THE KEPT FAITH

We have Moved!

2011-04-20T17:12:00.001-07:00

Join us at TheKeptFaith.com simpler, easier and different!

Welcome to Petco, Charger fans.

2011-04-05T11:03:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Petco, Charger fans. My name's Josh and I’ll be your tour guide.

To the left you’ll see former Cardinal home run hitter and current Padre double play hitter Ryan Ludwick.

To the right you’ll see Jorge Cantu and Brad Hawpe arguing over who’ll make us forget about Adrian Gonzalez. The answer? C. None of the above.

Up the middle are three guys we’re just getting to know ourselves. Mr’s Hudson, Bartlett, and Maybin. They’re all new to the team and it turns out they’re the ones replacing Adrian. It's hard to explain, but our offense will actually be better this year, even after losing the only guy who hits HRs at Petco. It's true. All the credit goes to Jed Hoyer, our wonderful GM. Oh yeah! Almost forgot to mention that. We have a likable GM. Good lucking getting used to that.

We understand you’re only here until the NFL lockout gets resolved. But please, grab a $5 beer, stay awhile. You know all those crushed dreams you have of a Chargers championship? The Padres wouldn't dare build you up like that. Our ace pitcher is already on the DL! Less expectations? Less disappointment.

So leave those expectations on the new bridge that lets you cross over Harbor Dr. to get to the park. Oh! I didn’t tell you that yet!? Yep, we have a new bridge. And it cost a lot of money. Here it is:

We also have a very affordable 20-game season ticket plan. (I’m actually on this exact plan! Come hang out with me!)

Opening Day's today. We take on the Giants. Come. Root against them. I know that that'll put you in the minority of the people attending, but do it anyway. We want Maybin to stay awhile.

My 2011 Season Predictions.

2011-03-30T19:15:00.000-07:00

Since I was right about last years World Series winner I have even more pressure this year. Pressure from myself mind you, no one else cares. And I mean no one. However, like always I will do my very best and all of these picks are real. Like the Real World season two. The one with Dominick and the cowboy. Here we go (said as if we you were sliding down a slide.)!

Let’s start with the AL, or as I like to call it: the American League:

AL East:

-The Yankees’ season is cursed on week two when Scott Brosius wearing a long black cloak walks to the pitchers mound, points a boney finger at Phil Hughes and says, “Beeeewwwwaaarrreee.” They go on to lose 90 games and Phil Hughes is turned into stone.

-The Rays decide on a new promotional night for fans where the players dress like their favorite Ray! Evan Longoria dresses like Ray Liotta and Matt Garza like Ray Kinsella, but the night ends tragically when Manny, dressed as Ray Charles, throws a ball into the stands and hits the one fan in attendance square between the eyes.

-The Orioles show a lot of promise in April.

-The Blue Jays change their name to the Canada Blues. They lose 115 games and Adam Lind goes on to have the best-selling jersey of the year.

-The Red Sox have Adrian. (Sigh)

AL EAST CHAMP: The Red Sox. Adrian. (Sigh)

AL Central:

- The Twins officially retire Justin Morneau without his knowledge. When he shows up they just tell him to “go to the booth” where he begins a long lengthy broadcast career without his knowledge.

- The White Sox continue to start a pitching staff that is almost as boring as this sentence. They win 90 games.

- The Tigers give Miguel Cabrera one more chance to pull his life together. Once he doesn’t the Tigers give him another chance and then another one. Jim Leyland finally strangles him to death to which the Tigers respond by signing Cabrera to a 6-year extension.

- The Indians excited by the “hype” surrounding Charlie Sheen sign him to a 1-yr deal as a closer. The one stipulation: He must change his name to Rick Vaughn. Sadly, no one calls Corbin Bernsen. Emilio Estevez is also made 3^rd base coach.

- The Royals call meetings with Major League brass to update their image but all the numbers they call are “out of service”.

AL CENTRAL CHAMP: The Tigers

AL West:

- The Angels announce that the angels they have always meant to represent come from the Mormon religion forcing the team to live by BYU’s student conduct handbook. By the all-star break only Torii Hunter and Jered Weaver are not suspended. They still win 89 games.

- The A’s try something new in 2011: starting a team no one has ever heard of. The idea works great and they end up successfully moving their team anywhere else.

- The Rangers stunned by the success of Colby Lewis move their franchise to Japan and win every Championship till the end of time (May 21^st, 2011).

- The Mariners are a really bad team.

AL WEST CHAMPS: The Angels

WILD CARD: New York Yankees

AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPS: Boston Red Sox

Now on to the NL or as I like to call it, The League That Used to Have Adrian.

NL East:

- The Mets donate $300 billion to Bud Selig’s family securing them the right to win every other game, yet they still somehow lose 114. Someone blames injuries.

- The Braves have a new manager.

- The Marlins draw more fans this year than every MLB team when it’s announced they’ll be using actual marlins for bats. Josh Johnson starves in protest and wins the NL Cy Young.

- The Phillies, now free of Jayson Werth once again gain favor with God and go on to win 161 games. On the flipside…

- The Nationals, now burdened with the demon spawn known as Jayson Werth are forced to build a dome as God continues to rain down hail, snow and lightning anytime Werth starts.

NL EAST CHAMPS: The Phillies

NL Central:

- The Cubs young shortstop phenom Starlin Castro unexpectedly hits 40 homeruns and bats .315 forcing the Cubs into the playoffs. On the way to the locker room he is touched by Bartman and then blown up by Cubs fans ‘just to make sure’.

- The Reds lose 60 games before realizing they were good last year. They try to pull it together, but it’s too as Scott Rolen has already been traded for an older and more injury prone third baseman.

- The Brewers try to trade Zack Greinke after he forces the entire team into depression by May. It fails to happen and Greinke wins 30 games, but absolutely no one is happy about it.

- The Pirates try sooo hard.

- The Astros continue to be a Major League Baseball team and no one really cares.

- The Cardinals continue to have Albert Pujols.

NL CENTRAL CHAMPS: The Brewers

NL West:

- The Diamondbacks hire Kevin Towers and watch as he signs Sean Burroughs to a deal. Wait…that already happened. Um…I’m not sure how I can make fun of that more.

- The Rockies release a statement saying they are no longer responsible for Todd Helton’s actions as he’s now an adult and can do what he wants.

- The Dodgers are all stupid…you know it’s really hard to rip on the Dodgers now that Donnie Baseball is the man in charge. Seriously, as a Padres fan its my duty and I’m failing.

- The Giants blindfold Barry Zito and walk him into a room. They take off the blindfold revealing a room full of hummus, water and an acoustic guitar. They push him down and lock the door. At the end of the season a janitor opens the door to find a decomposing Zito and lyrics to the greatest Jack Johnson song never written on the wall in blood.

- The Padres sign one more aging player trying to bounce back from a terrible 2010, thus putting them over the legal limit.

NL WEST CHAMPS: The Giants

WILDCARD: The Cardinals

NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPS: The Phillies

WORLD SERIES CHAMPS: The Phillies

I’m fully aware that these picks look eerily similar to last years, but who cares? Until we hit the salary cap you’ll be seeing the same guys over and over again. That’s a right purist - we need a salary cap. I want a Pirates/Royals World Series! I want it. And so do you, just admit it.

Here’s to a fantastic 2011 Season! Go Pads and Keep the Faith!

Gwynner

2011-02-11T12:55:00.000-08:00

Nice to see the big man doing a little better.

LA Times Article.

T-Shirt Mania

2011-02-03T19:26:00.001-08:00

Nike needs to get off their asses and make one of these for Ryan Klesko.

http://store.nike.com/us/en_us/?l=shop,pdp,ctr-inline/cid-1/pid-357674&cp=usns_0328071544#l=shop,search,searchList-cooperstown%20heritage

Awesome Story!

2011-02-02T12:10:00.000-08:00

J3oe Chandler found this really amazing story about how MLB The Show is changing people's lives! It's actually really cool and I encourage you all to read it: http://kotaku.com/5746736/how-a-video-game-made-him-into-a-major-leaguer

10 things to do while waiting for Spring Training:

2011-01-27T14:33:00.000-08:00

1) Listen to the Mighty XX and turn it off every time you hear a woman's voice.

2) Read Tim Sullivan's column in the Union-Trib and pray it's about Baseball.

3) Watch Ken Burns' documentary Baseball.

4) While watching it, count how many times they say the word "Padres" (and you can't count "Podres").

5) Drive by Petco and rub Tony's knee.

6) Laugh every time you think about Kevin Towers signing Sean Burroughs to a Minor League deal in Arizona.

7) Buy a new road gray jersey.

8) Wonder how it seemed like Bruce Bochy was asleep from 1999-2006 and then suddenly woke up and won a World Series.

9) Listen to the old Kept Faith podcasts on iTunes and pray we get better.

10) Every morning wake up and thank God you got to watch Adrian Gonzalez in person for as long as you did.

Rub Tony's Knee

2011-01-06T12:01:00.000-08:00

The folks over at Gas Lamp Ball have a good plan. Back in college there was a statue of a Tiger that was strikingly realistic when it came to testicles. We launched a campaign to try to change the color of the Tiger's balls, but didn't have the power of the internet behind us. Spread the word. Ease Tony's pain.

J.B. Smoove comes to San Diego.

2010-12-08T15:30:00.000-08:00

Posted this last Friday: "While I'm on the topic of moves that seem inevitable, have we traded for Jason Bartlett yet?" Well, now we've got him. Our 2001 draft pick will finally play a game with the team that drafted him.

He's a slick fielder, his initials are J.B., it's all very obvious, I'm giving him the nickname of my favorite actor on Curb Your Enthusiasm -- J.B. Smoove. It feels good to have our SS and #2 hitter penciled in. And I'm obviously kidding about the slick fielder part, he's a butcher, so the nickname will have to be ironic, but it's too good not to use.

Jed Hoyer is continuing to take advantage of San Diego's great bullpen reputation in trades... by shipping off the guys who didn't really contribute to it being great. First with Mujica and Webb for Maybin. Now with Russell and Ramos for J.B. I like it. GAB is still in tact with Thatcher, Frieri and now Dustin Moseley backing them up.

Let's hope J.B.'s slash line in 2011 is more 2009 (320/389/490) than 2010 (254/324/350). And it's nice he's happy to be here. His quote: "It's something that if I could have chosen a team, that's definitely the team I would have chose."

Welcome to San Diego, Mr. Smoove. And thanks for bringing along a replacement for Mrs. Eckstein. Now if we can just get Mark Kotsay to replace Matt Stairs on the bench, the hot girlfriends and wives on the team gets a significant upgrade.

The Kenny Powers Career Path: Feat. Scott Williamson.

2010-12-06T16:37:00.000-08:00

He gave us 11 innings of relief with a 7.36 ERA in 2006, but now the man who "laughed and joked" his way out of Major League Baseball is attempting a comeback in Mexico. Here's hoping he gets the same chance Kenny Powers will probably be getting in Season 3 of Eastbound and Down.

Click here to read the outcome of Scott Williamson watching too much TV HBO and thinking "he's still got it."

Emergency Podcast Now Up!

2010-12-04T23:53:00.000-08:00

We gathered over the internet to record an emergency Kept Faith podcast about the recent Adrian Gonzalez trade.

We welcome in regular TKF contributor Joseph Chandler to help make sense of things.

Also listen as Travis once again loses his cool and calls out Yellowcard's Sean O'Donnell.

It's an episode full of sadness, regret and slight hope for the 2011 roster!

Download now and subscribe as things are beginning to get all discounty in San Diego!

Love,

TKF

Here comes Aaron? Here goes Adrian?

2010-12-03T14:36:00.001-08:00

After I came to grips yesterday (read the post below) with potentially signing Aaron Harang, Bill Center's now reporting that San Diego's close to a deal with the former Red. MSNBC picked up the story, too. Brock picked up on it last night. And the conversation is going strong at MLBTR.

I'm not saying I paved the way for Harang's suddenly much closer arrival as a Padre, and I'm not saying I'm the source Bill Center is quoting either. What I am saying is that Harang sure knows how to get crazy on Halloween:

Count me as a fan not worried by the aggressive off-seasons of the Dodgers, Giants and Rockies. By this point, we all know the Giants success in 2010 was completely and totally rooted in using steroids (there's no evidence proving otherwise that Guillen wasn't supplying the whole roster). So now that we can write off their "World Series winning" season, everyone knows the NL West belonged to the Padres. We're the ones these teams need to catch up to.

Harang may not be as sure of a thing as Garland, but he has the potential to be a lot better if he's healthy. Maybin will be an upgrade over Tony Gwynn (R.I.P.) and Denorfia. Now if we can just figure out what our middle infield will look like (I want Bartlett!) and if Ryan Ludwick can just figure out what his swing looked like in St. Louis, then there's no reason why we can't continue to compete.

I was optimistic going into 2010, and if Hoyer makes the same type of late additions he made last year (Garland, Torrealba, Hairston Jr., The Cunster) over these next three months, then that optimism will roll right over into 2011.

Update: I posted this and immediately read an article from Gordon Edes about trade talks heating up between the Padres and Red Sox for Adrian Gonzalez. Maybe this explains our interest in Mark Reynolds. Let's hope Hoyer, Byrnes and McLeod can use their knowledge of Boston to get a ridiculous package if this goes down.

Preparing for Aaron Harang

2010-12-02T23:41:00.000-08:00

Looking through the free agent list, is it inevitable that we end up with Aaron Harang? He's got all the signs of a pitcher on his way to Petco Park for a season. Former ace coming off an injury plagued season looking to rebuild value. San Diego native from Patrick Henry High School. Played college ball for the Aztecs. I'm not saying anything new here. But I am preparing myself for the guy who'll most likely round out our rotation next year.

The "coming off an injury" angle already makes Petco a place to pad his numbers for a season (see: Garland, Jon. Not that he was injured before, just that he wanted some Petco-size numbers).

And the "San Diego native" part (I do have one piece of scoop -- he's a fan of Luigi's Pizzeria in Golden Hill, saw him there last off-season), means a second discount.

