Bottom line, the Padres made no transactions at the trading deadline. Perhaps, their minds were on Khalil Greene’s situation and that hand of his. Yes, ground hog day again this time it’s Khalil’s hand instead of fingers. Only last year was Khalil’s complete year in terms of physical health and coincidentally was his best season. Once again, bad karma strikes the Padres organization and perhaps going cheap all those years from 1999-2003 are catching up.

Ex-Padres proved to be valuable commodities on the open market…..
It’s great to see Xavier Nady and Jason Bay, both commanded alot of attention on the open market. Ironically, Nady is the same player whom Bruce Bochy deemed not talented enough to start over then declining Ryan Klesko. A few years later, Nady has drawn interest from the Yankees and is placed in the 5th spot in the line-up. Not bad for a player whom was deemed as a bench player during Bochy’s regime. Jason Bay on the other hand, we know what we received for him. Though, now Boston Red Sox are going to make Bay that much better especially with Big Papi in the lineup with Bay. Oh, how ex-Padres were courted and sought after two powerful and established organizations – Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees -.

Neighbors to the North want to win……
This week proved to the Angelenos that Angels and Dodgers truly want to win this year. Both organizations made huge acquisitions and provided their fan base with some high expectations. I am glad to see organization that is willing to enhance their ballclub despite being 11 1/2 games in front of the second place team. Also, give kudos to the Dodgers for going after Manny Ramirez despite having a talented outfield in Ethier, Kemp, Jones, and Pierre.

Back to the Padres…..
I hope this team shows more fire instead of what I had seen on Wednesday night. Now, without Khalil things are going to be more interesting in the field. I can not wait til 2009 or better yet, Aug 9 for Chargers football.

It’s getting awfully hard to turn on the tv to watch the Padres these days. Too many miscues and blown leads for this type of ballclub. Add fuel to the fire, the Padres are downright BORING to watch. So with this being said, Who’s Accountable for this mess ? I would have to say GM Kevin Towers, since Kevin has been the mainstay of this organization and should have known well ahead what type of personnel it takes to be successful in Petco Park. Another person who is accountable is Owner John Moores, how so ? Well, John has the ultimate authority to give the go sign to acquire better players during the past three seasons when the Padres had the opportunity to win. Who else could be accountable ? Everyone in the organization down to the coaches and players themselves. I as a fan, did not anticipate witnessing a downward spiraling free-fall from 07′ All-Star break to now. I just hope there is some type of improvement between now and September, otherwise Padres’ season ticketholders have every right to decline the renewal for 2009 Season tickets. Afterall, the shareholders can only take so much before migrating to the package of MLB Extra Innings which delivers a better product in terms of good baseball to the fans.

Ex-Pads OF’s Bay and Nady sock it to the Pads……
Yes yes, I know it’s very hard swallow in watching Bay and Nady launching bombs against the Padres. The only player we have to show in return for those two good players is aging Brian Giles. Even Mike Cameron walked away at the most opportune time from the Padres and just before trading Nady, there was a gap in centerfield for the Padres. So much for rent a player for two years and watch your own homegrown come back to haunt you.

Hang in there Padres fans, maybe we all collectively can arrange a promo night held by the Fans called Brown bag night, bring your bags and wear them with some type of saying like perhaps ‘I am a survivor of the great Padres Collaspe’ during a saturday night game…hahahaha

I have always been a Randy Wolf fan for various reasons:

• Randy came from the Valley as I did.
• Randy’s father worked with my father back at Litton Industries in Woodland Hills
• Randy along with Brett Saberhagen were two valley boys who pitched well in the LA City High School Championships. I played against and with Brett from little league up through high school.

Randy is a real pro and will be greatly missed by the Padres. I always felt he should have been a Padre since 07 season when the Padres needed a Left handed starting pitcher. I wish Randy the very best in Houston and thank him for the wonderful memories he had given us as a Padre.

Who will be next ?…..
There is still time for another trade perhaps one of the regulars and pitcher from the staff will be dealt away. This is the hardest time for the ball players and especially on a team that has no hopes for the season. Hopefully, the prospects the Padres get in return will have an impact on the club, in terms of pushing others ahead of them to be better.

