The Dodgers got what manager Don Mattingly called "middle news" on Kenley Jansen today, neither good nor bad. The reliever will likely have surgery after the season to correct his irregular heartbeat, but also plans to pitch again for the Dodgers this month.

Jansen met with doctors at White Memorial Hospital on Tuesday and as a precaution will be out another 10 days to make sure the blood thinners are fully out of his system. He will meet with doctors again after that, then if cleared will be ready to pitch beginning with the series against the Washington Nationals on Sep. 18.

After the season, Jansen is considering having a cardiac ablation surgery, a procedure that scars or destroys tissue that causes abnormal heart rhythms. It isn't open heart surgery, and would be done using catheters so it isn't as invasive. The exact recovery time is unknown but Jansen is expected to be ready for spring training next season.

Notes

• Chad Billingsley will have a second injection of platelet-rich plasma into his right elbow on Wednesday, and Mattingly said the right-hander would likely not pitch again this season. "It's hard to think we're going to get Billingsley back for anything major at all," Mattingly said.
  
  But what about Billingsley coming back and pitching in relief? "It seems like it's going down the tubes," Mattingly said.
  
• Javy Guerra was placed on the disabled list with a strained left oblique muscle on Tuesday. The right-hander felt something in his side while warming up on Sunday before pitching a scoreless inning against the Diamondbacks. Mattingly said he was planning to use Guerra for a second inning but changed plans when the reliever told him he was hurting.
• Josh Wall was recalled from Triple A Albuquerque, five days after getting optioned.
• Randy Choate is okay to pitch one day after taking a ground ball off the thumb.
• Ted Lilly will throw a simulated game on Wednesday, and Mattingly said there was still time for Lilly to come back and contribute in the bullpen, giving the team another left-handed reliever.
• Juan Rivera was taking ground balls at third base during infield practice, and I asked Mattingly what Rivera was doing at third. "I asked him the same question the other day," Mattingly said, adding that he has no plans to use Rivera at third base. For what it's worth, Rivera has never played third base in the major leagues, but he did play one inning at second base in 2008 while with the Angels.
  
• The Padres on Tuesday recalled pitcher Brad Boxberger and infielder Andy Parrino from Triple A Tucson, have promoted catcher Ali Solis from Double A San Antonio, and activated pitcher Anthony Bass from the 60-day disabled list.
  

Starting Lineups

Game Time: 7:10 p.m.

TV: KCAL

MLB Gameday

The Padres rallied for three runs in the 11th inning against John Ely for a 6-3 win at Dodger Stadium, snapping the Dodgers' three-game winning streak. The loss dropped the Dodgers to 1½ games behind the Cardinals for the second wild card in the National League.

Logan Forsythe hit a two-run go-ahead single of Ely, making his first appearance of the season for the Dodgers. Ely, who last pitched on Aug. 28 for Triple A Albuquerque, was in his second inning of work.

The Dodgers got a magnificent performance from Clayton Kershaw, who was in line for his 13th win of the season as the club had its first two-run lead of the homestand in the eighth inning. But Matt Guerrier allowed a two-run home run to Yasmani Grandal in the eighth inning to tie the game, the second home run allowed by Guerrier in his three appearances since returning from the disabled list.

The first pitch thrown by Kershaw was hit over the fence by Chris Denorfia. But the Padres were unable to do much damage with any of the other 115 pitches thrown by Kershaw on the night. He allowed one run in seven innings, with nine strikeouts.

Kershaw now has 201 strikeouts on the season, becoming the fifth Dodger ever with three straight seasons of 200 or more punchouts.

"Obviously those guys are awesome pitchers and I have a ton of respect for all those guys. But at the same time strikeouts don't really mean too much to me. It's not something I try to do, it's not a big deal. Outs are outs," Kershaw said. "Two hundred innings is something I pride myself on. Going out there every fifth day and pitching deep into games, those are things you can control. Strikeouts, they're going to happen, but they're not my main concern."

The Dodgers rallied to take a 3-1 lead in the seventh inning thanks to three straight hits, including the go-ahead RBI by Shane Victorino, and a sacrifice fly by Adrian Gonzalez.

Ethier continued his hot September with a solo home run in the second inning that tied the score at 1-1. It was the third home run in four September games for Ethier and his fifth home run in his last 12 contests. With the long ball, Ethier became the 16th Los Angeles Dodger to collect 1,000 hits.

The two sides took turns stranding a leadoff double in the sixth inning. Carlos Quentin doubled to start the top of the inning but was stranded at third. Adrian Gonzalez did the same to open the bottom of the inning, but with runners on the corners and nobody out Gonzalez was caught in a rundown after running on contact on a grounder to third base.

It was the second deflating out at or near third base on the night for the Dodgers, as Mark Ellis was picked off third base with one out in the first inning by catcher Yasmani Grandal.

Eric Stults made his 11th career start at Dodger Stadium, and his first as a visitor. He only struck out one but was able to last six innings, and allowed just one run in his no-decision. In his 11 career starts at Chavez Ravine, Stults has a 3.24 ERA with 46 strikeouts and 14 walks in 66 2/3 innings.

