Greetings from Provo, UT, where the USD Toreros will face BYU tomorrow night. More on that later.
Hope you are enjoying the blogs I've posted lately. Trying to keep a balance between, news, rants, fun and opinion, so there will be a little of everything to look forward to.
Let's get some news out of the way here....
Arbitration: Padres
The Padres have avoided arbitration with a few key players, wrapping up pitcher Edinson Volquez earlier today. He went 11-11 with a 4.14 ERA in his first year with the Padres after coming over from Cincinnati. Volquez will make 5.725 million next season, more than doubling his salary from 2012. Volquez has nasty stuff. His curveball is above average, his fastball is above average but so were his walks from a year ago. Volquez is always smiling and is a great person to be around.
Joe Thatcher avoided arbitration as well, signing a 1.35 million dollar contract. Thatcher has become one of the most reliable left handed relievers in baseball. He went 1-4 last year with a 3.41. He's one of the longest tenured Padres players, coming over from the Brewers (for Scott Linebrink) back in the 2007 season.
Earlier the Padres signed catcher John Baker, SS Everth Cabrera and RF Will Venable to avoid arbitration.
Now, there are a few guys left that are key components to the Padres 2013 plans. That includes, Chase Headley, Luke Gregerson and Clayton Richard.
In Headley's case, he is going to get his money. The third baseman had a bust out season, winning the NL RBI title, with 115 batted in, hitting a career best 31 homers and winning a gold glove award. I'm sure the Padres would like to work out a long term deal with Headley but for now they'll probably settle on a one year deal while discussing other terms. Pretty amazing how Headley was a trade candidate nearing the deadline, just proving the baseball adage, sometimes the best trade is one you don't make.
Gregerson is on the Team USA roster for the WBC and has been a valuable member of the Padres bullpen over the last 4 seasons. Richard won a career high tying 14 games last year and also launched his first career home run in his final start of 2012.
Toreros at BYU
Well the Toreros arrived in Provo earlier this afternoon, greeted by a temperature of 16 degrees and snow on the ground and on the mountain tops. Many of the guys on the team are very unfamiliar with the concept of snow, and cold weather. It was fun to watch their reactions as we got off the bus and headed into the hotel.
The Toreros have not been cold by any stretch. USD enters this game with a 4-0 conference record for the first time since 2009. The Toreros have won five in a row overall. BYU is 4-1 and lost a heartbreaker to St Mary's College on Wednesday night. Thinking Tyler Haws had won the game with a jumper with 2.5 seconds to go, Matthew Dellavedova hoisted a desperation 3 from just beyond half court and hit it for the SMC victory.
BYU won all three meetings last year including a close one in the 2nd round of the WCC Tourney. The Toreros have never beaten the Cougars in 5 all time meetings. I'll have the pre game show for you at 5:45 tomorrow and then the tip at 6pm on The Mighty 1090!
Restaurant review:
I may do this from time to time as well, relay a good or bad experience at a local restaurant. I recently had lunch with Corey Brock of MLB.com fame at the Brooklyn Girl Eatery in Mission Hills. I really enjoyed the restaurant. The ambience is really nice, high ceilings and a great bar situated in the center of the restaurant. I had the open faced pulled chicken with barbecue sauce on a big piece of white cheddar corn bread. Really really tasty. A good deal for 12 bucks as well.
Of course when you're with Corey, you need to sample a beer and of course we did. Check with them for their selection of fine "Craft Beers".
Service was great and friendly and oh yeah, don't forget to check out the assortment of desserts in the bakery attached to the restaurant. Everything looked tremendous.
They are located at Goldfinch and Fort Stockton in Mission Hills. Check it out.
Ok, that's it gotta go!
Andy
It's been a fairly quiet few days in the world of sports...but a few things struck a chord...
At a gLANCE
It's really a commentary on the emphasis on winning and winning at all costs. Lance Armstrong, a former 7 time Tour De France champion, denied and denied that he was a doper. They anti-doping agency finally busts him after all these years. Then Lance admits he cheated, but only in an interview with Oprah. Seriously?? I'm sure he was paid handsomely for his appearance on Oprah's fledgeling OWN network. Ok, so you admitted what everybody already knew. So admirable. NOT. It took Pete Rose to write a book ($$$) to admit what we all knew already, he bet on baseball. Do these guys think we are that stupid? It's a quick to forgive society as it is already, so just cop to it, chances are pretty good that you'll be forgiven.
