Gaslamp Ball

Time to vote for the best Comcast Ultimate Sports Job applicants!

2012-02-09T17:15:13Z

Well... it's too late to enter the XFINITY contest so if you wanted a shot at this, then sorry, bub. TOO LATE.

Now though, we're allowed to vote for the best entries. I haven't looked yet at the videos submitted, but my vote is going to go after weird as opposed to smart. Like why do I want a smarty pants? I want entertainment!

But it's your vote. Do what you need to do.

Have you ever watched one of those TV shows where from thousands of hopefuls, one star is born? Well, Gaslamp Ball readers, here's your chance to play "starmaker" and help pick the new voice of sports in social media!

XFINITY is looking for the next renowned sports social media star through its Ultimate Sports Social Media Job contest. The winning candidate will serve as the new voice of XFINITY in the sports social media space and go behind-the-scenes at some of the biggest sporting events in 2012, sharing exclusive insights and updates with fans.

From February 9-19, you can review qualified entry videos and vote for the contestant you'd like to see advance to the finals of the XFINITY Ultimate Sports Social Media Job contest. The five entrants with the most votes will advance to the final round of the contest where they will cover one of five premier sporting events the weekend of March 8-11. Fans can head today to Facebook.com/XFINITY and click on the Ultimate Sports Social Media Job contest tab to vote for your favorite personality (once per day)!

Will you choose the brainiac with the encyclopedia of stats, the former jock who knows the game inside out, or the corporate type who gets the marketing side of the business? You decide. Vote today at Facebook.com/XFINITY!

ESPN's Keith Law: Padres have the best farm system in baseball

2012-02-09T17:08:00Z

This would be, by my recollection, the first time the Padres have ever shown up this high in farm system rankings. Keith Law credits the Padres with incredible depth and high-floor guys. Basically, our youngsters will be big league players. Keep in mind, I loved me some KT, but we can all agree that the big leaguers that he drafted were psychos. Like literally crazy.

He drafted toolsy, skillsy, psychotic dudes.

I, for one, am willing to trade Crazy for Professional.

I'm reading all of this commentary about how this is a one and done deal... This was "all" Jed Hoyer's doing, but let's be honest. After Josh Byrnes' first full year as Diamondbacks' GM, here's where he had the Diamondbacks minor league system. The year after, there was a dip, but that's what happens when you graduate a Stephen Drew and a Carlos Quentin (and incidentally still have a Juston Upton and Chris Young in the mix).

So no. I don't believe that this farm system was all Jed Hoyer's doing. Is is "mostly" his doing? Maybe, but it's also hard to imagine that Josh Byrnes could possibly screw this up. Consider this, BeyondTheBoxScore says our window is 2014 for our three B+ prospects to all be up at the same time, but on top of that, we have 6 picks of the first 70 in this years draft from all of the churning of one year contracts over the last couple years. As long as they draft strong and avoid the psychos, this should continue.

How quickly will we see the results? Well, Yonder Alonso is slated to start this season, so we'll see some of the results right away. Depending on how Hundley works out, we have Grandal and Hedges over the next couple years. We should be able to see big league results right away, but everybody's best guess is for things to really start clicking 2013-2014.

Who will be unhappy with this? Anybody who wants a payroll starting with 6 or 7. We will be running a very modest payroll from the looks of things. If you get off on big payroll, you have absolutely no business rooting for the Padres for the next 5 seasons. The Padres 2012-2017 is all about young talent. Let the Dodgers and Giants slug it out with their hundred million dollar payrolls, because by the looks of things, the experts don't think we need it.

It's a pretty good time to be a Padres fan.

John Sickels ranked the Padres system #2, Keith Law ranked at #1. When is it all just going to...

2012-02-09T16:37:50Z

John Sickels ranked the Padres system #2, Keith Law ranked at #1. When is it all just going to click?

See full post on Beyond the Box Score

Padres sign Jeff Suppan

2012-02-08T23:53:44Z

Padres sign Jeff Suppan

Basically, it's a minor league deal for a veteran pitcher. Nothing wrong with that.

Hodad's is coming to Petco!