Ronald Belisario, pitching for the fifth time in seven days, pitched a scoreless ninth inning.

The Dodgers had what seemed like a prime opportunity in the 10th inning with the heart of their order coming up, but lefty Tommy Layne struck out Gonzalez, Matt Kemp, and Hanley Ramirez on 14 pitches, earning his first major league win.

Kemp is now 3-for-21 (.143) on the homestand, and manager Don Mattingly thinks his center fielder is still suffering from a bruised knee from running into the center field wall in Colorado.

"I don't think he's 100%, that's for sure. He's a little banged up, he missed a few days. His shoulder I think is something that probably has some effect on him. I think he's banged up," Mattingly said. "This game is tough enough to play when you're 100%. When you're banged up it changes some things."

Up Next

The Dodgers go for a series win on Wednesday, sending Aaron Harang to the mound against his old team. Clayton Richard starts the series finale for the Padres.

Tuesday's Particulars

Home Runs: Andre Ethier (17); Chris Denorfia (6), Yasmani Grandal (7)

WP - Tommy Layne (1-0): 1 IP, 3 strikeouts

LP - John Ely (0-1): 2 IP, 4 hits, 3 runs, 1 intentional walk, 2 strikeouts

Sv - Luke Gregerson (4): 1 IP, 1 walk

The San Diego Padres made a number of roster moves last night, adding four players to the active roster and removing two others. The club designated right-hander Ross Ohlendorf and catcher Eddy Rodriguez for assignment, recalled right-hander Brad Boxberger and infielder Andy Parrino, purchased the contract of catcher Ali Solis, and activated right-hander Anthony Bass from the disabled list:

#Padres reinstate RH A. Bass, recall RH B. Boxberger, INF/OF A. Parrino, select C Ali Solis from @missionsmilb DFA Ohlendorf & E. Rodriguez

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) September 4, 2012

The Padres signed Ohlendorf to a minor league contract in June after a series of injuries severely depleted the team's starting rotation depth. The 30-year-old right-hander made nine mid-season starts and thirteen appearances overall for the Padres, posting a 7.77 ERA and 7.2 K/9 in forty-eight and two-thirds innings. Ohlendorf spent the last month at Triple-A.

Rodriguez, 26, appeared in two games for the Padres this season, collecting a home run in seven plate appearances for his first and only major league hit thus far. The Cuban catcher spent most of the year at high Single-A and Triple-A, where he hit just .217/.264/.373 with fourteen home runs in one hundred one games.

The 24-year-old Boxberger is making his fourth stint in the club's bullpen this season. The powerful rookie right-hander owns a 3.52 ERA and 11.7 K/9 in fifteen and a third major league innings so far this year. Boxberger has dominated the PCL this season, posting a 2.70 ERA and 12.9 K/9 in thirty-seven appearances, and looks a be a big part of San Diego's bullpen going forward.

Parrino spent the first two months of the season with the Padres, splitting time between second and shortstop, before going down with a hand injury in June. The 26-year-old switch-hitter has found success with the bat at all levels in the minors but has yet to translate that into big league success. In over one hundred plate appearances on the season, Parrino is hitting just .174/.276/.250 with a single home run.

Solis, 24, gets his first crack at the big leagues after putting together a solid season at Double-A. The young catcher from just across the border in Mexicali, Mexico, hit .283/.307/.419 with six home runs in eighty-nine games.

Bass, who has been on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation/soreness since late June, has a 4.70 ERA in fourteen starts on the season. It is unclear where Bass immediately fits back into the Padres rotation, but it is likely he will make at least a few starts.

Yonder Alonso's first year in San Diego has been quiet in many ways, but not all of them are his doing. Petco Park was going to deflate his numbers, regardless of how good he is, just as it does for every other hitter. Because of this, Alonso is hitting all of .271/.344/.388 in 130 games and 516 plate appearances this year. Don't be fooled, though, as he might not have rookie status, but he's still a rookie -- and one who has adapted.

On June 27, Alonso's season OPS fell to 668. He had his share of highs in the first half, but they were drowned by lows, and it resulted in a .253/.324/.344 start. Since, though, he's been much more productive, hitting .293/.368/.442, for an 810 OPS that, once adjusted for Petco, is even more impressive than that. Of course, your league doesn't adjust for Petco, meaning all you get is an 810 mark. But there's a good chance, given Alonso's skills, that he'll be much closer to that number than his season-long one in 2013, and that's what you want to remember.

It might not be a perfect fit for first base -- though in NL-only, you'd certainly take it. But Alonso is also a left fielder, at least for the rest of this season. He hasn't lined up at the position, and won't be eligible there in 2013 barring a position change, but if you assume he'll either hit like he has in the second half -- or possibly more with more experience -- then you should be fine with him at first.

Alonso doesn't strike out much, and that gives him an edge at Petco. Yes, balls in play there tend to turn into outs more often, but a strikeout is a guaranteed out, and a ball in play has a chance to be a hit. Even if his BABIP suffers from Petco, by hitting more balls into play, he'll pick up more hits than someone who punches out more often. It's a little thing, but worth remembering.