His past three years have been ugly after pitching back-to-back 16 Win, 200+ K, sub-4 ERA seasons in '06 and '07... but those also included back-to-back 230+ inning counts. And Dusty Baker wasn't even there yet. If he was, it easily would have been 275+ innings.

I don't know how I'd feel about it. His numbers after '07 make me nervous. It's not like Garland where you knew what you were getting. If he's healthy (and Luigi's Pizzeria is not a place for healthy), then there's a chance we could see '06 and '07 Harang if we sign him. But if being in San Diego means extra trips to Luigi's and extra pounds to his 6'7", 260 lb. frame, then we'll probably be seeing the guy who's looked washed up since '08.

Here's hoping to the first Aaron Harang and a rotation of Mat Latos, Clayton Richard, healthy Aaron Harang, Tim Stauffer and Cory Luebke in 2011.

Just so it's clear, I'd rather spend the money on Brandon Webb, Erik Bedard, Brad Penny, or even Rich Harden. But Aaron Harang seems like the guy who'll end up giving us the biggest discount. And I've comes to terms with the fact that we're a team who bargain shops.

But while I'm on the topic of moves that seem inevitable, have we traded for Jason Bartlett yet?

Jet-Ah!

2010-12-01T12:04:00.000-08:00

The fine folks at The Beckett Blog photoshopped Jeter onto every team in the majors. Check it out here.

I say we make it happen.

The Return of Hoffman?

2010-11-24T09:40:00.000-08:00

Buster Olney speculated the return of Trevor Hoffman to the Padres in his column this morning. He cites the move as a potential PR balance if Adrian and Heath are traded by next July's trade deadline. He also says a number of baseball executives are certain Trevor will be back at Petco next season.

Now, I did my share of Hoffman-bashing during the '08 season when he seemed incapable of closing out a game. And I didn't mind when Towers lowballed him with an offer that eventually drove him to the Brewers.

But, I'm just gonna go ahead and say it, I want Trevor Hoffman back.

And I want Heath Bell traded before February, not July.

Putting Hoffman back in the closer role for a final, farewell season -- and I only want this deal if Trevor announces it as his last season -- would surely reinvigorate the 43-year-old, right? He gets to go out on good terms with the team whose hat he'll be wearing in Cooperstown. And he'll have a chance at a little revenge with the guys who pushed him out (Towers and Alderson) each time the Padres visit Chase Field and Citi Field.

The best part is now that he's had his fair share of humble pie (I'd say he's pretty stuffed by now) from setting up John Axford on the Brewers for a season, then the transition back to set-up with either Mike Adams or Luke Gregerson stepping up to close is that much easier if Hoffman stumbles throughout April and May.

And if you use Trevor's first name to substitute Bell's place in the infamous nickname, then our bullpen gets a whole lot more ghetto when it's referred to as G.A.T.!

I haven't even got to my favorite part of this idea yet. Which is trading away a full year of Bell -- getting better players in return and saving money. For the chance to close again, Hoffman won't be too worried about his salary, especially after his shitty 2010. The difference between Bell and Hoffman is the difference between about $6M. That can be used for a Jon Garland replacement. Or maybe spend it on a crate of HGH for Ryan Ludwick.

(On that note -- SEAN -- let it be said that the Giants push for the playoffs this year was certainly aided by Jose Guillen's 3 HRs and 15 RBIs in the stretch, all because of Canseco juice. Him receiving a ring this year taints every ring on your team.)*

*I don't believe that, but it felt really good to say.

Trading Heath Bell seems like the best way to add someone to our middle infield, too. If the Red Sox trade Papelbon, then Bell becomes a cheaper one-year stopgap for Daniel Bard, and we can get Jed Lowrie. Or the Rays need someone, and we've already shown interest in Jason Bartlett. How about reuniting Bell with Towers and getting Stephen Drew? Those all seem like potential matches give or take another prospect or two from either side.

The benefits add up. Worst case scenario is Hoffman completely falls apart. But at this point, I think we can assume/hope he'll retire if his ERA climbs near 6 again. Best case scenario of Hell's Bells back at Petco with Hoffman scraping together one, final, quasi-respectable season as a Padre is enough to make it worth it.

And with Bell and Gonzalez entering their final seasons, bringing an old face of the franchise back to replace the new faces might be enough to not totally kill attendance.

Personally, I just want to see Tony Gwynn snap after a game in frustration as the fourth outfielder... with Uncle Trevor pulling him aside and giving him a lecture. (It's the little things when you're rooting for the Padres.)

I apologize to anyone (anyone being Joe) for any whiplash due to my quick change of attitude with Trevor Hoffman. I wouldn't be supporting this idea if I wasn't so confident in Adams and Gregerson. But I am. I am supporting it. I want the all time saves leader back where he belongs.

Hindsight is 20/20 or The Joe Morgan School of Analyzing!

2010-11-16T13:29:00.000-08:00

So at the beginning of the 2010 MLB season I wrote a predictions column. The specifics were ridiculous but the picks were all legitimate. As Q even pointed out in his own predictions column - mine were hard to argue. I was more right than wrong and sans a Justin Morneau injury I could have looked like a friggin’ genius (by the way, I’m pronouncing it “gene-e-us”.)! Let’s have a look back at where I went right and wrong in a new segment I like to call, “Hindsight is 20/20” or “The Joe Morgan School of Analyzing”

The AL West:

I bought in to the Mariners hype. Why? I don’t know, why do you care - lay off asshole! Oh wait, I remember why: Chone Figgins and Cliff Lee. Yeah…maybe I should have stuck with the first response in this paragraph. In retrospect though they didn’t have much competition in the division. The Angels had the best chance, but also had a very uninspiring lineup and lost their best pitcher. The A’s are a joke. The Rangers had zero pitching, and there is no way anyone knew Colby Lewis was going to be a stud. For God’s sake the guy played for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp last year! You know who also played for the Carp? Alex Ochoa. I rest my case.

My Pick: Mariners.

Actual Winners: Rangers

The AL Central:

As I predicted the Twins took control from pretty much day one. What a lineup! As a baseball fan I sincerely hope they can keep it together.

My Pick: Twins

Actual Winners: Twins

The AL East:

The Rays kept the magic of Dennis Quaid going and won the division. Even though I picked the Yankees you can’t really blame me. I was only off by a game and the Rays were one long losing streak away from trading off Longoria, Price and Crawford. But don’t fret Tampa fans, they’ll all be gone soon enough! Oh and how did I know the Red Sox wouldn’t be a factor this season? They are still paying David Ortiz and Jason Varitek. That’s like the Padres still paying Phil Nevin and Jim Leyritz.

My Pick: Yankees

Actual Winners: Rays

The Wild Card:

I picked the Tigers because of my deep love for Jim Leyland. And I feel my Tigers joke was the best in that column. But, it wasn’t like I was out of my mind on that pick. Who would be their real competition for the wild card? Yankees, Angels, White Sox and Red Sox. We’ve already explained the Angels and Red Sox; I had already picked the Yankees to win a division and the White Sox are coached by a crazy person. They were also dumping money into Jake Peavy, which is almost a bigger mistake than Peavy’s Collins Family Jewelers ads.

My Pick: Tigers

Actual Winners: Yankees

AL Champs:

Every year there seems to be one team that surprises everyone and this year it was obviously the Rangers. The Yankees somehow didn’t have enough pitching (and somehow we all knew it.) to beat a team with heavy hitters, which is why I had the Twins getting past them. The Twins have a nice mix of power hitters and small ball guys but also rely heavily on team chemistry. When Morneau went down I think everyone (including the Twins themselves) knew it was over. I will also maintain that if the Rangers don’t get Cliff Lee they don’t make it past the Rays. By the way kudos to Nolan Ryan and Co. for swooping in and stealing Lee from the Yankees. Remember when Ryan beat up Robin Ventura? You always should. He’s a badass.

My Pick: Twins

Actual Winners: Rangers

NL West:

Talk about surprises, no one had any idea the Padres would have played as well as they did. The only problem was that the division was wide open from day one and any team could have taken it - all they needed was a hot streak and the Padres lost theirs at the worst time possible. In the end it wasn’t the Giants that beat Padres (the season series was 12-6 Padres), it was the Padres who beat themselves. At the end of the season they lost control against the hapless Cubs and the terribly bad Dodgers. They did all they could to lose the division, which is why the Padres slogan is “Keep The Faith”. The Giants pitching was just too dominant to ignore and Brian Wilson really came into his own (and spent most of his money on beard dye.) while they picked up rejects and veterans with something to prove. It was a perfect combination to challenge the rest of the League and it proved gene-e-us.

My Pick: Giants

Actual Winners: Giants

NL Central:

Looking back this was my worst prediction of the bunch. I have no clue why I picked the Cubs. Nostalgia maybe? Wishing the best for a tormented franchise? Stupidity? I blame Bartman. The Cardinals had the best chance on paper, but sometimes-even baseball gets bored of the same team always winning. At this point watching Albert Pujols hitting a homerun is about as exciting as watching Rip Taylor throw confetti. The Pirates - pitiful, the Astros - hilarious, the Brewers - possible but not reliable and this all leaves the one team I believe in every year, but no one else does- The Reds. How did Dusty finally put it together? A solid lineup and decent pitching can definitely get you through a lackluster division, but it won’t do much in the first round against the Phillies. If Joey Votto could pitch the Reds might have had a chance. It was the NL’s version of the surprise Rangers just without the Cliff Lee pickup.

My Pick: Cubs (Idiot!)

Actual Winners: Reds

NL East:

No shocker here. The Phillies had it the whole time and anyone who thought differently probably picked the Cubs to win the Central. The Braves surged and Heyward is the future, but they didn’t have enough this season to take down the mighty Phils. Don’t kid yourself however the reign of the Phillies is over and they will look about 25-55% different next season. It’s not like the Mets would ever put it together and the Marlins have signed a deal with Major League Baseball to stop winning the World Series. The Nationals are almost comically bad and even if Strasburg won 30 games they would have still lost the other 132. I’ll actually predict the Braves to win this division for the next three years.

My Pick: Phillies

Actual Winners: Phillies

Wildcard:

I picked the Cardinals to cover my ass on the terrible Cubs decision. Again, on paper I should have been right. The Braves did what they do best under Bobby Cox and won. I shouldn’t have counted them out, but did not totally buy in to the energy Heyward would bring to the franchise.

My Pick: Cardinals

Actual Winners: Braves

NL Champs:

Why did I have the feeling that no one could beat the Giants this season? I just did. With Bochy actually awake for all nine innings and Lincecum the stud of all 14-yr old boys it seemed impossible to get past them. The Phillies seemed like the safe pick especially with Halladay on board but it just didn’t feel right. Sometimes it just feels good to have a hunch and be totally correct. Thank you.

My Pick: Giants

Actual Winners: Giants

World Series:

Based on my predictions column the Giants would square off against the Twins in the lowest rated World Series of all time in which the Giants would dominate and that all seemed totally plausible. They are very similar teams, similar bullpens, managers and franchises. It would be a battle using real old school baseball fundamentals in which the more old school team would win. According to my predictions the only team coming out of the AL that could have beat the Giants would have been the Yankees. That power heavy lineup would have dismantled the soft and scrappy Gigantes. And remember Bochy is scared shitless of the Yankees. Always has been. I have no actual basis for this theory it just looked that way throughout the entire 1998 World Series. You know that look someone has when they have to poop but have to wait an hour before they’ll get a chance? That was Bochy in ’98. Anyway, aside from my correct Giants pick it also just happened to be the lowest rated World Series in history. Outside of Texas no one cares about the Rangers and the Giants aren’t big enough to draw the whole market themselves. It’s understandable but also incredibly upsetting when ‘Dancing with the Stars’ beats the pants off Game 3.

My Pick: Giants

Actual Winners: Giants

In closing I win. I know it seemed like I was way off with some picks, but in the end I’m pretty sure I was a gene-e-us. Hats off to the Padres for a fantastic season of fun ball. It really doesn’t get much better than the 2010 season and let’s be honest it won’t next season. My 2011 predictions will plop in March! Don’t miss it…or do.

Podcast Ep. 014 now up!

2010-10-25T16:14:00.000-07:00

Hey TKFers! Listen in to the latest TKF podcast!

In this episode we dissect the end of the Padres season and we also talk about the Chargers woes as they keep losing!

This podcast was recorded after the Chargers loss to the Raiders, so it's a bit old but we had some technical issues getting it up. We will start with new podcasts next week! Subscribe here

Go to iTunes and subscribe by searching "The Kept Faith".

If you're already a subscriber make sure you leave a comment or rate us on iTunes!

Love,

TKF.

What Happened to the Podcast?

2010-10-22T17:12:00.000-07:00

Well, if you are a subscriber the latest episode is now up.

A full post with description and links will be forthcoming.

In the meantime head to iTunes and search the Kept Faith.

Love,

TKF

Screw it, Red Bull time. Second inning.

2010-10-20T15:37:00.000-07:00

To be fair, I'm pretty sure Heath Bell would give a similar interview in this situation. But this did nothing to remove my image of Brian Wilson as a lunatic. Is it 'cause he's so entertaining that I hate him? Maybe. But it's mainly the him being a lunatic thing.

Do We Also Talk About the Chargers?

2010-10-14T22:06:00.000-07:00

It's a rare feeling to be 6 weeks into the NFL season and not really know what's going on. Usually by the time football is starting up the Padres have been in bad shape for months and looking towards the Chargers season is the thing that makes me feel better. This year, the Padres didn't stick to the program and as a result I was paying full attention to their run. I barely thought about Phillip and his bad attitude or the fact that Antonio Gates played basketball in college. Now that the Padres season has come to a close I find that I'd rather take a break from sports than get involved with the Chargers. Maybe by the midpoint I'll be ready to invest some time in a San Diego franchise, but for now I'm still reveling in the afterglow of a Padres season that I'm glad happened.
In the week after October 3rd (never forget) I found myself wondering how I'd look back on this year. Would it be the ten game losing streak that I'd remember? Or would I always think about the tremendous pitching? Around the sixth inning of that last game against the Giants I went to a dark place. I wondered why I had wasted so much time on this team and why I bothered to care. And I wasn't sure if that feeling was going to last. But here I am, two weeks later and I already can't wait for next year. It's been a long time since I was excited about the Padres and I'm thankful that our no-name team got me there. And the most startling aspect of that is that it's revealed my utter lack of investment in the NFL. I've realized now I was just using it to fill in the gaps. So... go Chargers, I guess. I'm certainly pulling for them, but they're not that important. And that's kind of nice to realize.

