Author: padspod

Game notes: Rockies 3, Padres 14 (5-1)

On May Day, the Padres showed their solidarity with the proletariate by getting to work. They dispatched with the capitalist scum Rockies by a score of 14-3.

Derek Norris proving me right / Yan Solarte proving Manny right

On the last episode of the podcast, I said Derek Norris is the Padre I’d most like to have at the plate with the World Series on the line.  Tonight, he gave further credibility to my statement with a solid single up the middle to score Justin Upton from third in the 4th inning.  Dude is batting damn over .600 with runners in scoring position.  After his RBI, I started bragging to other Pads Pod members about how my choice was spot on.  Then Yan Solarte, who was Manny’s choice for most clutch, came up and, after what seemed like hours after Norris’ at bat, slapped a two RBI single up the middle as well.  Solarte is also batting over .600 with RISP.  Although it wasn’t exactly a clutch situation, he came up in the 8th, with the game already in blow-out status, and singled home two more RBIs to take his total to 16 (sorry Jedd). Norris came up later that inning and doubled home Kemp. The race for the title of Mr. Clutch continues…

Chill the fuck out on the pitching

Our starters have, for the most part, been very good.  The bullpen will regress to the mean.  Fucking relax.  Do you think Kimbrel, Quack and Vincent are going to maintain ERAs near 5.00?  Hell to the no.  Furthermore, most of the relievers that caused us a shitload of damage are not currently on the 25 man roster (Kelley, Mazzoni, Rearick). I’m not saying this team doesn’t have some significant deficiencies, but, over the course of the season, I highly doubt the bullpen will be one of them.  Twitter can be a depressing place.  It’s hard to get perspective, but I really think we will be fine.  If I end up being wrong then I’ll just go fuck myself.

Self esteem

This was exactly the game our bullpen needed.  They were able to take over with an ample lead and get themselves right.  It was great to be able to get Quack in there in a low-pressure situation in the 7th.  He handled the situation with aplomb. I hope you don’t know what that word means because I’m doubtful that I used it correctly. Anyways, he sat those assholes down 1-2-3, and that’s gotta be great for his, and the entire pen’s, confidence going forward. Dale Thayer then came in, and continued to do his thing.  Nick Vincent took over in the 9th and had some trouble getting the final out, but overall I think it was a positive night for Padres relievers.

Upton’s base running

He went first to third early in the game. Then, he stole a base in the 7th after getting on base with an infield single. Showing he can compliment his power game with some small ball.

Pads Pod Episode 5: Step it Up

In this, the 5th episode of Pads Pod, we consider who we’d want to up to bat with the World Series on the line.  In addition, we discuss the possibility of a new shortstop.  You’ll also hear our pitch for a Kickstarter campaign to bring back Mervyn’s department store. 

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Game Notes: Dodgers 1, Padres 3 (4-26)

The Padres demoralized a pitiful looking Dodgers team on Military Sunday by taking the final game of the series by a score of 3-1. Although the Dodgers won the series, it is now clear that these teams are headed in opposite directions.  The Dodgers will win no other games this season, while the Padres will win them all.  Game notes:

Glen Hoffman acting spracked

What’s the deal Hoffy? Chill out, broseph.  In the first inning, he sent Solarte home after a double by Kemp.  Solarte was coming from first base, and Pedersen had the ball before Yan had even reached third. So why risk it with Upton coming up?  Probably because he, like we do, believes this team can do defy logic and physics. For example, I believe that one day Jedd Gyorko will hit the ball hard and it will not go directly into an infielder’s glove.  Like Climate Change deniers, I will continue to believe this despite all scientific evidence to the contrary.

Upton’s defense

Great diving catch in the 3rd.  This fool is going to make so much money on the free agent market.  I hold out some slight semblance of hope that AJ will find a way to keep him.  But, whatever methods our rockstar GM ends up employing towards those ends, I’m sure they will be extremely unethical.

Alexi perplexi

After Friday’s game I wrote that Alexi didn’t deserve to be our starting shortstop this season.  He called me after the game that night and was like:

“What the fuck Pads Pod?  Why are you saying that shit about me?”

And, I was like “Alexi, I’m sorry but it’s just my opinion.  If you don’t like it, why don’t you go out there and show me I’m wrong?”

And he was like, “Alright, bitch. Watch what I’m fixin’ to do on Sunday.”

I thought he was just heated and talking nonsense that he couldn’t back up, but apparently he was serious. Lesson learned: continue saying that Alexi isn’t quite good enough to be our starting shortstop.

Two on, two out, bottom of the ninth World Series Game 7, tied:

If I could choose any Padres player to bat in this situation, with all due respect to Kemp and Upton, I, without hesitation, would choose Derek Norris. His offense won the game for us today (and he threw out a runner in the first, and made a great throw on a dropped 3rd strike in the 9th to get Adrian). Derek only just turned 26, and with Austin Hedges starting to hit at El Paso, the Padfather (AJ) has some interesting decisions to make in the coming years.

