I pretty much keep my thoughts to myself when it comes to suicide. I'll intellectualize, but that's just to not feel the emotion of the loss of what's really going on. For those that want to feel those emotions, the Chargers are having a Celebration of life for Junior Seau. The text of the email is below...

Please join us in celerating the life of Junior Seau on May 11

Dear Patrick,

The San Diego Chargers will host a Celebration of Life in honor of Chargers linebacker and San Diego community icon Junior Seau on Friday, May 11 at 6:30 pm at Qualcomm Stadium. The ceremony is open to the public and parking and admission are free. The Celebration of Life will allow San Diegans to join in a community-wide tribute to their native son who passed away on Wednesday, May 2. Special guest speakers will share stories and memories of the positive impact Seau made on them and countless others.

The parking lot at Qualcomm Stadium will open at 2 pm and the stadium gates will open at 4:30 pm. There is no reserve seating and a large crowd is expected, so fans are urged to arrive early and carpool or take the Trolley.

Donations in Junior’s honor can be made to the Junior Seau Foundation and mailed to the Junior Seau Foundation, 5275 Market Street, Suite B, San Diego, CA 92114. Donations also can be made online at www.juniorseau.org.

Why does this not surprise me? There is something a bit ignominious about being in last place. But it’s also that we are losing to the fucking raiders. Get that, we are in last place and the Raiders are in first class, sipping wine and dining on cheese. Ok wait, that’s the first time class and raiders were in the same sentence since Al Davis did all those keg stands with the kids at San Diego State. I think I mean to say, painfully so, the bullshit Raiders are in first place. That hurts. From the family perspective of “fuck the raiders” we get this turd of a football team. (where you wondering if I was referring to the chargers or raiders as a turd team? The answer is the raiders.) And these undisciplined hacks are in first place. This is a painful complication of having a perennially underperforming team. Remember when you felt good about the Chargers? Like 2004 when you realized that Drew Brees was the shit. Or when you knew that if you going to play Indianapolis you were going to win. I really don’t know if I can say that right now. Get that? I’m saying that a winless team quarterbacked by Curtis Painter has a reasonable chance for change by beating the chargers. Is Curtis the quarterback of the Colts anymore? The answer is I don’t care because the gd (and I don’t mean Grateful Dead) raiders are in first place, and beat us 3 times in a row. Next thing you know Eddie Murphy will be funny and have a career again and Eli might wipe that lost look off his face. One can dream I guess. Damned raiders.

We lose to the raiders twice?  We lose to Kansas City on opening day?  We don’t make the playoffs?  This year was embarrassing.  This is the first year in forever that this January I’m not waiting for the other shoe to drop.  Nope, the Chargers broke hearts in December.   

To the Chargers I say you are the best team that never was.  You are all potential, hopes, dreams, that little feeling that keeps me buying lottery tickets.  The idea that somehow this whole shebang will come together and realize itself into a glorious array of victory and feelings of warmth and goodness keep me going.  One day I will find out where the championship victory parade would be in San Diego.  Or I can just wait until Comic Con gets a parade and assume it’s the same route.  Either way, I still have hope for next season and the season after that.  We are victorious if we go 2-14 as long as we beat the raiders twice.  Who are the Chargers and what do we stand for?  We really should run more.

It’s raiders week and I am celebrating the memory of some of the best raiders moments of my life.  I have two best moments, actually.  The first was the time during our (sadly defeated) 13 game run through the raiders organization when we just beat them every time.  We shut them out on MNF 27-0 and when Art Shell was going for it on fourth down to get a touchdown late in the game, Marty said “Don’t  let them in the fucking endzone” to someone on our defense.  An on the beautiful day we shut the raiders out in Oakland on national TV.  The second memory is going to the last game of the season in Oakland where Jamarcus Russel just threw interceptions at us like just take the ball I don’t want it style.  That was the same game that Jyles Tucker got three sacks.  I know it wasn’t the time that we completely stole the game back from you when Vincent Jackson threw the ball away after making a first on fourth and the refs just gave the ball right back to us.  It definitely wasn’t that time.  It had been that way really since 2004, we would just win every game.  So Welcome to Raiders Week.  