Besides, we lost to the Raiders for the first time in 7 years. Why do I want to get behind that team?

Keeping the Faith,

Joe

Dead and Gone

2010-10-04T16:07:00.001-07:00

My phone broke last week, so I have my sister's old one. I'm too lazy to change the sound settings, which means I've been waking up to T.I. and Justin Timberlake's "Dead and Gone" in the mornings. Yesterday, I let the song play as I laid in bed thinking about the Padres. It just seemed right. I'd "been travelin' on this road too long" and the season truly was "dead and gone."

Sunday was my birthday and I was on a quick trip, away from technology during the game. When I got back into San Diego that night, I got the text confirming what I dreaded - the Padres lost. The season was "Dead and Gone," as opposed to bringing "Beauty in the World" like Macy Gray's song had done so many times for me following a Padres win this season. But this was it. The season was over. No more cheery Macy Gray music till next season.

That's when I went to my car and opened the envelope I was putting off opening. I looked at the beautiful design of a full strip of two tickets apiece to what would have been every Padres home game this postseason. I went to 20 games this year with the 20-game season ticket plan and jumped at the opportunity to buy tickets to the playoffs, figuring I'd go to a game per series and scalp the rest. Now I'll be getting my money back. I just hope that doesn't affect the reward points I gained on my credit card.

I don't have the strength to look back at what happened this season. Geoff Young took care of that for me and Corey Brock is already pumping out previews for 2011. To 2011 it is. Time to push on.

I love the steam from the hot stove, so I'm already ignoring what happened and looking forward to how Hoyer and co. handle an off-season after this year's success. And yes, I do count a 90-win season as a success. We now have the distinction of being the first 90-win team since the '06 White Sox to not make the playoffs. And, oh what a shitty distinction that is.

This season had its ups and downs. (So did the consistency of The Kept Faith's postings.) The Padres got to 90 wins. (We started a podcast.) Jed gave us all Ryan Ludwick and Miguel Tejada - this isn't the place to debate what they actually added. (We gave you a Twitter account to follow.)

If there really is beauty in the world, Macy, then hopefully this season was the start of a long run of 90+ win seasons for the Padres. And maybe this was the start of some semblance of consistency in content from TKF.

I'm skeptical of both. But a guy can have faith, right? Yes! Name of the blog tie-in!

Please God (Pt. 2)

2010-10-01T14:59:00.000-07:00

Or not. Whatever you think is best.

Please God

2010-09-30T12:07:00.001-07:00

I don't ask for much from you. In fact, I spend a large amount of my time denying your existence. But if you could do this atheist one little favor I promise I won't deny your existence so vehemently. Is there any way you could put the Padres in the playoffs for me? I'd just really appreciate it so much.

Learning Who I Am

2010-09-24T16:25:00.000-07:00

Tonight is a big night for me. This weekend is a big weekend for me. I have grown up a fan of two NL teams and while that has been laughed at and even mocked by many, there is really nothing I can do about it.

You see in 1983 my parents split. I was three years old at the time and was just about to move from a tiny town in Ohio to a gigantic sunny city called San Diego. My world was changing 110% and I had no idea. How could I? I was three for Pete Rose's sake.

My Dad is a huge sports fan. Always has been and I presume always will be. He played fantasy baseball when no one had even heard of the internet and he took me to my first football game. A pre-season Cincinnati Bengals game in which I met Boomer Esiason. My Dad has always, and presumably will always root for the Bengals, thee Ohio State Buckeyes and the Cincinnati Reds.

It's that last one that has stuck with me the most, although I do root pretty hard the Buckeyes and have even been known to yell at and/or throw things at Michigan fans. But, the Reds were the one.

My Mom also loved baseball while I grew up and, like all women in San Diego during the 80's, had a huge crush on Steve Garvey. We went to a lot of Padres games and of course I learned to love the team that represented my city. I spent most of the summers till I was 16 visiting my Dad in Ohio and the rest of my year in San Diego with my Mom. During the dog days I must have watched twenty Reds games a year, but spring and fall baseball was cheered on at the Murph.

You might think to yourself, well Dallas, it seems to me you should have tried to pick one team and stuck with them; this would have given you something to fight with your Dad about. But, I couldn't mainly because I truly began to love baseball in the late 80's and early 90's. This meant I never really saw a good Padres team live but got to watch a lot of great Reds teams on TV and once at Riverfront Stadium. I watched every game of their four game World Series sweep over the A's in 1990. Sure, I got to see Tony Gwynn hit, but I'd hear stories about Chris Sabo's diving play at 3rd or Eric Davis' line drive homerun. These stories were told to me threw my Dad who made this sound amazing and created a legend most fans only attributed to Mickey Mantle and Ted Williams. To me Paul O'Neill was Joe D. and Tom Browning was Cy Young. They were almost mythical and the days I would get to listen to them play on the radio in Ohio made me feel like I was listening to history.

After the 1994 strike, like most fans I lost touch with the game. I moved on to playing basketball, skateboarding and listening to NOFX. When the Padres went to the World Series in 1998 I found myself being pulled back in to the game I once lived for. What made it even sweeter was the guy playing right field for the Yankees that year was Paul O'Neill. At that point the game was no longer Padres V. Yankees - it was Gwynn V. O'Neill. You have to understand that up until 1992 O'Neill and Barry Larkin were the Reds. People loved them and they loved the city. When Paulie O was traded to the Yankees that year a lot of people knew the era of the Reds being relevant was going bye-bye. As I watched the '98 Series play out and the Padres get pummeled I still smiled watching Paulie O win one more. I figured Gwynn would get another chance, I mean we had a great team so why would we not be back the next year...oh. Crap.

After that World Series I was back and found a new guy to cheer on in Cincinnati nicknamed 'The Mayor' - Sean Casey. I went to the Murph and watched Gwynn and Klesko and Owens and it was great because now things seemed a bit more level. The Reds and Padres were terrible together. I could root for both team knowing it wouldn't matter. That brings us to 2010...

While preparing for this weekend I had decided I wasn't going to go to any of the Reds/Padres games. I would watch from home and quietly cheer for neither team as they are both in contention for a playoff spot. But then like a gift from Randy Myers himself, the Cardinals started to lose and the Reds have taken a commanding lead in the Central. I decided I would go to the games, but I wouldn't wear gear for either side. Then, as tonight drew closer I figured the Padres needed all the support I could give. Half game out and needing to win this weekend series I made my peace with Dusty Baker and Joey Votto and put on my Padres hat and Tony Gwynn Hall of Fame shirt. You're in my city and my city needs this more than you do. I called my Dad and we talked about this series. He understands my decision and wishes both teams luck, but clearly wants another Reds World Series. I can't blame him. I'd like to know how the first one feels.

(And if they meet in the playoffs, yes, my head will explode and I'll probably never be able to speak to my Dad again.)

Let's get 'em Pads!

Dallas' Running Diary Padres V. Dodgers 9/22

2010-09-23T01:08:00.000-07:00

I’m starting a little late on this diary because I just enjoyed some slices from Bronx Pizza. PEPPERONI WHITESTONE! Anyway, I started this diary just in time to hear the words, “Oscar Salazar steps up to the plate.” Hooray.

TOP OF THE 2^ND INNING:

Salazar flies out. Whaaaaaa????
Yorvit flies out.
Ted Lilly is still pitching. Remember when he was on the Expos? A’s? Yankees? Cubs? Blue Jays? I do.

John Weisbarth is doing a Sonic Burgers commercial. How did this happen? I didn’t know he was even that famous with the channel 4 crowd to be doing ads. I mean HONESTLY WHO IS GOING TO GO TO SONIC NOW BECAUSE OF JOHN WEISBARTH?! I am.

BOTTOM OF THE 2^ND INNING:

We’re having cable issues in the house.
So far I’ve heard that The Cunster made an awesome catch. Cool. Cable back out.
Phone call being made.
Seriously if you don’t listen to the podcast you should. We spent about 20 minutes railing on how shitty COX Cable is. They are.
Cable is back on. The Dodgers scored. I don’t know how.

END OF THE INNING: PADS - 0 COX CABLE - 1

TOP OF THE 3^RD INNING:

Headley hits a single.
Stauffer bunts him over.
The Cunster up to bat and he stares at strike three.
The Bobblehead Davey Eck hits a broken bat grounder to Furcal who short hops Loney which makes Eck safe, Headley running heads up scores the tying run while Loney then overthrows to A.J. Ellis at home moving Eck to 2^nd. Them’s the Padres I love!
Oh son-of-a 90’s all-star! Tejada just hit a towering 2-run shot to left field!
Referencing the losses of the Braves and Giants, Dick Enberg just said the players can see the scoreboard and they know what’s at stake. It sounded like he was assuming the players can’t read. I think Enberg half believes this.
A-Gonz pops out.

BOTTOM OF THE 3^RD INNING:

Stauffer is looking pretty solid for Stauffer. He’s looked good all year. Most people think he’s new. He’s not. He’s older than you think and honestly someone that should be washed up in a cellar bullpen by now. He is lucky the Padres like to give players 4 chances!
Minus a single no harm done.

END OF THE INNING: PADS - 3 DOYERS - 1

TOP OF THE 4^TH INNING:

Ludwick looks good sometimes and then not other times. I know that’s not insightful. I’m sorry. There is no other way to explain it.
Salazar smacks a single to Furcal who misplays it. Lucky. 4^th chances…
Yorvit drives a double off the wall. Salazar holds at 3^rd.
Headley walks the bases loaded.
Stauffer up and strikes out.
The Cunster strikes out with the bases-loaded. That is not like him. Air. Sails. Out.

BOTTOM OF THE 4^TH INNING:

The Cunster makes up for his strikeout by making a full layout forward dive to rob Loney of a base hit! Hang a star?
Jay Gibbons? He’s still in the league? Is Jeff Conine still playing?
Stauffer (or The Right Stauff as I’ve decided he should be called till he starts to suck.) strikes out Casey Blake so badly he immediately retires and goes back to his home town in Iowa to be the manager of the Clinton LumberKings!

END OF THE INNING: PADS - 3 DODGERS - 1

TOP OF THE 5^TH INNING:

The Bobblehead pops out to the catcher.
Tejada lines a grounder to Furcal who again can’t handle it and Tejada is safe. 3 for 3 baby! Three Men and a Baby?
Hi. My name is Ryan Ludwick. I run hard? Oh, no you’re right I hardly run.

Corona’s new commercial has the tagline “Find Your Beach”, but I’ve never been somewhere without a beach when I saw someone drinking a Corona.

BOTTOM OF THE 5^TH INNING:

The Right Stauff cruises and Eck makes a huge play.

END OF THE INNING: PADS - 3 DOYERS - 0

The Kept Faith podcast master, Travis Russell, is in attendance at Dodger Stadium tonight. It’s his first time there. I don’t know how he feels about it but I think that stadium is the worst in California. Yeah, it’s old and has history but the fans will kill you and every section is separated. Add the traffic and I’d rather watch a little league game in Fresno.

TOP OF THE 6^TH INNING:

Salazar flies out. Uhhh….
Yorvit strikes out.
Headley strikes out.

Oh, did you know that COX has cable service? Thank you for the info COX commercial.

BOTTOM OF THE 6^TH INNING:

Apparently Tommy Lasorda calls Dodger Stadium “Blue Heaven on Earth”. Dick Enberg just said Lasorda “pitched a couple of innings in the major leagues.” I love Enberg.
The Right Stauff strikes out early Triple Crown contender Andre Ethier. By early I mean spring training.
Kemp swings at strike three. I felt it in the living room! HD changes everything.

END OF THE INNING: PADS - 3 JOE TORRES - 1

TOP OF THE 7^TH INNING:

Enberg: “Oh, the dreaded wave has hit Dodger Stadium.” Mark Grant: “With the amount of fans here tonight it looks more like an undertow.” Ha!
Scott Hairston is out. Strange.
The Cunster pops out.

Hey did you know that Mark Grant and Mark Neely often run into each other at San Diego County Credit Union? I believe it.

BOTTOM OF THE 7^TH INNING:

I’m watching the game tonight at the Nick McCann Manor and were getting in a heated debate about the current Vincent Jackson situation. Nick is pissed about Jackson getting drunk and getting a DUI a day before a playoff game last season.
I think Jackson made Philip Rivers. Nick thinks the opposite. We both agree Antonio Gates made them both.
Really it’s Marcus McNeill we need back. Nick won’t stop talking about Jackson being a drunk. It’s funny. Alcoholism is funny.

END OF THE INNING: PADS - 3 DODGERS - 1

TOP OF THE 8^TH INNING:

Listen, lets settle this debate by saying the most valuable Charger in the last decade is Darren Bennett.
Ludwick gets on base! By getting hit by a pitch.
T Gwynn JR grounds out.

Why do schools for graphic design have the worst commercial graphics?

I got distracted by a bunch of things - like Josh Beckett’s career and the state of my fantasy teams. I’m doing well this season though, thanks for asking.

TOP OF THE 9^TH INNING:

Yorvit opens up the inning with a bloop single.
Mark Grant just said of Matt Stairs, “that guy loves to swing that bat!” and I’ll add, “Mark Grant likes to bankrupt buffets!”
Headley up. Out.
Yorvit lazily steals second and gets thrown out. Well, that’s one way to do it.
Stairs lines out.

BOTTOM OF THE 9^TH INNING:

Heath Bell in for the Padres.
Loney flies out.
Kemp gets a little chin music. I’d love a Kemp and Bell fight. It would be the weirdest looking fight of all time.
He walks Kemp with 4 high and inside pitches.
Heath Bell strikes out Jay Gibbons? Is Kevin Elster still playing?
Heath Bell makes Casey Blake look like my brother Casey and the PADRES ARE BACK IN FIRST PLACE!!!!

