… Reading the Sunday paper, with a cup of coffee. And I love my Sunday paper and coffee.
… The dog deciding to “sleep in,” which means not getting up at 4:30 to, you know, pee.
… Trying to figure out who No. 78, No. 92 and No. 68 are during a Cactus League game.

Folks, it’s Opening Day and no matter how you slice it, it’s pretty cool. Personally, I’m looking forward to my second season covering the Padres. As usual, we’ll make this, not just this blog but our Padres site, the place to stop for all the details on the team, before game, in-game and, of course, after game.

Anyway, leave a comment if you like today. I’ll try to get to them the best I can today and during the game against the Astros. Here’s today’s starting lineups:

ASTROS (0-0):

CF Michael Bourn

RF Hunter Pence

1B Lance Berkman

LF Carlos Lee

SS Miguel Tejada

3B Ty Wigginton

2B Mark Loretta

C Brad Ausmus

P Roy Oswalt

PADRES (0-0):

RF Brian Giles

2B Tadahito Iguchi

3B Kevin Kouzmanoff

1B Adrian Gonzalez

CF Scott Hairston

SS Khalil Greene

C Josh Bard

LF Paul McAnulty

P Jake Peavy

So, I was thinking: Do the 2-3-4 hitters in the Astros lineup scare you as much as they scare me? Wow, I like Pence a lot and having Tejada hit fifth. Not bad. The rest of the lineup doesn’t do much for me, though. As for the Padres, as promised, P-Mac in left. He’ll see a lot of time against right-handed pitchers.

Oh Peoria, you have given me so many wonderful memories over these six or so weeks — five, if you count the trip to China. Where do I begin?

There were all those mornings at the Coffee Bean, the errant golf shots I hit, the trips to the Salty Senorita and, of course, the baseball. Saw a lot of baseball and, with the regular season upon us, that doesn’t figure to change.

Anyway, the car is packed, the gas tank is filled (Costco gas, the only place to shop these days) and I’m headed back to Diego after the game today.

Anyway, here’s the final lineup for spring with a new face thrown there on the last day in Peoria. Enjoy!

CF Scott Hairston

RF Paul McAnulty

1B Adrian Gonzalez

3B Kevin Kouzmanoff

DH Tony Clark

SS Khalil Greene

C Michael Barrett

LF Justin Huber

2B Callix Crabbe

SP Chris Young

Cheers, Corey

PEORIA, Ariz. ? Standing inside the dugout at Miller Field in Milwaukee in September, Padres general manager Kevin Towers talked glowingly about the job first-year manager Bud Black did.

"I think he’s handled it very, very well," Towers said. "I think that for the first year, you couldn’t ask for more. To have us where we’re at right now, he’s done a remarkable job."

That job will now extend through the 2009 season, as the Padres on Tuesday picked up the option on Black?s contract.

?While we exercised Buddy’s option for next year, we believe that he will continue to grow and develop as a Major League manager for many years to come," Towers said.  "He has exceeded our expectations and we are excited for the future of the Padres under his guidance."

Black led the Padres to a an 89-74 record in his first season, one victory shy of the postseason. The 89 wins were the most for San Diego since the club won a franchise-record 98 contests in 1998.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Padres .546 winning percentage under Black was the best for a first-year manager (minimum 50 games) since Ken Macha with Oakland (.593, 96-66) and Bob Melvin with Seattle (.574, 93-69) in 2003.

The last National League manager with a winning percentage that high in his first season was Bob Brenly for Arizona (.568, 92-70) in 2001.

?When the San Diego Padres hired Bud Black as manager, we knew of his knowledge and passion for the game," Padres CEO Sandy Alderson said.  "His abilities to communicate, teach and lead are tremendous. Buddy’s passion and energy are contagious, not only at the Major League level, but throughout the entire organization."

San Diego pitcher Jake Peavy, who had previously played only under one manager in his Major League career (Bruce Bochy), said he enjoyed working under Black last season and that his personable approach made him easy to play for.

?I think Bud is just relaxed, he doesn?t kind of put any pressure on anybody. He let?s us be,? Peavy said. ?I was, not concerned, but interested to see how he handled the pitchers, being a pitching guy, if he was hands off.

?He does a nice job of letting his coaches coach and be the manager of the team, oversee everything, and when the call has to be made, to be the final voice in that. I think Buddy does a nice job in doing that.?

