Planning Your 2012 Padres Road Trip

The San Diego Padres 2012 season schedule was officially unveiled today, providing all fans a momentary distraction from the Padres 2011 season (mercifully).

And while there will be plenty of time to look at the schedule from a strategic standpoint, or look for key series late in the season (hopefully), today is about party planning.

Road trip party planning.

The 2011 Padres interleague schedule gave fans two great excuses for travelling. Road games in Minnesota (and new Target Field) and Boston were quickly seized upon by fans. Including myself, who took the once every 6 years opportunity to travel to Boston (a city I had never been before) and take in a game at Fenway (also a first, obviously).

So, looking ahead, what road trips are most enticing for Padres fans? Let's take a look at some of the road trip opportunities that stuck out to me:

May 11-15
@Philadelphia; @Washington
This is the trip for you history buffs. Two of the most historic cities in American history in back-to-back series. Plus the potential to see Strasburg in person and the (relatively) new Nationals Park. The downside...Phillies fans. Batteries not included.

May 24 - 30
@New York Mets; @Chicago Cubs
If history isn't your thing, then perhaps visiting two of the most iconic cities in America will be. Take in a Broadway show, walk Central Park and check out Citi Field for the first time. Then head West to historic Wrigley Field (a stadium that should move immediately to the top of your baseball stadium bucket list if you haven't been) and enjoy deep dish pizza, Chicago hot dogs and a fan base more depressed than our own. This trip will help you finally decide, once and for all, New York Pizza or Chicago Deep Dish Pizza.

June 12 - 17
@Seattle; @Oakland
Interleague! While Oakland doesn't have the same sex appeal as Minnesota or Boston, hey, it's interleague! A little Pacific Northwest trip where you can take in fresh salmon, grunge music and spend all your time in San Francisco while "visiting" Oakland. Also, watch the Vedder Cup, Year 2, in person!

July 27-29
@Miami
I read that the Florida Marlins are changing their name to Miami as of next year. One step closer to Back to the Future, Part II being true! Brand new stadium, fun dining and nightlife city, possible hurricanes. This trip has it all!

August 10-12
@Pittsburgh
Long considered, by those that have been, as one of the great ballparks in America. I'm pretty sure they put french fries in their sandwiches in Pittsburgh as well. So there's that.

And of course the usual array of NL West cities. Personally, I have yet to make it to Denver or San Fran for a game (blasphemy, I know). A problem I hope to rectify in the 2012 season.

So pack your bags, buy those plane tickets, and I'll see you all on the road!

Meet the Mets, Greet the Mets, Come on Everybody and SWEEP THE METS!!!

Well, things have gotten a little bit interesting suddenly. While the Padres remain 9 games below .500, the prospect of ever even sniffing .500 suddenly does not seem laughable. Thanks in part to a 5 game winning streak that includes a 4 game sweep of the suddenly nose-diving Mets, the Padres find themselves in a spot that they have not been in since the first week of April: hopefully.

Last year, I hated seeing Tony Clark coming to the plate. Hated it more when Chris Young was pitching. For some reason, I felt like Clark was a consistent Padre killer. So when they signed Clark last winter I thought "great, a big thumper off the bench." Up until Sunday that "thumping" had not materialized. Apparently he only needed to face the National League's best closer (statistically speaking of course, we know where the real best closer resides!) in a full count, down by 2 with 2 guys on situation. Tony Clark's homerun capped an improbable sweep, winning 3 games 2-1 (including beating Johan Santana) then rebounding on Sunday from down 3 in the first to immediately get those runs back in the bottom half of the 1st. Now the Dodgers come to town and the Padres have a chance to move into third. 6.5 GB and 9 from .500. If this team is at .500 by the All-Star Break and within 5 games, things will get very interesting indeed.

Headley Watch: Word is that Headley will finally and mercifully make a Padres debut when inter-league begins next week. Kevin Towers has said that the sudden change in the Padres fortune has relieved the pressure of bringing up Headley, as opposed to have him come up while the team was scuffling in May and be seen as THE SAVIOR. They still seem hesitant to let him play left though. Perhaps they see something in PMac and Huber that I don't. Hard to imagine Headley plays left worst than those two.

- Jody Gerut has turned it on in the past week and presents a legitimate speed threat at the top of the lineup who is now hitting for average. The power is still not there (although how much power were you expecting?) but getting on-base is, and that has been key to the Padres sudden winning ways.

- Jake Peavy is said to be returning from the DL this Thursday, a day game against the Dodgers, after throwing a simulated game yesterday.

- I love rooting for Edgar Gonzalez. I don't know why but I do.