END OF GAME: PADS - 3 DOYERS - 1

I’m not sure what happened in LA. They seemed to have it all put together for a big run this year. Torre, ManRam, Kemp and Loney. It seemed like pure blue gold. Then like with all wealthy couples the McCourts had to ruin it. I’m trying to figure out how I can send a Thank You card to the happy couple, but so far all mine have been sent back. Things are looking up Padres fans! Let’s keep this momentum going and take the NL West. Who needs the wild card?

We might.

Am I alone...

2010-09-20T14:29:00.001-07:00

Or does this feel better?

I've stopped waiting for the other shoe to drop, because the other shoe did drop. As much as we talked about it, that team never did feel "right" in first place. Fighting for our lives and the sinking feeling in my stomach feels more natural. It feels the way it's supposed to feel.

The Kept Faith Podcast Episode 12

2010-09-16T17:04:00.000-07:00

New Episode: Taking 2 from the Rockies, was the move downtown a good move? We also talk about the new podcast we are working on "Electric Soup" The Kept Faith Podcast -http://bit.ly/a5uT2P

Whiplash

2010-09-15T10:33:00.000-07:00

10-game losing streak... Sweep of the Dodgers... Losing 3 of 4 to the Giants... One game away from sweeping what was baseball's hottest team.

This is all getting really confusing. 18 games left and the Padres are 1.5 bad games away from staying home in October. But they're also 1.5 games strong for a playoff berth. Which one is it!?

At least The Cunster's looking good at the top of the lineup. Leave him in leadoff, Bud. We've finally got to a place in the season where we have a semi-consistent lineup from 2-6 (Eckstein, Ludwick, Gonzalez, Tejada, Headley), why not squeeze a consistent leadoff hitter in there? If the playoffs started today, I'd want that lineup with Durango in CF, Venable and Denorfia on the bench, our dreamy Catcher duo, and Jerry Hairston Jr. and Matt Stairs as the other two on the bench. I'll save my thoughts on the pitchers I want in October if we actually get there.

The offense is finally showing life (on Colorado's Little League field) and has me excited for the next two and a half weeks. Luebke and Stauffer are making fine replacements for Correia and LeBlanc. Young may be on the roster any day now. And Hairston Jr. and Gwynn are finally healthy(ish).

The win some-lose some-win some-lose some approach may be a little frustrating, but if we can keep winning the games we have to win, then I suppose I'll excuse those ugly losses to SF over the weekend.

PS. I just checked and The Cunster's back on top of the lineup for the second straight game! Unheard of! Sweep 'em away Friars. And then go to Busch Stadium this weekend with your heads held high knowing that if you do make the playoffs, you won't have to worry about losing to that crap team in the first round. But beat them, don't get distracted, definitely beat them too. 'Cause they suck right now. So beat them.

Eric Show

2010-09-13T11:34:00.000-07:00

If you missed this article on Eric Show over at ESPN take a look. Not a happy story.

The Kept Faith Podcast Episode 11

2010-09-09T14:19:00.000-07:00

New Episode: Surviving the losing streak, Why Cox SUCKS & Steve Garvey joins us (kinda) The Kept Faith Podcast - http://bit.ly/a5uT2P

There's Nothing Quite Like...

2010-09-09T10:40:00.001-07:00

There's nothing quite like sweeping the Dodgers to break out of a ten game losing streak.

Cliff Floyd knows.

Happy Labor Day... now go to a game.

2010-09-06T14:00:00.000-07:00

September 6th, 2010.

Like it or not (I don't, for the record), but this Labor Day could also commemorate the day the Padres lose sole possession of first place in the NL West. The collective eyes of San Diego are on Mat Latos - the guy with the tattoo of a baseball stitching around his wrist. He's the guy Friar nation needs on the mound tonight and he'll be there. He tried to stop the bleeding last Friday, but the rest of the team got together and said "Nah, we don't need this one, we'll win tomorrow." Well they didn't win "tomorrow," or the next day, or the nine previous games before "the next day." Okay, the point is they're losing a lot and today, Labor Day of all glorious days, starts a week straight of home games against the Dodgers and Giants. This is the biggest week of the season, so if you're reading this and you have some semblance of a passion for the San Diego Padres, go to Petco and show your support. God knows there'll be plenty of Dodgers fans pretending their season still matters and Giants fans knowing their season still matters showing up.

And let's hope Luebke picks up where he left off tomorrow with those last nine hitters he put down. By this time next week, thoughts of a playoff run may be a distant memory. But they're not yet, so let's get to the park and cheer this team on.

Latos.

Laatos.

Laaatos.

Laaaatos.

Laaaatos FTW!

If it's Yellow let it Mellow

2010-09-03T14:49:00.000-07:00

Dallas has already told you about our trip to San Francisco a couple weeks ago to watch the Padres play in enemy territory. I’ve never visited an enemy stadium when anything to care about was on the line and it felt fantastic. But that’s not what I’m here to talk about.

In the post-win afterglow of our victory over the hated Giants I decided it would be a good idea to get a picture of our posse of Padres fans who had made the trip. Looking at that picture the next day it struck me that every single one of us except one is wearing a throwback version of the brown and yellow Padres colors. The lone exception is Dallas and he’s wearing an orange SD beanie (because he thinks he’s different). I also noticed that of the few Padres fans that were also at AT&T park that day, most were wearing yellow and brown. This got me wondering about why the Padres management is running from this logo.

Over the last decade the Chargers have worn their baby blues two or three times a year. And the same thing was happening. More fans were wearing the beautiful throwback uniform than were wearing the modern ones. Finally the Chargers stood up and made a compromise. They took some of the design elements from the baby blue uniforms (white piping on the shoulder, white helmets) and incorporated those into the every day uniform of the Chargers. It worked. The new uniforms look great and they’ve been embraced by the Chargers fans who now wear those AND the baby blues.

So my question for the Padres is why not find a compromise between the brown and yellow of the 1970’s and now? Even looking at the simple hat from 78, the panel with a different color on the front is a unique design that’s fallen almost completely out of use in Major League Baseball for apparently no reason at all. The Blue Jays have a throwback hat that incorporates it and it is also one of the best looking caps in MLB (but they insist on wearing that crazy “robot” T hat).

It helps any team’s brand to have a popular look. Some teams are able to make their look popular through winning and championships but, this year excluded, the Padres are never really going to brand themselves as perpetual winners, so why not run towards the logo that has actually created interest on it’s own merits. Rappers have embraced both San Diego franchises “throwback” looks. Every Padres fan younger than 35 I know would rather wear the brown and yellow than the “sand and blue.” So why won’t ownership embrace that idea? Instead we’re subjected to camouflage every Sunday and “sand and sand” on the road. It seems like a no brainer to try to modernize what’s great about the old school brown and yellow uniforms. Hopefully new ownership will see the value of reevaluating their dismissal of the brown and yellow. After all, it is a color scheme that despite not seeing the field (except on special occasions) remains immensely popular amongst fans. And let’s be honest, new uniforms would help distract us from this godawful losing streak. So here’s to the new look Padres of 2011 (may they be wearing the new uniforms in defense of a world championship).

The Kept Faith Podcast Ep.10! With special guest - John Reis!

2010-09-02T14:27:00.000-07:00

Holy Chris Gwynn Padres fans! What in the name of Jack McKeon is happening? 7-game losing streak and children's tears everywhere!

WELL you're in luck! Because on this episode we are joined by legendary musician (and SD native/lifelong Padres fan) JOHN REIS!

(Lead Singer/Guitarist from Rocket From The Crypt, Hot Snakes and Night Marchers and Swami from FM94/9)

John joins us to calm us down and let us know there is hope on the horizon we just gotta keep the faith! We also talk September call ups, Ted Leitner and Dick Enberg!

Download the new episode by clicking this!

While you're at iTunes subscribe to the podcast and leave some comments!

Keep the Faith! We'll get through this together!

Love,

TKF.

Drinking the Kool-Aid

2010-08-30T11:59:00.001-07:00

As promised here is the photo that Reid W. made us. We mentioned on the Kept Faith Podcast (available on iTunes!) that we feel Padres fans are starting to drink the kool-aid!

We also mentioned it would be awesome if Tony Gwynn burst through the Western Metal Building as the Kool-Aid Man. It would work, and Reid made our dreams come true.

This should help you get over the current losing streak. Enjoy.

Welcome to the Bandwagon?

2010-08-18T16:48:00.000-07:00

On Friday morning, myself and two other Kept Faith contributors (Travis and Joe) started the long trip north to witness the Padres V. Giants battle for first place. It was all part of a big surprise party for another TKF writer and (unfortunately) Giants fan, Sean O’Donnell. We had a suite. We had beer and we had a prediction to destroy.

In case you missed it earlier in the week, Jonathan Sanchez predicted the Giants would sweep the Padres and overtake first place. Most Padres fans thought this was hilarious, but secretly we were all frightened that this would come true. The chance of Bruce Bochy inflicting pain on his old team for selling him short through most of the 2000’s. Can’t blame him. Who wants to manage Ryan Klesko and Desi Relaford? I would maybe be the only one interested in that job. Maybe. Anyway, the Padres had just swept the Pirates, the Giants were on fire and this was truly the most important series of our surprisingly amazing season.

First off if you’ve never been to AT&T Park, do yourself a favor and go. It’s the best of the retro parks and is full of great fans that don’t want to kill you. Unlike Dodger fans. Everyone attending the game in our entourage, except Sean and his lady, were sporting Padres gear. While walking to the stadium we were treated to hateful stares and playful heckles. One guy actually yelled out of his car, “Eff You Padres!” I yelled back “Thank you for not cursing!” We entered the stadium and were immediately ushered in to the suite elevator, which was nice as we skipped all the commoners’ childish comments. Our suite was fantastic and we had the perfect view to watch Jonathan “The Predictor” Sanchez get shelled. Well shelled is a strong word, how about…handled. It was a sloppy game on both ends that included not one but four base running pickles (One that was brilliantly executed by A-Gonz and ended with a diving tag by the Panda.) and three wild pitches. However, we still came out on top with Heath Bell coming in to close out the Padres 3-2 victory. But then something happened that hasn’t happened in quite a long time: As the seven of us cheered Heath Bell’s final out we noticed that the rest of the stadium was completely quiet. It was like he had just cheered someone getting stabbed. We stood a little stunned by the experience but continued our celebration nonetheless. We knew if we left the suite early we’d be berated and heckled to no end, so we stayed a few extra minutes to look down to the lower section to yell and gloat. This is when something happened to me THAT HAS NEVER HAPPENED TO ME BEFORE - EVER! As I stood exposing my Padres shirt to the lower level, the Giants fans below me started yelling back and giving me some words. It was all in good fun and really both sides were laughing as we were doing it. Again, a tell tale sign no Dodger fans were around. Then, one Giants fan got a little angry and asked me when I bought my Padres shirt? I asked why and he said, “Did you buy it last week?” I replied with, “Yeah!” because last week I did in fact buy a new Padres shirt. Then he yelled back a magical word, “BANDWAGONER!”

I was stunned. I was shocked and I had no comeback. I could not believe that this guy called me a bandwagoner. I almost thought I heard him wrong, but sure enough as I looked at him in shock he said it again. I walked away feeling like someone had just called me relevant. I have been a Padres fan since my family moved to San Diego in 1984 (Good year) and I have never wavered in my support for the Friars except if the Reds make the playoffs and the Padres don't. Of course there was no way this heckler could know this and nothing I said back would convince him. I could yell, “I cried when Mike Darr died!” but he would have been confused and thrown something at me. I was also astounded that this dude was calling me a bandwagoner as I stood in a suite at Giants stadium with several other fans. Looking at the situation he had to assume that we drove or flew up for the game and rented the suite. Is that what a real bandwagoner does? I don’t think so.

The last thing that amazed me was as we were walking to the parking lot we got several choice words yelled at us and one guy tried to take off Joe’s hat, which set me into temporary rage. There is no reason for that fans. You lost, now tell me to go back to San Diego and don’t try to touch me. Starting a fight over millionaires is idiotic. But, at that moment it hit me - we are villains in this city because we matter! We could have won this game last year or anytime during the 2000’s and people would have just laughed at us and pitied our record, but not this year. They hated us - we were experiencing an honest to God pennant race! It felt almost transcendent.

We spent the night walking to a couple bars and getting serious glares and some heckles here and there from locals. One bartender wouldn’t serve Travis in his Padres jacket and hat. It was to say the least - refreshing. I felt like a Yankee fan walking into any stadium that wasn’t Yankee stadium. I felt like the big dog on campus and everyone was pissed because they could not figure out why I was the big dog. We drank the night away and celebrated our good fortune till the wee hours of the morning.

On our drive home the next day it was relatively quiet and most of us spent the trip sleeping. We listened to the day game on the radio, which the Padres blew in the 11th inning, and all of our happiness kind of spilled out onto the 580 east. It only mattered slightly that we were so triumphant and had so much fun the night before. We were now back where we started in every way possible just 24 hours ago. Joe drove a bit faster and Travis got on his iPad to check other scores and highlights. I went to sleep, wondering how long it would be until someone would call me that magical name that no Padres fan has been called in over a decade - Bandwagoner.

Karsten Whitson and his broskis.

2010-08-17T11:34:00.000-07:00

After seeing Hoyer and co. pay over slot for a handful of draft picks, it was clear they were aggressive in going after their guys and not playing cheap. But, in the end, Hoyer said they were too far apart for first-round pick Karsten Whitson.

For a guy who lists his activities as "Baseball, GF, Chillin with the Broskis" on his Facebook page, finishing those GE requirements ended up more appealing than a two million dollar payday to go pro. I'm sure he has his reasons. At least now he'll have more time for...

The GF:

And the Red Sox-loving Broski:

But girlfriends cost money, Karsten, and post-2004 Red Sox fans (as this guy clearly is - he's from Florida) have high expectations in life. Without two million dollars, I wouldn't count on keeping either of them around. You best get back in the draft fast.