Got me thinking too about Armstrong's scene in the movie "DodgeBall", here's the dialogue, courtesy of IMDB:
Lance Armstrong: Could I get a bottle of water. - - Hey, aren't you Peter La Fleur? Peter La Fleur: Lance Armstrong! Lance Armstrong: Yeah, that's me. But I'm a big fan of yours. Peter La Fleur: Really? Lance Armstrong: Yeah, I've been watching the dodgeball tournament on the Ocho. ESPN 8. I just can't get enough of it. But, good luck in the tournament. I'm really pulling for you against those jerks from Globo Gym. I think you better hurry up or you're gonna be late. Peter La Fleur: Uh, actually I decided to quit... Lance. Lance Armstrong: Quit? You know, once I was thinking about quitting when I was diagnosed with brain, lung and testicular cancer, all at the same time. But with the love and support of my friends and family, I got back on the bike and I won the Tour de France five times in a row. But I'm sure you have a good reason to quit. So what are you dying from that's keeping you from the finals? Peter La Fleur: Right now it feels a little bit like... shame.
Lance Armstrong: Well, I guess if a person never quit when the going got tough, they wouldn't have anything to regret for the rest of their life. But good luck to you Peter. I'm sure this decision won't haunt you forever.
Interesting stuff, and boy how art sometimes imitates life.
Hiring frenzy in NFL
Eagles: The big money and the lights of the NFL, coaxed Oregon's Chip Kelly into bolting Eugene, for Philadelphia. Kelly was 46-7 with the Ducks. He decided last week to head back to Oregon after interviewing with the Browns, Eagles and Bills, but has had a change of heart. What this will mean for players at Oregon, who were recruited to fit Kelly's style, is unclear at this time. How will his "style" work in the NFL? Does this mean the team makes a commitment to Michael Vick? Stay tuned!
Chargers: Former Broncos Offensive coordinator Mike McCoy as their new head coach. He had to contrast his style in a big way this past season. With Tim Tebow as his QB a couple of years ago, the offense had to have some interesting "wrinkles" so not to expose the limited ability of Tebow. This year, the offense hummed, with the return to the NFL of Peyton Manning. The Broncos however were upset by Baltimore last weekend. From all I heard of the press conference yesterday, sounds like the Chargers got themselves a good fit and a good coach.
Bears: Oy. There were apparently not any qualified candidates in the entire United States for the Bears. They reach (emphasis on reach) to the CFL and hire Marc Trestman who led the Montreal Alouette's to 2 Grey Cup Championships. He is a former NFL Offensive Coordinator, and spent time with the Lions, 49'ers, Vikings, Browns, Buccaneers, Cardinals, Raiders and Dolphins. He joins former Vikings head coach Bud Grant, and former Bills head coach Marv Levy among NFL head coaches that worked as front men in Canada. It is about time that the Bears found an offensive minded coach, since that has been the week part of their game since 1995.
Hockey is Back!
I know that I'm in the minority here in San Diego, but I'm excited that the NHL is finally back. The truncated schedule begins Saturday with my Chicago Blackhawks skating into LA, to face the Kings. Mission: ruin championship banner night! Sorry Kings fans.
USD at home
The Toreros will host LMU tonight at the JCP, please join me for the call starting at 6:45 on The Mighty 1090. The Toreros are off to a great conference start, winning their first 3 in the WCC and look to make it 4 in a row for the first time since 2009.
A look behind the curtain
I've had several young broadcasters ask me to show the "game board" that I use for my college basketball play by play. It's a board that I designed myself using Excel. It's also a board that has changed drastically over the years. I'm constantly taking things out, and putting things in, after each season, sometimes during a season.
I have a couple of things highlighted:
(A) is where I put team information, including the last game's result and during conference play what the season series is, and scores and notes.
(B) coach information, including his record
(C) small notations indicating a players career highs in pts-reb-ast-(blocks)
(D) the blank space is where I keep a running total of the players points that night. Hate relying on stat monitors
(E) players notes, including what they did in the last game
(F) the 16-12-8-4 indicates media time outs, I like to cross them off to remember how many breaks we've taken
(G) team's record at home, away and on neutral floors
(H) time outs, again I like to mark them myself, scoreboards are usually wrong. Helps late in a game.
That's what I got today....hope you enjoyed. Have a great week.
Andy
Ok, I love the NFL just like a lot of you out there, but admit it, the playoffs are tough to watch when your team isn't there. Yes, it's great football, but it gets you thinking, "man if the (insert team name here) just kicked the field goal instead of going for it....." or "(your favorite team here) beat those guys in the regular season...." It's maddening.
