I can't seem to find this info: have single game tickets gone on sale yet? where do i order them from? thanks for any help. I have looked on the team site and can't tell when they start, most of this is to meet the obligatory seventy five word minimum to make sure that i can post the question and get a response. thanks -  good luck to all this season and let's hope we have much to look forward to.

The Pads leave home for their first road trip of the season and it's a tough one. 3 with the Mets, 4 with the World Champion Phillies and a drive by for 2 games with the Giants. I had hoped for a 4-3 homestand to begin the season, but the Padres lit some fires and went away in first place at 5-2. Kuddos to 'ByrneswhenlPeavy for correctly calling the homestand record. And also to our Friar pitching staff for leading the Majors with an ERA of 2.57, again, more than any of  us hoped for.

Now the question comes up, what kind of road trip will this be? I guess I am crushing a little to hard on this team, because I want to see a 5-4 trip against some of the best teams on the East Coast. I have high hopes in New York, possible a series win. Here's my thinking: early reviews are calling the Citi Field a pitcher's park. If that holds true, then our boys may be used to this type of play more than the Mets. The whole manufacturing runs is fun to watch for us and keeps the players in the game. If we can steal a victory tonight or Tuesday and then let Jake do his thing to close the series, it is realistic. Then a split in Philly and SF to go 5-4. Take note that if the rotation holds as scheduled, both Peavy and CY would be throwing in SF. Or maybe I should just ask 'ByrneswhenlPeavy' to forcast the next 10 days and not half to worry each night. Either way, here's to wishfulthinking that the Pads return home in first place. Enjoy the roadtrip!

(If the season ended today, the Padres would be in the play-offs!)

I always like to see what the other, bitter side has to say when there is a win like the Padres earned today. Glad to see a split, a home run from AGon, and Eckstein do anything. Now on to the Giants and a series win. Go Padres.

In the eigth inning, Will Ohman gave up a home run to Adrian Gonzalez before being lifted for Cory Wade with the Dodgers leading 3-2. Wade gave up a triple and a single with two outs to tie the game up at 3-3. Then Luis Rodgriguex capped off a perfect day (1-1 with 3 walks) by hitting a double into right center field to give the Padres the lead 4-3. Rodriguez is a light hitting shortstop with a career 77 OPS+, which only increases the pain.

check out this post from the trueblue site:

With a very tough road trip coming up in the middle of the month, it is so important that the Padres have a winning homestand vs. the Dodgers and Giants. Especially true because they are Western Division rivals (thank you captain obvious). But what will it take to go at least 4-3 on this homestand? Does Peavy have to win today and Saturday for this to even be a possibility or are there other pitching matchups that look favorable for the Friars? My best route to a winning homestand: split with the Dodgers and take the Giants series 2-1, capped off by a huge Easter route of the hated NorCal devils. What do you think it will take?

Go Gaslamp!

I'm already tired of broadcasters talking about how many games the Padres will lose. What I want to know is, how many will they win? All of these experts aren't real fans of our Padres anyway, so let's hear what ticket buying patrons have to say about the team. Can we look forward to 81 wins or are there too many pieces missing?Don't forget to factor in the Jake to Chicago factor!

Mr. Moorad,

Thanks for buying the Padres, I hope you are here to rescue them from 2008. As a Padre die-hard I am excited about the upcoming season, even in the face of season where no prognosticator shows them winning 80 games.  I really don't care about the price of beer inside the stadium and I am even less concerned about who the 12 apostles, err, owners are. I just want to watch the Padres win, now. So here is my plea, Mr. Moorad:  MAKE A SPLASH. Show your fanbase that 2009 is not a write-off and that we have reason to hope in your reign. Here are my humble opening suggestions:

1. Publicly commit to keeping Jake Peavy. We want to watch him, we want to see him win in San Diego. Yes, you'll need some people around him to score runs, but Jake's our guy.

2. Make a play for Strasburg. If anyone can deal with Boras, it should be you, shouldn't it? Ok, I know, we are in the 3rd draft position. Make a move. This kid could be your #2 by July or August. And Chris Young is no #2, Mr. Moorad.

