Choosing the Right Friends and the Procurement of Stuff

A love of taco shops and Padres history has brought together the artists known as AJM and RJ's Fro. The ancillary benefits of this union have allowed AJM to tag along to cool functions like Beers with Bob, Fro on Fro with Jane Mitchell, and last but certainly not least, early entrance into events like last Saturday's Fanfest.

Fanfest was a fantastic time. Let's explore what this means...


Human Interaction Opportunities

It's cool to meet people from Twitter and the other Padre bloggers who were previously clever but faceless humans. I got to meet Geoff... errr, Bip... from Ducksnorts. This was cool because I'm a big fan of Ducksnorts. And Bip Roberts.

There were many others I met for the first time, as well. People starting a brown revolution, the guys from Lob Shots, the Tucson Padres, and a host of others. It's nice to put faces to witty comments and phony avatars.

The Garage Sale: bats

Sometimes I cannot resist purchasing memorabilia and assorted knick-knacks. When I saw people emerging from the Fanfest Garage Sale with baseball bats I could not resist. Of course the line to the sale extended to Imperial Beach so I was left to lament my losses over Twitter. As it turns out, being a crybaby to a large audience can serve as a valuable tool. I was quickly contacted by a Twitter friend who acted on my behalf in procuring an autographed Eric Owens bat.

I now own two bats which have been autographed by the previous owners. One is by the aforementioned Owens and the other is from Mark Kotsay during his time as a Padre. Quick... why is that odd? Discuss amongst yourselves...

The Garage Sale: game worn jerseys

Beautown and I were leaving Fanfest for Lolita's at day's end we passed by the Garage Sale. We could not pass up the opportunity to see what the fuss was about. I thought there was a small chance of a Joe Randa jersey having survived from the autumn of 2005 so in we entered, searching for my Holy Grail.

As I flipped through the alphabetized jerseys (the Holy Grail was not there) I sought a player that would be synonymous with the San Diego Padres. Those who have been in the Garage Sale know that this is no easy task as many of the surviving jerseys tend to be game worn from Spring Training or from those served brief cups of coffee with the Padres. As fans we often have very slim recollections of these players and their time spent in San Diego. But then I found the one... something that would fit my criteria.... it was a #71 Mark Merila game worn jersey.

For those who may have forgotten, Mark Merila was the Padres bullpen catcher up until a brain tumor left him unable to perform his duties. With the recent diagnosis of Darrel Akerfelds having cancer I thought that a tribute to one of these guys would be apropos entering 2011. The Merila #71 jersey in sand won out*.

It's nice to have a jersey with some greater significance... and in a color that the Padres front office has rejected. I'm such an iconoclast with my proclivities for brown and sand.

The Garage Sale: jersey restoration project

I have an awesome brown '84 jersey. But while awesome it is highly problematic. The jersey has the #44 and the name Peavy stitched on the back. I don't like wearing jerseys of guys who get traded. So at the time of Peavy getting dealt I had a moment of, what I shall define as, brilliance**.

I could stand to live with the #44 on the back of the jersey, a nod to Peavy's productive tenure, but I had to remove his name, lest I celebrate a player plying his trade in Chicago. I decided that risking another name in this era of Free agency was a foolhardy plan so I decided to put the following letters on the jersey... PTBNL.

The infamous Player To Be Named Later tag seemed like the perfect idea for my retro '84 jersey. Never again would I have to worry about the comings-and-goings of Padre stars and as a bonus it may be an idea built to elicit a chuckle from fans in the know. But where would I get the gold lettering that wouldn't make it look like a cheap knock off jersey?

The answer to all questions is the Padres Fanfest Garage Sale! The Padres were pedaling all kinds of randomness not the least of which were the gold letters I needed to spell out, P-T-B-N-L.

I feel good. Now I just need to find a seamstress.

The Garage Sale: patches

Another cool thing I bought was the 2003 Commemorative patch celebrating the Padres leaving Jack Murphy Stadium (The Q) for Petco Park. I bought two. No, I don't know what I'll do with them.

I can't believe that was the first Fanfest I've ever attended. That statement makes me feel like a fool. It was a great time and I didn't even get to walk around and experience everything.

Next year*** I'll be sure to shirk my duties with The Fro so I can get Mat Latos' autograph, unearth the elusive Holy Grail and simply lay down in the grass of shallow center field.

*Maybe I can get a Darrel Akerfelds jersey at next year's Garage Sale. But with all due respect to  Akerfelds... I'll first be searching for the Grail... I know it is there.
**We all have different definitions. Leave me be.
*** Next year I need to get Fro'd ...