PADRES SIGN PEDRO MARTINEZ!!
January 23, 2008
No. Not that Pedro Martinez….
Pedro Martinez, 17, a 6-3, 210-pound left-hander who was converted from the outfield last July with a low-90s fastball.
The San Diego Championship Game/Series Curse?
January 21, 2008
Watching the Chargers lose to probably the best NFL team ever in the AFC championship really got me thinking how unlucky the city of San Diego has been when it comes to sports. True the Padres and Chargers have suffered many losing seasons and decades of the franchises being in slumps…but what I consider to be the most strange and unlucky statistic comes in the few seasons that our teams actually succeed. In the rare years we actually excel and go deep into the playoffs we have faced some of the best teams in the history of the game. Now I know that all teams that reach deep into the playoffs are going to be considered great teams, but the teams we have played have been ridiculous…especially more recently.
1984 Padres Reach World Series only to face the Detroit Tigers
-The tigers ended the 84 season with an MLB best 104 wins…compared to the Padres 92 wins. That 104 wins was the most wins in the MLB since the 1975 Reds won 108. That’s right, the Padres finally get to the World Series and who do they have to face? Only the best team in the MLB in almost a decade… This is the start of the terrible luck in opponents in San Diego playoff history.
1994 Chargers Reach the Super Bowl only to face the San Francisco 49ers
-The 1994 Chargers finished at 11-5 and were able to fight there way past the Steelers into the Superbowl to face the 49ers who ended the season with an NFL best 13-3 Record. This 49er team scored an NFL high 505 points on offense, the most points scored by a team in the NFL since the 1984 Dolphins scored 512 points ten years earlier. Once again a San Diego team gets to the championship game only to face one of the best offenses and all around teams in the past 10 years. The 49ers blew out all of thier playoff games scoring 44, 38 and 49 points in each of their 3 playoff games. They are continually remembered for having an overpowering offense and being one of the best offensive threats in the league ever.
1998 San Diego Padres reach the World Series only to play the New York Yankees
- The 1998 Padres had a franchise season winning 96 games and taking the NLWest. Of course the year they chose to contend would be the year when the two other division winners in the NL had over 100 wins. The Braves had 106 wins and the Astros had 102 wins, not to mention the Yankees with 114 wins. The last time there were 3 teams with over 100 wins in the MLB was 197 7, over 20 years before the 1998 season. The Padres managed to roll over both the Astros and the Braves to reach the 114 win Yanks. 114 wins was at that time an MLB record, only to be passed in 2001 by the 116 win Mariners. Many people believe that the 1998 Yankees may be the best team ever, and they showed it by sweeping the Padres in the World Series. The Padres had to face all 3 100 win teams in the playoffs, which is something that has never been done before in baseball. If that isn’t terrible luck than I don’t know what is… When you finally get to the World Series you have to face the best MLB team ever? yikes…
2007 Chargers get to the AFC Championship game only to face the NE Patriots
-This is one of the best examples of the Chargers terrible luck. They had an up and down season but were able to fight there way through the playoffs with momentum and who did they have to face but the undefeated Patriots. Regarded by man as the best team ever in the NFL they went 16-0 in the regular season, setting NFL records for team points, TD passes by Brady, TD catches by Moss and many many more offensive records. This team is absolutely ridiculous when you look at the stats. There may never be a better team than the 2007 Patriots. The Chargers fought hard, but lost the game as many expected. If it were any other year the Chargers would not have had to play the best team in the NFL history to get to the superbowl.
So you see..when it comes to championship series/games San Diego seems to be cursed. Next time you see a team having a historic season however, maybe you should brace for a Padre/Charger run to the championship….only to lose
What the hell is Mike Cameron up to?
January 6, 2008
Pitchers and catchers report in about a month and Mike Cameron, who originally was projected to be one of the top free agents in this year’s class, still remains unsigned. The 25 game suspension thing definitely put a damper on his popularity, but I am still amazed that he is still just chillin out there on the market.
With that being said….
The Padres are still in need of a solid outfielder. hmmm….. Now I know that the Padres officially announced that they will not be bringing him back and then went and signed Edmonds, but if interest is somewhat faded in Cameron it would be great if he could work out at least a one year deal to play CF and then Edmonds could move to right and Giles to left. Or Edmonds could just stay in left. But if the Pads could somehow patch things up with Cam and sign him to a deal you know he is going to want to play his best ball in order to increase his market value. An outfield of Cameron, Edmonds, Giles sounds pretty good to me compared to what we have now. Hairston, Headly and DeVannon could platoon for the first 25 games that Cam is out and would also be available to rest the oft injured edmonds and post-surgery Giles. Sounds pretty nice…..just a matter of talking things out and getting a deal done and hoping Cam can be reasonable and accept one more year in the city he seemed to love….
just something to ponder…