 

"If you talk bout the 3-4, you must start with the linebackers."-Warren Sapp aka "the sapper," as in saps my energy trying to make sense of your analysis, making a fool of himself of NFL GameDay Morning last Sunday. 

 

No you have to start with the nose tackle.  Historically, the four person d-line lines up 2 on each side of the center, often with a strong and a weak defensive side corresponding to the weak and strong offensive side.  If I am switching one on my defensive players from a 300+ pound tackle to a 220 or so pound linebacker, who is going to stop the run?  The answer is that you need a strong nose tackle to stop the run between the guards.  Essentially the nose is doing the work of at least 1.5 people depending on how much help he gets from the defensive ends.  If you have the proper personnel with two strong ends and a great nose, then you can allow the extra linebacker to line up so now you have two line backers on each side.  If the offense wants to run along the edges to either sideàtwo linebackers to get the stop.  If you want to pass then you have two corners, two safeties to cover and four linebackers to either rush the qb from the outside for pressure, or drop back into pass protection.  If the offense knew at the beginning that running between the tackles was an option due to the weak nose the entire 3-4 system would be futile. 

 

One of the best descriptions about the switch from the 3-4 and the 4-3 comes from my friend Keith Hood who was actually hating on the Charges at the time.  He liked to tell me that Shawne Merriman is a glorified defensive end.  That is exactly right if you do not have a strong nose tackle to back you up.  Ideed, the MOST important defensive player is the nose tackle.

Ironically, in the examples Sapp used you plainly see the nose tackle taking on 2 O-linemen for four straight running plays and gumming up the middle of the field.  Sapp, you have no idea about how this works.  But I already knew that when you signed with the raiders.

 

 

The last time the Chargers played the Jets in the playoffs it was a bitter affair.  The Chargers had just completed a miraculous season.  Just months earlier we were the laughing-stock of the NFL.  No less than Elisa Manning had said that he refused to play for the Chargers.  His father told him “no” and the thought was that the Chargers had no future, ever, and he simply would not play for them.  At the time the Chargers had not gone to the playoffs in about 10 years.  All of the sudden we were 12 and 4, winning our division on the back of LT and a dominant Drew Brees.  That was the first time since Fouts that when I saw our QB throw a deep ball I would get excited rather than fearful. 

                Also that year we drafted Philip Rivers, Nick Hardwick, Shaun Phillips, Michael Burner Turner  and the Man of the Moment Nate Kaeding. 

                The day of the game it was exciting.  I remember walking around the stadium and watching the players drive in and all the fans were creating such enthusiasm.  It was like we had won the lottery.  We didn’t know what to do with ourselves.  At the time we were the team that had been out of the playoffs the longest.  We had the number one overall pick the year before and now we were hosting a playoff game.

Continue reading this post »

I didn't see a prediction thread this game and as I haven't won a Carnac this year I am eager to take it on a meaningless game.  If there is one already somebody let me know and I will delete this post.  I predict the Chargers 30-13.  Redskins have nothing to play for and a lame-duck coach.  I actually like the skins as I used to live in DC for many summers in a row. 

The reason the Chargers do so well late in the season is not because we have great weather to practice in.  It is because we have the deepest bench in the league.  Just look at all the injuries we have had this year as earnest proof.  I am actually looking foreward to this game to see some serious time for these "backups" that are one play from being starters.  Go Chargers.

 

Here is the Patrick Perspective on the Chargers-giants game.  The day started bleary-eyed and slow.  My fiancé worked till 5 in the morning and I had spent all night studying for work and absolutely giddy about the day ahead.  At moments like this, it does not matter how tired you may be; it’s game day.

Continue reading this post »

Yesterday's game was glorious.  I am still exhausted from getting on the limo bus at 10 am and then tailgating until 4pm and getting back to Brooklyn at about 11.  After working today it has been two full days.  A longer narrative about yesterday will be forthcoming but I wanted to give my keys to the game.  We won where we had to and took every advantage we could.

Penalties

                We had 3 for 20 and they had 9 for 104.  Our total offense was a mere 226 to their 304, but add the penalties and things look a wee bit more even.  As the game continued, I noticed that the penalties kept us in the game. 

