Tagged: jake peavy
Winning the World Series: Unfinished Business
The Latest Leaders list for October came out last night, and I’m #7!!!! I’m so excited 🙂 Just wanted to thank you all so much for your faithful support and for coming back to read what I have to say. It means so much to me!
I thought I’d talk a little today about my blog’s title, which, as you should all know, is “Unfinished Business.”
I got the name from a then-GM Kevin Towers quote after the 2007 season. During the 2007 season, all you Padres fans know, was the Worst Game Ever. After a remarkable season, we found ourselves tied with the Colorado Rockies for the Wild Card. So, we went to Colorado for a one-game playoff. It was October 1, 2007. A Monday night.
It was literally the worst game ever. Our ace, Jake Peavy, was horrible. Adrian hit a grand slam. The game went back and forth the whole time. Finally we got to the 13th inning and Scott Hairston hit a two-run homer to take the lead. It was sooo incredibly exciting!
The all-time saves leader, Trevor Hoffman, came in to save the game and get us our playoff spot. Except…things did not go as planned. Bam bam bam bam, single, single, triple, run-scoring flyout, and we were done. The Rockies went on to the World Series, but lost to the Red Sox (TAKE THAT!!).
So ANYWAYS, Kevin Towers said during the offseason that we had some unfinished business with the Rockies. I completely agreed with that, and that was what I titled my blog when I started it in the 2008 season.
But after 2008, the title was not really relevant anymore, because we couldn’t just stay mad at the Rockies for the rest of our lives. Well, the fans can (and I am), but the team itself was completely different than those guys who were in Game 163.
I debated changing the name after that season, but decided that it was still very relevant, because the Padres have the “unfinished business” of never winning a World Series. In our 41 year existence, we have reached two total World Series, and won zero. Our first time was 1964, and our second was 1998. We have had no success at all. Pretty sad.
Our unfinished business is to win a World Series. I know that someday, someday, we will. We’ll get it eventually.
Just wanted to let you all know that we still have that Unfinished Business. I honestly thought that we had a chance this season. But hey, that’s the duty of a die-hard fan, right? We believe in the impossible. Even there in that stupid last game of the season, I clung to a hope that we would force the playoff. I HATE THE GIANTS!!!
I absolutely hate that the Giants won the World Series. I don’t care about Bochy or Flan or whatever. The Giants freaking kicked the Padres out of the playoffs. That is unforgivable.
Blech. We’d better dominate the Giants’ butts next season.
Well, the Adrian drama goes on. He had shoulder surgery not to long ago, and now it looks like he’s not going to be ready in time for the start of Spring Training. Smooth, Adrian. Real smooth.
Also, FAN FEST IS SET FOR SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2011. BE THERE.
Hey, that’s actually not that far away…only three months!! Sweet!!! I’m soooooo excited 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀
I hope you guys all have a great weekend. I’m super busy writing it up for NaNoWriMo…
GO PADRES!!!!
Solid Baseball
Today’s game was sooo good! It was just what we needed: a win!
I can’t say enough about Mat Latos. This kid is a stud. He’s doing amazing things for this organization right now, and I know he’s only going to get better. I can’t wait to see him pitch in the upcoming years. I can honestly say that he is becoming our next Jake Peavy.
Today he threw seven innings of shutout ball. He only allowed five hits while striking out eight. Plus, he went 2-for-3 with his first major league homer. We needed a solid outing, and you can’t ask for much more than that. Amazing outing by Matty.
We had some great offense today. We hit four home runs: Mat, Chris Denorfia, Chase Headley, and Jerry Hairston. Yorvit Torrealba also drove in a run.
Luke Gregerson has been struggling his last few outings, so I’m really glad that he’s going to get a break next week. Today he gave up the only run the Nationals got, but it was okay since we were up by a lot. Still, I’m a little worried about him right now. Hopefully he’ll be able to have a nice relaxing break and will be ready to get back into things after the break.
It was a really great game. I was so happy that we were able to get the third game of the series at least. We’re okay. Still have a substantial lead in the NL West, one more series till the break, we’re good.
So, how are we doing going into the All-Star break? I’d say we’re doing excellent. I know that we’re a ton better than a lot of people thought we would be by now. I didn’t know where we were going to be by the second half of the season. I honestly had no idea. I was content to take it one game at a time and see where we went. And here we are, top of the NL West.
