Tagged: clayton richard

Crisis Averted: PADRES WIN!

We finally did it! We got our first win of the season!

And not just by some wimpy walks with the bases loaded. No, today we were strong. We brought out our bats for real and sent those Dodgers out of town with a loss on their record. Just one, but it was enough.

Starting pitcher Clayton Richard was phenomenal. He was dealing. He threw seven innings, allowing only two hits and no earned runs (two unearned though) with no walks and three strikeouts. He deserved the win.

On the offensive side, we had 12 hits. 12! We needed that breakout after the miserable three games before it.

In the bottom of the first, we got our first lead of the season by Jesus Guzman’s single. Then Yonder Alonzo hit a sacrifice fly. It was remarkable. Your San Diego Padres had a 2-0 lead.

Things stayed pretty chill until the bottom of the third, when John Baker hit a single that score Guzman. We now had THREE runs to our name.

Then in the bottom of the fourth, Andy Parrino hit a bomb to left-center. It was massive. That gave us a 4-0 lead, and we were pretty happy. Unfortunately, we left the bases loaded in that inning.

In the top of the sixth, Matt Kemp hit a two-run homer. Boooooooo.

The bottom of the eighth was the best though. We led off the inning with three straight singles, and then Chase Headley came up to the plate. He took a swinging strike, and then sent that thing out of the ballpark. Grand slam, 100 percent. He knew it and everyone in the stadium knew it. It was gone.

So that gave us an 8-4 lead. It was truly amazing. That was Chase’s first hit of the season and he couldn’t have picked a better time to do it.

In the top of the ninth, Andre Either did hit a two-run home run, so if we hadn’t gotten that grand slam, we would have been in trouble. But thankfully, we did get it and we got the win.

It’s obviously not ideal, only winning one out of four games. But let me tell you, it’s a huge relief. We needed that win so badly and I’m so thankful that we finally got it.

GO PADRES!

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MISSING: Clutch Hits

I went to the game last night, and I am not happy with how things are looking.
 
We seriously can’t hit, which is a huge problem!! It was so super frustrating. First of all, we had like one hit through most of the game. We only started hitting near the end of the game, when we really needed it, but we couldn’t come up with the big hit. It was so stupid. Our guys are just not doing well right now. We tied up the game in the eighth inning, which was great, but then we loaded the bases with minimal outs and couldn’t get that stupid one hit.

And then we need to talk about Cory Luebke. I know he’s new. I know he’s a kid. But when you come into the game with a 2-2 tie in the 11th inning, you’ve gotta keep yourself together. It was great, because he got two really quick outs when he came in. Then, something awful happened.

I don’t know if it was mental or physical or physiological or what, but he completely lost it. It didn’t make any sense. Suddenly, he gave up six runs. SIX!!!! In the 11th inning!!!! In a game that we should have had in the bag, but we completely failed. Ugh. It was so awful. Cory definitely needs to figure out what went wrong there, cause that was unacceptable. Single, double, walk, single, single, three-run home run, bam. We’re dead. It was so bad. Get your act together, Cory.

But, on the positive side, starter Clayton Richard had a great game. He was on fire. I was shocked. His strikes to balls ratio was ridiculous. He threw 76 strikes to 31 balls. It was crazy. In the first few innings, he literally had like one ball to 10, 20 strikes. I kept looking at the pitcher scoreboard and laughing. He was really on his game. He went 7.2 innings, allowing two runs on five hits with four strikeouts and two walks.

Okay, so here’s the thing: Ryan Ludwick and Brad Hawpe are actually pretty good fielders. Ryan made a couple of great plays in left field and Brad did the same at first. But neither one of them can hit! Usually I’m the one who believes in all the players, no matter how they’re doing, but when Hawpe was announced in the bottom of the ninth with two runners on, even I groaned. I knew there was no way he was going to be able to help us, and when he was replaced by Jorge Cantu, I rejoiced. Even though Cantu struck out swinging.

Speaking of the ninth inning, that was bad. We had the bases loaded and couldn’t get a run. Then in the 10th, we also had the bases loaded, and got nothing out of it.

Alberto Gonzalez, who we acquired a couple of weeks ago, has done really well for us so far. Last night he went 2-for-5 with an RBI and a triple. It was great. He tripled and went for home when the ball sort of went crazy, but got thrown out. It was a pity. We really could have used that extra run.

