final. I am definitely looking forward to the five pitchers the most out of the bunch.
2010 Padres Fan Fest: Epic Day
First of all, 2010 Fan Fest was incredible. Even though I couldn’t do most of the things on my previous entry, I still had so much fun!
For season ticket holders, the gate opened early an hour early which was at nine. On the other hand, the gate opened at ten for non-season ticket holders. I saw Kaybee and her family members few minutes I arrived at Petco. The line was HUGE. Fortunately, we got to the front gate pretty smoothly. I hung out with Kaybee and her sister.
When we were waiting in the line, I figured out the batting and hitting clinics from Heath Bell and Tony Gwynn Jr. were for kids 13 and younger. That’s ok though.
We first went to the weight room, and clubhouse.
That’s me standing infront of David Eckstein’s locker. Speaking of David Eckstein, he was NOT at the Fan Fest so I was disappointed. I’ve been waiting and waiting to go to Petco Park to see him but it didn’t work out.
I have never been to the weight room or the clubhouse until today so it was amazing to see them. After we looked through, we came outside and hung around at the dugout.
Then we walked around the bases. I didn’t run but still accomplished number 3 on my to do list.
(Secondbase)
(Thirdbase)
After we walked the bases, we bumped into RJ’s Fro, which was awesome. Kaybee and I won their first contest by saying “I love BBQ” and also being the first ones to see them. We took a picture with them and won a cool prize.
Thanks guys!
Also, we saw guys at Gaslamp Ball. I don’t know why but I was so nervous to talk to them. But hey, those guys are famous. It was so cool to meet the pros! We also met @jodes0405, a BIG fan of Everth Cabrera and the Padres.
We headed to the Padres Garage Sale. Couple of minutes of wandering around the store, we bumped into John, a fellow Padres blogger here in MLBlogs. It was awesome to see him finally in person.
You might be thinking, “Did you get any autographs?”
The answer is yes. The thing that was different from last year is that the fans had to get like a ticket to get an autograph of your favorite player at a certain time. Kaybee and I decided to get Everth’s at 1:00 P.M. We decided to take pictures of the Padres before we could get our autographs.
(Sean Gallagher)
(Mat Latos)
Their name plates were switched, by the way.
(Jon Garland. I love the glasses and he looks very cute in this picture!)
Kaybee and I also hung out at a section called “Digital and Media Zone” I had a chance to talk to Mark Neely, the play-by-play voice for Padres baseball.
It was about thirty minutes before one so we decided to wait for Everth. Fans and I gave him a round of applause when he climed up the stairs to sit at his seat to sign. Finally, it was our turn to get his autograph.
I said hi to him and he said hi back to me. He looked shy! That’s adorable. Remember the Spanish on my previous entry? It didn’t work out because I got so nervous! So all I said to him was thank you when he signed my baseball. There was another player who signed. His name is Carlos Hernandez and I have never heard of him.
(The top one is from Everth. The bottom one? I’ll get to that later.)
(Carlos Hernadez)
After we got what we wanted, we decided to take more picture of the Padres.
(Will Venable)
(Luke Gregerson)
(Tony Gwynn Jr.)
During the Fan Fest, Padres held Q&A for the fans. Basically, Padres players, broadcasters and front office members answered questions from the fans. Those who participated are: Dick Enburg, Mark Grant and Mark Neely as broadcasters, Chirs Young, Jon Garland and Clayton Richard as pitchers, Jeff Moorad and Tom Garfinkel as front office members, Scott and Jerry Hairston, Tony Gwynn Jr. and Will Venable. Before the fourth Q&A forum, which was the Hairston bros turn, Kaybee, her sister and I bumped into Steve Adler from Friarhood, which was again, awesome. We talked about our day and our awesome blogs. He complimented Kaybee’s new and improved jersey because she literally put a picture of Kouz. Her jersey is full of win, by the way.
Unfortunately, Kaybee and her family had to leave before the Hairstons came out. But I have pictures for her.
(Jerry Hairston)
(Scott Hairston)
I adore Jerry Hairston now. He was funny, made the fans laugh, and it’s an honor to have him as a Padre. He recently played with the New York Yankees who won the World Series last year. I can tell he plays his game hard everytime he does and it’s going to be even better when he plays with his younger brother, Scott.