The big question is, are we going to be able to continue this through a whole second half? Is our pitching strong enough? Will our bats stay hot? We’ve been relatively injury-free so far. Will that continue? Will we been as good as we are now?
In my mind, I have no doubt that we will sustain our first-place lead. I don’t see any reason at all for us to suddenly go bad in the second half. We can do this. I think this team is going to do great things. There’s been an atmosphere around this team that I have never felt before. It’s exciting, not knowing what this team is going to do. They’ve played well above expectations this year, and I think it will continue.
Rockies and Jorge De La Rosa tomorrow. But we’ve got Kevin Correia going for us. No sweat.
GO FIRST-PLACE PADRES!!
Happy 2nd Birthday, Unfinished Business!
First, I have to apologize for being so stupid that I didn’t even know my own blog’s birthdate. For some reason, I was completely convinced that it was the 28th of June until yesterday I dug all the way back in the archives and realized that it was actually the 23rd. Oops. So, this is a little late, but better late than never 🙂
This has been a very interesting year in my fanhood. Only about a month after this blog’s first anniversary, our ace and homegrown boy Jake Peavy was traded. I was extremely upset at the Padres for that, and it was a rough time to go through. Surprisingly, I can look back on that trade and say that it really was for the best. The team has gained a lot more than it lost.
- Missing #44 – Unfinished Business, 8/1/09
It was also during this year that I lost my all-time favorite baseball player, Kevin Kouzmanoff. That was even harder than losing Jake. Even now, I don’t see a good, solid reason why they had to trade my baby. Obviously we did get some good players in return for him (Scott Hairston and Aaron Cunningham) but I think we could have gone without them. Sigh. We can’t change what happened but no matter where he goes, Kouzie will always be my favorite baseball player.
- Who’s Hot? Kouz!! – Unfinished Business, 8/20/09
- 20 Things I Love About Kevin Kouzmanoff – Unfinished Business, 1/19/10
- Kevin Kouzmanoff and Me – Unfinished Business, 2/2/10
In the second half of the season last year, the Padres really picked things up. I don’t know what it was, but I think it had a lot to do with all the young guys coming up and getting consistent playing time. The youth movement worked really well.
- Kiddie Day At The Ballpark – Unfinished Business, 9/17/09
We didn’t really leave our last-place standing in the NL West, but we were winning consistently, and that was good enough. All through the offseason, the big question was, are the Padres going to keep playing like that next season? Is this second half going to carry over? Is this winning thing really going to stick?
It was in this time of uncertainty that I really started to think about the nature of my fanhood. I’m a die-hard Padres fan. But as I saw all these San Diego icons leaving, I had to really examine what my fanhood was. And in that, I realized that I am a Padres fan. I am a fan of the team. It doesn’t really matter who the players are, as long as there are 25 guys on that roster, I cheer for them no matter what. Kevin Kouzmanoff was a HUGE part of my fanhood, but when he was taken away, what was left? It was just the team. It was just the San Diego Padres.
I think the Kouz trade really did effect my fanhood in a bad way, though. I have not been as motivated to listen to the games, or to blog, or to follow the Padres at all. Obviously, I am a huge Padres fan, but your fanhood is enriched so much more when you’ve got a special player to look out for and to cheer for. Ever since Kouz was kicked out, I haven’t had that. It’s kind of been rough, but I know that my fanhood will pull through and hopefully get a second wind. Hopefull I’ll be able to find a new Padres favorite soon. Lance Zawadzki was getting pretty close to that spot, but then the Padres sent him down. Boo.
- Four Seasons and Counting… – Unfinished Business, 1/6/10
This is my fourth year of being a Padres fan. Isn’t it amazing how fast time goes by? For two of those years I’ve been absolutely priveledged to be a part of the MLBlogs community. It’s been so much fun blogging here. I am so thankful that I got to be in this group of baseball lovers. I don’t think my blog would be doing as well if I was at an independant website. Being a part of this group is so much fun! I am extremely happy to be here and to be celebrating two years of blogging!
- Blogging the Padres in 2010 (My blogging goals and aims) – Unfinished Business 4/5/10
I expanded my horizons a little this year. Instead of promoting my blog exclusively in MLBlogs, I started connecting with some of the other Padres blogs out there like Gaslamp Ball, RJ’s Fro, and the Friarhood. I also extended into Facebook and Twitter for promoting.
I really would encourage you guys to “become a fan” of or “like” or whatever it is they call it these days on the blog’s Facebook page. Every time I put up an entry I post the link on that page. I think it’s helpful to people so that they don’t have to remember to go to my blog everyday, they can just see the link on their Facebook newsfeeds and go straight to it from there.