So, the game stunk. We had the opportunities, but we couldn’t capitalize on them. This loss was entirely our fault. We had better get things going soon. Just saying, our bats needs to start up ASAP. Like today. Like right now.

Anyways, so the reason I was at Petco yesterday was because the Padres were hosting their first annual sports and entertainment career fair. It was okay. I did learn some stuff, but there were a serious amount of suits there and since I’m not yet a high school graduate, there weren’t really many job options for me. Tom Garfinkel’s speech was pretty good though.

As I was packing up after the game ended and was super upset about the stupidity of my team’s lack of hitting, the guys from Gaslamp Ball ran into me. It was really cool to see them and chat a bit. I was pretty upset at Cory at that point, and promised quite the rant about him, which you can find at the top of this post ^

We’ve got to get today’s game. We absolutely have to. We must win win win and for goodness sakes, get some clutch hits!!!!!!

GO PADRES!!!! 
 

Padres FanFest 2011 :)

Yesterday was FanFest, and it was so much fun!!!

It was the getting there though, that was not fun.

IMG_0079.JPGSomeone annoyingly decided to schedule the air show on Coronado on the same day as FanFest. My family and I decided to leave our house around 8 so that we would get downtown around 9. Around 8:40 a.m., we got stuck in the worst traffic that I’ve ever seen. At 10:40, we were finally able to break free and get to our exit. The most frustrating part about it was that we were probably 1 1/2-2 miles away from our exit when we got stuck. Uggghhh.

But, we did make it with plenty of time to see all the attractions at FanFest. I really enjoyed it, but I think next year the Padres need to bring in some more features.

I was shocked at how many people there were, especially since it seemed like the whole city was heading to Coronado (there were actually 70,000 people at the air show!!!!). But there were long lines at Petco for the Garage Sale and the clubhouse tour.

I’ve been to the Garage Sale three years now, and it’s so funny to see some of the same stuff coming out every year! A lot of the old commemorative baseballs have been trying to sell for years, but I doubt  that many people are very interested in those.

I didn’t find much, but I did get a “5” patch that potentially could have been on Kouz’s jersey had he stayed with the Padres. Sniff sniff. I also bought a Western Metal Theater shirt, mostly because it was only $3.

I got Clayton Richard and Mike Adams’ autographs, which was pretty cool.

IMG_0101.JPGI got to talk to Friarhood, RJ’s Fro, Jane Mitchell, and various other fans. And of course, my Padres buddy Hyun Young. We passed out some blog cards and cupcakes and cake pops that we made ourselves. Mine got really squished, but whatever. It’s the taste that counts.

I also sat in on the Leadership Forum, which featured Dick Enberg and Tom Garfinkel. It was really interesting hearing the questions from the fans and the thoughts of both of these guys. I am especially excited about a game this year where Trevor Hoffman is going to be honored. It’s going to be sweet!!

I was super happy to get out to Petco Park again. It had been way too long, and it was so much fun to see sooo many Padres fans out there. They ended up having over 21,000 people there!!!!!

I can’t wait for baseball season to start. I have a feeling that this Padres team is going to be AMAZING.

Shoutouts!!

Today is Hyun Young’s birthday!!!! Happy birthday Padres buddy!!!! You are amazing 🙂

And, big shoutout to my sports editor and fellow Padres fan, Matt, who I assist on Palomar College’s newspaper, The Telescope. If you have any complaints about this blog, send them to him. Just kidding 🙂 And if you love Palomar sports, the Watercooler, our sports blog, is the place to find all Comets sports coverage.

GO PADRES!!!           

Our Hole-y Team

So I was looking at our team yesterday, and we seriously have a ton of holes. I feel like guys are slipping out of our hands so fast that we can’t catch them all and they’re leaving us completely empty.

Who have we lost this offseason already? Adrian Gonzalez to the Red Sox, Yorvit Torrealba to the Rangers, Miguel Tejada to the Giants, Kevin Correia to the Pirates, and now Tony Gwynn Jr. to the Dodgers. Plus we lost Chris Young. Our roster is looking awfully thin right now.

But we have signed pitcher Aaron Harang, and we’re about to sign Dustin Moseley, who is also a pitcher. So now our rotation looks like…Mat Latos, Harang, Clayton Richard, Moseley, and Wade LeBlanc or Tim Stauffer. I don’t know. It might work, but it seems like a very unstable rotation.