- Tonight, Greg Maddux goes for the Padres. Somewhat under the radar, Maddux has quietly had a tremendous year, especially at home. The Dodgers send rookie Henshaw who, while sometimes erratic, has electric stuff and a high K/9 rating. Never good when playing the Padres.

Record Day at Petco

I was sitting at Petco Park yesterday watching the Padres/Mets game and as the game progressed into the later innings I couldn't help but notice the score: 1-1. The later the game went, the more it seemed likely that if the Padres were to win, they would win with a 2-1 score, the 4th time in a row they would have won with that score.

But then the Padres loaded the bases with 1 out in the 7th and Tony Clark pinch hitting. But, instead of breaking opening a tie game, Clark grounded weakly to first, forcing the runner at home. This was followed (predictably) by a strikeout. And so it goes.

Around the 8th inning, I started asking my friend how many walk-off games we have seen live. I had seen two: Scott Hairston last year against Pittsburgh in September and 3 years ago I saw Joe Crede walk off a game in Chicago for the White Sox. My friend had seen more, but he is a Yankee fan so his opportunities were greater anyway.

Padres failed to get it done in the 9th inning, then survived a bit of an erratic pitching performance in the 10th by Adams to bring the top of the order up. Honestly, I looked past Hairston's at-bat, seeing Giles and AGon coming up. They never made it. Hairston hit a bomb to the deepest part of the field, ending the game and doubling the amount of times I've seen the Padres walk-off with a homerun, both by Hairston of all things. Padres win 2-1. For the fourth time in a row, for the first time ever in MLB history. A weird, obscure record, but a record nonetheless.

More importantly, the Padres have won 4 in a row against quality teams. They've begun winning the close, low scoring games that were such a staple of past Padre teams, and on Thursday, Jake Peavy returns.

One final note from the game last night. Justin Huber. I like the guy. I think it's cool to have an Aussie on the team. What on earth was that throw home? Wow. He looked very lost in left last night and at the plate. But no, let's keep Headley in Portland (who by the way went 3-5 yesterday).

Padres go for the sweep of the Mets today with Ledezema on the mound.

All Is Not Lost...Yet

An odd revelation came to me yesterday. The Padres are beginning to resemble the teams that won the NL West in '06 and '07 and the team that came within 1 inning of the Wild Card last year. Those teams similar offensive woes but won games behind solid starting pitching, bullpen work and defense. How many times in the past three years have we seen the Padres win 2-1 games? Up until now, those wins have eluded this team.

Now while the Cubs series didn't go the way the Padres wanted, what sticks out to me is that the games were close (in fact, in the two losses the Padres had leads each time). It was late inning offensive outbursts that killed the Padres (that will happen facing a lineup like the Cubs). Last night against the Mets, it appeared the the old recipe for success in Petco was dusted off. MLB certainly won't be using last nights game tape to sell baseball overseas, but solid pitching by surprising waiver wire pick-up Josh Banks (who know holds a Padres record for longest scoreless inning streak by a Padre pitcher to begin their career), and a hit by pitch were enough to win last night. Pretty? Not likely. Effective? Absolutely.

There are still major holes, major negatives with this team. 2-22 with RISP over two games is not helpful. Iguchi is now out for 4 weeks and left field is a giant hole right now. BUT, the Padres are 8 GB of first, the division is playing poorly, providing the Padres with the best record in the division in May (13-16...ugh). All is not lost. Things will also only get better as Jake Peavy is due back soon, Chris Young will be back providing a rotation that looks like this:
1. Peavy
2. Young
3. Maddux
4. Wolf
5. Banks

And of course, we are mere days away (one can only assume) of Chase Headley's call up. The downside to waiting this long is the enormous pressure Headley will be under when he gets here. The Padres have shown patience before with rookies if they struggle early (see: Kouzmanoff) but the pressure from the fans on Headley will be unlike any rookie has faced in San Diego in a long time. So, let this serve as a PSA of sorts: If Headley starts 2-25 or something similar, give the guy a break and let him ease in.

In other news, the Padres picked 1B Allan Dykstra from Wake Forest in the first round yesterday. I like college baseball but no little to nothing about MLB drafts and strategy's around it. But, www.ducksnorts.com/blog does, so check them out later this weekend for a full recap.

Can the Padres win the NL West? I know believe that answer is yes. But first things first, Johan Santana tonight against Randy Wolf.

Tony Gwynn Heads to the Hall, pt. 2

Let's start with a number. 434. On it's face, doesn't mean anything, simply a number. Now put it in context. 434 is how many times Tony Gwynn struck out. Ever. Tony Gwynn has 9,288 career at-bats and only 434 times did those at-bats end in a strike out. Thats .04% of the time. For comparison sake, Adam Dunn this year has already struck out 113 times. In less than one season. 434 in 20 seasons. That my friends, is ridiculously good. Scary good. Ted Williams once said that the hardest thing in sports is to hit a round ball with a round bat squarely. Few did it better, or with more consistency, than Tony Gwynn.

