I FINALLY finished my Sisterhood of the Traveling Jersey Fanpost at Gaslamp Ball. Here's a little excerpt...

After the game we headed to the Moon Saloon (16554 North 83rd Avenue, Peoria, AZ 85382) and would spend the next 8.5-9 hours at the same location. I kid you not. We actually went through 3 waitress shifts. That was where we started the $1 Bets. Basketball, Hockey & random bar events were never so much fun.

It was there that I also happened to run into Darren Smith, Marty Caswell and Mark Grant. They noticed the Staton Jersey and questioned it. In my mind I was eloquently breaking down the entire project step by step while wearing a top hat and monocle and may have even quoted the teachings of Aristotle at one point. In reality I'm sure it sounded more like "Staton.......Jersey.....Gaslamp Ball.....Awesome....Sisterhood!" as my hair stood straight up like Geoff Blum. I do remember at one point assuming Mud & Darren had seen the "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" before and when they said no I acted like they were missing out on a cinematic masterpiece.

Check out the whole thing here!

I apologize for the lack of posting lately. Real life has gotten in the way. From buying a house to getting accepted to SDSU to being completely swamped at work, my last 2 weeks have been a little hectic. With all that said, I expect to have a little more time starting next week and posts will start up again, including the long rumored Padres and Pints: Episode 3.

It is now 9:00am on Friday and by this time tomorrow, I will be en route to Peoria for SPRING TRAINING!! Ah yes. The annual pilgrimage to the middle of nowhere, Peoria, the land of huge urinals and nothing to do but watch baseball all day long. Doesn't get any better than that! This year I will be joined by the RJ's Fro one-hit (AKA one-post) wonder Marshall, the biggest Mariner hater I know (and there's a lot of them in San Diego) the Avenger-in-Chief and last, but not least, the brains of the operation Geoff Young of Ducksnorts.

As the old Abbott and Costello bit goes, “Who’s on first?”, that may very well be the question this season when it comes to whom might be the American League starting first baseman at the All-Star Game in July. The offseason saw more money flying around than Hugh Hefner has girlfriends.

During the offseason, Albert Pujols was signed for the rest of his life by the Los Angeles Angels of Aneheim, and recently Prince Fielder was signed by the Detroit Tigers for a similar duration of time.  Remember that Adrian Gonzalez is at first base for the Red Sox (which happened in the 2010 offseason), and Mark Texiera for the Yankees, and All-Star voting will be very competitive this year.  The game will be at Kaufman Stadium (an American League park) so a DH will be used, none the less it will be interesting when the time comes.

The National League first base bag got a lot less crowded this year with Fielder and Pujols changing leagues. Reds first baseman Joey Votto will be the shoe-in come july. He won’t have much competition this year.  Other changes around the majors: Miami Marlins star Hanley Ramirez will move from short stop to the hot corner to make way for newly acquired shortstop Jose Reyes. Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera will also move to the hot corner to make way for Fielder at first base. The difference of the two is that Cabrera will have an easier go at it since he is a former third baseman back in his days with the Marlins.

A couple first basemen to watch in the National League are Anthony Rizzo from the Cubs and Yonder Alonso from the Padres.  Rizzo was scouted heavily by the San Diego Padres when they were looking to unload Adrian Gonzalez at the end of the 2010 season.  Rizzo was acquired in the trade (along with a couple other players) from the Red Sox and Gonzalez found himself in Boston.  Then this past offseason the Padres unloaded Rizzo to the Cubs for Andrew Kershner. They also traded pitcher Mat Latos to the Cincinnati Reds acquiring Alonso in the deal, along with three other players.  Both Rizzo and Alonso are touted very highly by all the major league scouts and both are on teams that are rebuilding and could see much playing time in 2012.

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.