$20.4 Million Guaranteed

Imagine knowing that no matter what happens, you're getting paid $20.4 million dollars over the next 5 years.

And the odds are you're going to get quite a bit more than that. As much as $36 or so million.

I'd be down with that. Like Antonio in the photo above, I would definitely wear a flowy, unbuttoned, light blue dress shirt, with white pants, and strut around smiling.

I'd probably also get a nice house in La Jolla or Del Mar, nothing too flashy, but comfortable, with a view of the ocean.

Then I'd get an apartment in Manhattan for weekend trips to the Apple, just a small place of course, and a villa in either Spain or Italy. Not a huge place, like Clooney's pad on Lake Como, but something modest and nice, with a view of the mountains or a clear body of water.

I'd buy a car too. Probably a Mercedes SUV or a Range Rover. Nothing flashy like a Ferrari or Porsche. I wouldn't want to overdo it.

Of course I'd need to take a vacation to celebrate the fact I'm making all this money. Nothing extravagant. I've heard Brazil is nice, and I've always wanted to see Tibet and Thailand, but I'm not talking a Grand Tour with baggage handlers and sherpas and red carpets. Though that would be nice. I should check on the going rate for sherpas.

All in all, knowing you're making up to $7 million a year for the next 5 years wouldn't be a bad thing.

As long as you don't get all crazy with the spending.

Blanks Getting the Elbow Rebuilt

Our boy Blanksy is going under the knife to have his elbow repaired. Tommy John surgery for a leftfielder.

This a year after a foot injury kept him out of the last month of the season.

Makes you wonder if the big guy is a bit frail. Kind of like Chris Young. Or Yao Ming.

What this tells me is that the Padres need to sign Adrian stat. Give him the 8 years, win a Series, then ship him to the Yanks in Year 4 for a couple prospects.

Get it dun, Jed.

(Oh and go Padres tonight against the Dadgers.)

Pedro Guerrero Was Good

The first year I was cognizant of baseball was the Summer of '82 and I remember watching a Game of the Week and seeing this beast named Pedro Guerrero manning the outfield for the Dadgers.

My first thought was, "Why aren't the Padres ever on the Game of the Week?"

My second thought was, "Who is this monster beast in the Dodgers outfield and why don't the Padres have anyone remotely as badass as this guy?"

The envy I had for the Dadgers with a player like Guerrero wasn't diminished at all when his final numbers for '82 came in: 32 bombs, 100 ribeyes and a .304 batting average.

Though they were a solid squad, the '82 Padres didn't have any guys that reached even one of those benchmarks. Terry Kennedy led the team in all three major categories with a .295 21 97 line. Not at all shabby - especially for a catcher - but not quite the magical line of a .300 average, 30 bombs and 100 RBIs.

It shouldn't surprise you that with a beast like Guerrero the Dadgers had a better record than the Padres in '82 and finished the season only a game behind the first place Bravos.

At that point I never thought the Drinos would ever have any beasts like Guerrero.

But lo and behold just two seasons later the Padres fielded a roster with the likes of Tony Gwynn, Steve Garvey, Graig Nettles and Kevin McReynolds, all solid monsters who helped lead the team to the World Series.

Just goes to show you how quickly things can change. Last season the Dadgers were well ahead of the Drinos in terms of talent, wins and just about any other category one could think of. Now, less than a year later, it is the Padres who own first place in the NL West and - if they continue at their present pace - will taste the playoffs while the Dadgers sit out October and plan for Summer 2011.

The chance to stick a fork in the Dadgers begins tonight.

Let's get this dun.

Bolts Getting Started. Right. About. Now.

Lest I get too caught up in the Padres current stellarness, it bears mentioning that the Bolts start training camp this week out in the Diego.

Oh man this is going to be a wild NFL season.

Just look at the Bolts. They no longer have LT, Cromartie or Big Jamal. Sitting out are Vincent and Marcus and, for the time being, Merriman. Gone is perennial special teams monster Kassim Osgood.

I mean, that's a lot of beasts.

But they still have the firepower to win it all. Guys like Philip, Antonio, Malcolm, Legedu, Nick and Darren will lead the offense. While Luis, Larry, Antoine, Jacques, Quentin and Eric will pace the defense.

And let's not forget the rooks: Ryan, Donald, Darrell, Jonathan, Cam and Dedrick. I like them all, and all of them look like contributors.

So who knows how things will play out. I don't even have expectations.

I'm just going to kick back and enjoy the season.

Keyvius Sampson .... Getting It Dun In Eugene

Of the three marquee draft picks the Padres inked last Summer - Donavan Tate, Everett Williams and Keyvius Sampson - only Keyvius is having a sparkling start to his professional career.

Nagging injuries have limited Tate and Everett and kept them from building on flashes of potential.