The 8th and 9th the way they should be

Today we saw our dreams realized.  A perfect, dominating, no nonsense final two innings from Benoit and Kimbrel.  When the Kimbrel trade was first announced, fantasies swirled in my head of opposing teams sobbing and shaking their heads as they realized that trailing the Padres after the 7th inning meant their feeble efforts had all been in vain. Rarely do we the idealized world inside our minds come to fruition.  But, this is the 2015 Padres, bitches.  Get used to it.

Three Adorable Tweets from Odrisamer Despaigne

With Ian Kennedy’s return to the rotation today, let’s take a minute to think about the man who did such a wonderful job of filling in for him.  If Odrisamer Despaigne  isn’t one of your favorite Padres, you’re a cold hearted son-of-a-gun.  Here are three adorable tweets from him.  Let the cute tingles flow through your body.

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Game Notes: Dodgers 3, Padres 0 (4-24)

The Padres scored zero runs, but the Dodgers scored three.  Therefore, according to the rules of baseball, the Dodgers were awarded a win.  According to the rules of life, the Dodgers were sent to hell for all eternity because they are comprised of 25 complete and utter pieces of shit. Games notes:

Alexi is depressing

I like Amarista.  He just shouldn’t be our starting shortstop for this magnificent season.  He killed two rallies in the early innings. With the bases loaded in the 2nd he struck out.  Anything but a strikeout there totally alters the game. Our 6  and 7 batters (Norris and Middlebrooks) were getting on, but Alexi coming to the plate he just deflates the situation.  His mere presence seemed to settle Greinke down.  Can’t have that shit.  Not this year.  Despite a well turned double play today, his defense isn’t spectacular enough to warrant his lack of offense. Let’s go all in nab someone significantly better.  I know you’re reading this, AJ.  Come on, bro.

Cashner throwing baseballs well

Cash looked great all night.  Don’t be mistaken, the Dodgers lineup is hella solid one through eight (one through nine with Greinke on the mound).  With the exception of the Crawford homerun in the 7th, Dodger hitters were rarely able to square up his offerings. He got Douche-mani Grandal to ground into a key double play in the 6th and had six strikeouts on the night.  Although his previous starts this season felt kinda sketchy, he’s throwing up a 2.63 ERA. Not bad from your 3rd starter.  He also took a hack with the bases loaded in 2nd that sent him into a spinning corkscrew. Though such displays are not surprising from Andrew, they continue to be endearing.

Game Notes: Padres 4, Rockies 5 (4-22)

Los pinche bueno Padres de San Diego lost a baseball game to a team called the Rockies because the Padres scored 4 points, but the Rockies scored more.  That sucks. Game notes below.

Wil Myers emerging as a leader?

When we traded for Myers, there were a lot of rumblings that attitude played a part in the Rays’ view of him as expendable. I even heard an interview with Buddy soon after the December trade-a-thon where he basically said that Wil had some serious maturing to do. It’s still early, but at least with his on the field performance, he seems to be developing into a leader.  As stated by Jesse Agler:

I agree.  ‘In the thick of it’ seems to be an appropriate expression.  Lately, the little cutie seems to be contributing when we need him the most, and when he gets back into the dugout he continues to be all up in it.  He immediately starts chatting fools up and encouraging others.  I get the feeling that he’s a bit too enthusiastic, and might get on some of the older guys’ nerves, but they’re probably just jealous of his boyish good looks.

I <3 Wil

Derek Norris and the Agilities 

The way Derek moves around behind the plate is nothing short of magnificent.  Watching him in the 7th was like watching a god-damned ballet with jaguars starring as the ballerinas.

After several pitches from Thayer in the dirt, he bounced up and fired the ball to first base to try to catch Ynoa loping. After another bouncer, Ynoa tried to go to second and Norris nailed his ass with a perfect throw; his second caught stealing of the game.  At this point, we’ve gotten used to Norris gunning down jabronies with extreme prejudice.  But again, during this half inning, I was just totally impressed by how quick, graceful, and aware he is back there.  Beautiful to watch.

Kimbrel trade might prove to be most important of AJ’s deals

What first inspired surprise now seems to be another stroke of genius.  At the time, people were perplexed that AJ chose to strengthen a strength by adding Kimbrel to the bullpen rather than focusing on the infield.  However, thus far, our bullpen hasn’t exactly been shut-down.   Read more

Game Notes: Padres 14, Rockies 3 (4-20)

These were hard game notes to write.  So many talking points, and wonderful moments to send you to bed happy.  The Padres opened up a mammoth can of whoop-ass on the Rockies, winning the first game of the series 14-3.

You can find an actual informative rundown of the game from MLB.com by click right here.

Derek Norris, natural Xanax.

He is such a soothing player to watch at the plate.  I would imagine if I was wearing a heart rate monitor during the game, I would be damn near flatlined when he comes up.  Not because he’s boring, but because he inspires such calm confidence in myself, the fan. You don’t get too excited thinking he’s going to hit a 500 foot homer, but you also don’t get worried thinking he’s gonna do something irrational. Today, he was 3-5 with two doubles and an RBI.  On an unrelated note, his face reminds me of an ent from Lord of the Rings.  He’s quickly becoming my favorite Padre.

