Actually, “Brewers Get Hammered” would have worked just as well. Anyway, the Friars busted out the whoopin’ sticks en route to an 18-5 victory over Milwaukee. Robert Fick, Ryan Klesko, and Jon Knott all homered for the Pads. Knott’s was a grand slam. Mark Loretta collected three hits, with Sean Burroughs, Paul McAnulty, and Phil Nevin adding two apiece. Jake Peavy allowed a run over three innings. Blaine Neal surrendered three runs on four hits (two homers) in his only inning of work. Line of the game:

               AB R H BI
J Barfield 2b   0 3 0 0

Among the kids, Knott and McAnulty are off to fast starts. McAnulty, the Pads #10 prospect according to Baseball America, is profiled in yesterday’s U-T.

In Other News

Didn’t think I could make it through an entire post without bullet points, did ya?

• Thompson Tuesdays (Scout.com) is back. Padres prospect Sean Thompson talks about his first big-league spring training appearance. I absolutely love that he is doing this.
• Padres happy former Arizona pitcher now on their side (NC Times). According to this article, Steve Sparks is “locked in a tight race with Blaine Neal and Randy Williams for the last of seven bullpen spots.” Interesting. That’s the first time I’ve heard his name mentioned as a possible reliever with the big club. Also: “A slight mechanical flaw spotted this spring by Padres pitching coaches has him tossing what he calls his crispest knuckleballs of the past few years.”

And that, my friends, is all for now.