Sproles

                I am having a hard time finding the average starting yard-line for our drives but I would wager it was past the 30.  By my count they only kicked to Sproles three times.  Two kick offs and one punt.  Every other time they kicked away from him and we made out like a bandit because of it.  There were a couple of times we started our drives at or near the 50 yard line for no other reason that that they did not want the ball in Sproles’ hands.  They have no confidence in their special teams.  And we probably gained 10+ yards on most kicks because of it. 

Defense

I love the Boricua himself, Ron Rivera, but have been really down on him lately.  This game gave me a glimmer of where this team could go within the limitations of our players.  I have been focusing on learning more about defense and defensive schemes as of late.  I thought we ran a 3-4 and so did everyone else but during the first half there were many snaps where we had a 4-3.  I was specifically watching to see what Rivera would call and (mostly) in the first half there was at least one extra person on the line.  They may or may not have been in a three-point stance but the line had 4 or five people on it for most of the first half.  Our outside linebackers were playing a glorified defensive end.  This increased the pass rush and shows the confidence Rivera had in Jammer and Cromartie and Weddle.  The second half things changed a little but the flavor was still there.  Running a 4-3,3-4 hybrid.  This makes a lot of sense to me as we lost the most important position to a 3-4, Jamal Williams.  To compensate we posted a rotating nose and stacked the line with 4-5 people.  Interestingly I only counted one time where four people actually were in the three-point stance in the game for a true 4-3. 

 

In all, it was a scrappy game and I’m glad we came out ahead.  This finish in this game reminded me a lot of the game in Seattle three or four years ago.  We were losing, and a throw to Jackson in the waning seconds stole the game for us.  I’ll post pictures and stories (of which there are many) tomorrow or the following day. 

 

            Now is the time, my friends.  I consider this coming Sunday’s game against the giants a make-or-break game.  For us here in Charger land it is a must win game.  Let’s face it; we are not an elite team.  We cannot win against the raiders (albeit with good statistics for individual players) and expect that to translate into the Chargers being a competitive football team.  We are an underachieving team. 

But I am an optimistic man and I think we match-up well against the giants.  I usually like to focus on the Chargers defensive side of the ball but I think the key to next week’s game is the giants d.  The giants run a 4-3.  This will clog the line and shut down our running game.  Guess what?  Our running game is staggering in its ineptitude.  We have not been able to run all year and I lay the blame squarely on our o-line.  We cannot block, and we are outmatched without our pro bowl center.  The only reason we have gotten this far is with the work of Dielman.  With four defensive linemen we simply cannot compete with smash-mouth football.  I hope that Hardwick can play next week and get his excellent line-calls up the middle, but barring his return we will not be able to run.  I will be looking for Rivers to eat up the secondary but still get a lot of pressure.  Look for plenty of outlet passes to the flat.  Which brings us to tonight’s word.  

It cannot go without saying that little eli is a total b-word.  For those who don’t know, I used to live in NOLA when I went to Tulane.  Great place to be, but it’s also a small world and people talk. I was living there when little eli decided that he didn’t want to play for the Chargers, or I should say, daddy archie decided for him.  I won’t repeat the direct stories about little eli but I think everyone can agree that his daddy runs his life.  Ok, I’ll repeat one story.  Hey little eli, what ever happened to that confederate flag tattoo you had on your ankle?  Just asking.   You give New Jersey a bad name.

Also, the NYC Charger fans have organized a couple of buses to take people from manhattan to New Jersey to see the game.  It is a group of about 50 people or so and it should be a rockin time.  If anyone is going to the game let me know and hopefully you can stop by before the game and meet some really cool Charger fans.  I personally don’t know many of them well but they are kind souls.  Unlike little eli.

I just got this email from the Chargers:

Dear Patrick,

EXCLUSIVE INVITE TO CHARGERS SEASON SEAT HOLDERS
Interactive Fan Conference Call Featuring Darren Sproles

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 AT 5:00 PM PST
As a valued Chargers Season Seat Holder, we invite you to join the electrifying Darren Sproles for the first-ever live Chargers Fan Forum. We encourage you to participate in this 30-minute conference call where you will be able to ask questions and hear directly from Darren.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE
On Thursday you will receive a phone call to the phone number(s) listed on your Chargers Account at 5 pm. When you answer the phone you will automatically be connected to the Fan Forum.