Now, I will admit, the Falcons and Seahawks game was entertaining, but I could really care less which team won. So I turned to Twitter, yes Twitter. While the social media service does have it's faults, it serves it's purpose during big events. I was hooked during the National Championship game, and even partook in some of the fun. Twitter makes it seem like you are all in my living room watching the game with me. Wise cracking comments, keen observations, rips on the announcers (ok that hits home a bit), rips on the coverage from the networks and more importantly just funny funny stuff. I've assembled some of my favorites from the NFC Divisional round...
Wayne is the play by play voice of the Packers, so you can understand his sarcasm.
Excellent "Ace Ventura" reference there Matt!
Sorry Wayne!
Ouch!
Go get em Jay!
Oops, that one had nothing to do with the game, but I'm a HUGE Seinfeld fan, and these make me laugh all the time!
So there's a little light reading for you during the AFC Division game between New England and Houston.
I may return later, but I will definitely be watching, on TWITTER!
Andy
Greetings from San Francisco, arrived today with the USD Toreros for tomorrow night's game against USF.
Seems fitting I'm in San Francisco, while the news of no players getting into baseball's Hall of Fame comes out. The spotlight has shown on all of those "suspected PED" users, including Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa. None of them received more than 38 percent of the vote. Clemens was the top guy of the group and Sosa was last. It was the first time since 1996 that nobody was elected, and the eight time its ever happened.
It's hard to feel badly for these guys. I thought that early in their careers Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens were going to be Hall of Famers, no doubt. But they allegedly surrendered to temptation, seeing everybody else cashing in with big numbers and big contracts, why shouldn't they? Nobody was being suspended for something that was never "illegal" in baseball. Then there's the case of Sammy Sosa. I covered him with the Chicago Cubs from 1999 until he was traded after the 2004 season. This was a guy that all of the sudden had become a home run hitter. He wasn't early in his career. He was bigger and the ego ballooned along with it. Steroids weren't his only problem, his attitude and a "me first, team second" philosophy made him a target of his own teammates. When the Cubs were taking off in 2003 and Sosa was on the DL, he was outraged that he wasn't THE guy. When he came back, his timing was off, and he resorted to corking his bat. He was busted when the bat shattered and the wine topper came flying out of the bat. Sad.
What a mess this has created. Many current Hall of Famers have been outspoken about keeping the "cheaters" out of Cooperstown. Some have expressed shock over the outcome of the voting. Some BBWA writers were adamant about keeping the "users" off their ballots, some were proud they voted for some of these guys. Bottom line something is wrong. Who is to blame?
Nobody is benefiting from any doubt. If you played in this era, you are looked at a bit differently.
You have to start with the steroid era itself. Baseball in general seemingly turned a blind eye to the problem when Sosa and McGwire were battling it out for home run supremacy in baseball back in 1998. It was great for the game. A game that needed something great after canceling the playoffs and world series in 1994 because of the players strike. Fans were angry. All seemed right with the game though during the battle and nobody really cared why. So who do you point the finger at? MLB? The players that allegedly used? The teammates that saw it going on and did nothing? It's easily shared. Curt Schilling, who like him or not, actually made some good points today after the voting was announced. He told ESPN's SportsCenter that it was "fitting" that nobody got in. He went on to say on ESPN:
“If there was ever a ballot and a year to make a statement about what we didn’t do as players -- which is we didn’t actively push to get the game clean -- this is it,” “Perception in our world is absolutely reality. Everybody is linked to it,” Schilling said. “You either are a suspected user or you’re somebody who didn’t actively do anything to stop it. You’re one or the other if you were a player in this generation.
“Unfortunately, I fall into the category of one of the players that didn’t do anything to stop it. As a player rep and a member of the association, we had the ability to do it and we looked the other way, just like the media did, just like the ownership did, just like the fans did. And now this is part of the price that we’re paying.”
I don't often find myself agreeing with Schilling, but he makes some sense.
Some are blaming the voting process itself. Forget the "issues" surrounding some of these guys, but some would like to see a change in the voting process. There are members of the BBWAA (Baseball Writers Association of America) who were formerly "beat writers" that haven't covered baseball in a long time, in some cases over 10 years, that still get a vote. How out of touch are those guys? Newspapers aren't the only game in town anymore. Many are not surviving the new age of readily available information on the internet. The "beat guys" are not confined to just newspaper writers anymore. Some of these esteemed writers saw fit not to let, Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio, Harmon Killebrew, Jimmie Foxx and Cy Young into the hall on their first ballot. Seriously?
