Results tagged ‘ Cubs ’

Final Adventure at Petco Park of the 2010 Regular Season

I want to first start off by apologizing for the lack of entries yet again. School is keeping me busy and I have been neglecting my blog due to my first priority. Because I am on break right now, I had an opportunity to go to Petco Park to watch a great Padres game on a Wednesday night. It’s extremely rare for me to go to Padres games on weekdays so this meant greatly for me. Padres hosted the Chicago Cubs.

I arrived at Petco about 45 minutes before the first pitch and the atmosphere was just incredible. There was a great mixture of Padres and Cubs fan at Petco Park. This game was also the final night game of the 2010 regular season. I caught up with my Twitter followers Denise and Danny first. We headed down to the field level to wait for David Eckstein. I was told by Ashley, David’s wife, that he would be looking out for me and my friends. Around 6:30, he greeted me with a big smile. I introduced Denise and Danny to David and we took a picture together.

 

 

The “Fear the Scrappy” sign is for David. I made this for him because I really felt like I needed to give something back to him. I really respect that he takes his time to talk to me whenever I go to Padres games, starting from last year. This is an incredible honor because this special connection I have is with a baseball player. It saddens me that seeing him yesterday means that I saw him for the last time during the 2010 regular season. I am definitely looking forward to see him next season. Thank you David!

After a nice chat with David, the three of us quickly headed down to the VIP/Player Will Call area by the homeplate gate where Ashley was waiting for an interview. Yes, you read the word “interview” right. Thanks to Ashley’s generosity, she allowed me to interview her. As some of you know, I am an aspiring baseball reporter so having this interview means everything to me for my future career. Because the lighting was not so good outside, the interview had to take place inside a room as a better location.

This allowed access to the building which connects to the Padres clubhouse. The long hallway included bunch of rooms and the four of us found a quiet room to do the interview.

 

 


 

This was the very first time that I did an interview so if you catch any mistakes, please bear with me. Plus I was pretty nervous being on camera and I also came up with an introduction literally at the last minute. I love improving my craft because it means that I am going to get better by learning and fixing my mistakes. Doing the interview with Ashley is an amazing honor. Thank you Ashley! Special thanks to Denise for filming this!
 
After the interview was done, Ashley was kind enough to take the three of us on top of the big stairs where we needed to go to our seats. We parted our ways and hoped to see each other next season. Danny and I sat around the same area.
 
Starting pitcher was Chris Young and his performance last night was very solid. He was very consistent and controlled the game well. He tossed five scoreless innings. It was my first time seeing Chris Young pitch in person and he made a great impression. Will Venable made this amazing catch and this jaw-dropping play. I got even more goosebumps because I saw his plays in person. Will definitely fired up the Padres fans and proved that he was a hero for this game. 
 
Around the 3rd inning, Danny and I went to the Tony Gwynn statue area (located at the park at the park) to meet up with Twitter followers. Caitlin and David were the first ones waiting for us. David gave me an awesome poster which looks like this:
 
 
Thanks David!
 
I also bought a penitentiary shirt from Denise. Except the shirt is blue and the front says “San Diego” and the back has the fancy designs shown below:
 
Img_2952_medium 
 
Later, Ryan joined as well as Denise. Jodi and Sean from Gaslamp Ball found us at the Tony Gwynn statue couple of minutes later. We had great laughs and moments. Plus regarding to the statue itself. They are absolutely hilarious and it was nice to see them finally in person. Dancing and singing to Brass Monkey by Beastie Boys– also known as Ryan Ludwick’s at-bat song– was absolutely pricelss. Not to mention the Miguel Tejada song that Caitlin and David created. DJ Got Us Falling in Love Again by Usher pumped everyone up. Charisma celebrated her birthday party at Petco last night and decided to join the Twitter party after hers. So we had a giant Twitter meet up at a ballgame, which I never experienced until yesterday. We took a quick picture together and parted our ways around the eighth inning.
 
 
Padres ended up winning 3-0 over the Cubs thanks to David Eckstein and Chase Headley who each drove in a run. Ryan Ludwick was able to score by Cubs pitcher Randy Wells’ wild pitch. Because the Padres won last night, I am 4-0 and undefeated this season. I think I brought luck to the Padres for those four games. All the four games I attended were incredible and fun. I met bunch of Padres fans in person that I interact with on Twitter and blogs. Yesterday was a very delightful and enjoyable way to finish my adventure at Petco Park of the 2010 regular season. I cannot wait to attend more Padres games during the 2011 season at Petco Park!  
 

