August 2: Superstitious Turk

For Christmas last year, my parents gave to me a San Diego Padres beer bottle koozie. It's great because it's in the shape of a little jersey complete with the number 0 on the back. After failing to have it in my possession any time I went somewhere where I ended up with a bottled beer, I started leaving it in my truck. It was such a cool little accessory and I really wanted to show it off so I thought by having it on the backseat of my vehicle I would be more likely to use it. I was, however, still forgetting all about it. It wasn't until recently that I saw it back there and decided to bring it up front with me where it just happens to be the perfect size to comfortably fit over my gear shift.

I keep it on the shifter every time I park; always adjusted to face outward and always gently pressed as low as possible on the handle. Since I've introduced the koozie to the front of the truck's cabin, it has become somewhat of a superstitious object for me. In my mind, the way I place it upon the shifter can determine the success the Padres will have in that day's game. If I can place it there without it getting caught on an edge and I can flawlessly slide it down, I believe the Padres will win. I can't knock it off center or I will be the cause for a Padres' loss.

This is hardly my first voyage into superstition. When I was a kid, I used to spend hours shooting free throws in increments of ten. I would then ask a question like, "On a scale of one through ten, what are the chances of my little league team making the playoffs?" If I made six free throws out of ten, I convinced myself that we would have a sixty percent chance.

Athletes are some of the most superstitious people around and no one had has many obscurities as professional pitcher Turk Wendell. According to The Bleacher Report, Wendell:

• Insisted that the umpire roll the ball to the mound rather than simply throw it to him. (If an umpire would ignorantly throw the ball to him, Wendell was known to let it go past him, or even to let it bounce off his chest, after which he would retrieve it from the ground.)
• Would turn and wave to the center fielder and wait for him to wave back before proceeding with each new inning.
  
• Would reportedly draw three crosses in the dirt of the pitcher's mound before each inning.
• Would crouch down whenever his catcher would stand.
• Would always take a colossal leap over the baseline at the end of each inning.
• Often brushed his teeth between innings (some claim that he brushed between every inning). While brushing, he often hid in the dugout, either by ducking behind objects or by facing the wall.
• Wore jersey number 99, in honor of Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn, the main character in the movie Major League (played by Charlie Sheen). In addition, in 2000, he signed a contract worth $9,999,999.99.
• Wore a necklace made from the claws and teeth of various animals he had hunted and killed.
• Sometimes threw his glove into the stands when leaving a game.

I don't know how accurate the entirety of this list is, but the teeth brushing part definitely is. Any baseball fan will be able to tell you that they've heard about Wendell's oral habit. It's funny how we let a small act like being careful to place a koozie just right over a gear shift control our daily routines.

July 29: Instant Gratification: Now Even More Instant-Er

It's official. The future is now. Books and articles have been written about the impact the Internet has had on Generation Now. Every day more and more people were getting their news via the Internet and morning papers were going by the wayside. How could getting the news on the Internet get any faster? It couldn't, right? Wrong.

I don't "tweet," but I am on Twitter. For those of you that aren't members, it may seem pointless, but trust me, it's pretty cool. The way it works is a user has 140 characters to write a message. These messages can be anything from an update of events planned to a link to an interesting website. Other Twitter subscribers can then "follow" these updates (or tweets) and have each tweet sent to their Twitter account. Confused yet?

Let me try to clear things up. Let's say I have five friends that have Twitter accounts. These friends find me on the website and click the follow button by my name. Now every time I send a tweet, it is forwarded to each friend. If I decide to tweet, "I'm going wakeboarding tomorrow" that message will be sent to my five followers and they now know that I'm going wakeboarding tomorrow. I don't follow any friends or send any tweets myself, but I do follow the Padres, Major League Baseball Trade Rumors (MLBTR), Funny or Die, and a few others. And here is where today's topic comes into play.

The MLB trade deadline is on Saturday and teams that are chasing a division title are scrambling to beef up their rosters. The fun thing about Twitter is that anytime MLBTR or the Padres representative catches wind of a rumor, they can tweet via text message and that message will be instantly forwarded to me. I could speed things up even more by having all new tweets sent to my phone, but I choose not to. I was, however, at my computer when the rumors of Miguel Tejada being traded to the Padres started surfacing.

At first it was a forwarded message from a Padres' writer stating the Baltimore Sun was reporting he had been scratched from tonight's game. Could this mean he had been traded? Then it was a similar message from MLBTR followed by another Padres' tweet about a Minor Leaguer in Baltimore's system being scratched. Could this mean he was being promoted to replace Tejada? Within five minutes and three tweets of speculation later, MLBTR broke the story that the deal was, in fact completed.

