Playoff Bound!
Thu, Sep 29, 2005
by Geoff Young
My hands are swollen, my voice is shot. I have never cheered so hard for anything in my life. The Padres, like it or not, are the NL West champions.
That reminds me, I have to get something off my chest: Everyone who says the Padres should be ashamed or embarrassed for winning their division can officially kiss my Assenmacher. What the hell are they supposed to be doing if not trying to make the playoffs?
Obviously Wednesday night was a magical one for the Pads and their fans. The party kept going well after the final out. We didn’t leave Petco till almost 11:30. The game itself probably deserves better analysis than I can provide right now, but here are some moments that promise to endure in my memory:
- Pedro Astacio was, again, brilliant on the mound. If there was any doubt that he’s our #2, it has been erased. Feel free to mention Astacio’s name whenever someone asks if any of Kevin Towers’ reclamation projects have done any good.
- Barry Bonds has no business being on a ball field right now. I applaud his effort but I can’t recall ever seeing a worse defensive performance from an outfielder. It’s not his fault; he’s hurt. But he couldn’t run balls down, he couldn’t plant to make throws. Two runs scored on sac flies that weren’t even medium depth.
- It was clear early on that the Padres had a plan against Jason Schmidt. More importantly, they executed it. They were very patient at the plate and made him throw a ton of pitches. Schmidt, battling injuries, was not at the top of his game and the Pads took advantage of it. Steady offensive production throughout the game. Very solid.
- Ovations for Ramon Hernandez in his first at-bat after Tuesday night’s game-winning grand slam and for Astacio as he was removed for Rudy Seanez in the seventh.
- Todd Linden came to bat for Bonds in the eighth when the Giants basically threw up the white flag. From somewhere in our section: “Aw, hell, let’s boo him anyway.” Hilarious, although perhaps not so much if you are Linden.
- “Hells Bells” blaring through the stadium PA as Trevor Hoffman made his entrance into a 9-1 contest. Sure, that song is reserved for save situations. But I think sealing the division for just the fourth time in your team’s history is a fine excuse to break protocol.
- Running into readers Didi, dprat, and Rich Campbell. Always good to share these times with friends.
- Ben Johnson catching the final out of the game and everyone racing into the mound to celebrate. Johnson is a fave of mine from his days at Elsinore. I wish all the Padres well, of course, but it’s always a little extra special when a former Storm player is involved.
- The celebration that lasted well into the autumn night. Mark Sweeney running atop the dugout, filming fans with a TV camera he’d commandeered. Robert Fick busting out the goggles to protect his eyes from champagne (you can tell the guys who have been there before). Padres kids running around the outfield grass. Fans chanting “Let’s Go Padres” more than an hour after the game had ended.
I’m probably forgetting a lot of stuff, but right now I don’t care. Unlike many teams, for whom the playoffs are a regular occurrence, the Pads haven’t been to the dance since 1998. And although some folks may find it troubling that the Friars are headed back this year, I find it nothing short of exciting and amazing. This was the goal at the beginning of spring training, and the Padres, unlike 22 other teams, have accomplished it.
Now it’s on to bigger and better things. Hot damn, it’s good to be a Padres fan.
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September 29, 2005 at 1:20 am
How sweet indeed…I also will write more I am sure, but now, having finished this nights piece, I have to remember that I work tomorrow and the kids have school. I want to thank Jake and Adam for the champagne,Lo for the thumbs up and the wink, Mark for the Friar-vision exposure, DJ & Mark & Ben & the guys for the bounce dance on the dugout, Aki for the beer, Ted for putting up with us chanting “Are you drunk?” at him and the whole ballclub for the chorus of “Sweet Caroline”. Great. Now I have a soft spot for a friggin’ Neil Diamond song…thanx a lot fellas.
“Oh what a night…late september, in 2005….baby, bay what a night!”
nope, didn’t work…still got “Sweet Caroline” in my head…
September 29, 2005 at 4:25 am
As the San Diego Padres became the 2005 National League West champions with a 9-1 victory over San Francisco at Petco Park, the team removed shut all the mouths who ridiculed them for most of the season for being a .500 team in a weak division. Three Cheers for the Padres for clinching their first National League West title since 1998 with a 9-1 victory over the San Francisco.