I don’t really tweet that much, usually the only times I do is when I don’t have anything else to do and I’m listening to the game…which isn’t often. I don’t always post the links to my entries every day either, so the Facebook page would be the better place to go. But I’m going to try to be better about updating both consistently.
Okay, here’s some stats:
Rankings: MLBlogs Latest Leaders List (over the past two years): 44, 30, 21, 25, 24, 31, 23, 22, 36, 29, 31, 31, 21, 19, 15, 17, 21, 19, 22, 18, 10, 11, 11
MLBlogs 2009 Leaders: #20 (out of 100)
Entries: 463
Comments: 2279
Hits: I think I’m getting about 2,000 hits a week.
Here are a few of my favorite entries from the past year:
- Cool of the Night – 7/21/09
Lamenting the heat and our losing trends.
- No Words – 7/11/09
I was soooo upset about the Padres getting no-hit that I abandoned the them for a weekend and fled to the Red Sox.
- Your Last-Place Padres… – 7/9/09
The Padres were able to stay out of last place for quite a while, but all good things come to an end…
Thank you so much to everyone here at MLBlogs. I love this place and it’s been so much fun blogging with you all. Thank you for making this an amazing experience for me. I love reading your blogs!
Thank you so much to all the guys at Gaslamp Ball, RJ’s Fro, and the Friarhood. Your blogs are all so great and so much fun to read. I am extremely grateful to you guys for linking my entires and blog on yours. I know it’s helped my readership a ton and I can’t thank you enough!! It’s a pleasure to be part of such an elite group of Padres bloggers!
Thank you so much to my MLBlogs Padres buddies, Hyun Young and John!! Both of you, it’s so much fun to talk Padres on Facebook and Twitter. Hyun Young, it’s so much fun to hang out with you at Petco and your love of the Padres inspires me. I still want to meet Eck sometime!
Thank you to all my readers. I’ve said it time and time again, but without you guys, there would be no purpose for me to write this blog. Thanks for putting up with me through the good times and the bad. Thank you for all the support and the comments. You guys are amazing!
Here’s a shoutout to everyone I personally know who reads this blog. You know who you are. Thanks so much for supporting my fanhood and this blog. It always thrills me so much when one of you comes up to me and tells me that you’ve been reading it. Thank you thank you thank you!
Thanks to my Twitter followers and my Facebook fans. Thanks to my amazing family and super amazing friends. I love you guys!
Thanks to my Heavenly Father, who has blessed me so much. Without You I am nothing. May I always give glory to You in everything that I do.
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday dear Unfinished Business
Happy birthday to you
Thank you all so much.
GO FIRST-PLACE PADRES!!
Still Top of the NL West
I was pretty upset after our horrible loss on Monday, but thankfully, my boys went back out there and were able to take the next two games against the Florida Marlins.
On Tuesday, Jon Garland had a really good game. I was super glad that he actually threw well and didn’t give up that many runs. He went six innings and gave up only one run on three hits. But the cool thing was that he struck out ten batters. I was very pleased by that.
That was a great 4-1 win by the boys.
Yesterday, the Marlins got a lot of runs off of Kevin Correia early. They got two in the bottom of the first, then one each in the bottom of the next two innings. He was okay…I mean, he got the win, but he could have been a little more solid. Oh well.
In the top of the fifth, my boys came back to take the lead. Here they’re losing 4-0. Not exactly something I would expect these guys to come back from. Hehehe. But guess what? They did.
Jerry Hairston Jr. drove one in, then David Eckstein hit a three-run double. Adrian singled one in. And just like that, we were winning 5-4.
Have I ever mentioned that we have an amazing bullpen? Well, we do. Man they’re good. Edward Mujica, Luke Gregerson, Mike Adams. These guys are seriously solid, and I think they’re extremely underrated.
One thing that I really enjoyed about yesterday’s game was that I got to watch it!! MLB.TV gave it to us for free for that one game, and I loved it! I loved being able to finally see my boys play. I hadn’t seen them at all yet this season, except for the highlight videos, so it was very cool.