I may be biased in this regard, but there are no broadcasters who regularly covered or cover teams, or national network broadcasters that are given a vote. These are people that traveled with teams, and never missed games. I would like to see the senior broadcaster from each team, somehow figure into the mix here. Are you telling me that Vin Scully shouldn't have an opinion that counts in the voting?
Another question to ponder is what does this mean for next year's class of first timers on the ballot? Guys like Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Mike Mussina and Frank Thomas are on in 2014 and you could certainly make a case that 2 or 3 of them belong in on a first vote.
But the bottom line is these guys with the steroid label are going to find it tough sledding in the years ahead. Some have said that with Bonds and Clemens each getting around 37 percent of the vote, after a few years, they may eventually get in. I say, if they get in, Pete Rose should be there before them. He finally admitted to gambling on baseball, and has done his time away from the game. But if the all-time hits leader isn't in, why should those guys be?
Again, this is just my opinion, and I'd be curious to hear yours.
Chargers New GM:
The Chargers ended their search for a new GM, and I must confess I don't know much about Tom Telesco. He spent the last 15 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, most recently as the team's Vice President of football operations. Telesco had a hand in selecting many of the young players that helped the Colts reach the playoffs this season.
To hear some more from Telesco, check out Darren Smith's Mighty 1090 interview with him from earlier today. Just click here. Darren is one of the best interviewers in our business.
Alright, don't forget that Thursday night at 6:45 on the Mighty 1090, I'll have the call as the USD Toreros face the USF Don's in West Coast Conference basketball. Join me!
Have a great night!
Andy
After a month of hype, the BCS National Championship game failed to live up to the advanced billing. It wasn't because of the matchup, because on paper it was a good one. It was because it became a BLOWOUT.
Alabama rolled, and rolled and rolled, putting the rock in the endzone at a frenzied pace. Notre Dame didn't know what hit it, leading head coach Brian Kelly to perhaps hope The Crimson Tide team didn't return to the field for the 2nd half. Wishful thinking. They did, and Alabama wins it's 3rd national title in the last four seasons.
Ok, enough about the game. There was so much more happening. I discovered that the cure for a blowout, is among other things, Twitter. Reading all the tweets, and sending a few of my own, made watching an otherwise boring game almost fun. I'm convinced, as are some in the "Twitterverse", that this is the reason Twitter was invented. Especially when it came to AJ McCarron's girlfriend. Play by play man Brent Musburger almost crossed the "creepy old man line" when identifying the QB's young lady, Miss Alabama Katherine Webb. Imagine, just 5 or so years ago, we'd never know that her followers went from just over 500 to nearly 80-thousand in one night! I admit, I contributed, when ESPN's cameras found Miss Webb yet again!
I mean she's a good looking girl and all, but I felt a bit dirty listening to Brent drone on and on about her.
ESPN
I couldn't help but think though as Musburger was doing his thing, about a lesson I learned as a young broadcaster. Good games basically call themselves, a bad game, means the announcers have to really go to work. As a play by play announcer you have to find a way to keep the audience. Keep them listening and somewhat paying attention. This is when the announcer really earns their money. We all kept watching, so, job well done.
USD Toreros
My off season has been all about the USD Toreros. I'm in my 6th season of calling Torero's basketball, and I'm having a blast as always. Our games are back on The Mighty 1090 this season, so make sure you tune in. My next broadcast is coming up Thursday night from San Francisco. Pre game at 6:45 and the tip is at 7pm.
The Toreros opened up WCC play with a win over Portland last Thursday night, while the Dons are 0-2 after losses to Santa Clara and BYU.
Parting shots
- For those that missed it last week, the Padres announced that FanFest will return to Petco Park, February 9. The event is free to the public. Further details will be available soon and I'll pass them along.
- The team also announced that they've extended spring training invitations to 21 players. Some names are familiar, some are not. Read more about it here.
- I may be alone in thinking this way in San Diego, but I'm glad that the NHL lockout has finally come to an end. I don't understand how Gary Bettman remains commissioner though. How do you survive 3 different lockouts? I understand that there are just a few of us 'die hard' hockey fans out there, but those of us that are, deserve better. Baseball survived the 1994 players strike, because it was popular before the work stoppage. It's a National Pastime. Hockey isn't, unless you live in Canada. Hockey had begun to grow again, especially in American cities, like Chicago, Boston and now Los Angeles, with recent Stanley Cup Championships. Anyway, welcome back NHL.