And for being a waste of a pick, here's to hoping your career is more Matt Bush than Mat Latos:

Update: Now it's coming out they had a verbal agreement, but Whitson kept upping his asking price. In related news of Whitson being another reason to hate athletes, his Facebook bio reads: B@SEB@LL Junkie, Workin Hard Every Day, Brianna♥ ! Livin One Hell Of A Life. I guess it's for the best he goes to college, considering his Facebook resembles a 12-year-old girl on MySpace.

Dallas' Running Diary Padres V. Pirates 8/11

2010-08-12T19:40:00.000-07:00

I was pretty excited about getting to write a running diary again since it’s been so long since my last one. Mostly my fault, but really it was America’s. Anyway, I had to be late to the game due to some slide consultations I’m doing for a new small independent company called Sea World. I’m joined per usual by Josh Elwell and this time Mr. Luke Marinkovich. I wish anything Luke said made it into the diary but it didn’t. WARNING: Due to my growing affection for this lineup, the following diary is full of nicknames - try to keep up.

TOP OF THE 4^TH INNING:

A nice 1-2-3 to start off my first inning in the park.

Uh…Jeff Krapf is not in the building. The stadium P.A. Announcer is handling his duties and the Jack in the Box game. Not gonna lie…kinda bummed. Where is he? I want to know? Did he get fired cause he dropped a deuce?

BOTTOM OF THE 4^TH:

A-Gonz slaps a hit away from the shift forcing the pitcher to handle it, which he then misfires to first base, A-Gonz running as hard as he can bumbles in to second. Maybe the worst play I’ve seen both teams execute at the same time in a long time.
By the way, A-Gonz shaved. No Krapf, baby face Adrian. It must have been an interesting road trip.
A-Gonz scores on a wild pitch! Is Rick Ankiel on the mound?
I just gave Will Venable a new nickname before he just struck out: “Winable”. After the strike out: “Whiffable”.

END OF THE INNING: PADS - 1 PIRATES - 0

TOP OF THE 5^TH INNING:

El Dorkia up to bat. Pops out.
JHJR singles.
MTJR singles.
I hate the “Everybody Get Up” song!
A-Gonz singles home JHJR! That’s how that’s supposed to work dammit!
Ludwick doubles home Miggy! That’s how that’s supposed to work dammit!
Sean Gallagher (Ex-Friar) in to pitch and tosses a warm-up in the dirt. I like it.
Headley (Lamar) walks.
Yorvit (“Y-To”?) takes a bases-loaded walk.

END OF THE INNING: PADS - 4 PIRATES - 0

TOP OF THE 6^TH INNING:

So a lesbian couple just sat down in front of me. It seems like lesbianism is becoming a lot more social and open. But it kind of sucks because 90% of them are not attractive. It’s like when you were 15 and you snuck into the nude beach and it was just a bunch of old guys.

BOTTOM OF THE 6^TH:

Chan Ho Park on the mound for the Pirates. Ha!
El Dorkia hits a double off the wall.
KC bunts him to 3^rd.
JHJR hits a two-run BOMB!
Miggy singles. Chan Ho…
A-Gonz doubles home Miggy! Chan Ho…
Ludwick strikes out and Headley pops out. Chan Ho.

END OF THE INNING: PADS - 7 PIRATES - 0

TOP OF THE 7^TH INNING:

Cabrera announced at a replacement at 2^nd. Three people clap.
It makes me happy that I get to see Andrew McCutchen play his last season with the Pirates.
Jose Tabata singles. I wish his last name was Tapitio.
So apparently the Padres bullpen (The Penitentiary as Heath Bell calls them.) started the wave that is currently happening in the stadium. While I appreciate their enthusiasm I also hate the wave. Josh and I are not participating. Josh says its cause he’s 25.
KC walks in a bases-loaded run. He is now making the slow walk to the dugout. Friere (or whatever) in to pitch. His ERA is 0.93. Just thought I’d write that.
A Pirate doubles home two other Pirates. Shit.
That was a bummer.

BOTTOM OF THE 7^TH:

“Winable” smacks a ground rule double.
The 20-something girl behind me just said the word “fucking” while on a phone call 25 times in 3 minutes. She also said “she’s not a Padres fan, she’s a Red Sox fan.” When asked why she said, “I don’t know.” Sometimes I hate San Diego.
Dorkia walks.
Scoot Hairston in to pinch hit.
Double Steal.
Scoot and JHJR strike out. Shit.

END OF THE INNING: PADS - 7 PIRATES - 4

TOP OF THE 8^TH INNING:

The refreshed Mike Adams in to pitch.
Strikeout.
Headley makes a play worthy of the Gods!
Headley makes another inning saving play worthy of THE GODS!

BOTTOM OF THE 8^TH:

Evan Meek on the mound.
Miggy walks to start off the inning.
A-Gonz singles.
I lost track of the game because Evan Meek pitches slower than I run the mile.
Yorvit hits into a double play. I’d be upset except for the fact that Evan Meek made everyone want to leave the country.

END OF THE INNING: PADS - 8 PIRATES - 5

TOP OF THE 9^TH INNING:

Heath Bell makes the long run to the mound. Download this week’s podcast to hear my thoughts on his entrance routine. It’s forced, it’s manufactured and it’s almost getting old.
Anyway, he actually stays out of trouble and goes 1-2-3 and the PADRES WIN! CUE MACY GRAY!

END OF GAME: PADRES - 8 PIRATES - 5

What a win and as of today we swept those Pirates! Willie Stargell is rolling over in his grave as I type this. Seriously what has happened to the Pirates? One of the more historic franchises in Baseball history just reduced to nothing. They might move! Where? LA? The Los Angeles Pirates? They could build a stadium in Silverlake and drive out the hipsters. It just makes me sad and it’s got to crush the city of Pittsburgh. They have a rich sports tradition and it’s getting drugged one bad move after another. Yes that was a Ben Roethlisbeger joke.

FIRST PLACE!!

GO PADRES!!!

The Kept Faith Podcast Episode 008!

2010-08-11T14:13:00.000-07:00

The brand spanking new Kept Faith Podcast is up and available to download here!

In this week's episode we talk about Ludwick catching fire, we get distracted when attractive girls walk in the room (one even talks on the podcast!) and we get personal about Pete Rose!

Make sure you subscribe at iTunes by searching "The Kept Faith"!

We're hitting the stretch-run kids, let's keep the faith going strong!

Download the new podcast by clicking on any underlined word.

Love,

TKF!

The Ludwick Era and Podcast 007

2010-08-06T12:51:00.000-07:00

It's been silent on this blog since the trade deadline brought San Diego a new right fielder and cleanup hitter in Ryan Ludwick. The only language I've known for the Padres since I became a fan is cynicism. And this season is slowly chipping that away. I need time to adjust. Maybe I should be adjusting through writing. Whatever, here's another podcast.

Now we're talking

2010-07-31T17:03:00.000-07:00

In Ryan Ludwick, the Padres get more than a .281 hitter with some pop and decent RBI numbers. They get a great signal from the front office.

In organizing this trade that involved Ludwick’s Cardinals and the Cleveland Indians, Jed Hoyer pulled off the first three-team trade that the Padres have been involved in since around 1995, according to the MLB Network. Since Hoyer took over, I’ve been excited by the fact that the Padres seemed to have a plan they were actually sticking to – complementing good pitching with athletic, speedy players to better utilize spacious Petco Park. This Ludwick trade shows that he’s also willing get creative to achieve the plan.

Plus, Ludwick isn’t that expensive at $5.4 million and he is under contract for another year. I’m not saying he’s going to take the Padres to the World Series this year, but a front office with both a plan and creativity is a great start.

The Tejada Trade Via Text

2010-07-29T22:15:00.000-07:00

After the news broke that the Padres would now be dressing Miggy T a couple thoughts went through my head:

1) Is Kevin Towers still the GM?

2) Is he playing SS?

3) I am gonna try to be optimistic.

Josh Elwell then texted me the official news and we had the following conversation via text.

JOSH: Looks like Miggy may be heading to SD. At least that means you get your wish since he'll probably take Oscar Salazar's roster spot.

JOSH: Yep, it's done. Tejada the Padre. He'll share time with Evereth at SS. Maybe even some 2B too.

DALLAS: He can't play short anymore! He's a f**&^ng third baseman!

JOSH: He played it last year. Played 158 games at SS.

DALLAS: How many this year?

JOSH: Come on. That wasn't my point. The O's needed him at 3B. But he's played th epast 10 or however many years at short. He can do it for two more months!

DALLAS: I'm not kidding you - I'm trying to be optimistic.

JOSH: I'm trying to be optimistic too. Definitely not excited. But, I'm pointing out he can still play SS. And he hit really well there for the Astros last year. Terrible this year though. But I'm hoping going to a first place team will excite him and we can get two good months out of it. And we gave up nobody.

DALLAS: True. He can't hit MUCH worse than Cabrera.

JOSH: Another truth.

DALLAS: I would have just rather worked on getting an arm and playing Jerry H. Jr. at 2nd till Eck comes back then put JHJR at SS fulltime.

JOSH: Well here's the latest: They're still in talks on a mystery trade. This won't stop us from getting an outfielder. And they could still get an arm in August.

DALLAS: I like Cunningham and El Dorkia. They have been good. ARM!!

JOSH: A poet! Tejada's quote: "Now I go into a situation where I can get a ring. It's not easy to get a ring. It's a lot of hard work."

It is indeed Miggy. Now you better start working!

Welcome.

... But you got Tejada

2010-07-29T15:03:00.000-07:00

Sorry Josh, but it looks like Miguel Tejada and his penchant for hitting into double plays is coming to San Diego.

According to my co-worker from Baltimore, "It's hard to put into words how bad he is." Yikes!

I want Berkman.

2010-07-29T13:56:00.001-07:00

Now that the Astros have their Lance Berkman replacement in Brett Wallace, maybe that last minute effort by the Padres to land Roy Oswalt will lead to a trade for Berkman - who has absolutely crushed the ball at Petco Park.

That's all I got.

Faaaantastic

2010-07-28T10:47:00.000-07:00

Grab a seat fast, the bandwagon is starting to fill up.

As the Padres head toward the fifth month of the season still in first place, seems fans are finally taking notice. I went to the game last night (Tuesday) against the Dodgers, and the stadium was actually almost full, kind of sort of raucous, and a good 50 percent Padres fans. (As opposed to the usual 40 percent when the Doyers are in town). When Andre Ethier's pinch hit single scored the go-ahead runs for the away team, there were far more groans than cheers in Historic Petco Park.

I'm not the only one who noticed. This guy from the OC Register thought last night felt like October. Of course, as soon as the fans showed up, the Padres promptly lost. Maybe these guys preferred having the park to themselves.

The Kept Faith Podcast 006

2010-07-27T12:30:00.001-07:00

For you Google Reader readers, sorry for the earlier post - technical difficulties. If you'd just start subscribing already, you'd have known this, but our latest podcast is up. Consider it an appetizer before your main course of a sweep over the Dodgers. But not really a healthy appetizer, more like if you ate dessert before the main course. Yeah, that's what this is.

Eckstein to DL. Padres still win.

2010-07-22T11:08:00.000-07:00

And here I thought it was only the 15-day DL.

That's right. The "heart and soul" of Friar Nation is injured. In his place comes Will Venable. Let's get a quick head count on our Major League outfielders:

Gwynn (Jr.)

Hairston

Cunningham

Venable

Denorfia

Durango

Stairs

How...many...outfielders...can one team have? A little consistency is all I want. But with Eck out, it's looking like the trade deadline focus might shift to a middle infielder over an everyday outfielder. Meaning: the Miguel Tejada era may be on the horizon. It's scary. It's not what we want. It's not what we need. But it may be what we get.

My hope is Jed makes a call over to the D-Bags. It'd cost more in terms of prospects, but trading for Kelly Johnson over Tejada is like trading for something good over something bad. And when/if/I don't even care if Eckstein comes off the DL, Johnson could take over everyday in LF, leaving CF and RF for a history-making seven-man platoon.

One last thing. For all of Eck's know-how and the team touting their 41-30 record when Eckstein's starting, this also means the team's 14-8 when he's not starting. This also means nothing either way. Don't show off a stupid number if it's irrelevant. Forgive my Eckstein frustration. But I'd prefer a second basemen and someone hitting in the two-hole who scores more than 31 runs by July 22nd and gets on base at a better clip than .326, which describes approximately 80% of every other starting second basemen. Guys with stats like Eckstein who "play the game the right way" (a favorite of Eck-defenders) aren't players, they're coaches. And for the foreseeable future, little Davey will be exactly that: An extra coach on Buddy's bench.

And while I'll credit Eckstein on his '06 World Series MVP, I'll also credit him his horrific performance in the NLDS and NLCS of that year. He showed up for the World Series, but he also did everything he could to stop the Cardinals from getting there.

Eckstein to the DL. An excess of every-other-day outfielders. Not wanting Miguel Tejada. Wanting Kelly Johnson. Eckstein to the DL meaning nothing to us winning. This post has it all. For any TKF readers disgusted at my disgust for Eckstein, Dallas' Eckstein man-crush outweighs my distaste... and he puts up more articles here than I do.

Little Leaguers of America, this is how to be a baseball player. Davey said so.

The Kept Faith Podcast 005

2010-07-20T13:52:00.000-07:00

Wow, five podcasts, who knew we'd make it so far? For this edition, we'd like to thank the death of George Steinbrenner, the sneeze of Mat Latos, the faulty left oblique of Mike Adams, and the bold statement on Luis Durango's Twitter bio for providing us with topics to discuss.

Click here for the episode and start subscribing on iTunes (please).

Wily Mo!

2010-07-19T17:48:00.000-07:00

Yeah, so he kinda flamed out in Washington over '07 and '08. But, at 28 years old, Wily Mo Pena's the type of player I don't mind signing to a minor league contract. It looks like he's going straight to Portland and we'll see what he does from there. But hopefully (and I'm sure) this will be the first of a handful of moves Jed makes before the 31st. The real significance here is seeing that Jed and co. don't mind rolling the dice on a "non-Petco" type of player.

