The Padres are announcing their promotional schedule on Twitter this afternoon, one item at a time.
The first is the classic Padres beach towel. It'll be a giveaway for all fans on June 7th, just in time for summer. I like the simplicity. I want it. Here's a look at past beach towels, most from RJ's Fro's collection and some from mine.
Oh snap! Friarhood has got the second one, a long sleeve shirt with a surfer riding the SD logo! I like how Steve throws in a promotion to his Friarhood Event along with it. Crafty, that guy. Let me check my email to see if I get to announce one.
Yesterday when the Padres rolled out their 2014 promotional schedule via Twitter, a lot of people had questions. One of those questions came from a Twitter user going by the handle of @rich_roberts, who I assume is a person by the name of Rich Roberts. You never can be too sure, though.
@rich_roberts that's not something for the promotional schedule. We have something planned.
There you have it. It seemed assured that the team would be having a night for The Colonel, at very least, but the Mike Dee era hasn't exactly been off to a reassuring start, so it's nice to know they aren't out-of-touch and tone deaf enough to somehow fail to pay tribute during the season to the late heart and soul of the franchise. It's anyone's guess as to what the tribute or tributes will consist of, other than wearing a sleeve patch consisting of a star and his initials, as was announced at his public memorial. I would assume there will be a ceremony honoring him both on Opening Day and before the second game, since that's when the traditional Opening Day festivities have been moved to due to the opener being bumped back to a Sunday night in order to accommodate ESPN. More will be revealed, as the tired saying goes. Probably tomorrow during FanFest, if I had to guess.
Guess who just got back today?.........Those wild-eyed boys that had been away..........Haven't changed, haven't much to say..........But man, I still think those cats are great..........They were asking if you were around.........How you was, where you could be found..........I told them you were living downtown..........Driving all the old men crazy..........The boys are back in town
SIX DAYS LEFT BEFORE SPRING TRAINING OPENS!!!
Well, this is it. The last edition of WeekEnd HaloLinks before we get to start seeing dudes in uniforms playing catch again. How awesome is that?!? Whose going to ST? When? Which parks are you going to visit? Vote and share below!!!
WIN FREE TICKETS TO OPENING DAY!
But now, with ST about to open and the regular season just weeks away, allow me to offer up a public service announcement. Tomorrow morning, at 4 AM PST, the final 2014 Guess Who? puzzle will be published. This puzzle is pretty close to the kinds of puzzles I have done lately, but far more complex. The most complex to date. There is a reason for that. The winner of tomorrow's challenge will receive two FREE field level tickets TO OPENING DAY!!
All the rules and all the info and the puzzle itself will be in the article, to be found in the usual Saturday front page location, so everybody gets a chance to get in on the fun! And I am serious. I have already paid the money to StubHub. I will have the tickets a couple of days before the event and will meet you for personal hand off. All that is missing is you, the first one to solve the puzzle. I buy your ticketsl. You buy your own beer.
Who says I am not a giver?
(By the way, don't fret. Next week we will start a different kind of puzzle, something I hope to be more accessible for more members.)
Albert Pujols: Apparently the news that Pujols feels that he is back to 100% and had a normal offseason and is ready for Spring Training is no longer worth much more than a twitter post. Welcome to LAA and the West Coast news coverage, Mr. Pujols. Meanwhile, covering the same tweet, Rotoworld reminds us that Albert is still owed $222MM. Imagine signing a 34-year old once-juggernaut to a $222MM contract during this past offseason. I don't know about you, but that perspective looks just a teensy-weensy less exorbitant than it did.
Josh Hamilton: Josh is fat. Do you know how we know that? We know that because Josh put on 28 pounds since last season. And last season's weight plus 28 pounds is more. Therefore, Josh is fat. Just ask Mike Trout last year. Fatties. All of 'em. Seriously, I have no idea the why behind this observation: "Prior to 2013, Hamilton committed to not eating processed foods or gluten. His power numbers dipped." Is the author angling for a Domino's Pizza sponsorship or something? And, you know that if Josh experiences a renaissance this season his additional muscle is going to be all PEDs rumors.
Once They Were Hasbeens: Well, hey what look at this! Somebody else is picking up OUR rejects for a change. As the Rangers are looking to sign the Amazin' Tommy Hanson for their 2014 campaign, that can only mean one single thing: if anybody is below us to catch our detritus, we cannot be the absolute bottom! I refuse to believe even for one second that the once promising Hanson is going to become chapter 144 in the epic novel of Once A Halo Mistake, Now A Halo Killer. Not. Gonna. Happen.......On the other hand, after paying Ryan Madson $3.25MM in 2013 to take the year off and rehab his arm after Tommy John surgery, Madson is doing scout showcases these days and has his suitors. Might. Possibly. Happen.
Home Run Derby:Vegas has posted odds for Home Run King in 2014. Cutting to the chase, our reps are the longshots. "A trio of Angels is worth addressing as well. Albert Pujols (25-to-1) has dealt with foot and knee injuries the last two years and at 34 years old is less likely than a guy like Kemp to return to a high level of durability. Josh Hamilton, who struggled mightily in 2013 and has a checkered health history of his own, is a slightly better bet than Pujols if only because he's drawing longer odds at 30-to-1. Mike Trout is one of the best players in the game, finishing No. 2 in the MVP race the last two seasons, but he's unlikely to compete for a home run title just yet. He's a risky play even at a price of 30-to-1." Personally, I think that folks are short sheeting a real possibility that both Pujols and Hamilton totally jump back into top-tier respectability one last time, and do it this year. Also in that same article, "Before you bet on Trumbo, though, keep in mind that he's a career .250 hitter who could struggle early as he adjusts to a new league." I wonder if it occurs to folks that maybe "the new league" might need a spell to adjust to him?