Well, I guess we’ll have to see how things pan out. We’ve still got a ton of offseason left (waaaaaa), so we have a lot of time to pull a team together.

In other news, the Latest Leaders list on MLBlogs.com came out for the month of November. This blog is #5 of all fan blogs!!! I’m sooooo excited!! I think I was #5 a couple months ago, but 5 is my absolute favorite number and I’m so excited to get it again.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, to all of you for reading this blog. It’s so much fun to know that you guys are reading so much that you’re putting this blog in the top 5 of all fan blogs. I can’t thank you enough!

Of course, I can’t mention the number five without showing you THE number five:

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Love you Kouz 🙂

I hope you all have a great day!!

GO PADRES!!!

For Real

Wow, I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had time to blog in a while! Just before the trading deadline, the Padres made a great move to get outfielder Ryan Ludwick. I’m really excited about both of our additions to the club. We’re already so good that anything more just makes us even better. It’s going to be great to have both of these guys on the team.

Already, they’ve contributed. In last night’s game against the Dodgers, both of them had two hits.

But one thing I’m really concerned about is the starting pitching. For most of the season, they’ve been exceptionally solid. But Clayton Richard is really worrying me. Last night he allowed ten hits in 5.1 innings. Plus, he gave up four runs. He seemed to be really struggling right from the get-go. It was not pretty.

Thankfully, our offense was really on top of things. We scored five runs in the top of the fourth, including a three-run homer from Will Venable. Those are the best. Miguel Tejada also hit a two-run single.

In the top of the sixth, Chase Headley hit a three-run homer also. That guy was seriously on fire last night. He went 4-for-5, driving in three runs and scoring three runs. It’s good to see him getting hot.

Yorvit Torrealba also had a great night, getting three hits and driving in a run.

The bullpen was great as well. Ryan Webb allowed three hits, but got out of his inning without allowing any runs. Edward Mujica gave up a run, but that’s okay. Then Ernesto Frieri went yet another scoreless hitless inning. He’s soo good!

So we won 10-5. It was such a great game! Especially against the Dodgers and with the Giants idle, it was great to get that win.

We still have our first-place lead, two games over the Dodgers. It’s close, but I have every confidence in my boys. They’ll make it.

I really think we need to add another starting pitcher, though. I’m really worried about some of these guys. I know they’re probably just going through a rough spot, but I don’t want to take any chances. I can’t think of any guy who could come up from the minors if we needed help, but maybe there is someone I’m not thinking of. It’s extremely unlikely that Chris Young will be able to pitch this season, which really, really stinks. I feel sooooo bad for him!! This has just been horrible. Get well soon, Chris!

MLB.com’s got a great article on the front page about our boys. I’m loving it. These boys are so for real. I’m soo happy to be a Padres fan 🙂 Blue and sand forever!!

I love my boys so much. They’re making their fans proud. I LOVE YOU PADRES!!!

GO FIRST-PLACE PADRES!!!

Rubber Game Today…

Last night’s game was great! After the loss on Tuesday, it was great to get the win against the Dodgers last night.

I really appriciated Clayton Richard’s performance. He went through a rough spot a while back, and it’s good to have him actually throwing well. Last night he went six innings, only allowing one run on four hits with six strikeouts. As usual, the bullpen was just beautiful. Old story there, but really, these guys are just too good.

Ernesto Frieri has been a very pleasant surprise. When he first was called up, I thought he was going to be one of those guys who was up here only because we needed him but actually wasn’t that great of a pitcher. Thankfully, I was wrong. Since he got called up, he’s been in fiave games, allowing only one hit with nine strikeouts. He’s got a perfect ERA of 0.00.  

The offensive side was great too. We didn’t start scoring until the sixth, actually. Jerry Hairston Jr. was the man of the night with two hits and three RBIs. We got two runs in the sixth, two in the seventh, and two in the eighth. Chris Denorfia, Adrian Gonzalez, and Nick Hundley each drove in a run.

And….that’s about it. Oh, really bad news about Kyle Blanks. He’s going to have to have Tommy John surgery. We really did have big hopes for him at the beginning of the season, but he didn’t play well and now he’s hurt. Get well soon Blanksie!!