There are players you watch that spoil you. If you were a Jordan fan, you expect every shot to go in. Tiger to win every major. Current MLB players like ARod you expect homeruns from, or Peavy you expect to throw shut out ball. This of course is an impossible request of any athlete. It was a request that was asked of Tony Gwynn and more often then not he obliged. You expected a hit and were shocked when he didn't get on base. Near earth shattering shock when he struck out and if he struck out swinging...well...it happened so rarely I can hardly remember if it ever did. Of course it did though, but with such irregularity that every time he struck out or popped out it was as if the sky was falling. Growing up in Oceanside began my respect of Tony Gwynn but moving to Arizona made it harder to follow him on a day to day basis. This required box scores (pre-internet of course) that would reveal the numbers but never the story of the game. First things first, check Gwynn's line, and it would be a very rare day that the hit column didn't have at least the number 1 underneath it. Consistency. If it was the 7th or 8th inning and Gwynn didn't have a hit, it was a shock. Just like when Tiger doesn't win a major. Unfair to ask of Gwynn? Perhaps. But he did everything possible to respond to the request.

Tony Gwynn won 8 National League Batting Titles, a number that was good enough to tie Tony Gwynn with the National League All-Time Record with Honus Wagner. Only Ty Cobb won more batting titles (11) than Tony. Of those 8, Gwynn has stated, and for those who remember it agree, the most exciting of those titles was 1989 against Will Clark of the San Francisco Giants. Going into the last day of the season both Gwynn and Clark were batting .333. And in somewhat poetic fashion, the Padres finished the season playing the Giants. That day Will Clark went 1 for 4. Tony Gwynn...3 for 4, winning the batting title. It is games like this when impossible request are answered.

This year Tony Gwynn received one of the highest honors any athlete can receive. He got himself on the cover of a Wheaties box. When she heard about the Wheaties box, Tony Gwynn's mom could only laugh. The scrawny kid from Long Beach, who played basketball at San Diego State (and was drafted by the Clippers) is on the cover of the Wheaties box. What a ride.

In our next posting, Left Coast Bias will discuss the final season for Tony, including his last game which I was lucky enough to be at. We'll also discuss his two World Series appearances and his current job as head coach of San Diego State's baseball team.

News and Notes:

- Statement series! Perhaps somewhat under the radar but the Padres won the series from the Mets last night with a thrilling 5-4 win. The Mets are widely considered the best team the National League has and with their lineup you can see why. David Wright's 3-run homerun last night off Linebrink to tie the game in the 8th took all the life out of the stadium. That life was quickly restored thanks to something the Padres haven't had much of all year, 2 out hitting. Blum's 2 out single scored Greene. Hoffman racked up yet another save in 1-2-3 form. The Padres open a 4 game set with the Phillies tonight.

- Marcus Giles has been benched for the next few games while he works with hitting coach Merv Rettemund. Giles has hit .197 since May 14th.

- Hiram Bocachica was designated for assignment yesterday as the Padres activated Terrmel Sledge from the DL. The Padres now have to trade or waive him. Bocachica showed flashes of brilliance and adds much needed speed to a lineup terribly void of that commodity. Considering the Padres bench is not what it was the last few years, Bocachica may be an integral part of this team yet. Here's hoping the Padres hang on to him and send him to AAA.

- Milton Bradley hit his first home run as a Padre yesterday, a 427 foot bomb to right-center field. For the naysayers (of which I count myself as one) Bradley has been an offensive spark and, as for attitude, so far, so good.

- Someone told Maddox it was 1996. Mad Dog was dealing last night, going 5IP, 0 ER, 0 BB, and 6 K's.

- Chris Young bought every player on the Padres an embroidered robe with their name and team number on the back as a thank you for helping get him elected to the All-Star Game.

- The Padres head to the weekend 1 game back but tied in the loss column with L.A. With the trade deadline approaching (July 31) Towers has stated a major move is unlikely. However, a starter or a bench player may be in the works. The Padres have been lucky with health in their starters, but with Wells and Maddox over 40 and the insurance plans of Hensly and Thompson struggling in AAA Portland, the Padres may be looking elsewhere for some backup help. As for bench help, I think I speak for many that it's time to welcome Mark Loretta back with open arms.


Saturday is the Tony Gwynn Ceremony and unveiling of the first statute at Petco Park. I'll be on hand and give a full report afterwards. Till then, keep the faith Friar Faithful!