Keyvius, on the other hand, is rolling along at a steady clip. Through 7 starts in the Northwest League, Keyvius is 7-0 and leads the league with a 1.87 ERA. He also leads the league with 46Ks and is second to teammate Matthew Lollis with a .98 WHIP. He even threw a 5-inning no no on July 14.

I don't profess to know the Padres' plans regarding Keyvius, but I think he's ready for Fort Wayne.

Ernesto Frieri ... Welcome (Back) To The Bigs

With recent injuries to Mike Adams and Mat Latos, the Drinos looked to bolster their bullpen for this weekend's series against the DBacks.

Ernesto Frieri, the Padres closer at AAA affiliate Portland, got the call.

Frieri's record this season speaks for itself - 34 appearances, 17 saves, 1.43 ERA, .85 WHIP, 11.7 SO/9 - but I like Ernesto for another reason .... he hails from Colombia.

Yep. Colombia. One of our globe's finest countries.

I lived in Cartagena back in the day and let me tell you, there may be no finer city in the world in terms of drop-dead beauty. Ernesto was born in Arjona which is in the same Department - Bolivar - as Cartagena. Probably a quick, and no doubt safe, bus ride.

So good luck, Ernesto. I'll be rooting for you tomorrow.

Jereme Richmond Comports Himself Well For USA

Well played, Jereme.

I see you played huge for the USA U18 basketball team a few weeks ago in San Antonio, helping the team to a 5-0 record and a championship game win over Brazil in the FIBA Americas U18 Championships. Your averages of 10.8 points in 19 minutes per game off the bench speak highly of your ability not only to be a game-changer, but also to accept a role as a super sub, which Bruce may have you do to start the Illini's '10-'11 season.

You're also saying all the right things during your first week on campus, complimenting Billy Cole, your competition for a starting spot, and noting that hard work is the key to success at the D-1 level.

Welcome to the Illini.

Best,
Bevormo

Just A Reminder That We Won't Be Seeing Vincent Jackson For Awhile

Mixed in with this morning's reports of George Steinbrenner's death, the Spurs' signing of Tiago Splitter, Mike Tomlin's extension with the Stillers, Derek Fisher's decision to stay with the Lakers and Big Papi's win in last night's HR Derby, are reports confirming that the NFL has indeed suspended Vincent Jackson for three games next season for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

This isn't really news as reports of the suspension leaked over two weeks ago.

Nor does it matter much because Vincent is planning to sit out until the 10th game of the season in a contract dispute with the Chargers. He'll serve his suspension in games he wasn't even planning to attend.

The Bolts have a bye Week 10 this season, so their 10th game is Week 11, on November 22, at home against the Broncos on Monday Night Football. I don't want to put too fine a point on it, but that is likely a critical game.

VJ better be in game shape and ready to go.

First Place At The All-Star Break

Yesterday, on the final day of scheduled games before the All-Star break, the Padres salvaged a win over the charging Colorado Rackies to finish the first-half of the season all alone in first place in the NL West.

Nice.

I have been watching the first-half of the season with great interest, but admittedly have had my focus drawn to the World Cup over the last month. Now that the WC is over and done with, the focus is now fully on baseball for what promises to be a solid second half of the season.

Yesterday's game, in fact, provided one of my first fist-pump moments of the season, when Rackies' pitcher Matt Belisle errantly threw to home in the top of the 8th, allowing Aaron Cunningham and Jerry Hairston, Jr. to score the tying and go-ahead runs when the ball skipped past Miguel Olivo. Then our boy Everth topped it off with a two-run pop-up bomb in the 9th to give Heath the cushion he needed to close out the game.

What a fine way to enter the break.

The second half starts for the Padres next Friday and promises to be a tense battle of wits and baseball acumen. To hold on to first place and ice the NL West, the Padres need to improve their play over the next two-and-a-half months, no small feat given their stellar play to date. Production from last August's heroes, Will Venable, Kyle Blanks and E Cab, as well as continued dominance from the starting rotation and bullpen, is a must. A trade for another starting pitcher may be in order.

Suffice to say the roster will change a bit over the next twenty days. Here's hoping Jed makes all the right moves.

San Diego, Not Cleveland, Is City of Suffering

A lot has been said in the past 24 hours about the anguish of Cleveland sports fans. In the aftermath of LeBron's "Decision," there has a been a piss-and-moan fest the likes of which I've never seen on blogs, in sportswriter's articles and, perhaps most notably, in Bill Simmons' all-Cleveland mailbag.

My response: whoop de doo.

Need I remind everyone that Cleveland has tasted a World Series victory as recently as 1948 (not forgetting, of course, the 1920 World Series champs led by Tris Speaker, one of the greatest players of all time) and has an NFL Championship from the just-yesterday year of 1964.

Meanwhile, the city of San Diego has never had a World Series champion, and hasn't had any football hardware since the Bolts won the AFL crown way, way, way back in 1963.

