Spring Training 2012 and The Quest For Absolution

Just over a week ago, Ducksnorts, SDPads1, the Driver and myself set off to Peoria, Arizona to see the first games of spring. The pilgrimage to Arizona, for many, is a fan's rite of passage -- the opportunity to watch the youngsters, the up-and-comers, the new arrivals, and the veterans who have surely turned the corner during the off-season and are now ready to make the most significant of contributions.

While our attendance in Arizona was predicated on the ideals stated above it was rooted in something far deeper and meaningful. While we did not know it at the time this trip was about absolution.

Hunter S. Thompson once wrote, "If there is, in fact, a Heaven and a Hell, all we know for sure is that Hell will be a viciously overcrowded version of Phoenix."

On a Saturday morning in late February we descended into hell . . .



After stopping in Yuma for breakfast and picking up a relic to protect us on our journeys we carried on to Spring Training 2012. As we made our way to the greater-Phoenix area we plotted our afternoon. The Padres were not scheduled to open their season until Sunday when they would meet the loathsome Mariners in the annual charity game between the Peoria Sports Complex roommates. We needed to find a game to watch for that Saturday.

As we looked through the schedule we determined that we wanted to see the much-ballyhooed Salt River Fields at Talking Stick where the Rockies and D-Backs play. Fortuitously, the game at Talking Stick was sold-out and with Stub Hub prices far out of our reach we turned our attention to catching a Giants game. Alas, the team from San Francisco had also sold-out. Ultimately, circumstances led us to Goodyear, Arizona where we would see the opener between the Cleveland Indians and the Cincinnati Reds. It was our fate.

We walked through the gate and sought refuge in Colorado's Fat Tire Ale as we would for the better part of the weekend. With beers in hand we parked-up at a convenient patio located in left field and we began to nourish ourselves. The time had come to confront the sins of our Padres past.

With steely resolve we looked on as the Reds took the field. Before our eyes the new left fielder for Cincinnati dug his cleats into the turf and settled himself for the first pitches of spring. We had traversed this great distance and had found ourselves with a view that had grown so familiar over the previous 18 months -- it was Ryan Ludwick.

~To be continued

The Ludwick Belt: like the Mendoza Line, only worse

The Padres lost to the Reds 8-2 in 11 innings after completely blowing opportunities in the 9th and 10th. Chase Headley left 5 runners on base. I find this failure to be horrific. But I'm not here to talk about the Savior.

Ryan Ludwick, who is the Padres' second highest paid player right now behind Heath Bell, left 4 runners on base while watching his average plummet to .094. Typing the numbers .094 looks... otherworldly.

When the universal signature for ineptitude is designated by a phrase called, The Mendoza Line (.200 AVG), and you're hitting a solid .106 points below that... things have officially gone to hell in a hand basket.

I don't want Ryan Ludwick to finish the season hitting .100 but if he does then I'm lobbying for the .100 AVG to be forever referred to as... The Ludwick Belt.

Such feats of ineptitude must be acknowledged by a suitable branding for posterity.

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.

Not-Joe-Randa coming to San Diego at the Trade Deadline

I could say a lot right now regarding this morning's acquisition of OF Ryan Ludwick from the St. Louis Cardinals but honestly I lack the capabilities. I'm kind of giddy...like JoJo the Idiot Circus Boy with a pretty new pet.....just too excited to be thinking TOO critically right now.....

 

I'm also going to the game shortly so I have little choice but to keep it short.

Please don't mistake my school girl giddiness for thinking that Ryan Ludwick is the messiah. He's not. But he is a big improvement in a line-up that needs a BIG IMPROVEMENT (he leads the NL in hitting with RISP).

Here's how I'm looking at it:

1. In terms of human resources, a minimal amount was ventured. Pitchers Corey Kluber and Nick Greenwood are fringe prospects. Neither were in Baseball America's top 30 for the organization prior to the beginning of the year. Again, little ventured.
2. The Padres showed a willingness to add a significant amount of payroll for a player who is also controllable during the 2011 season.

Both are important points but none more so than #2. Taking on payroll when the team hasn't exactly filled the seats this year shows a commitment to winning. This is an important statement by Jeff Moorad..... one that was painfully lacking during the Padres first 6 seasons in Petco Park.

Oh yea....we got Miguel Tejada too...for what it's worth.

JED HOYER's FINAL GRADE:
Incomplete
COMMENTS:
It wasn't a Joe Randa-esque move! Hooray!

(h/t to @matthewverygood for correcting my Tommy Boy misquote. Follow him on Twitter for expert quotation of Christmas Vacation, Spaceballs, Tommy Boy, and The Three Amigos )