Kevin Correia ... How About A Ballgame

I know tonight is the last night of August, but I'm hoping Kevin Corriea pitches like it's September.

Last September/October, Kevin sparkled on the mound. He started 6 games, won 3, and posted a 1.71 ERA. He threw 42.1 innings, including a complete-game shutout at Arizona. His strikeout-to-walk ratio was a respectable 4.71, and hitters only batted .228 against him.

He was, in a word, an ace.

Frankly, if the Padres are going to hold the Giants and Rockies at bay, they're going to need Kevin to approach his performance from last September.

Six weeks ago, on July 18, Kevin pitched against the same team he'll face tonight, the Diamondbacks, in the same park he'll play in tonight, Petco Park. He went 6 innings, gave up 3 runs, and K'd 9.

Let's do that again, Kev.

[Update: Needless to say I had this wrong. The game was not at Petco, it was in Phoenix. And the game was gross.]

"Illinois Mike"

Looks like Michael Hoomanawanui (known affectionately to Illini fans as "Uh-oh") is making a name for himself on the big stage.

Loved this tidbit from Peter King's MMQB column:

"It's Ho-OH-ma-NOW-uh-noo-ee.''-- St. Louis rookie tight end Michael Hoomanawanui, explaining to me the correct pronunciation of his last name in the locker room Thursday night.

Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo calls him "Illinois Mike,'' because, as he says, "I have no chance at that name.'' He'll have to call him something. Hoomanawanui caught two touchdown passes against the Patriots and has been one of the big stars of Rams training camp.

As I wrote this morning to my advisors J.J. Geleaux, Tam O'Flannell, Father D.P. McGillicutty, and Tatt Mareeco, "Illinois Mike" looks like the third Illini pass-catcher from last year's squad who is making his presence felt in the NFL. Both Arrelious Benn, a second-round pick, and Jeff Cumberland, an undrafted free agent who looks to make the Jets team, are also getting strong reviews in the preseason. The fact these three guys are capable of playing at the next level but never broke through in a big way with the Illini, underscores the futility of the '09 Illinois team.

I don't know if the blame lies with Juice Williams, or one-and-done offensive coordinator Mike Schultz, or maybe just the Zooker, but last season was a mess.

A new year, and a new team, gets down to business this Saturday.

I Can't Watch The Chargers-Saints Game

Needless to say tonight's scintillating Chargers-Saints game is preempted in the New York market by the stultifying Jets-Redskins game.

Good thing booze exists.

Tejada Just Hit A Bomb

Just tuned into tonight's Padres game to see Miguel go yard against Joe Saunders.

And the Padres are off and running ...

Good thing, too, given what the Giants almost did today against the Reds.

Photo Of A Random Padre

Today's an off day in Padreville and I don't feel like writing on the Chargers or Illini.

So I give you a photo of a random Padre. Today's random Padre: Darrin Jackson.

I'll never forget Darrin's steady work for the '91 and '92 Padres, two Drino teams that were sneaky competitive but are often forgotten when discussion turns, as it usually does when people congregate, to the best Padres teams of all time. For an 84-78 team in '91, Darrin bashed 21 bombs but managed only 49 ribeyes. That's not easy to do, but Darrin pulled it off. Then in '92 Darrin hit 17 more bombs, helping the Padres to another winning season, their 4th in 5 seasons.

Heady times.

So thank you, Darrin Jackson. You're today's Random Padre.

Checking In With Trevor

Trevor Hoffman is one of the great closers, let alone one of the great Padres, of all time. He holds the record for most saves in Major League history and is two saves away from being the first man in history to record 600 saves. His changeup is the stuff of legends. And by all accounts he is a great family man.

For all those reasons, anyone who knows anything about baseball has great respect for Trevor Hoffman.

But there is one area of Trevor's life where he just doesn't get the due he deserves.

Male modeling.

Trevor might not be A-Rod or David Wright, but for a guy who has spent his career plying his trade in small-markets, he has a remarkable record of (un)intentionally hilarious, homoerotic, yet beastly photos.

But don't take my word for it. Let's look at the evidence

* * *

I like the intensity here. With that look, you think a guy's going to deal you some 95 mph heat. But nope. Here comes a sneaky 84 mph change.

Oh Trevor. So playful.

The over-the-shoulder glance back is a tricky move and not one to try lightly. Of course, Trevor nails it here.

This is either a photo from pre-game warmup, or a still from the failed Baywatch: San Diego pilot.

Jaysus. Gym much?


And last, but not least, no montage of Trevor photos would be complete without showing one of the great photos ever taken of any athlete. In any sport. From any era. You've seen it before, but it never gets it old.