2012-02-08T23:44:46Z

Hodad's is coming to Petco!

What else do you think Mentor has up his sleeve for concessions?

Chat with Josh Byrnes - SportsNation - ESPN

2012-02-08T00:18:28Z

Chat with Josh Byrnes - SportsNation - ESPN

Josh Byrnes will be fielding questions tomorrow at 11am PST. Now's your chance to find out how his family likes living in San Diego.

The best Padres uniforms throughout history as chosen by San Diego Little Leaguers.

2012-02-07T20:20:01Z

The results are in! The Padres' Little League Uniform initiative is underway and we have some numbers on the uniforms you'll be seeing at the ballparks throughout the season.

There were 20 uniforms to choose from. Each division got to pick from the group of 20, and obviously each team had to have a uniform that was different from the other teams in their division. Typically between 8 and 12 teams per division, so some uniforms obviously weren't getting used. Each team was allowed to make their requests and they were handled differently by everybody. In some divisions, the coaches let the players vote for the uniforms they'd want. In others, the coaches made the choices themselves.

Incidentally, my thought was that the teams would be able to pick their uniforms and then pick their own names. For example, if you happened to pick the current road uniform, your team name might be the San Diego Grays as opposed to the San Diego 2012 Roads. This might explain why the uniforms that only say San Diego on them were more appealing to some teams as opposed to others.

Here then, after the jump, is the ranking of which uniforms were most (and least) requested by the teams participating (along with some commentary). Vote for the one you'd want to be rocking on the weekends.

20. 1969 Home (373 jerseys requested)

This is a gorgeous uniform and is honestly one of my favorites. I love the off-white and the font that they had in 1969. This is a uniform that symbolizes America's fresh faced innocence during war time. No sign of the patriotic red or blue and the white isn't as clean as America in the 1950's. This is America at the end of the 1960s and moving into disco. It's all a very subtle message, which coaches apparently didn't want their kids associated with and the kids were too young to totally perceive.

Or maybe the grownups didn't want to be stuck with the San Marcos Sixty-Niners.

19. 1997 BP

This uniform on the other hand looks very similar to something that they would give away. This is the Padres reminder of the 90s, when ill-fitting clothes and 90210 was in fashion. It's also a reminder of the terrible year between two great seasons. If jbox got stuck with a team in the '97 BPs, he'd call them the Garth Brookses. All of their entrance music would be Friends in Low Places.

I will be glad to not see this as often as the others. Deservedly second-to-last.

18. 1976 Road

The McDonald's uniform without the accompanying Taco Bell cap. A re-write of history or a missed opportunity? Or probably just too much extra cost in putting together a two tone hat. I'm guessing that if you were the type of kid or coach to go for the brown, you had better options than the '76, though there's no denying that the 76ers would've been a cool nickname.

17. 1998 Road

Any good feeling that the 1998 World Series team had among the youth of San Diego and their dads could not be offset by the boring, bland uniforms that the 1998 team wore while visiting other places. When you first looked at the 20 uniforms being offered by the Padres, I would be willing to bet $5 that your eyes completely glossed over the '98 Roads. This would be better than an invisibility cloak if you did not want to be noticed walking around town. Nothing offensive about them, and definitely nothing that stands out about them. An SEP Field if I've ever seen one. I'm not surprised it made the bottom 5.

16. 1997 Alternates

I see this uniform and I think of fat Tony Gwynn. My guess is coaches with husky kids on the team picked this uniform.

15. 2004 Road

Ah the oh-fours. Or maybe "oh fers"? "Oh hey guys. We play the oh-fers today, we can let Marty pitch."

Made for: Coaches who grew up watching CHiPs. Kids with hand me down white baseball pants that have been permanently made off color and therefore match the impossible to match color of these jerseys. People who like bow-ties.

14. 1984 Home

PROOF POSITIVE THAT SAN DIEGANS HAVE NO TASTE. How do you let the 1984 homes languish outside of the top 10? Actually, I know why these are where they are, because why choose the '84 homes when you could have the '78 homes? STILL. That's a great font, though with three other jerseys also sporting the same font and a nice combination of colors, I guess I'm not as surprised as I was four sentences ago.