San Diego doesn't even have an NBA team to root for, or a nearby dominant state school like Ohio St. to call its own.

It's no competition really. If you want to talk suffering, let's talk San Diego.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go jogging on the beach, and then drive up to La Jolla to have some seafood and watch the sun set into the Pacific Ocean.

Extreme Heat Is Brutal

We're dealing with record high temperatures on the East Coast right now.

It's the kind of heat that could drive a man insane. Good thing there exists in this world air conditioning, cold draft beer and strapless t-shirts.

Because otherwise what would I wear.

Go Padres. Tonight. Against the Nationals.

Drinos In D.C.

Back in the day I was a student in the great city of Washington, D.C.

One of my favorite spots in the city was the Jefferson Memorial. On the right night - think any night of the year when it's not raining or 100 degrees - you could walk over to the Memorial, sit on the steps by the water and surreptitously drink wine, beer or booze that you'd packed in your backpack. I mean, that wasn't necessarily "allowed," but it is what I did on a couple of occasions.

Those were good times.

I honestly can't think of a better spot to surreptitiously drink booze in public than the Jefferson Memorial. (Note: Obviously I'm not including here the best spot in the world to drink booze in public, which is the hills of the Albaicín in Granada, Spain looking back at the Alhambra. But public drinking is legal in Spain so there is no need to be surreptitious.)

All of this is just a long way of saying that the Padres are in D.C. this week for three games against the Nationals. I've been to a solid handful of Drino-Natty games in the District, but alas won't be heading down this year.

No doubt Clayton Richard can get the series off to a good start tonight without me.

Reilly O'Toole ... Future Illini QB

Reilly O'Toole of Wheaton Warrenville South is the newest Illini QB recruit.

Putting aside that the kid has a choice quarterback name straight out of 1960's middle America, Reilly has all the trappings of a potential stellar QB. He's 6'4", accurate, led his high school team to the Illinois 7A state title last season and has solid all-around athleticism.

As a testament to his athleticism, take this write-up on the '09-'10 DuPage All-Area Boys' Basketball Team:

"Hitting a game-winner against Walther Lutheran and scoring 31 against Naperville Central, the 6-foot-3 all-DuPage Valley sophomore thrived taking over games. O'Toole hit 78 3s on 41 percent shooting, averaging 13 points and 3 boards. "He has a very high athletic IQ," coach Mike Healy said."

Nice. A kid who can toss the pigskin downfield with accuracy, and drain threes at will.

Welcome to the Illini.

Don Coryell ... One Of The Great Ones

This happened a few days ago, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the passing of one of the great football coaches of all time, Don Coryell.

Coryell's impact on the offensive game of professional football is well-documented.

All I'll add here is that when I first became cognizant of Charger football, Coryell was the coach and his high-powered offenses made it very easy to be a fan. What more could a 6-year old kid ask for than his favorite team scoring 35 points per game?

In fact, even after Philip leads to the Bolts to a few Super Bowl titles over the next few years, when I think Chargers, the first thing I'll think about are the blue-and-yellow clad Bolts teams of the early 80s, captained by Danny Fouts and led from the sidelines by the brilliant Don Coryell.

Way to get it dun, Don.

Latos v. Oswalt ... Future Teammates?

Our boy Maty Lats goes up against the venerable Roy Oswalt this evening out in San Diego.

You know, I wonder if the Stros' GM would take a couple mid-level prospects and a bag of balls for Oswalt later this month. Say Cory Luebke and Ced Hunter for a few months rental of Roy.

I mean, if we aren't going to go for Cliffy Lee, we might as well see what Oswalt looks like in a Drino uniform.

Am I right?

Jablonski "Rico" Noel ... Greatest Name Ever?

A few years ago, among my friends, I coined the term "jablonski" to describe someone who was, shall we say, kind of a mix between a dick, a nerd, an ass and a tool. For example, one might say, "Tim came into my office at 5:oo on Friday and gave me some work to do over the weekend. He's such a jablonski."

The term caught on and gained wide usage among my advisors, including such stalwarts as Tatt Mareeco, Father D.P. McGillicutty, JJ Geleaux and Tam O'Flannell. So imagine our jubilation this month when the Padres drafted none other than Jablonski "Rico" Noel in the fifth round of the June MLB Draft. Oh my were we stunned and amazed.

Imagine for a moment if Jablonski someday reaches the Bigs in a Drinos uniform. He has the potential to completely change the meaning of a word. Forever on Jablonski will have made "jablonski" cool.

The implications are enormous to say the least.

So here's to wishing Jablonski Noel success as he moves up the Drinos farm system. As of today, after only a handful of professional games, the Padres have already pushed him to low-A ball in Fort Wayne.

That's a positive sign even a jablonski could appreciate.