See you this weekend in Milwaukee, Trevor. Here's hoping you don't reach 600 saves against the Padres.

Matt Stairs Helps Padres Win At Wrigley

The Padres won again today, in no small part due to Matty Stairs' work at the plate and in the field.

In the top of the 1st, Stairs hit a double off the ivy scoring two runs. Then, an inning later, he made a diving catch - yes, a diving catch - to rob the Cubbies of at least a run-scoring single.

I haven't written much about Matt this season but he's really something of a marvel. The 42-year old dropped a ton of weight this season to come back and play pinch hitter for the Padres. His numbers aren't great, but you get the feeling he's holding back a few big hits for when it counts.

Like today.

And maybe like in October.

John Barbato ... Not As Greedy As Karsten Whitson

Among the right-handed high-school pitchers drafted by the Padres, it's now clear who wants to play baseball and who, well, doesn't.

John Barbato, the Padres 6th-round pick in the June draft, signed yesterday while Karsten Whitson, the Padres first-round pick, reneged on a verbal agreement and chose not to sign.

Well done, John. Way to sign with the Drinos and not, as happened with Karsten, allow yourself to be swayed by the machinations of greedy agents.

See you at Petco in a few years.

Kaaaaaarsten ...

Karsten,

Sign please.

Best,

Bevormo

When Last I Saw The Padres In Frisco

It's no secret that, after Petco and PNC, Pac Bell is my favorite ballpark in baseball. The location downtown is choice, the views of the water are epic and the food and beverage options are plenty.

San Francisco is a fantastic town in general and I've had the luck to visit it often in the past few years, most recently in July 2009 when I took in a Buccos-Pirates game in between days of the California Bar Examination. Matt Cain and Zach Duke dueled in a 0-0 tie through 9 (Boch let Cain pitch the full 9 innings, 111 pitches) before the Gints won it on a Randy Winn single in the 10th. The stadium was packed and it was a gorgeous, sunny day.

Rewind about 22 months earlier when I was in town on a Monday night and my visit coincided with a Drinos roadtrip. If you'll recall September 2007, the Padres were in the midst of a pennant race and fielded an excellent team, but had just been swept by the Rockies at home (a haunting preview in retrospect), including, the day before, a loss in the infamous "Milton Bradley Game," where Bud Black accidentally tore up Milton's knee while trying to prevent him from murdering an umpire. Milton had homered in that game, his 11th in 169 plate appearances as a Padre, but would never bat again that season.

It was under that gloomy cloud that the Padres took the field at Pac Bell on Monday, September 24, 2007. My specific memories of the game aren't many, but I do recall a few details:

- Before the game I had a few beers at a sports bar near the park - I think it was O'Neil's, but it may have been Kate O'Brien's or even the Brickhouse - and watched the MNF pregame show. It was a Saints game and I remember thinking that Brees likely wouldn't lead the Saints any further than he had the previous season when the Saints lost to the Bears in the NFC Championship game. I remember having that exact thought. So much for predictions.

- Right before game time, I scalped three seats in the 200-level club section just to the right of home plate. The tickets cost surprisingly little and my two friends - both students at Berkeley at the time - were pleased with the price. We housed many gourmet food items throughout the game.

- The game itself is murky, likely because the Padres got rolled. I do remember seeing Klesko in closeup on the jumbotron, and, looking at the boxscore now, he did have a solid game (2-5, 2 runs scored, a ribeye). For the Padres, of course Adrian doubled and had 3 hits, and Brady Clark, taking over for Milton Bradley, had 2 hits, one of them a double. I was probably hopeful at that point that Brady was the answer for the stretch run. So sad.

- CY got rocked in this game, which was not a good sign. I also see the Padres ran out Cla Meredith in relief. It's a nice feeling to know that, as marginally good as Cla was in his seasons with the Padres, he would be the worst relief pitcher on this year's squad. That thought gives me comfort the Padres can pull this thing out this season.

That's all I remember at the moment. I won't be in Frisco for the series this weekend, but I'm more or less certain the Drinos can get it dun without me. Tonight Clay Richard leads the charge against Jonathan Sanchez and crew.

It's safe to say that Sanchez will be eating his words by night's end.

A Weekend In The Burgh

To commemorate these next two games against the Buccos, I wanted to put up a few photos from my trip to Pittsburgh during the Bucco-Drino series at the end of July. Along with my advisor, JJ Geleaux, a trip to the Burgh for the Drinos series has become a biannual rite of summer. This marked our third trip in the last 6 seasons.

