An Evening At Citi Field With The San Diego Padres

On Wednesday night I went to Citi Field in Queens, NY, home of the Mets, to watch the Padres-Metsies game. Solid ballpark, great night. Not only did the Padres win 9-5, but there were a fair amount of strong performances, historic moments (if you consider James Darnell's first big league hit "historic," which I do), and even a little drama in the 9th (Heath Bell did pitch after all).

If you don't mind, I think I'll show you some photos.

I thought it was nice of this Mets fan to recognize former Padres first-round pick, and current Mets minor-leaguer, Allan Dykstra. I mean he hasn't even made his big league debut yet and this guy already has an Allan Dykstra jersey. That's supporting the system!

I attended the game with noted Metsies fan, and guest of this blog, Father D.P. McGillicutty. We began the game sitting in right field just beyond the foul pole, a few yards into foul territory. This is not a bad spot to watch the game. You have a clear view of the field and, on nice nights, you can see a bit of the sunset above the stadium lights. The sun shines in your eyes for a few innings, as the photo above proves, but I'd still recommend this spot if you're looking for a good outfield seat.

How good was that '86 Mets squad? In addition to this photo of Keith Hernandez, Doc Gooden, and Darryl Strawberry, the Mets also showed a montage of Gary Carter highlights on the big screen that made me want to clasp hands in a manly way with my worst enemy. What a pack of monsters. Seeing the billboard above, it made me wonder what similar billboard the Padres could hang at Petco. It would have to be three guys from one of our best teams - probably the '84 or '98 squad - and you'd need a stud pitcher, a stud HR hitter, and one of the team leaders. They wouldn't all have to be home-grown players (Hernandez was drafted by the Cardinals), but it would be nice if 2 of the 3 guys were drafted and developed by the team.

So obviously, Tony Gwynn is on the billboard in the middle spot occupied in the photo above by Keith Hernandez. Then, if we're doing an homage to the '84 team, let's put up home-grown kid Kevin McReynolds in the Strawberry spot (ironically McReynolds played with all these guys on the Mets a few years later), and let's put Eric Show on the board in the Gooden spot. Arguably Goose or Dravecky or Lefferts could take that spot, but I'm putting the spotlight on Eric. It's my imaginary billboard after all. (Ed. note: the '98 billboard of Gwynn, Cammy, and Kevin Brown wouldn't suck, nor would the '05 billboard of Peavy, Giles, and Trevor, not to mention the '78 billboard of Winfield, Ozzie, and Gaylord Perry. Let's get these hung at Petco immediately.)

Check out this action shot of former-Padre Mike Baxter warming up between innings. Baxter is a Queens native so he's living the dream at the moment. At least that's my guess. I haven't actually talked with him about it. In this game he went 1-3 with two walks, which means, if my math is correct, he was on base three times. Not bad for a youngish guy trying to break in with his hometown team. When Alderson and DePodesta claimed him off waivers a few weeks ago, I thought it was a dirty sneaky move, but I totally respected it. And maybe now Mike will get a good shot to prove himself at the big league level over the next 6 weeks. Good luck to him.

I posted this slightly blurry photo from right field merely for comedic purposes. You can't really tell from the photo, but that's Cameron Maybin jogging down the first-base line back toward the dugout. Moments before taking this photo I had turned to McGillicutty and said, "Watch Maybin go yard here." Then, with that statement barely out of my mouth, Maybin hit a dribbler four feet in front of the plate and was thrown out at first. And then I took this photo.

See, isn't that hilarious?

Check out that moon. Reminded of a moon I once saw in Pittsburgh.

If anyone ever tells you I wasn't at the game where James Darnell got his first big league hit, they are wrong. Remember that. Could come in handy in a bar bet someday.

Shake Shack is one of New York's best spots to get a burger. Very trendy but also very tasty. They put up a location in the outfield at Citi and the Mets put a sweet neon skyline of New York above the sign. This is kind of a haphazard photo of it, but you get the idea. I'm a fan of the whole presentation.

And here's a last final shot of Citi Field from outside the stadium. That's the back of the centerfield scoreboard. You can see the small green sign for McFadden's toward the bottom of the photo. That's a sports bar that's on the Citi Field grounds that is a good spot to go if it's past the 7th inning, the game is fairly meaningless, and you stupidly run out of beers. One caveat: you can't get back into the stadium once you walk into McFadden's.

