Ballast Point Brewing: The Padres and Pints Rapid Fire Poll

Last week we met Geoff Young from Ducksnorts over at Ballast Point Brewing (see part 1 and part 2).

The last segment, comprising a rapid fire segment began with a 5 question warm-up. The responses did not require explanation. They were meant only to be quick, honest answers to get the brain moving.

These questions were specifically designed to get inside the mind of Geoff Young. While they were first posited to Geoff there's no reason you cannot challenge yourself too.

Begin . . .


The first question involves a prediction between a new arrival in San Diego this off-season and a hopeful arrival sometime in the near future. The players are not connected by age or ability but in name only. Which Padre property do you prefer in PETCO?




You are faced with the prospect of naming your first born boy and only to names are left on the table. Do not ask how or why. Such inquisition ruins the scenario. Which name do you choose?




You are watching a game and a player hits a weak blooper that falls between a converging CF and SS for a base-hit. Which is the better weak fly ball adjective?




Depending on how you answered the previous question, whose Ducksnorts / Texas-Leaguers do you prefer?




You're invited to a back-alley dust-up and you need someone to fight by your side. You get to choose 1 former Padre to be a part of the fray. One is a Vietnam veteran who starred in one of the greatest baseball brawls of all time. The other is trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Who do you choose?




Depending on how you answered the previous question who would you choose to have your back?

 


The answer to all questions is Joe Randa. Thanks for playing.

Trying to remember the 2010 Padres: Game 8 (the pitching heavyweights)

I had a schedule for the "Trying to remember..." series that dictated the completion of two game synopsis per week prior to the start of the 2011 season. Last week I only wrote one. I was busy but even more than that... game 8 needed to be discussed during the same week as game 9.

Why? Same opponent in back to back days... let's FLY!!!

For series explanation and previous installments [go here]

GAME 8 of 18
July 2nd, 2010
Padres v. Astros @Petco Park
(Friday/Field Box Infield 108)

WHAT I THINK I KNOW...

The Padres defeated the Astros in what was a great pitching match-up between Mat Latos and Roy Oswalt. Final score 3-2 or 4-3.

***
I believe Latos got the win after being lifted in the bottom of the 8th for a pinch hitter when the Padres were down by one. They scored 2 runs and took the lead after Tony Gwynn Jr. (?) and David Eckstein (?) helped scrape together a couple runs. Or something like that..;

***
Heath Bell entered to get the save in the 9th.

***
Both Latos and Oswalt were superb in their efforts.

I am near certain that it was Latos that faced Oswalt. Pretty sure that I already had tickets for the Saturday night game (Friarhood event) which leads me to believe that I told the Mrs. that I ABSOLUTELY HAD TO GO AND see this epic pitching duel. The higher priced ticket I purchased also leads me to believe that I wanted the close up view of potential greatness.

***
My buddy Al and I attended this game together.

Source: A desire for an epic pitchers' duel... and a ticket stub.

RESEARCH SAYS...

The Padres won 3-0. Latos got the win and improved to 9-4. Latos pitched 8 shutout innings (7K/7BB) giving up 4 hits. In a word he was... ridiculouslyawesomeandoverwhelminglydominant.

***
Roy Oswalt was fantastic as well in receiving a no decision that night. Oswalt went 7 shutout innings (7K/2BB) giving up 3 hits. He left the game after 7 innings and a 0-0 tie.

***
So I was wrong about the score which is cool. It's nice to remember a game as a pitchers' duel only to look back and find out it was an even more outstanding performance from each pitcher. Latos would show why he was one of the up and coming young pitchers in the league and Oswalt would show why contenders would be clamoring for his services within a few short weeks.

***

Tony Gwynn Jr. would start the two out rally in the 8th inning with a single to LF. David Eckstein would drive him home with an RBI double for a 1-0 lead and all the runs the Padres would need. For good measure Scott Hairston drove in 2 more runs to hand a comfortable 3-0 lead to Heath Bell who would enter in the 9th.