Above and Beyond: Not. Your 2013 LA Angels: 7th most runs scored in all of baseball, only 20th best at getting more runs than what would be expected out of all that offense. "...an offensive efficiency measure would be to examine the rate at which teams turn baserunners into runs and...The basic idea is to examine if a team has scored as many runs as would be expected given their number of singles, doubles, triples, home runs, etc. We know that getting on-base is the most critical aspect of a plate appearance and having more baserunners should lead to more runs. But perhaps there are teams that are doing more with less." In our case, the answer is no. Emphatically not. We properly blame pitching for the horrors of last season, but we also need to think a little harder about things such as base running. What did not happen on the base paths last year, is also not going to happen this year, unless we learn that there is some sort of special attention being paid.
Buy Stuff - Crazy-ass Baseball Stuff On the Internet:
What? You failed to nab one of those reindeer butt bottle openers from two weeks ago before reindeer season closed for the Winter?? Ok, hipster, buy yourself one built into your iPhone case. Just don't drink and dial.
This Date In Baseball History: 1949 - Joe DiMaggio becomes the first player in the American League to earn $100,000 per season (Hank Greenberg had already reached that level with the Pirates two years prior, which SABR somehow missed). Now, I know what you all are thinking: yeah, but that was a lot of money back then! Well, $100,000 in 1949 is the equivalent to $980,392.16 today. Fernando Salas money.........1987 - For only the second time in history, a player has his salary cut from his previous year through binding arbitration as the Dodgers gut Orel Hershiser's salary by $200,000, 20% off his 1986 rate, which was the maximum reduction allowed. Hershiser's 1986 WAR was 2.2, down from the 5.9 WAR of 1985. Over the next three seasons, Hershiser would cement his immortality. (The first player to have his salary reduced was Aurelio Lopez of Detroit, in 1983. His salary went down $35,000.)........2009 - Sports Illustrated, on their web site, report that Texas Rangers shortstop Alex Rodriguez is one of the 109 MLB players who had tested positive in 2003, during what was supposed to be a completely anonymous and private screening to determine the extent of PEDs in baseball. So, yeah, Uncle Bud and MLB Front Office staff have been gunning for ARod for quite some time.
Elias! Now there is a name with which you might already be familiar. Al, along with his brother Walter, were traveling salesmen. But Al's passion was baseball, and his personal sense of order mandated that the recording of results be perfectly accurate at all times, as should be all statistics derived from those recorded results. Baseball, to Elias, warranted nothing less. And, in the true spirit of "if you want something done right, do it yourself", Al began a personal task of recorded results and statistics. Over time, he and Walter had accumulated quite a catalog of information, much of it rather unique (day -to-day batting averages, for example). This combination of salesmanship and a large quantity of of unique product somewhat in demand would be propelled into history when Elias was forced to abandon his day job due to illness. Co-opting Walter, in 1914 Al chose to turn his sales skills into selling his stats.
Initially, the primary news outlets resisted Al's pitch. Al and Walter survived by selling stat cards (think about what's on the back of any baseball trading card) for resale to small businesses where fans might frequent. Then, spurned on by an idea of Walter's the Elias brothers found a buyer in the New York Evening Telegram wherein they would provide the daily statistical leaders of the top 5 batters in each league. (up to this point, papers only ran the daily stats of the hometown players). It was in this way that we came upon the daily leader board, which has long since become insanely ubiquitous in all major sports, in all media, world-wide.
The insanity began, though, immediately. The leader boards were a huge hit and began selling to newspapers across the country, even being shipped off to troops serving in Europe during WWI. By 1918 John Heydler (remember him?) hired the Elias Brothers to take over the official record keeping of the National League. The Associated Press then contracted to distribute the Elias stats daily, turning this into a full-time enterprise which continues to this day. You know it as The Elias Sports Bureau.
PEDS: H/T to HardballTalk, The Economist puts out an article concerning the very latest in performance enhancement: Xenon gas. The use of Xenon apparently increases red blood cell counts over a period of a couple of days. It's been around at least 10 years, been part of past Olympic training regimens, and is not banned by WADA. And yet, it absolutely does offer artificial performance enhancement results for athletes. So NOW what's your position on PEDs and punishment???
Stats Magic: Wow. Here is a lot of intriguing data concerning fly ball hang times, with sorting of specific data points done byteams, parks, some pitchers. Of course, when I look at this stuff the first thing I do is ignore the text and look for the Angels and Anaheim and Halo players (none, by the way). I was rather impressed by the LAA consistency. Not just between their home and road numbers, which are odd considering what is believed to be a decent range in park factors around the AL, but also how close our own pitchers fare against visiting teams: visitor perform just like us. And why do visitors do better at extra base hits than we do in our own park?
Babe Ruth: Here is a fun one. MLB sent off a reporter to call upon the grave site of Babe Ruth and chat up the caretakers at his cemetery in Hawthorne, New York. It's great to learn that his resting place remains a popular visiting spot among the faithful. It also turns out that his legacy in life has been inspiring spirited gifts ever since being laid to rest. "One day, my worker came down and got me. He said, 'You're not going to believe this one,'" said Nagle. "He was over here working, not interfering with people, and a car pulled up. A guy got out, and he was wearing a cook's apron. He has a pizza in his hands, and the steam is coming out of the box. He walks up the hill, deliberately, puts the pizza down. He opens the box and then he just walks away. He got into his car and drove away. We still don't know if somebody ordered Babe a pizza or what."
R.I.P Ralph Kiner:HoF Kiner passed away yesterday at the age of 91. Kiner, a graduate of Alhambra HS here in Alhambra (between downtown LA and Pasadena for you non-locals), played for 10 seasons, then spent 7 more decades involved in baseball as an executive and broadcaster. A little factoid about Kiner in these days of BBWAA voting controversy is that Kiner, commonly considered one of the Top 100 players of the 20th Century, made it in on his final year of eligibility, and by only 1 vote. His is the closest near-miss in history. In his honor, from Youtube here is his short HoF bio with video, and here is Ralph Kiner pitching Wheaties breakfast cereal. And, lastly, let it be known that Kiner had game! Godspeed, Mr. Kiner.
Baseball Biz: Update. As we have observed in this space before, the Time-Warner Cable is having some...uh...challenges in getting SportsChannel LA up into the expected orbital position. (Remember, we care about stuff like this because that is how teams - Arte - are counting on funding future payroll obligations. Think Mike Trout.) Well, things are getting down to the wire in the Dodgerburb. They have already pushed back the formal launch by a few weeks, and have taken to the LA streets with a custom-painted truck to try and rouse the rabble and get subscribers to call in to their providers and demand their right to have $5 extra extracted from everybody's bank account each month. Honestly, why didn't they get custom license plates that say "GIMME 5"??
