Trying to remember the 2010 San Diego Padres: Game 6 (Ludwick comes up HUGE... just not for the Padres)

You have entered a site engaged in a highly complex experiment... an experiment designed to test the parameters of my mind as well as yours... because you're like me... a dummy who forgets the important things in life, like baseball games.

Allow this series to be a catalyst to your Great Awakening

For series explanation and previous installments [go here]

GAME 6 of 18
May 27th, 2010
Padres v. Cardinals @Petco Park
(Thursday/Field Reserved 120)

WHAT I THINK I KNOW...

This was the first defeat I suffered at Petco Park in 2010. That's right. The Padres didn't lose... I did. And it wasn't a very close game but then it was. Weird, I know. I think the Padres were losing 7-0 at one point but battle back late to get it to 7-4 with runners on base. To no avail it was a defeat. I went with my buddies Al and Nate (me thinks)

***
Who pitched? No idea. Something tells me it was Wade LeBlanc but I can't be certain. I do know that Brendan Ryan hit a HR. How do I know? Because he has a bad looking mustache... and I remember stuff like that. I think Pujols jacked one out also. He does that from time to time.

How did the Padres score? Not very memorable details are these. But I do know that they made a battle of it. The Padres lost but I recall walking away from the game and remarking that they definitely have fight in them.

***

It was Throwback Thursday but for some strange reason many Padres fans dressed in red. I know, I know.... you think they were Cardinals fans... but they weren't. They were wearing Padre hats coupled with red shirts. It was odd. I guess they didn't get the memo that Cardinal Nation descends upon its opponent in a sea of red.

***
This is what I remember... and it doesn't feel like much.

Source: Disdain fro Padres fans dressed in red... and a ticket stub.

RESEARCH SAYS...

The Padres lost 8-3. Wade Leblanc was the losing pitcher for San Diego. He gave up 4 runs on 9 hits (2Ks/2 BB) in 5 2/3 innings of work. After a fast start to the season LeBlanc fell to 2-3 after this Thursday afternoon decision.

***
Check out the post-game video with Bud Black. It's interesting to hear Black give his analysis on LeBlanc's recent pitfalls... but then you have to keep watching the video... it's difficult to hear the questions being asked but Black's response is priceless: he just laughs. I think it was the UT's Tim Sullivan who asked about the team's perception of the sparse attendance up to that point in the season. Black laughed... and kept laughing... until he was crying... and then he fell down. It was great.

 ***
The winning pitcher was some guy named PJ Walters whose record improved to... wow... 1-0!!! Mr. Walters salutes you, San Diego Padres.

***
It was Throwback Thursday. The Padres wore their 1978 Away jerseys (Brown/Gold) and the Cardinals were decked out in their traditional gray road uniforms. Love that gray.

***
Brendan Ryan and Albert Pujols each hit HRs and there was no question they were clearing the fence in LF. Albert Pujols don't mess around.

***
The Padres were down 6-0. They were getting it handed to them by St. Louis. As the bottom of the 7th rolled around, San Diego decided to stage a rally. They banged it back to 6-3 but with a couple runners on the inning ended on a Chris Denorfia ground-out (6-4).

***

"I own Petco Park!"~Ryan Ludwick on 5/17/2010

The game was put out of reach when CHRIS LUDWICK WENT CRAZY!!!! He had his best game at Petco on May 27th, 2011... unfortunately he was parading as a Cardinal that afternoon.

Luddy banged a 2 run single in the top of the 8th, capping off a 3 for 5 performance (2RBI/1Run), and putting the game out of reach. You see? Ryan Ludwick is capable of great things! I don't care if he did have Albert Pujols and Matt Holiday hitting after him!

***
Padres reliever Adam Russell pitched 2 innings and surrendered 4 runs on 6 hits. Eat your heart out Tampa Bay. Eat your heart out.

***
Attendance: 20, 583. Meh...it was Thursday afternoon.

NOTABLE OMISSIONS...

San Diego lost the game but had already clinched the series after taking the first two games of the series. Amazingly, the Padres scored a lowly six runs in the series yet still came away victorious twice.

***
Their record stood at 28-19 at day's end. Good for 1st place (I presume???)

***
Will Venable looked good hitting lead-off (2 for 4 with 1BB/1R).

***
These were the days when both Chase Headley (.275) and David Eckstein (.297) had higher batting averages than Adrian Gonzalez (.268). Something about stuff averaging out over 162 games.

***
 Kyle Blanks had missed his 9th straight game... something about a sore elbow. Do tell!

***
Here's a notable quote from Albert Pujols:

"That's a good team," Pujols said. "It's a talented ballclub, and they play hard. They've got good pitching, a good bullpen. There's nothing to be surprised, that's why they're leading the West."