***
Heath Bell recorded his 22nd save on 13 pitches after striking out 2 Astros.

Attendance: 30,691. Friday night and fourth of July weekend with Latos and Oswalt pitching... still lacking in believers.


NOTABLE OMISSIONS...

This game was recorded in a blistering 2 hours and 17 minutes. Nice.

***
The first three batters in the Padres line-up (Gwynn, Eckstein, Gonzalez) scored the game's only three runs. None of these gentlemen are Padres anymore. Does this mean anything?

***
The two Padres pitchers (Latos and Bell) who combined to record a 4 hit shutout with 9 Ks and 0BBs will both be pitching for San Diego in 2011. Does this mean anything?

***
The Padres won without stealing a base but it wasn't for a lack of trying... Yorvit Torrealba was gunned down in the 7th after getting on via walk. Yorvit?

Source: Baseball Reference and Padres.com


LASTING IMPRESSIONS...

I love a good pitching contest and I'm glad I got out to see Mat Latos and Roy Oswalt get after it. I think it was 2005 or 2006 when Jake Peavy and Roger Clemens were scheduled to pitch and I didn't make it down to the park to watch it... as you can see, I still think about it. If you're a baseball fan you have to get to games where the pitching heavyweights square off because you never know what you might see.

***
David Eckstein is pretty amazing. He has no business coming up so big with such frequency yet he does. I wish he would just sit on the bench and pinch hit for the Padres this year... but for free.

***
Might have been my first time seeing Mat Latos pitch in person. He's pretty good.

***
Watching a left handed stroke is generally a sweet thing to witness (Ted Williams, Will Clark, Don Mattingly, Tony Gwynn, Josh Hamilton, to name but a few).

Lance Berkman however is the ugliest lefty I have ever seen. His righty stroke is horrible too. I cannot stand watching Lance Berkman play the game of baseball. Lance Berkman is the worst.

***
I'll be back on Wednesday from Ground Control for some more Astros.

Trying to remember the 2010 San Diego Padres: Game 5 (clowns on the field... twice)

You have entered a site engaged in a highly complex experiment... an experiment designed to test the parameters of my mind... and to be truthful... I'm feelin'... golden.

If you were at this game all by your lonesome say hello in the comments section. To do otherwise would be anti-social, a behavior we cannot tolerate. The tree is falling in the woods... prove that it makes a sound.

For further series explanation [go here]

GAME 5 of 18
May 17th, 2010
Padres v Giants @Petco Park
(Monday/Park Pass)

WHAT I THINK I KNOW...

I went to this game with my brother and his fiance on park passes. Our goal was to sneak down to some Field Reserved seats since it was a Monday night and the Padres still lacked Believers... not that it would change drastically in the coming months. The Brother and Missus were successful in their attempts to hijack Jeffrey Moorad's seats. I failed.

***
I watched the game from behind the plate in the standing room area. This is a fantastic spot to watch a game. A great perspective exists for everything but a view of the Jumbo tron in LF. Not a big deal but I like replays and examining player slash lines and numbers.

I stood next to a Giants fan and his girlfriend. She was very attractive and I could only think to myself, "Boy, did this fella in orange do well for himself." By year's end he could claim both the girl and a championship... a life complete! But on that night we talked baseball with special mention of the Padres recent dominance of his Giants. I would have the last laugh... that night anyways.

***
The Padres won this game. I believe the hard luck loser for SF was Matt Cain as always. I think he pitched well giving up but a couple runs. Final score of 3-1, perhaps? The method of scoring is mysterious to me.

***
Heath Bell raced in from the bullpen to Breaking Benjamin's Blow Me Away and proceeded to get his mind blown... by TWO SEPARATE incidents of clowns jumping on to the field to disrupt the game in the 9th inning. The second incident was especially memorable because the crowd dutifully began chanting, "Tase him, Tase him, Tase him." It's a unique moment when the laid back denizens of San Diego begin to beg for a fellow human being to get the taser treatment from security. I loved it. I could tell that Heath was bothered by the events, his delicate rhythm as a closer being disrupted. Ultimately the Giants got him for a run before shutting the door (I think).

