Adrian Gonzalez was an unproven young hitter coming to a club whose manager has shown a reluctance to give such players consistent playing time. An injury to Ryan Klesko, however, forced Bruce Bochy’s hand — and Gonzalez responded to the opportunity. First-Half Grades: Overall Right Field Center Field Left Field Shortstop Third Base Second Base [...]

It’s like pitching a tent in your backyard, only not quite as much fun. S’mores, anyone? With the exception of a few at-bats wasted on the useless Doug Mirabelli, catcher has been an unbelievably strong position for the Padres. And, as with the bullpen, the guys who are getting the job done have been acquired [...]

Trevor Hoffman, the Padres’ lone representative in tonight’s All-Star game, has a 1.03 ERA at the break. With 24 saves under his belt already, there’s a strong chance that he’ll get the 19 more he needs to pass Lee Smith for the all-time record before the season is over. And even though it seems like [...]

For here Am I sitting in a tin can Far above the world Planet earth is blue And there’s nothing I can do Old school, baby. We’re gonna blog like it’s 1999 — at least until we get this thing fixed. Unfortunately there is no commenting, but maybe we can get some food for thought [...]

I’m growing addicted to this T-shirt thing. I’ve busted out the Will Play Third Base for Food line if anyone’s interested. My skills at the hot corner may not be what they once were, but I’m still a pretty good eater.