Major League Baseball 2012

[JimJamBonds]

ATL will face whomever comes away with the second wild card (St. Louis I'm looking in your direction), Cincy will have to keep playing hard to get the #1 seed.

[Tycho]

Cincinatti will go all the way, I'd predict.

Yesterday the Dodgers slaughtered my Padres. I had to get out of my seat and walk around the stadium.

I just couldn't take it any more.

Heading back to the game today in about 3 hours.

I hope it won't hurt as bad tonight. (We beat the Dodgers Tuesday, so the series is still up for grabs but we should not pitch left-handers against L.A.)

Then I see the 3 final games of our year Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (versus the western champion Giants).

I did not renew season tickets for next year, but I'll be paying for a lot of single games I'm sure. The stadium's very close, tickets (for single games in my section) are $27.50 per game and we have the Yankees coming to San Diego for interleague next year. I've wanted revenge for 1998's World Series ever since 1998.

I know it's not the same teams, but the concept is attractive to me.

[Bel-Cam Jos]

Well, if you're gonna lose, lose to history. Pirates' first time no-hit since Bob Gibson laced 'em up. Now they just need to go 5-0 to wrap up this homestand/season. Arr!

[Darth Metalmute]

Tigers are back in first. Two games up thanks to Chicago being on a 2-9 spell.

[Bel-Cam Jos]

Twenty straight years. Twenty losing years in a row. Twenty consecutive years with a record under .500. If it happens next year, too, it will be old enough legally to drink itself in misery. And to top it off, a blown save by a pretty-reliable closer to end with the dreaded 4-3 score. I am sad.

[Tycho]

I saw our last home game yesterday (San Diego Padres).

The Giants started up 2-0.

Chase Headley hit a 2-run homer, and Jesus Guzman followed (immediately afterward!) with a single run homer.

Padres up 3-2.

Then Edison Volquez tires. Our weak bullpen (remember 2010 when "the Penitentiary" led by Heath Bell and Master Yoda was the best in MLB???)

So our weak rookiees get out there.

Giants up 5 -3. (F-Pablo Sandoval and all the Panda Bears crashing the party at my stadium. Pandas are not cute little animals to baseball fans.)

Then the Padres catch up again. Thank you Logan Forsythe (2nd base - first full season). It's 5-5 and it looks like we're heading into extra innings.

Closer Huston Street is called out to manage a hold situation. He gets 2 outs with nobody on base.

Then 2 homeruns fly out of the park. Thank you for comforting the enemy, Huston. Really?

I had breakfast with the team and hung out with our catcher John Baker (haven't uploaded the pictures yet). Went to a pre-game party with free drinks hosted by the President of our team who's become a personal friend of mine over the past 4 years, which is why I feel kind of "in" with the Padres. I met 4 really cool fan girls, 2 of which were super-hot, and me and my Dodger buddy (yeah I have friends from other teams - even that one) hung out and partied with the girls. And our season ticket section had a great end-of-year party.

But what I remember most is Huston giving up those runs and my team leaving our home park on a loss.

We finish away in Milwaukee, but the Brewers are on a hot streak and it doesn't look good.

I have to forgive Huston Street though. At a special event at the start of this season, he coached me pitching in their bullpen and I got a nice video of it and he didn't even really know me (our players of a few years like catcher Nick Hundley and Chase Headley know me by face and name - but this was Huston's first real day with everyone in the park and he was really cool to play pitching coach to me in the pen - because Nick has traditionally been calling out to me over there when he prepares to warm up our starters before games).

Overall, I have to say that the San Diego Padres and their willingness to interact with fans and do stuff in their community goes far beyond what I've ever head of for any major league team.

Nick and his wife pay for bus loads of kids to get all their school supplies each fall at my Target I toy hunt at. He's over there when I am looking for Star Wars and Transformers and he asks if I find anything (I beat everyone into my store).

So for that kind of experience, where you get to know premier players like Chase Headley (he is very good friends with David Eckstein, by ball-player kidney transplant buddy and husband of Clone Wars Ashley Eckstein), I will always stick with my Padres.

I really wish for 2013 to go the way 2010 did, when the Padres were No.1! Only thing is, we can't let San Francisco, nor L.A. or Arizona take it from us. And I'm serious about respecting the Rockies. I forsee their ascension happening one day.

Meanwhile, my Padres, in a complete reversal of 2010, need pitching! You can't hit 'em out of Petco Park that easily.

But our rising bats have been debating that!