We’re happy to make this unique experience available to you and hope you’ll join Darren on the call.

If you miss this call and would like to join the event in progress, please call 1-877-269-7289 and enter PIN 15200 to be connected.

 

One would think a conference call would allow us to ask Mr Sproles whatever we want.  What would you ask him?  I would ask him about his inner strength and perseverance be one of the smallest players in the league and to go from a player who was out for a year and almost being cut two seasons ago to starting.  It's a great story.  It really makes you want to root for the guy.

Like many forms of art and music, sports allow us to feel emotions in a way that we may not get to in other forms.  I think this tends to go unnoticed sometimes.  Whether it’s Glen Miller or Pablo Picasso’s Guernica, there are a wide variety of emotions to express and an even wider variety of triggers of our emotion.   

When I was younger, I probably couldn’t use all my fingers to count the emotions I could name…which brings me to football.

I am not an angry man.  Indeed, I just graduated from medical school (in May) to use my talents to heal.  But if there is anything I hate in this world it is the Raiders.  They are the epitome of undisciplined ineptitude.  It is almost never ok to blindly hate a group of people, unless it is an institution such as the Raiders.  If they are not at work, then I have no problem with them.  As soon as they enter the stadium on Sundays my tolerance slips away.

When I was younger I wasn’t allowed to go to the Chargers v Raiders games.  Too dangerous they would say.  I didn’t think that was true until I had the pleasure of being young and harassed by older Raiders fans.  It wasn’t fun, but it allowed me to enjoy this rivalry/hatred that goes on today.  Some might say that if I still hate them then it shows they matter.  I absolutely agree.  And I enjoy that fact.

Continue reading this post »

This makes me sad. 

At the time of his arrest, Jackson was on probation for a 2006 DUI arrest and conviction in San Diego. He eventually pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor.

He was placed on five years' probation and ordered not to drive with a measurable amount of alcohol or drugs in his system during that time.

He had a 0.17 when he was arrested. That is A LOT.  To put the physiology in perspective for the non-drinkers: at this point you hit slurred speach, confusion, problems in perception and a great decrease in muscle coordination/response time.  At about .30 you start hitting coma.  That was very irresponsible and dangerous of him to do and is going to cost him legally.  Maybe DaBolts was right when he said VJ should have been suspended for this when it happened (during the playoffs.)  Nonetheless, this almost certainly will result in a suspension next season.

I was thinking the other day about how much I love the Chargers and hate the Faders.  It’s simple; I like to hate on other sports teams.  Is hate ever a good thing?  Yes.  It is.  And now I bring you my defense of hate (in sports.) 

It makes me feel good to have loyalty to my team and fellow fans.  Part of that loyalty is to stand against anyone who spreads negativity about San Diego sports.  Let’s face it, we have never won a superbowl nor world series and don’t even have a pro basketball team anymore.  Almost by necessity we have to be a little bit forward sometimes when people bread negativity about the Chargers.  It’s also a great outlet of a lot of repressed anger. 

There are a lot of emotions that go into the football fan: anger, happiness, anticipation, joy, optimism, disappointment, aggressiveness, relief.  In the same realm of emotions are defense mechanisms which can motivate us.  Repression is a defense mechanism that many people use to cope with reality and maintain their self-image.  Another defense mechanism people use in called sublimation.  It involves taking emotions that you cannot point at the proper target and using that emotion in a way society deems appropriate.  For example, someone with a background of physical trauma may channel those emotions into playing a physical sport, or becoming a surgeon who spends all day cutting into people.  I let go of a lot of my emotion through sports.  It feels good and society says it’s ok.

Yet, one thing I love about DaBolts (besides being a talented writer) is that he is very diplomatic about other teams.  No repressed emotion coming out there.  I haven’t heard him sat nary a cross word about anyone else.  After the broncos fans trolled us to death after Mr Hoculi gifted the game away, he played policeman but did not join in the fray.  He’s like President Obama in his quest for post-partisanship.  But because he has to deal with all of us who could spend days talking about out contempt for the faders or Mr Cutler, I think he may keep some of his more cross words to himself.  For all I know he has a Tony Soprano underneath that we don’t get to see. 