Alonso is something of a sleeper for 2013 given his strong second half that's masked by his slow start, but take heart in the fact that Petco, while it's hurt him somewhat, hasn't crushed him, especially not during the second half. The samples are small, but keeping an eye on Alonso could turn out to be a positive development for next year's squad.

After dropping the opening game on Monday, our boys evened up the series with an extra-inning 6-3 win last night. Tonight they will try to avoid losing back-to-back series as they finish up their three-game set in Los Angeles.

The Dodgers will send Aaron Harang to the mound to face his former team. He will be looking for his first win at Chavez Ravine since July 4th. The Dodgers have lost in each of Harang's last five starts at home, a stretch in which he has gone 0-3 and posted a 6.04 ERA. The first of those five games was a loss to our Padres on July 14th. Harang pitched seven innings and surrendered four runs (three earned) on four hits and a walk. Among those hits were two home runs. This will be his fifth start against us this season, having gone 1-1 in his first four.

In his most recent start, Harang gave up three runs on five hits in five innings against Arizona, who went on to beat the Dodgers 4-3 in extra innings. He will need some more good run support from his offense, who hasn't played badly in these first two games. Harang's fellow former Padre Adrian Gonzalez has gone 3-for 8 with a double and an RBI in the first two games of the series. He'll try to get some more hits tonight off Clayton Richard, against whom he has hit 3-for-3 all-time.

Richard has 11 career starts against the Dodgers and a 6-2 record to show for it. However, his two losses both occured at Dodger Stadium, one of which was earlier this year. He gave up only two earned runs on five hits in seven innings, but his offense only gave him one run of support so he took the loss. His other start at Dodger Stadium this season was a four-run, six-hit, six-inning appearance that resulted in a no-decision for him and a loss for the team.

Richard is riding a hot streak lately, winning five of his last six starts while going at least 6 1/3 innings (including a five-hit complete game shutout) in each of them. He most recently came out on the winning end of a 5-4 decision in Colorado. He gave up three earned runs on eight hits at Coors Field and lasted 6 1/3 innings.

Despite losing three of our last four games, our offense has kept it close. Logan Forsythe brought home the go-ahead run in the 11th inning last night and has gone 7-for-19 at Dodger Stadium this season. Over his last seven games, he's hitting .440 with five RBI. Chase Headley continues to find success after having an outstanding August. Over these first two games, he's gone 4-for-11 with a home run, two runs scored, and four RBI. He's hitting .417 over his last five games and looks to keep mashing against his former teammate Harang tonight.

Cory Brock and Andy Masur are both reporting on Twitter that Chris Denorfia has been extended through 2014. As far as bench depth goes, Deno is as good as it gets. No details yet as the value of the detail (hurry up, Cory).

This is what Chris Denorfia looks like:

Chris "Beast Mode" Denorfia

#13 / Center Field / San Diego Padres

Height: 6-0

Weight: 195

Bats: R

Hits: Home runs off of Clayton Kershaw like it's no big

Throws: R

Born: Jul 15, 1980

Chris Denorfia is probably best known for his curly hair that peeks out from under his head gear, his spectacular diving catches and being generally very likable. Most recently, he hit a leadoff home run against Clayton Kershaw to start last night's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers... Like a boss.

In other news, Chase Headley is Chase Headley and will likely need to grow wings, conquer the Ottoman Empire and solve three of the remaining six Millenium Prize Problems before the Padres can even remotely consider contract talks.

The Dodgers made official on Wednesday what has been known for a few days, that pitcher Chad Billingsley's season is over. The club, and the pitcher, hope that he will be able to pitch in 2013.

Billingsley has a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, but was holding out hope that platelet-rich plasma injections would help that heal and that he might be able to pitch out of the bullpen this season. But on Monday, Dr. Neal ElAttrache told Billingsley that he would be shut down for the remainder of the season, and the Dodgers put him on the 60-day disabled list on Wednesday.

"There was an outside chance I would be able to get back, it wasn't very good, but I was able to hold onto that. The night they told me (I was shut down), I thought, 'Crap'," Billingsley said. "We're in a September race with a chance to make the playoffs. You always want to be a part of it, but now I have to sit and watch."

Billingsley had a second PRP injection on Wednesday, still holding out hope that the tear will heal without surgery. In a sense, the timing of the injury affords the luxury of waiting because whether he has Tommy John surgery now or in a month or two, his 2013 season would be over either way.

"It gives you a chance to heal and not have to sit out more time," Billingsley said.

Billingsley will begin a throwing program in two weeks, and will know more then on whether or not he will need surgery.

"They say it has a chance to heal, and the PRP injection should help it recover. I'm keeping my fingers crossed," Billingsley said.

In the meantime, Billingsley will remain with the team and play cheerleader, though perhaps not too enthusiastically.

"I can't be going too crazy with the high-fives, maybe the left hand," Billingsley jokes.

Billingsley ended his season 10-9 with a 3.55 ERA in 25 starts, including 6-0 with a 1.80 ERA in his final seven starts.