One more game in this series this afternoon, which I’m really excited about. We’ve got the Giants breathing down our necks, so we really need to get this game to win the series and to hold onto our first-place lead. I like our chances with Mr. Mat Latos starting the game. I have a feeling that this is going to be a great game.

GO FIRST-PLACE PADRES!!! 

A Night At The Ballpark

IMG_2646.JPGLast night’s game was a blast to be a part of. The Padres are going through a very essential time right now: it’s about two months into the season, and the fans still aren’t sure if this team is for real yet. The too-good-to-be-true pitching is coming back down the earth, and the offense is really slowing down. This series is essential: are the Padres going to be able to turn on the pitching and the offense, or are they going to lose their first-place lead?

Last night’s game was not encouraging. All week, the offense has been pretty slow. In the Cardinals series we scored six runs. Last night was a blast just because I got to be there to cheer for my boys, but it was really frustrating at the same time.

Ever since before the season started, I decided that I would just take this season one game at a time. I decided that I wouldn’t make predictions about what my boys were going to do, and I wouldn’t say if we were going to win the NL West or hang out in the cellar all season. I didn’t do those things because honestly, I had no idea what this team was going to do. I didn’t know if we were going to be bad or good. I didn’t have a clue.

There was a really interesting column in the Union-Tribune about the fact that Padres fans still aren’t sure about this team. That’s okay. I’m not sure about them either. I’m definitely keeping the faith, but just like at the beginning of the season, I have no idea where they’re going to go right now.

Last night I saw some things that really worried me. Mainly, it was the offense. We did score three runs, but we left eight runners on base. When we were down by three runs in the bottom of the ninth, we got the bases loaded with no outs. But the Nationals were able to get out of the inning only allowing one run. I’m sorry, but that’s unacceptable. If we’re going to go to the trouble to load the bases in the ninth, with NO OUTS, we absolutely need to get more than one run out of that. Besides that, we had plenty of other chances to get runs earlier in the game. We shouldn’t even have to go into the bottom of the ninth! I don’t know what else to say. We’ve just got to get the job done.

I was pretty pleased with Clayton Richard’s start. He went seven innings, allowing four runs, including two home runs. I feel like those two homers were his only mistakes. But let me tell you, that first three-run homer was a killer. It definitely set the mood for the rest of the game.

One thing that I noticed about Clayton was that he got a lot of short grounders. Maybe it was just me, but he seemed to be going for balls that were hit really close to him a lot. He did make a few good plays, but he missed a lot of them. Another thing I noticed is that the name “Clayton” is really hard to scream. Anyways, I think that Richard was very solid.

Yorvit Torrealba had a great night, getting three hits. David Eckstein, Oscar Salazar, and Chris Denorfia each had two hits. Denorfia also drove in two runs. I was impressed with him.

What I was not impressed with was Ryan Webb pitching the top of the ninth. I guess he couldn’t really help it, but he allowed an insurance run that pretty much killed our game. I mean, at 4-2, we had a huge chance of coming back in the bottom of the ninth, but 5-2? Not cool at all.

It was a frustrating game, but you know what, it’s okay. I’m pretty sure that we’ll get the next two games. I think the offense should come back. And I really hope that the pitching will be okay.

Last night, as I watched these boys load the bases in the ninth, I really, truly believed in them. No matter what anyone wants to think, these boys are legit. This long first-place reign is not a hoax. These San Diego Padres are for real.

The crowd was okay last night. There was about 23,000 out there on a Friday night. But there were a lot of empty spaces. Too many. I would really encourage people to go out to Petco to take in a game. Like I said, this team is for real. I think it would be great for the team to get some big support from their fans. 

Though we were a small crowd, we really turned it up in that ninth inning. We all believed in our boys, and it was so much fun to be a part of an enthusiastic crowd. I love it when we’re all cheering super loud without prompt from the scoreboard. I know that for my part, I screamed my lungs out, especially in that last inning. My throat is really sore today, but it was so worth it.

I had a great, great time out there. Obviously, it would have been even better to have a win, but it was okay. It was still great to go out there and support my boys. Lately, my fanhood had been a little disconnected, but I think it’s been recharged. I love these boys, and they’re doing great. They’re making San Diego proud. I can’t wait to listen to tonight’s game and hopefully listen to a big win!

GO FIRST-PLACE PADRES!!! 

