Cardinal Invasion Game 1

For two series this year we put our Padres gear in the back of the closet and bring out the opposing team's colors. In early May, it was for the Pirates series. This week, we are in Cardinal red as my hometown team invades Petco Park. As one Cardinal fan we talked to last night said, "Everyone who is a Cardinal fan becomes a friend." I figure I had about 8,000 friends in the park last night, estimated from the sea of red and loud cheers for the road team.

Our Padres account rep, Gabe, hooked us up with tickets in the first row behind the Cardinals' dugout. It was an awesome view of the game and was interesting to be close enough to see the interaction between teammates. We arrived two hours before game time (early entrance for season ticket holders) to watch the Cardinals take BP. This year the Padres added a giant Frazee Paint can in left field and if a homerun is hit into the can during a game, Frazee Paint will donate $500k to the Padres Foundation. Pujols spent his BP time aiming for that can! He was goofing around and pointing towards it. He did not hit the can, but came pretty close. There were a lot of "ooohs" and "ahhhs" from the crowd like they were watching fireworks. You could tell by the way he was crushing the ball that his homer-less streak would soon be broken.

Chargers cornerback Antoine Cason threw out the first pitch

Name this Cardinal fan...

Bengie Molina??? Excuse the bad pic, I didn't want to be obnoxious.

The word behind the seats is that this in none other than Bengie Molina rocking the Cardinal red. Love the Molinas!

Jon Jay had a great game, going 3-for-5 with two singles and a double. In Pujols' first AB, Jay was on first and Albert flew out to Maybin in CF. Somehow with Pujols looking at the catch and Jay retreating to first, the two ran into each other. It was pretty funny. Pujols kind of rolled to the ground and got up half laughing.

Pujols after run-in with Jay

The play of the game came in the bottom of the first when Ludwick hit a towering shot to straight away center field. Colby Rasmus made the jump and came back down. But did he have the ball? Everyone in the crowd held their breath waiting for the ump to make the call. Colby starting running in and finally showed that he had it. Web gem! Poor Ludwick just cannot catch a break. Does anyone hate the dimensions of Petco Park more than Ryan?

Former Cardinal All-Star Ryan Ludwick was robbed by Rasmus

Lohse pitched 8.0 impressive innings giving up only 1 ER

In the sixth inning, Pujols went deep, breaking his career-high 105 at-bat homer-less streak. It was a beauty.

Pujols aiming for the paint can

The chicken showed up! It is the second time we have seen him in Petco Park.

Jon Jay sliding into the bullpen going for a foul ball

Rasmus out at second

In the bottom of the 7th, Chase Headley was caught in a run down between third and home. Run downs always make me so nervous!

Yadi in action during a run-down with Chase Headley

Padres reliever Mike Adams was brought in to pitch the eight inning after a great performance by starter Dustin Moseley.

The incredible Mike Adams

With Adams on the rubber, ump Jim Joyce rung up Pujols with a low strike three call. Pujols was VERY unhappy yelling back at Joyce and jumping up and down. LaRussa quickly came out to argue the call and was immediately tossed. I'm actually surprised Pujols wasn't ejected as well.

LaRussa tossed by Jim Joyce

Schumaker, in his first game back from the DL, stretched a ninth inning single into a game changing double. Turns out he would score the winning run on a Descalso single.

Schumaker safe at second

Schumaker scores

Daniel Descalso aka "Mr. Clutch"

The Padres, in typical fashion, threatened in the bottom of the 9th with a single by Maybin. With the tying run at the plate, Orlando Hudson hit one to the warning track but it was caught by Berkman for the final out. Lohse gets win number six and Salas gets save number eight.

Closer du Jour, Fernando Salas

Cardinals win. :) Padres lose. :(  I'm glad these teams only play each other six times a year!

Blake Tekotte Joins Padres

Cardinals outfielder Jon Jay (via Twitter) reports that the Padres have called up Blake Tekotte from AA to the majors. Since Tekotte was not on the 40 man roster, it will be interesting to see what the corresponding move will be.



