Tagged: cha seung baek
Padres Win, Walk-Off Style
Back to some Padres baseball. On Sunday, we lost 12-7. I don’t even want to go there because I need to talk about yesterday’s game!
- 9-7 Padres (yes, you read that right!!)
WE WON!!! It was such a cool game. Definitely the best game they’ve played so far this spring. Chris Young started and threw 4.1 innings, giving up three runs on five hits. He also struck out five. It was good to see him go out there and have a fairly good game. Justin Hampson gave up a run in his 0.2 innings of work. Cesar Ramos had three decent innings. He threw two scoreless before allowing three runs in his third inning of work. Edwin Moreno threw the top of the ninth.
The Royals had a four-nothing lead until the sixth. But then the Padres scored four runs in the bottom of that inning to tie the game. Kyle Blanks had a booming two-run double. The Royals went ahead 7-4.
I didn’t listen to the whole game, but I came in around the bottom of the ninth. The Padres are behind by three runs. It’s so cool how you can look back at certain events, certain things that happened in your life, and you can remember exactly what was going on, what you were thinking. Well, this bottom of the ninth was one of those for me. Ah, I wish I had a play-by-play recap of that inning! I’ll try to remember it as best as I can. I think we got two runners on with one out. A guy popped out shortstop, I think. Then Kyle Blanks came up. Kyle had already had a hit and two walks when he came up to the plate. He promptly hit a run-scoring single to tie the game. Then Chase Headley came up.
During this inning, I knew we were going to come back. Like, I had that feeling, but I didn’t let myself get my hopes too high. But I knew. I told myself to enjoy the inning, no matter what happens, because something big might very well happen right now. With two outs, you’re always cautious about getting your hopes up too high. But I knew that Chase could hit a walk-off homer. So cool that I thought about that! I think Ted Leitner called it. It might have been the batter before, but he mentioned that if one of these guys could just get one into that wind, which was blowing out, they could give the Padres a walk-off win. He TOTALLY called that.
Well, what do you know. After a pitching change, Chase Headley stepped into the box. With a count of 3-1, he hit a NO-DOUBTER right out of the park. It was so cool to hear the excitement in Ted’s voice as he called it. He didn’t have to tell us it was a no-doubter; we could hear it in his voice. I was sooooo excited!! Come-from-behind walk-offs are the best! I love love love them!!! It was so exciting. I mean, we won for the first time in a realllly long time. And this time, the hitting was able to catch up with the pitching.
Catcher Josh Bard got signed by the Nationals over the weekend. I really hope he can get some playing time!
Yesterday the Padres got a couple new players. We signed pitcher Shawn Hill to a minor league deal. He might get a rotation spot. We also got pitcher Luke Gregerson as the player-to-be named-later in the Khalil Greene deal.
Josh Geer, Scott Patterson, Joe Thatcher (WHOOOOHOOOOO!!!!), Jose Lobaton, Matt Antonelli, and Will Venable were sent to Triple-A. I feel bad for a few of these guys (not Thatcher), but it will be good for them.
I know you’re all wondering….
You’ve been slogging through all that Padres news to see if there’s any other news…
Yes, my dad read my entry last night…
He talked with my mom this morning…
And the answer is…is….is……………
I’M GOING TO FAN DAY!!!!!
I am sooooooooooo excited!! It’s going to be so much fun!!!! I can’t wait. My dad won’t be taking me because he has responsibilites at church, but my mom and my little brothers will be going. I might even bring a few friends. Wow, that’s the Sunday after next!! I’m kind of glad that it’s coming up quickly, so that way I don’t have to wait as long 🙂 Hyun Young, it’s going to be great to hang out at Petco Park with you! We need to convince Jen to come too! It’s free, Jen…nice and easy on a student’s budget!!
I wanted to thank you all for all the support, and for all the great comments that I put in my previous entry. I can’t wait to share all the pictures and stories from this event with you! Thank you so much. You guys are the best!!
Today the Padres are playing the Angels in Tempe. Cha Seung Baek is starting. I think he’s due for a good outing. Let’s see if we can carry the momentum from yesterday into today!
Team Japan won the WBC for the second time last night. It was a really great game. I thought the defense was incredible. So, congrats to Team Japan. They made an incredible run, and they are a stellar baseball team.
