I think it is good to honor the military after taking down Osama Bin Laden. And the Padres are doing so by wearing their military camouflage uniforms, which I have already made clear that I am not a fan.
Why not the Red White and Blue hats? It is a day for all Americans to feel at least a sense of justice and closure regarding that awful day. There will no doubt be flag waving, so why not have the flag waving on the field?
To honor the brave soldiers who took out Bin Laden at his hideout Mansion in Pakistan, the San Diego Padres will wear their special camouflage uniforms.
Last year I wrote a blog post where I trashed the uniforms. I took great pains at the beginning of the article to make it clear that I understood they were honoring the military and that I knew the Padres do a lot for the many locals who are in the armed forces. I just thought the uniforms were ugly.
I still do.
But despite my preamble, I still got people writing to me saying "Don't you understand that they are honoring the military?"
Yes. Yes I do. I was considering taking down that post, but nope. It is up there.
I did go back and write a new disclaimer in bold and italics. I know it will be ignored.
If I take flak, I can handle it. I am not trying to pull a John Steigerwald and be the angry counter arguer.
I just think the uniforms are ugly. But I am glad Bin Laden is gone. And the brave soldiers who took them out deserve our praise.
I admit that I've been rough on Trevor Hoffman on this blog. I don't think he is a Hall of Famer. I don't think he was one of the elite closers. I think he was a fine pitcher who compiled saves when it was easy to do so and blew way too many big games to be in Cooperstown in my book.
Yes, he is the All Time Saves leader.
Lee Smith was as well. Is he a Hall of Famer? Jeff Reardon was as well. Is he a Hall of Famer? (And Reardon had the "clinching the World Series moment" that neither Smith nor Hoffman had.)
By the time Hoffman's name reaches the ballot, Mariano Rivera, a legit Hall of Famer, will have the 42 saves needed to be the new All Time Saves leader.
All that being said, he had a terrific career and it seems like nobody had a bad thing to say about him.
And I feel an odd connection as a fan because his older brother, Glenn Hoffman, was on many of the Red Sox teams I grew up watching.
So good luck Trevor Hoffman. Your career was one worth saluting, especially when you consider how quickly relievers flame out.
And if you get elected to the Hall of Fame, I won't protest. I can't imagine how someone could get MAD if a player they don't agree with gets elected.
I promise in five years, if this blog is still up, I will have toned down my rhetoric.
This Christmas, some baseball fans should already be pessimistic about their teams chances in 2011.
The Pirates are obviously not going to be good and their losing season streak will no doubt reach a shameful 19. The Royals waved the white flag with the Greinke trade. The Mets and Cubs are a year away from a massive relief of bad contracts expiring. The Diamondbacks should have another year wandering in the desert. And the Nationals will probably stink again even though they seem to think they are on the verge of contending.
You would think that I would throw the Padres onto the scrap heap of hopeless teams, especially after dealing Adrian Gonzalez and inevitably sending Heath Bell packing before Opening Day.
First of all, they are still LOADED with pitching talent. Mat Latos looks like he will be an All Star for a while. Clayton Richard looks like a steal from the White Sox. And even though Jon Garland has skedaddled and taken his 200 innings with him, there are other options. Aaron Harang has come to town and while he has been kind of lousy the last few years, he is moving from the hitters haven of Great America Ballpark to the pitcher paradise of PetCo Park.
And their 2010 bullpen was a never ending parade of effective arms. Whenever I saw the Padres play (and as a West Coast resident I saw them A LOT) they always pulled out some reliever that I hadn’t heard of before but had some sickeningly good numbers.
Seriously, besides the biggest baseball fans or residents of the Gaslamp District, who the hell heard of Ernesto Frieri, Luke Gregerson, Edward Mujica, Joe Thatcher or Ryan Webb? If Heath Bell is dealt, ONE of those guys could step in and pitch the 9th.
And if Bell is dealt, Padres GM Jed Hoyer seems to be pretty good at actually getting useful players in return. Clayton Richard came over in a deal for a broken down Jake Peavy. Casey Kelly, brought over in the Adrian Gonzalez trade, could be in the pitching staff this year. Gonzalez also yielded Anthony Rizzo who could fill in at first base and Raymond Fuentes who could be in the outfield by 2012.
Take note Pittsburgh. Just because you trade expensive players doesn’t mean you have to dump them for no value in return.
And I think some of the moves they have made have made the team better. Jason Bartlett and Orlando Hudson are a terrific middle of the infield and should be an improvement defensively. And Brad Hawpe is just a season removed from being an All Star. The Padres don’t need All Star production from him… just hit well enough to not have first base be a hole.
