Padres and Mariners: Vedder Cup action resumes this Sunday

As we approach the first game of spring the anticipation is palpable. This Sunday when the Padres take the field they do so against their hated rival from the Pacific Northwest -- the Seattle Mariners.

Since 1936 these cities and their baseball teams have done battle but it was not until last year that the clash took on a name -- The Battle for the Vedder Cup.

After holding the Vedder Cup in 2010 the Padres lost the Cup back to Seattle during a tumultuous 2011. In Peoria, Arizona on March 4th, our San Diego Padres prepare to confront the detested Sea Men of Seattle in a precursor to the 2012 Interleague showdown.

This Sunday's Spring Training opener serves as a mere preview to what will come in 2012 but it's a barometer of sorts, nonetheless. Each side will look into their opponent's eyes and evaluate their prospects -- their prospects of either retaining or RETAKING the Vedder Cup!

As pitchers and catchers prepared to report to Peoria in 2011 I wrote a detailed history of this epic but little known rivalry . . .



Published at RJ's Fro last February, I attempted to connect the dots for the uninitiated:

After the San Diego Padres destroyed the Seattle Indians in the first home game in team history things would never be the same. The Padres would finish ahead of the Indians during both the ’36 and ’37 campaign and shortly thereafter Seattle would abandon the name it carried from 1903-1937 in favor of the Rainiers.

What does it all mean? Has the history of this matter been subverted in an attempt to hide unsavory truths?

Seattle was a city founded on a belief of synergy amongst those inhabiting their corner of the U.S. and would ultimately choose a team mascot that reflected that particular ethos. In contrast San Diego opted for a mascot that was in conflict with the indigenous people of their corner of the U.S.

I will posit that the Padres and Indians may have had a betting proposition in place… a loser-leave-town type of arrangement where the team finishing lowest in the standings after two seasons would drop their team name. Perhaps PCL Padres owner, “Hardrock” Bill Lane, because of his gambling nature as a gold prospector, entered into a betting agreement with the Seattle Indians’ owner Bill Klepper, a man reported to be both greedy and gutless. Or maybe the gutless Klepper tried to do something right, for once in his life, by preserving his team’s name while eliminating one that arrived to the west accompanied by strife.

The above may be examples of the wild speculation that occurs when a detailed history is conspicuously absent. But it cannot be denied that the Seattle Indians vanished after 1937 as Klepper sold the team to Emile Sick who rechristened his PCL team the Rainiers, a horribly unpopular move at the time. The name Rainier referred not to the famous volcanic peak (Mount Rainier) but instead to Sick’s other business: The Rainier Brewing Company.

In 1938 the name of Indians was dismissed and the Rainiers were born. The Seattle Rainiers went on to enjoy immediate success in the Pacific Coast League where they would be fondly remembered as the precursor to the Seattle Mariners.

I implore fans to read the entire article over at RJ's Fro. To fully engross oneself in the narrative, is to seek understanding and ultimately education. Know your history and prepare for the 2012 Battle For The Vedder Cup.

And It Rained: Baseball Conversations With a 5 Year Old

Quite a few Saturdays ago it rained. Such an infrequent southern California occurrence warranted observation and appreciation. So out to the garage we went. With chairs unfolded and the garage-door lifted, the daughter and I sat . . .


"It doesn't usually rain in San Diego." I said.

My little one answered, "It's raining right now."

"But it doesn't usually rain. Our climate is dry in San Diego" [It's never too early to begin geography]

"I like rain." she innocently proclaimed.

"Me too." I said.  "You know where it does rain a lot?"

Familiar with but a few cities on the map, the little one boldly asked, "Where?"

"In Seattle."

"What's Seattle?" she inquired.

How best to explain such things to a child? 

"Well. Seattle is a city. Like San Diego is a city. And it's in a state called Washington. It rains a lot there." I answered with confidence, despite never having set foot in the pacific northwest.

"Oh."

Thinking it was time to expand her baseball horizons I fired off another question. "You know who plays baseball in Seattle?"

"Who?"

"The Mariners."

"What's a Mariner?"

I did not know if this was the best answer but I went with it, because . . . well, she's five. So I said, "It's like a fisherman. Someone who goes out in the ocean."

"A fisherman?"

"Yeah. A fisherman. You know what?"

"What, daddy?"