 OD’s first hit: 

The visuals from the dugout after Odrisamer’s first hit in the 3rd were nothing short of heart-warming.  Cory Spangenberg was smiling like a little girl who just got a pony for her birthday, Yonder jumped out of his seat and pulled on his hair like he just saw a god-damned UFO,  Kotsay was banging on the top rail of the dugout like he just took a double shot of Fireball.  Not that it’s been lacking this season, but it’s always awesome to see genuine team spirit and emotion from the boys.  At first base, OD was playing it cool, shrugging it off, but couldn’t hide a smile.  What a great moment. Then, I read this tweet and felt a little bad for him.  Hope he learns to say “fuck you guys” ASAP.

OD going deep into the game:

The bullpen’s been worked hard in the last two series…you’re going into Coors Field.  Not a good combo.  OD said, probably in Spanish, “Chinga that noise, I got this.”  He quietly dominated the game into the 7th while giving up only two runs on six hits. In the process, he gave our key relievers a much needed rest. Garces and Rearick, fringe pen members, finished the game off with not much ado.

Don’t fight the power:

I can’t remember so many Padres going the other way with the ball with such regularity. Norris, Yonder and Middlebrooks have especially shown an ability to take an outside fastball the other way. Two of Norris’ hits today went to left field, Middlebrooks has homered a couple times to the opposite field, and Yonder is developing a propensity for the 5.5 hole.  People who know shit about baseball say that’s a good sign.

Kemp’s 3 hits and 4 RBIs:

I honestly don’t know what to say or what superlative to use.  It’s like the Tao.  That which can be spoken of is not the true Kemp.

Game Notes: Padres 5, Cubs 2 (4-19)

On Sunday April 19th at Wrigley Field, the San Diego Padres disposed of the Chicago Cubs by a score of 5-2.  In doing so, our boys took another series and improved their season record to 8-5.  You can find Corey Brock’s full rundown of the game here.  Below, you’ll find some points from the game that stood out to us.

Cashner and Amarista bromance

Did you see their elaborate handshake? It looked awesome. One reason for the awesomeness is that Cashner is 6’5 and Alexi is 5’6.  Another reason is that I’m pretty sure Alexi barely speaks English.  These are the last two guys I would have expected to have a man crush on each other, but yet there it is.  I would imagine the friendship was solidified when Cash introduced Alexi to his favorite type of bourbon.


Buddy’s ejection leads to a HR, base hit

In the 2nd inning, Buddy screamed something after a ball/strike call to Will Middlebrooks and got tossed while still in the dugout.  That’s impressive.  Buddy was so mad, he was making Venable, who was waiting in the hole, super uncomfortable.  Two pitches after the ejection, Middlebrooks cuuuuh-rushed a 2-run HR to left.  Struggling Jedd Gyorko followed with a base hit. Then Venable, who was disturbed by Buddy’s outburst, went on to knock an RBI single in the 6th. Coincidence? Yes. Why did I bring this up, then? I don’t know.

Jedd stumbling his way out of the dog house 

It’s not pretty, but it’s starting to happen.  Two hits today and one yesterday.  Buddy mentioned in an interview yesterday that Jedd has been hitting the ball hard since his return from the bench.

What do you guess he worked on with hitting coach Mark Kotsay during his time off? Everyone (Buddy, Mark Grant, Bevacqua, Sweeney, etc.) was saying that Jedd was just trying too hard. My theory is that, during Jedd’s sabbatical, Kotsay simply tried to take his mind off baseball by making him do peyote.   Read more

Pads Pod Episode 4: Guess Who

On this episode of Pads Pod we discuss the San Diego Padres series win against the Diamondbacks and gush about our wonderful lineup.  Also, we ponder the theory that AJ is behind the Chargers leaving San Diego.  Finally, we play a Padres ‘Guess Who’ game. You’ll also hear an entertaining commercial from our sponsor Penised.com who created the logo you see below.

Screen Shot 2015-04-19 at 9.33.41 AM

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Game Notes: Padres vs D-Bags (4-15)

Henceforth, Pads Pod shall attempt to post some takeaway thoughts/notes following most games. Below, you’ll find the above-mentioned attempt as we think through the Padres’ 3-2 defeat of Arizona to gain a series win and complete a 5-2 homestand.

Our superstars don’t take the game for granted:  

Unlike that douchebag right fielder up in LA, our superstars hustle and play humble. Upton’s huge night, which consisted of 2 singles, a diving catch, and a game winning solo HR, is a great example of that. Upton realizes it’s a team game.  He is having smart, contact-focused at bats when needed, but also seems to realize when it’s appropriate to swing for the fences.

Also, Upton got super fucking pissed when he popped out with men on in the sixth.  That’s not the first time I’ve seen him do that.  Dude knows he’s a leader and accountable.

I think this applies to Kemp too.  He hasn’t gone yard yet, but that shit doesn’t bother him.  He’s taking what’s being given to him and getting on base instead (or sacrifice flying in the 6th) instead of trying to make it on shitty-ass SportsCenter.

How the fuck did the Diamondbacks win a World Series?:  

They’re fucking lame. Read more

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