And in the light of what happened in 2010, many of the young Padres experienced meaningful games in what was supposed to be a rebuilding season. If they went 2-8 between August 26th and September 5th instead of 0-10, they would have been playing in the playoffs. As it were, they won 90 games and lost the Division to the eventual World Champions.
And the Giants will inevitably take a slight step back in the wake of their World Series title, the Diamondbacks are rebuilding, the Dodgers are a mess and who knows what will happen in Colorado. The NL West isn’t the AL East with super powers gobbling up super stars.
And what else did the Giants championship teach us? With a good pitching staff, you don’t need to be an offensive powerhouse to win. The Giants upgraded their offense from “A FEMA level disaster” to merely “terrible” and look where they ended up.
If Bell could fill in a hole or two in the line up and the young pitching takes advantage of the ballpark and the improved defense, they could have a winning season. And in the NL West, a winning season could mean contention in September.
And what else can you ask for in September than meaningful games. So be optimistic this Christmas morning, Padres fan. You may not have the sexiest team, but you do have reason to look forward to 2011.
Go ahead and have images of National League West titles dancing in your head.
One element of it is sad and one element worries me.
Of course the greedy Red Sox fan in me couldn't care less about the Padres. But the baseball man in me wonders why the Padres, with a staggeringly low payroll and revenue sharing, couldn't sign Adrian Gonzalez to a 5 year extension.
A great hitter and San Diego native could have been the face of the franchise like Joe Mauer is to the Twins. A 5 year extension would have him as a 10 year Padre and no doubt join the retired numbers in Petco Park.
Just accept it, say "Yeah, hate my team. I don't care" and enjoy the show.
Almost exactly a year ago, I lamented that the Red Sox had no offensive identity anymore and they needed that left-right combo that sparked their best teams:
"Why does this worry you, Sully?" You might be asking. "This means the Red Sox could have fleeced them... or at worst dealt away players who wouldn't be a factor in 2011."
Call me a worrywart... but doesn't that raise a red flag?
That the Padres would settle for players who could very well turn out to be good but not big league ready?
Combine that with Gonzalez coming off of shoulder surgery, I hope the Padres don't know something that we don't know.
Either way, welcome to Boston. I am rooting big time for Gonzalez and I hope like hell the "Red Sox are the new Evil Empire" articles keep coming all the way through October.
You are going to love Fenway. The stands are actually FULL during a pennant race.
He was a member of the 1969 Padres.... their first season. And I am convinced the GM signed him for the Abbott and Costello esque confusion of "Who's pitching for the Padres?" "Podres." that must have happened that year.
It's a tragedy that Billy Brewer never played for Milwaukee.
Don't laugh... Bruce Bochy already has a pretty amazing resume as a manager. If he wins 4 more games as a manager this year, it might be time to start whispering his name around Cooperstown.
Don't believe me? Well first of all he has already padded his resume with some solid credentials.
He took over a Padres team after the 1994/1995 strike/lockout.
Remember the Padres were a team lost in the woods after the 1984 pennant. They went through managers (Larry Bowa... Jack McKeon... Steve Boros... Jim Riggleman) and philosophies (We're all about our deep farm... no wait, we're all about signing free agents like Bruce Hurst and Jack Clark... no we're keeping our prospects... no we're trading them for Joe Carter... no we're trading Joe Carter and Robbie Alomar away...)
In his second season (1996) and just three years removed from the 1993 101 loss firesale debacle, Bruce Bochy had the Padres back in the post season as National League West Champions, beating the defending Division Champion Dodgers on the last day of the season.
We won manager of the year that year.
In his fourth season, 1998, he beat out two 100 win teams in the post season (the Astros and the Braves) and stormed into the second World Series in the history of the franchise. Granted, beating the 114 win Yankees was a BIT too much to ask, but he became a World Series manager.
The Padres dismantled again, running off 5 straight losing seasons and making Bochy's future uncertain. But the Padres and Bochy stuck together and by 2004 they were winners again.
By 2005 he had the Padres back in the playoffs (granted with the single worst post season team I have EVER seen). In 2006 they were legit and had home field advantage in the Division Series as back to back champs.
Only Trevor Hoffman played on all four division winners for Bochy. The turnover of talent from 1996 to 1998 was tremendous... as was the turn over from 2005 to 2006. Bochy remained the steady force.
He came over to the Giants, a team whose philosophy seemed to be "Hey! People are showing up to see Barry... so why bother putting a good team on the field?"
He had nothing to work with, especially after Bonds retired after 2007. But by 2009 they were winners again... and now, counting his two rebuildings in San Diego, has built his third division champion from the ground up.
