April 2010

How Sweep It Is…

So, I will be at Sunday’s game as the
Padres, who seem to have caught fire, go for the sweep
against Arizona. Wade LeBlanc, called up from AAA today, will
start for the Padres and make his first start of 2010,
against Ian Kennedy, who went 5 innings and allowed 3 runs vs
the Padres in Arizona last week. The Padres won in dramatic
fashion Friday night,when Chase Headley sent a 1-1 fastball
deep into the night at Petco and sent Padres fans into a
frenzy as the Padres celebrated a come-from-behind 6-3 win
over Arizona. Tonight, the Padres won 5-0 thanks to solid
pitching from Kevin Correia, and paced by Nick Hundley on
offense, who had 3 RBI’s. Both teams hope to be .500 by the
end of tomorrow. Let’s go Padres

Rubber Match: Pads vs. D-backs: 4/7

Well it is the Rubber Match of the Series.
The D-backs winning the opener 6-3 and the Padres winning
game #2 by the same score of 6-3. Tonight’s pitching matchup
is Kevin Correia for the Padres and Ian Kennedy for the
D-backs. Ian Kennedy will make his D-back debut after coming
over from the Yankees. Padres Manager Bud Black said that
Scott Hairston will be starting in the outfield for the
Padres tonight, and I assume that means he will be in CF,
replacing Gwynn Jr. Tune into Channel 4 San Diego @ 6:40 PT
as Dick Enberg and Mark Grant call the game, let’s take the
series and head into Denver hot. Go Padres!

Baseball Needs a Salary Cap for the Greater Good of the Game

http://sports.espn.go.com/newyork/mlb/news/story?id=5060292

I saw this article on ESPN and could not agree with the Brewers more.Sure, I am a Padres fan and clearly biased, but the current system in baseball is a total joke. Teams can buy a World Series, as we saw last year with the Yankees, as they go out and trade and sign the best players around, while small-market teams are forced to get talent through their minor league systems. Once that talent from the minor league systems become very good, teams like the Red Sox,Phillies and Yankees simply harvest the players. It is as if all the other MLB teams are minor league systems for the big-market teams, simply trading their top players for prospects. Parity in the NFL is achieved because there is a salary cap, and there is a fair chance for every team to succeed every season. Now, can Pirates, Padres, Marlins and other low-payroll teams, say the same? Do these teams have any real chance coming into the season to win a world series, let alone make the playoffs? No.  The same teams dominate baseball every year and there is 0 parity involved. A salary cap would be the best thing to happen to baseball. It would allow the small-market teams to succeed and have a shot at the World Series. It will limit the ability to spend millions of dollars to “buy” a World Series and simply take all the talent from small-market teams. It will help smaller market teams keep their stars. Players like Prince Fielder, Hanley Ramirez, Adrian Gonzalez, all play for small-market teams, and their value is exponentially increasing due to their talent. The odds of the Marlins, Brewers and Padres keeping these guys, is very small, because they simply cannot afford to keep their stars. And guess who will be trading for these guys or signing them as FA? Teams like the Red Sox, Yankees, and Phillies. Yeah, im biased because I am a Padres fan and pretty much any fan of a big-market team would disagree with me as they like the current system. They love that ESPN spends all day talking about their team, while other teams are simply thrown out the door. Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, that is all anyone on the news or sports stations ever wants to talk about. Do what football has done, get a salary cap. If football didn’t have this, we would see Dallas, the New York teams, Philadelphia, and other big-market teams loading up on talent and buying talent. Parity needs to be added to baseball to make the game better. Add a salary cap, so the little guy has a fighting shot at winning some games, and not an outside hope of even making the playoffs. Limit the power of the big-market teams to go out and take the stars from other teams and to buy a ring. We need a cap

You Padre fans Ready to Kill the Snake?

Tune to Channel 4 San Diego at 2:10 PT as
the San Diego Padres begin their 2010 quest to turn some
heads, as they take on the Arizona Diamondbacks. John Garland
will be making his first career opening day start as he duels
all-star Dan Haren. Tomorrow Chris Young will duel Edwin
Jackson, who was acquired from Detroit this off-season which
sent Curtis Granderson into pinstripes. And Wednesday’s game
will pit Kevin Correia, the Padres team-leader in wins last
season against Ian Kennedy, who the D-backs acquired in the
Jackson, Granderson, 3 team trade this off-season. Let’s go
Friars and lets get a sweep!

15 Bold Predictions

1. The Pirates will be in the NL Central race until middle September.
2. The San Diego Padres will win the NL wild-card.
3. Roy Halladay will have an ERA over 3.50
4. The LA Angels will finish last in the AL West
5. Adrian Gonzalez will NOT be traded this season.
6. Jake Peavy will win the AL Cy Young
7. The Braves, not the Phillies, will win the NL East
8. The Cubs will finally make the playoffs, and then lose in the first round to the Braves.
9. The Yankees will not make the playoffs
10. The Nationals will be so bad that Stephen Strausberg will be called up in the middle of July and go on to lead Washington in wins
11. Target Field will lose its hype as Mauer struggles and the Twins start to lose
12. Pat Venditte, the ambidextrous pitcher for the Yankees will win 5 games this season
13.Jamie Moyer will call it quits and retire at the All-Star Break after getting shelled all year long
14. Barry Bonds will appear in MLB Headlines as he tries to make a comeback career and will sign with the Boston Red Sox
14
15. The Atlanta Braves will win the 2010 World Series, 4 games to 2 over the Seattle Mariners.

Friarhood Steve

http://friarhood.com/

visit his website or add him on Facebook. (Friarhood Steve) His website is your round-the-clock Padres news site, with blogs, personal opinions, chat, and everything related to your Padres. I highly recommend this site to all you Friar fans

Fantasy Player To Watch:Sleeper

Andrew McCutchen.

I was called crazy when i drafted him in the middle rounds, but I believe he has the potential to turn some heads. Last season he batted .286 with 12 Hr, 54 RBI and 22 SB. Those numbers arent exactly all-star material, but this young phenom has potential. He may be overlooked with Hayward being brought up for Atlanta, but this kid could turn some heads. He was the only person in the majors last season to have a 3 HR game and a 3 SB game. He has good power and very good speed. He could steal 50-60 bases for the Bucs and hit 20-30 HR. He is an electric type of player and he doesn’t get the respect he deserves because he plays in Pittsburgh. Don’t take this kid that early, but if he is still around in the 5th to 7th rounds, i say take him, he could be an all-star this season and you will not regret taking McCutchen.

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