 

UPDATE: The Padres dfa'd Samuel Deduno to free up a spot on the 40-man roster and sent down Will Venable to free up a spot on the active roster. Deduno was a waiver claim off of the Rockies and was on the opening day roster. With the depth the Padres have in relief pitching, Deduno was expendable. There is also a chance he can slip thru waivers and remain in Tucson. Sending down Venable makes sense in that Denorfia has been the only consistent bat this season and needs at bats. Hopefully Venable can get hot in AAA and come back later this summer.


http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2011/05/padres-designate-samuel-deduno-for-assignment.html

A Whole Lotta Zeros

We were excited for the Padres come back to town for a homestand, following the road trip. It started off with a two game series against the Brewers. Surprisingly, there were quite a few Brewers fans at Petco Park on Wednesday. Our season tickets are on the third base side (by the visitor's dugout) so we are typically surrounded by at least some opposing fans. The Brewers fans are very in to their team, drinking beer and wearing ugly clothing. We only ran into one seriously annoying fan on our walk out of the park (the kind of guy who is yelling at Padres fans asking them what the score was). The score was 5-2 Brewers. We were there, thanks for the reminder. The Padres runs came on a 2-run blast by Ryan Ludwick. His bat has really been heating up!

Yep, that's a Brewers fan

On Thursday we upgraded to seats three rows behind the Padres dugout. What nice seats! The game was very exciting with the Padres winning 1-0 with a walkoff sac fly by O-Dog. It was Hudson's first game back from the DL so it was good to see him celebrate a big win with the team.

DJ Gay and the SDSU Men's basketball team threw out the first pitch

Corey Hart, my most hated Brewer

Ryan Braun, my second most hated Brewer

Coming off a win on Wednesday, we were looking forward to some interleague play vs. the Seattle Mariners. Dave's Note: The Padres and Mariners are stuck with each other as "natural rivals" during interleague play. I like interleague play but it is a drag that the Pads can't be a rival of the Angels which are just 90 minutes to the North. I don't know if it was some great pitching by the Mariners or what, but the Padres bats went cold. Friday it was all zeros until the bottom of the ninth when the Padres teased us with a couple hits. Cantu came up representing the tying run, but grounded out stranding two. The crowd hung around after the game for an awesome fireworks show. The theme was superheros and we were treated to songs from Superman, Ironman and Batman.

On Saturday the game had an atypical 7:05pm start time. There was a band playing at Park in the Park before the game and Eric Stonestreet from Modern Family threw out the first pitch. Dave's Note: The band called "Leftover Cuties" was some quirky cabaret band in bad clothes. They were awful. 

The crowd was so amped up by game time. Unfortunately by the 8th inning and no Padres runs scored, the fans had to rely on the wave and hitting around a beach ball to keep them entertained. The Padres got their first two-hit inning in the bottom of the 9th, but no runs were scored and the fans left deflated.

Eric Stonestreet throwing out the first pitch (love Modern Family!)

Ichiro Suzuki at the plate

Ex-Cardinal Brendan Ryan sliding into third

Auto flag giveaway (we also got a license plate holder)

Prediction Time - Update

Since we are about a quarter of the way thru the season and the Pads are on the road for one more night, I thought I would provide an update of our pre-season predictions. One of our guest bloggers, Jim, has provided this spreadsheet showing our predictive accuracy.

As you can see from the spreadsheet above, Jim's predictions are, on average, only .051 percentage points off of actual results. Laura and I trail at .0060 and .0059 respectively. Note that Jim's prediction for the Padres is almost dead on being only.001 off the Padres winning percentage so far. The biggest miss so far is by Laura on the Indians  (the biggest surprise team in baseball so far) at .244 off on winning percentage. 

We Had a Barrel of Fun

Below is our very first guest blog submission. This one is from Dave's sister, Laura W. Thanks Laura!