            All this emotion helps us to yell when we’re on D, cheer when we score, and boo when the situation calls for it.  Incidentally, those jeers also make Mr Rivers tell us to shut up.  Something all Charger fans have in common, especially here, is heart.  We fight even after we lose.  Anyone who remembers the late 80’s can testify to that.

So maybe both sides are right.  There is a time for raw emotion and a time for discourse.  I’m glad we have both here in our community.  But remember to let your emotion out.  Be great fans.  Remember that Al Davis has a drive to be hated and we should help him out. 

In closing I want to say: I hate the Faders, love the Chargers.  I hate the broncos, love this blog. 

There is no spoon.  There is no Dana, only Zuul.

 

Zen.

 

Today is the day.  It is a gorgeous day in San Diego, not a cloud in the sky.  But over yonder there is trouble brewing.  But we in San Diego get blue skies because this is our year. 

 

I hate to say this is public as I always would rather keep these things to myself.  But everything that we needed to happen to us this season has happened.  We won four in a row to get to the playoffs.  The broncos lost 3 in a row to lose the AFC West title.  The Ravens have won twice in the playoffs giving us a potential home game next week.   We needed help and then some for this moment to come to pass.  And now we stand on the precipice.   None of this has been easy and it makes them better players and us better fans.  Last week at the stadium was out of control because everyone understood how important every play was.  Everyone started to believe we could do this.

 

I am a huge fan of Italian soccer.  When we won the world cup a couple years back there were a couple matches where I was nervous and quite.  My sister was living in Italy and would call me during the game to remind me that this is our year.  This might just be our year, too.

 

Yesterday, I got that feeling from watching the Ravens at halftime.  There way no way they were going to lose.  They just had to win.  The Chargers just have to win.  Why?  The Ravens didn’t believe anyone who told then anything except “you are going to win” and neither do we.  There is no spoon.  There is no Dana, only Zuul.  If someone asks you if you are a god you say “yes!”  See where this is going?

 

On to today’s game:  I expect the Chargers to play deliberate football.  Rivers doing his check-downs and lots of small yardage passes to keep the Steelers honest and a few long bombs to keep them guessing.  The Steelers like to do their “zone blitz.”  This allows their defense to confuse us but it allows something I think we can exploit.  If they zone blitz, that can be very effective against the screens I expect to see the whole game.  So why do I still expect to see many screens to Sproles, et al?  The zone blitz is particularly vulnerable if Rivers can complete the pass.  You can’t have linemen trying to cover Sproles.  Expect to see a lot of quick passes and screens from Rivers.

 

I expect the Steelers to have a similar game plan as the Chargers.  Big Ben is in a world of hurt.  He’s playing through it but he won’t be as mobile and he will be looking to avoid contact.  He will do his check-downs and just try to grind out yards.  Look for us to blitz more often than usual for and Ron Rivera (boricua) to disguise the blitzes very well.  We are not a team that pressures the quarterback a lot this season.  But Big Ben loves to hold the ball and take the sack.  Since he doesn’t want to get hit look for him to make some bad throws and for the Chargers to pick off one or two.  If it works like I have designed, final score Chargers 28-20.

 

Bring.

It.

On.

Hey y’all.  I've been in Europe for the past week or so and I know it’s about a week late but even over there you want to talk Chargers.  I thought I'd share my experiences. 

 

First off, we beat the broncos.  I went to the game.  It was phenomenal.  It was loud.  My tickets are in the upper view section, last row which allow me to stand the whole time.  There were some denver fans who sat in front of me and to the left.  They were nice enough with enough joshing back and forth where we were laughing the whole game.  Interestingly enough, I was serious the whole approaching week.  I was only able to relax after we started to pull away.  I was so impressed by our defense.  Life is different under Ron Rivera (boricua).  This is a better team.  Its almost as if he has the whole d-line in front of the mirror saying  I am...somebody.  I am...somebody.  We were only down at 6-3 and the game never felt like we were or were even capable of losing.  The broncos fans shook my hand and wished us luck in the playoffs. 

