Friars, Fighters Join Forces

The Padres have agreed to some degree of joint scouting and interchange of scouting information with the Nippon Ham Fighters, who represent Japan's northern island of Hokkaido (and playing in Sapporo). According to JapanBall.com, "... the Fighters play the Village People classic 'YMCA' over the sound system as cheerleaders and groundskeepers dance on the field during the fifth inning infield sweep." Yet another reason FF would have preferred Kevin Towers seek out a partnership with our official Japanese team, the Yakult Swallows.

Prior San Diego Ties Wanted

The Union-Tribune reports that Kevin Towers is seeking native San Diegan and one-time Vanderbilt University student Mark Prior via trade over the upcoming winter meetings in Nashville, TN (ironically, the location of Vanderbilt). Prior has averaged just over 14 games for the last four seasons and is now know as much for his injury prone nature as his once-dominant form. That said, both he and Matt Clement may view Petco Park's spacious confines as a way to boost their value for future contracts.

The U-T also quoted Towers expecting Michael Barrett to return as Josh Bard's backup. This news is disturbing to FF, as we grew increasingly tired of watching singles, walks and errors result in doubles and triples due to the complete lack of ability of the Friars to hold folks on base. Granted, this is not solely the problem of the 2007 club's catching staff, but we long for the defensive catcher to at least keep the games close. We also challenge the notion that it is unimportant to hold runners as this seems to largely cancel positive home-field affect of Petco Park.

In unrelated news, FF would like to congratulate Point Loma High School on beating Saints to earn its third consecutive trip to the San Diego Division III final at Qualcomm stadium. PLHS has produced awe-inspiring baseball players with last names like Wells, Ashcraft and Finneran; it's always nice to seem their programs succeed.

Cameron gets nabbed!

Mike Cameron has tested positive for a banned stimulant. The slap on the wrist is 25 games!

Not a good start for someone ready to "test" the Free Agent market!! Maybe this will make him a cheaper buy for the Padres as the market should be pricy for those who roam centerfield.

756* to be Branded with an Asterisk

Mark Ecko, who bought Barry Bonds' 756th* home run ball at an auction, will brand it with an asterisk before sending it to the Hall of Fame. FF supports the asterisk in all its glory.

Rabbits Foot

Good news for Friar fans world wide...I am back home in Phoenix which means the Padres will get back to their winning ways. I was off to the beautiful state of Wisconsin to visit some friends and take in a game at the Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field (I refuse to discuss that game, but the experience was second to none). I was also out of town prior to the Pads ripping off 7 straight to open their last home stand of the year. Superstition is huge in the game of baseball~ so, let the winning begin.

The bottom line is: When I'm out of town the Pads struggle when I am in town the Friars are somewhat dominant...lets all enjoy this home stretch and utilize the FF rabbits foot!

Phil Nevin Returns?!?

Did anyone else see Phil Nevin at Petco? We sure did - Scott has been noting for many years that Phil Nevin is a spitting image of the Pirates' mascot. How has Mark Grant not made this connection?

Last day off of 2007!

Even though the Friars are 2-4 on the current road trip through the NL West, they have only managed to slide one game in the Wild Card. The Wild Card is becoming a battle as 6 teams are 5 or less games off the lead.

As of now, the D-Backs have 18 games left in '07 and unfortunately, none against the Padres. If the snakes were to play .500 baseball, the Friars would need to go 14-6 in their final 20 matchups to win the west.

Peavy & the boys will enter Chavez Ravine tomorrow for their final three games against the Dodgers and then will return home to Petco for their last home stand of '07 (10 Games - 3 against SF, 4 against Pitts & 3 against Col).

War @ Dodger Stadium (Padres 9-6 in 2007 meetings)
All games are 7:10 first pitch!
Tuesday - Peavy (16-6, 2.43) vs Loaiza (2-0, 2.49)
Wednesday - Germano (7-9, 4.38) vs Lowe (11-12, 3.80)
Thursday - Maddux (12-9, 3.68) vs Billingsley (10-4, 3.22)

**Double your pleasure!
The Friars have hit 277 Doubles this season, just 27 off the 2004 record that was set in Petco's first season. The Padres have 20 games left to hit 28 more two baggers.

Yakult Swallows - Friar Forum's Official Japanese Team

Earlier this year, Scott and I had the opportunity to take in a game in the Japanese Central League where the Yomiuri Giants visited the Swallows at Meiji Jingu Stadium. We had a fantastic time and soaked up the experience - which was much different than your standard night at the ballpark. From the food to the playing style - not much was what we expected. We started off by grabbing some food - sushi and edamame - and some draft beer. The beer was attached to a woman with a keg strapped to her back! (don't believe me - check out the slide show below)

The pace of the game itself was pretty quick. As soon as the home pitcher finished up his half of the inning - he came over to the side of the dugout and started tossing on the side with a bench player. We thought this was a little odd - but it continued throughout the entire game. One of the next most noticeable aspects was the split cheering sections in the outfield. The home team had half of the outfield bleachers while the visiting team was allocated the other half. The entire time each team was at bat, their cheering sections went wild with organized cheers, drums and flag waiving. The closest thing I've ever seen is an NFL game. As soon as the Swallows scored on the Giants (who are effectively the Yankees of Japan), the home crowd went wild, waiving transparent umbrellas all over the place (see the slide show below). Later, we found that each home run hit resulted in a huge Swallow stuffed animal being gifted to the hitter upon touching home plate.

This description just scratches the surface of this truly enjoyable experience. Try it yourself if you have the chance. Getting tickets is a little complicated, but JapanBall.com, run by Bob Bavasi, son of original Padre GM Buzzie Bavasi, is of great help.

Check out our slide show for more pictures!

Save the Beavers!

The Portland Beavers are trying to change their team name - cast your vote to keep the Beavers name alive!

Comparo II: San Diego Chicken vs. Mr. Met

The San Diego Chicken is clearly the best mascot in sports history. He even edges out Bolt Man. Mr. Met, rumored to be a cousin of Jack of Jack in the Box fame, tries hard and FF gives him an A for effort, but he's still no SD Chicken.

Chicken:
Teaches chicks to piss on umpires
Chicken beats up Barney

Mr. Met:
Mr. Met does Pooja's Wedding

Jack:
Cops

Baseball Myths Revealed

Discovery Channel's Mythbusters aired a baseball myth special this week, taking on the following topics:
* Do corked bats hit a ball further than regular bats?
* Does storing balls in a humidor really decrease their distance of travel?
* Is sliding into a base faster than stopping on the base?
* Is there such thing as a rising fastball?
* Is it possible to hit the cover off a ball?

The show is definitely worth checking out, even though it is abundantly clear that nobody on the show knows much about baseball. They imported Rodger Clemens to help them out. One of most interesting sequences shows the difference in path of a Clemens fastball, curveball and slider to the plate.

***Spoiler Alert***
Myth test results are listed in the comment of this post!