Where Is Everybody?

Roll call:

- Kevin Correia is on the mound against the San Francisco Baseball Giants, losing 2-1 in the top of the 3rd;

- my advisor Tatt Mareeco is sitting on his sofa watching Rafael Nadal play in the U.S. Open;

- my advisor Geleaux is sitting on his sofa watching the Giants-Padres game and watching Rafael Nadal play in the U.S. Open;

- my wife, Mrs. Bevormo, is at the U.S. Open with some friends watching Rafael Nadal play live in the U.S. Open; and

- I am sitting in my office at 10:58 PM EST doing the Man's work under flourescent lightbulbs and surrounded by reams of paper and the roar of the night cleaning crew vaccuming the hallway carpet.

Awesome.

PS - E-mail sent from my wife to me about an hour ago:

"U.S. Open celebs in attendance (in no particular order): The Donald, Michael Phelps, Tony Bennett, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban.

"Bevormo's office celebs in attendance: none."

Ouch.

These Padres Aren't Too Shabby

I did a little reading on the red eye flight back from L.A. and came upon this incredible set of statistics:

- since July 28, the Padres have the 4th best record in all of baseball (22-15 before Sunday night's game against the hated Dadgers);

- the Padres have won nine of their last 12 games; and

- the Padres have won nine of their last 12 series.

That's quite a run by the young Drinos. It's happening with a lot of the same position players who look to make up next summer's roster: Adrian Gonzalez, David Eckstein, Everth Cabrera, Will Venable, Tony Gwynn, Jr., Chase Headley and/or Kevin Kouzmanoff (that will be interesting), Nick Hundley and, until last week, Kyle Blanks. On the pitching side, Mat Latos, Clayton Richard, Kevin Correia and Tim Stauffer - all guys who figure into the rotation mix in 2010 - are pitching well enough to keep the Drinos in ballgames. The bullpen guys - Luke Gregerson, Adam Russell, Ed Mujica, Joe Thatcher, Heath Bell - will all be back next season.

In sum, I'm already stoked for 2010, but I'm just as stoked for the final 3 weeks of the year. Despite today's loss to the Gints, the Padres will be competitive and will have a say in what team makes the NL Wild Card.

Nice job, Kevin Towers, putting together a team with some potential.

Juice And Rejus And The Boys Aren't Ready

Objectively speaking, that was the worst Illini performance - in every single facet of the game - since the 33-0 drubbing the team took at Rutgers in September 2006.

I have nothing more to say about that.

Juice And Rejus And The Boys Are Ready

It's not often - at least in Illini country - that your favorite squad brings back two legitimate superstars that are leaders, that have experience and that have the talent to absolutely dominate the league. No one in the national media is mentioning it, but both Juice Williams and Arrelious Benn are Heisman capable. Rejus Benn will be a top 10 NFL pick next season and Juice, by the end of this season, will hold every single relevant quarterback record in the history of Illini football.

What. A pair. Of beasts.

But the Illini don't stop there. Zook has given new offensive coordinator, Mike Schultz, a stunning array of depth on offense. At QB, if something were to happen to Juice, Eddie McGee and Jacob Charest are waiting in the wings, Eddie with proven ability and Jacob, by all accounts, a kid with a big-time arm.

At running back, the Illini go at least four deep: Daniel Dufrene (who may be out today against Missou), Troy Pollard, Mikel Leshoure and Jason Ford, will all get carries and all have big game skill. True frosh Justin Green is a pure burner that may be the best of the bunch. No shortage there.

Receiver is an embarrassment of riches. It starts with Benn but #2 guy, Jerred Fayson, the Florida transfer, is another stud who has been waiting patiently for a year to step on the field and make plays. You can't double team Benn because of Fayson and that's going to open up some huge plays. Let's not forget A.J. Jenkins, Jeff Cumberland, Jack Ramsey, Fred Sykes, Chris Duvalt, Cordale Scott and tight-end Michael Hoomanawanui. All are monsters and make up one of the deepest receiving units in the country. Juice just has to decide where to throw and the rest will take care of itself.

