These Padres can win. These Padres are significantly better up the middle now, both offensively and defensively. Hoyer’s embraced small ball. Maybin, Hudson and Bartlett could combine for 60 or more steals in 2011. And there’s more to come. Somebody’s eventually going to fill up first base and try to knock in these guys.

Call me crazy, but I see myself walking out of Petco Park next year over and over, again wondering how the Padres are winning games. This time, though, I won’t be nearly as surprised.

This is the "first reaction" podcast from 619Sports.Net. We’ll learn more about the players coming to San Diego in coming days, but the first peel of the onion reveals Chris Ello feeling sad and angry about the seeming inevitability of Adrian winding up in Fenway, while Craig Elsten is concerned the Padres didn’t get middle infield help back for their most marketable asset.

(From 619Sports.Net) Adrian Gonzalez is Schrodinger’s Cat. He’s in the box, the box is his impending free agency, and as long as he’s in there, the Padres are in an untenable situation. They can’t open the box, because they know what they’re going to find inside. But until they do, the franchise is stuck in limbo.

The confetti falls. The champagne flows. And there grabbing a hold of the World Series trophy for the first time is manager Bruce Bochy. Yep, the very same Bruce Bochy who was so well-loved (mostly) during his tenure as skipper of the Padres.

Yep. It’s all coming together now. We’ll never win anything of our own in San Diego, but our former heroes will continue to win championships elsewhere. Like I said…destiny.

Check out passionate commentary from Chargers LB Stephen Cooper, talking about how he and the rest of the players have "let down" Norv Turner, as well as why he thinks the new NFL suspensions for hard hits will have the Lingerie Football League outdrawing the Chargers...come to think of it, none of the LFL games have been blacked out ;)

(via 619Sports.Net): What went wrong? What fell apart over the final five weeks of the season? Which strategic mistakes cost the Padres down the stretch? And which season-long problems rose up to become factors by year’s end? My analysis is below.

Wow. Fun party. The ending left quite a hangover though. And the house is a mess. Cleaning up after the Padres’ 90-72, 2nd place, close-but-no-cigar season is going to take a while.

I took a few days after the season ended to try and digest everything that happened. This is the first in a series of articles over the next few weeks which will eventually try and lead to where the Padres need to be going for 2011 and beyond. First, let’s look at some of the key issues, decisions and storylines from the campaign completed. Our first outing deals with the positives from 2010, and there are plenty:

There’s a lot of mud in the case of Vincent Jackson v. the San Diego Chargers, and not much clear water. One side is talking (a lot/too much). The other side has said what it’s going to say, clearly. What are we to think?

I have no idea who’s telling the truth. But I know who isn’t. Everyone’s guilty. Direct examples to follow:

Must see video from San Diego-based sports website 619Sports.Net: Ron Artest sounds off on his bizarre pregame plans for the Lakers' exhibition against Golden State at the SD Sports Arena, trading the Clippers to San Diego for the Chargers, and (really) restoring Pluto to planethood.

No independent source brings you closer to Chargers gameday than 619Sports.Net! Hear from Ryan Mathews, Mike Tolbert, Antoine Cason, Antonio Gates, Jacques Cesaire and Kevin Burnett after San Diego’s 38-13 win over Jacksonville. Due to NFL rules this sound won’t be around for long, so get it while it’s hot!

Craig Elsten reports from Chargers Park on Norv Turner’s Tuesday press conference, his play-calling decision process at the goal line, and Philip Rivers’ excitable on-field demeanor:

619Sports.Net's Craig Elsten reports from Chargers Park on the cuts made by San Diego to reach the 53-man roster limit (new VIDEO):

New podcast on 619Sports.Net! Chris and Craig look at the Padres' advantageous position in the NL West heading into a difficult home stretch:

619Sports.Net offers comprehensive, multi-media postgame coverage of the San Diego Chargers. Check out our game story, plus TWO postgame videos & a postgame audio interview with Ryan Mathews.

Bud Black, Clayton Richard, Ryan Ludwick and Jon Garland discuss the upcoming showdown series with San Francisco in a 619Sports.Net preview video from Petco Park.

What's the one, simple, affordable move the Padres could make at the trade deadline to win the NL West? 619Sports.Net's Craig Elsten has the answer in his Wednesday column (and no it's not Roy Oswalt or Jayson Werth):

After the announcement of Bud Black's new 3-year contract extension on Monday morning, Black joined the San Diego media for a quickly arranged conference call. Bud discussed his new deal & relationship in Jed Hoyer, listen to embedded soundbytes from Black in the 619Sports.Net story.