World Series Preview . . . with a 5 year-old

This is breaking my rule of posting anything over 201 characters but I think it was too good not to publish.

I'll preface this World Series discussion with my daughter by saying that I am guilty of indoctrination. I teach her to love the Padres and Chargers. I teach her to hate (in the context of sport) the Dodgers, Giants, Yankees, Raiders and Patriots. On the Indoctrination Front that's absolutely it. There's no religion, politics, or jingoism. With the exception of choosing teams to root for I believe wholeheartedly in free thinking . . .

Daughter: Daddy, I want one of your Padres bobbleheads.

Me: How about I get you a bobblehead for Christmas.

Daughter: Yes, I want 100!

Me: Well we don't have enough money to get you 100 bobbleheads. But I'll see what I can do.

Daughter: Cool.

Me: But if I get you a bobblehead you have to do something for me. You  have to start watching more baseball.

Daughter: OK. When the season starts.

Me: No. It starts tonight. Game 1 of the Worlds Series. Giants versus the Tigers. The first one to win 4 games in the Champion. Tonight we watch and cheer AGAINST the Giants.

Daughter: Against?

Me: Yes. We're rooting AGAINST the Giants and FOR the Tigers. So we have to root for the Tigers tonight.

Daughter: Because they're America?

Me: Uh . . . yes. Because they're America.

Go Tigers. Do it for 'Merica!

Padres Fan Buying Dodgers Gifts Spawns Ideas of GREATNESS

The Tri-tip Christmas shindig last week required the purchase of a gift on my part. The kind soul I drew for the gift exchange is a Dodger fan. I felt that this would make shopping far easier for me than to have drawn a woman on the other side of the family whom I only see once a year.

As I touched the Dodger hat at the sports collectible store I felt like I might burst into flames. This is not hyperbole. I had the uneasiest of feelings. Needle points of bright light permeated my field of vision and I did the only thing I could do in that situation. I grabbed a Padre hat too. It was brown . . .


I left the store with a gift for my father-in-law's Dodger loving brother and a Christmas gift for myself. And I felt more at ease despite the obvious accusations of seasonal selfishness that would eventually follow.

Then I journeyed to one of the last remaining bookstores on this planet we call earth; Barnes and Noble. And I looked for a book on the Dodgers. It was difficult, as once again, heat in my extremities and white light wreaked havoc with my vision. And then once again the pain of a thousand deaths subsided as I chose a book about Branch Rickey, Jackie Robinson, and the Dodgers. If forced to buy Dodger crap then the least I could do was buy the noble kind of Dodger crap, if there is such a thing.

No matter how much we ALL hate the Dodgers, make no mistake about it, they were the trailblazers in setting things right. Were their motivations in signing Jackie Robinson completely altruistic? Likely not. But the fact remains, that while Jackie Robinson was the first African-American in Major League Baseball, it took an organization to be the first to decide to integrate. The Dodgers deserve that honor.

SO LET'S CELEBRATE THE DODGERS THIS YEAR!!!

I've got a GREAT idea. The Padres need a NEW BOBBLEHEAD SERIES . Not a series that celebrates players who won't be with the club next year or young stars who AREN'T young stars. Something sustainable. A bobblehead series for each player with a retired number!!!

You know! Tony Gwynn, Randy Jones, Dave Winfield, Steve Garvey, Trevor Hoffman, and . . . JACKIE ROBINSON!!

Ya see, Jackie Robinson doesn't just belong to the Dodgers. He belongs to ALL of MLB! Every single team received an interest in Jackie Robinson when they decided to retire #42 across the board. SO LET'S GET IN ON THIS, PADRES!

The mock-ups have already been completed! Why should this be the only Jackie Robinson bobblehead we see!!??

 

Let's CELEBRATE JACKIE ROBINSON and THE NUMBER 42! Here's how it goes!

The Padres open the season against the DODGERS of LOS ANGELES on THURSDAY April 5th!!! The series goes from Thursday through Sunday. But we all know that the majority of Padre fans will be there on Thursday for the opener and the Dodgers will just take over the park for the other three games. So the GIVEAWAY has gotta be ON THURSDAY!!!

Celebrating the retired San Diego Padres Jersey numbers, TOM GARFINKEL PRESENTS:

That is glorious! The second greatest Padre of them all! Screw you Dodgers! JACKIE ROBINSON IS OURS!!!!!! 

OPENING DAY 2012!!!