Wednesday was a lovely day in Milwaukee’s Miller Park, if you were a Padres fan, that is, or even if you just love to watch a ballgame jammed full of hits, homeruns and hometown hoopla.  Your guest blogger here, also known as Dave’s sister - the “other” Laura.  While I could fill this page with some pretty funny stories about growing up with Dave, I’ll save that for another time.  The purpose of my visit to this esteemed blogsite is to share my experience of a Padres’ road game – this one conveniently located a mere two-hour drive away (from my house – not 10^th and Island) in that capital of midwestern American quirkiness, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

As everybody knows, the key to enjoying anything in Wisconsin is to include plenty of beer and food, and when I say food, I don’t mean light but tasty SoCal amuse bouches – I’m talking heavy-duty, belly-bloating staples like sausage, burgers and potato salad – really anything that is salty, greasy and/or doughy – as these are the qualities that best accompany the aforementioned beverage.  And while it is wholly acceptable to purchase these mood-setters inside the ballpark – indeed, Miller Park excels in terms of variety and availability of their concessions , you really don’t get the full effect if you don’t cook the stuff yourself in the parking lot before the game.  Tailgating it is called, and nobody does it better than the Cheeseheads. 

Crossing the Cheddar Curtain, we were greeted by the official state color:  road construction orange.  However, despite getting to the lot a little later than I would have liked, we still had time to set up the grill, break out the table and chairs and enjoy the sights and smells of the Milwaukee tailgating experience. 

Okay - probably not the best looking food in the park - but definitely tasty!

One member of the Padre Cadre dared to show his colors - and retro ones at that - in a Miller Park lot chock full of Brewer blue and gold

With game time nearing and hoping (futilely) to see some BP, we bunned and wrapped our meat, packed away the gear and headed into the park.  Amazing infield box seats in Section 113 glistened in the hazy sunlight (thank you Stub Hub! and whoever couldn’t get the day off or wasn’t interested in seeing a game against the Padres).  With the exception of a few school field trip groups, the slowly gathering crowd was considerably grayer than most games I’ve attended.  (Of course I realize that I’m contributing to that imbalance myself these days.) 

A view from our seats in Section 113

And now a word about my head gear… as I later sheepishly confessed to Dave, I was indeed wearing a Brewers’ cap (as was my son).  Now, I know that is considered anathema on this blogsite, but there’s something you have to understand:  once you cross from Gurnee into Kenosha, the natives can smell something alien has entered their habitat (something probably like soap and personal hygiene products), and they don’t take too kindly to FIBs (the “I” stands for “Illinois” – I’ll let you figure out the other two letters in the acronym).  So, rather than scratch and spit a lot or come to the game unwashed, I decided the best way to fit in and go unnoticed (and thereby, unharrassed) was to display a little Brewer Blue on my head.  Besides – I don’t own a Padres cap!  Dave has promised never to let that be an excuse again.

After the usual obligatory assortment of pre-game activities (anthem sung by pale and pimply middle school chorus , first-pitch by unknown relative of local car dealership sponsor, unremarkable team video intro), the game itself started and started with a blast, a home run blast by Chris Denorfia.  This triggered a three-run first inning that caught Brewers’ fans unawares.  Little did any of us know:  consecutive hits would be the theme of today’s contest.

One of many sweet swings from Padre batsmen

After a brief lull in the 2^nd, the boys in visitor gray slapped  another 2-spot on the board in the top of the 3^rd.  Cue Brewer fans lamenting their pitching staff, the lackluster hitting and another frustrating season ahead.  But little did they know that the parade of offense in the middle three innings would be all Brew Crew – capped off by a game-tying, number 200 of his career homer by Prince Fielder (with Ryan Braun aboard) in the 5th – and a go-ahead solo dinger by Yuniesky Betancourt in the 6^th.  And what do my ears hear all around me:  “that’s what makes this team so great,” “gonna be a great year here,” “this ain’t no bandwagon, it’s the real deal”. 

Bernie had a couple of Brewer knocks to celebrate with his customary slide down to hot tub - used to be a beer mug back in the day

Real deal it appeared to be – at least until the top of the 8^th.  Maybe it was all that barrel rolling during the 7^th inning stretch or maybe the Brewer relief staff is as weak as the early-inning local commentary suggested, but bang, zoom, tararrel, the Pad Squad ripped a half-inning that knocked the now even more rapidly aging (and cholesterol-laden) home fans right off their polka-playing, sausage-racing bandwagon.  The Padres produced more hits in the 8^th inning than Robert Stigwood did during the Disco Days – adding up to an insurmountable seven-run lead.