 

Late 1/3/09: So this evening is the game.  I’m in Paris and have been an eager school boy to our game.  In the context of life, you realize that a lot of what we see everyday is not as important and it should be.  But I have also seen how competition has been important for millennia.  Ancient Rome built a coliseum.  Having a football team is something special.  Our sense of community and belonging coming from the Chargers is something to be cherished.  I do, everyday.   Our problem is that we don't have a Michelangelo sweating over a Jamal Williams statue from the quarries of Carrara.  Yes, Jamal Williams is that important. 

 

 1/4/08 1am: I’m heading over to The Great Canadian  near St Germain…

...and then we won!   Ron Rivera is the man.  We never knew what the defense was going to do.  It might be eight on the line and then we rush 3.  He's a genious mastermind.  A Cam Cameron on the defense.  Rivers was calm and solid in the clutch.  Also, I get the impression people like the Chargers.  There were maybe 30 people at the bar with maybe about 20 for the Chargers.  Don't ask me how that happened but they did love the Chargers.  There were maybe 3 or 4 colts fans who were a little quite.  Heck, I was nervous until Sproles shocked the world.  I said shocked and I mean it. 

Today is the day, my friends.  Like a distant ray of sunshine on an otherwise desolate evening, today we play for the AFC West championship. For those going to the game, be loud.  For those at the Murph in spirit, be loud to anyone walking by you.  We will feel you from the stadium. 

 

Just a few short weeks ago this season was over in the minds of many.  Some stopped paying attention, some began their post-season reviews, and others started to cheer for the losses because they wanted a good draft position.  The rumors of our death were greatly exaggerated. 

 

It’s the darkest before the dawn and being 4-8 certainly qualifies.  As a team and a community we have been through so much this season.  Today is our shot at redemption.  Today is about the last man standing.  Today is our final opportunity.  Today we play for the playoffs.  We are here, ready to play/cheer/yell, everything.

 

And we must all thank sdsuaztec4 for firing Ted Cottrell.  Very prescient, indeed.  Allright, let's do this like the bootiz.

 

Bring.

It.

On.

With the game next week being a battle to the death of the season, I remembered a couple comments from the kind people over at MHR.  They are an excitable bunch, really trying to become a relevant football team in the eyes of the Chargers.  I believe they accomplished that this year.  But, as happens sometime when people get excitable, they got a little too enthusiastic.

Here I present to you just a little reminder about what the donkey fan's were saying last week at MHR.  To repeat, this is what they said on December 14, 2008 and we have our game against them on December 28, 2008.

Anyone know where I can get my AFC West Champions hat?

i would like to announce

DENVER BRONCOS YOUR 2008 AFC WEST CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!!!

That one above was from Mr Troll him/herself robbo650.  Did they get that leash for you yet?  Nothing personal, I can assure you.  I am refering to the Troll Leash(TM).

which brings me to some gentleman's tag...

MHR is great, but celebrating a 2008 AFC West Championship on MHR is amazing.

and just for fun, here is Mr. Leash him/herself one more time.  robbo650 with my personal favorite:

OFFIACL THE BRONCOS ARE YOUR 2008 AFC WEST CAHMPS!!!!!!

Being a San Diego sports fan you never get ahead of yourself.  Right around the corner is always a let down.  Maybe, just maybe, it would be our fault.  Maybe we would get too excited and our team would lose to teach us a lesson. 

This year was something different.  As many talking heads names us likely super bowl contenders, many Charger fans left that talk alone.  We know what happens when you get ahead of youself and start getting pompous about something you haven't even done yet; Karma will come and bite you in the butt. 

Karma, my friends, is what has visited the donkeys this season.  Well, that and no running game.  At the minimum, we have for ourselves one heck of a game next week.  And we have all week to get excited.

Bring.

It.

On.

Poll

Did the donkeys win the AFC West Championship last week?

39%

No

11 votes

60%

hahahaha!! suckas!

17 votes

28 votes | Poll has closed

I just read a quick exchange between Richard and DaBolts (h/t) about our would-be corner of the future.  This got me to thinking, I wonder how Cromartie will bounce back next year.  After the absolute meltdown against denver he hasn't been the same.  The human psyche fascinates me.  So I decided to try and put myself in his head.  I think he's trying too hard.  After all, this is the gentleman who said his goal is to have 15 interceptions this year.  "Trying too hard?" one may ask, well let me use an analogy.  