I’m off to eat a celebratory slice of chocolate cake. I’m so excited!!!
GO PADRES!!!
(photo credit: wikipedia.com)
Can’t Keep Up
UPDATE: Be sure to vote for me in Max Madness! Thank you so much!
- 10-8 Mariners
We tried. I mean, the offense was great. But once again, in a trend that we’ve been seeing all week, the hitting just can’t keep up with the pitching.
Cha Seung Baek got a five-run lead before he even took the mound. For my Padres, that’s great! It’s always good to get a big lead early. But the pitching just can’t keep those runs in check. Baek went 4.1 innings, giving up six runs on eight hits. The Padres then sent Mike DeMark to the mound. I have never heard of this guy. I think he’s with Single-A Lake Elsinore. I don’t know why the Padres even had him in camp. This was DeMark’s first time facing major league batters, so maybe we can forgive him. But he gave up four runs. Ivan Nova, Cla Meredith, and Scott Patterson then had a scoreless inning each. But if DeMark hadn’t pitched, the score would have been 8-6 Padres. I mean, some other pitcher might have gone in who gave up even more runs, but I’m just saying. Oh well. I am pleased with the three guys who had scoreless innings, but Baek not so much. He has not been doing well this spring. I don’t want him in my rotation if he’s going to pitch like this!
We hit really well. As I mentioned, we got five runs in the top of the first. Catcher Eliezer Alfonso had two hits and two errors. Cliff Floyd went three-for-three. I am really excited about having Floyd off the bench. I think he will do very well for us. Adrian Gonzalez, playing for the first time since he got back from the WBC, had two hits! Jody Gerut and Luis Rodriguez also had two hits each. Our hitters are ready. That much is obvious. And I think the offense will be a lot better than it was last year. It’s the pitching that’s going to kill us this season.
Still no word if I can go to the Padres Fan Day, but I had a dream last night that I was going. It’s in two weeks!!
Today is the first day of spring!
Here in San Diego, it’s really foggy outside. I think we might get rain this weekend. This happens like ever year. Yesterday, it was in the 80s. Today, it will be foggy all morning. It will probably clear up later, but it doesn’t look like spring out there right now. This San Diego weather is so funny…but I love it 🙂
Jake Peavy is starting the USA’s game against Japan on Sunday. I really hope he does well and doesn’t hurt himself. It’s going to be a great game!
Today we are playing the Cubs in Mesa. Kevin Correia will be starting for the Padres. Let’s see if the offense can keep up with the pitching today…
GO PADRES!!!
(photo credit: motherearthsgarden.com)
Review of a BUSY Weekend
Ah, it’s so great to be back to blogging after a busy weekend! I’ve got a lot to tell you guys, so hang in there! Lots of interesting stuff happened this weekend…
PADRES GAMES
- Saturday against the Indians: 8-6 Indians
It was a pretty good game from the Padres’ side, actually. Cha Seung Baek started, not allowing a baserunner until he gave up a bunt single in the third. He pitched four innings, giving up two runs on two hits. I think he’s getting a little better. Justin Hampson has been falling apart a bit lately. He gave up four runs on three hits. Arturo Lopez gave up two runs. But the other three pitchers did well.
The hitting highlight of this game was probably outfielder Drew Macias. He had three hits and a great defensive game as well. Cliff Floyd drove in two runs, and Luis Rodriguez had an RBI. I think we did pretty well in this game. Obviously the pitching is still struggling, but I seriously think that the hitters are ready to go. They’ve been in camp for a while, and they are ready. But there are still a lot of roster decisions to be made, so it’s good that some of these guys are getting as many ABs as possible. This half of the Padres lost 8-6.
- Saturday against the Giants: 8-4 Padres
We won half of this split-squad thingy! If you had asked me, I would have said that the team in Peoria would have won, but no. It was the Scottsdale team that came out on top.
Cesar Ramos started the game and threw three scoreless innings. I am very pleased that he had a good outing. He probably won’t make the team out of Spring Training, but he has struggled this spring, so it’s good to see him put up some zeros there. Walter Silva pitched two scoreless innings, which is great! Silva is on loan to the Padres from a team in Mexico, and we’re taking a look at him for as potential starter in the rotation. Thing is, he hurt his ankle and Saturday was his first outing this spring. I am very glad that he pitched well, though! Jae Kuk Ryu and Will Inman each gave up two runs. But otherwise, the pitching did pretty well!