Because with all the talk of building around speed and defense, making a low-risk move for a power hitter like Wily Mo wasn't expected. Maybe that's why it's fun. And if they think Wily Mo could potentially handle the outfield, than what's stopping them from thinking Lance Berkman could head back there too? (Yes, that's the bat I want hitting behind Gonzo. Sorry, Corey Hart.)

Anyway, here's The Kept Faith's toast to Wily Mo: At least it's not Miguel Tejada.

Oh, and given that he'll be lucky to see anything beyond Portland this year, maybe this is just roster filler in anticipation of trading away a crew of our minor leaguers for someone not two years removed from the big leagues.

Bud Black Signs Extension

2010-07-19T14:29:00.000-07:00

Bud Black will be in San Diego for three more years and it is a great thing. But besides the good news, I think it is important to acknowledge that Jed Hoyer, the first year Padres GM, has been able to work well with a manager that he didn’t hire. Instead of coming and cleaning house, he has been able to successfully curb his ego and make the transition as smooth as possible.

"This news comes at a time when the team is playing well, but my faith in Bud goes far beyond wins and losses,'' general manager Jed Hoyer told mlb.com. "He and his staff are exceptionally well prepared, he embraces the challenge of teaching young players and, most importantly, the players compete for him every night.''

Good job, Jed!

2010: Act II

2010-07-16T15:52:00.001-07:00

The Padres start the second half against the D-Backs tonight. They’re in first by 2 games, and have the lowest collective ERA in baseball. Heath Bell’s ready! Are you?!?

LET’S DO THIS THING!!!

RIP George Steinbrenner

2010-07-13T16:00:00.000-07:00

To those who knew him personally, he was generous and kind. To those who enjoyed the spoils of his leadership, his desire to win and rebuild a once-great institution negated his questionable methods. To his opponents, the era of greed, excess and egomaniacal tyranny he ushered in can never be forgiven.

But enough about the Emperor Nero. I’m here to discuss George Steinbrenner.

The Boss passed away today at the age of 80. He suffered a heart attack after years of declining health. In the 37 years he owned the Yankees they won 7 championships, went to the World Series 11 times, and broke the hearts of approximately 250 million baseball fans, either by beating their teams on the field or reaching deeper into their pockets for a free agent.

When I heard the news this morning, I must admit my first instinct as a Red Sox fan was to burst into a chorus of, “Ding dong, the witch is dead.” I held back out of respect for the dead, and because I was alone in my car and that would have been weird. But death has a way of forcing you to take a step back and reflect on a person from new and different perspectives. Sure, for fans of every team other than the Yankees, it was easy to see Steinbrenner as an evil emperor, lording over the league and screaming, “Cower before the glory that wears pinstripes!” But you can argue that a lot of that sentiment came from jealousy. We all wish our teams’ owners were more like that. We all wish the guys in charge cared as much about winning as we did, and you can’t argue that Steinbrenner didn’t care about winning.

For all his faults, Steinbre …. Gahhh! Sorry, I just can’t do it. Yeah, Steinbrenner cared about winning. So did the guys at Countrywide Financial and Lehman Bros. His creation of cable television and marketing deals exacerbated the difference between small and large market teams like never before. His insatiable desire for free agents drove up the price of contracts to the point where only a handful of teams are ever really in the hunt. As much as Red Sox fans like to deride Steinbrenner, it’s teams like the Padres who have suffered the most from the tactics he introduced. At least the Red Sox can try to compete.

There’s been a lot of talk about how Steinbrenner “rebuilt the Yankees.” I won’t even get into the thousands of reasons why I don’t see rebuilding the Yankees as such a wonderful thing, but I must point out that they were a powerhouse team in a giant market that had simply had a few off years. He didn’t turn a Chevette into a Mercedes. He turned an old, slightly beat up Mercedes into a Mercedes. And don’t get me started on how a guy who inherited his father’s ship building business is being portrayed as “self made” in some corners.

Shoot, I really was trying to keep my New Englandness in check here. OK, I will say this for The Boss: He made things interesting. Over the last few years, as he’s more or less retired from public life, there were moments when something would happen in baseball and you would just wait for the inevitable scathing, over-the-top pronouncement from Steinbrenner, and all you’d get was silence. Something felt missing. His was the Big Brother-like face that you could rail against as a symbol of all that is wrong with sports. Who do we have now, Al Davis? Not as effective since Raiders suck. LeBron James? You racist.

So yes, in some ways I’ll miss George Steinbrenner, the same way you miss the bitchy queen bee character in soapy teen dramas when she gets drunk and drowns, or goes to study acting in London. And in about ten years, when we’re spending $60 a month to watch players earning $4 million a swing play in the Pfizer World Series at Mutual Life Field at Yankee Stadium on the MLB Network, I’ll picture George up on a cloud, playing a fiddle and trying to fire God.

PLEASE DON'T PUT IN GREGERSON!

2010-07-10T16:58:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking of starting a petition and faxing it to Bud Black asking him to keep Gregerson on the bench until after the All-Star break.

PLEASE BUDDY!

He's not going to get his confidence back by pitching in Coors Field after he's already been rocked a bit. Just let him rest and come back strong after the break. He's good, like real good, and the last thing we need is Luke Gregerson getting the yips going down the stretch.

Put in Stauffer. He's fresh. He's sharp. He's looking for redemption.

REDEEM HIM BUDDY!

We need these games. Two games up and we need these games.

Thank you,

Dallas.

The Kept Faith Podcast Episode 004!

2010-07-06T11:54:00.000-07:00

After a nice July 4th vacation we are back and stronger than ever with an all new episode!

The Kept Faith Podcast Ep. OO4! Click here to download now!

In this week's episode we go "live" at the unofficial Kept Faith July 4th BBQ! All but one Kept Faith contributors are in house and take the time to get in on the action! We even have a live audience! We talk about Heath Bell and the bullpen getting snubbed, Venable on the DL and Bronson Arroyo?

Also, submit your Padres song in our Padres song writing competition! The winner will get two tickets to a Padres game this season! And maybe other prizes as well! E-mail your submissions to thekeptfaith@gmail.com

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter by clicking the link to your right!

Also e-mail us any questions at thekeptfaith@gmail.com - we'd love to hear from the Friar faithful out there on an amazing first half!

Enjoy Episode 004 everyone and GO PADS!

Here We Are

2010-06-30T16:24:00.000-07:00

After the Padres lost two in a row I'm sure people started to feel like, "Okay, this makes sense." We were playing a very solid NL team and our starting pitching has been a bit shaky as of late. I've mentioned this before, but lets be honest KC has been through a lot this season and I honestly think he could serve us better in the bullpen for the second half. Middle reliever, less pressure, less mental preperation. Hang out with Heath Bell and maybe have a farting contest - I don't know. He is pressing like my pants right now and it's not going to just magically be fixed. KC needs a drastic move and now!

After our loss Monday night and through this morning I recieved a bunch of e-mails and texts about the situation:

"Well, that was fun."
"The Padres suck.
"Why does this feel right?"
"What happened to your Padres? They are getting hammered."

First off, it was two games and one loss came against Ublado Jimenez, arguably the best pitcher in baseball right now. AND, we got to him. We tagged him for a few runs and chased him out of the game.
Secondly, we didn't lose bad. It was one or two mishaps that could have gone either way mixed with some bad location on pitches.
Thirdly, we kicked the crap out of the Rockies today 13-3!

This Padres squad is tough. They're scrappy. They play full out all the time and it has showed. To get pushed around for two games and come back to win by 11 runs in game three is a big middle finger to the rest of the NL West. Like, hey don't forget we can do this any time we want. Whether we can or not doesn't matter. Why? Because they play like they can.

I probably shouldn't quote musicals, but Damn Yankees' most popular song was "You Gotta Have Heart" and boy do the Padres have heart. Miles and miles of heart!

Padres Fall to Rockies 10-6

2010-06-29T10:14:00.000-07:00

Every time the Padres lose a game I think to myself, "Ok, here we go. This is what the team is really like. That was fun while it lasted."

I have no idea how to root for a first place team. It's so confusing.

The Kept Faith Podcast Episode 003!

2010-06-28T12:06:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay with Episode OO3. You know, stuff happens. Listen here.

In this episode Josh is on vacation, we answer an e-mail, we play Scott Stapp's song about the Florida Marlins and we announce a song writing contest!

That's right we are calling any and all songwriters out there to write your very own song about the Padres! It can be as bad as Scott Stapp's or as good as Sean O'Donnell's! We will declare a winner AUGUST 6TH! The winner will get two tickets to a Padres game before the season is over!

Send questions and submissions to thekeptfaith@gmail.com

And keep listening to the podcast as we'll play submissions (good or bad) over the next month!

Subscribe to the only Padres podcast in the world by clicking here!

We're 15 games over .500 baby! It's a great time to be a Friar Fan!

Bill Center ruins my post

2010-06-23T14:45:00.000-07:00

In his column this morning, Buster Olney asked if the Padres were for real. He answered his question with: "Since July 27 of 2009, only St. Louis has a better record among NL teams." So, yes, it looks like the Padres are for real. Does that mean we'll get to the playoffs? Does that mean we'll get to see what the NLDS looks like? Yes, that's exactly what it means.

I decided to look up some numbers of my own. Last year, our record against the AL was 5-10. Going into today's game with the Rays, we're 8-5. Meaning we're guaranteed a winning record against America's favorite league. Records of years past you ask?

2008: 3-15. (Seriously.)
2007: 6-9.
2006: Andddd, I'm going to stop here, because as I was manually counting these records over at Yahoo Sports, I noticed that Bill Center already covered what I was leading up to: it's only going to be the second time in 13 years of interleague play that the Padres come out with a winning record. Cool. You beat me to it, Center. You want a rivalry? You just got one.

So, to answer Buster's question one more time - Yes, this team's for real. I wonder how Eckstein feels about that...

I agree, Davy. PS. Glad to see you back hitting second.

Dusty! OR A Slow Day In Friar Land

2010-06-22T14:15:00.000-07:00

Well, it's a big day for the second most famous "Dusty" in MLB. The Padres recalled C Dusty Ryan from the minors (the best name anywhere in the system). When googling for a picture, this came up:

Not quite sure what it means, but it's got to be a sign of good things to come, right? I mean it's a naked Obama riding a unicorn in front of the White House. Plus there's a rainbow. Rainbows are inherently good.

Pen-Itentiary

2010-06-20T23:21:00.001-07:00

Heard about this on the radio broadcast today. Frankly, I'm not a fan. There have been much cooler names for bullpens.

I feel like we could do better. Anybody have any thoughts on nicknames for the Pen-itentiary? The Dogg Pound? The Funky Bunch? Digital Underground? Am I just naming 90's hip-hop acts?

I'm Worried About Jerry

2010-06-20T22:09:00.000-07:00

I've talked in this space before about how difficult it is to be a Padres fan living in another city. If you're visiting us because you're a Friars fan you know all too well that these are not the Red Sox or the Yankees. If you don't try very hard, or fork over money for some sort of TV package (I don't, I'm cheap), you're not going to get a whole lot of information about your team. The major networks just don't have the motivation to deliver up-to-date information (Side Note: I was recently watching the MLB Network and they did not show highlights of that night's Padres game for over an hour. This is a first place team! I love you MLB Network, and I haven't watched Baseball Tonight since you entered my life, but spread the love around a bit). One advantage to this dearth of information is that it can offer you some perspective as a fan. It's like if you spend every day of your life with someone, you don't really notice that they're getting fat, but I go a month or two without seeing them and I point out to you that your best friend has been eating a lot of cupcakes and only then do you notice (I probably overwrote that metaphor).

Anyway, this weekend I was in town for The Kept Faith's resident cupcake expert Dallas McLaughlin's birthday and on my drive back up to LA I got a chance to listen to the Padres on the radio. I can usually catch radio broadcasts in LA, but it comes in and out and I'm usually in my car during games that happen on the East Coast, which means I'm mostly hearing away games. And these days the road crew is Ted Leitner and Andy Mazer. Our dear friend Jerry Coleman seems to be staying at home more often than not these days, and that's both a happy and a sad thing. His voice has been with us for a long time and it's sad to hear him being phased out, but all that is an aside to the point I'm actually trying to make. Which is that it had been a while since I heard Jerry Coleman call a Padres game. Which means that I saw how fat he was. And when I say "fat" I mean "old."

It's no secret that Jerry has been getting on in years. He rambles, he gets confused, these things are to be expected. In fact, I think it's a wonderful part of baseball. Hearing an aging announcer call a young baseballer by his Father's name (simply because said announcer has been calling games for forty years) is charming. It's also another thing that is totally unique to our national past time. In football games the announcers make mistakes because their brains are literally failing them due to head trauma, in hockey it's because the names are hard to pronounce (keep reading my columns for more original jokes and observations), but in baseball the announcers make mistakes because we literally let them work until the day they die. And that's a good thing.

But listening to Jerry yesterday got me a little worried for him. He seemed to have the brothers Hairston all straightened out, and he was calling us "gang" just like always, but then he descended into a rant about players wearing baggy pants. It was in the middle of the game, there were even runners on base. But all Jerry could talk about was how these guys should take a survey so they would learn that everyone else thought it looked "stupid" (not a real quote, but close). From there it became obvious that Jerry isn't what he used to be. He continued to randomly interject and distract from the game and I swear that at one point he said something that was slightly racist (slightly, like only someone who had been raised as a Unitarian would notice it). Poor Andy, who it would be tough to label as an "expert," did all he could to mask the fear in his voice as Jerry changed the subject time and time again, but you could tell that he was frozen. I like Andy a lot and I think he's getting better (and I prefer him to Leitner) but he's still getting his legs under him for these broadcasts and riding the Jerry-losing-it-train is not going to help him get better.

I'm sure that you've been listening to Jerry and thinking that maybe he's slowing down, but I'm telling you, I haven't heard him on the radio since maybe last season, and he's gotten worse. I'm hoping this season keeps going the way it has been, because I want Jerry to go out on a happy note and I have a feeling we'll be saying goodbye to him soon (hopefully only in retirement).

PS - Leitner sucks. Like really bad.