Notes

• Newest Dodgers pitcher Steven Rodriguez, the first 2012 MLB draftee to reach the majors, will be used primarily as a left-handed specialist, per manager Don Mattingly.
• Ted Lilly threw 28 pitches in a simulated game, throwing to Matt Treanor, Luis Cruz, and Adam Kennedy. Lilly said he felt fine and is free of the back pain that scratched his last scheduled minor league rehab appearance. He remains a possibility to join the Dodgers bullpen, perhaps next week if all goes well.
• Scott Elbert, eligible to be activated from the disabled list on September 11, threw off a mound today for the first time since getting placed on the DL, and will do so again on Friday.
• Joe Blanton will start the opener in Arizona next Tuesday, and could be available out of the bullpen during the weekend in San Francisco. Mattingly also said he might do a similar thing with Aaron Harang next week, pushing back his start because with off days Thursday and Monday he will need to shuffle the rotation to keep Clayton Kershaw on regular four days rest.
  

Starting Lineups

Game Time: 7:10 p.m.

TV: Prime Ticket

MLB Gameday

I, like you, am a Tony the Gwynn fan. I appreciate what he does in the booth, and he was in rare form over the weekend, but is it just me, or will he go for long periods of time with some less than stellar efforts?

I know we all like to jump all over Dick Enberg for something, which I'm not even sure what it was any more, but he's grown on all of us and we all love him now. We're all Mark Grant fans and we all still miss Mark Matt Vasgersian.

And, for the most part, I really like Tony the Gwynn, but unless he's really given something to talk about, I suspect that it takes some doing to get him into the color commentating form. When left to his own devices, I've heard Tony offer up analysis to the tune of, "He really got behind that one" for a couple batters in a row.

Also, I know Tony's had some weight changes over the last couple years what with getting real big and then getting the stomach thing and then big and then cancer treatment, but seriously, can somebody fit him with a dress shirt that is at least a little flattering? The collar specifically on his shirts is terrible. Two fingers should fit between the collar and the neck, people. Who's dressing the booth?

The best combination, I think, is having Mud, Dick and Tony in the booth at the same time, because Mud will prompt opinionated conversation that Dick doesn't quite do as effectively. And, like they did over the weekend, Mud and Tony will go at it a little bit, which makes for interesting talk.

There's no arguing that Gwynn's insights are great though, especially when he draws from his own experience. Scouting reports? I'm don't trust Gwynn's minor league knowledge more than a knowledgeable Gaslamp Baller's, but when it comes to actual analysis of play and hitting, then he's the best.

But how good is he compared to Jerry Coleman?

Let's pretend Jerry Coleman, who will be getting a statue soon and is already honored in the Hall of Fame's with a Frick Award, is the epitome of San Diego baseball broadcasting. Where would you put Tony Gwynn?

Keep in mind... we're talking about Tony the Gwynn as a broadcaster. Put on your listening ears and vote.

At this point, it's pretty clear that the Padres 2013 season is going to be a good one. I mean, it's 2009 all over again. The young guys are getting some no-pressure months to settle into themselves. Guys like Cameron Maybin and Will Venable are doing their best impersonations as All-Star type players. Guys like Yonder Alonso and Yasmani Grandal are doing their best RoY candidate impersonations. Guy like Chase Headley is doing his best impersonation as an MVP.

Every single pitcher that the Padres have signed, drafted, scouted, traded for, is settling into a role as something that wasn't actually the 17th or 18th or 19th choice in the role.

It's all clicking.

Tonight it was clicking to the tune of 17 hits and 11 runs and a cycle bid by Maybin two separate cycle bids by Maybin and Logan Forsythe. Lots of San Diego missed the game because they still don't get Time Warner Cable and/or they were watching the Chargers crush the Raiders. But if you watched the game, or bits of it, well... You got a preview into how good 2013 is going to be.

tl;dr: The Padres are prepping for their best season evar.

It was a great night for San Diego fans last night as our offense exploded for 11 runs on 17 hits. The victory pull our Padres within 2 1/2 games of third place and decreased the Cardinals' lead in the wild card race. Tonight our boys will get a chance to clinch the series with Edinson Volquez on the mound.

Volquez missed his last start due to a blister on his throwing hand. In his last start, he was tagged for five runs in 4 2/3 innings in a loss to the Rockies at Coors Field. Tonight he will try to get back on track and help our Padres keep the win streak going. Volquez hasn't had much success over the Cardinals in the past. He is 0-4 in his last six starts and 1-4 all-time against St. Louis. His most recent lost against them was earlier this year when he gave up three runs in six innings of work.

Volquez pitched opposite tonight's Cardinals starter, Adam Wainwright, in that same game. Wainwright dominated, scattering just four hits in a complete game shutout. He has a career 3-1 record and 1.07 ERA against San Diego. His sole defeat occured at Petco Park in May of 2010, but it wasn't a result of bad pitching. He tied a career-high by striking out eight batters but our Padres won 1-0. In his last start, Wainwright was tagged for five runs on eight hits in a loss to the Mets.

Wainwright will try to keep up his success against San Diego, but will have a much tougher opponent tonight with a Padres offense that has been on fire in the second half of the season. We've won nine of our last 11 games at home and five of our last six games overall. Carlos Quentin may sit out tonight's game after exiting in the 4th last night with a sore knee, the same problem that made him miss five games in a row prior to Sunday. Thankfully it wouldn't be a huge loss on the offensive side because the rest of the lineup has been producing solidly at the plate.