Chase Headley and Nick Hundley each hit a two-run double in this game. Kyle Blanks hit his second homer of the spring, driving in two runs. Very cool. My boy Kevin Kouzmanoff also had two hits. Yay! We seem to hit Matt Cain pretty well. At least lately. When we faced him in a game in September, we killed him, getting like five runs in the bottom of the first. And here again, he gave up five runs to us. Interesting. And so, this half (the better half?) of the Padres won 8-4. Great game!
- Sunday against the Rangers: 10-7 Rangers
Well. Not so great game for my Padres, or should I say, their pitching!!! Let’s see…Wade LeBlanc gave up three runs in two innings, Nick Schmidt gave up six runs without getting an out, and Josh Banks gave up a run. I don’t remember who Josh Banks is. He might have come up to the majors last year, but I’m not sure…oh wait, I remember him now. He must have been in the minor league camp so far. Anyways, Joe Thatcher threw a scoreless inning, even getting three strikeouts around two hits. He still needs to go way down to the minors.
Chad Huffman hit a homer and got three hits. Pete Ciofrone also hit a homer. Chris Snelling (more about him later) had a double and drove in three runs. Brett Dowdy had two hits.
And so, we lost. But it was a great game on the hitting side. If you don’t have good pitching, you don’t win. Jerry Coleman is brilliant.
MY BROTHER’S GAME
So, my brother played his fourth game of the season on Saturday afternoon. It was a great game! Pirates against the Marlins, and the Pirates came out on top, 7-2. First of all, the Marlins pitching was not very good. My brother got on base for the very first time in his baseball career by getting walked on four really wide pitches. So, when he’s in the majors some 12-15 years from now, he can say that he got on base for the first time by getting walked on four pitches. How neat! The reporters will be all over that. Just kidding 🙂
Anyways, in the last inning (which happened to be the fifth), the Marlin’s pitching was going nuts. Strikeout, walk, walk, hit by pitch, hit by pitch, walk, walk. Yeah, pretty crazy. In fact, their pitching gave up nine walk in five innings! But now, the most exciting part (to our family): my brother got hit-by-pitch! But not just any ordinary HBP. He got it with the bases loaded! Now he can tell the reporters when he makes his major league debut that he got his first ever RBI by getting hit-by-pitch from a pitcher who was not very good! And he didn’t get hit badly. I think he got it in the shoulder/upper arm area. It was certainly a little sore the next day, but he was fine. Pretty cool! My mom and I were just sitting there laughing. It was pretty amazing!
WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC
Now, the WBC. Mexico is very close to elimination, but with my Gonzalez boys on that team, they have a chance to get back into this thing. I think it was a really great weekend at Petco Park. Some great games were played. And Team USA is still in it for now.
JAKE PEAVY
But now I must have a little rant. About Jake Peavy. Yes, Padres ace and face of the organization is pitching with Team USA right now. He’s had two outings, and he’s given up eight runs in five innings. He’s also given up five walks. I am really worried about him. I feel like he’s pushing himself way too hard way too early. He only had two outings with the Padres before he left. He’s been put into this “playoff” atmosphere, and I know how much pride he has about playing with that USA on his chest. But I really think he is pushing himself too hard. And I’m worried that this will carry over to the season. Last time the WBC came around, Jake gave up three runs in eight innings. That was the year that he got hurt. Can you believe the blow it would be to this Padres team if Jake isn’t in top form this year?? Well, we saw it last year, when Jake was out with that elbow problem. That along with the 22-inning game killed our season. We can’t lose our ace. Not again. So, I hate to say it, but I really hope Jake can get back into camp soon. He really needs to slow it down. Come back to us, Jake!!!!!!!!!!
UM, EDGAR…??
I just had to share this picture. I mean, is that creepy or what? In the photo caption on MLB.com, it said that Edgar was sharing a laugh with his brother Adrian. Looks more like Edgar is yelling at his younger brother. Poor Adrian, always getting lectured by his older, shorter brother. Just kidding, the Gonzalez brothers have a great relationship. And though I have no doubt that Edgar really was laughing in this picture, I just had to poke fun at him. It is a pretty funny picture!