13. 1948 Home

The PCL Padres home jersey. Completely unique. The only uniform with red in it. Do hipsters have kids? Are they of Little League Age? I'd wear Howdy Doody cowboy chaps with these. Really pretty uniforms that have nothing to do with anything about the big league Padres. For transplant coaches that used to call their team the Cubs or Cardinals and are so devoted that they can't bring themselves to associate with the modern Padres, but want to take advantage of some free uniforms.

12. 1985 Road

The Brown Pinstripes. Sick, but like sick meaning good. Awesome colors. Only one of two jerseys with the interlocking SD. Vertical pinstripes to make your kids look taller than the opposition. Love these.

11. 1984 Road

If you like brown, I have got something for you. It's called the 1984 Road. I'd replace the SD hat with miniature versions of Westside Love with the money that the parents have saved in getting the uniforms. That would be, what we in the business call, "gangsta". Also, no buttons so they're easier for the little kids to put on by themselves.

10. 1972 Home

The Golds (or Yellows). I love that these made the top 10. If there's one color that the Padres would've been allowed to own as their own and not have anybody question, it's gold. Red? Blue? PSHAW. Black, White, Purple~~, even our beloved Brown~~. Taken.

Gold? All ours.

[UPDATE] Except for the A's. I guess that's technically gold that they hide underneath all that green.

The teams sporting the Golds will stand out and sparkle like a precious metal. I'd spring for a gold colored bat too, just for effect. And maybe make sure the Botox Moms wear their bling to games. Classy.

9. 1975 Road

Mmmmmmmm.... GIRL. This is what the LL division champs will be wearing. Doesn't it just look like something a champion would wear? For whatever reason, it looks so much more mature than any other uniform out there. In a lot of ways it feels more like Old Timey Time Padres than the 1948 PCL. Ray Kroc is known for the "bad" Padres uniforms, but this was his first attempt at rebranding and it's awesome. This is what the cool kids wear.

8. 1978 Home

Oh man. Another one that I love. This is Dave Winfield, big as a bear. This is Randy Jones bringing the heat from the fro. This is Ozzie Smith wondering how long before he gets to do backflips in St. Louis. This is Rollie Fingers and a handlebar mustache. Keeps you cool in the summertime, but rocks it hot year round. Oh and just in case you didn't know? We're the San Diego Padres. That's right. We'll spell the whole thing out there for you just in case you haven't noticed in the last decade that San Diego has a baseball team and we're just about getting ready to be sick and tired of getting pushed around since 1969. Maybe not totally ready, but we're getting there. So there's the city right there with the name of the team in complete defiance of Major League tradition and God's Will.

7. 1978 Road

A toss-up between the home and the road for this uniform. Love this color scheme. I agree with San Diego Little Leaguers that this is the best of the brown jerseys. All of the above applies to this one except this one is brown.

6. Current Alternate

Maybe my favorite of the latest of the redesigned jerseys. Piping is for college these days, but in person, I like this uniform a lot. Interlocking SD goes a long way in my mind, but I know reviews are mixed on this one.

5. 2004 BP

I... ummm.... Wait. Let me look at the photo again. Hrmm.... The 2004 Batting Practice jersey, eh coach? That's ummm...

Let me check and make sure I got this right...

Huh, look at that.... The 2004 BP.

Maybe these were the ones that the little kids voted on because it's blue and that's their favorite color. This ummm... I have no explanation for this other than maybe for the teams who were named the Padres last season who already bought these jerseys and just wanted some replacement ones.

Really? The 2004 Batting Practice jerseys? Seriously confused as to how these ended up in the Top 5.

4. 1998 Home

Great jersey. Blue with the pinstripes and a terrific reminder of one of the best Padres seasons ever. Lucky jersey? We didn't really stick with this scheme for long so I'm sure there are superstitious Little Leaguers eager to see if some of the Magic of '98 rubs off on them. As much as I love the browns, I can't argue with this one being in the Top 5.