Last night I went out on the town with an old friend. He still lives in Philly where I used to live and where I know him from, but he's out here in Portland, Oregon on a short vacation and took the time to look me up. We had a nice old time. He was quite taken with the city and all its charms and asked me, what the downside to living here is. Far away from friends and family, I told him. Then I looked at my phone and saw this:

Red Sox: 4, Yankees: 3. Hello, old friend.

This season has featured injuries, disappointments, losing, injuries, more injuries, more losing, even more losing, a franchise altering trade, and still more losing. In short, it's been awful.

In the beginning of Spring Training all the projection systems project the season out a thousand times or ten thousand times or whatever, and somewhere, hidden way out on the periphery of their projections is this season. The season where the Orioles are good, where the Red Sox didn't so much fall apart as never get going in the first place, and where the Yankees rush out to first place only to blow a 10 game lead to Baltimore. It's the ultimate outlier season, the season every casino in the country is terrified of.

And, at the end of this horrific mess of a Red Sox season, we've been treated to some of the worst Red Sox baseball in the last decade. It's easy to get numb to it. Oh, the Red Sox lost again. Oh, the Sox got blown out again. Oh, the Sox blew a lead and lost in the ninth again. It's easy to start to expect not just failure but grand and painful failure. The true plight of Pirates fans and Padres fans and fans of every other team that haven't won anything in forever becomes more real because we are now, for one season at least, walking in their shoes. And those shoes are old, waterlogged, moldy, and give you blisters.

But still, last night.

I don't want to make too much out of one meaningless win. The Sox beat the Yankees. Big deal. Boston is still 15 1/2 games behind New York, so this doesn't mean squat in the standings to the Red Sox. No, this is about pride. It's about winning the game in front of you. It's about beating the team in standing in front of you, and when that team has "New York" across their chests, maybe there's just a little bit more at stake.

For one night at least the Red Sox were a major league team, not a Triple-A-level punchline waiting to boot you in the nether regions. For this one night they beat not just a contender but their historic rival. Not to sound too medieval about it, but last night the Red Sox made the Yankees hurt and maybe it makes me a bad person to say so, but that makes me happy*. In this wasteland of a season, this might be all there is left, but actually, for one night, it's something pretty significant.

*I should note that I am fortunate enough to know and even be related to some wonderful people who are Yankees fans. Wonderful people. This doesn't mean I love and admire them any less. It just means, "Ha ha!"

For this fan, beating the Yankees never gets old. Never. They're too good, too successful, too good looking, too clean cut, and too good (did I mention that already?) to get tired of watching them lose. In a way, it's a compliment. If they weren't any good, nobody would care. Red Sox fans don't get worked up about beating the Royals for a reason. You're supposed to beat the Royals. It's expected. The Yankees are not only the preeminent franchise in baseball, but they're the richest and they've never been shy about throwing that money around. Beating them is an accomplishment worthy of note.

In a season marked by the Red Sox rejection of that so Yankee-centric idea of buying good players in route to a championship, that the Red Sox could beat New York with a lineup of Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, and a bunch of nobodies might not mean anything in the bigger picture, but it sure was fun. And after all, that's what watching baseball is all about, right?

Last night I got to hang out with an old friend and, if you watched the game, so did you.

The Yankees and all of MLB released their 2013 schedules this afternoon, which means we finally get a look at how all those very popular year-long interleague games will shake out. Opening day for the Yankees will be April 1st, when they will take on the Boston Red Sox for a three-game set in Yankee Stadium to kick-off the year. The team then only has to wait two weeks before the Arizona Diamondbacks pay a visit to the Bronx for their first taste of the new interleague scheduling.

May 27th through May 30th will be the annual Subway Series against the Mets, with the first two games being played at Citi Field and the last two being held in Yankee Stadium. For people who weren't fans of six games a year vs. the guys from Queens, maybe only four will be an improvement. The Yankees play fourteen games on the road in the month of May, including a trip to Coors Field to take on the Rockies, and fifteen on the road in August. Their longest homestand of the year will be July 5th through the 14th against the Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, and Minnesota Twins.

The first West Coast trip begins on June 5th for four games with the Seattle Mariners, three with the Oakland Athletics, and three against the Los Angeles Angels before returning home to host the Dodgers for two games. The Yankees head out to Dodger Stadium for the other end of the home-and-home series on July 30th. Other interleague games of note include taking on the San Diego Padres in PETCO Park to begin the month of August, and a three-game series against the San Francisco Giants at Yankee Stadium on September 20th-22nd before closing the season out on the road against the newest American League team, the Houston Astros.

Aside from the closing series in Houston in September, the farthest the Yankees will have to travel in the month will be to Toronto for three games with the Blue Jays. Not having a full West Coast series to handle that late in the season was one of the better things about the 2012 schedule, and I'm happy that that is once again true for 2013. You can check out the entire schedule on the Yankees' website here. What are your thoughts on how MLB has handled incorporating the interleague match ups into the full schedule instead of just one month?