And with all the seriousness I could muster I threw down the gauntlet and let the young one know what kind of a life she was in for as a Padres fan.

With straight face, I told her, "As a Padre fan you're supposed to hate the Mariners."

Confused, she wondered aloud, "Why?"

"Because Bud Selig said so, honey."

"I like Bud Selig. He's my favorite Padre."

I laughed out loud at the suggestion and went about properly educating her, "Bud Selig isn't a Padre, honey!"

"Well who IS he?"she demanded.

I thought for a moment. "Well . . . he's a used car salesman."

"What's that?", she carefully inquired.

I could only smile and instead decided to put her mind at ease. "Never mind. Let's enjoy the rest of this rain."

And so we did.

Pictures From Peoria

I went to Spring Training this last weekend with Beautown and SDPads1 of RJ's Fro. It was cool. Saw the Padres open up against the hated Mariners of Seattle. I haven't had a chance to write yet but here are a few pictures.

 

 

Over at the Fro: PCL Padres and the Birth of an Interleague Rivalry

Have you ever wondered why the San Diego Padres get the Seattle Mariners as their "Natural Rival" during Interleague play? Excellent, because I have the answer for you...

The Padre/Mariner match-up is a rivalry that traces its origins back to 1936 in the Pacific Coast League. Bet you didn't know that! Check out the rich histories of each city and the sordid speculation that has brought each fan base to incomparable hatred towards one another... check it out over at RJ's Fro.

The Week In Padres: my internal clock has been destroyed

This is where I write a post about not writing posts.
I made a comment last Sunday about Dick Enberg and his constant love of the enemy and then figured I'd a-keep-on-a-rolling with my commentary as I entered this week. I'd have plenty to say as the plan was to get out to the park on Monday to see the Padres battle the Giants for NL West supremacy. I went to the park.....and my body clock hasn't been the same since....

MONDAY:
I bought a park pass for 5 bucks. When I tried to sneak down to a prime location I was caught by Stan the Usher and sent packing. It was OK. I parked up in the standing room only section positioned behind home plate and chatted with a Giants fan for the rest of the game. I enjoyed telling the fan about Matt Cain's Curse and how they had better win tonight because they had NO CHANCE against Latos on Tuesday night.

Truth be told, it's one of the best seats (errr...standing locations) in the park. Great view (although you can't see the jumbo-tron) of a game. I even had a great view of the yahoos who ran on to the field during the 9th inning.....at which point my week began to unravel. The delay that these clowns caused ensured that I wouldn't be getting home until an unsuitably late hour.....an hour that would be sure to have an adverse affect on my systems' functions for the remainder of the week. Sure enough, while excited about a Padre victory, I woke up pretty tired on Tuesday morning. (click "Read More" to continue)

TUESDAY
Tuesday's game was a disaster. The Padres lost with Latos on the hill.....but the loss was so much worse than that. It was an extra innings loss. Losing in extras is excruciating! So disappointing as we failed to win in regulation (Adams gave up the game tying dong in the 8th) thus setting the stage for another long game. Don't get me wrong......I enjoy extras......but I was tired......I needed to catch-up.

WEDNESDAY
Wednesday's game was awesome in that it was all of the following:

• A win!
• A win by an impressive margin (10-5)!
• A win against the Dodgers!
• A near cycle by Will Venable!

Wednesday's game was an utter nightmare sequence in that it was all of the following:

• A game in which Jon Garland pitched!

Seriously.....for a game that ended in 9 innings it felt like a 3-OT Stanley Cup conference final game. Take Garland's deliberate presence and put it in tandem with an offensive outburst and you have the makings of an eternity. I've been calling Jon Garland "The Mike Hargrove". I think that nickname could just as easily be interchanged with Jon "Extra Innings" Garland. He may not pitch into extras but I sure feel like I've been taken there.

The game ended. I was still tired...

THURSDAY
I was dead to the world on Thursday. The lack of sleep caught up to me and I shattered world records for complete uselessness. I watched a little of the game. I watched all of Lost. I checked the score in the 8th. I went to sleep.

FRIDAY
Right. Disappointed to find there there was no comeback against Kershaw and company and the Padres took a 4-1 loss. Friars still in first. I am well rested.......time to prepare for our HATED inter-league rival. Seattle Mariners on tap this weekend.