August Evaluation

Month of August reached its finish line which means it’s time for another evaluation for the San Diego Padres. August was very up and down but in the end, this team finished the month with the record of 16-13, 76-55 overall. They still remain on top of the National League West and National League. As usual, here are the top five greatest moments for the month of August. 

 

5. Sweeping the Pirates at Petco

highfive.jpg picture by hyunyoung_95

From the 10th through the 12th, Padres hosted the Pittsburgh Pirates at Petco Park. The three games consisted of great pitching and great offense from San Diego. Game one was about starting pitcher Wade LeBlanc’s 5.2 innings of eight strikeouts and a one run game. He even helped himself by driving in a run. The bullpen was lights out and did a great job not giving up any runs. From the offensive side, Ryan Ludwick hit not one, but two home runs in this game and Jerry Hairston drove in a run as well. Final score of game one was 4-1 Padres.

The following game’s starting pitcher Kevin Correia did a decent job by giving up four runs and striking out seven Pirates, but earned himself a win. Padres offense provided eight runs to help out the pitcher. This team worked together and earned a “W” in the win column by beating out the Pirates 8-5. 

Jon Garland shined on the final game of the three game series by going six innings of work without allowing any runs. Miguel Tejada and Ryan Ludwick were the ones who provided the offense. In the end, fans got out their brooms and the Padres ultimately swept the Pirates.

 

4. “A” effort game against the D-Backs on August 7th.

A-Gon2.jpg picture by hyunyoung_95

Although the Padres lost in a heartbreaking fashion, this game was very memorable. Why? The Padres did not afford to quit. Starting pitcher was Clayton Richard and he had one of the worst outing of this season. His outing consisted of 3.2 innings of work with allowing five runs. The Padres bats had to wake up and they did. They came back and eventually tied the game five to a piece in the dramatic ninth inning. Unfortunately, Padres reliever Luke Gregerson gave up a walk-off home run to Arizona’s Chris Young.

In the end, the Padres lost but this game meant something very crucial; never giving up. When it comes to a game when the Padres are down by couple of runs, I don’t believe in giving up. This Padres club does not afford to quit. They find a way to comeback and work together as a team in order to be in the place they want to be at. If the team doesn’t give up, then the fans shouldn’t either. I tip my cap to the Padres for their effort and hard work.   

 

3. Sweeping the Cubs at Wrigley

trio.jpg picture by hyunyoung_95

Padres headed to Chicago to play against the Cubs from the 16th through the 19th for four-game series. All four out of five pitchers did their job very well by preventing the Cubs to score ton of runs. Kevin Correia, Jon Garland, Clayton Richard and Mat Latos did everything they could to earn themselves a win. Bats were awake for all four games and the offensive side helped their pitchers out. Sweeping a team at home is great but sweeping at road is even greater because it feels like crashing a party and snatching wins from the home team.  

 

2. Making Jonathan Sanchez a liar and taking the series at San Francisco

william.jpg picture by hyunyoung_95

“We’re going to play San Diego, and we’re going to beat them three times. If we get to first place, we’re not going to look back.” stated the Giants pitcher Jonthan Sanchez. His statement definitely got the fans fired up. For the three games in San Francisco, playoff atmosphere was filled in AT&T Park. The roar from both Padres and Giants fans really set the mood for the potential postseason series between these two teams. 

Jonathan Sanchez was the one who got the call to pitch for the first game of the three game series. Sanchez ultimately lost and the look of his face was priceless when his night was done. Proving people wrong is a great feeling and the Padres successfully did their job.

Even though the Padres lost the following game, they awarded themselves by beating Giants’ ace Tim Lincecum for the final game of the series. Lincecum got the loss he deserved because he allowed five runs in only three innings of work. Wade LeBlanc in the other hand, did the best he could and awarded himself a win by allowing only two runs and pitching seven solid innings.

Sweeping the Giants would have been even better to prove Jonathan Sanchez and the Giants wrong, but the Padres did everything they could and took the series at San Francisco. The way these Padres played baseball for the three games was magnificent and solid.   