- Oh yeah, before I forget. Anybody know how to get mustard stains out of light colored carpet. I've tried all the store bought brands of carpet cleaner. Nothing is working. Help!!
Good night!!
OH, and don't forget to follow me on Twitter:
Greetings from St. Louis, MO, and Busch Stadium. Here after game two of the three game series, I figured, I would check in and update you on the news of the day here (better late than never)...
Found out this afternoon that Chase Headley would be out of the lineup tonight with back stiffness. Apparently he'd been playing through it the last few days, and the 13 inning marathon game Sunday didn't help things along. Headley as you remember missed about 5 games in Spring Training this year with the same injury. Bud Black doesn't want it to get any worse, so he gave Headley the night off. Black was pretty confident that Headley could be used later in the game as a pinch hitter. Headley has been durable, for sure, this is only the 2nd game he hasn't started all season.
We got an update on Mark Kotsay today as well. He's back in San Diego and received a cortisone injection to help with the pain in his back. Black said that Kotsay is getting better.
Carlos Quentin is playing again, albeit in extended spring games. Still good news that he's back and active after a minor set back with his surgically repaired knee. So we'll wait for further updates.
Want to wish the best of luck to Cory Luebke, who will undergo "Tommy John" surgery Wednesday. The 27 year old lefty will have the procedure done by Dr. Yocum in Los Angeles. Adam Wainwright seems to be gathering some steam after a slow start to the 2012 season. He completed his first game since August of 2010, with his shut out of the Padres tonight. I can't help but think that he's a little more than a year removed from the TJ procedure, so here's hoping that Luebke recovers this well.
Good night!
Andy
I know I'm ready for the calendar to turn to May, after all it is my birthday month! Yes that's right, birthday MONTH. Ha!
I'm sure the Padres feel the same way, 24 games in April and a 7-17 record, May will be a welcome sight or so one would think. Then comes news today of another injury to a pitcher.
Manager Bud Black informed us today that Cory Luebke will miss his scheduled start due to a sore left elbow. Black says pushing Luebke back was mainly a precaution, and the team is hopeful it will only be one start. Jeff Suppan will come up from Triple-A Tucson to make the start. A corresponding roster move will be made either tonight or tomorrow.
Luebke felt some discomfort in the elbow during his last start in San Francisco, right around the 4th inning. He added, "If this was September, I'd still be pitching", saying that the elbow is "significantly better with the treatment" he's getting on it. He understands that it's early in the season and the team is trying to "stay on top of it".
In a twist of irony, Suppan will face his former team the Brewers in the start tomorrow. The veteran right hander won't be worrying about that, "I"m only concerned about making good pitches", said Suppan. He thinks he's stretched out enough to make upwards of 90 pitches. "I made two starts in extended spring training and two in (Triple-A) Tucson, and got up to about 65 pitches", he added.
Lineup tonight:
Will Venable - RF
Chris Denorfia - LF
Chase Headley - 3B
Nick Hundley - C
Yonder Alonso - 1B (current 5 game hitting streak - career hi)
Orlando Hudson - 2B
Cameron Maybin - CF
Jason Bartlett - SS
Edinson Volquez - SP
Volquez is looking for his first win as a member of the Padres. He comes in 0-2, with a 3.60 ERA.
News/Notes:
Casey Kelly was in San Diego yesterday to get a check up from the Padres team doctors. Bud Black says that the pitcher was encouraged by the visit. Kelly is back in Tucson and will continue resting until the soreness and pain in the elbow are completely gone.
It will be interesting to see how the team pitches to Ryan Braun tonight. The Brewers slugger hit 3 homers and a triple, driving in 6 runs last night. He accounted for 15 total bases a new Milwaukee record. Braun became the first player to ever hit 3 homers in a game at Petco Park.
My schedule:
I appreciate everybody asking either here on the blog or by direct message on Twitter or Facebook asking about when I'll be doing a game again. I have the answer for you here.
I'll have tomorrow's game with Colonel Coleman on XX1090 starting at 3:30pm, in the final game of the 3 game series with Milwaukee.
I will be filling in again for Dick Enberg on Fox Sports San Diego this weekend. I'll work with Mark Grant on Friday (7:05pm), Saturday (5:35pm) and Sunday (1:05pm) for the series against the Marlins. Tune us in (if you can) on FSSD.
Alright, that's it, thanks again and take care!
Andy