The Kept Faith Podcast Episode 002!

2010-06-17T18:15:00.000-07:00

That's right, Episode 002 is officially up!

Here is the link to download it now!

It is also now searchable on iTunes!

We are the only PADRES podcast there is, so it's good to get in on the ground floor!

In this week's episode we welcome the founder of The Kept Faith, Nick McCann, to the podcast team! We talk about attendance issues, draft picks and the question: Do we trade Heath Bell? Don't miss it! Subscribe now to be immediately updated!

Also, you can now e-mail us any questions or comments about anything at keptfaithblog@gmail.com

Let us know what ya think!

GO PADS!

Love,

TKF.

Cunningham? CunningSLAM!

2010-06-16T10:01:00.000-07:00

How can you not root for a guy who sold his Lincoln Navigator to Ice-T?

Between Scott Hairston, Will Venable, Tony Gwynn and Chris Denorfia, we have a lot of solid fourth outfielders. Guys who can make the best out of two, three, maybe four starts a week. The problem is: They're who we're counting on to be our everyday guys. We're winning, so it's not a problem yet. But I'd prefer to not wait for that to happen.

And in the middle of talking about this exact dilemma at the game last night, in comes Cunningslam.

For the record, I did utter the words "Grand Slam Cunningham" before he hit the ball to deep CF last night. But, for the record, I usually try to call a HR at every game I go to. So I was bound to get lucky eventually. Oh, and the Padres record at games I go to this year? 11-1. Thanks for asking.

I want Cunningham to stick. He's only 24. Compare that to the previously mentioned outfielder's ages of 30, 27, 27 and 29. Yeah, we're not exactly running out guys who have much room to improve. But I'm strictly talking about the ceiling of baseball players here. TKF Titan Dallas McLaughlin is turning 30 this weekend and has nothing but good days ahead of him. Happy Birthday, Mr. McLaughlin. (You do go by Mr. McLaughlin now, right?)

Now, The Cunster hasn't exactly raked at AAA this year. But has already proven himself in every level of the minor leagues during his stints with the White Sox, Diamondbacks and A's. Yes, he's been traded three times (in deals for Danny Richar, Dan Haren and Kevin Kouzmanoff), but it's 'cause teams clearly like what he's got. Or at least that's what I'm telling myself.

I just want an outfielder who I can expect to see in the outfield everyday. Our mix n' match batch of guys right now might be getting the job done, but it's hard to expect that to last. And seeing that this may be the first year Cunningham sees more than 80 AB's in The Show, maybe this is the year that Cunningslam carves out a role as an everyday player, too.

But at the very least, he's led the Pads to one more W in this I-still-can't-believe-it's-real season.

Dallas' Running Diary Padres V. Mariners 6/11

2010-06-14T11:19:00.000-07:00

Josh Elwell and I started out our night by heading to Dick’s Last Resort for a drink and some appetizers. The food at Dick’s was never that great, but people used to go for the fun atmosphere and hot waitresses. I can now officially say I have no idea why anybody goes to Dick’s Last Resort. Anyway, we were running late getting to the game because I was trying to finish a tall boy but had just taken a ton of Tylenol for a raging pulled muscle in my back. I was having an inner fight on how much I could drink with how many pills I took without dying. I didn’t die, but we did miss Ichiro’s first at-bat.

TOP OF THE 1^ST INNING

Kevin Correia on the mound for the Friars. If you listened to the first Kept Faith podcast you know how he’s been struggling of late. It’s been a tough year for him.
Correia strikes out Gutierrez and they play the theme from Beverly Hills Cop II over the PA. Um… why?

BOTTOM OF THE 1^ST

So far the music selection at Petco Park this evening is reminiscent of 1989. That’s not a good thing.
This is my first chance to see the Bobblehead (Davey Eckstein) hit leadoff. I don’t like this move. I think it’s a bad decision. It’s a mistake. I should stop writing because Eck just hit a single. I’m a mistake.
Headley now in the 2-hole. Vargas just blew an 87-mph fastball by ‘em - strikeout!
A-Gonz hits into a double play. It’s a mistake.

END OF THE INNING: PADS - 0 MARINERS - 0

Hey! There are some new bloopers on the jumbotron! Holy crap this is amazing!

TOP OF THE 2^ND INNING

Milton Bradley (Former Friar, Cub, Indian, Expo, Dodger, Athletic and Ranger) hits a single and then hits everything else on his way to first.
Josh Wilson, Jack Wilson’s dad, hits a single.
Casey Kotchman having a banner year at .194 pops up.
Correia cleans up the inning followed by the playing of “Funky Cold Medina.”

They play a Padres video from 1992. It’s a splice between the video of “2 Legit 2 Quit” and the Padres from 1992 doing the moves to the song. I’m officially concerned about the evening.

BOTTOM OF THE 2^ND

Vargas is mowing them down with that blazing 87-mph heater! Is Brian Lawrence pitching? For those counting at home that’s my first Brian Lawrence joke of the season (expect more).

END OF THE INNING: PADS - 0 MARINERS - 0

“Poison” by Bell Biv Devoe

TOP OF THE 3^RD INNING

The Petco Red Dog just walked by. God I hate the Petco sponsorship.
The pizza guy just walked by and I swear to you uttered these words “Get your pizza here! Nice warm pizza right here in my box!” to which Josh replied, “Good line.”
A double date just sat down in front of us. Unable to tell how long they’ve been together.

The Jumbotron is showing A-Gonz talking about and showing his two Chihuahuas. “Pedro” and “Princess,” and yes Padres fans he has dressed them up! Forget what I’ve said in the past, can we trade A-Gonz now?

BOTTOM OF THE 3^RD

HEY Tony Gywnn JUNIOR has his average over .200 now! He hits an RBI triple to deep right center! That means a free number 2 at McDonald’s for Tony Gwynn Sr.!
One style that’ll never die by the way: polo shirt tucked in to jeans with a cell phone clip and sandals - no socks. Classic Petco tourists.
The Bobblehead knocks in Gwynn! At-a-boy!
Bases loaded for Nick Hundley. His walk up music is Collective Soul, so… he let it shine and popped out.

END OF THE INNING: PADS - 2 MARINERS - 0

TOP OF THE 4^TH INNING

Hey Padres fans, you can heckle Milton all you want but when he was a Padre in 2007 he was fantastic. True, he ripped up his knee trying to fight an umpire but still…

The kid guessed wrong with the Jack in the Box game and we all lost. I hope his parents ground him.

BOTTOM OF THE 4^TH

They’re playing 311 now. I guess we’re getting a little more musically current (barely).
Chris “Ducknorthia” Denorfia is up and he grounds out.
Ok, so one couple on the double date is very in to each other and the other couple could not care less about being there.
Gywnn JUNIOR hits a double off the wall! Hairston to 3^rd.
It matters not.

END OF THE INNING: PADS - 2 MARINERS - 0

FOOD BREAK!! Josh got some dip ‘n’ dots in a souvenir helmet and I went with some soft serve. Although it’s pretty cold out it totally hit the spot. While we were gone the Mariners scored two runs on a Correia hit batsmen and other shenanigans. It doesn’t matter what, it just sucks.

TOP OF THE 6^TH INNING

Milton hits a solo shot. People boo. Let it go, San Diego.
The double date has gotten a little better. The happy couple is cuddling and the sad couple are showing each other iPhone apps - and why not? It’s not like you paid money to go see something else.

BOTTOM OF THE 6^TH

The actual cops just kicked out a guy from Petco who had a pencil thin mustache and a Peavy jersey. I don’t know what he did, but do you really need a reason to kick that guy out?
Did you know Tony Gwynn JUNIOR is hitting .421 in June and .438 in his last six games? Overall he’s hitting .210.

END OF THE INNING: PADS - 2 MARINERS - 3

Sorry Jerome, there is no way that is the best seat in the house.

TOP OF THE 7^TH INNING

I like saying “Ichiro” the same way Sato says “Miyagi” in Karate Kid II.

It’s 7^th Inning stretch time! The happy couple stood up and sang the sad couple stayed seated. The sad girl just left to “get a beer.” If she comes back in 30 minutes I’ll be shocked.

BOTTOM OF THE 7^TH

Headley hits a double.
A-Gonz walks.
Hundley strikes out.
A drunken man in his 50’s cheers.

END OF THE INNING: PADS - 2 MARINERS - 3

TOP OF THE 8^TH INNING

Milton hits another single. Steals 2^nd and moves to 3^rd on the bad throw from Hundley.
Webb in to pitch gets out of the trouble and ends the inning!

Guess the attendance: a) Crappy b) Shitty c) Terrible

If you guessed all of the above you’re right! The first Friday night of interleague play and we drew a thin 20,049 fans. You should read Tim Sullivan’s’ article about this problem. It’s really good.

BOTTOM OF THE 8^TH

One.
Two.
Three.

TOP OF THE 9^TH INNING

They just showed the Dodger/Angels score. The Doyers lost. The place goes nuts! I can’t decide what I hate more: The Dodgers or the Petco Red Dog.
Joe “Becky” Thatcher in to pitch.
Matt Stairs has been put on the DL. To find out why read this. And while you do, notice the years.
IIIIIIICCCHHHHIIIRRROOOOOO!!!! Pops out.

BOTTOM OF THE 9^TH

Last chance for the chicken dance.
Venable in to pinch-hit. He smokes a single!
The Bobblehead bunts him over to second.
Headley gets pegged with a pitch.
A-GONZ DOUBLES HOME VENABLE! TIE GAME!
Hundley up. All he’s got to do is hit a fly ball… and he does it! Son of a catcher! PADRES WIN!

Man, what a game! I am having way too much fun this season, and I am a constant pessimist. Do we trade for a big bat? Do we make any kind of deal? I like the chemistry on this team. I like the way they play and how much fun they seem to be having. Does bringing in a new guy screw that up? Has it ever pushed anyone over the edge, I mean really? Beside Beltran going to Astros a couple years back. It seems risky. And really whom would we get? Ken Griffey retired and by Padres standards that would have been the first choice. Decisions must be made and quickly because it looks like this team is sticking around.

Oh, and the sad girl returned right after the Padres won. She leaned in and said, "Are we going now?" as her group got up to leave. Then the guy in the sad couple walked by her and gave her a hug and kiss. My guess: they should have broken up years ago.

The Kept Faith Podcast 001

2010-06-11T00:02:00.000-07:00

That's right Padres fans, there is a brand new podcast in town - ours!

This is the first episode of what we hope to be a weekly update on all things Padres.

Tune in each week as TKF contributors Dallas, Josh and Travis give their opinion and you the news on your favorite MLB club!

In this week's episode we talk about Kyle Blanks bobblehead night, Karston Whitson and The Strasburg!

NOTE: This being our first go-around we did have some technical issues. We are aware of them and they will be fixed. Also, by next week's episode you will be able to find The Kept Faith on iTunes!

You can subscribe to it NOW by clicking here: Subscribe to The Kept Faith Podcast

To the right of this post you'll also see a link to follow us on Twitter so click on that now! That's also a perfect way to ask us questions about this blog or next week's podcast. Whatever Friar related thing you want to talk about we will - because this podcast is by the fans for the fans.

Love,

TKF

BIG KEPT FAITH ANNOUNCEMENT!

2010-06-10T12:24:00.000-07:00

Coming today! What will it be? Check in later today to find out!

Love,

The Kept Faith.

I'll Go First...

2010-06-09T10:02:00.000-07:00

You do know Jonah Hill is signed on to play the role of a current front office assistant for the Padres, yes? Old news, sure, but it's worth being discussed at least once on here that Hill's playing Pauly DePodesta in the keeps-getting-delayed film adaptation of "Moneyball." And the role was originally cast with Demetri Martin. I just think it's cool.

Why is this relevant to this week's news? Because I've been hitting refresh every hour on DePo's blog, It Might Be Dangerous... You Go First. As far as I know, please correct me if I'm wrong, he's the only baseball executive keeping a regular blog with insights into how his team makes decisions. Here's his line to describe our second round pick, Jedd Gyorko, "a driven, hard-nosed player, Jedd is the type of grinder with the makeup to will himself to the Major Leagues." Emphasis mine.

Now, off Sean's post from yesterday, I can't help but look at an analysis like this and wonder where the hell DePo's predecessors in the front office went wrong with Matt Bush? Surely this has been asked by a much better writer than I, but how does the horrendous "makeup" of a local high school baseball star go so wildly unnoticed by the Padres brass? He had potential, sure. He was gonna be cheap to sign, sure. But did someone who'd go on to get in fights in Arizona nightclubs, drunkenly assault high school lacrosse players, trash John Moore's suite the day after he was drafted, and stand in a street throwing things at cars while crying really not have any red flags before he was drafted? Did he really deserve being picked first? And here's the better question: Will we ever get through another draft without hearing the name Matt Bush from either local or national media? I'll contribute to ending it... right after this next paragraph.

I want Bush to succeed. I do. It'll validate the whole mess and take the lump out of my stomach that appears whenever his name comes up. And it might happen: After being let go by the Blue Jays last year, he's attempting a comeback with the Rays this year. Out of the bullpen in their Class A affiliate, Bush has four innings pitched (he just came off the DL), a 2.25 ERA and 7 K's to 2 BB's.

If he keeps it up, maybe we'll even see him in Bud Black and Joe Maddon's hopeful Pad-Rays World Series later this year. I wish I could remember where I read this, probably an old MLBTR post, but an "unnamed Rays exec" recently said they hope to have Bush in their bullpen later this year. Probably just a September call-up, but still: The long shot combination of being in the World Series and having Matt Bush as the mop-up man in the opposing team's bullpen is a terrifying, exhilarating, confusing, relieving thought. It would help me deal with a lot of personal shit I'm going through.

Oh, and the Nationals will be on an Arizona/Los Angeles road trip from August 2nd to 8th. Who's coming with me to see Strasburg? Yesterday was magical. My fantasy pitchers are Halladay, Greinke, Liriano, Shields, Garza, Hughes. The obvious question: How many of them do I give up in a Strasburg trade? All?

DEEP (non)IMPACT.