On that note, I got to see Clay Hensley pitching against us, which was really cool. Well, it wasn’t cool that he got six strikeouts against us, but man it was good to see him again. I loved having that guy here in San Diego, and I miss him 😦
Obviously, you cannot give Heath Bell only a one-run lead. It’s not safe, and it’s not good for any of the Padres fans’ nerves. Not good at all. So, I was really really thankful when Yorvit Torrealba hit a home run in the top of the eighth to give Heath a little more cushion. Watching that thing brought on memories of a Torrealba homer against us. Shudder. I’m so glad that he’s on our side now.
Heath came in and had to make things very interesting, but thankfully, he got out of it and we won the game, along with our fourth series win in a row. We’re doing okay. Not the best, but we’re still up there and we’re still playing very well.
We still have our one-game lead in the NL West, which is still so sweet. I love just knowing that we’re on top of the division. We’re doing very well. I’m soooo excited about these boys!!
But now I’d like to talk about a few people who aren’t doing so well right now. Like Jake Peavy. Ever since he left San Diego and went to the White Sox, he has not been doing well. He was okay last year, but he was hurt. Now, this year, he’s been really, really bad.
So far this season he’s 0-2 in five games started. His ERA is 7.85. He’s given up 25 runs and 20 walks. Nope, not good at all.
Trevor Hoffman has three saves in seven opportunities. His ERA is 13.00 in nine games. He’s kind of pretty much failing in Milwaukee.
Do you see a pattern here? These guys both left San Diego on really bad terms. Both are struggling like crazy. I think this just goes to show that those who leave San Diego on such bad terms will not do well elsewhere. I’m just saying…
That leads into the fact that the Brewers are coming into town, dragging Trevor behind them. Well, not really. But Trev has not been doing well at all, and it would not surprise me if the Brewers put somebody else out there in a save situation. But, of course, there will be no save situations for the Brewers in this series. My boys are going to dominate.
I think the Brewers should trade Trevor back to us. If they don’t want him blowing games for them all the time, why not take him off their hands?
Anyways, it’s going to be a very interesting series, that’s for sure. I can’t wait to see my boys get home and dominate!
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 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.
Adam 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!!
GO JAKE!!
Jake Peavy is making his first start as a member of the Chicago White Sox tonight.
From one uniform…
…to another.
From one city, one ballpark…
…to another.
Even though you are in on a different team, in a different league, a different time and place, your loyal fans in San Diego will still be cheering for you. Even though our front office kicked you out and you approved of the trade, we can’t wait to see you on the mound tonight. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen your fiery manner on the mound. Even though you are not ours anymore, you are still in our hearts. We will be cheering for you, Jake, and we miss you like crazy!!
I LOVE YOU JACOB EDWARD PEAVY!!!
Glimpse of the Future
Last night’s game was like deja vu, except forwards. I think we saw a glimpse of the future, an echo of what is to come.
GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE #1
Mat Latos made his fourth start as a Padre this season, and he was amazing. This guy has been called the next Jake Peavy in the Padres’ organization, and he’s one of the most prized pitching prospects we have. I wouldn’t say he’s a Jake Peavy yet, but he’s been very good.
Last night he threw seven innings, allowing two runs on six hits and striking out three. He did struggle early, loading the bases with no outs in the first, but he only allowed one run in that inning and one in the second. He kept the Braves down the rest of the way. It was great!
The Padres are probably going to shut down Mat in a month or so because he threw a ton of innings in the minors this year, and he’s been going seven a lot up here too. Gotta watch out for that arm of the future, you know 🙂
GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE #2
Will Venable has really been heating up in the last week or so. Last night, he had three hits and drove in a run. Plus, he had a great sliding grab in right field.
Will was first called up to the majors in September last year, and he did very well. I think he came up this year when Brian Giles went on the DL. Now that we’ve got our outfield slimmed down, I think these guys are getting the playing time they need. Last night, Chase Headley was in left, Tony Gwynn was in center, and Venable was in right. And it worked!
I’d say that the biggest part of Will’s game is his defense. I watched a game once from the Beach out in the outfield, and I watched him make two spectacular plays to rob the hitters. It was so cool!! He’s good out there.
GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE #3
Kyle Blanks has been so hot in the last week! Last night, he hit his sixth homer of the year to tie the game at two in the second. This guy had been tearing it up in the minors, so we knew he could hit. It took a while for him to get in a groove, but now that’s he’s made it, it’s so much fun to watch this big boy blast those balls out of here.
Blanks started playing the outfield after Spring Training, so he had even less time than Chase did last year to learn the outfield. Kyle has been decent out there. He hasn’t embarrassed himself, at least. But he has been able to play his natural position, first base, to give Adrian a break.