Anyone remember, when they were younger, combining corn starch and water?  It's a fascinating experience.  If you try to push really hard against the mixture with a stick or some such object the resistance is extreme.  You can't do it.   It's like stone.  If you apply the slightest of traction the mixture gives like soft butter to a hot knife.  In other words, it changes resistance based on how much force is being applied.  If you relax and maybe ease off a little, you get better results. 

This is what Ron Rivera (Boricua!) did when he took over the defense.  He started slow.  He wanted our guys to focus on the fundamentals and not try as hard; He wanted them to focus on the job at hand.  Sometimes in life if you ease up you get more done.  I remember many complaints that first week against Kansas City about our "vanilla" offense.  Mr Rivera was bringing us back to the basics.  Remember, one of the big complaints about Cotrell was that he had so much going on that nobody knew what to do; They were trying to do everything at once. 

It seems that sometimes you get better results by calming down and not trying to do too much.  If you try too hard, you become solid, immovable.  You let it go you are better able to move and flow.  Do what comes natural cro, which used to be intercepting the ball.

Rationalization is a peculiar beast.  It is one of about a dozen or so immature defense mechanisms used by psychologists to decribe what humans do to avoid confronting the emotional pain that lies within.  In this case, we essentially we state Fact A that only has a tangential relationship to what we are really talking about, and feel placated that Fact A was beyond our control.  Case in point.  We lost the game.  Fact A = we lost because we played poor defense.  While true, it is also proper to stand up and say we got robbed.  It's ok to be angry.  And I will happily project(another immature defense mechanism) the anger I have to the Broncos. 

Now, is it just me or does anyone else not want to hear a donkey's fan talk about how our defense didn't play well anyway?  If you wanna gloat and rub it in our faces then gloat and rub it in our faces.  But spare me the "it's ok" rationalization because, guess what, it's not ok.  My Hoculi Hatred(TM) has now turned toward the broncos. 

It's gonna hurt.  It's gotta hurt.  And it will be talked about.

Why is it in football it's considered uncooth to talk about how the game was robbed from us or to talk about how they played dirty?  I'll get over it by sunday, but the game was robbed if not by anything else then by sheer incompetence, ours and the officials'.  And the broncos always play dirty.  I was just surprised the chop block was flagged this time. 

Next time I will rationalize the summersalts I do over the grave that is the donkey's 2008 season by saying I am just getting my daily workout in.  See how rationalization works?  Isn't this fun?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ok so now I’m a little upset (read: pissed.)  For what team is Dave Winfield in the hall of fame? I’m just curious because reading the hall of fame website you would have sworn it was the yankees.  Yes, the team that he decided he hated enough to curse their owner and wear a yankees cap at the all-star game.    As the jury can plainly see from this screen capture from the website, it clearly shows that Dave Winfield was "primarily" a yankee.  And anyone remember the moment of truth episode?  Shameful.  So, a-la-polite.letter.not.booing.khalil.greene, here goes:

 

Dear Mr. Winfield,

 

How are you doing today, kind sir?  I hope this weather strikes you as pleasant as Khalil Greene’s personality.  Good fortune I have found you for there is something perturbing my consciousnesses and it would be quite fine of you to clear this up for me.  Why must such an upstanding, quality individual such as yourself play a sweet mockery of allegiances?  It is quite hurtful to those involved and I politely request that this game slow to a stop.  

 

Sincerely,

Patrick

 

If Dave Winfield has any soul, any feeling inside his body, he will put this whole thing to rest right now and denounce the yankees as a staff, record label and as a crew.  And if you’re down with the Yankees he rejects and denounces you, too.  Tell the hall of fame to clear up this little misunderstanding and I’ll see you at the next party at Pad Squad Andre’s house.

 

I reserve the right to boo you when you are ever rep’ing the Yankees.  

So I was just at MLB Trade Rumors and they were talking like our season is done and what we should be as "sellers."  Should we trade Giles to Oakland?  Should we hold on to him because we might not be able to do get better in the off-season in right field?  Who’s on the block?  Should we trade Greene?  What about Kooz? 