In between tweets I kept visiting MLB.com to get an official word, but received nothing. It wasn't until about a half an hour later that MLB had updated its website and mentioned the trade. One could argue that without the Internet, there would not be Twitter, but the fact remains: A medium that is replacing newspapers with instant gratification has now become even more instant.

July 25: A Curse or a Blessing?

At the trade deadline in 2009, starting pitcher Cliff Lee was a part of a five player deal that sent him and outfielder Ben Francisco to the Philadelphia Phillies from the Cleveland Indians. Lee finished the season with a 7-4 record and a 3.39 ERA and helped the team to its second consecutive World Series appearance. He wasn't a slouch in the postseason either. With a cumulative ERA of 1.56 in five games pitched, he won four of his decisions with two complete games; one of which was in the World Series against the eventual champion Yankees.

On December 16, the Phillies traded their recently acquired ace to the Seattle Mariners in a nine player deal that landed them starting pitcher Roy Halladay from the Toronto Blue Jays. Suffice it to say, Lee was shocked when he heard the news. Arguments could be made that the Phillies would never have gotten as far into the playoffs as they did without Lee and here they were trading him away less than two months later.

Lee packed his bags and moved his family once again to a new city. What did he do for the Mariners? He only went 8-3 with two no decisions, held on to a 2.34 ERA and struck out 89 batters while only walking six. He did this all while Seattle flushed their season down the drain and sank to the bottom of the American League West. Then on July 9 the Mariners sent their ace to their division rivals; the Texas Rangers.

5,402 miles in 343 days. That may not seem like that big of a deal, but when you factor in a person's family, the stress of finding three new places to call home, moving belongings three times, and getting acquainted with three new cities, it becomes a "big deal."

You might be wondering why a player of Lee's caliber would be traded so frequently given his consistency to put up such good numbers during the regular season and prove to be a valuable commodity during the postseason. It's simple. A player that's as good as Cliff Lee at the ripe age of 31 and approaching free agency is a terrifying thought for any team employing the left-handed pitcher. 2010 marks the end of Lee's current contract which means that teams can bid on his services at the end of the season. A proven track record guarantees top dollar for those services and if a team isn't confident in being able to retain him beyond the expiration of his contract, trading him to a team that is willing to give up top prospects to acquire him makes the most sense for the good of the organization.

Today, starting pitcher Dan Haren was traded from the Arizona Diamondbacks to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. It's not quite the same situation as Lee's because Haren is in the middle of a long-term contract but it got me thinking. Is it more of a curse than a blessing to have so much talent? A player with such ability will eventually get paid millions upon millions of dollars to flex that talent, but what kind of toll does that take on a person and his family?

Until Cliff Lee can sign that contract and include a no-trade clause, he is at the mercy of whatever current club he's with. On one hand, the chances of him being traded to a contending club are pretty high. More times than not, a team at the bottom of its division won't trade away the farm system to acquire a pitcher they'll more than likely lose at the end of the season. A team that feels it's one piece away from having a championship club will gamble a few of its prospects in the hope of winning now. The Mariners knew they were out of contention so they sent Lee to Texas for some pieces that might help them win in the future. Instead of pitching in meaningless games, Lee is instantly a part of a team making a run for the postseason.

Hundreds of millions of dollars to have to move the family across the country multiple times within a short period. Cliff Lee will get the contract this offseason and he'll move his family once more; until, that is, the twilight of his career when a team is desperate for pitching. Is having the talent to make teams drool with dreams of pennants and trophies a curse or a blessing? I wish I could tell you.

July 19: Man Down

Tonight's victim was Dustin Nippert. Last year it was Hiroki Kuroda and in 2008 it was Chris Young. Every year (and sometimes more) a pitcher's head gets in the way of a line drive. It's terrible when it happens. A pitcher's mound is sixty feet and six inches from home plate and the pitcher is closer than that when the ball comes flying back at him at more than a hundred miles per hour.

As horrifying a thing as that must be, I can't get to the Internet fast enough when it does. I have to see it. MLB.com was the first site I went to when I got home from work tonight to see the event. There's something magical and creepy about watching a grown man drop so quickly. Would I want to be the pitcher? Absolutely not. Do I feel bad for the guy? Heck yeah I do! It doesn't make it less of a spectacle though. Fastball meets maple meets face.

I used to think it was sick to want to see a video of a pitcher taking a fastball to the face. I used to think it was something to be ashamed of, but it's science! If an object is traveling at X velocity and hits a soft, fleshy surface what will happen?

My only objection is that the event tends to be a little repetitive. The guy throws the ball. Less than a second later he's writhing on the ground as the batter rounds first and tries to make it to second. The announcers groan and exhale slowly. The crowd is on its feet with hands covering mouths. Trainers, players, coaches, and umpires crowd the mound and wait for the thumbs up sign from the pitcher as he's carried off on a stretcher. There's the thumb. There's the standing ovation from everyone watching. Game continues.