 

1. Believe and faith

denorfia.jpg picture by hyunyoung_95

This month was filled with the words “believe” and “faith”. Padres received a wakeup call by suffering in a six-game losing streak. This is a season-high and first time ever losing five or more games in a row this season. Some fans are starting to worry about this team right now but I’m not. Keeping faith sounds cliche but it helps a lot for not only myself but for the fans and the team as well. Positive energy always outshines negative energy in so many ways. I have also been seeing whining and panicking from some of the fans and it’s very unacceptable. It’s not the end of the world when a team is in a slump. I don’t expect the 2010 Padres to be dominant all the time because they are not bunch of superheroes. They are human beings who does every little things possible and lead those things into a point when the team come up with opportunities to score and ultimately win ball games. I’m tired of seeing some of the fans panicking about the six-game losing streak and slumping. It’s time to stop for those fans. Padres can slump and I can totally understand that. This team is just going to get better at some point because they are learning from their mistakes to bounce back. I strongly believe that this team is going to bounce back soon and they are not going to collapse.

Q’s and A’s

I stole this survey from Jen. After looking through these questions, they really made me want to answer them. So, here we go.  
 
MLBlogger: Hyun Young, who is a writer of Perpetual Padres Saga
Signup date: December 12, 2008
 
1. Why do you blog?
I love my Padres. I enjoy sharing about what I think about my team not only in blogosphere but bloggers around the Web. 
2. What was your favorite post?
The five entries I mentioned in this entry. There are more, but I’m too lazy to list rest of them.  
 
3. Strangest blogging experience?
It wasn’t strange, but irritating. During the summer, there was a kid who talked cr*p load of trash about the Padres on my entries. Thank goodness he vanished and I blocked him. You know, just in case he comes back.
 
4. What is your favorite blog, including at least one MLBlog?
Basically, the blogs I linked on my list. But I especially enjoy blogs from: Julia, Kaybee, Cat, Jen, Jeff and Allen, Virginia and so on. There are so many to choose. From non-mlbloggers, I definitely enjoy reading from Gaslamp Ball, The Friarhood, and RJ’s Fro 
 
5. What would you be doing if you weren’t blogging?
Most likely at school, doing homework, tuning into ESPN, going to lacrosse practice, surfing the web and sleeping.
6. Where do you think the blogosphere is going?
On top of the world. 
7. Favorite team and why?
San Diego Padres. I moved to San Diego and started following this team in 2005. They mean a lot to me and I’m a die-hard fan now. I want to learn more and more about this team. If this team doesn’t exist anymore, I would be devistated.
8. What is one thing most people don’t know about you?
I love doing anything that involves making. Especially out of paper. I love making cards, paper cranes, stars, etc.
 