NEW SIGNEES
The Padres signed two players to minor league deals over the weekend: outfielder Chris Snelling and pitcher Duaner Sanchez. Now, the outfielder move is really questionable in my mind. We don’t need another outfielder! Maybe they want him for his bat. But I mean, our outfield is all locked up. We’ve got Jody Gerut in center, Brian Giles in right, and Chase Headley in left. Plus, we’ve got Scott Hairston and Will Venable, who are stellar outfielders. I don’t think we have a place for Snelling, but he sounds like a good player. As for the new pitcher, hey, we need arms that don’t give up ten runs a game. So let’s see if he can pitch!
CHECK IT OUT…
The Best Blog Out There! Get over to this blog and welcome a new die-hard Padres fan to the community. You can never have too many die-hards around here, especially Padres fans! I am very excited to read about another Padres fan’s opinions of our team!
Well, the Padres are off today. Tomorrow we will play The Angels Angels in Peoria. GO PADRES!!
(photo credit: MLB.com)
Pounded by the Sox
- 15-4 White Sox
Oh boy. What a nasty game! Our pitching did terrible, and I hate it when our pitching does terrible. Without good pitching, we can’t win. It’s a simple as that. And so, because we had bad pitching today, we did not win.
Chris Young started and threw three innings. He only gave up two runs, but his stuff was not the best. Mike Ekstrom gave up six runs. Mark Worrell gave up his first two runs of the spring. Greg Burke gave up four runs. And Joe Thatcher, the pitcher who canot pitch, gave up another run. Tsk tsk. He really shouldn’t get a spot in the bullpen. Scott Patterson had the only scoreless inning of all the pitchers.
Our hitters didn’t do the best. Cliff Floyd hit a solo bomb. Nick Hundley and Luis Rodriguez each drove in a run. Cedric Hunter has two hits and drove in a run.
It was very cool to listen to the game and hear about all these White Sox players that I’ve been reading about for so long on Jen’s blog. It was like, an amazing moment when I heard AJ Pierzynski’s first at-bat. I have heard SO much about him, and then suddenly he was there, on the same field as my Padres. It was pretty incredible. I predicted that he was going to kill us, and though he didn’t hit a bomb, he had two hits and drove in a run. Jen’s other favorite, Josh Fields, had three hits in three at-bats and drove in a run.
Tomorrow is a split-squad thingy. I’m guessing that all our “regulars” will stay in Peoria and play the Indians. Cha Seung Baek is starting that one. The other game will be against the Giants in Scottsdale. Cesar Ramos will start that one. It will be very interesting…wouldn’t it be cool if we won both games? 🙂
I watched the last half hour or so of Star Wars Episode II last night. You know, those movies are incredible! The first three are not the best, but they are still amazing. I absolutely love the Attack of the Clones, mostly because of the love story part of it, but it’s so cheesy! (“I’ve been dying a little bit every day since you cam back into my life.” “I thought we decided not to fall in love. That it would destroy us.” “It looks like we’re about to be destroyed anyway.”) I really noticed that last night. But I love it! The third one was really good, I loved it, but it was so sad. Yeah, I’m feeling kind of random tonight 🙂
As I’ve mentioned, some friends of mine got to go to the Spring Training game last week. I would like to share a few of the pictures they took. A lot of them are really excellent. They had great seats, so these are nice and close. Enjoy!
KOOOOOOOOOOOZ!!!!
KOOOOOZ again!!
Cliff Floyd getting hit-by-pitch. You can see the ball above the umpire’s head.
Cla Meredith pitching the day before his little girl was born!
Well, I hope everyone has a great weekend! GO PADRES!!
UPDATE: Here’s the lineups for today’s games:
Game against the Indians in Peoria
- CF Drew Macias
- 2B David Eckstein
- RF Brian Giles
- DH Cliff Floyd
- LF Emil Brown
- C Eliezer Alfonso
- 1B Chad Huffman
- SS Luis Rodriguez
- 3B Travis Denker
Cha Seung Baek starting, followed by Arturo Lopez, Joe Thatcher, Cla Meredith, Justin Hampson, Chris Britton.
