A few weeks ago I was approached by the fine folks at San Diego Magazine and asked some Spring Training questions. I obliged. But I obliged a little to much, because it was just for a small section, so my answers were edited down just a tad.

Corey Brock & Padres outfielder Will Venable also contributed answers to the same questions. So you get a players, a beat writers & a superfans point of view on the ins and outs of Peoria. Not surprisingly, my original answers were strikingly similar to Corey's because quite frankly, he was the one who taught me everything I know about Spring Training. Now with my yearly pilgrimage to Peoria right around the corner, I thought I'd share with you my full answers to those questions. If you have any tips, feel free to share them with us in the comments section.

Andy Hawkins 

Pitcher | Bats: Right | Throws: Right | Height: 6-4 | Weight: 200 | DOB: 1/21/1960 | Waco, Texas

Draft: Selected by the San Diego Padres in the 1st round (5th overall) of the 1978 June Amateur Draft

MLB Debut: 7/17/82 (San Diego Padres)

Seasons in San Diego: 1982-1988

Left: 12/8/88 - Signed as a Free Agent with the New York Yankees

Career Stats: Major League & Minor League

Rich Folkers 

Pitcher | Bats: Left | Throws: Left | Height: 6-2 | Weight: 180 | DOB: 10/17/1946 | Waterloo, Iowa

Draft: Selected by the New York Mets in the 1st round (20th overall) of the 1967 June (Secondary Phase) Draft

MLB Debut: 6/10/70 (New York Mets)

Acquired: 11/18/74 – Traded from the St. Louis Cardinals with P Alan Foster & P Sonny Siebert to the San Diego Padres for SS Ed Brinkman & C Danny Breeden

Seasons in San Diego: 1975-1976

Left: 3/23/77 - Claimed off waivers by the Milwaukee Brewers

Career Stats: Major League & Minor League

"My advice is to do what your parents did; get a job, sir. The bums will always lose!" 
- The Big Lebowski 

I know it's still the offseason, but there is always time to bag on the Dodgers.  Even Jeffrey Lebowski thinks they will lose this year!  For the second year in a row they pick up our sloppy seconds (2010 - Jon Garland, 2011 - Aaron Harang).  Great moves like these are the reason why they won't have stability for a long time, and I'm okay with that.  Not to mention the ownership situation...yikes!  I pledge full hatred of the Dodgers this year and every year to come, but I will go into the 2012 season with more of a smirk.

Let's look at their amazing offseason:

KEY ADDITIONS:
LHP Chris Capuano (fifth starter, maybe), RHP Todd Coffey (average reliever), 2B Mark Ellis (on the decline), INF Jerry Hairston (sloppy fourths), RHP Aaron Harang (have fun outside PETCO), INF Adam Kennedy (he's still playing), C Matt Treanor (probably will be Bard)

KEY SUBTRACTIONS:
C Rod Barajas, 3B Casey Blake, RHP Jonathan Broxton, INF Jamey Carroll, RHP Jon Garland, LHP Hong-Chih Kuo, RHP Hiroki Kuroda, INF Aaron Miles, RHP Vicente Padilla
Outside Carroll and Kuroda, the rest of this bunch are about as exciting as a 2011 Padres starting lineup. 

Overall, it is a wash in my opinion.  I think status quo or slightly less is to be expected from the rest of the team and this could lead to a strong 4th or 5th place finish.  Not a bad prediction for a below average team with a below average 5-year projection. 

It's finally here! Check out the Preview of Padres and Pints: Episode 3, where we venture up to San Marcos and get to know the fine folks at Lost Abbey/Port Brewing. We are joined by Melvin from The Sacrifice Bunt and Bryant from Woe, Doctor! and we talk about all things uniforms and logos. The three of us are perhaps the most outspoken critics on this topic, so this will surely be a no holds barred death match. So sit back, relax and hit play. The full episode will be up on Friday. Enjoy!

Padres fans got some shocking news today. ESPN is reporting that Hall of Famer, and Mr. Padre himself, Tony Gwynn had to go in for surgery today to remove a cancerous tumor in the same spot of his mouth that he had a growth removed only 18 months ago.

I've met Tony numerous times and he is one of the nicest guys out there. Padres fans are truely lucky to have him, RJ & Trevor, three top notch guys, representing their team. I'm truely saddened by this news but I know Tony will kick cancer's butt once again & recover quickly.

On a day in which love is to be celebrated, please send your well wishes Tony's way. I know that as one of the best 2 strike hitters in baseball, he won't let cancer get to strike 3 on him.

There are a couple things going through my mind from Fan Fest, so let's hit it up: BULLET POINT STYLE (actually they are dashes but Bullet Point sounds cooler)......

In a very special Episode of Padres and Pints, we hit up the 2012 Padres Fan Fest! Free events for kids, a garage sale with tons of cool stuff, autographs galore and clubhouse tours, are a few of the things you missed out on if you didn't make it down to Petco Park yesterday.

While there, we just so happened to run into Padres President Tom Garfinkel and had to get all the latest scoops on the 2012 promotions, all things beer & put him through the wringer with the Padres and Pints Rapid Fire questions....BREAKFAST STYLE!!

(Padres Press Release)

SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Padres today announced their 2011 organizational award winners at the 14^th Annual Awards Dinner held this year as Dinner on the Diamond presented by Porsche at Petco Park.  Proceeds from tonight’s event benefit the Padres Foundation’s Youth Baseball Initiative.

As was previously announced, Cameron Maybin was named Most Valuable Player for the 2011 Padres by the San Diego chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA). Maybin was also voted by the Madres as Favorite New Padre last season while Luke Gregerson was chosen as the recipient of the Chairman’s Award for his contributions to the community. Heath Bell was chosen as Pitcher of the Year by the local BBWAA chapter and also received the Fireman’s Award.

The Padres 2011 minor league award winners were also recognized as part of the ceremony.  Jedd Gyorko was named Offensive Player of the Year, Rico Noel was chosen as Defensive Player of the Year, Keyvius Sampson was named Pitcher of the Year and Rymer Liriano was recognized as Baserunner of the Year. Included in the minor league awards were the Denny Galehouse Scout of the Year and Jack Krol Minor League Coach of the Year, given to Tim Holt and Tom Tornincasa, respectively.