Padres Win Streak Ends; We go To Lake Elsinore to See The Storm

The Padres lost yesterday but took the series....on the road in Cincinnati. Can't really argue with that result although perhaps the strongest part of our team (the bullpen) coughed up what could have been a road sweep. Can't win 'em all.

I didn't get to watch the game but instead tried to experience it via MLB.com's "Game Day" tracker as well as communications through Twitter and the Gaslamp Ball open thread. The Game Day tracker is NO substitute for watching on television. I wasn't trying to be experimental; just forced to get some work done in an undisclosed location that lacked access to Channel 4. I did not get work done.... but I did make an observation or two. Proceed...

• Clayton Richard needs to start working on economy with his pitch count in a bad way. In the 5th inning he threw 8 pitches to the final batter he faced coupled with 9 pick-off attempts to 1B....all in the course of ONE BATTER! He was working way too hard. He got out of the jam but finished the inning with about 90 pitches. I figured he was done. Bud ran him out there for the 6th though and he promptly gave up the gopher ball to Scott Rolen. Richard ended up leaving the game with a chance to get the win after surrendering 3 runs. (click "Read More" to continue)

• Now I rant about bullet point #1. C'mon Bud!? Clayton Richard was done. Go right to the bullpen to start the 6th inning. Look, there's no bigger proponent of getting your starting pitcher through at least 7 innings than me.....heck, mix in a complete game every once in a while and conserve that valuable bullpen. I just thought it was the wrong move at the time and then Scott Rolen ran around the bases.
• A lot of people are saying that the Padres are playing over their heads right now and they are in some respects. However I think that we would be remiss not to mention that their collective hitting has been underwhelming thus far. Headley and Gonzalez have been great and Venable has been timely here and there but for the most part guys have been hitting below (I believe) their capabilities.
• So yea......they're in first place. No complaints really. Fun stuff.

So I finished listening to the game on the drive up to Lake Elsinore yesterday. The Diamond in Lake Elsinore is cool little place to see a game. Very intimate. You feel like you're right there, on top of the field, plus you get to see the Padres of the future play. You feel very invested. Some observations:

• Talk about a DEAL !!! A doubleheader for under $10 bucks!
• 2007 1st round pick Nick Schmidt didn't look that sharp. He really only had one rough inning (yielded a hit parade) but on the whole, I wasn't impressed.
• Farmer John hot dogs are an encased meat product of the highest order.
• 2008 1st round pick Alan Dykstra didn't look that sharp either although he did have one hit. I can't say I expected too much though, considering his current ranking among Padres prospects.
• What you save on a cheap, $9 buck seat, you'll more than likely give back in the souvenir shop. A hat with the eyes of a storm on it? That's an easy sell!

• Kids named Vince Belnome and Yefri Carvajal hit HRs. They were bombs.
• When your 3 year old gets tired of her seat and insists on moving to an area that gives free reign to kids hopped up on sugar, you have the opportunity to do it. Down the RF line there's a great grass area to sit and play (pssst....you can also walk right up to the opposition's bullpen and get in the ear of the relievers.....I didn't do it but I'm just sayin', you could.....all friendly bantering of course; they're just kids, for Pete's sake!).

Your Padres and Mariners of the future...and some little kid

• There was a kid named Denny Almonte who played for the High Desert Mavericks. A few years back when the Oceanside Little League played in the WS didn't they get beat by a a Bronx team that eventually forfeited because of an illegally aged player......named DANNY Almonte? Maybe I'll research it.....
• Manager Carlos Lezcano got tossed in the 6th inning of game 1 on a bad call at 2B. Lezcano also coaches 3B so when he arrived to argue he was wearing a protective batter's helmet. Part of his theatrics while getting tossed included him bouncing his helmet of of the turf......take a look at the picture......pretty good distance, huh (it's the black speck behind the mound)?

• Playing against the High Desert Mavericks is a great way to properly cultivate hatred for the Seattle Mariners, our vaunted and loathed inter-league rival. The Dodgers get the Angels and the Yankees get the Mets but the hatred there is nothing compared to Padres versus Mariners each summer! What, you ask? Very little negativity towards the Mariners? Well then, I say.......get yourself up north to catch some High A minor league baseball.....a place where you can properly develop your Mariner loathing each time High Desert visits.
• Bummer. The Storm lost the 7 inning affair 4-2.

• Go there. It is fun.