It’s going to be interesting to see how the Padres play Kyle. I think they would like him to be in his natural position eventually, but we’re holding onto Adrian for now. Hopefully they will be able to work that out without getting rid of another fan favorite.
GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE #4
I’ve talked about Everth Cabrera before, but I just love this guy. He’s such an amazing player already, but he’s still learning. He’s still growing. He’s still improving!
This is Everth’s first season above Single-A. He was definitely ready for the Majors. Last night he had a hit in the seventh. He then stole second AND third base. Oscar Salazar drove him in with a single to give us an insurance run. What a player!! I love this guy. He’s going to be sooo great in the future!!
It was a great game. We got a run each in the first, second, and third innings. The bullpen was excellent. Mike Adams was ridiculously sharp. Wow. Did you know that his ERA is 0.86 right now? WOW!!!
Heath Bell was really great too. He went 1-2-3 with two strikeouts. The last out was a great play by Kouz, and we won the game 4-2!!
It’s always good to get the first game of the series, and the Padres played really well to get it. I am sooo proud of them! These young guys have been so amazing. It’s really exciting!
Tonight Tim Stauffer is pitching against Javier Vasquez. I think we can do it! These guys have confidence. I think that’s something that had been missing in the past few months.
GO PADRES!!!
Missing #44
Well, I got back from my trip last night at about midnight. It was a long day of travelling, that’s for sure. It’s great to be back in the Promised Land (San Diego). North Carolina weather is pretty crazy. I really missed blogging about my Padres, and boy do I have a lot of catching up to do.
By the way, I thought my sister did a great job filling in for me. I loved her entries!! Thanks #1clameredithfan. I think it would be very cool if she started her own blog, yeah?
I think the biggest thing I should deal with tonight is the Jake Peavy trade. I’m sure you all have heard about it. It went down yesterday, a suprise trade really. I was at the airport in Raleigh and saw a TV with ESPN on. I was like, oh yeah! SPORTS!!! They were naturally talking about the trading deadline, which I had forgotten about. They were talking about the Victor Martinez trade to the Red Sox mostly. I felt sad that Justin Masterson got traded. I love Masterson! I hope he does well in Cleveland.
Anways, a little while later, they talked about a potential Heath Bell trade to the Dodgers. What on earth?? No way. I was pretty upset about that. I’m like, well who’s going to close for us?? Then, literally just as we were about to board, the news came on that Jake Peavy had been traded to the Chicago White Sox for four pitchers. I was sooooo upset!! I just started groaning. Nooooo. Noooooooo. NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Oh man, I was so upset. I cried all the way to Dulles. It was so devistating.
Yesterday, San Diego lost more than a pitcher. They lost an ace, a CY Young award winner, a friend, a brother. I seriously feel like a very close family member has moved away and I won’t get to see him again. It’s sad.
I just accepted that the Padres are going through a rebuilding season. But I didn’t realize that rebuilding would involve getting rid of Jake. I’d say that Jake is one of the best pitchers in Padres history. The guy goes out there with a fire to compete, and he’ll fight his hardest to get you the game.
He was worth a lot, that’s for sure. He was headed out of here too, that was for sure. But things had gotten very quiet once he went on the DL. It seemed so likely that he would be hanging around. But then the front office went and traded him while he was on the DL. Is that even allowed? I mean, the guy isn’t even making the team lose or something. He’s just working hard to get back so he can help the team win.
He loved San Diego. Still does. He’s been here for eight years. He’s been on two championship teams. The Padres selected him out of high school, and he’s never been anywhere else in his career. Just a few offseasons ago, he got a $52 million contract. He moved his family, his wife and three boys, out here from Alabama just a year or so ago. He was ready to stick here for a long time.
But then the 2008 offseason came around. Trades to the Braves and the Cubs fell through. Jake started the game on Opening Day as a Padre. Then, during a ten-game winning streak, the Padres tried to trade him to the White Sox. He turned it down, saying that it was in the best interest for him and his family to stay in San Diego. So he did. Then he got hurt, and things quieted down. And finally, out of the blue, he became a White Sock.