I recall Pujols saying something similar about the PENitentary and how it was the best in baseball.

Source: Baseball Reference and Padres.com

LASTING IMPRESSIONS...

I said it earlier and I'll say it again: at times it was very difficult to watch the Padres offense (in)action but there was no doubt that they always continued the fight. Kind of a nice thing to be able to hang your hat on.

***
Throwback Thursdays should rock the home 1978s versus the away 1978s. That's one jerk's opinion on the color brown.

***
I'm 3-1 as a fan at Petco Park in 2010. That's .750 baseball. That's 120-42! The Padres really should have put me on the payroll. Clearly... AJM is a talisman.

That's six games in the books and 12 more to go. And I believe it's Groundhog day so go revisit the previous 5 games.

I Could Only Afford to Throwback to 1984.....at least I didn't wear red

The Padres are wearing the 1978 Brown Away jerseys for the remainder of midweek day games this season.....so.....I felt moderately douchey on account of being decked out in my 1984 gear. On the other hand, I feel as though the spirit of the day was maintained as I went retro by 25 years. Surely I cannot be thought ill of based on such efforts. A home white 1978 Dave Winfield/Gaylord Perry jersey may be in my future.... 

THE GAME
Padres lost. Eleven whole runs scored. Cardinals averted the sweep. I scribed an open letter to a misdirected faction of Padre fans.

Dear Misdirected Faction:

My name is Mike. Some address me by the handle Avenger-in-Chief but the choice is yours really. I am compelled to point out to you that Padres fans are a mottled lot, adorned in nearly every spectrum of gear that has been introduced since the glorious incarnation.....the year of our lord nineteen-hundred and sixty nine. As such there tends to be a general lacking of fan cohesion at home games. The fan-gear color patterns are so disparate it can be difficult for the casual fan let alone those of the die-hard ilk to decipher the locale when watching on television.

Let there be no mistake however, that when the TV is turned on to a torrent of red there is little doubt that the St. Louis Cardinals are one of the teams involved. The same goes for Cardinal games on the road. A virtual Red Sea of fans. During the yearly Cardinals series at Petco this Red Sea will often find itself being parted on Tony Gwynn Drive only to reconstitute itself within the confines of Petco Park. Its an ugly sight to find yourself not only vastly outnumbered by the opposition but to see that they have come to a consensus on a common color (red) thus heightening the effect of their presence. I do not like red. I do not like it in our park. I do not like it in the dark. 


Don't wear RED YOU IDIOT PADRE FANS!!!!In front of me to the left was a fan wearing a Padre hat and a BRIGHT RED t-shirt. In front of me to the right was a fan wearing a Padre shirt and a random BRIGHT RED hat. Don't wear RED YOU IDIOTS!!! Even if its not the Cardinals in town.....DON'T WEAR RED YOU IDIOTS!!! For the Love of Scott Brosius, it's a Padres game!!!
Respectfully
A Non-Red Wearing Padre Fan

I'm serious. Don't wear red into Petco Park.....and a giant F-U to the dude decked out in the Russell Martin Jersey and LAtrine hat. F-U!!!

Chargers v Cardinals: It's only Pre-season Sucka

After watching the 1st half (I can only bear to watch the 1st 1/2 of pre-season games) of the Chargers @ Arizona, I found myself with many observations, but there were three things that hit me the most:

1. The Interception by Antonio Cromartie

Cro's Int. was fantastic. It happened at a critical moment (goal line) against one of the game's best (Fitzgerald) and it was an attacking play. He read it, jumped the route, and had one thing on his mind: pick-6. It very much reminded me of the San Diego Chargers' defense of 2007....you remember the one. The one that would bend but not break. The one that would give up yardage but always had someone ready to make a play. It reminded me of the AFCCG against the Patriots when Tom Brady was moving the ball at will but kept turning it over to a ball hawking Charger D.

2. The Interception by Clinton Hart

Hart's Int. was also fantastic. It too happened at a critical moment (goal line) and it was a very nice read. However the good ended there. Rather than taking a knee and sitting on the it......#42 decided to run the ball out, presumably because he felt he had an escort in Antonio Cromartie. I have news for you Mr. Hart; Antonio Cromartie is about as physical as a castrated collie so expecting him to make a momentous block of any kind is an exercise in futility. Hart proceeded to fumble the ball away. Personally I liked wear Cro's head was; ole to the block....pitch me the ball on the 2 yard line.....I'm open. Good thinkin'........

This pick did not remind me of the 2007 Chargers, but instead conjured images of the 2006 edition. The stellar defense followed by foolishness, akin to the Divisional playoff game against those same Patriots..........oh Marlon McCree, you haunt me.