2010-06-08T13:48:00.000-07:00

The 2010 MLB Draft is upon us! The first round is in the bag! Bryce Harper is a millionaire! Can you feel the excitement in the air? NO?! Well that's probably because you are a Padres fan, you poor schmuck. The Padres haven't had a reason to be excited about a first round pick in a really, really, reeeeaaallly long time. For those of you who are aware of our first round draft woes, and also for those of you who are not, I decided I would do a little research to see just how bad our history with the first round pick is. To see what Karsten Whitson's chances are of making a difference.

Karsten, bro. It's not looking good.

Here's a rundown of our last 10 years of first round picks and what they are doing now:

2009 Donovan Tate OF Cartersville (HS)

Injuries since being drafted include a sports hernia, broken jaw, sprained shoulder, and a concussion. We at The Kept Faith have just learned Tate was also recently diagnosed with a "brain cloud" and is on his way to a remote island to jump into a volcano.

2008 Allan Dyskstra 1B Wake Forest U

Currently mashing .208 in single A.

2007 Nick Schmidt LHP U Arkansas Fayetteville

Up in Lake Elsinore, Schmidt is 5-3 with 3.26 ERA after last season going 2-8 with a +7 ERA

2006 Matt Antonelli 3B Wake Forest U

Played only 21 games in the majors, and hit .195 in AAA last year.

2005 Cesar Carrillo RHP U Miami

In AAA this year has a 4-3 record/ 3.97 ERA with 31 K's in 61 innings.

2004 Matt Bush SS Mission Bay (HS)

2003 Tim Stauffer RHP U Richmond Va

Started 14 games last year and was 4-7. Has spent this year bouncing around the rotation, the bullpen, AAA, and the DL.

2002 Khalil Greene SS Clemson

Currently working on his hip hop record.

2001 Jake Gatreau 1B/3B Tulane

Traded in 2004 for 3B Corey Smith. Neither ever played a game for the Friars.

2000 Mark Phillips P Hanover (HS)

Never made it past Single A ball.

In the last decade alone (if you take Khalil out of the picture) 1st round drafted hitters have played 21 games and racked up 1 HR with a .193 BA. Pitchers have made 42 appearances with a 10-15 record and a 4.5 ERA. And those two stats belong to Matt Antonelli, and Tim Stauffer, respectively. Now i know most would argue that the 1st round isn't as important as I am making it out to be. Jake Peavy was taken in the 15th round of the 1999 draft and he was awesome, right?! Even more recently, Mat Latos was an 11th round pick in 2006 and Chase Headley a second rounder in 2005. But here are a list of some dudes who were taken in the first round in the last 5 years:

2005: Ryan Braun, Ryan Zimmermann, Justin Upton, Troy Tulowitzki

2006: Evan Longoria, Tim Lincecum, Clayton Kershaw

2007: David Price, Jason Heyward

2008: Buster Posey, Justin Smoak

2009: Mike Leake and Stephen Strasburg.

These guys are all making a serious impact for their respective teams, with Posey and Strasburg about to be making one or at the very least drumming up a little enthusiasm. Remember enthusiasm? I mean, c'mon, how many of you just can't wait for Tim Stauffer to return to the bullpen?! Huh? HUH!? Now, I'm not saying we could have taken these guys, as a lot of them were taken before we had a chance to draft them. My point is that first rounders CAN make a huge difference, and in the case of Mike Leake, you don't always have to wait 5 years after you draft someone for that player to make a difference. Also, in the case of Tim Lincecum, a ball club who doesn't have a Yankee's type payroll can get a Cy Young pitcher for half a million dollars a year for his first few seasons.

Hey, just for fun, let's check out the next 10 years before that! Shall we?

1999 Vince Faison OF Toombs (HS)

Never advanced past AA.

1998 Sean Burroughs 3B Wilson (HS)

Hit 11 HR's in 5 seasons.

1997 Kevin Nicholson SS Stetson U

Played 37 games with the Padres. Batted .216 with one HR.

1996 Matt Halloran SS Chancellor (HS)

Never went past Single A ball with the Padres.

1995 Ben Davis C Malvern Prep HS

Played 1 full season with the Pads. Hit .239 and was traded to Seattle.

1994 Dustin Hermanson P Kent State

Made 34 appearances with the Pads, racked up a healthy 7+ ERA whilst doing so.

1993 Derrek Lee 1B El Camino (HS)

Played 22 games with the club before being traded. Since 2000 has hit over 20 HR's in all but one season for the Cubs and Marlins, hitting 46 in 2005.

1992 Todd Helton 1B Central (HS)

Did not sign. Has hit 326 HR's and has a career .329 BA with the Colorado Rockies.

1991 Joey Hamilton P Georgia Southern

Played 5 seasons with the Pads. Went 15-9 in 1996.

1990 Robbie Beckett P McCallum (HS)

Had "Rick Vaughn"-like velocity (and control) and was waived by the club in 1996, never making it to the big leagues.

In 20 years, the best first round pick was Derrek Lee. But we traded him after playing just 22 games with us in '97. Todd Helton didn't get the money he was looking for and refused to sign. Sure, Sean Burroughs was exciting when he first got to the bigs, but was soon known as "The Bachelor" because all he could hit were singles. Joey Hamilton could arguably be the best return on a first round pick from the last 20 years, but that's with him going 55-44 in 5 years.

I couldn't go back any further, because I just don't want to know. I did learn that of all our 1st round picks Dave Winfield is the only one to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. He was drafted in 1973.

We have Kevin Towers (GM from 1995-2009) to blame for the majority of the picks, and John Moores to blame for not firing him sooner. Did Towers deserve such immunity because of the '98 World Series? Sure, that was fun, until we were swept by the Yankees, popping our proverbial baseball dream balloon. How did this guy keep his job for 15 years making mistakes like this? San Diego, i would tell you it's like drafting Ryan Leaf, except that it's more like DRAFTING RYAN LEAF EVERY YEAR. To be fair, you also have to give the middle finder to Randy Smith (GM from 1993-1995) and Joe McIlvane (GM from 1991-1993). These two, along with owner Tom Werner decided not to spend the money and screwed up what could have been a Todd Helton-Derrek Lee-Troy Glaus led farm system. All three would have been coming up right around the '98 series time.

Lucky for us, Towers time is over. And while we can't judge Jed Hoyer's record as a GM since this is his first year with that job, a look back at the moves the Red Sox with Hoyer as Assistant GM made are kind of a mixed bag. They did take Jacoby Ellsbury in 2005. However Jason Place who they took in 2006 has progressively gotten worse each year in the minors and is batting a non robust .127 this year in AAA with the Portland Sea Dogs. 2008's draft pick Casey Kelly is 1-3 with a 4.57 ERA, also in Portland. Having said that, I would still trade most of our first round picks for a Jacoby Ellsbury. Or any dude that would actually be able to start in the big leagues and not be a total head case. But maybe in San Diego that's just too much to ask. Oh well.

Welcome to the Faith, Karsten Whitson. Here's hoping you can throw a wrench in these old wheels.

The next Joey Hamilton? Or Mark Phillips? You decide.....

IT'S DRAFT DAY!

2010-06-07T13:29:00.000-07:00

Is it sad that I couldn't find a logo for the MLB Draft 2010? I guess so. MLB is new to the world of televised drafts and I for one couldn't be more excited they started! I would encourage all Padres fans to tune in today at 4pm on the MLB Network and see who the Friars take this year. Not only is it Jed Hoyer's first draft as GM but it's Jeff Moorad's first with the Pads as well. But honestly Friar fans the real reason to watch the draft is you get to see this guys mug for a few hours again:

It's a great time to be a Padres fan.

Kids and The Kid

2010-06-03T13:18:00.000-07:00

At one point I actually traded a Sid Bream card for the one seen above. I still hate myself for it. The 90s are finally over.

"I'm Scared"

2010-06-02T11:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday after an afternoon viewing of the movie MacGruber, which is a lot funnier than you might think, I sat down to an early dinner. I was the first ever dinner patron at The Cheese Shop dowtown. They had literally just opened for dinner for the first time ever at 5pm and I walked in at 5:01pm. My waiter kind of made a big deal about it. Around 5:30pm I noticed I was still the only person in the place, so I asked the waiter, "I guess you're just trying this dinner thing out?" "Yeah, we were expecting a bit of a bigger crowd because of the game tonight." I had almost forgot the Padres were playing the Mets later that evening in game 2 of the series. I walked outside and got the paper to see the standings and read up on the previous nights 18-run romp. I saw that as of yesterday we had the best record in the NL! I then had this text conversation with fellow Kept Faith contributor Joe Chandler:

Me: "I'm Sacred."
Joe: "Sacred or scared? And if the latter, why?"
Me: "We have the best record in the NL."
Joe: "So weird right? Just embrace it and try not to think about it too much."
Me: "That sounds good."
Joe: "There are four more months left. FOUR! We just need to breathe."

While I enjoyed the Pearl Jam reference it didn't ease my concerns any. I finished my Italian grilled cheese sandwich and left. I saw some guys wearing Mets jersey's walking by and had quite the epiphany. Here I am getting worked up over my team, who by all accounts is overachieving. Then there are the Mets, who have a payroll over $100 million and aren't even in 2nd place! My mind went soft. I became like the Ninja - clear of all worry and pain. I need to enjoy this and that's all. It's just a game and we are winning it. Don't think about the future and rely on the past my friends; get out to a ball game and cheer on the grittiest team in the NL while it still matters. The Padres could always be like the Mets but the beauty is the Mets can never be like the Padres. We just need to breathe.

Center Field

2010-05-28T10:04:00.000-07:00

This weekend series against the Nationals has got to be tough for Tony Gwynn Jr. Sure, the Padres are winning close games, but they are doing so despite his poor performance at the plate. In a logical move, the Padres called up a speedy outfielder named Luis Durango from Portland, hoping that he can play good defense, maintain speed in the lineup, and most importantly, hit better than TG’s .179 batting average. Sadly, if he hits .210 it will go down as a good move.

On Wednesday night, Durango threw down a nice bunt and beat out a sub par throw from Albert Pujols, displaying great speed, and allowing Dick Enberg to talk about “old school skills”. I saw this happen at my house and then went down to the Waterfront Bar and Grill to hang out with some friends to watch the end of the game. We sat around and said things like “the kid looks good” and “he looks 14”. The newness of Luis was a much-needed distraction from the disappointing effort put forward by the son of the most important Padre ever. The game ended in extra innings off of a Jerry Hairston Jr. homerun. It was a good time, people cheered and Wyatt Earp’s favorite local bar was electric.

It is clear now that Tony Gwynn Jr. should just go back down to Portland. It isn’t working and everyone knows it. He is a faster version of his uncle Chris and that is all he will ever be. I’m curious though how this all plays out. Does the front office run the decision to move him by his father? Every franchise in baseball seems to have a group of guys that “have to be taken care of” symbolically no matter who owns the team (Tommy Lasorda with the Dodgers, Yogi Berra with the Yankees, etc). If the Padres drop the axe sooner than Tony Sr. thinks is fair, will this forever destroy a 30-year relationship with the Gwynn family? I can totally see Tony Gwynn being a diabolical bad ass behind the scenes in the wake of such a move. The guy got the San Diego Chicken fired and after putting up an illustrious career battling constant criticism of his weight, he released his own fried food powder Batter Up. You don’t have to like everything about Tony Gwynn, but you have to respect his verve.

Hopefully, the Pads keep winning. If Tony Gwynn Jr. ends up in Portland and the team stays in first place, it is not a big deal. Let’s see what happens. The Nationals are in town; so let the endless Strasburg talk begin.

Dallas' Running Diary Padres V. Cardinals 5/25

2010-05-27T10:57:00.000-07:00

First off let me say I was excited about seeing this game for a couple reasons:

I had a great group going with me: Fellow Kept Faith writers Josh Elwell and Sean O’Donnell, Matt Gorney and his Dad and a player to be named later.
Josh Elwell’s countless comments about Will Venable fighting Albert Pujols.

Now, because I had a large group coming I ended up having to wait for the last guy, which meant I had to miss the beginning of the game. It was a bummer but worth it as I was waiting for Josh Kemble - San Diego music legend and current bigwig at Phil’s BBQ (the best BBQ for miles and miles)!

I sat down just in time to see the Petco Pets Bloopers! Wow, these pets are hilarious! And, apparently people will film anything.

TOP OF THE 2^ND INNING

Skip Schumaker grounds out. Not significant other than the fact he has my favorite name in Baseball.
Jon “Judy” Garland just gave up a hit to the opposing pitcher Adam Wainwright. I have no proof that Jon and Judy are related but they both did wear number 27.

Josh is daring me to ask the guy next to me if he’s Chase Headley’s brother. His basis for this dare, “How do you know it’s not him?”

BOTTOM OF THE 2^ND

Wainwright looks sharp.
Oh wait…Jerry Hairston Jr. hits a bomb to Left! As everyone stands up to celebrate I get a nice ass crack shot of the guy in front of me. Like a lot of ass crack.
Chris “El Dorkio” Denorfia strikes out.

END OF THE INNING: PADS - 1 CARDINALS - 0

TOP OF THE 3^RD INNING

Pujols up. He ropes one to Center. Kemble yells out, “He poo-holed that one!” Cheesy yes, but funny when yelled.
Colby Rasmus looks like a retarded Ralph Macchio.
Garland looks really shaky tonight. He’s still effective, but 60 pitches through 3 innings? Auntie Em!

Jeff Krapf on the field doing the Padres Little Star of the Game. As he intros the segment Mr. Gorney sits back and says, “Blah blah blah.” He’s been a Padres fan longer than I’ve been alive, so he can say whatever he wants and it’s never wrong.

BOTTOM OF THE 3^RD

Time to seriously talk about Tony Gwynn JUNIOR’s future. A .186 average is embarrassing. It’s worse than Oscar Salazar and we all know how I feel about him. (Scab! Not actually. But, really.)
Venable smacks one to right and Ryan Ludwick makes an amazing catch! While making the catch he also ran into the small right field jumbotron. So, while robbing Venable he also ran into his face. Is that what happens when someone ‘got served’?