He’s excited about being on a winning team. He’s REALLY excited about being on a team that has a chance for the World Series this year. I can’t blame him. I would love to be a fan of a team that really has a chance to win. I definitely understand that this seemed right for him. I’m not mad at him. I can’t be. He’s going to get a chance to win on the White Sox, and that’s all I could want for any of my boys. They want to win. That’s why they’re playing baseball. And I’m willing to let them go if it means they get to win. Well, not to the Dodgers though. I would never forgive them if they went there 🙂
One of the worst parts of this whole situation is that Jake consented to the trade. That’s really really tough on the fan. It’s one thing when a player doesn’t have a choice when he’s traded, but when he talked with his family and his friends, thought about it, and wanted to leave, that’s hard. He was just sick of losing, I guess.
So when I saw the comic in the newspaper today (it was actually yesterday’s paper), I thought it was so perfect for this situation. The Padres’ front office seems to like to lose. At least, they’re looking so far ahead into the future that the players who could help us win now are getting traded away. It seems like the front office gets a neurotic pleasure at losing all the time. Man. I’m not mad at Jake for leaving, but I’m certainly mad at the front office for sending him out the door. It’s plain wrong.
One of the things I thought about as I was on the plane crying yesterday was what a person Jake is. He’s not only an excellent baseball player, but he’s a great guy. He was involved in so much charity work. He’s a Christian. He’s got a beautiful family. And he’s a country boy. I think I’ll cry every time I hear “Sweet Home Alabama.”
He was great to the fans, too. I couldn’t help but remember a certain Fan Fest at the beginning of the season. Jen and I got in the overflow line for Jake’s autograph. It looked very unlikely that we would get in, but Jake kept signing and signing and he got through a ton more people than he needed too. I’ll never forget that.
Chicago, you are getting an incredible player and person here. I am so happy for you 🙂 I’m really going to miss Jake, and it’s going to be hard to talk about him for a while. But you know what, Jake’s going to be happy in Chicago. That’s important for him. If he went somewhere like say, Oakland, things would be a lot different. But he went to a team we won’t have to face. He’ll get to pitch on a winning team. He won’t get to bat, but obviously he’s OK with that. Jake will always be a Padre, though. Always. He was “born and raised” with the Padres. He’s OUR ace. Man, what a rotation for the White Sox!! Anyways, we’re going to miss him a lot, but these guys we got in return had better do well for us in the future.
I love you Jake. Just like I told you at the Fan Fest. We all love you. The Padres are deeply different without you, and it’s going to be a hard adjustment. But you’re in a better place 🙂 You went from dead last to a winning team in a matter of minutes. You’re going to have a lot of fun in Chicago, I know it. It’s going to be a huge adjustment for you too, but you’re strong. You’ll get through. So will I.
Wow you guys, I feel soooo much better just writing this all out. Blogging really is therapy 🙂 Whew.
OK, I should probably mention that the Padres are on a four-game winning streak. That’s soo cool!! They’ve been playing really well.
In other news, we got Sean Gallagher from the A’s to complete the Scott Hairston deal, our hitting coach was fired and Randy Ready replaced him, Mark Prior was released. Trevor is in town with the Brewers and I think I’m finally over him too. Whatever.
Clayton Richards is pitching for the Padres today. We got him yesterday. I know that Jen’s talked about him a lot, so he must be really good. And he has been today. So cool!! It’s good to see the trade have immediate impact.
Well, I should probably go to bed. It’s soo good to be back, you guys. I missed you sooo much!! I hope you have a great weekend!!
GO JAKE!!
GO PADRES!!!!
Throwing Strikes For DUMMIES
It only took ten minutes.
I switched on the radio about two hours after the game started, deciding that I should probably check the score. The first thing I heard was Cubs fans cheering and Andy Masur saying, “And there’s two more for the Cubs!”
Oh, great.
I was trying to eat lunch while listening, but 0.1 inning and six runs later, I had to turn of the radio. It was giving me indigestion. Once it was 7-1 Cubs, I was done.
But the onslaught went on without me. The Cubs pounded out 11 hits and 11 runs.
The Padres got a few runs, three to be exact. Adrian hit his 14th homer of the season, and he’s now hit at least one homer in four games straight. Man, if he wasn’t in Petco all the time…wow. This guy is now leading the majors in home runs.
“I could [not] care less,” Gonzalez said. “It wasn’t enough.”
Drew Macias hit his first homer of the year, but we only got four hits total. We were disgraced in this series, getting swept for the second straight time.
The pitching is what killed us. Chad Gaudin only went 4.1 innings, allowing four runs. Luis Perdomo gave up three, and Duaner Sanchez gave up four. Cla Meredith had a good inning, and Heath got to pitch as well, getting two strikeouts. I feel so bad for Heath.