3. Current Road

This is kinda predictable. It's much much much better than the 1998 Road and it's easy to match pants with. Go white, black or gray and you're good. It's also what the players will be wearing so getting an autograph on this one during the season will make sense 10 years from now. Good jersey. Not my favorite, but not surprised that it's popular among the masses.

2. Current Home

See bullet 3. Only one of two jerseys with the shampoo font so it hogs the vote for that particular contingency. This is another jersey that is such and improvement over the previous design (not to say that this is in any way amazing) that it's not surprising that people find it appealing.

And that takes us to number 1... What did the kids want? What will they be wearing? What will make you realize that you're a little bit out of touch as it pertains to fashion for 6 to 13 year olds?

Wait for it...

1. CURRENT CAMO (1,217 jerseys requested)

Wow! The camos. The camos are awesome to be sure, but this is amaze. Though if I were in Little League, this is probably what I would vote for. First off, let's say I lived in East County, it only makes sense to have more camouflage stuff for whens I goes a huntin'. Second, it comes with the green hat, which I actually own just because it's the coolest alternate game worn hat in existence. Third, Sundays are kids days and military appreciation days so it just feels right. Fourth, it is San Diego (home of the military transplant fan) and (other than the 1948 jersey), if you're a transplant fan and you coach Little League, paying tribute to the military is the most "neutral" jersey out there.

So there you have it. The Little Leaguers have spoken! Which one is your favorite? Vote in the poll!

Links: LL uniforms, Storm commercials, Huey Lewis, Padres ticket pricing and sky diving into the Petco Park

2012-02-06T23:10:37Z

San Diego Padres (padres) on Twitter
As the Little League season approaches, the Padres are starting to hand out something like 11,000 Padres uniforms to our city's youth. Over the weekend they posted a few pictures of the kids in throwback jerseys and hats. Check those out when you get a chance and then find out why I think this is the best public outreach program ever!
Thunder Across Time Pt.1 - YouTube
Storm Baseball has released 5 or their 6 stop motion promotions starring their mascot Thunder. The story is hard to follow, but it all starts when Thunder gets a new dog house then suddenly is whipped back in time.
North County Times: Seems Huey Lewis isn't up on Padres' news
Speaking of going Back in Time... Bud Black was having lunch with the local media when he was approached by moderate rock legend Huey Lewis. Lewis remembered Black from his days pitching for the Giants but wasn't aware that he is now managing the Padres. I can totally imagine Black saying the following:

"I'm a big Huey Lewis guy,'' Black later gushed. "If I'm driving in the car and a Huey Lewis song comes on the radio, I don't change it and I'm turning it way up.''
Padres implementing dynamic ticket pricing | padres.com: News
I'm a fan of setting pricing by supply and demand. I think I'll probably save money by getting cheaper seats during the less popular mid week games. I don't go out of my way to see pitching match-ups. I usually don't even know who's pitching until the 3rd inning once I get situated.
"We wanted to provide discounted seats across the ballpark to fans that purchase in advance," said president and COO Tom Garfinkel. "Over time, as the game gets closer, ticket prices will normalize, but generally, fans who buy early will save money. "As always, our season-ticket holders will enjoy the deepest discounts available. Season tickets remain the ultimate buy-early-and-save opportunity for our fans."
This is a rad video of some thrill seekers doing a rehearsal sky dive into Petco Park armed with 2 GoPro cameras. Just turn down the music to fully appreciate the video.

Gaslamp Ball

Time to vote for the best Comcast Ultimate Sports Job applicants!

ESPN's Keith Law: Padres have the best farm system in baseball

John Sickels ranked the Padres system #2, Keith Law ranked at #1. When is it all just going to...

Padres sign Jeff Suppan

Padres sign Jeff Suppan

Hodad's is coming to Petco!

Hodad's is coming to Petco!

Chat with Josh Byrnes - SportsNation - ESPN

Chat with Josh Byrnes - SportsNation - ESPN

The best Padres uniforms throughout history as chosen by San Diego Little Leaguers.

Which of the 20 jerseys is your favorite?

Links: LL uniforms, Storm commercials, Huey Lewis, Padres ticket pricing and sky diving into the Petco Park