Game against the Giants in Scottsdale
- CF Jody Gerut
- 2B Chris Burke
- 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff
- 1B Kyle Blanks
- LF Chase Headley
- RF Will Venable
- C Nick Hundley
- SS Everth Cabrera
- SP Cesar Ramos
Jae Kuk Ryu, Ivan Nova, Will Inman, and Walter Silva will also pitch.
Manager Bud Black will be with the Scottsdale team. GO PADRES!!!
(photo credits: Star Wars: impawards.com. Spring Training: big thanks and credits to Ski, Pipski, and the Ninja!)
A Blowout? Oh yeah!
- 16-3 Padres
On Friday and Saturday, the Padres got pretty beat up. The pitching gave up 28 runs in those two games, plus four more on Sunday. It was really rough to watch my team get killed, but it was so bad that it was almost funny. Though it was humorous that my team was losing like 13-11 or 15-6, it’s always so much more fun when you’re the team on top. And yesterday, that’s what my Padres were. After a week of losses, they finally pulled off a win by beating up their NL West rivals, the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The pitching was very much improved from the weekend. Cha Seung Baek himself was very improved! He went three innings, allowing only one run on one hit. He walked one and struck out two. I mean, compared to how he’s been doing, this is definitely his best outing of the spring. Even in the very few innings I was able to listen to, just hearing the way the guys described his pitching, I could tell that his stuff was working much better. The guys really noticed it, and there was one pitch that Ted Leitner said was the best fastball that he’s ever seen Cha Seung throw. So, I’m pleased that he’s (hopefully) getting it together.
The rest of the pitching was pretty good. Jae Kuk Ryu had a bases loaded situation, but he induced a grounder to third for an around-the-horn double play to get out of the inning. That was great. Greg Burke, who is going to start a Padres prospect blog around here sometime, pitched a spotless inning, as in, no hits and no runs. Joe Thatcher…yeah, him again. Miraculously, he was able to pitch a scoreless inning. I have no idea how he did it, and though he allowed one hit, he had two strikeouts. He still needs to go to Single-Single-A, though. Justin Hampson, who has been one of the more solid guys this spring, allowed two runs on three hits in the seventh. I think he has a big chance to make the Opening Day roster in the bullpen. Arturo Lopez and Edwin Moreno each had scoreless innings. I am very pleased that the pitching has improved. At least it’s not every other guy giving up four runs. I am very pleased.
On the offensive side, we did fantastic. Probably the best we’ve done all spring. We had 16 hits, and though we left seven runners on base, we scored 16 runs. 16!!! Eliezer Alfonso, a catcher who will be starting the season at Triple-A, hit a three-run homer for us in the top of the second inning off of Jon Garland. Alfonso later hit an RBI double. My boy Koooooz had THREE doubles in four at-bats! Yeah, I think he’s ready to play. One of those doubles drove in a run. I am so proud of him!! Anyway, Brett Dowdy. I hate to admit it, but I have no idea who this guy is. Before this spring, I had never heard of him. I am pretty sure that he’s with Portland, or was last year. I think he was one of the guys brought into big league camp when the guys left for the WBC. So, wherever he came from, he had a good game yesterday. Double down the left field line, clearing the bases and driving in three runs. Not bad. Brian Giles, Will Venable, Drew Macias, Matt Antonelli, and Cedric Hunter each drove in a run. Brett Dowdy drove in four. Kyle Blanks drove in two. Drew Macias got a solo homer in the top of the 9th. I really like how we score runs all through the game. Three in the second, four in the third, four in the fifth, one in the sixth, and then four in the ninth. I think that was great!
I must admit, I have not been following the WBC like I should be. But I did noticed that the Padres’ big boy Adrian Gonzalez drove in six runs for Team Mexico in their win against South Africa yesterday. I’m telling you, Adrian is an incredible hitter. I know you know that, but it’s so true. That guy is incredible. I can’t wait for him to get back to the Padres and use that big bat to win some games for us!
Thank you so much to Sue of Rants, Raves, and Random Thoughts, who did some research and revealed the mystery of the unknown autographs. Our mysterious Scribblers are Matt Antonelli, Drew Macias, and Cedric Hunter. I am impressed. Those are not just your average minor leaguers. These guys are regarded pretty highly by the Padres organization. Very cool.