***
Memorable moment: this was the game where Chris Denorfia got his first AB as a Padre. He would drive a single to CF to the right side of the second base bag and then steal second (maybe). Back to the hit... it was only a single... but it had that thunderous crack that resonates through a park leaving an indelible mark on your mind. A mere single. I liked Denorfia from that moment forward.

Source: The memory of clowns on a field... and a ticket stub.

RESEARCH SAYS...

Yes! I was correct. The final score was a 3-1 victory for the Padres. Clayton Richard got the win, improving his record to 3-2. Richard pitched 7 innings, surrendering 1 run on 3 hits. He walked 3 and K'd 5.

Matt Cain was the loser. He dropped to 2-3 on the season. Cain only gave up 2 runs but he walked 5. C'mon fella!

***
Heath Bell got the save, his 11th in 13 opportunities. I was wrong about him giving up a run though. He did give up a hit and struck out 2. I was correct about the clowns on the field... I guess the inning was so long it altered my memory.

***

Adrian Gonzalez put the Padres ahead in the 1st on a towering blast to dead CF. It was his 8th of the year. He was 1 for 2 (HR/ 1 RBI/ 1 Run) with two walks.

***
The go ahead (and winning) run came in the 5th when Chase Headley knocked a single to RF plating David Eckstein. An insurance run was tacked on in the 7th when Kyle Blanks was HBP resulting in the third run by... that man David Eckstein.

***
Attendance: 20, 558. I guess that's decent for a Monday night game in May....

NOTABLE OMISSIONS...

No GAB (Gregerson/Adams/Bell) during this game but there was an AB sighting. I prefer this anyway. I think a starter should work at least 7 innings... preserve the 'pen a bit and leave yourself with more options when needed. Adams (8th) and Bell (9th) is preferable if it means the starter went 7 innings. There will always be work for Luke Gregerson.

***
This win over the Giants was a big one as the Padres had just been swept by the Dodgers over the weekend at Petco. The Padres brought their season tally to 7-0 against the Giants and 11-3 dating back to 2009. Surprisingly, with a chance to move to 8-0 the following night, Latos couldn't get the win. He was on track however, until the wheels fell off in the 8th and the Padres lost in 12 innings.

***
Chase Headley was hitting clean-up with an OPS (.723) lower than #2 hitter David Eckstein (.724). In the bottom of the eighth, with Chris Denorfia on 3rd (I was wrong... no SB for Deno... he was sacrificed and advance on a ground-out) the Giants opted to walk AGon to get to Chase Headley. Chase couldn't pick up the runner and popped out to RF.

No more of those sign graphics. Fun while they lasted.

***
The Giants outfield on May 17th (Andres Torres, Aaron Rowand, Nate Schierholtz) was significantly different than the one that logged the majority of innings during the Division clinching game on October 3rd (Pat Burrel and (PH) Cody Ross / Andres Torres/ Jose Guillen and (PH) Nate Schierholz)

***
Juan Uribe struck out 3 times which I enjoyed. Because he's a fat shortstop. My mind is engineered to hate fat middle infielders who swing out of their shoes. Sue me. Enjoy LA, fat fella.

Source: Baseball Reference and Padres.com

LASTING IMPRESSIONS...

It was fun beating up on the Giants but clearly they were a different looking team come October. By that time they were playing us more competitively... and then they won the World Series.

***
I've seen Matt Cain pitch a lot and he always pitches well... and he always loses. It's great. I think my Cain winning streak dates back to this memorable game. Watch it here.

***
I'm perfectly fine watching a game by myself. I am secure.

***
That's 5 games in the books and the Padres are 3-0 (Storm 1-1). Winners are grinners.

Thirteen to go!

Recent Padres History and An Open Letter To Chad Qualls

Upon hearing of the Chad Qualls signing I thought I'd take the opportunity to welcome him to the home team.

