chilli311
03-03-2008, 10:17 AM
Setting the scene: This is one of the nicer things I've seen in any big-league clubhouse: Inside the Padres' camp headquarters, there's a map of the United States. On it, there are pushpins marking each player's hometown where he went to high school. There's also a list of other famous alumni from each player's school.
For example, did you know that pitcher Chris Young went to the same high school -- Highland Park, in Texas -- as John Hinckley, the man who shot Ronald Reagan so that he could impress Jodie Foster?
The map looks like a good icebreaker -- you know, something to talk about besides the gut-wrenching end to 2007, in which the Padres missed the playoffs by losing three straight.
Maps of Central America and Japan also are present.
Something old: Trevor Hoffman. The guy has 524 saves, most in baseball history. So it's hard to believe that a couple of late blown saves are going to get inside Hoffman's head.
Sure, those blown saves came in games 161 and 163, and each cost the Padres a shot at the postseason. But Hoffman is the quintessential closer, able to laugh about flops and move on.
Hoffman may be 40, but he still has that tantalizing changeup and is coming off a season in which he saved 42 games and had a 2.98 ERA.
Something new: Mark Prior. You can point to a body part and chances are, Prior injured it while with the Cubs. Elbow, Achilles' tendon, oblique, etc.
Prior's primary sore spot is his right shoulder, and he had surgery on it last year. Coming back after shoulder surgery is difficult, and Prior probably won't be comfortable for a while.
The Padres don't expect to have Prior until May, but manager Bud Black said last week he was pleased with Prior's progress. "He's confident and his arm feels good," Black says. "He's doing great."
Key competition: left field. This week, GM Kevin Towers told the media Scott Hairston is the frontrunner for the left field job. That makes sense -- in 87 at-bats last season, Hairston hit eight home runs, for an improbable slugging percentage of .644.
During Wednesday's intrasquad game, Hairston was the left fielder.
The Padres are trying to move top prospect Chase Headley to left field from third base, but that experiment will require more time than the team has available.
Jody Gerut and Chip Ambres are also getting looks. With 37-year-old Jim Edmonds in center and Brian Giles in right and coming back from microfracture knee surgery, the Padres figure to need plenty of outfield depth.
Overheard: "You know, I don't dwell on the losses. I just like to focus on what we did to prepare to get to that point." -- shortstop Khalil Greene, on the extra-innings, tiebreaking loss to Colorado in the team's 163rd game of the 2007 season.
Wish you were here: The area around the Peoria Sports Complex is pretty much strip mall as far as the eye can see. But I've got three words: In-N-Out. Or, maybe that's one word.
If you don't live in the West, you don't have access to the best hamburger chain of them all, In-N-Out Burger. Before taking in a Padres game, be sure to head north a few blocks on 83rd Avenue and have yourself a double.
Sean Deveney is a staff writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at sdeveney@sportingnews.com.
Link (http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=366518)
For example, did you know that pitcher Chris Young went to the same high school -- Highland Park, in Texas -- as John Hinckley, the man who shot Ronald Reagan so that he could impress Jodie Foster?
The map looks like a good icebreaker -- you know, something to talk about besides the gut-wrenching end to 2007, in which the Padres missed the playoffs by losing three straight.
Maps of Central America and Japan also are present.
Something old: Trevor Hoffman. The guy has 524 saves, most in baseball history. So it's hard to believe that a couple of late blown saves are going to get inside Hoffman's head.
Sure, those blown saves came in games 161 and 163, and each cost the Padres a shot at the postseason. But Hoffman is the quintessential closer, able to laugh about flops and move on.
Hoffman may be 40, but he still has that tantalizing changeup and is coming off a season in which he saved 42 games and had a 2.98 ERA.
Something new: Mark Prior. You can point to a body part and chances are, Prior injured it while with the Cubs. Elbow, Achilles' tendon, oblique, etc.
Prior's primary sore spot is his right shoulder, and he had surgery on it last year. Coming back after shoulder surgery is difficult, and Prior probably won't be comfortable for a while.
The Padres don't expect to have Prior until May, but manager Bud Black said last week he was pleased with Prior's progress. "He's confident and his arm feels good," Black says. "He's doing great."
Key competition: left field. This week, GM Kevin Towers told the media Scott Hairston is the frontrunner for the left field job. That makes sense -- in 87 at-bats last season, Hairston hit eight home runs, for an improbable slugging percentage of .644.
During Wednesday's intrasquad game, Hairston was the left fielder.
The Padres are trying to move top prospect Chase Headley to left field from third base, but that experiment will require more time than the team has available.
Jody Gerut and Chip Ambres are also getting looks. With 37-year-old Jim Edmonds in center and Brian Giles in right and coming back from microfracture knee surgery, the Padres figure to need plenty of outfield depth.
Overheard: "You know, I don't dwell on the losses. I just like to focus on what we did to prepare to get to that point." -- shortstop Khalil Greene, on the extra-innings, tiebreaking loss to Colorado in the team's 163rd game of the 2007 season.
Wish you were here: The area around the Peoria Sports Complex is pretty much strip mall as far as the eye can see. But I've got three words: In-N-Out. Or, maybe that's one word.
If you don't live in the West, you don't have access to the best hamburger chain of them all, In-N-Out Burger. Before taking in a Padres game, be sure to head north a few blocks on 83rd Avenue and have yourself a double.
Sean Deveney is a staff writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at sdeveney@sportingnews.com.
Link (http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=366518)