Will Venable, Cameron Maybin, Ryan Ludwick: Monsters?

Will Venable hit a 3-run bomb this afternoon in an early-Spring tuneup against the Rockies. That's a good sign because Will has a bead on starting in right field for the Padres this season, filling out an outfield that will also include Cameron Maybin and Ryan Ludwick.

Call me a wildly optimistic Padres fan, but I think this year's outfield has a chance to rival my favorite Padres outfield of the Petco Park Years: the '06 outfield of Dave Roberts, Mike Cameron, and Brian Giles.

Take a look at the numbers Roberts, Cameron, and Giles put up in '06:

Roberts: .293/.360/.393 ... 13 triples, 2 bombs, 49 bags
Cameron: .268/.355/.482 ... 22 bombs, 83 ribeyes, 25 bags
Giles: .263/.374/.397 ... 14 bombs, 83 ribeyes, 104 walks

I'll also add that all three had an OPS+ exceeding 100: 101 (Roberts), 121 (Cameron), 107 (Giles).

Meanwhile, here's how our three heroes, Venable, Maybin, and Ludwick, fared in '10:

Venable: .245/.324/.408 ... 13 bombs, 29 bags, 104 OPS+
Ludwick: .251/.325/.418 ... 17 bombs, 69 ribeyes, 104 OPS+
Maybin: .234/.302/.361 ... 8 bombs, 9 bags, 75 OPS+

Maybe I am overly optimistic. It will take quite a bit of improvement for these guys to match the '06 group. But I'm certain all three will improve over their performance in 2010.

The question is by how much.

Kyle Blanks To The Bigs

Kyle,

Word on the street is that the Padres have called you up from Portland and you'll be at Petco this evening with the Big Club.

Congratulations, my good man, on your Major League debut.

Now, if I may be so bold, allow me to give you a bit of advice on some immediate actions to take when you arrive at the Park today. By following this advice you'll announce your presence with authority and immediately let the rest of the team know you're here to stay.

1. Drop a deuce in Brian Giles locker. This is a pre-emptive move because it is certain that Brian will be dropping a deuce in your locker soon. If he hasn't already.

2. Say hello to Chase Headley. Make sure to walk up to Chase and say, "Hey man, thanks for holding down my position for me. But I'm here now so you and your .230 batting average can plan on seeing a lot of pine." I'm sure Chase will appreciate that. It's bonding.

3. Get interview advice from Heath Bell. Heath is the only current Padre who gives good interviews. Seek him out this afternoon and get some tips on how to be interesting and provocative with the media. It's a sure way to get quoted on ESPN. If Heath isn't available, give Phil Nevin a call.

4. Ask to wear #19. Just kidding.

These are just a few things you can do today to take your mind off tonight's game and endear yourself to your new teammates. Feel free to improvise as needed.

Good luck.

Best,
Bevormo

Numbers Of A Contender

Take a look at these numbers:

.190 2 19 .285
.239 0 14 .318
.326 5 20 .386
.285 18 34 .385
.234 4 19 .290
.237 4 19 .310
.219 1 4 .286
.182 3 6 .262
.095 0 0 .136

What is this list of numbers? It's the batting average, bombs, ribeyes and on-base percentage of the Padres starting lineup in yesterday's 8-5 win over the D'Slacks.

In order:

Giles
Eckstein
Hairston
Adrian
Kouz
Headley
Burke
Blanco
Peavy

What a pack o' beasts.

I smell Wild Card.

The Cult Of The 1-Run Ballgame

David,

Nice bases-loaded walk-off single yesterday to help the Padres beat the D-knacks 4-3 and thus bring an ignominious end to Bob Melvin's managing career (at least for now). You've been around a while, and you're a clutch guy, so this is probably old hat to you, but I'm sure you still get a few goosebumps stepping to the plate in these situations, even if the Petco crowd is a paltry 18,921.

You never played before so few in Anaheim or St. Louis, I'd venture.

On a related point, Dave, how are you taking to these Petco Park ballgames? In other words, very close ballgames that, in order to win, depend on clutch hitting and near-perfect work by the guys out of the bullpen. They're exciting, right? Stressful? Annoying? All of the above?

I'm sure you've noted that of the Padres 13 wins this season, eight were decided by 1-run, and three of those on walk-off hits at Petco (two by Brian and one, as noted above, by you). Granted, not all these 1-run wins were at Petco (two were in New York, one was in Philly and one was in Denver), but I think you'll find that as the season progresses, a lot of Padre home games will be tight contests heading into the later innings. I figure with a guy like you around the Padres have a better chance to come out ahead in those games than they would otherwise.

I'm sure you agree.

But let me also make a quick observation about this Padres team whether it is playing at Petco or on the road. And the observation is this: I like this team. They've shown mettle in a few sweet comeback wins (April 9 against the Dadgers, April 16 against the Mets and April 17 against the Phils come immediately to mind), and have been competitive in a number of their losses (four of which have come by 1-run, including two dagger losses at the hated Dadgers last weekend). If the middle relief and the clutch hitting improves even just a little bit, this Padres team will play better than .500 ball. I know that's not necessarily something to scream from the rooftops, but it could make for a season full of tight, 1-run ballgames, that the Padres win more than half the time.

Think about that sentence for a second. It actually does make sense if you read it enough times.

The bottom line is that the Padres might end up with 75 - 85 wins, and Heath Bell might have 6o-plus saves.

Not that you care much about all this, David. You just want to win ballgames.

Good luck tonight in Houston.

Best,
Bevormo

ps - That's a pretty nice photo by K.C. Alfred I posted above, don't you think? K.C. recently took a sweet photo of Kevin Ellison during the Chargers minicamp. I have no idea who K.C. is, or even if it is a guy or a girl, but he/she can take one heck of a photo.