The stunned Crew apparently thought it best to join their fans and pack it in for the day, and a game prolonged by a boatload of hits, homerun trots, walks, stolen bases and innumerable mound visits wrapped up quickly with a Padres victory celebration.

Victorious visitors from San Diego celebrate a wild 13-6 win

The three-hour drive home (thanks to rush-hour traffic in two cities and one very large thunderstorm) was well compensated by an afternoon of beer, brats and baseball – and best of all – a Padres win!

One Night in Baseball Heaven

The Diamondbacks are in town for a weekend series and we got a call last night about an hour before the first pitch from Gabriel, our account rep, saying that he had some upgraded tickets we would be interested in. Turns out the tickets he got for us were in the Founders Club - Section 0, Row 1. Since we are, conveniently, a couple minute walk from the ticket office, we picked up our tickets at will-call and were whisked through the VIP entrance and given a tour of the two restaurants and bar. Simply put, it is amazing. The seats include all-you-can eat and drink from the fancy buffet as well as the more casual area right by the seats. We also had waiter service where we could order anything (sushi, skittles, gin and tonic...he was your man).

The seats we had were in the first row directly behind home plate. We actually sat slightly below field-level. It was something neither of us had experienced before. It felt like we were in the game. Dave said the next best thing would be playing second base. Dave's Note: These were better seats than the Pirates' owner had last week - insert your Pirates joke here.

It was a good Friday night crowd of 30,878. Pre-game there was a beerfest in Park in the Park and it was also teacher's appreciation day at the park. Dave's Note: The Broken Lizard guys from Super Troopers were also there, though I doubt it impacted attendance very much. Whatever the reason, the crowd seemed extra lively and was ready to see some good baseball.

I, of course, took a ton of pictures because we had such a good view of the action. Dave texted his sister throughout the game who was watching on MLB.TV. She said she could see us anytime they had a camera on home plate. I told Dave we had to smile a lot and not pig-out too much cause we were on TV. I don't know if we succeeded at either, but it didn't matter because we enjoyed every minute.

The first eight innings went smoothly for the Padres with Stauffer pitching 6.2 shutout innings and the Padres starting to get their offense going a little more. The ninth turned out to be the trouble inning (maybe they are trying to mimic the Cardinals) as Heath Bell gave up two walks, then two dominating strikeouts. Unfortunately, the defense couldn't finish it off to give him his 42nd consecutive save. Kelly Johnson bounced a ball to Headley who double pumped before throwing it in the dirt allowing the tying runs to score. The mood after that play was stifled. The crowd was so ready to celebrate the win and Bell's #42 but that play burst their bubble. Then, somehow, in the bottom of the 11th, we witnessed a rare event - a walk-off walk for the win. It was pretty anti-climactic, but it got the job done and Headley atoned for his error in the 9th. Three hours and fourty-nine minutes of baseball action in those seats and I was sold.

To wrap it up, here is a list of everything that we ate (or at least sampled): pork loin, hummus, spinich/artichoke dip, nachos, chips and guacamole, empanadas, brownie, chocolate cake, oatmeal raisin cookie and Filippi's pizza (if there is ever a slice of pie worth $6.50 it is Filippi's OMG). Dave's sister commented that she hoped our seats were extra wide...they were. We have to fit in our "regular" seats for tonight's game so we are off to the gym.

Starting pitcher Tim Stauffer

Stauffer delivers

Montero catching Galarraga

Shattered bat

Luebke warming up

Chris Young spits

Heath Bell throwing the heat

Bell

Maybin in the on deck circle

Screen capture from Channel 4 of us (behind Montero) celebrating the win

Pirates/Pads Rubber Match

Wednesday was the final game of the series and in a way I was happy to see it end. While I love being able to see my Bucs play, it was weird not cheering for the home town Pads. Our seats this day were 10 rows behind the Pirates dugout. It was a late afternoon game which led to a small attendance of 16,603. The attendance in our section was particularly sparse since the ushers are pretty militant about not allowing people to sneak down from the cheap seats. Our friend Mike refers this as "keeping the riff-raff out".