And yet here I am writing about wanting to watch it as soon as I come home. What is it about seeing a man in such pain that mesmerizes me so? It's not a malicious thing because I witnessed Chris Young go through it two years ago and I hated losing a starting pitcher. It's not that I want these players to get hurt but I don't know what it is.

July 14: Home Run Derby

Eight batters, three rounds, and ten outs each. Every year I get super excited for the Home Run Derby during the All Star Break in July, but every year I am reminded how boring the event actually is.

To start, I'm always disappointed in the contestants. I want to see the best of the best launching homers. I want to see Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols. Prince Fielder and Ryan Howard. Give me Adam Dunn and Vladimir Guerrero. I don't want to watch Chris Young and Nick Swisher! Those aren't home run hitters.

Watching chumps take batting practice gets really old really fast. I understand that Fox needs to make a television event out of it so they can sell advertising, but I think three rounds is a bit much. Each of the eight batters gets ten outs to hit as many home runs as possible. Then there is a second round of ten more outs followed by a third round of ten more! Watching a guy smash homers is great for about five minutes. After a while, I just watch to hear the commentators talk about the season and interview guests.

The All Star Game on the other hand is fantastic. I love watching a game where everyone on the field is wearing a different jersey. It's fun to watch the managers try and get every member on the team an at-bat. The Home Run Derby, however, is too much. If you have to do it though, I want to see some real power hitters.

July 5: 49 and 33

The (Padres) have now played 82 games. If they duplicate their record in the second half then they will have 97 wins. One shy of the '98 season.

This is a text message I received this morning from an old friend. As excited as I am at the prospect of having another '98 season (which ended with a trip the World Series) I'm a little less ecstatic about talking about it. You see, in 1998 the Padres weren't as big of a surprise as this year's club. They had recently acquired Kevin Brown from the Marlins who would be the ace of the pitching staff. Tony Gwynn was coming off another batting title season to go along with an offense that included Steve Finley, Ken Caminiti, Wally Joyner, and Greg Vaughn. They also had Trevor Hoffman at the back end of a spectacular bullpen. I can't remember if that club was favored to make it as far as they did, but they weren't picked by sports writers all over the country to end at the bottom of the league.

Which brings us to this year's team. The 2010 San Diego Padres were supposed to be last in the National League West and possibly the entire National League. Their only offense was Adrian Gonzalez and their ace was a tall right-hander that spent too much time on the Disabled List by the name of Chris Young. Hoffman departed in '09 and had his shoes nicely filled by closer Heath Bell, but second year closers rarely maintained their first year success.

The offensive predictions were accurate. The Padres are near the bottom of the majors in almost all offensive categories. They have the 26th lowest team average of 30 teams and they have the 25th lowest on base percentage. The only area where they're near the top is stolen bases. After spending most of the first half with the second most stolen bases, they've recently dropped to fifth.

What's keeping the Padres competitive this year is the pitching. Simply put, it's ridiculous. Chris Young pitched six scoreless innings in his first start of the year and has spent the rest of the season on the Disabled List. Other than that, the staff as a whole has the lowest E.R.A. in the majors, the most shutouts, and the most strikeouts. Their bullpen is incredible with the lowest E.R.A. as well. Heath Bell is just as good this year as he was last year and there are at least three other guys in the bullpen that could be successful closers on other teams. The pitching is what's getting it done for the Friars; which scares me the most.

If the Padres got a few runs, the pitching staff has been able to keep the lead. Scores of 1-0 and 2-1 are not uncommon at all. In fact, they have become the norm. The problem with this style of baseball is that three of the five starting pitchers are extremely young; one of which is only 22-years-old. Will these guys be able to continue their dominance for another 80 games and still be able to pitch effectively in the post season? What will pitching this much this early in their careers do to their arms in the long run? At what point will the 22-year-old Mat Latos' arm just give up? Will that shatter his confidence at the big league level?

It's been fun being a Padres fan so far. Nobody expected them to be 16 games over .500 at any point in the season; let alone halfway through. The July 31 trade deadline is fast approaching and there are a few things the Padres need if they want to continue their run. A solid starting pitcher would take a lot of the pressure off of the young staff. A bat to compliment Gonzalez's in the lineup would be great too, but what will this cost the future of the club?

I would love for the Padres to win 97 games. I'm saving all of my money for a trip to San Diego and playoff games in October, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up. I feel like talking about it too much will just jinx the team. The odds are against them and I'm aware of that; which is why I'm hesitant to send text messages like the one I received this morning.