9. Happiness is…
“A person will be just about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”-Abraham Lincoln.
Plus anything that involves with God, family and friends, and the Padres.  
10. Who is your #1 favorite baseball team?
San Diego Padres.
11. Who was the manager when you began watching?
Bruce Bochy. I kind of miss him. But I’m glad to hear that he’s doing a fine job with San Francisco.
12. Who is your favorite player(s) of all time from the team that is no longer with the team?
Trevor Hoffman, Jake Peavy and Khalil Greene.
13. Who is your favorite player on your team, only picking one?
David Eckstein. Dude knows who I am.
14. Have you ever met any members of your team?
Fan Fest in 2009 and games during regular season.  
15. What relief pitcher is your favorite on your team?
Mike Adams, ’cause he’s a beast.
16. What is the furthest you ever traveled to see your team play?
Not yet. In the future, I’m thinking at Los Angeles when the Padres play against the Dodgers though. And since LA is closest compared to other cities, I’ll have to make a trip to Dodger stadium one day, being proud to wear my Padres gear.
17. Are you happy with your team’s offseason moves so far?
Sure. I mean, we didn’t make huge moves like in 2008 and early 2009. I was heartbroken couple of times. All we did was extend Kevin Correia– which is a plus –, signed a young catcher, and gave a minor contract to Mark Worrell. Nothing big so far.
18. Who is your team’s center fielder?
Tony Gwynn Jr..
19. Who is the first pitcher in your team’s starting rotation?
In 2009, it was Jake Peavy. But since he’s with the White Sox, we are missing a number one starter. For this upcoming season, it’s most likely between Kevin Correia and Chris Young. My personal pick is Kevin because I trust him more than Chris now. Plus, I saw Kevin Correia pitch three times during 2009 season when I went to three games.  
20. Have you ever seen your team on Opening Day before?
Sadly, no.
21. Do you know the name of your team’s mascot?
The Swinging Friar.
22. What is your team’s home run song?
I don’t know the title of the song. Padres fans, help please?
23. Do you own any jerseys of your team?
Signed David Eckstein home jersey.  
24. What team inside your own division would you not mind winning the division if your team can’t?
D-Backs.
25. Think of the team inside your own division you dislike the most. What member of the team based on skill would you want on your team?
The Dodgers. I’m not a big fan of them, honestly. But I’d choose Andre Ethier. Great player, hard worker, plus he’s gorgeous.
26. Now think about that team again. What player would you just like to see leave baseball altogether?
Manny Ramirez. Enough said.
27. Back to your team, finally! What player on your team would make a great manager one day?
Eck. Ok. He’s the oldest out of the bunch but I honestly don’t care about his age. Besides, he looks 26 instead of 34. Eck always sets great examples infront of the young kids. Plus, he’s going to be a ten-year vetran and the one with the most experience in baseball fields.
28. What is your least favorite team for your boys to face and why?
Dodgers. I get nervous a lot. But I still want to scream “Beat LA!” Sorry Cat.
29. What other team do you enjoy playing the most?
Angels. I like this team a lot and they are my favorite AL team.
30. What pitcher makes you the most nervous when he warms up?
Wow. To be honest, no one.
31. Do you have his autograph?
No.
32. Do you have his jersey?
No.
33. Do you have his rookie card?
Nope.
34. How many games did you attend this year?
In 2009, four. Three at Petco, one at Anaheim.
35. What is your favorite position?
Second base and shortstop all the way.
36. Do you remember Harry Caray?
No.
37. Do you or did you collect baseball cards?
I tried to. I remember the very first one I got was Carlos Delgado card when he was with the Blue Jays. That was pretty much it.  
38. Beside your home team’s ballpark, what’s your favorite ballpark?
Angel Stadium, because that’s the only stadium I’ve been to so far that’s beside Petco. Angel Stadium is gorgeous, by the way.  
39. Who’s your all time favorite baseball player?
This is hard. But I would have to say David Eckstein.
40. Do you know their middle name (if they have one)?
Mark.
41. Is there a very young baseball player that you believe will become a big star in the future? If so, who?
Everth Cabrera, ’cause this dude can nail any defensive plays.
42. Do you have the MLB Network?
Unfortunately, I don’t have it. Boo.
43. Have you ever caught a foul ball or a homerun ball at a baseball game?
Nope.
44. How many baseball stadiums have you been to?
Two. Petco and Angel Stadium. I’m going to increase that number and make it to thirty someday.
45. Do you have anything autographed by a baseball player?
Autographs from David Eckstein, Kevin Kouzmanoff, and Chase Headley in one baseball (Thanks to my 8th grade English teacher who gave the ball to me when he caught a foul ball with one hand.) Autographs from Drew Macias, Will Venable, Mike Adams, Bud Black and Heath Bell in another basebll (Huge thanks to Cat for collecting autographs from the Padres, wearing Dodgers gear!). Also a Jake Peavy glove. It was a promotion back in 2008. He didn’t sign it for me but it has an autograph and I will gladly take it.
46. When you hear the word “baseball”, what mainly do you think of?
My boys.
47. Name a baseball player that just simply does not look like a baseball player. What does he look like instead?
Chris Young. He’s 6-10 and looks like he should play basketball instead. He even looks like a basketball player.
48. Non Cubs fans–Don’t you want to see the Cubs win a WS in the next 5 years?
I don’t even want to see the Cubs in the playoffs.  
49. What is your most valuable/important baseball possession?
It’s a package from the Ecksteins. I would cry if I lose my posession of signed David Eckstein jersey, a book that he wrote called, “Have Heart” (He wrote a note and signed it.) and a card from his wife, Ashley. Plus my two autographed balls.    
50. Best seats you have ever had in a baseball game?
Field box infield (Just couple seats behind home plate.)=Greatest seats ever.
51. Would you ever go to a Pirates game?
Maybe.
52. Do you think your team has a shot at the postseason next year?
Hell yeah!
53. You are up against Mariano Rivera and you can choose anyone to pitch hit against him down by 1 with runners on 2nd and 3rd, who do you choose from your team?
I’d say Adrian Gonzalez. First of all, Rivera is a righty so we need a lefty hitter. So that makes A-Gon the right answer.
54. Is baseball your favorite sport (to watch or play)? Or does football or soccer or some other sport take precedent?
#1: Baseball
#2: Football
#3: Lacrosse, ’cause I play this sport.
55. You see your FAVORITE player in the world at the grocery store- what do you do?
Freak out, scream “Eck!!”, ask him if he remembers me (I’m sure he’s going to.) and give him a big hug. 

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Seriously?

My boy David Eckstein got hurt yesterday :(

AHHH! Screw you Carlos Zambrano. He didn’t even come up to him and said sorry! Look how painful he looks!

