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.

Silver Linings on Opening Day

I've been accused of being an optimist and an apologist when it comes to the Padres. Guilty on both counts. When Conan O'Brien signed off from NBC for the last time, amid one of the strangest controversies in television history, he said this:

"Please don't be cynical. I hate cynicism -- it's my least favorite quality and it doesn't lead anywhere."

That's a lesson we could all stand to heed after Opening Day.

Yes, the Padres lost. Yes, Volquez walked in 2 runs which ultimately proved to be decisive. And yes, the Padres committed 3 errors, an "accomplishment" that was as rare as a unicorn last year.

But if you choose to draw sweeping conclusions from one game or have chosen cynicism over optimism over one day, then you don't get the point of Opening Day at all. Opening Day is for new beginnings. Everyone is still in it, everyone has a chance. Sure, it's unrealistic to expect a World Series parade in November down J street this year, but that doesn't mean we can't at least enjoy the fantasy for a little bit longer.

Ownership is in upheaval, they have the lowest payroll in baseball and have jettisoned 3 of their best and most popular players in the past 2 years. So yes, there are real reasons to be cynical. A 5-3 loss to the Dodgers on Opening Day is not one of them. With that being said, here are the silver linings from Opening Day. Deep breaths everyone, we got 161 of these to go:

- The first 3 innings of Edison Volquez: He lost his control in the 4th. In part due to a shrinking strike zone but Volquez was unable to mentally handle being squeezed. But before that, the guy was lights out. He was both high risk/high reward on Opening Day but I was encouraged by the high reward part. As he becomes more comfortable in Petco and a year with Balsley, I'm confident that the first 3 innings of Volquez will be more the guy we see.

- Cam Maybin: Boom Stick! 7th longest HR in Petco Park history. Win or lose, that was just a fun moment.

- Yonder Alonso: Got robbed of a base hit by Dee Gordon. But he hit the ball well. And played a pretty nice first base I thought.

- Jesus Guzman: 2 out hits will get you to Heaven. Got the Padres on the board for the first time this year with his 2-out double. He is suspect in the field without question. But that guy can straight out hit.

- It's Freaking Opening Day: CALM DOWN! The Padres aren't going to walk in 2 runs and commit 3 errors in a game very often. Unfortunately it came on Opening Day where there is a bigger microscope then normally. But despite falling behind 5-1, the Padres were able to make it a game.

Finally I leave you with this: There were 7 games played yesterday. And except for one that went 16 innings, more runs were scored in the Padres vs Dodgers game then any other game.

A Rising Tide Floats All Boats

According to Forbes Magazine, the Los Angeles Dodgers are valued at $1.4 billion, second only to the New York Yankees.

So by that measurement, the Guggenheim Capital group and their most prominent (though not main) member Magic Johnson, got quite a deal.

But by any other measure, $2 billion for a professional sports franchise is an unbelievable, perhaps outrageous, amount of money to spend. Yesterday the Los Angeles Dodgers became the most expensive sports franchise in North America and the record setting $2 billion price tag more than doubled the previous MLB record ($845 million by the Ricketts family in purchasing the Chicago Cubs).

This is the ARod contract of purchasing sports franchises. It's outrageous but it also sets a new bar for the valuation of a sports franchise. The question of whether the Dodgers are in fact worth this amount of money is impossible to answer right now. They are without question one of the storied franchises in baseball. They have just signed a new television contract which has rapidly increased their value. Frank McCourt is no longer an albatross around the franchises neck (though he is looming right outside the stadium in the parking lot). But they are the second most interesting baseball team within a 30 mile radius and their popularity is paltry in comparison to that of the Lakers and, this year, the Clippers. All of that is likely to change.

But what does this purchase price mean for the rest of baseball? As you are likely aware if you are reading this blog, Jeff Moorad stepped down as CEO of the Padres last week, effectively ending the layaway plan purchase Moores had set up. Per the North County Times, the Moorad group can still complete the purchase the team by 2014. Though it would seem a more likely scenario is that both John Moores and the Group Formerly Known as the Moorad Group will attempt to find one buyer for all 100% of the ownership stake. If you were John Moores, and the team roughly 100 miles north of you just sold for $2 billion, suddenly the landscape has changed.

The Padres are no doubt more valuable then they were in 2009. The new television deal could be worth close to $1 billion over 20 years. Forbes Magazine has valued the team at $458 million, up 13% from last year, thanks in part to the television deal. The Padres are poised to be contenders in the near future, and have very little committed money to the current on the field product.