Mascot Hell: It's pretty harsh when your entire marketing centerpiece gets totally hosed by a 10-year old, but that's what happens here. And when a 10 year old boy tells you that the smile on your priest mascot makes him creepy as he does when he disses the Padres mascot, well, it's far too late. My two favorites: The Rangers burn "Here I don't really like how it's a horse. It just looks weird in a bad way." And then of course, the awesome recognition that he goes into here.
My favorite part of this interview is how confident Darklighter is with his answers. I don't know much about how Fantasy Baseball leagues score or how managers make their decisions, but if I was one I'd listen to Darklighter just because of that rare confidence that borders on cockiness.
I'll give you a taste of how he answers the first question, then you can go over to RazzBall and read the rest.
1) Cameron Maybin was derailed by injuries to his wrist and knee in 2013. The Padres showed faith in the young centerfielder with a 5-year contract back in 2012. If healthy, what can fantasy players expect out of a full season of at-bats from Maybin, who turns just 27 this April?
You couldn’t have started with an easier question? Maybin might be the single biggest question mark on the Padres’ roster right now. He really struggled in the first half of 2012, but salvaged the season with a solid second half. After missing almost all of last season, bad Cameron Maybin seems more likely to show up than good Cameron Maybin. His defense was great regardless, and I’d expect him to flash some leather again this year despite the knee troubles. His bat means he’ll likely go pretty late in your draft, but I think there’s enough upside with his defense alone to make him worth the pickup. If he gets his bat going, too? You’ll look brilliant.
The first player vs. team salary arbitration hearings of 2014 were settled Saturday, with right-handed starter Andrew Cashner winning his desired $2.4 million in his case against the Padres and reliever Vinnie Pestano settling for $975,000 after losing his case with the Indians, per Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
San Diego was hoping to limit Cashner's salary to $2.275 million in his first season of arb eligibility, but the trio of arbitrators decided in favor of the oft-injured pitcher after hearing arguments from both team and player on Friday. The two sides had the opportunity over the last month to come to an agreement on a salary anywhere between the minimal $125,000 gap in exchanged figures, but could not do so. Once they sat down at the arbitration table Friday, the chance to find a middle ground ended -- arbitrators can only opt for one figure or the other.
The 27-year-old Cashner's new deal marks a salary increase of just over $500k, which is not too shabby for a guy who missed much of 2011 and 2012 with shoulder injuries. The tall Texan likely won his arbitration case based on his solid and healthy 2013, in which he posted a 3.09 ERA in 26 starts over a career-high 175 innings for the Friars. His velocity and strikeout rates were down last season, likely a result of his shoulder woes, but improvements in his walk, hit, and homer rates more than made up for those deficiencies.
Pestano -- the Tribe's first arbitration hearing foil since 1991 -- filed at an optimistic $1.45 million, but will have to settle for $975,000 instead in 2014. The 28-year-old is in just his first year of Super-Two eligibility, so while he's likely bummed about the nearly $500,000 he's lost, he still has three more years to up his salary considerably before hitting the open market. Pestano had some serious trouble keeping the ball in the park (1.5 HR/9) and free runners off the bases (5.3 BB/9) in 2013 -- and also dealt with some elbow issues -- but he still seems primed to be the Tribe's long-term setup man. The right-hander owns a 2.80 ERA and 10.6 K/9 over 167⅓ innings in his three full seasons in Cleveland's bullpen.
Cashner and Pestano were the only cases heard Friday, but there are certain to be at least a few more in the coming weeks. There were no arbitration cases in 2013 -- the first time that has ever happened -- but there were seven the year before that, so there's no really telling how many of the remaining cases will go to the table. As it stands, 14 arb-eligible players remain scheduled for hearings, including Braves closer Craig Kimbrel, Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen, and Cubs right-hander Jeff Samardzija. In addition to Pestano, the Indians have three other arb cases -- Michael Brantley, Justin Masterson, and Josh Tomlin -- that could go to a hearing.
In the four decades since the inception of salary arbitration in 1974, there have been 507 cases that have gone all the way to a hearing. Including Cashner and Pestano's cases, teams hold a rather large 292-215 advantage over players.
To keep up with all the arbitration goings ons, be sure to follow our Arbitration Tracker.
Today at FanFest the Padres' ownership representatives spoke and answered questions. Chairman Ron Fowler, Peter Seidler and President Mike Dee were on stage with Dick Enberg, who was acting as a master of ceremonies.
During the Q&A segment a fan asked if the Padres were any closer to bringing an All-Star game to San Diego. Ron Fowler says he's been in contact with the commissioner's office and hinted at a commitment. He told us that the All-Star games have all been spoken for until 2017. Fowler revealed that the Padres are trying for 2019 when the Padres organization will celebrate its 50th anniversary.
Fowler says he is trying for an All-Star game on #Padres 50th anniversary.
The Padres under their former ownership group had been trying to make the All-Star game a priority for years but today was the closest the Padres have come to committing to a date.
At Padres FanFest today, Dick Enberg was asked several questions by fans while he was hosting a Q&A session with ownership.
My wife hasn't seen Dick in two years!
One fan stood up, took the microphone in hand and stated "My wife hasn't seen Dick in two years!" the crowd gasped, then tittered. He went on to complain that Dick Enberg and the Padres broadcasts haven't been available for Time Warner Cable customers for two years, ever since the Padres signed a contract with Fox Sports San Diego. I was still giggling so I missed how the Padres leadership responded to his statement and question.
Enberg responded by revealing his schedule for the 2014 season, saying that he would be broadcasting 135 games of the 162. He also said that Fox Sports San Diego will broadcast 7 Spring Training games. Mike Pomeranz is expected to fill in for Enberg while he's on vacation.