* This post was inspired by my gift purchase and the Dodgers decision to give away a Mike Scioscia bobblehead when the Angels visit Chavez Ravine this year.

* I would like to thank @scottcolson for providing Jackie Robinson awesomeness in brown and gold. Scott is a big believer in Weezer, the San Diego Padres, and belief. Follow him on Twitter!

Never tell me the odds...of the 2011 Bobblehead Line-up

At tomorrow's Fanfest down at Petco Park the Padres will unveil their give away promotions for 2011.

I'm not HUGE into the SGAs but I do like to accumulate bobbleheads so as to properly clutter my work environment. I make no apologies for this.

Two weeks ago it was revealed by Tom Garfinkel that Manager of the Year, Buddy Black, would have a bobblehead promotion in 2011 so that's one that we don't have to guess.

But what about the other four bobbleheads for the year? Running under the assumption that the Padres will put out a total of five bobbleheads as they did in 2010 then we've got some odds to make.

Han Solo hated to hear the odds. Well, Han ain't here...




Here's how I see it:

Bud Black: Off the board
Because Garfinkel said so! Dude's killer with the odds. Should have seen him with a March Madness bracket last year. I'm talking about Garfinkel not Black. Garfinkel should probably have a bobblehead.


Mat Latos: Even
This is a virtual lock. Based on his breakout season in 2010 and his controlability it would be ridiculous not to sell him as the face of the franchise. Of course, there's the whole "name on the front of the jersey, not the back" mantra expressed by Moorad and company... still a lock.


Heath Bell: 6/5
Another great "face of the franchise" pick. Could this spell a run on a PENitentiary theme for bobbleheads in 2011?


Orlando Hudson: 3/1
They've been selling the O-Dog hard since he was signed. Here for two years. I like his chances.


Will Venable: 9/2
He'll get his ABs again this year. It's nice to see a player actually play when he has his bobblehead promotion night. That's what you would get with a Venable promotion.


Cameron Maybin: 5/1
This is a good bet. Make some money here and put it on Maybin. Young, toolsy, controllable, newcomer.... that's a trifecta +1 of adjectives.


Nick Hundley: 8/1
How could I have forgotten Nick Hundley? I'm stooopid! Jump on this one. The odds are in your favor... although with few catchers in the pipeline to San Diego I'm guessing he's slated for 2012 after he establishes himself as the #1 receiver. Remember last year? It was mostly Yorvit's staff.


Ryan Ludwick: 15/1
PR machine in place to build fans' confidence in Luddy? He doesn't deserve one but I could see it happening.

Chris Denorfia: 20/1
It won't happen but I'd love to see Deno get one. He plays hard. He's gritty. He's David Eckstein and Eric Owens rolled into one... except he weighs a lot less than those two combined.


Jason Bartlett: 25/1
Similar to O-Dog. He's a newcomer signed for two years but unlikely.


Dick Enberg: 25/1
The Padres are paying him more than most players. Why not?


Mike Adams: 35/1
Part of a PENitentiary theme? That would be awesome. They could be wearing Department of Corrections uniforms and be guarding a cell full of Dodgers. Or Dodger fans.


Luke Gregerson: 35/1
See Mike Adams.


Tim Stauffer: 50/1
Great story. The one 1st round pick who has contributed a fair amount since 2003. Long shot.


Joe Thatcher: 50/1
Thatcher would be an awesome bobblehead with that funky lefty delivery. He is part of the PENitentiary... even though he pitches an average of 2/3 of an inning.


Ernesto Frieri: 75/1
These odds will plummet if a Bull Pen/ Penitentiary theme is explored... which it should be.

Cory Leubke: 1000/1
Will he even make the rotation? Part un.


Wade Leblanc: 1000/1
Will he even make the rotation? Part deux.


Aaron Harang: 4000/1
Local boy. Patrick Henry HS. SDSU. No chance. Big year places him as a dark horse contender in 2012.


Chase Headley: 5000/1
Bobblehead in 2010. Not likely. But he does deserve the opportunity at getting a left handed hitting bobblehead. The right handed version sunk him last year!

Clayton Richard: 5000/1
Bobblehead in 2010. Not likely. The ladies like Clayton though. Odds should be lower.


Kyle Blanks: 10000/1
Bobblehead in 2010. Starting in Tucson. Elbow de Tomasito Juan.


Everth Cabrera:15000/1
Bobblehead in 2010. There's literally no chance of this happening so the odds might as well be 100,000/1. He'll be in Tucson figuring things out in 2011.


I can't believe I just wrote this post...