Manager of the year... turns teams around... multiple playoff trips... pennants with two different franchises...
That sounds like a GREAT manager's resume. All he is missing is the ring.
If he wins a World Series title this year... and do what teams featuring Mays, McCovey, Marichal, Perry and Bonds could never do... and do it with a cut and paste line up... do it defeating the much heralded Phillies... then what else does he have to prove?
Yes you can point to a sub .500 career record. But also remember that he managed the Padres who had firesales under his watch... and took over a rudderless Giants team that was looking to shake off their Bonds identity.
Bochy could be giving them the identity they've been seeking since they played at Seals Stadium: World Series Champion.
And then the consideration for Cooperstown will need some good long thought.
I know it would be easy to call the Padres choke artists… heck you might even have the numbers to back it up.
On August 25th, the Padres looked like a team of destiny. They improved their record to 76-49. They were up by 8 games in the loss column over San Francisco with 37 games to play.
The Padres had a better record than anyone else in the National League by 5 games in the loss column and were on a run where they won 12 of 15 games.
And then it happened. The 10 game losing streak. Squandering a 6 ½ game lead in 16 days.
Finishing the season 14-23.
And now out of the playoff picture. The playoffs start this week and the Padres are playing golf.
On the surface it looks like a huge face plant.
But let’s call Doc Brown and go back in time. Going into this season, the Padres (with the NL’s second lowest payroll) look like they would be sitting with the Nationals, Pirates and Mets as the few National League teams with no hope.
The only questions going into 2010 were “Where is Adrian Gonzalez going to be traded?” and “Should the Padres deal Heath Bell as well?”
What if I told you a Padres team that EVERYONE seemed to have picked for 90 losses would actually be a 90 WIN team?
That they would be in contention for the entire season with arguably the deepest bullpen in baseball and make it all the way to the last day of the season before being eliminated?
That they would play 3 “lose and your season is over” games on the road and win the first 2?
You’d think I was crazy and demand to know the physics of time travel.
But I think the season should be judged based upon expectations and outcomes. A team whose payroll is less than what the Red Sox paid for Tim Wakefield, J. D. Drew, Mike Lowell, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Josh Beckett this year, is not expected to win more games than the Red Sox.
But they did.
A team with a no name rotation and line up (save for Gonzalez) is expected to contend.
But they did.
They didn’t choke. They destroyed all expectations. If they started off horribly and then caught fire and made it to 90 wins, they’d be considered a triumph.
This isn’t going to look pretty for San Diego’s underrated tortured history. But this wasn’t a choke.
If the METS did this, it would be a choke. But then again the Mets didn’t even contend despite paying $95 million more for their players.
Here we are... the last day of the season... and not one single Division Series match up has been set.
The Yankees played a combined 20 innings yesterday and very well might have lost the Division in the wee small hours of the morning. And the Twins may have lost homefield advantage in the Division Series and ALCS with a poorly timed losing streak.
But that is NOTHING compared to the potential double choke that would be the Giants and Braves... especially if a 3 way playoff is necessary.
Let's look at the current match ups.
AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES
TAMPA BAY RAYS (AL East Champion) has home field advantage over TEXAS RANGERS (AL West Champion)
MINNESOTA TWINS (AL Central Champion) has home field advantage over NEW YORK YANKEES (AL Wild Card)
ONE GAME PLAYOFF FOR NATIONAL LEAGUE WILD CARD
ATLANTA BRAVES would host SAN DIEGO PADRES
NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES (If ATLANTA wins)
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (NL East Champion) has home field advantage over CINCINNATI REDS (NL Central Champion) SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (NL West Champion)
has home field advantage over
ATLANTA BRAVES (NL Wild Card)
NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES (If SAN DIEGO wins)
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (NL East Champion) has home field advantage over SAN DIEGO PADRES (NL Wild Card) SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (NL West Champion)
has home field advantage over
CINCINNATI REDS (NL Central Champion)
Why do I have a feeling that there will still be things left undecided by the end of today?
Seriously... did they start celebrating when they realized all it took was one Padres loss and they'll be October bound?
The Giants are playing with the urgency of a temp checking their Facebook page. The Braves got shut down twice by the Phillies and haven't yet faced a starting pitcher named Roy.
The only Phillies pitcher the Braves offense has gotten to was Mike Zagurski, who not only won't be on the post season roster but could very well be the 15th caller from Sports Radio 97.5.
The Giants brought back a lot of former greats this weekend for the Wille Mac award and the Braves had a galaxy of former stars honor Bobby Cox.