[DarthQuack]

Sorry about your Pirates Bel I was pulling for them!

Crazy to think there's still a lot to be settled on the final day of the regular season. Yankees had a great walkoff win last night that will hopefully propel them to home field advantage throughout the playoffs until the World Series...The A's are on a tear, want to avoid them at all costs...reminds me of the Moneyball team.

[Bel-Cam Jos]

Here are my "picks," by my heart and then my mind:

WHAT I WANT
NL West (LA)
NL Central (Pitt)
NL East (Wash)
NL WC (Cincy over 'Zona)

AL West (Anaheim, yes, ANAHEIM)
AL Central (Det)
AL East (TB)
AL WC (Tex over NYY)

NLCS (Pitt over LA)

ALCS (Anaheim over Tex)

WS (Pitt over Anaheim, with Bel-Cam Jos in attendance for the clinching game )

WHAT I THINK'LL OCCUR:
NL West (LA)
NL Central (Cincy)
NL East (Wash)
NL WC (Pitt over SF)

AL West (Texas)
AL Central (CWS)
AL East (NYY)
AL WC (Anaheim over Det)

NLCS (Cincy over Wash)

ALCS (Tex over NYY)

WS (Cincy over Tex)

Well, we know one scenario can't happen. But I picked 3 of the 5 NL and 3 of the AL playoff teams in the WHAT I THINK'LL OCCUR list (LISTS... :drool: ), and I could have the Championship Series right. I think I'd pull for Walter, er Davey, Johnson's Washington Senators.

[Tycho]

OK, I'm off on a few good ones here.

My original picks:

NL

West- Dodgers
Cen- Reds
East- Nationals
WC1 - Giants
WC2 - Braves

NLC: Reds

The Giants alone represent the West and the Cardinals squeaked in to a Wild Card spot in the Central. I was right about the Braves.

AL

West - Angels
Cen - Tigers
East - Orioles
WC1 - Rangers
WC2 - Yankees

ALC: Angels

I'm not sure who the ALC will be. I think Oakland is on a terror and they will fight hard for it. The Orioles and Tigers are also going to battle hard. Seriously, everyone will pound on New York. We are all sick of them!

If I have to pick, I'm going to go with Oakland. I'm very surprised and they probably know what an opportunity they have. Plus I'll root for my west coast since I have no other emotional connections to any of the AL teams.

If the Rangers get there, I'll hope the best for them since Ron Washington has led them to the WS twice and they just can't win. Maybe if they do finally win, they'll just go away.

Interestingly, there are some of the best ex-Padres on the Reds and Rangers: Mat Latos, Ryan Ludwick, and Mike Adams, respectively (along with Torrealba who I am forever mad at for not bunting in 2010 and getting us a chance against the Giants in that final game where we lost a division by 1 (one) [ONE] $#@$ng game!)

Note: if you look around the league at the leaders this year, they are separated by at least 3 or more games from the next closest team in their division. 1 (one) [ONE] $#@ng game is not fair! [Padres fans don't have much else to talk about besides Chase Headley except for 2010]

It's the Oakland A's. I never saw that coming - back when I made my predictions anyway. It's been more than a month since I saw my Angels weren't going anywhere this year, even with Mike Trout, Trumbo, Pujols, Weaver, Wilson, et.

Funny how teams that spent money like Miami did, wind up at the bottom. At least the Angels didn't finish as bad as Seattle.

I think the White Sox showed up more respectably than I would have predicted, but they're not on the chart.

Anyway, at this point, I'll remain with:

WS: Reds

But it's still very early out. I'll be interested to see if I got it right.

[Tycho]

Well, my pick updates:

Orioles and Yankees = Orioles

Tigers and A's = A's

These are the "feel good choices for the underdogs" whereas if baseball is scripted, this is the AL's story.

Out of this might come the Orioles. They've been commanding it longer than the A's and they might be just a little bit better going for it. It'd be nice to see either team make it, but these guys are no match for the National League.

In the meanwhile, I have several friends on this board who are Tigers fans and I have no ill wishes for them. I'd be quite happy for any of the AL teams except New York.

Cards and Naitonals = Nationals

Giants and Reds = Reds

Out of this come the Reds - going all the way. I still think Cincinatti will capture the World Series ring. We'll see if I need to re-evaluate. But some of my ex-Padres like Latos and Ludwick play for Cincinatti, and Hairston is over there, too. I'd like to see them get this.

Anyway, here's a pick of me and our catcher John Baker at the Padres' bullpen on the very last day of this season.