Enberg was also asked his favorite Padres uniform. Earlier he had been the only person to raise his hand for the old PCL uniforms in an informal vote initiated by Padres President Mike Dee, for favorite uniform colors. Enberg explained that he loved the touch of red in the uniform and called them, "very handsome".
We heard earlier this week during a 1360 AM interview with President Mike Dee that the Padres were making improvements to Petco Park. Today at Padres FanFest, Executitive Chairman Ron Fowler said he committed $10M a year for 5 years for maintenance and improvement projects for the ballpark. Fowler said that Dee had plenty of ideas on how to spend the money.
One project that was both easy to miss and hard to ignore was the resurfacing of the floors along the park's concourses. Most fans don't take notice of the surface their walking on, but the ever present fumes were a constant reminder today. The new resin surface won't collect or show dirt as much as the previous surface did and will provide better traction for guests during inclement weather and soda spills.
There's also a plan to replace the sound system at Petco Park. Today the sound kept cutting out during the scheduled Q&A sessions. I overheard Fowler tell another guest while a session was delayed, that this is why the Padres needed a new system.
Another improvement that Dee mentioned during his radio interview was a 50% bigger video board in the Park at the Park. He made it sound like the screen had already been replaced but upon close inspection we determined that it was still the same old sh_tty one. In the Q&A, Dee said it will be installed before Opening Day.
We learned today that the Padres new online pregame show Padres Social Hour will be filmed in what they are calling Club 336. Club 336 is a lounge area in the back corner of the Padres Store on the ground floor of the Western Metal Supply building. It gets its name from being located on the left field line which is 336 feet away from home plate. The numbers are printed in yellow right above the lounge.
This area has been re-purposed several times since Petco Park's opening. It used to be under utilized as an access point for fans to watch the game from behind the left field fence. It was simply a continuation of the Padres store and held merchandise. In the last year or two it was converted into a suite, that fans could purchase for games like any other suite. Access to the standing room only area has been limited over the years. It's hard to say if this change into a studio will provide fans with more or less access before and during games.
The new host of Padres Social Hour, Jesse Agler, was not in attendance at today's FanFest. Word is he was at a wedding. Or was he? Yes, he was.
Oh and in case you were wondering which logo won the fan vote, well it was "C", the one with the Swinging Friar that's pictured above.
Andrew Cashner wanted 5% more money than the Padres "final" offer
Andrew Cashner has apparently won an arbitration case against the Padres today. Andrew Cashner's arbitration number was $2.4 million while the Padres tried to stand their ground at $2.275 million, a difference of $125K or just over 5% compared to the Padres offer. The Padres, apparently with nothing better to do, decided to hire probably $200K worth of lawyers and analysts to battle over that last $125K.
I guess in order to be competitive in this market you gotta make sure you're squeezing the blood out of every single nickel you can. But seriously, how do these numbers get to this point and then arbitration? Did somebody not set an alarm clock? You couldn't just split the difference at that point? Did somebody mistake Cashner for a project manager asking for a raise? This numbers are not very far apart at all, people. One would be forgiven for believing them to literally be the same number.
If I'm on that arbitration panel and I see those numbers, I literally flip a coin, say something to the effect of, "WTF is wrong with the both of you?" and then take an early lunch.
Cashner went 10-9 last year with a 3.09 ERA, is very likely going to be announced at some point as the Opening Day starter and will very very likely spend the extra $125K he's earned on something related to ducks or beard grooming.
The program has been on Hall’s mind since his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers nearly 10 years ago, but the idea picked up steam in the past year and a half.
Oh, so Hall claims he came up with this idea 10 years ago, but it only picked up steam after the Padresannounced, showcased and made their own program wildly successful over the course of the last 3 years? Weird how that works.
The uniform program is the brainchild of Padres president and COO Tom Garfinkel, who came up with the idea last year during a Little League promotion at Petco Park. "We had about 8,000 Little Leaguers doing a parade around the warning track before the game, and it occurred to me that almost none of them were wearing Padres jerseys," he recalls. "They had jerseys sponsored by local businesses, jerseys from other teams. And I thought, 'Wouldn't it be great if they were all Padres?'" So Garfinkel and his staff made it so.
I reached out to Tom Garfinkel, the idea man, to ask him what he thought. Here was his response:
"I'm really happy to see it. It's great for those kids and for the game and I hope 28 other teams jump on board too. If any of them want to learn about it, they should call Sue Botos [Padres Vice President, Community Relations] too, she was really the glue behind everything and deserves all the credit for making it what it is."
I too am happy that these Little Leaguers are able to benefit from such a great idea, but let's give credit where it's due.
Once again, I made my way to Petco Park for Padres FanFest. This time, I'm writing words.
The Beginning
My day started like every other FanFest. Me standing around while all the Members got to go in at 8:30am. They did let us in at around 9:20am, so that was cool. After a couple times of doing the enter/exit circulation, I saw Gaslamp Baller mrbarneydangles. I pretty much see him every FanFest. His time of arrival to Petco Park? About 5:30am. And he doesn't even live here! He's driving down here from 90 minutes or two hours away to get to FanFest. He told me he was on the news early in the morning but I missed it. I was too busy watching the couples ice skating at the Winter Olympics.
Anyways, I hung out with him for a bit, walked over with him to the Yonder Alonso signing session that I didn't have a voucher for, sat for a bit with him and his friends, but left because I wanted to eat before all my signings happened.
Padres At Every Table
When you do the enter/exit circulation, you get the opportunity to get autographs pretty much non-stop. You could do 11am, 11:30am, 12pm, 12:30pm, 1pm, and so on. If you're really into autographs and don't really care about other stuff happening, it's pretty cool to do while you're there.
I spent some time in a few sessions getting an autograph, shaking hands, wishing them luck, etc. It's always fun and it's cool that they're there. But, there was one bad place to be today. The 1st base side of the stadium. But why you ask?
The wind! My word, was it gusty in those sections. Full on wind. Like, really real wind was just blowing through the sections. How the players could stand it was beyond me. And none of them were wearing any hats. Much braver souls than I.
I told Nick Hundley how lucky he was to be on the 3rd base side where there was barely any air movement. Hopefully it wasn't too windy for him when he had to go over there later in the day.