The 2012 season isn't yet in the books, but already some Mets fans are looking ahead to 2013. If you fit that description, today's release of the 2013 schedule with be worth a few minutes of your time. The full schedule is available on the Mets official website, and we'll highlight some key dates for you here.

The Mets will open their season on April 1, at home against the San Diego Padres. They'll finish the season at home as well, closing 2013 with a 4-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers. It will mark the first season since 2010 in which the Mets have both opened and closed their season at home.

The Mets will play 17 interleague games next season*. Interleague opponents will include Minnesota away, the Royals at home, Cleveland away, and both the White Sox and Yankees home and away. The Mets first interlegue series will be a trip to Minnesota April 12-14, and their last series will be the Indians September 6-8. The Yankees are always a hot ticket, and they will visit Citi Field May 27 and May 28. The Mets will head across town to the Bronx on May 29 and May 30. The two New York clubs will meet only four times next season unless they meet again for a best of seven to close out 2013.

*They actually play 20, I missed the Tigers coming to town in late August when I first looked over the schedule. No DH for that one, that could be pretty fun...

The Mets will play each of their divisional opponents 19 times apiece next season. You can find the sortable Mets schedule for next season here, it will be a bit easier for you to check out our divisional foes using that. The Mets won't play the Houston Astros next season, as the Astros are moving to the AL West and will not face the Mets in interleague play.

There's one other key date on the Citi Field schedule, and that would be the 2013 All-Star game. The Mets will be hosting the Midsummer Classic on July 16.

Our boys came through yet again last night as they defeated St. Louis in game 2 to clinch the series win. Today they will go for the jugular as they attempt a sweep over the Cardinals to pull us within six games of .500.

Clayton Richard will take the hill and try to get the win in his first start since becoming a father last week. He last pitched in Los Angeles last Wednesday, but gave up three runs and ten hits and only lasted 4 2/3 innings before exiting the game and leaving to meet his wife in San Diego to welcome their new son into the world. Richard will be looking to have a better outing today at Petco Park, where he has prospered lately. He has won his last four starts at home and has kept opponents to a total of just one run over the last three. He made one start against the Cardinals earlier this year, allowing just two earned runs in 7 1/3 innings, but didn't factor into the decision. He is 2-0 with a 3.13 ERA all-time against them

St. Louis will counter with Kyle Lohse, who is on an eight-game winning streak over his last 15 starts. Most recently, he pitched against the Brewers and gave up two runs on five hits in 6 1/3 innings, but got a no-decision as the Cards went on to lose in extra innings. That game marked the sixth time in his last seven starts that Lohse surrendered two runs or less.

A sweep today would be the first by our Padres over the Cardinals since August of 19991995. With the Cardinals clinging to just a one-game lead over the Dodgers in the Wild Card race and on the verge of playing four games in Los Angeles following the conclusion of this series, a win for our boys today would make things infinitely more interesting.

Our fearless leaders jbox and Dex got an invite to go to Social Media Tuesday in the Fox Sports San Diego Suite, but the sweethearts that they are they forced two of the local interns to go in their place. Here's the invite:

So, it was up to jodes0405 and myself, Wonko, to represent Gaslamp Ball and its community.

I arrived a little too early since the gates don't open till 5:30pm, but I wanted in the suite at 5pm. You see the food is free and the earlier you get there, the more food you can stuff your face with. Also, USA Men's soccer team was playing World Cup qualification game and I figured I could put that on the TV in the suite. Anyway, I hung out with Ray Kroc's Ghost and Geoff Young of Ducksnorts and Baseball Prospectus.

Once in the suite, my dreams came to life. They had hot dogs and all the fixing to build your own soft tacos. Plus, some beer, sodas, chips and chile. And, of course, the big screen TV to watch the soccer game on.

Geoff and The Ghost toured the outdoors portion of the suite and took in some Cardinals batting practice.

RJ's Fro showed up next and staked a claim on one of the seats. Then Megan, our Fox Sports San Diego's Marketing Coordinator and our hostess for the evening, showed up. She told us about a push to get people using Fox Sports' Game Connect website which connects with the game your team is playing. It gives stats and allows you to interact with Social Media. The Padres provided us with Verizon tablets to use it on, but you can get it on your smart phone too. She also gave us goodie bags, ordered up some more refreshments and answered some questions about Fox Sports San Diego's struggles to get into every San Diego household and the marketing that's going on to help get that done.

After the soccer game was done (the USA won 1-0 and it was over before first pitch), I took up my place outdoors. Perhaps I grabbed some more food. I liked put the chili and cheese on the chips. Yum. It was close to that time that jodes had arrived along with plenty of other Social Media types.

We got bombarded with texts and tweets after showing up on camera in the top of the 4th inning. As you can see by how we're all on our phones, most of us were doing our parts in the social media area. That includes the Fox Sports San Diego Girls Brittany and Nathalie.

This was apparently good luck because the 4th inning was a good one. The Cardinals got nothing that inning and the Padres scored 5. Most excellent. Jodes and I are centered in this shot. My mom is on the left. The Ghost is on the right. The Fox Sports San Diego Girls are in front and Katie Adler, wife of Steve Adler who runs Friarhood, is near them.