The worst part of this game was the walks. We gave up TEN walks. Gaudin gave up SEVEN in his 4.1 innings!! These guys just couldn’t find the plate.
The Padres are back home now, after having a closed-door meeting after the game. I sure hope it worked.
Well, time to call in the Professor.
I called Greg Maddux early this morning, explaining this situation to him. He was busy golfing, but he agreed to come over and talk to the pitchers for us.
I sent all the position players to the batting cages, telling them to stay there, for say, five hours. Then all the pitchers gathered in the clubhouse as Maddux began to speak.
“It’s all about location, location, location.” he started.
“Oooooooh!” said the pitchers.
“When you pitch, you need to focus on where your pitch is going more than how fast it’s going.”
“Ahhhhhhh!”
Duaner Sanchez raised his hand. “Excuse me, sir, I’ve been having trouble understanding what exactly a strike is. Perhaps you could explain to me.”
“Of course.” Greg said, quickly drawing something on the whiteboard next to him.
“You see, you want to get the ball over the plate, but not so the batter can hit it,” Maddog explained. “A lot of my success came my hitting the corners, but since you guys don’t have much control, I wouldn’t recommend that.”
Duaner rubbed his chin. “Hmmm, I think I’m finally starting to get it!”
“Good,” said GM Kevin Towers as he walked into the room. “Maybe you can work on it more when you get to Triple-A!”
Next, Greg showed the pitchers exactly how to hold the ball.
After Maddux talked to the pitchers for a few more hours, drilling them about where exactly the strike zone was, I walked him out to his car.
“You’ve got an interesting bunch of pitchers there.” he commented.
“Yeah, but a lot of them are probably going to be kicked out soon.” I said. “Hey, Doggie…”
He stopped, looking at me expectedly.
“You miss baseball yet? ‘Cause we could use another starting pitcher.”
He just smiled.
Well, I hope that meeting helped the pitchers realize a bit more about pitching, especially since they got it from the Professor. The Padres are back home for a nine-game homestand, starting with the apparently red-hot Reds for three. I’m scared. Aaron Harang, who scares my sister, is going tonight against Kevin Correia.
I mean, look at those eyes. They’re creepy!
By the way, I hate Tim Sullivan’s ways to improve this team. They are plain wrong!! We must not get rid of Kouz!!!! He just needs time. We didn’t give up on him in 2007 and we can’t give up on him now. If they traded him, I would need a support group for months and months and months!! It would not be pretty.
Speaking of getting rid of players, I heard Trevor’s eighth save in eight chances yesterday. It plain broke my heart. I miss that dude sooo much!!! But you know what, I am so glad he’s on that team right now and not on the Padres. If he was here, he would be completely miserable. At least he’s on a winning team, and he’s getting to pitch. I just miss him like crazy!!
So, I am getting even more excited about Sunday’s game for one simple reason:
This gorgeous dude is pitching against Jake!!
OK, this is really weird, but I am soooo amazingly excited about seeing this guy pitch! Here’s the story.
A few years ago, Bronson Arroyo walked a Padre batter with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, and we won the game. I’m not exactly sure what he was doing pitching in the bottom of the ninth, but I know it was him. I remember him by the hair, which looked like Khalil’s.
I’m not exactly sure why I became so fascinated with him, but it was probably because the Padres did really well against him. Also, he’s really cute!
At first, I thought it was going to be Peavy-Owings this Sunday, because that’s the way the rotation had panned out, but I didn’t realize that the Reds had an off-day this week, thus pushing Arroyo to Sunday.
What a pitching match-up this is going to be! I am so ridiculously excited, it’s ridiculous!! I mean, I’m so super pumped about watching the opposing pitcher! I think all this losing is going to my head.
But seriously, I can’t wait to see Bronson. He’s amazing. Hopefully my Padres will be able to hit him, though 🙂
You know, I don’t really care that the Padres are losing so much right now. I just want to get out to the ballpark, take pictures of my boys, and watch some baseball. It’s almost guaranteed to be a great pitchers’ duel all the way. I’m going to go out there and enjoy some baseball. Who cares that the Padres are heading down the drain, that they’re a million games behind and can’t hit or pitch?
It’s going to be an amazing game, and my boys had better pull away with the win. And if they aren’t able to do that, I at least hope they can play well. I don’t want to have to walk out of there angry and frustrated and embarrased by them. If they try as hard as they can, I’d be satisfied. But they’d better win 🙂
I’m soooooo excited!! AHHH! Only a few more days….