Today is an off-day for my Padres. It seems so strange to have another off-day, because it seems like we just had one! But tomorrow we are playing Team Korea. That’s going to be really interesting.
Have a great day, everyone, and GO PADRES!!
(photo credit: pe.com)
What a Weekend
It was a really great weekend. Sure, the Padres didn’t do so great, but there was a lot of cool stuff that happened. Hang in there for this long entry, because there’s some pretty cool stuff ahead…
To start, I realized that I needed to make a poster for Trevor. When Jake Peavy won his CY Young award in 2007, I made this really cool poster commemorating that. I also made a poster when Chase Headley was finally called up to the majors last year. So, it made sense that I should make one for Trevor. I worked on this during the game on Saturday:
This is now hanging on my wall. Pretty cool, huh?
My brother’s second game of the season was Saturday afternoon. The boys played pretty well. They lost 5-4, but I thought they did a good job. I really should have brought my scorebook. I wanted to keep track of the game somehow, and the only logical thing to do was keep score of it. But all I had was a pencil and a little notepad. I had to invent my own way of keeping score of the game! It was really interesting because I’m so used to the convienence of a scorebook. Next time I’m definitely bringing my scorebook. That should help me keep better track of what’s going on. For example, I missed some of the scoring of the other team somehow, so at the end of the game I had that my brother’s team had won 4-3. But they had lost 5-4 instead. Hmm.. One of the highlights of the game was when a kid from the other team hit an inside-the-park home run. Even though it was the other team, it was pretty cool to see. The boys’ next game is Tuesday night. Hopefully it won’t get rained out!
Yesterday afternoon, my family went to a local park to practice baseball with my brothers. Unfortunately, there were adult softball games being played on both fields. We found a patch of grass and played some catch, but when we were done, my dad and I went to watch one of the games. It was really interesting. It was very casual, co-ed, just a bunch of people having fun playing softball. It was funny because a guy hit an inside-the-park home run! I mean, how many times do you see two inside-the-park home runs in the space of two days? But some of those players were really good. It looked like so much fun!
I’ve been thinking about the 2009 pocket schedules a little. I have a lot of them, like two from each of the last four years. So, I was wondering when I would find a display of them in a store or somewhere. Yesterday, my dad handed me one. I literally screamed! A guy from our church had found one somewhere and gave it to my dad to give to me. It’s a really cool schedule this year, with the 40th anniversary logo on the front.
And now, the best part of this entry! I think I mentioned that my friend and his family were going to the game in Peoria on Saturday. This family is one of my closest friends, so they definitely know all about my fandom and love of the Padres. They got to watch a terrible game, but they did have a lot of fun. They had some really great seats that were merely a few rows behind the Padres’ first base dugout. Once it was 10-5 Oakland, they left the game. I expected them to bring me something back, since I’m like a really big Padres fan and stuff, but I had no idea what they planned to bring me, and boy was it a shock. One of the things they brought back was this really cool Spring Training cap. I love it!
How cool is that?
My friend showed me a bunch of the pictures they had taken. They got a lot of really great pictures, and maybe I’ll post some once I get them. Anyway, he was telling me about the autographs they got while showing me the really up-close pictures of the players. I was really happy for them, and I remember thinking that I hoped they had brought the autographs so I could see them. Boy, was I in for a surprise!
Later in the day, my friend and his brother came up to me and my sister and presented us with these plastic Padres hats…autographed by seven players! I was so shocked. No way had I expected that they got the autographs for us! That helmet is probably worth a lot. It was signed by Brian Giles, Kevin Kouzmanoff (yay!), Cha Seung Baek, and David Eckstein. The other three…well, we have no idea who they are. I think they were minor league players. I might have been able to recognize them if I was there, but I don’t think my friend studied the rosters at all. I might be able to figure it out when I get the pictures, but for now we have three unknown autographers. If any of you can read Scribble, please let me know.
I had a really hard time getting a good picture of the hat, because it reflects everything. The light, the flash, the surrounding area. So, these are the best I could do, but you’ll get the point. (A note: my friend was able to get the hats at a thrift store for a dollar. I’m telling you, there are some incredible deals at thrift stores!)
This one is really dark, but you can kind of see the autographs.