There was also one thing I learned about Nick. He is by far one of the coolest guys out there. No hesitation to just talk to you. He talked to a kid who was kinda shy and Nick spent about 30 seconds trying to guess his name. Just trying to get him to say anything. It was pretty nice to see.
In between autograph sessions, I made my way to the Garage Sale. I'd have gone early in the morning, but I found out that they did not have any Tucson Padres gear there. I wanted to see about picking up some stuff, but there was nothing to be had. And when I'm at the garage sale, I never know what to look at. There's always a ton of stuff that would be cool to own, but I never buy those things. Except for the helmets. I don't need those. Anyways, back to the more interesting parts of my story.
The Search Begins
After the Hundley/Joe Wieland (who I must say was also very nice to meet) signing session, I embarked on a journey to find Axion.
It took me about 45 seconds. I got to him before he even tweeted where to find him. I'm just that good. We chatted, he took pictures of random strangers with their own camera. He's just that good.
He and I made our way towards jodes who was with jbox as he tried relentlessly to tweet out everything he could from the Ownership forum. Let me tell you, how he was able to do it with such grace is beyond me. The man's got magic fingers. It was quite a sight.
Axion had seen enough so I followed him through the concourse because he wanted to go gawk at Eric Owens. According to his in-depth reporting, Eric Owens held up pretty nicely. He had "the grey business going on". After that, Axion called it a day. Once he made his way out of the stadium, I saw a tweet from Gaslamp Ball about the Social Lounge so I figured I'd make my way over there.
In The Company of jbox
I saw jodes again and jbox was there trying to break news about Yasmani Grandal.
Talked briefly to Grandal said if he wasn't a catcher he'd be game ready now, but since he is, he's a few weeks off.
He was very sad that no one retweeted that. There was a point where I thought I'd have to give him a moment to compose himself, but he kept the tears inside just long enough to talk with Mike Dee for a little bit. Dee came in with Wayne Partello, the Chief Marketing Officer for the San Diego Padres.
I do have to say one thing about Mr. Partello though. The man is a party in dress pants. You can tell he knows how to have a good time. He was very upbeat and ready to talk with anyone there. I think that's why he follows me on Twitter. The man knows quality.
I was also impressed by how many people know jbox. Executives and other important people saying hello. One of them thought we'd met before in a suite. I can barely afford good seats. I don't think I've ever been on the level where the suites are.
The Day Comes To A Close
We left there and walked around the field a bit. People admired the Dave Staton jersey that jbox was wearing so proudly. Some more than others. But, it was good to see the jersey out and about. It has been awhile since I've seen anything about it. I thought it had gotten lost somewhere over the Bermuda Triangle and was to never be seen again.
After that, we walked out of the stadium and into the sunset. But, we separated before the sun actually set. It was only about 3pm. And that was that. FanFest was over for me.
In Conclusion
Overall, it was a pleasant day. I was sad to not have spotted del4rel and his "green and stripey" bro tank. That would have been fun. Though since he was in a bro tank, probably not meeting him was a good thing. His handshake must be fierce if sleeves can't even hold his arms back.
Were you one of the 17,000+ fans who made it to Petco Park? If so, how was your day? What did you do at FanFest? Any cool stories? And if you didn't go, what would you have done? Same as me probably, huh? Do tell.
It was a beautiful, fun-filled celebration down at Petco Park on Saturday as fans primed themselves for the 2014 season at Padres FanFest.
I was really, ridiculously excited to head down to Petco Park yesterday. I wasn't able to make it in 2013 so it had been two years since my last FanFest and the anticipation was killing me. Thanks to the awesome and talented PadresJagoff and fellow GLBlogger Darklighter I was able to get in with the Padres members / season ticket holders at 8:30am. As I was driving down 10th Avenue around 8:15, I saw that the line to get into FanFest had already reached the corner of 10th and Park Blvd. I ran into Jonny Dub (and his adorable son) in the parking lot almost immediately after getting out of my car and we both made our ways toward the ballpark.
I went to meet Darklighter to get my early entry pass from him and saw that he was in line with PadresPublic bloggers AvengingJM and hs619. We exchanged pleasantries and high fives before I left to make my way ,with Jonny Dub, to the back of the line, which had grown considerably since I drove by and was now all the way back near the East Village Gate. There we waited and were soon met by jbox, who was already so impatient to get inside even though he had just gotten there. He kept jokingly chanting "O-pen the gates!" even though the gates were already open. One security guard laughed, so I guess it was worth it.
We finally got inside the gate and I spotted matthewverygood waiting for an autograph voucher, so I went over and said hi. I snagged my own voucher for the Will Venable / Tim Stauffer autograph session that I was super excited for, then Jonny Dub and jbox headed over to take the clubhouse tour or something, while I made my way to the Padres Garage Sale to meet up with CurbEnthusiasm. While there, I also ran into more PadresPublic bloggers, SDPads_1 and Melvin Nieves; Steve Adler of Friarhood fame; and awesome Twitter peeps RedTheTrucker and FriarDanny. The garage sale left a lot to be desired and the lines were crazy long, but I did walk away with a few goodies so it wasn't a total loss.
Up next was the much-anticipated (by my standards) VenaStauff autograph session, so CE and I headed over to section 117 to wait. Darklighter soon came over as well and sat in front of us and we chatted in the blistering cold while waiting our turn. I was super nervous and psyching myself out the entire time.
As we waited, we also got to hear over the PA some of the finalists for the PA Announcer gig. I don't know how many finalists there were altogether but I heard six of them, two of which were women. They all recited the same player announcement, I suppose to make it easier for us to compare them. I noticed that they varied in their pronunciations of "Everth" (Ev-erth/Ev-er-eth/Ev-reth) but they all made great efforts to get the accent right when saying "Cabrera." Unfortunately this resulted in many of them sounding unnatural, like they were trying too hard. None of them really stood out very much to me. Voting for the gig will take place online sometime soon, and I'm assuming/hoping they'll have video/audio of each finalist for people to vote for and aren't just relying on those of us at FanFest to remember our favorites.