3. Billy Ray Smith's Commentary During Replay Review Of Hart's Fumble

It was serendipity that a critical replay (as critical as pre-season can be) would involve both the Chargers and the one and only Ed Hochuli. As Hochuli reviewed the play Ron Pitts had this exchange with Billy Ray Smith:
Ron Pitts: "You know, Cromartie's waiting for the pitch, that's what he's waiting for."
Billy Ray Smith: "Well maybe he needs to throw a block or two (signature BR laughter)"

Ron Pitts: "First things first, they have to determine that he did retain possession after the interception ,took the steps, had possession ok, now next is the fumble"
Billy Ray Smith: "Well, actually, first and foremost is 'Hey Ed Hochuli, you owe us. You owe us one sucka.' Let's not forget that. That's what Charger fans are saying to themselves. C'mon Hochuli."

You owe us one sucka!

The most classic line ever uttered during a football telecast? I think so.

Contrary to points #1 and #2 I am not a fatalist.

• Legedu Naanee looked fantastic. I hope they can get him involved in the O because he makes things happen.
  
• The sure fire tackling of Kevin Burnett. One of the highest complements that can be given to an open side flanker in the game of rugby is that he has a high work rate or that he looks for work. Kevin Burnett looks for work.
• LT looked pretty good in space when he caught that screen and the little route out of the backfield.
• Phillip Rivers is still alive despite the early beating he took. That's a win.

No worries. It's only pre-season sucka!

Venable Makes Contact With Pujols' Man Purse carrying Arm

When I was watching the Padres play the Cardinals on Saturday night I took note of a particular play involving Albert Pujols and the Padres' Will Venable. Venable had hit a hard grounder to 1B and Pujols fielded it cleanly, decided to make the play on his own, and ran towards first.....but he did not run that fast. As he crossed over the bag a blazing Venable burst threw the picture nearly beating Pujols for an infield single. Two things struck me about this play:

1. How hard Venable had run out what seemed to be a routine grounder which in my opinion is a good thing. With all due respect to the best player on our team (Adrian Gonzalez), he rarely runs hard on ground-balls. Effort is good.
   
2. The second thing was how I really felt that had Pujols been just a split second slower in getting to the bag he genuinely would have deserved to get knocked into next week. You can't lolly-gag through the baseline when your opponent is playing for a job next year. Whatever.....there was no harm so there was no foul....I went to bed.

Now on Sunday afternoon I abandoned the game after Caesar Carillo loaded the bases a second time but upon checking in on the final I saw that there was a bit of an altercation that had taken place. Low and behold.........Pujols and Venable. Will Venable running out a grounder, ducking his shoulder a bit to absorb the tag and then getting the stare-down from King Albert. I watched the video and it's one of the most innocuous bits of contact I've seen between players. I saw Everth Cabrera destroy Cardinal SS Brendan Ryan in trying to break up a double play, and in my opinion, Cabrera had slid too far out of the baseline. Ryan said nothing about it.

Here is an excerpt from padres.com regarding the Pujols/Venable incident:

About the only fireworks came in the sixth inning when Venable topped a ball down the first-base line that St. Louis first baseman Albert Pujols picked up and tagged Venable as he ran by. After the play, Venable turned around and saw Pujols staring at him.

"I asked him what his problem was. Anytime that someone stops to stare at you ... you're wondering what his problem is," Venable said. "I certainly don't care enough about Albert Pujols to continue with anything that might cause friction. It's not that big of a deal, just a lot of nothing."

Pujols, apparently, saw it differently, claiming Venable more or less threw an elbow into him as he passed.

"He did. Last night he tried to run me over like he was playing freaking football. A play like that, you don't try to run people over. Next time, if I would have known, I would probably hit him in the face with the glove, tag him right there," said Pujols, who earlier in the game hit his 40th home run of the season.

"He did it last night, and today again, he threw an elbow. And he was out by a lot. It wasn't necessary, even to avoid a tag. The ground ball that I had, what is he going to do? Try to knock the ball out of my glove? Last night he jammed my wrist a little bit and tonight he tried to throw an elbow. That's pretty stupid."

Venable denied trying to throw an elbow to disrupt the play.

Are you seriously crying about this Albert?

I generally like Albert Pujols. The only thing I've really heard bad about him (I think it was him) is that he tends to eyeball umpires a bit when he gets a strike call against him; kind of a "Do you know who I am? If I didn't swing it's not a strike!", air about him. His above quotes make him sound like a crybaby. Grow a pair and go after Venable if you think he was trying to hurt you. Don't give a man the ol' "Do you know who I am?", stare. You're asking for a fight then.

Good on ya Will Venable. Keep playing hard. Don't take sh*t from anyone especially Albert Pujols

"Fu*k Albert Pujols and his man purse!", said Will Venable (or something to that effect)

Video of Sunday afternoon incident [Padres.com]

Cards and Steelers Advance to Super Bowl XLIII

At first glance....We'd take the Mascot with the Jaw and Unibrow.

