I'm watching the news this morning while enjoying my coffee and all I hear about is the weather bringing havoc to Opening Day. The White Sox game has been snowed out. The Red Sox opener, rained out.
It will be in the mid-70's today for the Padres home opener. So, no matter the talent on the field this year, San Diego fans can enjoy the fact that there is no snow or rain on Opening Day.
At the beginning of the movie Major League there is a montage of different fans throughout Cleveland complaining that they don't recognize any of the players on this year's Indians team. In a way, I feel like that's what is happening here in San Diego. Names like Evereth Cabrera, Correia, and pretty much the entire bullpen are not household names.
Let me be the one to say that no-name players does not equate to a poor quality team. Is it likely that the Padres will finish in last place? Probably. Though Baseball Prospectus does predict an 11 game turnaround for the Padres that would leave them only 1 game back of third place in the division. The fact of the matter is we don't know. We don't know if this bullpen can hold up, if this starting rotation can win some games and if, like Kevin Towers says, this offense is better than last year.
But that's the beauty of Opening Day. Today, the Padres are not in last, are not a mile behind the leaders, and there's no reason to believe, if only for the day, that the Padres could surprise people. What that surprise looks like is unclear? To me, finishing .500 would be a surprise based on the "experts" pre-season prediction. Less we forget these same "experts" predicted the Tigers to win the A.L. How'd that go?
I'll be at Opening Day today, enjoying the XX1090 Block Party before hand and taken advantage of the new food deals at Petco. Follow Left Coast Bias on Twitter live from Petco at LeftCoastBias.
Enjoy Opening Day!
Monday, April 6, 2009
Thursday, April 2, 2009
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!
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!
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