Soon it was almost our turn to meet the players. We were told that we wouldn't be able to take pictures WITH them, because they didn't want the players to have to stop to take pictures, so we were only able to take pictures OF them. When it was finally my turn, I froze and barely said a word to them. Pretty typical. They were both super nice though and seemed genuinely happy to be there and to meet the fans.
I got a mini bat signed by Venable and a baseball signed by Stauffer.
We had seen earlier that Josh Johnson and Tommy Medica had arrived early for their own autograph session, which was set to take place an hour after VenaStauff's, and were taking the time to meet with fans, sign autographs, and take pictures while they waited for their turn.
I was able to snap a picture with Medica, who was sporting a fresh cut, but missed my opportunity to take one with JJ.
From there, we headed towards the third base side of the concourse and then made our way down to the field. Walking around the outfield is always one of my favorite parts of FanFest. There were still remnants of the tennis court from the Davis Cup that took place last month, so the grass wasn't its usual brilliant green perfection, but it was still fun to hang out and people-watch on the field.
After that, we went on a quest to find jbox and Jonny Dub again. Jbox informed me he was watching the Team Awards presentation that was taking place so we began to make our way to the stands behind the home dugout. As fate would have it, along the way we spotted Bob Scanlan hanging out in the concourse and talking to some fans. A while back, TheThinGwynn sent me a bunch of baseball cards, one of which was a Scanlan card from when he pitched for the Cubs. I happened to bring the card with me to FanFest hoping I would run into the Scanman, and there he was! I shyly walked up and asked him to sign my card and he happily obliged. I tried not to stare at his hair the whole time, but it was next to impossible. He was also kind enough to take a picture with me, so it was really an exciting moment.
He even bent down to my level. He was practically on his knees. That guy is a tall drink of water.
I thanked Scan and then we continued to make our way to meet jbox. When we got there, jbox informed us that Jonny Dub had already left. Jbox totally didn't seem bitter about it at all. The presentation was almost over, but Buddy Black and the players (Jedd Gyorko, Huston Street, Andrew Cashner, and Venable) were taking questions from fans, and then Ted Leitner, who was moderating, started a "Beat LA!" chant to close it out. Cash is rockin' a pretty sweet mullet these days. Also, I really regret not bringing my duck call to FanFest.
After the awards presentation, we all headed out the gate and across the street for lunch at Lolita's. When we re-entered the park, we were joined by former Pad Squad member, Andre, for a bit before heading back to the stands for the Ownership Forum, which was moderated by Dick Enberg and featured Peter Seidler, Ron Fowler, and Mike Dee. Friar Fever and Axion joined us in the stands for a few minutes and then left. Jbox tweeted and blogged a bunch about the forum and FF wrote about it in his FanFest writeup, so you can read more about what ownership had to say from them.
Next, we made our way across the field to the Social Media Lounge, aka Club 336, to see if any Padres players would show up, as they had been doing every hour on the hour throughout the day. No one was there yet when we got there so I went to walk around the Padres store, to which jbox responded, "Okay, you go look at some crap while I wait for some Padres."
As I was walking around the store, I noticed they were playing club music and there was a strobe light. I looked up and saw that they had a DJ spinning. I thought that was weird.
I found a pretty sweet glass cup with the Padres military logo that was on sale and knew I had to have it, so I went to pay for it. While I was in line, I saw that Nick Vincent and Randy Jones had arrived at the lounge. But by the time I paid for my stuff and got back there they had already left. One point for jbox. Friar Fever had come to join us again at the lounge and then SoulSD made a quick appearance. Soon Mike Dee and Wayne Partello walked in the door and came over to introduce themselves to us and chat for a bit. I wondered if Partello was a little bummed that he wasn't the one up in the rafters spinning records or if he was perfectly fine leaving the DJ life behind. Jbox then remarked to Mike Dee that we were "gettin' social" so that was my cue to leave.
It was a beautiful, fun-filled day at the ballpark and I had a great time seeing so many of my fellow Padres fans that I haven't seen since last season. It all made me even that much more excited for Spring Training and for the upcoming season, aka the season in which we win our first World Series. PADRES IN 2014! KTF!
Tom Gage lists 10 predictions for the upcoming season (warning: every Tiger is apparently going to have the best season EVAAAR); Joel Zumaya announced his retirement this past weekend and we all collectively sobbed a little; and the Houston Astros become the butt of a hilarious Sochi Olympics joke.
You guys, pitchers and catchers report in ... wait for it ... THREEEEEEEEE days! I don't know about you, but I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Report: Former Detroit Tigers reliever Joel Zumaya to retire; last pitched in majors in 2010 MLive.com, Josh Slagter By now, you've all heard this news. Still sad. Thanks for the fun times, Zoom Zoom.
It was only a matter of time before Ausmus, a former Padres, Tigers, Astros, and Dodgers catcher, and a native of Cheshire, Conn., got his shot.
Leyland to work with MLB on replay system Beck's Blog, Jason Beck "Jim Leyland's retirement means we won't have the sight of him challenging a bad a call from the dugout." Or arguing about a call, which is truly disappointing.
How they can get to 90 wins: Maybe the question should be how they can get to 100 wins.
Tigers Pitchers Got Lots of Easy Outs in 2013 Tiger Tales, Lee Panas I'm sorry, but I couldn't make it past that truly terrifying picture of Max.
Analyst: Detroit Tigers made best managerial hire of off-season with Brad Ausmus Detroit Free Press, Brian Manzullo But, like, he hasn't managed any games yet. So ... potentially the best hire?
Showtime for the 2014 Detroit Tigers House of Cards Motor City Bengals, Josie Parnell "Say what you will about the Detroit Tigers off-season, but don’t call it boring." Who called it boring? Did someone call it boring? Show yourself, evildoer.
Among the non-roster invites in the NL West are a few of baseball's top prospects, some of whom will face MLB-caliber competition for the first time in Cactus League play.
All five National League West clubs have announced their non-roster spring training invitees. The lists are made up of equal parts familiar names, ranging from highly rated prospects to former effective big-league regulars and organizational guys, some of whom will get their lone shot to impress their team's brass enough to get a long look before the start of the 2014 season.