The Pirates once again jumped on top early scoring a run in the 2nd and six more in the 3rd. Doumit's grand slam looked like it was shot out of a bazooka - a line shot that got out in a hurry. The seven run lead deflated the crowd and made the rest of the game a bit dull. The Pads scored two runs off local kid and former Friar Kevin Correia before he left after six innings.

As the Pirates leave the field each inning, a coach tosses a ball to the Pirates player who recorded the last out in the field. The player then tosses that ball into the crowd. Throughout the game, the Pirates tossed the balls to kids in the crowd (most of them wearing Padres garb) or fans wearing Pirates apparel. In the 8th inning, Laura stood up and waved at 2nd baseman Neil Walker as he returned to the dugout. He immediately flipped the ball to her. Unfortunately, she bobbled the toss and watched as it bounced to another Pirates fan down the aisle. Several boos from the crowd above us followed. Oh well.

In the 9th, Jose Veras came in to pitch for the Bucs. He proceeded to give up two home runs to cut the lead to 3. He then walked Jason Bartlett and allowed him to take second base. At this point, the San Diego broadcast pans to a shot of Pirates owner Bob Nutting (sitting one row in front of where we sat Monday) looking very stressed and irritated. The camera then pans to a full screen close-up of Laura and I looking very stressed and irritated. It is a very funny scene. I would post the screen capture, however Laura has threatened to kill me if I did. For those of you with MLB.TV, the sequence starts at the 3:07 mark of the Padres broadcast.

The Pirates held on to win and we walked up to the dugout to cheer the victorious Pirates. Joel Hanrahan flipped us a ball (that we did not drop). The Pirates won their fifth road series (after only winning four all last year) and we celebrated by grabbing dinner from Lolita's. On the way to Lolita's, a guy wearing a Mike Ditka shirt and begging for money came up to us and said "I've got cancer and need to buy some chemo - can I have a dollar?" His delivery with his Ditka-esque accent and his complete lack of effort in making any attempt to make his story seem slightly real made this the funniest request for drugs/booze money we have heard.

UPDATE: Just spoke to Gabe, our Padres account rep, and he mentioned that he saw us on "Friarvision" (the video on the scoreboard). We've seen ourselves on the bigscreen in the past, but must have missed it yesterday.

Venable at bat

Starting pitcher Kevin Correia

Venable steals #10

Walker safe at 3rd

Diaz and Leyva

Doumit's Grand Salami

Logan Forsythe's first major league AB

Bucs/Pads Game 2

I decided to come down early to the game on Tuesday to watch the Pirates batting practice. I was surprised to spot the owner of the Pirates, Bob Nutting, in the dugout and talking to some fans. I stopped by said a quick hello before he went off to talk to some of the players. You could hear the players talking to each other about Mr. Nutting being there. Comments like "you better play well, the boss is here." Most players and coaches seemed pleased to see him.

I also got a chance to watch Ross Ohlendorf pitch batting practice. Ross has a right shoulder posterior strain and is on the DL. Pitching BP was his next step on his rehab before going down and getting some innings on the farm. I asked him about how he felt after BP. He responded that it went well and seemed pleased with his shoulder. I teased him about being the next Jim Abbott since he was shagging balls in BP after his 30 tosses. He would catch the ball in his glove, then take the glove off and throw it with his glove hand (to protect his bum flipper).

Laura joined me in our seats after BP. Our seats of the day were in the first row behind the 3rd base coach's box seats. The coach's box seats cost $160 each and ours list at $66.50. For $90 plus less,  I can handle being one row back of the coach's seats even if ours don't have the fancy seat padding.

During the game, Matt Latos hit the first home run ever by a Padres pitcher in Petco Park. Three home runs by the Pads and some shoddy defense led to a victory by the Friars. Game temp was in the 70s for the second straight day.

SD Native Jeff Karstens

Walker slides into third 

Alvarez snags errant throw and injures quad

Ludwick scores

Rookie Dan Moskos

Pirates Owner Bob Nutting