Tom Krasovic tweeted last night that an MLB insider said the Padres price could reach $700 million due to the Dodgers price. Unrealistic? Who's to say? The landscape has changed. What seems to be clear is this? John Moores sold the Padres for $525 million in 2009. He will certainly receive more than that this time around.

Keep the Faith: Why Frustration in the Face of Failure is a Good Thing

*The last three days have been as excruciating as any three games in Padres history. I venture to say that the last two games far outweigh the frustration of 10/3/10 or Game 163 if for no other reason than the fact that, unlike those two teams, this team provides little reason for hope. This culminated in a "no-hit" bid that really wasn't thanks to the inability of the Padres offense to, yet again, push across even 1 run. I have been searching for the words to encapsulate these feelings over the past 48 hours but have found nothing that could be considered coherent. Luckily, occasional Left Coast Bias contributor David Israel found those words.

Guest column by Left Coast Bias contributor David Israel

A little bit of background: I have been a Padres fan for as long as I have been cognizant of MLB’s existence- sadly, those began around the time of the 1993 fire sale. I was at Tony’s last game due to the September 11 schedule re-shuffle, I remember the run to the World Series in ‘98 (and still have the t-shirt that looks like a team photo to prove it), the hopeful years of the early 2000s, and still rue the momentous Game 163, otherwise known as the game where we are all still waiting for Matt Holiday to touch home plate. What is important here is that all I have ever known as a Padres fan is some level of futility, watching players leave town in their primes.

Being a fan of the Padres is like being in on an inside joke. Fans of other teams don’t quite get it, but for us, staying loyal to the Friars is something we will continue to do, and something we see as a badge of pride. Over the years, we have Believed in the Padres, Kept the Faith, and gotten chills at the sound of the ominous ringing bell.

And, all of this is why the last two games have stung as badly as any series of Padres baseball has. To fail to score in two straight games may be a hallmark of recent Padres baseball, but to do it against the Dodgers, while only allowing one run each game, is pathetic, and frustrating beyond anything this side of the aforementioned G163. What every fan knew (and expressed on twitter before and as it was occurring) was that for the no-hitter to be possible, it would take more than nine innings. We knew it before the announcers thought to mention it (although since it was Joe Buck, that’s not saying much), and that’s the worst part. We had no reason to hope.

We have seen a Padres team in transition the first half of the 2011 season. Early, it was easy to criticize, as players like Hawpe and Cantu didn’t even seem to be trying. It was easy to distance ourselves as fans; only Ryan Ludwick seemed to be taking his poor performance personally. With more and more players on Twitter, interacting with fans, it’s easier to see the effort of young guys Cameron Maybin and Anthony Rizzo; which makes it that much harder to hate the on field product.

One last note: as fans, we really shouldn’t be as frustrated as we are, but the fact that we do all feel the need to shout at the TV is good. Hear me out- the Padres came in to the season with no real expectations of being a playoff team again. We all knew they outperformed last year, and that even with Adrian, the playoffs were unlikely this year. Yet, we care about a season that we never really should have even hoped for. So we continue to Believe in our Padres, and Keep the Faith. And that’s a good thing.

The Etiquette of Booing: Part II

In 2008, one of the earliest post I wrote for this blog was on the etiquette of booing. In that post, the situation was specific to booing Trevor Hoffman. The basic point was that Trevor Hoffman had earned our respect and a blown save here or there was not worth the fans of San Diego booing him.


Today, this argument was renewed. After yesterday's 7-0 loss to Atlanta yesterday, Petco Park was filled with boo's. To the point that Orlando Hudson responded, reportedly saying, "That's why they're fans, they couldn't cut it in high school or college baseball & you don't boo the home team."

Let's take this in a couple steps.

1) Orlando Hudson is not Trevor Hoffman. It's a rare player that earns the respect and does not deserve to be booed, absent serious misconduct. Tony Gwynn and Trevor Hoffman are probably the only two players in Padres history that are on that level. Orlando Hudson has been a Padres for only a few months. And let's be frank, the first regular season month of Hudson's career in San Diego has been less than stellar for the team.

2) There's a debate amongst fans whether fans should boo the home team. A debate that I'm sure they snicker at in Philadelphia and New York. But I like not being a fan of Philadelphia and New York, in part because we don't turn on our team at every bad moment. Does that mean a teams fan base is NEVER allowed to boo? I beg to differ. Philadelphia and New York boo too much but that's not to say there isn't a time and a place. That time and place is...