It's doubtful that Strasburg will be available to the Padres, who draft third overall. The Nationals draft first. In an e-mail to the Padres this past offseason, their general manager at the time, Jim Bowden, said the Nationals will select Strasburg. If the Nationals back off, the Padres expect that the Mariners would take Strasburg with the second pick.

 

Boras likes how Aztecs treat their ace

I know, I know, but make a legitimate effort. You're only one big blockbuster summer movie from our mystery owner away from affording this! Give us a guy who can throw more than 84 MPH. Yes, the change-up is a nice pitch, but it shouldn't be your best pitch - every pitch. Here's a hint: The Nationals could really use a 3rd basemen. Just saying.

There are so many other issues to address, but this is a start. Please feel free to give me a call when you need more (not Moore) advice.

Go Gaslamp.

Wishfulthinking

Day three we drove up to Sedona so we missed the 8-4 loss to the Indians. One note I can add about the team from our time here: every concern you have about this pitching staff can be multiplied X3. This is a scary bad staff and will need a miracle overhaul in the next few weeks. Until then, buy your tickets in right field and bring a your glove.

A few closing photos:

One thing that went unmentioned from Tuesday's game vs. the Angels was the fantastic diving catch by Jody Gerut in the third inning. While I haven't found any highlights of the catch, during a regular season game this effort would have made the top 10 plays of the 'worldwide leader in sports'. He's no Jim Edmunds in centerfield, but that's a good thing. 

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And I wanted to throw in a photo of a quickly improving catcher, Nick Hundley:

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In Sedona, we picked up a photo of Bell Rock, recently named for Padres new closer, Heath Bell. One of the locals told us they were worried about the rock because it was much smaller now than last year. Apparently it lost a lot of size playing video games over the winter. (parump-bump)

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This is the backside of Bell Rock, also smaller than the backside of Heath Bell.

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Yes, I'm gonna ride that horse till it dies. Finally here is a view of the rock wall from the airport. Apparently this is the same view a hitter sees from home plate at Petco.

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Ok, enough bad humor for this trip. Looking forward to April 6th when life begins again. go Gaslamp.

Beautiful day for baseball at Tempe Diablo Stadium, home of the Angels. It is great to get here knowing that all the regulars are playing except Kouz. Starters hit the ball with some authority, so we had some early fireworks. Here are some photos:

This is Mrs. wishfulthinking rocking here Giles jersey. Sometimes when she wears it she lets me pull her hair.

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Tuesday's starter Baek. Pitched well the first 4 innings, gave up a 3 run bomb in the 3rd, but it came after a Burke error that should have ended the inning. Clearly ran out of gas in the 5th and got rocked. My neck still aches from turning so quickly so many times.

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Brian Giles at the plate.

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Gonzalez, two pitches before his 3-run dinger to left field, about 360 feet.

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The best first basemen in the Major League:

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I hope Gaslamp Ball is planning an all-star vote push for Gonzo. Use your powers for good!

Some insights from visiting another teams ballpark.

Padres merchandise, t-shirt $25/Angels merch. t-shirt 10.00 for same quality.

food and drink prices were lower

And the biggest difference, when the Angels subs came in, they were still big-league players. just the size difference in height and weight was amazing. We still have a long way to go.

Wishfully thinking we'll be there soon. Go Gaslamp.

So you asked for some feedback on visits to spring training. We made the 5 hour drive and attended the game vs. Kansas City on 3/23. I hate these split squad games as we sit down to watch only two Padres regulars take the field vs the Royals: Headley and Eckstein. Of course my wife's first comment is about how Eckstein looks like a high school kid; keep up woman. After being shut down for the first 4 or 5 innings by the Royals starter, the Peewee Padres got on track and eventually won with a Headley walk-off. Here are a few of the photos we took:

One of our older ladies had some fun at the arcade, registering 27 MPH on the gun. Several minutes later Kevin Towers was seen talking to her about her future. I'm just saying.

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Other than that the game had little to offer. I can say this, there were only 3300 in attendance, which may match the April 7 crowd at Petco.

Tomorrow, possible pictures from Diablo stadium as the Padres meet the Angels. (I never have really understood the whole Angels at Diablo Stadium thing.)

Padre Nation!