They should have activated each of the players. Heck, I think post amputation Dave Dravecky couldn't have done worse than Matt Cain nor Barry Zito.
So now the scenario that seemed so implausible just two days ago is staring the Braves and Giants in the face.
The Braves have to beat Cole Hamels. The Giants have to beat Mat Latos.
If they don't there is a possibility that they have to burn an ace pitcher in a playoff... or face the Phillies in the Division Series... or be playing golf.
It all seemed so unlikely over 3 games. Not so much over 1.
Like the PSA says, don't drink and play in a pennant race.
Normally when someone gets doubled up at first on a fly ball in the 9th inning of a potential clinching game with your team down, you get pissed.
But I can't get pissed at Freddy Sanchez. Everyone on the Planet Earth thought that was a triple in the corner. Why the hell Ludwick was playing there I have no idea. So instead of a run in and they tying run at third with nobody out, it was 2 outs, nobody on and a 2 run lead.
Don't let the Padres win tomorrow, Giants. Don't give them hope.
23 years ago today, a great moment happened in San Francisco Giants history... and I would be remiss if I didn't pay tribute to it.
In 1987, my family moved from the Boston area to the San Francisco Bay Area. I was still smarting from the 1986 World Series when I saw my new local team make an unlikely trip to the post season.
The Giants (or the "Hum Babies" based on manager Roger Craig's inexplicable expression) were far behind the Reds for most of the season. But like most of the Reds teams managed by Pete Rose, they faded down the stretch.
And the Giants made a slew of trades with the Pirates and Padres to remake their team in midseason. In came Dave Dravecky, Rick Reuschel, Don Robinson, Kevin Mitchell and Craig Lefferts to join the squad.
When my family arrived in the Bay Area in the first week of August, the Giants were in third place with a sub .500 record. They went 37-17 the rest of the way. Coincidence? OK, yes.
Then on September 28th, after many near misses over the years, the Giants played the Padres and had a chance to do what they hadn't done since 1971... make the post season.
I remember watching the game from our new home in Palo Alto. I remember it being an incredibly exciting moment for the Bay Area. And looking back at the box score, it had an amazing cast of characters and some strategy that shows how baseball has changed since 1987.
They started Mike Aldrete, Candy Maldonado and Eddie Milner and was able to bring both Jeffrey Leonard and Chili Davis off the bench.
I remember that Giants team had about 4,000 veterans on their last legs who played as part time players. The Joel Youngbloods, Chris Speiers, Harry Spilmans and Eddie Milners of the world all contributed.
By the way, neither Leonard nor Davis started but each homered.
HOW GREAT WAS THAT DEAL WITH SAN DIEGO?
Maybe it was appropriate that the Giants clinched in San Diego with Dave Dravecky pitching.
It was the deal that brought over Dravecky, Mitchell and Lefferts that turned the season around.
How good a deal was it? The Giants gave up Mark Davis who would go on to win a Cy Young with San Diego... and the Giants STILL got the better part of the deal!
COULD THE PADRES LINE UP BE FILLED WITH MORE OVERHYPED BUSTS?
Anyone who stockpiled rookie cards during the 1980s must look at this lineup and cringe.
Future superstar Shawn Abner! Future closer Lance McCullers! Rising slugger Rob Nelson! Future lead off man Stan Jefferson! Sweet left handed slugging Marvel Wynne!
None of them lived up to the hype... and those baseball cards should have been put directly into bicycle spokes.
MAYBE HE'LL BE INVOLVED WITH ANOTHER GIANTS CLINCHER AGAINST SAN DIEGO IN 2010
In the 4th inning, Bruce Bochy came up as a pinch hitter for the Padres.
He struck out to Dravecky.
Now he is guiding the Giants to finish what they started in 1987.
BULLPEN STRATEGY WAS A LITTLE DIFFERENT IN 1987
Manager Roger Craig brought in Don Robinson, arguably his best reliever, into the 4th inning.
Can you IMAGINE that now? I think it takes Special Dispensation from the Pope to bring in a closer before the 9th inning and an executive order from the White House to have them pitch more than 1 inning.
Just imagine Bochy bringing in Wilson in the 4th inning of a 1 run game today.
LET'S JUST SAY ROGER CRAIG HAD FAITH IN THE CAVEMAN
OK, if bringing Robinson into the game in the 4th wasn't crazy enough for 21st Century baseball fans, try THIS on for size!
In the 8th inning of a potential clinching game, and his top reliever already pitched 3 innings, and the game tied with the pitcher's spot coming up... what do you think Roger Craig did?
HE LET ROBINSON HIT!
I guess no Joba rules for Robinson. Can you IMAGINE that happening today? A manager would be fired ON THE SPOT! In MID GAME for doing that!