Here are just a few of the many familiar faces and up-and-comers to watch for from the NL West during Cactus League play over the next couple of months.
Familiar face: Daniel Hudson. Arizona will give Hudson a chance to show he can rebound from Tommy John surgery, which prematurely ended his 2012 season and cost him all of 2013. Hudson was one of the D-Backs' best pitchers in 2011, finishing with a 3.49 ERA in 222 innings while walking only two batters per nine innings. That followed an impressive rookie campaign in which Hudson won seven of his eight decisions and posted a 1.69 ERA after being acquired by the D-Backs from the White Sox in a midseason trade.
Keep an eye on:Archie Bradley. MLB.com's No. 5 overall prospect for 2014 is a serious candidate to crack Arizona's rotation out of spring training, general manager Kevin Towers told ArizonaSports.com's Vince Marotta last month. And for good reason; the 21-year-old right-hander struck out 162 batters in 152 innings while posting a 1.84 ERA at age-appropriate levels in 2013. Both Bradley and Hudson will be candidates to earn a spot in a rotation that could prove to be surprisingly deep.
Familiar face: Chone Figgins. In his last three big-league seasons, Figgins hit .227/.302/.283 in more than 1,200 plate appearances and was the subject of a chorus of boos from Mariners fans on a nightly basis. The 11-year veteran isn't getting any younger, so expecting a ton of production out of him is probably foolish. But now that the Dodgers know for sure that they won't have the services of recently retired Michael Young, infield depth -- particularly at third base -- is a team need. If Figgins somehow has a good showing in spring training, he might have a shot to crack the big-league club as an end-of-bench depth option.
Keep an eye on: Joc Pederson. With highly paid veterans such as Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and Carl Crawford -- as well as a sophomore sensation by the name of Yasiel Puig -- manning the Dodgers' outfield, Pederson probably isn't going to make the cut out of camp. However, as the season wears on, other large market teams might find themselves in need of a bat and could come calling to the Dodgers, who might find themselves in the rare position of being buyers and sellers due to their current roster construction. Having a guy in the pipeline who enters the season ranked No. 36 on MLB.com's Top 100 Prospects list and hit .278/.381/.497 as a 21-year-old in Double-A last year would make such a move possible.
Familiar face: Dan Runzler. The 28-year-old right-hander was designated for assignment in September after struggling at Triple-A Fresno last season. The Giants brought him back on a minor league deal, perhaps hoping to recapture the success Runzler had in 2010, when he posted a 3.03 ERA with 37 strikeouts in 32⅔ innings for the eventual World Series champions.
Keep an eye on: J.C. Gutierrez. Unlike the previous two players in this category, Gutierrez has been around for a while. However, the 30-year-old right-hander has flown under the radar in the majors despite boasting a decent strikeout rate and solid numbers against right-handed hitters. San Francisco's bullpen isn't projected to be very good, so the chances of a guy like Gutierrez cracking the roster don't look too shabby.
Familiar face: Xavier Nady. San Diego's second-round pick in 2000 is back in the organization after spending seven big-league seasons with seven different teams since being traded away following the 2005 campaign. He didn't play in the majors last year but hit .296/.360/.456 for the Royals' and Rockies' Triple-A squads. He faces an uphill battle in terms of cracking the Padres' roster; they currently have six outfielders -- Carlos Quentin, Seth Smith, Chris Denorfia, Will Venable, Cameron Maybin and Kyle Blanks -- slated to make the big-league club, although several of those have dealt with numerous injury issues in recent seasons.
Keep an eye on: Leonel Campos. He's 26 years old and has registered only 30⅔ innings above A-ball, but Campos struck out batters at an eye-popping rate -- 14.2 per nine innings -- during his full-season debut in 2013 and could force the Padres to give him a long, hard look with a solid spring against better competition.
Familiar face: Michael McKenry. The man known as "Quadzilla" is back with the Rockies, with whom he made his big-league debut in 2010, after spending the last three seasons with the Pirates. McKenry was non-tendered following the 2013 campaign after slumping to a .217/.262/.348 line in backup duty. However, the 28-year-old backstop is only a year removed from a 109 OPS+ and could challenge for Colorado's backup catcher spot, which is currently held by light-hitting former utility infielder Jordan Pacheco.
Keep an eye on: Eddie Butler. Butler rapidly ascended through the Rockies' system in 2013, finishing at Double-A Tulsa after beginning the year in Low-A. In his first full professional season, Butler posted a 1.80 ERA and struck out 8.6 batters per nine innings across three stops and shot up to No. 41 on MLB.com's Top 100 Prospects list. He possesses multiple offerings that are considered to be above-average or better, including a filthy change-up that baffledRed Sox top prospect Xander Bogaerts at the 2013 Futures Game. Butler isn't going to break camp with the Rockies, but a midseason promotion to bolster what appears to be a below-average rotation is certainly possible.
Few players can offer the upside of Everth Cabrera. Will this be the year we see him put it all together?
Everth Cabrera's speed is a game-changing tool. It's also the type of tool that can almost single-handedly win a category in fantasy baseball. Cabrera is so special because, not only is he extremely fast, he is a very good base runner as evidenced by UBR and wSB marks that would have ranked in the top 15 in the majors (or better) had he played a full season and qualified. Cabrera has stolen 81 bases over the last two years despite having only played 210 games. During that same time, he attempted a stolen base every 9 plate appearances at a success rate of 83.5 percent. Those numbers extrapolated over 700 plate appearances (a reasonable number for a full time leadoff hitter) would yield a stolen base total of 64. Since 2009, there have been only 4 occurrences in which a player more than 60 bases and only two were greater than 64.
Last season, Cabrera showed more than just speed. He cut his strikeout rate almost 10% thanks to a contact rate increase to the tune of 6.5% and a reduced swinging strike percentage. He hit .283 with a .337 BABIP that looks to be sustainable due to his speed, the fact that he hits a large number of ground balls and an increase in LD%. Cabrera maintained an above average walk rate and posted a career high .355 OBP which would have ranked second among shortstops. Getting on base 35% of the times he went to the plate allowed him to attempt to steal 49 bases in only 435 plate appearances. It also led to scoring more runs in fewer plate appearances than in 2012. I've always been a little more optimistic than others on the Padres lineup, but I think Cabrera can score 90 runs while batting leadoff if he maintains or comes close to repeating his 2013 OBP.