GO PADRES!!!
Live Together, Die Alone
Well, boys, you didn’t support Jake like you needed to last night, so this calls for drastic measures.
A lot of people, especially teenagers, can’t imagine life without a cell phone. We use them to talk to our friends and co-workers, we can text, and these days, we can have internet access on our phones.
Of course, the main purpose of a phone is to be able to talk to people wherever they are. But with all the fancy extras on our phones, they quickly become addicting.
If you’re a baseball player earning millions a year, I’d bet that you have a really great phone. After all, you need to keep in contact with your families when you’re on the road, and plus, you’re rich. You have a really nice phone just because you can.
Now, boys, you’ve lost four games in a row. I think it’s time for some restrictions. Your cell phones, please.
Yep, iPhones, too.
And of course, your Blackberries.
In the bucket, please. Thank you.
Yes, even you Kouz-who-wouldn’t-care-if-your-phone-got-ran-over. Sorry, I know you’re extremely cute, but you’re in a slump too.
Now, this is an especially cruel punishment since you guys are on the road right now. You want to call your family? There’s a phonebooth right over there.
You’ll have to take turns, though. 10 minutes each.
Now boys, I know it will be hard to not be able to talk to your family and be distracted by your phones, but right now you need to get out to the batting cages and work, work, work. You only got five hits yesterday. Two runs in support of Jake. I expect much better from you guys.
Especially Brian, Kouz, and Cheadley. You guys are spending at least five hours in the cage today. I don’t care that you’re in Chicago. You can go sightseeing next time that you come around here. Right now, we need to get your bats going, and we need to get winning.
While the guys are batting like they never have before, let’s take the pitchers out on the field and teach them how to pitch. Jake, you did your duty last night. You can go get a massage on that arm.
But the rest of you, especially the bullpen guys, are in big trouble. Let’s see…Edwin Moreno, you gave up a run yesterday, right? Thought so. Let’s work on you first.
First of all, Ed, the point of pitching is to get strikes. You’ve never heard of that? Oh boy. It’s going to be a long day. Well, how ’bout you, Cla? You know, when you come into a situation where runners are already on base, you’re not supposed to let them score. It’s a game, you see? Try to keep the runners from scoring.
Aw, nevermind, you’re really bad at that game.
Oh, hello, Chase, done with your batting already? OK, how ’bout you go play with the ivy out there?
Now that we’ve learned how to throw strikes, boys…oh, you didn’t quite get it, Duaner? That’s OK, I don’t think you’ll be hanging around here much longer anyways.
Where was I? Ah yes, let’s go back to the clubhouse and talk about the evils of the sand uniforms. Hello, Jake, done with your massage? Good, maybe you would like to say a few words about the horrible games you’ve gone through with the sand uniforms. Don’t forget that you got your fifth loss last night because of them!
Oh, hi, Brian and Kouz, you guys look exhausted! No, Brian, you cannot call your mommy. They just set up batting practice on the field for you!
Well, boys, you played a bad game last night. Besides Adrian’s two-run homer, you guys didn’t give any runs to poor Jake. You just handed your ace his fifth loss of the season. He should have at least five wins by now, but because of you guys, he only has two.
You really need to pick it up, boys. The fans are getting upset, and they might leave. All you’re doing is proving that you’re the horrible team that everyone predicted you would be. You’re headed straight to the cellar, and all you’d be doing is proving people right. We want you to prove them wrong. Show the fans, show San Diego that you can play hard and that you can win. If we don’t live together, we’re going to die alone.
You aren’t working as a team here. It’s like the hitters, the starters, the bullpen, and the defense are all different parts. You’re not working together. One guy will get a hit. One guy will give up a bunch of runs. If you don’t live together, you’re going to die alone.
So, after all that BP, I expect you guys to go out there tonight, score a lot of runs, hit when it matters, and get a win. Chris Young has been giving us superb outings, he can hold the Cubs down while you get some runs.
Come on boys, it only has to be a few hours without your phones. If you get the win tonight, you’ll get your phone back as you’re walking into the clubhouse. But you gotta get that win first 🙂
GO PADRES!!
(and yes, I am very excited about the season finale of LOST tonight!!)
(photo credits: padres.com, kottke.org, allcheapmobiephones.com, billmill.org, thelachers.com, tufttubs.com, flickr.com)
Unfinished Business 