All of that is well and good but is just a front, a preamble if you will, to this question which for me is the most important: Who should we be willing to trade for Tony Gwynn Jr?  From the comments section I read:

I wouldn't mind to see the padres get tony gwynn jr... but i dont think its enough for maddux

Really?  Is trading Maddux for TGJR a total rip off for us?  I know the Brewers are about to get Sabathia so the maddux part of the discussion may be moot, but beyond that what is it going to take to get TGJR ("tiger") back to where he rightfully belongs, on our losing team the rest of the season.  If our season is a bust, I say we do the deal.  Who are we willing to trade to put things right that once went wrong? 

If EGon can help AGon and vice versa as personal hitting coaches, how would TGSR be for his son?  It would help his development and our team. 

Lets bring him back home where he belongs.

 

Also, to Anthony Keith Gwynn Jr I have this to say:  I forgive you for that unfortunate incident at the end on last season.  Let us never speak of it again. 

does that mean that we suck too? Does that mean that our blog just got swept?  Now I'm sad.  But, it is time to rebuild!

Then the topic we have to consider is that since we are now sellers, who do we sell?  I'll trade a vet like sdsuaztec (sorry, first name to come to mind) for a high-flying prospect from the marlins blog.  As long as we keep SD Chick N then we're solid.  Who else wants to trade?

...and as Padres Baseball then we do suck.

In light of all the PED discussion lately I thought it might be important to talk about the biology ig hgh; But what has really been getting me wondering lately is has anybody noticed hoffy's face lately?  I am now openly wondering if he juiced.  

acromegaly: a chronic disease characterized by enlargement of the bones of the head, the soft parts of the feet and hands, and sometimes other structures, due to excessive secretion of growth hormone by the pituitary gland. (dictionary.com)

normally hgh is produced by the body to help you grow.  typically it is released at 5am while you are sleeping.  This is particularly important in people who have not reached their full height.  Mostly these are people up until their late teens.  They have something called "growth plates" at the ends of their bones (the epiphysis) and this part grows and makes you taller.  If someone has closed growth plates (bonds, sosa, etc) then most bones cannot continue to grow.  The exceptions?  Frontal bones which are the bones right above the cheek.  These are the ones that made Sosa look like a hot model during '98.  Also, hgh makes your lower jaw grow.  It also makes your hands and feet bigger.  This is why some of us knew early on bonds and sosa were on the stuff because your face does not naturally change like that.  It was reported Bond's cap size grew several sizes, etc.  Point is, does anyone have a good hoofy pic from about 20-25 y/o to compare to today?  His cheek bones are bigger that kate moss'.

if all of this is inaccurate then i appologize and can only say if my defense that sometimes it seems as if EVERYONE is juicing except for T Gwynn.  But still, that cute face makes me wonder...

Chris Young:  Oblique injury (left)

There are two groups of oblique muscles in the body.  The first group is the superior and inferior oblique muscles.  These are in the eye and we won't concern ourselves with those ones unless Chris Young complains of double vision.  The oblique muscles that we care about, that our OG pitcher Chris Young has problems with, are the external and internal oblique muscles on the left side.  There are seven layers of the abdominal wall and two of them are our new friends the obliques.  (Say hi.)  They basically hang out on the sides of your body at the level of the abdomen and my guess is that the problem is with the internal oblique because it ding, ding, ding compresses and supports part of your abdomen (the viscera) as well as flexing and rotating that part of your body.   Why does this matter? When our boy C-Y pitches the sequence includes the following motions: stride, pelvis rotation, upper torso rotation, elbow extension, shoulder internal rotation and wrist flexion.  
    Right where it says pelvis rotation and upper torso rotation is where we'll find the problem.  

Continue reading this post »

man we are in a world of hurt.  I miss Linebrink already but this is not the end of the world.  Can anybody remember when the Padres kicked ass?  I can it's called the last few years.  It's rough when you lose to the likes of the phillies.  And then the Rockies?  What happened to this pleasurable experience called the Padres Season.  But I am going to call this the tipping point of the Padres season.  Here's why...

Poll

Was trading Linebrink for prospects the right move?

72%

yes, I fully support it.

16 votes

13%

yeah, we should have traded him but not for prospects.

3 votes

4%

no, I can't imagine any good reason to trade him.

1 votes

9%

it doesn't matter either way because this is OUR year.

2 votes

22 votes | Poll has closed

Continue reading this post »