February 12: Seven Ballparks

When I received news on December 26 of 2008 that I was hired to work at Baseball Info Solutions in Coplay, PA as a video scout intern for the summer of 2009, I was stoked. Not only was I excited to get paid to watch Major League Baseball games, but I was excited to be able to experience a new set of baseball parks.

At the time, I had been to every ballpark on the west coast from San Diego to Seattle and upon receiving news of my hiring, I made it a goal to visit the seven ballparks that would be accessible to me during my stay in Pennsylvania. Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC, New York City for the Mets, Boston, New York City for the Yankees, and Pittsburgh were all within driving distance to where I was going to be so I thought this would be the perfect time to see those parks.

The first one was easy. Philadelphia was about an hour away and that trip pretty much fell into my lap. One of the other interns was a huge Milwaukee Brewers fan and the team was going to be in Philly in April. One day, this intern stood up in the office and made an announcement that he was going to be going to Citizen's Bank Ballpark to watch his Brewers play and asked if anyone else wanted to join him. Even though I really wanted to wait until the Padres were in town, I didn't know if I would get another opportunity so I said I would go. We drove there in the morning for the 1:05 game, had no problem with parking, and even got to see a near no-hitter by Dave Bush of the Brewers.

The next trip took place at the end of May. I had planned on going with two friends from the internship so we must have chosen that particular game because we all had the same days off. The destination was Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore and the game just so happened to be the Major League debut for one of the more touted prospects; Matt Wieters of the Orioles.

It took us about three hours to drive there, and we did so with the threat of rain. The game was scheduled for 7:05, and we were all praying that the rain would wait until after the game because we didn't like the idea of driving so far only to be turned away due to a postponement. We got into town early enough to get a beer at a local bar and an official Baltimore crab cake at a nearby restaurant. As we sat and ate our lunch/dinner the sky opened up and the rain began.

We walked over to the ballpark and took in the sights as we stood under awnings, overhangs and anything else that would keep us dry. After only an hour's delay, the game started and we saw a home team victory. Wieters went 0-4, but it was still cool to see the crowd's enthusiastic reaction to a routine play that he made in the first inning.

My next trip didn't come for a few months. I have an aunt that lives in DC, so I made it a point to visit her at the end of the July when the Padres would be in town to play the Nationals. I was able to visit with my aunt, see all of the monuments and memorials and watch my beloved Padres get their butts kicked by the worst team in the Majors. Not only did I have to watch my team take a pounding, but I had to wait three hours in the pouring rain by myself to do so. The game started on time, but after one full inning of play, the tarp was pulled on to the field and the game was delayed due to the weather. My aunt, her husband and his daughter decided they had had enough after two hours of waiting so they wanted to go. I told my aunt that I didn't drive that far to watch my team play one inning and I didn't mind taking the train or a cab back to her house by myself once the game finished. I was glad to see the Padres play, but it was pretty humiliating having to walk out of Nationals Park wearing my San Diego gear with my tail between my legs at 2:00 in the morning.

By the end of August, I hadn't seen any other parks and my goal was looking pretty grim and futile. There was just a little more than a month left on the season and I still had to see both New York parks, Boston, and Pittsburgh. The Padres were going to be in Pittsburgh at the end of September so I wasn't worried about that one, but I was finding it more and more difficult to convince people around the office to take their minimum wage and spend it on a trip to a ballpark to watch more baseball. I was able to convince one of my friends to go to New York for a Mets game on August 24, but I was getting pretty depressed that I was still going to miss the Yankees and the Red Sox.

Then in the middle of August, everything came together perfectly. I sent a random text to a friend in California asking him if he wanted to meet me in Boston to watch the Red Sox play at Fenway. I didn't think there was a chance in Hell that he would say yes, but he did! Then, from out of nowhere, one of the interns asked if I wanted to join him and his roommate on a trip to New York to watch the Yankees make up a game from earlier in the year with the Angels.

So on August 24 (a Monday), I drove to New York City (about two hours) to watch the Mets play at Citi Field. I drove back that night and finished the week of work. On the following Monday, I took a bus to New York City where I got on another bus to Boston and spent the next three days with my friend. He knew someone that lived in the city so we were able to stay with him for free which saved a ton of money. I got back to my apartment late that Wednesday, worked through Sunday and took my third trip to New York City in three weeks to watch the Yankees in the new Yankee Stadium.

I officially completed my goal on September 18 when I saw the first of a four game series between the Padres and the Pirates at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Of course, the Padres lost the one game I was at and won the next three, but I had done it! I saw seven different ballparks in one summer. I have now been to fourteen of thirty ballparks and can't wait for the new season to start so I can check the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Minute Maid Park in Houston, and possibly one more off my list too.