USMC MCRD Visit….
I will be making my third round (this season) in visiting USMC MCRD within two weeks, as I will be handing out some tickets to several Marines that have returned from action. These tickets will be for the Aug 13 game against Mike Cameron and the Milwaukee Brewers. I hope to surprise a few marines once again with free tickets.

Let’s go Padres, show some improvement over the last few months of the season !

The second half of the season begins with the trade of 1B Tony Clark to D’backs for a minor league prospect. Who cares ! I am still waiting for a trade that has a profound affect on the major league ballclub. What do I exactly mean ? I want to see a promising prospect at a Triple A level who will push Khalil Greene. This Padres ballclub is going no where this season and the Front Office has nothing to lose and needs to make a statement with atleast one big trade. It’s been practically a year since the decline of the Padres ballclub. If you seriously take into account last year’s second half, the Pitching and Bullpen have been overworked and taking a toll. Here’s some food for thought…Do the Padres keep Trevor Hoffman or do they trade him for some prospects ? Is the Front Office prepared to make a big splash and trade a player who has been an icon for the franchise ? I know alot of politics come into play, but realistically its all about winning. For 2008, the Padres are horrible and its time to pull a plug to change the face of this current roster. There will be several players coming off the DL like P Chris Young, C Josh Bard, P Brett Tomko, and 2b Tadahito Iguchi. I strongly feel there will be some trades and most likely minor ones, unless the Front Office becomes bold to pull a trigger. In order to get good talent, good talent must be offered. With all that being said, I feel 2 players from the current starting line-up could be packaged and dealt away. Question is, Will the Front Office pull the trigger ?

Hang in there San Diego Fans, the Chargers training camp starts in one week. Amen, atleast we have something else to look forward, unless you consider Padres 2009 season.

After attending a few games this week, I am pleasantly surprised to see the synergy the young kids bring to the ballclub. Even though the losing ways continue but there is a sense of awareness with the new kids on the block. It’s time for the Front Office to package a few veterans and collect more prospects. This will have an enormous impact on the franchise, since new incoming prospects from deals can push other prospects in the farm system, plus payroll can go down.

Mad dog gone wild……

On saturday, Padres’ P Greg Maddux showed why he is a true baseball player and a legend at that. Maddux stoled a base at the age of 41 and the crowd went wild. Yes, Maddux took advantage of the situation and is a gamer. He did everything in his powers to try to get into position to score, unfortunately Khalil Greene couldn’t knock him in. I think it would serve good purpose if Buddy Black would insert Luis Rodriguez in the line-up more to clear Khalil’s head. It seems the Greene is lost out there during his at-bats.

Suggestion to the Marketing/Promotions department…….

It would be nice to scale back the Fireworks show down to 2 events per year.My personal opinion, there are too many Fireworks shows per year and would be awesome if there were some promotions like :

• Batting glove night, for all kids under 14.
• Glove night for all attendees.

The All-Star break is here……

On this enjoyable 4th of July in San Diego, watching the game between Padres and D’backs the kids OF Chase Headley and C Nick Hundley came through which I thought was the vital play of the game. Finally, the fruits of our farm system is starting to pay dividends and it showed tonight as Chase Headley threw out Stephen Drew at homeplate with Nick Hundley blocking the plate. Kudos to both players (Headley and Hundley) and congratulations to Hundley on his 1st major league hit.

I tell you what, I am damn excited to see these kids having an impact on the team. The Padres are only 9 games behind and this is the time to make a run at all of the teams in the NL West Division.

A Quick Fact of the Night

Washington Nationals P Tim Redding has more wins than any current Padres starting pitcher. Redding an ex-Padre himself has 6 wins so far, Peavy and Wolf each have 5 wins.

This is a modified Mid-year review of the Padres Front Office, based on the latest ongoings from this week’s International draft:

B - 2008 First Player and International Drafts, Allan Dykstra if it becomes true there is some type of ailment that will prevent Drykstra from signing with the Padres. Otherwise, I will revise the grade from B to A-.

Overall grade for the Front Office – C+.

I am pulling for the Padres to sweep the D’backs and make a run at first place or atleast get other teams in the division aware of the Padres.