Dining at Petco

Opening Day is merely 4 days away. Some quick notes before we get to the really important stuff.

Corey Brock (Padres blog writer on MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @FollowthePadres) believes the Opening Day lineup to look like this:

Catcher: Nick Hundley, Henry Blanco Infielders: Adrian Gonzalez, Edgar Gonzalez, David Eckstein, Evereth Cabrera, Luis Rodriguez, Kevin Kouzmanoff. Outfielders: Jody Gerut, Brian Giles, Chase Headley, Cliff Floyd, Scott Hairston. Rotation: Jake Peavy, Chris Young, Walter Silva, Kevin Correia, Shawn Hill. Bullpen: Heath Bell, Cla Meredith, Arturo Lopez, Edwin Moreno, Duaner Sanchez, Eulogio De La Cruz, Ed Mujica.

Listening to Scott and BR this morning, it sounds like Henry Blanco will actually get the start on Monday at catcher for Jake Peavy. Not sure if this means Blanco is going to be Peavy's catcher all season or not though.

As for the rotation, Baek, the presumed number 3 starter (shudder) will begin the season on the DL. Interesting fact about the pitching staff of the Padres, as provided by Ducksnorts: Peavy + Young = 1916.2 career IP. Other 10 guys on staff = 1460.1 career IP. Five pitchers with less than 100 IP. Three with 0 IP.

So there's that.

With a lineup hovering around $40 million and expectations low for the 2009 season, there is one thing to get excited about. Food. Ballpark food historically has been one of the great parts of attending live baseball. This year, Petco has both added some menu items as well as provided some pretty good deals. So, to prepare you for Opening Day, let's take a look at some new and old food options at Petco Park:

- 5 for 5 deal: hot dog, peanuts, popcorn, cookie and soft drink for $5. Want a beer? $10

- All-you-can-eat Upper Right Field Pavilion and on top of the Western Metal Building

- Coca-Cola Value Weekends: all Friday through Sunday games get an Upper Reserved Ticket, hot dog and soda for $12

And some new food items:

- On Friday and Saturday nights in the Park at the Park will be a street taco stand with pork fresh off the spit.

- Red velvet cupcakes

- Mexican Hot Dog: a hot dog wrapped in bacon (that's right, bacon), pinto beans, tomatoes, onions, jalapeno sauce, ketchup, mustard, mayo.

- San Diego Caesar (apparently the "cilantro-chipotle" dressing makes it San Diego)

- Chicken Sushi Rolls

So, as you can see, no shortage of food options at Petco this year. If you haven't had a chance to check out the multitude of restaurant options, this may be the season to do it. Enjoy the food and we will be back for Opening Day!