Dear Chad
You have a great opportunity to join an established bullpen here in San Diego that may very well serve as the catalyst to a career revival. The tutelage of pitching coach Darren Balsley coupled with the spaciousness of Petco park should serve you well in 2011.


Giving due consideration to the above comments I'd be remiss if I did not point out that even 93 mph fastballs...

... can get knocked the f*ck out of a cavernous park like Petco by even the most diminutive of batters.

You know this... because David Eckstein wrecked you with one swing of the bat on June 7th, 2009... thus proving that even a midget with a propensity for choking up to the bat's fulcrum can best a pitcher in Petco Park.

David Eckstein, Chad. David "fricken" Eckstein.


Welcome to San Diego and the PENitentiary. Best of luck in 2011.


Sincerely
AJM

All in good fun.

The Mrs. and I were there and since I've been recapping games attended I though I'd make a few remarks about this particular one.

The Padres were down 6-1 in the 9th to Arizona and naturally they decided to put forth an epic rally during a game in which I had an afternoon curfew (mother-in-law babysitting came with an expiration time).

So with two runners on base and a 6-3 score, up walked David Eckstein to pinch hit for Luis Perdomo. Eck jumped all over the first pitch from Qualls launching a 3 run bomb, tying the game at 6 a piece. Petco erupted and we were off to extras...

The Mrs. and I managed to push through 'til the top of the 13th... and then we did something that has happened precisely three times since 2004... we began our trek home without knowing the game's outcome.

After 18 innings the Padres had left a surprisingly low number of runners on base (7)... of course, this tends to happen when teams go 9 for 61 at the plate. I took solace in knowing that the climax of such an uninspired offensive performance was absorbed while nestled in the comfort of both couch and central air.


When the 54th out of the day was recorded the Padres were on the 9-6 losing end of a Getaway day marathon; victim to a 3-run HR in the top half of the 18th by Diamondback's 3rd baseman Mark Reynolds. The winning blast was surrendered by the 10th Padres pitcher of the day... light hitting short stop, Josh Wilson. Wilson's ERA would never recover that year.

Ironically it was the Diamondbacks who had waived Wilson only 3 weeks earlier leading to an audition with the Padres. The Padres then proceeded to waive Josh Wilson less than two weeks after his June 7th mound collapse. To the chagrin of Padres fans everywhere, Wilson was claimed forthwith by our despised arch-rivals to the north...

Know your Padres history.

Padres/Giants Series: Game 1 in Screen Scrapes

 There were runners left on base. Too many to count. Where the Padres are concerned....Bases loaded = Bad

Davis Eckstein got on base with great frequency (2 for 2 with 3 walks). Eckstein destroys the opposition's will to live with his sheer scrappiness. Slayer of wills...David Eckstein.

Is that why a 3-2 game lasted an eternity?

I'm still not over it......17 WALKS!!!!!

Padres take game 1.

Avenging Jack Murphy Meets 619 Sports: part deux

Less goat cheese; more of my voice. I discuss, with Craig and Chris, the Fate of Koooz, the Tao of Eckstein and the young players who are making us tune-in to watch a team that is 20-odd games out of 1st place.....the three youngsters mentioned have all had nice performances in the two games since taping, especially the 8 Train.

Avenging Jack Murphy meets 619 Sports: part deux [Podcast]

18 inning Marathon brings end to poor homestand

The Padres finished the week with a 1-5 mark after having fallen to the D-backs in 18 innings this afternoon. There was no shame in losing 9-6 after back-up SS Josh Wilson had to take the hill in the 18th. We had been left for dead in the 7th.

The missus and I managed to get some prime seats for this one--we salute you Mark---and also arranged for a babysitter....now guess if we made the whole game?

I had my first beer in the top of the 1st inning. From there on out I chose to remain seated so as to avoid the unnecessary up hill walk from behind the Pads dugout. Not one trip to the Head and after the initial 5 for $5 only a few bucks spent on an ice cold coke....it was hot.