After the Q&A was over, I met Steve again. We decided to hang out for the rest of the day. We saw Tom Garkinkel, Padres president and Chief Operating Officer, with a hotdog on his hand. We dropped by and said hello.
Later, we walked over to pitchers Kevin Correia and Joe Thatcher.
Both of them were really nice to me. They made eye contact with me, asked me like “How are you doing?”, and smiled at me. I even took a picture with Kevin Correia.
I expected Kevin to be shy but he proved me wrong. First of all, he put his hat backwards and I started laughing. Second of all, he was extremely nice and chill.
Steve and I caught up with Jane Mitchell. She was extremely nice and I just had to laugh when Steve and Jane were talking about their Facebook “issue”. We even took a picture together!
Later, Jenny Cavnar joined the party. Jenny is a reporter for the Padres so I was extremely thrilled to see her. I want her job someday but I didn’t say that to her. It was so amazing to have a talk with a reporter. Especially since I never done anything like that before. I really admire her and she is my idol. It was an incredible honor asking her questions and she was kind enough answer them. Another reason why she is my idol is that she played lacrosse when she was in college. I asked her for few lacrosse tips and they are really going to help me. As for broadcasting, I asked her how she does interview, pre-games and postgames. She said things are memorized, or directly said whaever is organized in her mind. I got incredible tips from her and I would like to thank her so very much.
(Funny story here: When I first introduced myself, she thought I was in college! That’s alright though. I told her that I’m in high school and she seemed surprised that I blog at a young age.)
Another cool story: My follower @goldfyngor totally recocgnized me! Guess my David Eckstein jersey worked. It was so awesome to have that type of meetup. I’ve never done anything like that so it totally made my day.
After all the fun, Steve and I saw the last Q&A, which featured outfielders Tony Gwynn Jr. and Will Venable. We only saw last few minutes. I had to leave and said goodbye to Steve. We need to go to a game during regular season someday!
2010 Fan Fest was absolutely incredible and this was the greatest birthday gift so far. By the way, thanks to Kaybee for giving me this awesome present.
Thanks girl!
As for the Padres and baseball, this really set the mood for me and rest of the Friar Faithful. I really think 2010 will be our year. Petco, I will see you again someday and go Padres!
Pointless Ramblings
1. I love playing around with David Eckstein’s part of last name. It goes something like this:
“Man, that was not ”eck”citing.”
“What an “eck”cellent play by the Padres defense!”
“Khalil had an “eck”scruciating pain for several months.”
“You have some “eck”splaining to do.”
It never gets old! Trust me. There are more but I can’t think of them right now.
2. Clayton Richard, a lefty pitcher we got from White Sox due to Jake Peavy trade, has the gorgeous eyes ever! Those bright blue eyes are stellar and stunning.
3. Starting pitcher Kevin Correia, cut his hair off! :O He looks five years younger.
WOW. But the haircut looks good on him!
4. Padres are dead last place in NL West. I know we are not going to be first place, obviously. But all I want for this team is to finish fourth place, which makes the D-Backs drop to fifth. Sorry guys.
5. In San Diego, I watch Padres games on television on channel 4. One on One with Jane Mitchell is also aired on channel 4, and this show is about Padres players sharing thier personal life, life on the field, etc. Of course I watched an episode when David Eckstein was featured. After the Marlins vs. Padres game, I am going to watch the new episode of One on One which Kevin Kouzmanoff is featured this time. This should be exciting to watch because: He’s freakin’ hilarious, down to Earth, and a great baseball player. If you want more information about this, click here.
6. I love when players wear backpacks that little girls wear!
(Braves relief pitcher Kris Medlen)
(Rockies relief pitcher Matt Daley)
(Rangers relief pitcher Naftali Feliz)
(Mets relief pitcher Eddie Kunz. He wins!)
So there you have it. I have to give huge credits to Flickr. Without them, this part of the entry wouldn’t exist. The picture of Matt Daley is by me and I know it’s bad. But I was smiling like crazy when I saw him with that backpack. It seems that only the relief pitchers wear these kind of backpacks. Heath Bell would look totally awesome when he wears one. But hey, why can’t players besides the bullpen wear them? Like Adrian Gonzalez or Everh Cabrera or whoever. My boys would look good in anything.
That’s enough randomness for today. Tune in for more!
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.
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