To Dream the Impossible Dream

If you are not one for optimism, or one for rooting for what appears to be the impossible, look away. If underdogs and made-for-Hollywood comebacks make you queasy, this post is not for you.

Because what I'm about to say defies logic, common sense, and will likely lead you to discredit any opinion forthwith as the ravings of a madman.

But I'm not so sure the Padres are out of the 2012 playoff picture.




Stay with me now. And let me make this crystal clear. I have no expectation that they can do it. Zero.

But...it could happen.

In 2011, the St. Louis Cardinals were 10.5 games back of the Wild Card on August 25th. They won the World Series.

In 2010, well, I think you know what the Giants did.

And let's not forget the multiple years of Rocktober we've witnessed. The precedent has been set.

What if the Padres could be one of those stories?

Again, this is madness. Craziness really. Or is it?

The Padres finished a July above .500 (15-11) for the first time since 2010. Meanwhile, the Dodgers played .500, the Diamondbacks at 14-13, and the Giants at .500. Should that happen again in August, the Padres would be 7.5 games back at the start of September.

In September, the Padres play the Diamondbacks, Giants and Dodgers 6 times each.

It's possible. That's all I'm saying. Not probable. Possible.

Cashner is throwing bullpen sessions. Grandal is tweeting about his return. Chase Headley has caught fire now that he doesn't have to check trade rumors every hour of every day, Quentin is healthy (ish) and providing protection, and the team is committing less errors.

If sports has taught me anything, is that the impossible is possible. It was impossible that Adam Scott would lose the British Open with a 4 shot lead with 4 holes to play. Yet he did. It was impossible that the Giants could beat the undefeated Patriots in the Super Bowl. Except they did. George Mason in the Final Four? IMPOSSIBLE! Yet it happened.

Teams get hot. Other teams fade. Lightning in a bottle. Cliche. Cliche. Cliche.

But isn't it more fun to hope?

"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies." - if I have to tell you what this is from...watch more movies.

Portland Beavers to Play in Tucson in 2011

OK, full disclosure. I consider Tucson one of my two hometowns for a number of reasons. Not to bore you all with the biography of me but, lived in Oceanside until I was 11 then on to Tucson through college. So, any place where you learned to drive, graduated high school, had your first girlfriend and graduated college, gets credit as a hometown.

In my 13 years of living in Tucson, the city played home to two AAA baseball teams. At first it was the Tucson Toros, the AAA affiliate of the Houston Astros. They played at Hi Corbett Field, which, if you are a fan of the movie "Major League" (and really, if you are not a fan of "Major League" then just move along friend) you would recognize Hi Corbett as the home of the Cleveland Indians spring training. And, in less memorable moments, I once tried out for the Tampa Bay Rays once upon a lifetime. As there is no Disney movie about my rise in the Rays organization, its safe to assume I did not make it.

Padres fans who are familiar with Matt Vasgersian's career may remember that he was once played the part of Tuffy the Toro, the Toros mascot. (I guess I should mention for those not familiar with spanish, toro = bull).

Then MLB expanded and gave Phoenix a professional team. So good bye Toros. But hello brand new AAA park and team in the form of the Tucson Sidewinders. But, after the 2008 season, Tucson lost yet another AAA team, this time to Reno.

Needless to say, I had some fun times going to AAA games. So, I was pretty excited when I read Corey Brock's article tonight regarding the temporary home of the Portland Beavers:

According to Baseball America, the Beavers will move to Tucson, where they will play for at least one season before moving to a permanent home and a new ballpark in Escondido, Calif.

Kick ASS! I know its only for one year but still, pretty exciting stuff if you ask me. Tucson has always been a great town for Spring Training baseball and, at least my teenage recollection is that Tucson was a pretty good AAA town as well.

So, there you go. The Portland Beavers will be moving to Tucson next year. Apparently the reason being is that their home in Portland is being converted for a soccer-specific stadium to accomodate an MLS team.

One last Arizona baseball memory here. During the one year that Michael Jordan played minor league baseball, he also played in the Arizona Fall League for the Scottsdale Scorpions. So yes, I have seen Jordan play baseball in person. At Hi Corbett Field. Fun times. Here's hoping a AAA team moves there for good in the near future.