Guest Post: In Defense of Rexy

Note to our reader: From time to time this humble blog will have guest posts written by true sports fans who also happen to be friends or acquaintances of mine (essentially the same premise as Grantland). These posts could touch on any topic, but will most likely address some aspect of the guest writer's favorite teams. Today, in response to N.Y. Daily News columnist Mike Lupica's recent criticism of Jets coach Rex "Bootsy" Ryan, I am proud to offer this guest post by lifelong Jets fan, and champion of all those who are financially privileged yet still chintz (inside joke), Father D.P. McGillicutty.


Let's get one thing straight. I'm no fan of Mike Lupica. He is by all accounts unbearably smug. The Donald is somewhere right now complaining about the smugness of Lupica. The head shot Lupica rolls with at the top of his column -- the one with the look of barely restrained disgust -- leaves no room for doubt. He is smarter than you, and he wants, nay needs, you to know it. If you don't believe me, just watch any episode of Sports Reporters that he ever appeared on. Ever. (Incidentally, I am 100% confident that he takes credit for the success of PTI, Rome Is Burning (why is Rome so good on radio and so terrible on television?), Around the Horn (I want to punch that host in the face), and every other sports television show featuring sports writers.) And whoever at the Daily News let Mark Cuban's dwarf brother start writing political op-eds needs to die a horrible, horrible death. All of that said, Lupica's column yesterday about Jets HC Rex Ryan caught my interest -- not so much for what it says, but for what it portends.

The gist is that Lupica's sick of Rex Ryan boasting about everything without delivering a championship. Fuck you, Lupica. Wait, that's supposed to be the end of the column. Anyway, his daily dose of sanctimonious drivel was notable to me because I'm a Jets fan. Have been my whole life. (Yes, I have seen that draft video on YouTube. I also watched my team in the AFC championship game the last two years, jagoff.) But here's the point: I admit that Rexy got a bit of a pass his first year as Jets HC. At the end of the day, he didn't need it, but whether or not the Jetsies made the AFC Championship game, he was going to finish the year on the media's good side simply because he was not Eric Mangini. (Full disclosure: I was FULLY on board with hiring Mangini at the time -- what a mess.) And maybe he did get a pass on the whole foot fetish saga, though it wasn't exactly a Marv Albert scenario. But it's clear the tide is turning.

With the new found competency of the Mets front office and the Yankees looking playoff bound as always, the sports writers need themselves a target. And let's face it, another hit piece on Tom Coughlin isn't selling any papers. So that puts Rexy in the cross-hairs. But here's the problem with that: in two years, the guy has twice managed to plow through loaded AFC playoff fields to get to the conference championship game with the 'Chize (ed. note: Jets QB1 Mark Sanchez) at the helm. So everybody calm down. The guy has gotten my team to perform at a higher level than any Jets HC in my lifetime (including Parcells - my fingers just burst into flames). As far as I'm concerned, he can say whatever the hell he wants. Also, and I'm not saying it's necessarily intentional, but I see some genius in Rexy's approach. Think about it. Is there any coach of the league (with the possible exception of that chicken-shit turncoat in New England (ed. note: Patriots coach Bill Belichick)) who actually gives the media less meaningful information than Rexy? He talks and talks and talks, but what insights can you really draw from a guy that says nothing but good things about every player on his roster and constantly predicts victory. None. So if Lupica and his hair hat really want to bitch about something, maybe they should bitch about what Rexy ISN'T saying.

"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.

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.

Scouting The Jets - Bungles Game

Spent the late afternoon scouting the Jets - Bengals game at the Village Pourhouse on Amsterdam Avenue up near Columbia's campus (not the one pictured above, that's in the actual Village). Father D.P. McGillicutty, a notorious Jetsies fan, showed up and helped me house some angus beef sliders, hot wings and numerous Bud Louie's.

Based on the Jets 24-14 victory, I note the following in a potential Bolts-Jets matchup:

- the Jets defense is strong but Rivers could throw up and over their smaller corners to the likes of Antonio, Malcolm and Vincent;

- Shon Greene and Thomas Jones would be difficult to stop, assuming Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer continues his creative play calling (the counter-pitch to Greene that went for a touchdown in the first half was choice);

- Dustin Keller, the Jets TE, would likely be able to exploit the Bolts LB core and pick up some big gains underneath and on bootlegs, as he did today against the Bengals; and

- LT and Sproles would have some daylight to pick up yards in the ground game, in theory opening up Philip even more for some deep tosses to Vincenzo, Antonio and Malcolmo.

We'll know tomorrow after the Pats-Ravens game whether the Bolts will indeed play the Jets, or if there will be a Bolts-Pats rematch from the 2006 playoff debacle.

Oh my.

