That's right folks, you read that right. Former Padre starting pitcher Bruce Hurst was traded for pitcher Andrew Cashner....well kind of. While shooting Episode 1 of Padres and Pints, Geoff Young, myself, Beautown & the Avenger-in-Chief were discussing some random Padres stuff, off camera, whilst drinking some amazing Ballast Point. Anthony Rizzo had just been traded and we were all scratching our heads. Not because we hated the deal. Not because it was a shock to us all. But mainly because we got a relief pitcher in return. Yes he's a solid arm, but why are the Padres, owners of one of the finest pitching parks in baseball, trading for a relief pitcher? Regardless of what many say, it's hard to believe that a hard thrower with arm issues in the past, will ever stick around in the starting rotation. Possible, but not likely. Regardless of all that, we started to kind of work our ways backward a little and mentioned some trades that led to Cashner coming to San Diego. It all starts with Bruce Hurst and let's just say he has treated us well over the years.

(Padres Press Release)

Autographs, Garage Sale, clubhouse tours, clinics and more are part of free event February 11

The San Diego Padres today released details surrounding 2012 FanFest presented by Bloomberg Sports, including a complete schedule of clinics, forums and autograph signings.

The free annual event returns to Petco Park this Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012. Gates open to the general public at 10:00 a.m. Padres Season Ticket Holders receive exclusive early access from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Season Ticket Holders will be sent printable early entry passes via email.

Fans who are not Season Ticket Holders can pre-register at no cost at padres.com/fanfest for a special pass allowing them to enter at 9:30 a.m. In addition to receiving an early entry pass, fans who pre-register online will be entered to win exclusive experiences. Those experiences include a spot in a special autograph session with Padres legend Trevor Hoffman, and a chance to participate in hitting and pitching clinics (for kids 14 and under) with Padres players. Padres Season Ticket Holders will automatically be entered to win these experiences.

Kind of lost in the shuffle on Super Bowl Sunday, the Padres announced that they will be implementing dynamic ticket pricing during the 2012 season. As Corey Brock put it,

"By using advanced computer programming, dynamic pricing will give the team the ability to adjust ticket costs higher or lower based on market demand and such factors as pitching matchups, the team's performance, weather and potential milestones.

Dynamic pricing is geared toward giving fans more day-to-day options in 2012. It also allows the Padres to accurately price tickets in a timely fashion."

Overall I think this is a good idea. But at the same time my usual procrastination on getting tickets will need to change this season. All in all, more than 14,000 seats will be sold at or below $14 next year, and that doesn't even include the $5 Park Passes. Basically you will be getting what you pay for. If it's a gloomy Wednesday day game against the Pirates you most likely will be paying considerably less. If they are playing the Dodgers on a Saturday night with Luebke & Kershaw dueling, then you'd be paying considerably more. As the article states, other teams like the Cardinals, Giants, A's, Twins, Mariners and Pirates all use this idea in one way or another. Teams like Oakland (30th), Seattle (23rd) and Pittsburgh (22nd) are all towards the bottom of MLB in attendance. Then you have the flip side as San Francisco (3rd), Minnesota (4th) and St. Louis (6th) are all towards the top half. So upon first glance, there really is no correlation to high or low attendance teams and using this method. It'll be interesting to see how this will work out.

By now I’m sure everyone has seen the Little League uniforms that the Padres gave out to over 11,000 kids in the San Diego area. This is a fantastic promotion and there are many reasons why I think that. Let us count the ways....

(Padres Press Release)

Padres now with a full 40-man roster

SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Padres today announced they have agreed to terms with right-handed pitcher Micah Owings on a one-year contract for the 2012 season. Executive Vice President/General Manager Josh Byrnes made the announcement.

"Micah will compete for a spot on our staff,” said Byrnes. “He is a proven contributor as a starter and as a reliever.  Micah's character and versatility made him a priority for us as we looked to add depth to our pitching staff."

The 29-year-old right hander went a perfect 8-0 with a career-best 3.57 ERA (25 ER/63.0 IP) in 33 games, four starts, for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2011.  He went 5-0 with a 3.59 ERA (17 ER/42.2 IP), 34 strikeouts against 17 walks and a .236 (37-for-157) opponents batting averages in his 29 relief appearances, while going 3-0 with a 3.54 ERA (8 ER/20.1 IP) over his four starts. Originally selected by the Diamondbacks in the third-round of the 2005 First-Year Player Draft, he has gone 32-31 with a 4.91 ERA (258 ER/473.1 IP) over parts of five Major League seasons with Arizona (2007-08, 2011) and Cincinnati (2009-10).

At the plate, Owings is a .286 (58-for-203) career hitter, with 14 doubles, two triples, nine home runs, 35 RBI, 27 runs scored and a .507 slugging percentage. He has a career .297 (47-for-158) average as a pitcher, tops among all pitchers with 100-or-more at-bats since 2007.