I'm currently showcasing a bit of a lobster burn. It was overcast when we walked out the door and we failed to pack that one essential. In the bottom of the seventh, getting blanked 6-0, I looked at the Missus as people began to filter out of the park and I poetically stated,

"You can say a lot of things about this team but you can't say they're quitters so we'll wait and see what happens."

Kouz then homered in the 7th and bedlam struck in the 9th when the little Eckstein blasted a Chad Qualls pitch straight down the LF line. 6-6. All tied up.

Sean M. Haffey/Union Tribune

I used my cell phone to Tweet the following:

.....and then I proceeded to violate every thing I stand for as a human being and we left after the 12th inning (my wife made me leave). Truthfully, the quarters ran out on the babysitter, so off we went.

The walk to the car consumed the 13th inning and the drive home got the 14th and 15th.

The 16th was consumed by the babysitter debrief....

I had my second beer of the day in the top of the 17th inning, middle infielders started pitching the 18th inning and colossal strikeout machines (Mark Reynolds) began hitting round trippers.......so I finally applied aloe-vera to my sun damaged skin. What happened to the June gloom?

Hey Kids---Build in extra innings to any babysitting arrangement and always bring the sunscreen.

It makes perfect sense

Doesn't it make perfect season? When it comes time for a streak of 54 consecutive saves to end just call the 2009 edition of the San Diego Padres. Close to handing a lead to Heath Bell the pen coughs up the lead forcing the Padres to face Brad Lidge down a run.....the Brad Lidge who was PERFECT last year! No Problem.....



.....they faced him on Friday Night and did all right. Enter Jody Gerut and his lead-off double....

The final score will read Padres 8 Phillies 5.......people will note that Lidge blew his first save as a Phillie when Kevin Kouzmanoff touched him up for a 3-run bomb in the Citizen's Bank Bandbox....and then Heath Bell came on for his seventh save in 12 games. But make no mistake about when the defining moment of the game occurred: with Gerut at 2B and zero out in the 9th, David Eckstein came to the plate, and did what winners do.....put the ball in play....hit it hard.....and hit it to the right side of the diamond to advance the runner. Gerut would tie the game one hitter later when Brian Giles grounded to Ryan Howard.

Do you remember Opening Day against the Dodgers? Everyone was overjoyed with the Eckstein bunt in the 1st which would help cut the Dodger lead in half. Now we have the 9th inning ground out against Brad Lidge. Jody Gerut would have died at 2B in '08.....ya gotta love the little things!

Padres pound Lidge, top Phils [philly.com]

What a blast! Padres rally again to sink Phillies 8-5 [San Diego UT]

(Just saw the ESPN highlights.....showed the Gerut Double and the Giles ground out but nothing in between. It's alright Eck! We got your back!)

Eckstein's Poll and the Ubiquitous #42

I'm not sure if this UT poll speaks to Padre indifference (only 956 votes cast) or spiking illiteracy rates amongst Americans......but boy I couldn't agree more with the consensus choice for most impressive FNG. David Eckstein brings his lunch pail to work each day and as a fan that's something I can hang my hat on (hopefully the mix of metaphors does not obscure my Eckstein endorsement).

Editor's Note:
That #42 sure was everywhere on Wednesday night. Here's something I get but don't get.....the Mets exist because the Brooklyn Dodgers opted to relocate to LA rather than move to Flushing NY.....but why are the Mets honoring Jackie Robinson with a Rotunda named after him? He was never a part of the Met organization? Shouldn't the Dodgers have exclusive rights to using his name......awww......screw the Dodgers!

Did you notice the funny hat worn by Adrian Gonzalez while in NY? Yes, the ear warmer piece! You're not the only one to take note...
Adrian Gonzalez's Inexcusably Ridiculous Cap Accessory
[The Legend of Cecilio Guante]

The good AIC served as content editor for Cecilio's Scribe on this little Citi Field report......Keep bloggin' Scribe....just don't dismiss Adrian, he's about all we got!