Speaking of The Ghost and The Fox Sports San Diego Girls, they are a set of hams.

We all eventually got together and did a group photo.

You'll notice one of the tablets lying on desk table there. You'll also notice me admiring a picture of myself in a this picture taken by. The picture is from retweet that jodes did that talked about how cool we are. Yup.

Later, we got on TV again as the TV broadcast promoting the Fox Sports San Diego Girls and Nathalie got ham it up and dance a little for everyone. This got a "Hey Now" from Mark Grant and a "Hubba, Hubba" from Dick Enberg, but maybe they were referring to jodes and I. You never know.

Jodes and I drinking in unison. It's pretty well coordinated if you watch the video. We are trained to do this at all times.

Me flailing my arms like an idiot. Because, well, I am one.

And Nathalie dancing like... well, let's not go there.

Anyway, the Padres won. Of course. And all was right in the world. We begged to be invited back for as many games as possible, but Megan gave us the look like, "In your dreams". Oh yes, it will be.

Too soon, you think?

I mean, the Padres just swept the Cardinals who, I think are trying to round out a home stretch run into the playoffs. The Padres are just, you know, playing ball like it's no big deal, which means that they go around crushing playoff caliber teams.

Clayton Richard pitches almost lights out. Logan Forsythe hit a solo home run in the second, which is interesting, because he's apparently awesome, and early indicators were that he would potentially be a bench player next season what with Chase Headley and Jedd Gyorko and Everth Cabrera stealing all kinds of bases and well... General awesomeness.

I mean, with a bench like that, who needs friends? Or something.

In any case, anybody who's paying attention right now (in a month that typically hasn't got a lot of attention from Padres fans in recent memory) is seeing a team that's firing on all cylinders, just mowing down the competition and leaving opponents wondering what they're doing playing in places like St. Louis when San Diego is so nice and offense comes in bundles and pitching is ridiculous good and people are pretty chill.

Go Padres.

In the only race that matters, Tim Brown, Yahoo's Y! Expert has his latest MLB Power Rankings up. The Padres move up two spots from 21st to 19th, and Tim Brown has this to say about our beloved team:

19. San Diego Padres (71-78; Previous: 21) – Padres masher takes lead in NL RBI, leaving rest of league's sluggers to chase Headley.

Is there a double entendre that I'm missing there?

In any case, even more important than the Padres sliding into the top two thirds of the league is the fact that the Mariners dropped a few spots.

20. Seattle Mariners (70-80; Previous: 18) – Notorious hacker Miguel Olivo walked three times Wednesday night, figures he's now covered for all of next season.

Which means that, with less than a dozen games left in the season, the Padres are likely to hang on and defeat the hated Mariners in the Yahoo Power Rankings Battle 2012. And in the end, isn't that all we're here for?

Remember the World Baseball Classic? That thing where players represent their countries to play baseball? It was at Petco Park first for the semifinals and finals in 2006 and the quarterfinals in 2009? The thing that Sandy Alderson fought so hard to get played at Petco that it cost the Padres a shot at any near future All Star Games? Well, it's coming back in the 2013. Although no games will be played at Petco Park this time around.

A new wrinkle added to this go around is that some additional nations were invited to play in qualifying rounds. There are 4 qualifying groups and each group's winner will advance to the main tournament, which will take place once again during Spring Training in March. With these extra teams come extra opportunities for players affiliated with the Padres to get a chance to be part of the event.

Playing right now in Florida, Team Israel is taking on Team Spain. Team Israel is able to take on any player with a Jewish heritage since technically all Jews are citizens of the country. Two players who played in the Padres' farm system this year took advantage of that opportunity. Cody Decker, a twitter star and Padres 2009 22nd round draft pick out of UCLA who hit 29 HRs this year between AA San Antonio and AAA Tucson, is one of those players. The other is Nate Freiman, an 8th round pick by the Padres in 2009 out of Duke who plays 1B, stands 6'7 and hit 24 HRs for AA San Antonio this season.

Team Israel is also managed by Brad Ausmus, a former Padre who currently works in the Padres front office.

Israel has already won a game in the tournament. The defeated Team South Africa on Wednesday. Freiman hit 2 HRs. Other teams playing today are Team Czaech Republic and Team Germany in Germany as well as Team France and Team South Africa in Florida. Team Great Britain got trounced 11-1 by Team Canada yesterday in Germany. Team Spain beat Team France 8-0 yesterday as well.

There is a live stream of the game available on the World Baseball Classic website, and you can follow along on MLB.com's Gameday as well.

Friday day games are a rarity in baseball. They are only reserved for make up games and Cubs home games. Today the Cubs host the St. Louis Cardinals. Why are we talking about this? Because the Padres are still mathematically alive for the a wild card spot. Just one of the wild card spots however, since the Atlanta Braves already have 86 wins and the Padres' best case scenario would give them 84. Anyway, the Cardinals already have 80 wins so rooting against them is vital to keeping the faith on our Padres' playoff hopes.