With today’s transaction, the Padres currently have a full 40-man roster.

(Padres Press Release)

Proceeds From March 23 Game to Benefit Christina-Taylor Green Memorial Foundation

TUCSON - Major League Spring Training is returning to Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium on Sunday, March 18 when the San Diego Padres host the Colorado Rockies at 1:05 p.m. The Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers are playing five days later on Friday, March 23 at 1:05 p.m. Gates open at 11:30 a.m. for both games. The Tucson Padres staff is overseeing all game operations for both Spring Training games.

The Pima County Sports & Tourism Authority, Pima County, the Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers have committed the proceeds from the March 23 game to the Christina-Taylor Green Memorial Foundation.  Christina-Taylor's passing on January 8, 2011 affected the Dodgers organization closely; her father John Green is a scout for the Dodgers.

Tickets
Wednesday, February 15 - Tickets to both games go on sale online via www.tucsonpadres.com.
Tuesday, March 6 - Tickets to both games go on sale on the phone by calling (520) 434-1367 or by visiting the Kino Stadium box office from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekdays. Kino Stadium's address is 2500 East Ajo Way in Tucson.

"Obviously it was an assassination directly at my character for unprovoked reasons. I've been gone for five months. I mean, to just randomly come after Doug Mirabelli? For what reason? Because you don't like me? I mean, you don't have to like me. Obviously he doesn't like me,"  - A former Padre speaking about his former GM

The Friarhood posted a question on Facebook about who was the best Padres catcher.  That got me thinking about all the great catchers in Padres history: Burrito Soggy Taco, Big Ben Davis, Terry "Orville Moody" Kennedy, Mayor Bruce Bochy, Josh "I make bald and high socks look good" Bard, Ramon "The Prick but was cool when he hit that game winning homerun into the PETCO Park Porch in 2005" Hernandez, and so on.  But no one matches the man, the myth, the legend (sorry John Baker, your time will come)...

December 7, 2005: Traded by the Boston Red Sox to the San Diego Padres for Mark Loretta.
May 1, 2006: Traded by the San Diego Padres to the Boston Red Sox for Josh Bard, Cla Meredith and cash.

DOUG "I'm going deep tonight!" MIRABELLI

Over at Corey Brock’s blog, there is a new post in which he was chit chatting with Padres General Manager Kevin Towers yesterday and somehow the subject of, there almost was a deal for Mark McGwire, came up (McGwire was almost a Padre). Oh how I hate you Corey…now I must browse transactions, rosters & box scores from the wonderful years of 1995-1996 in which players such as Archi Cianfrocco, Andujar Cedeno & Jody Reed were roaming our fields, to see who might have been involved in that deal between KT and then Oakland A's General Manager Sandy Alderson. Thanks a lot. Anyways onto the research….

Towers was hired as GM of the Padres on November 17th, 1995. Less than 2 months on the job could be anytime around early January to January 16th 1996 but considering KT acquired first baseman Wally Joyner on December 21st, 1995, then the offer for McGwire had to have happened before then. So I’m gonna set my range at early December to December 20th, 1995….or basically a month on the job.

Here are all the players who were on our roster in 1995 and were not with us in 1996

FINALLY!  The Padres make a signing to address our offensive woes.  Word came down today that the Padres will be signing right handed pitcher, and 2007 Silver Slugger Award Winner Micah Owings to a Major League contract (tweets Ken Rosenthal).  This looks to be the last piece to the 2012 puzzle.  We definitely needed anotther free agent starter to throw in the mix and why not kill two birds with one stone here.  Owings is a prolific hitter (for pitchers' standards).  He owns a career line .286, with 9 homeruns and 35 RBI.  Not too shabby, that's better than 90% of the 2011 Padres position players.  Not only can he hit, but he isn't that bad on the rubber too.  He pitched in a relief role for the division champs Diamondbacks last year, including a 8-0 records and 3.57 ERA over 33 appearances.  I get the feeling, with this being a Major League contract, that he will compete for that fifth starter spot with Dustin Moseley with the loser moving to the pen.  For a million bucks, I say this was a low-risk/high-reward move by Byrnes.

(Padres Press Release)

SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Padres today announced they have agreed to terms with right-handed pitcher Dustin Moseley on a one-year contract for the 2012 season. Executive Vice President/General Manager Josh Byrnes made the announcement.

The 30-year-old right-hander went 3-10 with a 3.30 ERA (44 ER/120.0 IP) over 20 starts with the Padres last year, his first season in the National League.  Moseley underwent surgery on his left shoulder in August of 2011, missing the remainder of the year.

In 100 games, 52 starts, over parts of six Major League seasons with the Los Angeles Angels (2006-09), New York Yankees (2010) and Padres (2011), he has gone 15-21 with a 4.61 ERA (181 ER/353.1 IP).

With today’s transaction, all arbitration-eligible players are now under contract for the 2012 season.