E-mails To My Advisors Subsequent To The Bolts Loss To Denver

Tuesday morning, in the aftermath of the disappointing Bolts loss to the Broncos on Monday Night Football, I wrote the following e-mails to my advisors Tatt Mareeco, Father D.P. McGillicutty, Geleaux and Tam O'Flannell:

First, at 10:44 AM EST:

F football

Then, at 11:01 AM EST:

That game was stupid. I'm sure McDaniels would have gone for it on fourth down and still got the TD, but under no possible view of the Stokley catch was that a touchdown.

Then, later in the morning, at 11:16 AM EST, I wrote this to my Dad, Mr. Bevormo:

That was a very disappointing second half.

And finally, at 11:37 AM, I wrote this to my friend, The Div:

That jblew.

And that's all I have to say on the matter for the time being.

An E-mail I Sent To My Advisors Last Week

Here is the text of an e-mail I sent to my advisors last Friday after reading that Bill Simmons had picked the Broncos over the Chargers in tonight's Monday Night Football game. Simmons' reasoning was that Josh McDaniels and Mike Nolan are superior coaches to Norv Turner and Ron Rivera.

Everybody needs to calm down before we anoint McDaniels and Nolan geniuses. Let them win at the Q and maybe we can talk, but so far they have benefited from absurd luck, an easy schedule and knowing a lot about the Patriots playbook and personnel (not to mention Brady dropping multiple steaming deuce piles on the filed at Mile High).

Also, Brian Dawkins and Champ Bailey ... meet Phil Rivers, Vinnie Jackson, Antoine Gates, Legs Naanee, Malc Floyd, Chappy Chambers and Darren "Lightning Bug" Sproles.

Good luck with that.

And that's all I have to say on the subject.

Peter King Must Be Kidding

I note that Peter King's "Fine 15" today did not include everyone's favorite team, the San Diego Super Chargers.

Here was my response to that omission that I penned to my advisors Tatt Mareeco, Father D.P. McGillicutty, Tam O'Flannell and Geleaux at 11:05 AM EDT.

Peter King puts the Ravens at #1 in his Fine 15 but the Bolts don't even make it? The Bolts could have won that game just as easily as the Ravens. Is he really telling me that one stupid tackle by Ray Lewis (on a missed block by a backup offensive lineman) is the difference between the Chargers being probably 5 or 6 in the ranking and not even making it? Meanwhile other teams that made it include: Green Bay (lost at home to the Bengals and should have lost at home to the Bears), the Bears (who won a soggy rain soaked game at home only because Jeff Reed got the jimmy leg), the Eagles (who got obliterated), the Pats (who have not looked good other than for about 3 minutes at the end of their first game) and Tennessee (who has yet to win a game).

Is he kidding?

I submit to you that yes, he must be kidding.

Last Year ... This Year

One of the sneaky great cities of the world is Pittsburgh, PA. I mean, sure, Stillers fans are total jimmybrones, but the city of Pittsburgh has a lot going for it. The three rivers, for example, a nice looking skyline, a bunch of universities, and a midwestern-feel-yet-eastern-time-zone attitude.

Not too shabby.

The reason I bring this up is because, as you know, the Padres are in Pittsburgh this weekend for a four-game set with the Buccos. Last year at this time, as you may not know, I went to the Burgh with my advisors Geleaux and Father D.P. McGillicutty for the Padres-Buccos series. That was one of the great weekend baseball trips of all time. Sadly, we could not make it happen this year, but I assure you, the Burgh has not seen the last of the Bevormo and his advisors.

I also note the Chargers are better than the Steelers.

Take care.

Always Have A Back Up Plan

Together with my advisors Tatt Mareeco, Geleaux and Father D.P. McGillicutty, I was planning on taking the subway out to Yankee Stadium tonight for a little Mark Buehrle - CC Sabathia action. Alas, the forecast is calling for heavy rains throughout the evening.

Luckily, the Yankee game isn't the only thing happening in New York City. Instead of slogging out to the Stadium, we have decided to hit a few midtown watering holes, followed by a dinner consisting of red meat, potatoes and a token green vegetable. You know, stuff you can only do in Manhattan.

I'll try to monitor our boy Kevin Correia's start against the Mahlins, but I can't make any promises.

I can guarantee, however, full attention to tomorrow night's Bolts-Falcons pre-season tilt. That's going to be choice.

The Padres Are Making Me Angry

Dear Reader,

Yesterday, watching the Cubs pile on against the Padres en route to an 11-3 victory and a sweep of the three game series at Wrigley, I lost my composure a bit. There I was, mild-mannered Bevormo, sitting at my desk just typing away on some document, the mlb.com broadcast of the game playing on the computer, when all of a sudden the Padres sheer ineptitude sent me into a controlled rage.