Great acknowledgement in this regard!
read more about sports at: http://www.sporting-buzz.blogspot.com
September 29, 2005 at 5:08 am
What a beautiful day to be a Pads fan! Life is good . . . bring on the Cards!
September 29, 2005 at 6:54 am
Congrats from this Braves fan. And I have to say, I’m glad the Braves don’t get the Padres in a short series. I know the Astros will be extremely tough, but I also know what the Pads did to this Braves this season. Good luck with the Cards and good luck this morning with those hangovers.
September 29, 2005 at 8:23 am
Whew. I’m still sleepy.
Having four beers at the Park for once to celebrate and in anticipation of the win, I started early.
What a game. Perfectly executed, great pitching by the home team, good timely hitting with some bunt for hits, no error or stupid base running. Seeing Ben Johnson going for a triple and then Giles later on. I’m excited.
Wish I could have stayed longer for the celebration. Geoff, maybe you can write more later about it. The cool thing was when the banner saying NL Western Division Champ was unveil right on the Western Metal building using the WESTERN on the building to mark the division.
I really like that. Seeing the boys having a great time was awesome. Great job, Padres.
September 29, 2005 at 9:20 am
Terrific win last night. Who cares about the record. Game one against St Louis should be a good one. Peavy vs Carpenter!
Of the three other teams in the playoffs (I am counting Houston) Houston is the only team the Pads do not have a winning record against. (4-3 against St Louis, 6-1 against Atlanta, 3-5 against Houston).
Oh and to Jeff (Atlanta fan) 6 games to 1 this season. We own you guys. Better hope they don’t put Kolb on the post-season roster. Heck, even if they don’t the Braves are post-season chokers anyway. I wish them luck in the first round against Houston, then the Pads can take care of you guys after that.
September 29, 2005 at 10:00 am
As of Monday, we’re all 0-0. Brand new ballgame. And there is no pressure on this team. We suck, remember? The guys who will be feeling it are the ones who know they will be ridiculed if they somehow manage to lose to the Pads in the playoffs. This team is dangerous; they have absolutely nothing to lose. And they should have a giant chip on their collective shoulders.
More reaction:
http://padres.mostvaluablenetwork.com/?p=256
http://www.gaslampball.com/sto.....2436/92350
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/ne.....;type=lgns
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/ne.....;type=lgns
http://www.baseballmuse.com/20.....l-set.html
http://indians.mostvaluablenet.....eport/fyi/
September 29, 2005 at 10:19 am
Just read the Union Tribune article.
Apparently, Fick stole the googles from Dave Roberts who has experiences in this kind of thing.
That Fick…..ha….ha…
September 29, 2005 at 12:03 pm
BP’s STAT OF THE DAY
Top 5 NL Right Fielders, by Value Over Replacement Player (VORP)
Player, Team, EqA, VORP
Brian Giles, SDN, .328, 65.0
Bobby Abreu, PHI, .307, 59.1
Geoff Jenkins, MIL, .298, 49.8
Shawn Green, ARI, .286, 39.0
Jose Guillen, WAS, .283, 31.5
… I like VORP
September 29, 2005 at 1:35 pm
What fun, me and my kids (10 and 12) watching Trevor time and the Padres win.
“Daddy, what’s champagne and why are they spraying all over each other?”
Maybe they’ll remember years from now when they have theor own tots, that time the Padres clinched the west and the old man jumped all around the livingroom scaring the dog once again. I know I will.
Thanks Padres for the clinch!
Next year, could you clinch with about 90+ wins?
Kidding, kinda.
September 29, 2005 at 11:16 pm
Last night I bought a round of drinks for the entire bar. Never done that before. It was so fun I did it twice. Then today I walked into a restaurant for lunch wearing my Padres hat and what song starts right as I enter? Hell’s Bells. This is the year! We have played better against the better teams in the NL (Houston, Atlanta, and St. Louis), Pedro Astacio has completely forgotton that he is Pedro Astacio, and there are no scary teams in the AL to intimidate the Padres the way the 1998 Yankees did. I’m calling it right here. We’re winning the whole f*ing thing. It’s a great day to be a Padre!