- 7 shutouts in 25 games in 2011 (12 shutouts in all of 2010)
- .208 team BA, good for last in ML. 213 SO, most in MLB
- And of course, the oft discussed BA/RISP of .172

3) There is a difference in booing a player or team you don't like (see: Cleveland with Lebron) and fans booing out of frustration. It is my belief that what happened Wednesday is the latter. And Orlando Hudson's reaction was an extension of that frustration.

I don't believe for a second that the player's aren't doing everything they can to start winning games. Probably trying too hard ultimately. I don't for a second think that these players aren't playing 100% and aren't more frustrated than any fans are. So I get Hudson's venting. What I don't agree with is Hudson's opinion that fans are not allowed to boo simply because they cannot play at a MLB level.

I'm not a booer unless I don't like the player or team. I don't boo my own teams no matter how frustrated I get. But I don't have a problem with fans doing it if they need to vent. Within reason. And through the first 25 games, we are well within that reason.

The fact of the matter is, I've been a bigger fan of the Padres longer than Orland Hudson has been. Or Brad Hawpe, or frankly any member of the Padres this year. So yes, I may not be talented enough to play at the MLB level. But I'm emotionally invested enough that if I'm frustrated by the teams play, I can let out a groan or a sigh or even, yes, a boo.

Everybody's frustrated, from the players to the GM to the fans. Brighter days are ahead, this I know. And no disrespect was meant toward any player individually or personally. And hey, I like Orlando Hudson. I give him a pass on this. He's a stand up guy, great in the community and a fun guy in the clubhouse by all accounts.

So let's chalk all this up to frustration. And take that frustration out on Los Angeles.

The Two Day Game

"It's late, but it's early." - Vin Scully

The Padres and Dodgers pulled their best John Isner/Nicholas Mahut impression last night/tonight.

Something tells me that we will remember this game much like we remember the 22 inning game.

Not necessarily fondly but with an almost "wow, remember that game?"

I remember watching all 22 innings of that game. Bleary eyed, loopy, and increasingly losing interest in who won only that someone would win. I also recall Mudcat throwing paper at fans in the stands below the booth. It was a crazy night. What is perhaps forgotten from that game however, is the minor tailspin the Padres went into after that game. Immediately following the 22 inning marathon, the Padres went to Arizona and Houston before returning home to San Francisco. They lost 7 of their next 8, due in part to a clearly taxed pitching staff.

In 2009, the Padres played another epically long game, an 18 inning affair vs the Diamondbacks in which San Diego scored 5 runs in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game only to lose the game 9 innings later. The losing pitcher that night: Josh Wilson, a utility infielder.

But neither of those games can match the actually, real time length of the Padres vs Dodgers game that began on Friday, April 8th and concluded on Saturday, April 9th. This was the Padres first night game at home of the 2011 season. It was also the first game that I was going to be able to see from start to finish of the season (thanks to day games and the Central time zone).

Then came the rains. And then the rains. And then more rain.

By 1:00am, the crowd looked something like this:


































So, predictably, after 4 rain delays and a restart at 5:30pm Saturday night, the game went to extra innings. Which is where we are at as I type this. Heading to the Top of the 10th inning, tied 2-2 despite the Padres 6 stolen bases on the game.

So what did we learn during the rain delay? Well, here's what I learned:

- The Padres have had 16 complete rain outs in their history

- Corey Brock knows his Pearl Jam. Fav songs, per Twitter, "Given to Fly" "Betterman" "Chloe Dancer" (a Mother Love Bone song they cover in live shows)

- Umpires apparently cannot read a radar screen. Rain was forecasted throughout the night. After the 3rd delay, this game should have been postponed.

- Cory Luebke is going to be a starter for this team. And probably soon. Luebke came in after the first rain delay and after Bud Black decided to not send Clayton Richard back out to pitch, and promptly struck out the side. In all, Luebke went 4 innings, striking out 5 and allowing one unearned run.

- Dan Hayes (@NCTPadres) prides his press pass more than the chance to slip n' slide, to many fans chagrin. But, he is a big Big Lebowski fan, so I guess we'll call it even.

- And finally, a rumor that free beer was being served at Petco during the many rain delays. So there's that.

- Oh, and one last thing. The Dodgers won 4-2, in 11 innings.

See you all in a half hour!