Power will never be part of Cabrera's game as he's never posted an ISO over .106 and had only 24 extra base hits each of the last two seasons. While it remains to be seen what the effect of being off steroids (assuming they are) will have on power hitters such as Ryan Braun and Nelson Cruz, Cabrera's game is not likely to change. He's battled some injuries in his career and performance enhancing drugs can aid in making it through the rigors of a long season but I'm not expecting any change in production due to PEDs or lack thereof. On that note, the limited at bats over the last two seasons were the result of starting 2012 in the minors and a 50 game suspension in 2013. I think it's reasonable to project Cabrera for a career high in games and plate appearances in 2014.
Everth Cabrera won my heart with his stolen base heroics in September of 2012 when he stole 19 bases in the month and carried my team to an NL-only league championship. Since then, he has been one of my favorite players in fantasy baseball. Normally, I shy away from players that offer stats in limited categories such as Michael Bourn and Juan Pierre, but Cabrera continues to intrigue me. He offers stolen base upside that is almost unrivaled in the game and definitely unmatched by another shortstop. If Cabrera shows that the improvements he made last year are for real and gets 600 to 700 plate appearances, we are looking at a top 5 (or higher) shortstop who is likely to go off the board several spots lower than that.
This is always my favorite quiz of the year. In the Spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to love and we old timers, well our fancy turns to baseball. It's so challenging trying to name all the players on the Spring Training Roster
Bud Black has yet to whittle down his roster so chances are if you can think of a Padres' name, he's on this list of 60 players somewhere, unless he was traded or DNF'd in the offseason.
I'm usually good for about 20 correct answers before I'm in the realm of players that I never ever think about. I think I at least recognize all but 2 or 3 of these player's names as Padres, which I consider to be quite the improvement over last year.
I'm giving you an extra minute this year to sort out your answers and there are 7 less players on the roster, so you should do swell.
Also, I encourage you to discuss your answers in the comments, but please use the spoiler button to hide player's names.
After two years the two sides finally come to an agreement.
Fox Sports San Diego launched on back on March 17, 2012. For two whole seasons it has shown Padres games to those that got the channel. For those two years, anyone with Time Warner Cable did not see Fox Sports San Diego and missed out on seeing two full seasons worth of Padres games. For those that stuck with Time Warner Cable, the wait is over. Fox Sports San Diego will be a part of one of their cable packages beginning next month. Here is the official release from Fox Sports San Diego:
FOX SPORTS SAN DIEGO AND TIME WARNER CABLE
REACH AGREEMENT TO CARRY PADRES GAMES
FOX Sports San Diego and Time Warner Cable are pleased to announce that they have reached an agreement to carry the new regional sports network in time for Padres baseball.
Time Warner Cable will begin offering FOX Sports San Diego in time for the 2014 Major League Baseball season so fans can catch all the action. Padres games will be distributed on Time Warner Cable systems in San Diego, as well as surrounding areas in the Padres territory.
The network will launch for Time Warner Cable customers on March 30, 2014. Channel position on Time Warner Cable systems will be announced at a later date.
"We’re happy for the many Padres fans who are Time Warner Cable customers who now will be able to follow their hometown baseball team on TV all season long," said Henry Ford, Senior Vice President and General Manager, FOX Sports San Diego. "With this agreement, Padres baseball will now be available in more homes in San Diego than ever before."
"We’re pleased to have reached a reasonable long-term agreement for Fox Sports San Diego, and we look forward to launching this network in the near future," said Jennifer Chun Senior Vice President, Content Acquisition for Time Warner Cable.
Statement from Ron Fowler, San Diego Padres executive chairman, on today's agreement between Time Warner Cable and FOX Sports San Diego
"The Padres are thrilled about today's agreement between Time Warner Cable and FOX Sports San Diego. We thank our fans for their long-standing patience for the last several years. We also thank FOX Sports San Diego for their diligence in making this partnership happen. And finally, we thank Time Warner and welcome them back to the Padres family. We're excited to bring San Diego Padres baseball into every home in San Diego County. We are also pleased that our broadcast will now be available for the many Padres fans in Hawaii as well. This is a great day for Padres fans everywhere."
Former Padres reliever Eric Cyr turns 35 years old today. A thirtieth-round pick by San Diego in 1998, Cyr's entire major league career consisted of five games with the Friars in 2002.
Cyr is pictured here on 2003 Upper Deck First Pitch #27. The photo was taken during spring training of 2002. You can tell it was taken in 2002 because of the Mike Darr memorial patch on Cyr's sleeve. The tip-off that it's from spring training is that he's wearing number 64; he wore 49 during his five-game regular-season stint.
The back of the card mentions Cyr's successful major league debut; the folks at Upper Deck were charitable enough to not mention the four games that followed it. He gave up seven earned runs over his final five innings for a lifetime ERA of 10.50. They were also nice not to point out that Cyr was already a convicted sex offender at this point. He served 30 days back in 2001 after pleading guilty to "sexual contact with another without consent," which is somehow just a misdemeanor, following an incident involving coerced bathroom sex with a 15 year old.
Please note that at no point did I wish him a happy birthday.
Everybody seemed to do fairly well on yesterday's quiz about this year's Spring Training roster, so just to keep you on your toes I thought I'd see how you fare with a subject that's the complete opposite of current events. When it comes to the major league iteration of the Padres you can only turn the clock back so far, so this quiz concerns the 1969 roster.
Forty-two players suited up for at least one regular-season game with the inaugural Padres. I listed them in alphabetical order along with their positions and number of games played. My best advice would be to knock out the ones you know and then use the added context of the letter ranges between those to guess the others.
After your five minutes are up, be sure to log your score in the poll. After that, brag about the ones you got right and lament the ones you missed, but don't forget to use the spoiler-bar feature in your comments.
Time starts as soon as I stop reading the first question. No, wait, that's Family Feud. Uh, just click "PLAY GAME".