"Today is one of the greatest days of my life, second only to the day I was born."

Arizona Native---"Yes I am serious
...and Stop Calling me Shirley"

We're sure that this was the exact sentiment of nearly every Arizona resident who had watched their team toil in futility ever since arriving from Chicago via St. Louis. We felt the excitement too as it was not that long ago that while doing dishes in our college apartment kitchen (see: piled up heaps of bowls, plates and anything else we could find) we could peer out to the lower Skydome field and watch the Cardinals prepare themselves for the regular season by laboring in the thin mountain air of Flagstaff, Arizona.

So we will pull for the Cardinals based on our associations.....friends and former residences by birth and educational happenstance. On to observations and complaints from a thrilling (kinda) day in football....

Jaw dropping first half---How are the Cardinals up by this much? Are they gonna blow it? No!!! Adrian Wilson is a stud! God sides with the Cardinals/Kurt Warner. Blah, Blah, Blah....Below you will see two images, and those are my lasting impressions from the game.

Sorry these pictures are so shitty

No Kurt Warner is not kissing Asante Samuel.....but considering that Samuel just missed out on a chance to go to the Superbowl he sure looks happy. The next image is that of Correll Buckhalter doing one of those "jump as high in the air as you can and bump each other's rear ends" celebrations.....which is all good except Edgerin James plays for the Cardinals (yes...the team that made the Superbowl) and Mr. Buckhalter.....you sir....play for the Eagles....the team that just missed the Super Bowl....why the fuck are you so EXCITED?

Now we remember C. Buckhalter from 2001 when we added him to our Fantasy Roster as a Rookie. What does that mean aside from our FF team being really horrible and lacking in RB depth? Well it means that Buckhalter has been around for a lot of NFC Championship Game disappointments so why would he be so happy after a heart breaking loss? We don't have the answer to this but if we were Eagle fans we would be extraordinarily pissed off. It drew our ire because we had a somewhat similar scenario with the behavior of Matt Wilhelm in the Divisional loss to Pittsburgh. It is all too apparent that WE care WAY MORE than a lot of these fellas, and that's disappointing. I'd be crying like a despondent little girl if I missed the opportunity to be the best in the world at something...

Crying like a little girl as he sees it all slipping away...

Below is the vicious hit of the week. Ryan Clark, the same guy who nearly killed Wes Welker a month ago, was on the delivering end of a hit that saw Willis McGahee carted off to the hospital. It was brutal and begs the following question: should defensive players be penalized for not attempting to wrap-up and tackle as is the requirement in Rugby Union Football? Hits sure are fun to watch but they're becoming more and more violent and ultimately more dangerous. Deadspin also questioned the legality of the hit to which we merely added the Rugby component. Click to see the hit in action.

McClarked!!!!

This entire game was a brutal hard hitting affair and very entertaining despite the fact that the Ravens offense was directed by a Muppet...

You Fucking, Muppet!

NFC and AFC Championship Games

Ed Reed versus Dr. Harry Edwards in the battle for facial hair superiority.

The fact that Ed Reed looks like a a cool Ex-Black Panther/Future Berkley Sociology Professor with his facial awesomeness is not enough for us to choose the Ravens this weekend....

Baltimore Ravens.....Highly Unpalatable.....They're a decade old, already have a Championship and they wear purple...No Dice.

Philadelphia Eagles....Moderately Unpalatable.....They won the World Series last season, their QB doesn't know the OT rules and Cholla is from Philadelphia.

Pittsburgh Steelers....Slightly Unpalatable.....They beat us last week and have won approximately 44% of all Superbowls played...another re-run.....Polamalu is from SC, though.

Arizona Cardinals.....A Slice of Ginger after a Spicy Meal.... Representing the West. Representing God (Kurt Warner). Training camped in our College town where I once rode my Trek through a coaches huddle in front of the School of Business.....a huddle which centered around D-Line Coach, Mean Joe Greene. Zuhlke is a fan. Go Cardinals.

SO.....

We said all week that there would be no football viewing this weekend with the Chargers having been eliminated. Alas, who are we kidding, it's January---when football is best! However we can't be bothered to do an extensive write-up so we will link you to some good stuff we have read this week.

The Legend of Cecilio Guante---A post on the four assassins who man the Centerfield for the final 4. An excellent post with good video footage. We think Berman and the boys stole the story because we saw it this morning on ESPN....Click here.

DCSteeler Nation---Pittsburgh Point of View/Baltimore Raven Hate....Click here.

Deadspin----Will Leitch Answers questions about the team with the fewest fans...Click here.

I got nuthin' on the Eagles. If you care..... go find it....it's out there.

Go Cardinals!