opening day

Everything in Its Right Place

Tuesday, April 1, 2008
by Geoff Young

I couldn't sit still on Monday. I can't sit still a lot of the time, but on Opening Day it's always worse. My nervous tics develop nervous tics. I arrived downtown just after 4 p.m., wearing my Chris Young jersey, and toting my digital camera and scorebook. Mrs. Ducksnorts and I wandered over to one of the many fine establishments within walking distance of Petco Park, where we snacked on finger foods and quaffed Belhaven Scotch Scottish Ale on tap at $3.50 per pint. I thought about the folks who are outraged at being charged more than twice as much for domestic swill at the ballpark. After brief consideration, I decided that "continuing ...

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Posted in Game Recaps | 81 Comments »

IGD: Padres vs Astros (31 Mar 08)

Monday, March 31, 2008
by Geoff Young

Padres (0-0) vs Astros (0-0) Jake Peavy vs Roy Oswalt 7:05 p.m. PT Channel 4SD AM 1090, FM 105.7, XM 184 MLB, B-R It's beginning to look a lot like Opening Day. What better time to bust out an esoteric table: Jake Peavy: 2007 Starts by Percentage of Pitches for Strikes Str/PitGSIP/GSH/9HR/9BB/9K/9ERAW-LRS/GRA/G Statistics are courtesy of Baseball-Reference. >.66106.805.160.402.5111.251.728-16.702.60 .63-.66156.607.640.452.369.002.366-43.732.87

Posted in In-Game Discussion | 126 Comments »

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Your Predictions for 2008?

Sunday, March 30, 2008
by Geoff Young

From esteemed reader LynchMob comes this excellent idea for a post on the eve of Opening Day: "provide us with a list of questions which you want us, the commenters, to go 'on the record' with"; he then poses several questions, which you will find below. This might be fun to peek back at throughout the season. I'll lead off with my responses; feel free to follow... How many wins for the Padres in 2008? They'll go 86-76. Is this 2008 team better or worse than the 2007 team? Why? About the same. Randy Wolf and Tadahito Iguchi should represent upgrades over David Wells and Marcus Giles, while Jim Edmonds won't produce like Mike Cameron. Where will they finish in the NL West? Second place. What are ...

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Posted in Baseball | 25 Comments »

2008 Roster Contest Winner

Sunday, March 30, 2008
by Geoff Young

At the end of February we held a "Guess the Opening Day roster" contest. Many participated, and one emerged victorious: long-time reader Bruce K. nailed 22 of the 25 roster spots, missing only on Justin Huber (which all 20 of us missed for obvious reasons -- the contest closed on March 9, and Huber didn't join the Padres until March 26), Wil Ledezma (only one person had him on their list), and Paul McAnulty (four people had him listed). Congratulations to Bruce! For his efforts, he will receive a copy of the Ducksnorts 2008 Baseball Annual. Thanks to all who participated, and special thanks to reader Colin, who sponsored this contest. Go Padres!

Posted in 2008 Annual, Contests | 6 Comments »

Eats and Drinks Near Petco Park

Saturday, March 29, 2008
by Geoff Young

As regular readers know, because there are so many great food options within walking distance of Petco Park, I don't do ballpark concessions. With Opening Day just around the metaphorical corner, I figure now is as good a time as any to revisit the ol' Restaurant Guide. One place I recently was turned onto is The Fleetwood. It opened in September 2007 and is just a few stumbles away from the park. Aaron, Brendan, and the rest of the gang serve up excellent steaks, chops, and beers. They also take good care of Padres fans, so, yeah, I think we'll be paying them a visit at ...

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Posted in Off-Topic | 41 Comments »

Random Roster Notes

Tuesday, March 18, 2008
by Geoff Young

Brian Giles saw his first action this spring on Monday. He went 0-for-2 against the Diamondbacks in Tucscon, but who cares? The important thing is, he was in the lineup and able to play right field. Quoth Giles: This was a pretty good test. I know it was only three innings, but the conditions weren't that good out there. It's a little wet in the outfield, and it's windy and cold. Meanwhile, Rule V draftee Callix Crabbe is pushing hard to make the Padres' Opening Day roster. Batting eighth and starting at third base on Monday, Crabbe singled twice and doubled in three trips to the plate. He's hitting .415 this spring, which doesn't tell us as much as his career .369 OBP ...

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Posted in Roster Notes, Spring Training | 41 Comments »

Friday Links (29 Feb 08)

Friday, February 29, 2008
by Geoff Young

Happy Leap Day. If you haven't participated in the Opening Day Roster contest, what's up with that? The winner receives a copy of the Ducksnorts 2008 Baseball Annual. Meanwhile, we've got links: SI.com reports that Brian Giles is feeling good. So is his surgically repaired right knee. [Kevin] John Walsh at Hardball Times is searching for baseball's best pitch. The fastballs of Heath Bell, Chris Young, and Jake Peavy get some love, as do the slider of Peavy and Young (!). [Masticore317] Rich, Sully, and friends are doing their annual Two on Two over at Baseball Analysts. As always, their commentary makes for an entertaining read, and this year's take ...

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Posted in Notes and Links | 114 Comments »