The Cubs lost last night, allowing the Reds to clinch a playoff spot. Today they will send Chris Volstad to the mound to try to play spoiler while ending a four-game losing streak for Chicago. Four of his last five starts ended in wins for the Cubs, so hopefully that is the case today as well. The Cubs, of course, have Anthony Rizzo. So, break out your thought-to-be obsolete Rizzo jerseys or shirseys or even a Rizzomania t-shirt and root for the Cubs.

Chris Carpenter returns today to take the mound for the Cardinals. He has missed the entire season so far after going through surgery and rehab to fix a nerve problem that affected the right side of his body. He last pitched in Game 7 of the World Series. He's any easy one to root against. He of the 3-0 record and 1.40 ERA against the Padres in the playoffs. Personally, I never forget watch him start vs. Jake Peavy in game 1 of the 2006 NLDS at Petco and watching the home team suffer another playoff loss to the Cardinals. He is 11-6 all-time against the Cubs.

All is calm right now. The assembled blue horde is retreating. The battle isn't quite over, but it's a full retreat. You expect them to regroup and amass their strength next spring, so you remain vigilant. That's good.

But I'm here to tell you about another threat, one that could hurt you and your family. They're easy to overlook. The blue horde has our attention now, but the other threat might be more dire. And they're harder to spot, too. They suckers wear camouflage

In April, the Dodgers played the Padres six times. The Dodgers beat the Padres six times, and in May, they beat them twice more. At the end of May, the Dodgers were 32-18, and they had the best record in baseball. The Padres were 17-35, which was the worst record in baseball.

What's worse was that nearly their entire starting rotation was broken. They signed Cory Luebke to a nice extension, and his elbow disintegrated. Tim Stauffer, Dustin Moseley, Joe Wieland … it was absolute carnage. They ended up with Jeff Suppan in the rotation.

Yeah, that Jeff Suppan. But a funny thing happened after May. The Padres got awesome. Take a gander:

Standings since May 31:
Giants - 60-39
Padres - 55-43
D-Backs - 51-47
Dodgers - 45-55
Rockies - 38-62

Did I design this intro as a way to laugh at the Dodgers some more? Not telling. But you can see that the Padres have gotten better. Much, much better. And since the end of June? They're tied with the Giants, with both teams posting a 43-28 record.

If the Giants weren't a billionty games up in the division, you'd be afeared of this series. As is, it's still a little uncomfortable. I mean, the Giants haven't clinched anything yet. And there's still, what, six games against the Padres? Oh man. Oh man oh man oh man. This is making me nervous again, dammit. Where's the chart? I NEED THE CHART.

Yeah, that's the stuff. Okay, back to the Padres. They're good now. And the funny thing is, they're doing it without a lot of the good, young pitching they were supposed to have. Well, that's not really funny. That's sort of terrifying. Long series preview short: If I had to pick one NL West team to fear over the next five years, it'd be the Padres.

Remember 2009, when the Rockies had a lineup that was almost entirely homegrown, and they had figured out the secret of acquiring and developing pitchers who could thrive in Colorado? They're like the kid in the arcade who's pretending he's playing the game during the demo screen because he's run out of quarters. I don't even know what that means, but I know it fits. Also, the kid keeps getting his character shot during the demo screen, which shouldn't be possible because it's the demo screen, but, well, go get 'em, Rockies.

The Diamondbacks have oodles and oodles of young pitching -- just an embarrassment of riches -- but I'm thinking they're going to do something stupid with Justin Upton. If they don't, they're high on the list of teams that give me the willies for the future.

The Dodgers are supposed to be the team we're scared of for the next decade because they're rich and because they have money and because they're rich. But they're running out of places to put expensive free agents. And they have to be close to their self-imposed cap, right? Right?

No, give me the Padres as the bogeyman for the next couple of seasons. They have the farm system, and they have a lot of promising young players already doing good things in the majors. They have new owners who, while unlikely to go full Dodger -- you never go full Dodger -- are still likelier to spend a little. They have a new TV deal coming that will pay some of the bills. And some of those pitchers will come back from the broken list fixed.

There. Nice words about the Padres. I meant every one. Now, if you please, Padres, let us clinch the division at home. The Giants haven't clinched a division at home forever. It's been since …

Right, right. But it had been a while before that.

No, I remember now. Thanks. It'd still be cool if the Giants could clinch this weekend. Help us out, here, Padres. What have we ever done to you?

Alright, I'll shut up now.

Hitter to watch
It's kind of annoying to watch Devin Mesoraco flail with the Reds while Yasmani Grandal is thriving with the Padres. You picked the wrong catcher to keep, you fools!

Pitcher to watch
Wait, Andrew Werner? You just made him up, Padres. Let's look him up in the ol' Baseball Reference machine, and … oh. A low-walk pitcher who doesn't allow any home runs. That's original, Padres. I'm sure he won't be annoying when he pitches at Petco Park in the coming years.

Prediction:
I still need to sell my Wilco tickets for the show at the Greek Theater in Berkeley this Saturday! Face value is $125! You can have them for $100! I predict you want them! E-mail me at mccoveychronicles@gmail.com! Chance of a lifetime!