Four Hundred And Fifty-Eight Feet

(Conversation overheard yesterday after Adrian Gonzalez hit the longest home run in Petco Park history, a 458-foot smash to right center off the Buccos' Ross Ohlendorf.)

Brian Giles: Nice bomb, big guy. Longest ever at Petco.

Adrian Gonzalez: Thanks, man. That even cleared the sandbox.

Brian: Yep. Looks like between 457 and 459 feet. (pause) Hey, can I grab your ass?

Adrian: Maybe later.

Big Day, Big Day

Oh man, this is a big day. The weather is absolutely gorgeous here in New York City and I think I'm going to go for a jog and then go have a few, er, toddies at the Hudson Beach Cafe.

How choice is that going to be.

But before I go I have a few things to report.

First, Deron Williams ... what a monster.

Second, Brian Giles ... what a monster (and nice photo by Earnie Grafton).

And finally, A.J. Smith ... get r dun!

When The Games Are Done

Careful, kid. Now that the Phillies finished off the Rays last night in dramatic, three-inning fashion, that stove you're about to touch just got hot.

Figuratively speaking, of course.

The League has a ton of big stories this off-season (CC, A.J., Manny, to name just three) but no team sits more at a turning point than the San Diego Padrinos. Will they trade Peavy? Will they re-sign Trevor Hoffman? Will they pick up Brian Giles' option? Will John and Becky Moores cut Petco Park in half forcing the team to play its home games back at the Q? These are all critical questions that will determine the core of the Padres team next year.

With Peavy, Giles and Hoffman they will have, if some of the younger guys make progress, Chris Young regains his 2006-2007 form and the bullpen becomes (once again) a strength, a competitive team. Without those three guys they are looking at 2011 or later for their next winning season. I don't know about you but that's a long time to wait. If would feel like the beginning of this decade all over again. And that was no fun. Might as well sign Klesko and Nevin and see if Bubba Trammell is available.

So here's to hoping the Drinos make some good decisions, and if they do decide to part ways with Peavy, Giles and Trevor, that they make the right moves on the back end to get this team winning again before the 20-teens.

Drinos 16, Mountains 7

That game on Sunday - a 16-7 bomb fest at Coors Field - had a lot to like, and some to not like.

What I Liked
- Gerut and Kouz continuing their hot streaks and going yard early with authority
- Livan Hernandez throwing up batting practice balls
- Giles' 2 doubles and bomb to show that he likes being a Padre
- A-Gon going 4-5 with 3 runs and 2 ribeyes
- Luke Carlin hitting his first major league bomb, a 3-run job that came two innings after the Rockies scored 7 runs to close the gap from 11-0 to 11-7

What I Didn't Like
- CY's fourth inning debacle, giving up 7 earned runs to let the Rockies back in the game (although arguably the official scorer could have hung an error on E Gon for that liner past his glove)

Drinos 4, Metsies 2

Look at that photo. You see that guy in the background on the right side, the figure with his back to us? That's Petey Martinez, future Hall of Famer, known headhunter with his fastball, a Red Sox legend, and currently an oft-injured pitcher for the New York Mets.

And now do you see that other guy in the photo? The one in the foreground, trotting professionally down the third base line towards home plate. That's Brian Giles. He's just hit a first inning bomb off Petey, staking the Drinos to a 2-0 lead over the Metsies.

That was a nice little bomb, Brian. You've been a good Padre. Here's hoping that mystery team that claimed you off waivers last night doesn't pull off a deal to get you on their squad. Or, at a minimum, they give up a choice prospect to do so. Or, failing that, the Drinos use the cash savings to sign Brett Mooneyham. Or, failing even that, use the money to pay off Becky Moores and stop her from filing more papers regarding her divorce from John Moores in public court.

Also, before I forget, those were nice little bombs by Jody and Chase last night too. Chase hadn't left the yard since July 13 against the Bravos. Nice to see him get off the bomb schnied.

The two teams start up again at Shea in less than two hours, under cloudless skies and in 75 degree temperatures. Meanwhile I'm only thirty minutes away but am sitting in an office building hunched over a keyboard in an internet trance having the life drained out of me by overhead flourescent light bulbs.

Love it.

Metsies 6, Drinos 5

Darn it, Mike. CY goes out and gives up 1 hit through 5.1 and then you come in and promptly give up the go-ahead three-run bomb to 'Nando Tatis. What a shame. It's too bad too because you've been an absolute monster this season. You've taken on the role of Sleeper Reliever Snaked by Kevin Towers, a role played in the past by the likes of Aki Otsuka, Scott Linebrink and Heath Bell, and performed admirably.

Until last night at Shea, that is.

But these things happen, and, indeed, I partially blame myself for last night's loss. You see, I was at a softball game in Central Park - got smoked 13-4 but that's another story - and missed the first five innings of the game. But then the team went to Brother Jimmy's at 81st and Amsterdam for post-game appetizers and pitchers of cold Coors Louie, and, as I walked in, saw that the Drinos were winning 2-1 and the Metsies had amassed only 1 hit. Of course I immediately bragged to one my softball teammates, a Met fan by the name of D.P. McGillicutty, that the Metsies could not handle CY. No sooner did those words escape my mouth than I look back at the television and see Tatis trotting around the bases and the score flip from Drinos 2-1 to Metsies 4-2.

What a disaster.

Jody - who can hit - almost brought the boys back in the ninth but Giles' rope didn't quite clear Beltran's head and thus the game ended, another loss for the Drinos.

Better luck tonight against Petey Martinez. Here's hoping the Pads pummel that old guy.