This year we definitely did it right. We stayed at the Omni William Penn Hotel which I highly recommend everyone should do when visiting the Burgh. We also frequented a number of excellent watering holes, including The Tap Room, the Oyster House, Primanti Bros. and Mullen's. It was stiflingly hot throughout the weekend so we made sure to keep the drinks flowing like wine, and hung out in spots where the air condition flowed like wine.

Here are a few photos from the trip. I hope you enjoy them.

The epic Roberto Clemente statue outside the stadium. Clemente was a favorite player of my Dad's, and he passed that admiration on to me. Seeing this statue makes me glad the Padres got the Tony Gwynn statue done. Both statues are similarly awesome.

Another shot as the sun peeked out from behind some clouds.

A final shot of the statue profiled against Clemente Bridge and the downtown skyline. Note the Drino fan with the big calves walking out of the picture. I don't know who the guy was, but like me, he was excited to get a photo of the statue.

Our seats for Friday night's game might be the best in all of baseball. For only $40 a pop we had Club access (a/c, beer sales until the final out of the game, a/c) and seats right above home plate. The view of the game is outstanding and when you couple in the stunning view of downtown Pittsburgh, there may not be a better seat in sports.

The view from our seats after sunset. How about that moon.

For Saturday night's game we splurged and bought Lexus Club seats. They're pricey - we paid $140 each - but the access and amenities are excellent. You can enter the stadium early and have access to a full bar and buffet dinner. Plus there's a/c. Oh and it basically feels like you're in the dugout.

Adrian warming up his bat.

I'm pretty sure that's Scotty Hairston, and not Jerry Hairston Jr., warming up before the game. I know I could look it up real easy, but I kind of like that I can't tell just by looking at the photo.

This was the first time I saw the Yoda backpack they make the junior guys in the bullpen wear each night. Fantastic idea. I'm on board.

The next manager of the Marlins?

Bud. Puffing out his chest like a proud father for his first-place ballclub.

Adrian in the on-deck circle.

Readying himself for battle.

Just fouling off a pitch.

The Bucco pitcher - I think it was Jeff Karstens - warming up before an inning.

Mat Latos. Dealing.

The mood surrounding the Buccos in the Burgh is not positive.

One of the best parts of the weekend: the Steve Miller Band played after the game on Saturday night. It started raining halfway through his set, but Steve gamely stayed on stage and played all of his recognizable hits. The fans loved it.

The rain in the spotlight.

Finally, let me leave you with this choice shot of a Padres fan roaming the club section at PNC. Rollie would be proud.

Watching Games With Will Venable In Them

As I sit on my sofa watching this Padres-Buccos game on my computer, it occurred to me, for no particular reason, that I hope Will Venable gets the bulk of at bats from the LF position the rest of the season.

Ryan Ludwick is now the everyday RF, and I'm fine with that, especially because he hit his first Drino HR this evening.

But Venable has the speed and power that I'd like to see in the field the majority of games down the stretch. Not only does he have 10 bombs and 19 bags in only 255 ABs on the season, but from August 1 to September 25 last year, a nice winning stretch for the '09 Padres, he raised his average from .243 to .273. I'd love for him to tap into that hot streak again these next two months.

True, he has 88 Ks on the season and is only hitting at a .238 clip, but I think there may be some lightning in that bat that is somehow tapped into the weather patterns of the dog days of August and early September.

Wishful thinking? Maybe.

But I hope Buddy puts him in the lineup to find out.

Get To Camp!

Shawne,

I know you're a total monster, man, but for goshsakes ... get ye to camp!

Best regards,

Bevormo

Don't Like Losing To The DBacks

Losing to the DBacks always leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. I'm not a huge fan of all things desert, and DBacks announcer, Deron Sutton, is insufferable. And I can't stand Kirk Gibson, the DBacks current manager, for obvious reasons.

Tonight is a must-win game for the Padres. They can't lose to Rodrigo Lopez and this heinous DBacks team twice in a row.

Clayton will pitch well, of that I have no doubt. But let's get the bats rolling - I'm looking at you Ludwick and Tejada - and put these Snakes in their place.

Sixto's '82 Season

I think this photo of Sixto Lezcano sums up baseball, and life, in the late 1970s.

But that's a discussion for another day. Today I'd like to talk about Sixto's 1982 season with the San Diego Padres.

Sixto came to the Padres on December 10, 1981, in one of the more fateful trades of baseball's modern era. The St. Louis Cardinals traded Sixto, Garry Templeton and a PTBNL (Luis DeLeon) to the Drinos for Steve Mura, a PTBNL (Al Olmstead) and Ozzie Smith. Ozzie obviously became a Hall of Famer and helped lead the Cardinals to a World Series title, two other World Series appearances, and countless franchising opportunities. Mura, though he'd only pitch three more seasons, started thirty games for the Cardinals' '82 World Series team. Al Olmstead sucked.