The O-Line returns 3 starters and is filled with big guys with experience: Jon Asamoah, Ryan Palmer, Eric Block, Randall Hunt, Jeff Allen, Jack Cornell, Corey Lewis, Craig Wilson and Graham Pocic. All are capable of moving mountains. All are mountains. Juice should have time to throw and room to run all season.

I like the defenese too. The D-Line has some legit, albeit young, talent. Josh Brent and Corey Liuget could be first team all Big Ten. Doug Pilcher and Sirod Williams add upper-class experience. Then you toss in Clay Nurse and Antonio James, and you have a solid core group. A lot is riding on these guys to plug the middle and put pressure on opposing QBs. If Brent and Liuget are as good as I think they are, this unit will surprise people.

Linebacker might be the key to the entire season. If Martez Wilson - taking over the MLB position from Brit Miller - plays like the Simeon Rice-type athlete he is, then all will be good in Illini-land. He has the strength and moves to get to the QB from anywhere on the field and the speed and quickness to track down running backs from sideline to sideline. The rest of the LBs - Ian Thomas, Aaron Gress, Nate Bussey, Russell Ellington, Evan Frierson - are all pretty young and lack extensive playing experience. Their developing maturity and playmaking skill, as I wrote above, may be the key to the defense's success or failure this season.

The secondary loses Vontae but may be improved overall. It's a shame that Miami Thomas went down and is out for a second straight season, but the unit still has talent. Tavon Wilson, Donsay Hardeman and Dere Hicks have playmaking skill. Highly rated frosh Terry Hawthorne, recruited by many as a wideout, has good hands and good speed and may get playing time at DB. Frosh Joelil Thrash also impressed coaches in training camp. One or both of those guys will have to contribute for the DB unit to succeed on the field.

As for today against Missou, I see a few keys to the game for the Illini:

1. Juice must limit his picks. If Juice has two or more TD passes than he does picks, the Illini will win. My guess is he will have 4 TD passes and 1 pick today. I can live with that ratio.

2. Martez has to make some tackles in the backfield. If Martez gets to the Missou running backs a few times behind the line, that should set the tone for the defense the entire season.

3. The DBs need to show they can cover the Missou wideouts. Chase Daniel carved up the Illini last season, and the new QB, Gabbert, also has a big arm. Someone in the Illini defensive backfield has to make a play today.

Overall, I say the Illini win 42 - 24.

Get r dun Juice and Rejus.

LA LA

I am in Los Angeles.

And so are the Padres.

LeBlanc v. Kershaw in about an hour.

Tim Stauffer + Clayton Richad + Kevin Correia = Nats Dominance

Tim "Stouffer". That's what Nats announcer Rob Dibble called Tim Stauffer on Monday night. Apparently no one in the Nats' broadcasting truck bothered to correct Dibble, because he must have said "Stouffer" about 16 times.

That's okay. I always liked Norm Charlton better anyway.

But I digress. More important than any name calling was the performance by the starting Padre pitchers during the series against the Nats. Tim, Clayton Richard and Kevin Correia all dominated. Their individual lines looked this:

Stauffer: 6.2 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 Ks
Richard: 6.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 Ks
Correia: 7.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 Ks

Yes, this all happened against the Nats, and while playing at Petco Park. But life's too short to discount good pitching performances. I'd rather spend my time celebrating them.

Nicely done, boys.

Who Is This Oscar Salazar Fellow?

It flew under the radar in the mainstream press, but KT dumped Cla Meredith on the O's last month and, in the process, picked up the above-pictured Oscar Salazar.

Yet another KT snake in a long line of KT snakes.

Since joining the Drinos, Oscar is smoking to the tune of .333/.356/.524. He also made an incredible, over-the-shoulder, knee-banging-against-the-wall, game-saving catch in left field last night, and, tonight, hit a big solo bomb in the bottom of the 7th to give the Pads a 3-1 lead.

A quick perusal of the Internet tells me that Oscar has been a journeyman since debuting in the Bigs back in '02. He has bounced around the minors and played in the Mexican League, and now is getting a bit of an extended shot with the Drinos.

Might he be a pinch-hitter, utility guy on a pennant-contending Drino team in 2010?

I believe he might.