A sort of better picture 🙂
Brian Giles
Top to bottom: Cha Seung Baek (53) and David Eckstein
Two of the unknown autographs
KOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOZ!!!
So, that pretty much made my day. Sorry I wasn’t able to get that great pictures of it, but maybe I’ll try again later. Now we need to figure out how to display it…Thank you so much to my friends who gave this really cool stuff to me!
What a weekend, huh? It was a really great one, full of fun and blessings. GO PADRES!!
(pictures: all mine)
Playing Texas Today…
Well, my dear Trevor Hoffman threw an inning for the Brewers on Tuesday. It was a scoreless, hittless inning, and he got a strikeout. That is so like Trevor to have a great spring. I think it’s April, though, that is his really bad month. I was thinking about this last night. I really hope he doesn’t get injured this season. That would be so sad! I almost wish he had retired in the offseason rather than sign with the Brewers. But he’s still got it in him, and he wants to pitch. I’m still clinging to the hope that he will re-sign with the Padres next season, but if he gets hurt this season, he might just hang them up after the season. AHHHHHHHHH!!!! Don’t get hurt, Trevor!
In some exciting news, the Lord has provided two possible opportunites for me to go to some games this year already! My brother’s baseball group will be going to a game in May, and I totally want to go. Also, my youth pastor’s wife told me that the church might be going to a game in August where the players will be sharing their testimonies after the game. I am so excited and thankful for these unexpected opportunites to go some games. Plus, maybe my family will go to one, and maybe I’ll be able to convince my parents to take me to one for my birthday, and maybe we’ll go to a few with some friends, and I still might meet Jake Peavy in a chance encounter and he’ll give me season tickets…haha. Anyway, I’m just getting really excited about getting to head out to Petco a few times this year. I absolutely love to be downtown, and I love Petco Park. I love it! I love being able to get out there and cheer for my Padres!
Oh yes, and maybe I’ll be able to go to the Fan Day on April 5th, too! That would be so cool, to be able to get some autographs and just get out to the ballpark with other Padres fans. And I’m trying to enter every contest for tickets to Opening Day that I can. I think it would be incredible to be able to go to Opening Day. It seems like it would be so much fun!
OK, we’re playing the Texas Rangers today. Cha Seung Baek is starting for my Padres. I have concerns about this guy. Right now, he pretty much has the third spot in our rotation locked up. But it seems like he gave up a lot of runs last year. Even so far in Spring Training, he’s given up a huge two-run bomb. Like, all of our starters so far have given up one run or less, but Baek gave up two runs. I hope he’s able to find his groove soon. Here’s the lineup for this afternoon:
- CF Will Venable
- 2B David Eckstein
- DH Cliff Floyd
- 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff (WHOOOHOOOO!!!)
- LF Chase Headley
- RF Emil Brown
- 1B Kyle Blanks
- C Eliezer Alfonzo
- SS Luis Rodriguez
I am very excited that Kouz is getting to play third today. This is the first time he will play third in a real game this spring. He has been rehabbing his shoulder, which was actually a lot worse than I thought, so he might be still taking it a little easy. He can throw to first, and he’s got his range back, but he probably won’t play that many innings on the field. Go Koooz!
GO PADRES!!
(Oh yeah. Manny finally signed. I almost didn’t believe it.)
Beat by LA
- 5-4 Dodgers
Chris Young started and threw two great innings. He just made one mistake to Mitch Jones, who hit a bomb to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. They added to that lead in the 5th with an unearned run when second baseman David Eckstein booted a ball. But the Padres grabbed one of those back with an RBI by Eckstein (redemption!) in the bottom of that inning. In the 6th, Gabe DeHoyos gave up three runs, including a two-run homer from Blake DeWitt to increase the Dodgers’ lead to 5-1. The Padres fought back a little, getting a run in the 6th and the 7th each. They also got a run in the bottom of the 9th, but it was not enough. We lost to the Dodgers 5-4.
Our pitchers actually did pretty well. CY only allowed one run, but otherwise was really sharp. Cla Meredith, Chris Britton, Ernesto Frieri, Will Inman, and Mike Ekstrom all threw scoreless frames. Our hitters had 10 hits. Kyle Blanks and Nick Hundley has two hits each. You know, we haven’t scored that many runs, but our hitting has been pretty good. We’ve scored four runs in the last three games.