On the Padres side of the deal, Templeton, and to a lesser extent, DeLeon, helped the team to the '84 World Series, but Templeton, a pure monster in his first few seasons with St. Louis, never recaptured the All-Star potential he flashed in those early Redbird years. DeLeon pitched well in '82 and '83, less so in '84 and '85, and left to the Orioles as a free agent after the '85 season.

But what of Sixto?

He only played 1 1/2 seasons with the Drinos - shipped off in the middle of '83 ostensibly, I believe, to make room in the outfield for a couple of beasts named Kevin McReynolds and Tony Gwynn - but that one full season was a quietly beastish year that I won't soon forget. (I don't really remember it as it happened - '82 was my first cognizant summer - but it looks pretty beastish in retrospect.)

Playing RF and batting primarily fourth or fifth in the lineup, Sixto put together a solid season for a .500 ballclub. In 470 ABs, he triple slashed at .289/.388/.472, knocking 16 bombs and plating 84 ribeyes. He walked more than he struck out - always a nice little stat to feature - and even tripled 6 times. He crushed lefties to the tune of .326, but could also hit tough right-handers, batting .287 against right-handed starters. At 28 and in his prime, he was, to use Baseball-Reference's Similarity Scores, a lot like Dwight Evans.

Looking at the game logs on Baseball-Reference, I'm particulary enamored of his 4-6, 2 bomb, 4 ribeye game on April 23 against the eventual NL West Champion Braves. Sixto's 3-run bomb in the top of the 12th off Rick Camp provided the margin of victory. (Note: his first bomb of that game was a 4th inning smoker off HOFer Phil Niekro who happened to go 17-4 in '82.) Also worth mentioning is his work in a doubleheader sweep of the Reds on July 31. Sixto went 6-7 over the two games, hitting 3 bombs with 7 ribeyes. They're probably still talking about that in Cincinnati.

Finally, how many joints did Sixto smoke before taking this picture:


What a beast.

Gary "Big Hands" Johnson ... Pour One Out For Him

Sadly, Gary "Big Hands" Johnson died yesterday of a heart attack. He was 57.

I haven't put together a Chargers All-Time Team in awhile, but I'm fairly certain we'd run a 4-3 and Big Hands would start at one of the defensive tackle positions. (I'd probably put Jamal Williams at the other DT spot, though I may keep Jamal in reserve as a NT if we use a 3-4 formation on certain downs.)

"Big Hands" anchored the Bolts defensive line during some of the greatest years in franchise history - the stretch from '79 to '82. Along with Louie Kelcher, Leroy Jones and Fred Dean, the group formed the "Bruise Brothers" in 1980, leading the League in both sacks and general mayhem.

They were one of the more imposing frontlines in the history of the League that's never really talked about.

As Chargers fans we don't often speak of defense - a few of the Seau-Rodney Harrison units excepted - but Big Hands was one of the great ones.

Pour one out for him. And make it a tallboy.

Latos At The Ravine

Mat just gave up a two-run double to Russell Martin.

Eeeew.

But Miggy T did hit a bomb.

2-1 Dadgers in the 4th.

(And the Gints are smoking the Rockies 7-0 in the 7th.)

Padres Go To L.A. For Four

The Dadgers are on the precipice, hanging on for dear life in the NL playoff picture. I like to imagine them balancing on the thin edge of the "D" in the Hollywood sign, ready to spill forward and plunge down the escarpment at the slightest push.

I hope tonight the Padres - led by our boy Clay Richard - can get that nudging started with a win at Chavez Ravine. Tonight's game starts a four game set that, if the Padres sweep or take three out of four, could knock the Dodgers out cold.

On the other hand, the Dadgers could salvage their season if they win three of the four, a move they may be positioned to do with Kuroda, Ted Lilly and Chad Billingsley scheduled to pitch in the series.

Meanwhile, one casts a wary eye East, to Denver, where the Gints and the Rockies start a two game series tomorrow night. The Rockies have won four straight, while the Giants are winners of three in a row. Both teams fancy themselves competitors for the NL West lead the Padres have held since April.

Things could not be more critical these next four August nights.

Ludwick: Help Us Get A W Today

Luds,

After two straight losses to the Marlins, the Padres may need your bat even more than previously believed.

I eagerly anticipate your presence in the lineup this afternoon.

Best,

Bevormo