Do what did Robinson do? He hit a home run... and it turned out to be the game winner.
Let's just say the strategy worked.
CHAMPS
Svelte Padres outfielder John Kruk hit a flyball to the warning track that was ALMOST a walk off come from behind homer... instead Hac Man Leonard caught it at the wall and Giants fans could do something they couldn't do since Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal and Gaylord Perry were on the team... celebrate a title.
WILL CLARK'S INTERESTING CELEBRATION
Most people on camera in a locker room celebration say things like "It was a team effort" and "this feels great but we're looking for to the playoffs."
Not Will Clark. He was screaming, dropping F bombs and doing what everyone must FEEL about their first post season berth.
"I LOVE CHAMPAGNE!"
I remember he had to apologize for his language. Come on... he was just doing and saying what every Giants fan was feeling.
The Giants almost made it to the World Series, falling a game short against a banged up Cardinals team.
But lest we forget, this was the day that San Francisco remembered how to field a playoff team.
Enjoy the entire clinching... Will Clark's celebration starts at 6:45.
The playoff picture is a little clearer than it was yesterday... Going into yesterday there would have been a one game playoff whose outcome would determine BOTH National League Division Series match ups... and Red Sox fans had some hope.
Well going into the final week of the season, three teams can clinch a playoff spot on Monday. Actually the Phillies already did clinch a spot today, but if they win tomorrow or the Braves lose tomorrow, it will be their 4th straight Division Title. (They have bigger fish to fry.)
If the Cardinals lose to the Pirates, then the Reds will be the NL Central Champs.
And if the Yankees win or the Red Sox lose, the Yankees will clinch at least a Wild Card spot. I have a feeling their celebration will be muted.
No doubt the Giants, Braves and Padres will continue to jockey for position. The Rockies will need a miracle. (Don't give them any ideas!)
Let's look at the current match ups.
AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES
TAMPA BAY RAYS (AL East Champion) has home field advantage over TEXAS RANGERS (AL West Champion)
MINNESOTA TWINS (AL Central Champion) has home field advantage over NEW YORK YANKEES (AL Wild Card)
NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (NL East Champion) has home field advantage over SAN DIEGO PADRES (NL Wild Card) SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (NL West Champion) has home field advantage over CINCINNATI REDS (NL Central Champion)
Keep an eye on the Cubs/Padres series and the Marlins/Braves series. Both the Cubs and Marlins had bigger aspirations for the 2010 season. Will they relish the spoiler role?
Things are shuffling around on the deck of the SS Playoffs... teams are being added and others dropped and playoff match ups are being mixed up.
Frankly I wouldn't mind this exact playoff set up in the National League to be the final one. And the top of the American League has three teams with identical win totals and 1 game separating the three in the loss column.
Let's see the current match ups.
AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES
TAMPA BAY RAYS (AL East Champion) has home field advantage over TEXAS RANGERS (AL West Champion)
MINNESOTA TWINS (AL Central Champion) has home field advantage over NEW YORK YANKEES (AL Wild Card)
NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (NL East Champion) has home field advantage over SAN DIEGO PADRES (NL Wild Card) SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (NL West Champion) has home field advantage over CINCINNATI REDS (NL Central Champion)
The Padres are back in it while the Braves picked a bad time to drop 4 straight. And Colorado has dropped 4, making them as close to a non factor as you can have (even with games against the Dodgers coming up.)
The Phillies and Rangers can clinch tomorrow... but the NL West and Wild Card remain murky.
Seriously, besides the biggest baseball fans or residents of the Gaslamp District, who the hell heard of Ernesto Frieri, Luke Gregerson, Edward Mujica, Joe Thatcher or Ryan Webb? If Heath Bell is dealt, ONE of those guys could step in and pitch the 9th.
The Padres dismantled again, running off 5 straight losing seasons and making Bochy's future uncertain. But the Padres and Bochy stuck together and by 2004 they were winners again.
AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES 
ONE GAME PLAYOFF FOR
HOW DEEP WAS THE GIANTS OUTFIELD?
HOW GREAT WAS THAT DEAL WITH SAN DIEGO?
COULD THE PADRES LINE UP BE FILLED WITH MORE OVERHYPED BUSTS?
MAYBE HE'LL BE INVOLVED WITH ANOTHER GIANTS CLINCHER AGAINST SAN DIEGO IN 2010
BULLPEN STRATEGY WAS A LITTLE DIFFERENT IN 1987
LET'S JUST SAY ROGER CRAIG HAD FAITH IN THE CAVEMAN
CHAMPS