Today is an off-day, the first of four this month for the Padres. Tomorrow we will be facing the Texas Rangers in Surprise with Cha Seung Baek starting.
My two younger brothers are playing baseball with the city this spring, and my brother’s first game was last night. It was so cool to watch some baseball, even at almost the lowest level of play! It was really cold, but I had my Padres blanket, so I was pretty good. It was a neat game. My brother’s team lost like 8-3, but it was really fun to watch. I will definitely be going to many more of his games! I’m thinking that I’ll start doing write-ups and keeping score. It would be good practice for me. Anyways, here’s a picture from early in the game:
Ah yes, that beautiful San Diego sunset 🙂
Thank you for your great response to my latest tribute to Trevor. I feel like that is one of the best pieces I have ever written. It really just flowed from my heart to my fingers. So, thank you!
GO PADRES!
(photo: mine)
We didn’t lose, but we really should have won
All in a day’s work, they say. Yesterday, in Chris Young’s first start of the season, he threw nine pitches, facing three batters and inducing one groundout and two flyouts. It was a very short and sweet inning, but Young was pleased with getting some work in.
In the next inning, pitcher Justin Hampson came into the game. He probably got the worst of it, allowing three runs on three hits.
In the bottom of the second, though, my Padres fought back a little. Newcomer Henry Blanco hit a huge home run to cut Seattle’s lead to 3-2. The Mariners added a run in the 5th.
But in the eighth, my Padres said, “We’re not done yet!” Thanks to a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded, we inched closer to the Mariner’s precarious lead. In the 9th, we went single, double to get the tying run accross the plate.
And so, the game went into the 10th. It was a bit of a hairy top 10 for Padres’ pitcher Greg Burke, but he got us out of it unscathed. Talk about a disappointing bottom of the 10th, though. It looked like it was going really well. Rookie Mitch Canham started the inning with a single, and stole second while Edgar Gonzalez was batting. Edgar grounded out, but he moved the runner to third. It was beautiful. Chad Huffman then walked, but his run didn’t mean a thing. Colt Morton then popped out to short. Well, that didn’t get the runner in! Travis Denker then struck out to end the ballgame. I mean, there was a guy on third with ONE out, and he wasn’t knocked in. I’m not frustrated as much about the fact that we didn’t win, but I watched this situation so many times last year. We’ve gotta work on that.
Anyways, it was a pretty cool game. Ten pitchers pitched. WHY do we still have Joe Thatcher?? I cannot stand Joe Thatcher!!! He just CANNOT pitch!! Ugh. But all of the pitchers did pretty well. It was really neat to hear a couple of our first round picks from a few years ago who have had a lot of injuries and problems over the years. Cesar Carrillo allowed a run, but it’s great that he was even out there pitching! It was neat to hear Nick Schmidt’s scoreless inning. We’ve got some great arms in camp right now.
Another cool highlight was that new left fielder Emil Brown threw out a runner at home. We’ve thrown out two runners at home in two consecutive games. I think that’s pretty cool! But our baserunning wasn’t exactly the best. We got thrown out at the plate once, and we got picked off of first TWICE!! Ah well.
Well, I did keep score of the game. It was interesting, and it actually didn’t get too crazy. Except my scorebook doesn’t have an option for extra innings, so I had to improvise. Someday I will look back at that game and I’ll say, “What on earth was I thinking?” But it was so much fun to listen to Ted Leitner and Jerry Coleman again. It really has been a long time! Those two guys are so much fun to listen to, and it was just really cool.
Today we are playing the Cleveland Indians in Goodyear. Here’s the lineup:
- CF Scott Hairston
- 2B David Eckstein
- 1B Adrian Gonzalez
- DH Kevin Kouzmanoff
- LF Chase Headley
- 3B Edgar Gonzalez
- RF Will Venable
- C Nick Hundley
- SS Luis Rodriguez
And starting is RHP Cha Seung Baek, along with pitchers Jae Kuk Ryu, Mat Latos, Will Inman, Ivan Nova, Oneli Perez, Gabe DeHoyos, and Wilton Lopez. GO PADRES!!!
(photo credit: Union Tribune)
Unfinished Business 