These Padres Just Win Baseball Games

Another win last night over the Brew Crew.

7 wins, 4 losses through 11 games in August.

I'm dizzy with all this success.

More Than 20 Hits In One Game?

Yep.

A Conference Room In Stamford, Connecticut

Where was I yesterday afternoon? Answer: in a windowless conference room in the Stamford, Connecticut Marriott, dressed in a suit, taking a deposition in an insurance coverage litigation involving issues of policy exhaustion and pro rata time on the risk allocation across an extended coverage bloc.

Now I don't have the time to explain what any of that means, nor do I really know myself, but trust me, it's not a preferred way to spend a Sunday. The only redeeming factor of the day was that the USA Dart Classic was being held in Salons A, B and C of the Marriott. Imagine a carpeted hotel ballroom lined with portable dartboards and filled with pinpoint dart throwers swilling bottles of Bud and eating corn dogs. I walked into the ballroom during a break in the deposition and one guy staggered over and said in a high-pitched voice, "Hey, nice tie man. Nice tie."

Needless to say I felt out of place.

My point in telling you all this is that I was not pleased with my lot in life yesterday and, feeling that way, wanted to post a blog entry that captured that mood.

How better to do that than with links to video of three of the more heinous moments in Padre history.

First, Alan Trammell's second bomb in Game 4 of the 1984 World Series. Is it me or does Eric Show look like he is frightened of his own shadow. Granted, he was in Detroit and that's a scary place, but you'd think he could have presented a more imposing presence on such a grand stage.

Second, Kirk Gibson's 8th inning blast off of Goose Gossage in Game 5 of the '84 World Series after Goose convinced Dick Williams not to intentionally walk Gibson. Not a good decision. But seriously though, could that d-bag Gibson have trotted around the bases any slower?

And third, Mark Langston's strike out of Tino Martinez in Game 1 of the 1998 World Series that the umpire missed, leading directly to Tino hitting a go-ahead grand slam. Take a look at Mark's pitch at the 40 second mark. Only one word can describe that pitch: strike.

Hope I didn't depress anyone with this list but not everyday can be happy go lucky. I will say though that the day ended on a positive uptick as I watched the Red Sox-Yanquis game from a suite at the New Stade Fascist. Free hot dogs, mac and cheese and draft Coors Louies.

I guess it wasn't that bad a Sunday after all.

Sir Everth The Mighty, And Brave

That's what I call a screenshot.

When Everth Cabrera hit that game-winning grand slam off K-Rod last night, I wasn't watching. You see, I had it as a goal yesterday to finish the last 5 episodes of Season 1 of Mad Men, and I am happy to report that I completed that task with aplomb.

It is nice for one to meet one's goals.

Tonight, however, I am setting Mad Men Season 2 aside (picked up for 60% off yesterday at B&N) and devoting my attention to Mat Latos and the boys as they go for three straight against the Metsies.

If I know Mat, he won't let me down.

Beat The Mets

Something about the New York Mets always makes me think of the 1960s. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact the Mets began as a franchise in 1962, were terrible, and then turned it all around and had a World Championship in the bag by 1969.

If that turnaround doesn't lay claim to consideration as Team of the Decade, I don't know what will.

Of course the assocation with the '60s might also come from my many trips to Shea Stadium the past five years. That old park was built in 1964 and, until it was torn down earlier this year, always felt a bit like walking into a time machine each time I passed through its gates.

Not that any of this nostalgia changes the main point I want to convey this evening.

That is, I hope Kevin Correia dominates the Mets tonight and Kyle Blanks, Adrian Gonzalez and the boys send our old friend OP to an early shower.

Game on.

Clayton Richard ... On The Mound ... Soon

My boy Clayton Richard takes the mound tonight for the Padres against the ultra-soft lineup of the New York Metropolitans.

I smell a gem.

To whet our collective appetites, let's take a quick look at Clayton's last 3 starts across the two leagues:

July 21 v. Tampa Bay: 8.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 Ks

July 26 at Detroit: 8.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 Ks

August 1 v. Milwaukee: 5.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 Ks

In a word, nice. For those playing along at home, that averages out to 7.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, and 5 Ks per start. That's a .14 ERA and a .85 WHIP.

I shouldn't have to tell you that the Ray, Tiger and Brewer lineups are not peopled with slouches.

Ger r dun, Clayton.

The Rumors Of My Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

And you thought I might never return. So silly of you.

Anyway, yes, I am back and will now begin posting regularly as I have been, with minor exceptions, since January.

Should be a good time.

I'll let you know where I was and why I had to take a few weeks off in an upcoming post, but in the meantime, let me say that the Padrinos tee off against the Bravos in a few minutes time. Our boy Tim Stauffer takes the hill and looks to continue his legendary comeback season.

Let me also mention that in the few moments I've been able to watch the Padres over the past few weeks, I've liked what I've seen. Especially the play of Kyle Blanks, Will Venable, Everth Cabrera and wunderkind Mat Latos. And I'm not the only one. Geoff Young is so stoked by these guys that he invented a "modified box score" system specifically to track their performance the remainder of the season. Geoff's system seems a lot like my own highly scientific system of "watch the games and see if these guys do anything good."

Both systems are equally accurate measures of performance.

Go Padres! Tonight! Against the Braves!