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IMG_2799.JPG San Diego is so beautiful 🙂

Rocky Game But A Win

WALKOFF.jpgChase Headley: Baseball America High Class-A All-Star 2006. Baseball America Double-A All-Star 2007. MLB.com Double-A Offensive Player of the Year 2007. Now he’s been in the major leagues for almost two years, and that player that he was in the minor leagues is finally coming out.

We had lost the first game of the series against the Rockies on Monday, so we definitely needed this game. Wade LeBlanc started the game for us, and he was excellent. He went six innings, only allowing two runs and two walks. He was really, really good.

In the bottom of the fourth, Jerry Hairston tripled in Chase Headley, who had singled to start the inning.

The Rockies got their two runs in the top of the fifth, which was disappointing.

I’m a Padres fan, and I always try to keep the faith, because these guys have proved to me over and over again that they will fight hard to win the game no matter what. But I have to admit, things were not looking that great. We left *cringe* 11 runners on base, and were only 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position. At one point, we left the bases loaded. Kyle Blanks got thrown out at the plate. We were not getting that clutch hit, and that was a problem.

In the bottom of the eigth, Will Venable got a triple. Jerry Hairston sac-flied him in to tie the game.

willtriple.jpgLuke Gregerson threw two fantastic innings after Wade left the game. Heath Bell got the top of the ninth, and, for once, he didn’t allow a hit. He did allow a walk, though, so he’s still up to his “I have to make everything interesting” act.

In the bottom of the ninth, it was time to get this game wrapped up. Extra innings are super annoying, and besides, there’s no time like the present. You know how those extra inning-ers go: the longer the game gets, the harder the guys press to get it over and nothing happens for a really long time. Sure, those games are fun sometimes, but they should be avoided at all costs. Thankfully, we did not have to drift into the land of extra innings last night.

Lance Zawadski started off the inning with a walk. Tony Gwynn sac-bunted Lance over to second. David Eckstein, who had been caught stealing earlier in the game, flew out to left field. Adrian Gonzalez was intentionally walked, which was very expected, to try to get to Chase Headley.

Wrong move, buddy.

Chase has been in that situation a lot, and he’s really taken the most advantage of it. Hahahaha when are they ever going to learn? Chase is going to come through for us. Maybe he wouldn’t have last year, but that was then. Now, he’s going to come through and send everyone home happy…everyone except Jim Tracy, that is.

After taking a ball in the dirt, Chase sent a single out to right field that Carlos Gonzalez didn’t even bother to retrieve. Lance scored, and the Padres won the game!!

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 What a great game of baseball. Amazing pitching, tons of suspense, and some good offense. Unfortunately, the Padres had a lot of little blunders, but at least they were able to win the game.

jerryjumping.jpgBesides Chase Headley, there was another player in this game who did extremely well. I’m telling you, this might have been the best pickup of the off-season: Jerry Hairston Jr. He’s been extremely valuable, especially in the field. Absolutely amazing. Shortstop is in good hands while E-Cab’s on the DL. No worries there. Last night he had a hit and drove in two runs.

You know what I realized last night? I realized that Kyle Blanks is not a natual outfield. I think that kind of got lost in the shuffle here. The guy’s a first baseman, and he’s doing an amazing job out there. He’s got zero errors and 30 putouts. I guess I feel like his switch from infield to outfield wasn’t as publicized as Chase’s was. Anyways, keep up the great work out there, Kyle.

Chase is doing amazing, and it’s soooo good to see. We’ve really been needing a guy who can threaten pitchers enough that they don’t walk Adrian to try to get to him. It might take a while to get that into pitcher’s heads, but hopefully Chase keeps that success and really does turn into a threat behind Adrian. He certainly did the job last night.

Very well played game by my boys last night. Let’s win this series tonight!! GO CLAYTON RICHARD!!

GO FIRST PLACE PADRES!!!   