I had to roll up the sleeves of my Michael Kors dress shirt I was so angry.

It was Duaner Sanchez that put me over the top. I sat there and watched him give up back-to-back-to-back doubles to the Cubs' murderers row of Bobby Scales, Aaron Miles and Ryan Dempster, and I just lost it. I immediately composed the following e-mail to my team of trusted advisors: Tam O'Flannel, Tatty Mareeco, Father D.B. McGillicutty and Geleaux.

The subject line was "Duaner Sanchez" and it continued

is no longer a big league pitcher.

Nor is anyone else on the Padres except for Peavy, Young and Bell.

You're probably already aware of this, but that is not a recipe for winning baseball games. Nor is cutting the payroll from 70 million to 40 million without any advanced pitching prospects. I hate Becky Moores and her intolerance for John Moores doing a little dukin' on the side. I really do.

I also hate the elbows of Cesar Carrillo, Nick Schmidt and Steve Garrison, and the shoulder of Tim Stauffer. And I hate the weak sauce of Cesar Ramos and Josh Geer, and the scouts who suggested using high draft picks on college pitchers with weak sauce.

I don't consider myself a "hater," and, to be honest, I don't hate anyone listed in the above e-mail. Nor do I know the true reasons for the Moores' divorce so I apologize for suggesting in any way that John was unfaithful to Becky and it was that that caused their split. I don't know the reasons, and the reasons themselves aren't any of my business (but really, why else would any couple end a marriage of 40 years unless one of them is duking people on the side ... I submit to you there is no other reason).

Truth be told, I'm not really this down on the Padres, but like any true fan I can't stand to sit there and watch my team get beat up over and over again without letting off a little steam. To his credit, Tatty Mareeco recognized this, and responded later in the day with this e-mail:

At least you've got A-Gon. That guy is a Beast. Maybe you can trade him to the Sox for two of Buchholz, Bowden and Masterson and then bring up that 1B prospect you've got. They've got plenty of pitching and might like the bat to replace the artist formerly known as Big Papi.

Yes, at least the Padres have A-Gon. What an absolute monster. He's like Pujols if Pujols was a Mexican-American who played in a pitchers ballpark and had a brother who also played in the major leagues. I can't imagine a Padres team right now without Adrian, which is why I responded to Tatty as follows:

If any team wants AGon and his 45 bombs a year for the next four years at less than 6 million per, they're going to have to give up a treasure trove of top pitching/middle infield prospects. I'm not sure any team has the package necessary to get AGon from the Padres. He's young, has an affordable contract, might be the best power hitter in baseball, and is a San Diegan with Mexican heritage who is the only everyday player anyone in San Diego would consider coming to Petco to see play. Scott Hairston aside.

That's right, I love me some Scotty Hairston. But this post isn't about Scotty, it's about Adrian. There isn't a package of prospects in the world right now the Padres should trade Adrian for, unless maybe Robin Yount, Mike Schmidt and Doc Gooden all of a sudden happened to be prospects again and some team wanted to trade them straight up for him. Then I'd maybe say Moorad should greenlight a deal.

Maybe.

Anyway, I'm already feeling a little better about the Padres after writing this blog post. Blogging is like a warm bath in that you still feel dirty when you're done, but you also feel a lot more relaxed. In that way it's also like a happy ending massage. Or so I've heard.

I sense a win against Cincy tonight.

Best,
Bevormo

Kurt Bevacqua ... Query

Kurt (aka Secret Weapon),

I don't mean to disturb what looks to be a very busy retirement, but I have a question for you. A few of my advisors - Tam O' Flannel, Father D.P. McGillicutty, Geleaux, Tatty Mareeco - have asked when this blog is going to start interviewing former members of the Padres, Chargers and Illini.

Considering that you are probably the greatest Padre of all time not named Tony Gwynn or Trevor Hoffman, they naturally suggested you as the first interviewee.

So, what do you think?

For my part, I have to say I am intrigued by the idea. My first reaction, however, was to wonder just how many f bombs you'd drop if some random blogger - me - dialed you up and asked to conduct an interview. I can't imagine you'd be too pleased with that. I'm tentatively setting the over/under at 43 f bombs, but I guess it really depends on the length of the call.

Anyway, I figure you have a lot better things to spend your time on - like playing poker, heading to TJ or taking batting practice down at Petco and sending blistering line drives off Kouzmanoff's bald noggin. But maybe not. Maybe you would be interested in an interview.

I may be in touch soon.

Best,
Bevormo