Zambrano hit Eck’s chest with 91-mph fastball. My baby!!!! He got up like a minute later and got to first base. I clapped for him when he got up as I was watching this on TV. He gave me a great sportsmanship. However, Eck got out of the game with a chest contusion. His x-rays were negative.

Dear Eck,

I really hope you are all right. Watching you get hurt really bummed me. But you are a great guy and I know you can suck it up and don’t make a huge deal of this. I really want to see you back in the lineup tonight. Get well very soon!

Love, Hyun Young  

Last two days, (Thursday and Friday) Eck was beaten up! On Thursday, he got knocked to the ground by Giant’s Pablo Sandoval, who was attempting to break a double play. Eck also fouled a ball off his right and left knee. Oh yeah, he even got hit by a pitch in the ninth inning by Brian Wilson. And yesterday made me even more mad. I hate you Zambrano, even if you didn’t mean to, you could have said sorry. Come on man, it was that easy!   

On the brighter side, Padres shut down the Cubs, 4 to 0. One of the runs included Adrian’s solo homerun. He still leads major league with 16. Way to go man, keep it up! Pitching wise, Jake dominated the Cubs.

He struck out 10 and allowed only 2 hits in 6 innings. Jake definitely deserved the win and improved his record by 3-5. As all of you guys know, he had to make a choice between stay as a Padre of go to Chicago to be a White Sox. Jake refused the trade and still a Padre. I was so proud of this guy! He truely loves San Diego and he will stay her for awhile. The way he pitch last night was even more amazing. Jake let the “distractions” slip by and got his head in the game. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the quality work of a former CY Young award winner.

My boys now won 7 in a row. Tonight, they are shooting for number 8. Josh Geer is up against Randy Wells. You know, I’m starting to get cocky a little bit by watching the way Padres are playing right now. We are now second place, 8.5 games behind the Dodgers. But I believe in them and I know that they will reach first place again.   

Shameful. Just shameful

Padres yet lost another game against the Cubs in the third game of the three game series in Chicago. We got swept. The score was even more pathetic. 11 to 3. This is frustrating. I mean, we got swept three times already this season. First it was against the Dodgers, then the Astros, and now the Cubs.

One-man show

The Cubs series have been just a one-man show by Adrian Gonzalez. Adrian produced and performed this act in Chicago for three days. He’s the one who’s having fun right now. How? Well all I can say is that he hit four homeruns in three games which makes it 14 this season! He now leads Major League in homeruns, one more than Carlos Pena in Tampa Bay. That’s one thing to be proud of for the Padres. Our first baseman homered in four straight games with five total for eight RBI. Way to go man. You are our only hope as of now. Stay that way and please tell your teammates to step it up.

Now it’s gone way to far

As I look at the numbers, it’s embarrassing now. Earlier today (or yesterday rather), the Padres got only four hits today. FOUR?! Are you guys serious? Come on boys. You guys can play way better than this. Obviously, the hitters are not doing well and pitching definitely are doing terrible. Chad Guadin, a starter, issued 7 walks in only 4 1/3 innings. He deserved the loss. As of now, Padres’ starting picthers are winless for 25 straight games. Last time a starter won a game was back in April 16th against the Mets, when Jake got the win at New York.

I have tons of questions floating around my head right now. Why can’t they hit? Why is our pitching staff weak? What will happen if we pull out Brain Giles. Blah blah blah. You guys get the idea. But seriously, these are the type of questions Padres fans have in their minds right now. Oh yeah. Definitely myself. I got another question: Will David Eckstein play shortstop over Luis Rodriguez since he injured his ankle?

 

But our skipper Buddy Black disagreed with me. He feels that Chris Burke, our new shortstop, is more comfortable to play at short. What? He specifically said that Eck would do anything to help the Padres, that includes switching back to shortstop. I really want this guy to play shortstop. Shortstop is my favorite position since my two favorite boys Khalil Greene and David Eckstein can handle it very well. (They even wear the same number 3!)

Padres are not doing well and we all know that. But please don’t tell us we stink or this year is going to be last season all over again. People, it’s only mid-May. Lots of baseball are still waiting. I’ve been really frustrating lately but I’m doing my best to keep my cool and not to make a huge issue. That is just a wrong thing to do as a fan. I can yell “GO PADRES!” all I want. I still believe in them.

We are back home again and hosting the Reds. Aaron Harang vs. Chad Guadin at Petco. It’s on. I’m ready for a win.

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