Four In A Row

eck walk off.jpgWHAT AN AMAZING GAME!!! I was super happy when we were able to sweep the Diamondbacks, and I was even happier when we were able to win last night against the Giants. That gave us our fourth win in a row, and we’re now officially in second place in the NL West. It’s notable that we are second only to these San Francisco Giants, who we happen to be playing right now. If we are able to win, say, two more games, we’ve got the top of the NL West, man.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • David Eckstein, of course. Besides his incredible tenth inning walk-off homer, he had another hit and made some amazing defensive plays. You can’t say enough about how valuable this guy has been to our organization.  
  • Clayton Richard started the game and was super solid. He went 6.1 innings, allowing seven hits, one run, one walk, and struck out five. That outing was strikingly similar to the one by Wade LeBlanc on Sunday. Both were amazing. Both kept the team in the game.
  • Luke Gregerson came into the game in the seventh with runners on second and third and only one out. He promptly struck out the two batters he faced. Now that’s what I call solid relief pitching. Wow.
  • Clayton Richard again. He hit a booming double in the fourth which was originally called a home run, though it was obviously not. It was really funny.
  • Kyle Blanks had two hits, including a triple. Yorvit Torrealba also had two hits.
  • Adrian sac-flied in our first run.
  • Cheadley stole a base.

There weren’t that many lowlights, other than leaving eight runners on base. I was very thankful that Eck was able to end the game right there in the tenth. I wasn’t up for a 22 inning or so marathon. Also, Heath Bell blew his first save of the year. That was not good, but as I’m always telling the Padres, they need to give Heath at least a two-run cushion. One run is not going to cut it.

I am so happy that we’re in second place in the NL West right now. That’s soooo exciting, and I really think that we’ll be able to take over the Giants in the next two days. My boys are on fire right now, and I really hope that’s not going to stop.

Well, we’ve got Mat Latos going for us tonight against Jonathan Sanchez. Let’s see what my boys will do for an encore.

GO PADRES!! 

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Looking At The Jake Peavy Trade

In thinking back on our season, one of the biggest things that came to mind, of course, was the Jake Peavy trade. Jake was shopped heavily during the postseason last year, but deals with the Braves and Cubs fell through. After the Winter Meetings, things really quieted down. Jake started on Opening Day for the San Diego Padres against the Dodgers.

In late May, while the Padres were in the middle of a 10-game winning streak, the word leaked out that the Padres and White Sox were in agreement for a trade that would sent Jake to Chicago. All that was needed was Jake’s consent. After a long, stressing day, Jake finally excersised his no-trade clause. “Right now, this is the best place for me and my family,” Peavy said.

Not long after, Jake hurt his calf while running the bases. He made one or two more starts, but the calf kept bothering him. The Padres shut him down, putting him on the DL. With that, the trade talks calmed down considerably. In fact, there was even talk that he would most likely stay with the Padres.

With mere minutes before the trade deadline, I think Padres fans were starting to breathe a little easier. We relaxed too soon. 23 seconds before the trade deadline, Jake Peavy was sent to the White Sox for four pitchers.

I won’t even try to convey my devastation when I heard the news. It was absolutely terrible. All of you who have lost a beloved player know how it feels. I felt like a close family member had moved far, far away, and I would never be able to see them again. It was simply terrible.

Though our pain was great, we were quickly soothed by the immediate impact of the pitchers we got in return. I would like to talk about each of these pitchers and their performance since coming over to the Padres.

1. Clayton Richard.

clayton onehitter.jpgClayton started the day after he was traded to the Padres. Instant comfort for the fans, huh? And what about the dude? He must have been pretty discombobulated, but he did a great job. He threw 5.2 innings, allowing two hits and one run against the Brewers.

Clayton made 12 starts for us in the past few months. Without a doubt, his best start was his last one, on September 30th. He threw seven innings of one-hit shutout ball. It was a great way to end out his season. His record with us was 6-2. I was overall very impressed by this young pitcher, and I think he’s definitely got a chance for the rotation next year. Well done, Clayton.

2. Adam Russell.

arussell1.jpgAdam pitched his first game for the Padres on August 26th. He pitched in 15 games for us with a 3.65 ERA. I thought he did a very good job. He will definitely get a good look in Spring Training for a spot in the rotation.

3. Aaron Poreda.

Aaron only pitched in four games for us this year, 2.1 innings, so there’s not much to see there. Seems like he did walk a bunch of guys, but that’s OK. I think this guy could be a fixture in the bullpen. We’ll have to see, but I think he’s going to be good.

The fourth pitcher in the deal, Dexter Carter, did not pitch for the big club this year. I’d say that guy I’m most excited about is Clayton. He looks so good, it’s really cool.

So far, this deal looks pretty even. Both sides got great pieces. I just really hope these guys don’t fizzle out.

Well, that playoff game last night was crazy stressing! Game 163’s have a tendancy to be like that.

GO RED SOX!!