Black was hired on Nov. 9, 2006 and originally agreed to a two-year deal with an option for 2009.

Listen, general manager Kevin Towers and manager Bud Black might already have a good idea of how some of these final roster spots — the bench job, Callix Crabbe and spots in the bullpen — will finally shake out, but they’re not saying, so we’re left to speculate what might happen this week.

Chase Headley’s departure to Minor League camp clears the picture some, as Jim Edmonds, I have to think, begins the season on the disabled list, meaning Paul McAnulty, he who is out of Minor League options, makes the team, as does non-roster invitee Jody Gerut, who will likely start in left field on Opening Day against the Astros.

But what about the bench, and the backup infielder with defensive on the brain, the guy the Padres want for that spot? Oscar Robles or Luis Rodriguez? A little interesting that neither is in the lineup today against the Angels but Crabbe is at third base. Maybe Crabbe is more on the bubble than we have thought?

Here’s today’s lineup for the 1:05 p.m. game in Tempe:

RF Brian Giles
2B Tadahito Iguchi
DH Adrian Gonzalez
1B Tony Clark
CF Jody Gerut
SS Khalil Greene
LF Scott Hairston
C Josh Bard
3B Callix Crabbe
SP Randy Wolf (scheduled to go six innings)

Cheers, Corey

Hey, so let’s hear it one last time for a true Chinese favorite (among Padres players, at least) … the scorpion, which can be had (and was) on a stick, on just about every street corner in Beijing at any hour, which, of course, is helpful when KFC Select (in case just regular KFC doesn’t suffice) isn’t open.

Anyway, back in Arizona to finish out Spring Training. There should be a lot of interesting decisions to be made in the last eight or so days before the team breaks camp — the outfield, bullpen, fifth starter, water boy. One of the main candidates — and possibly the leading candidate — for the fifth starter spot is pitching tonight, Justin Germano.

Here’s the lineup for tonight’s night game against the Mariners:

RF, Brian Giles
2B, Tadahito Iguchi
3B Kevin Kouzmanoff
1B Adrian Gonzalez
SS Khalil Greene
LF Jody Gerut
CF Scott Hairston
C Josh Bard
SP Germano

Also throwing tonight: Kevin Cameron, Trevor Hoffman, Heath Bell and Jared Wells.

Cheers, Corey

Get it … Mao, like instead of now? Seriously, I just made that up. I’m glad to see that while I lost my Wednesday last week due to travel that I haven’t lost my sense of humor. Unless that wasn’t funny at all? Anyway, rambling a little here.

Hey, I’ve got great trip. Seriously, it’s been a lot of work, I wrote a bunch, took pictures, blogged and manged to visit Starbucks each day of my visit in Beijing. I’m excited to head home to see wife and doggie for a few days before heading back to Peoria.

That’s right, hello Salty Senorita. I’ve missed you so. Found some snake wine here (see picture) but it’s just not the same. Yes, that’s a snake inside the bottle. I’d bring some home though I might get shipped to outer Mongolia for trying to sneak that through. And, last I heard, there’s no wireless in outer Mongolia, just dial-up.

A few random thoughts from my whirlwind visit to China:

People drive poorly here, change lanes on a whim, don’t signal, don’t seem to know they don’t really belong on the road. Each day has been an adventure driving here, whether that be in buses or vans. Had a few cars make a u-turn around the front of our bus the other day … while we were driving.

Pedestrians cross the street when they feel like it. Maybe it’s the urge to get to the next KFC on the block (yes, people love their buckets o’ chicken here) quickly. I’m not sure. They will stand in the middle of the road and not blink even when a buses whizzes past them, all while honking. Crazy.

This might well be a communist country but there’s certainly no shortage of cultural or commercial endeavors going on. There’s a lot of museums and plenty more on the way. Part of that has to do with the upcoming summer games I’m sure. There’s no shortage of shopping malls, complete with Coach, Dairy Queen and everything other stores you can think of under the sun.

The trips to the Great Wall and even the clinics here were ones I’ll remember for a while. Honestly, I don’t know what the future holds for baseball in China. After all, Ping-Pong is pretty **** cool and doesn’t need so much equipment or even a field. These games here this weekend will certainly help spread the word, though.

Would I come back? Maybe, but I feel there’s other parts of the world I would like to visit first. Get back to Europe, Costa Rica, maybe even Japan (and I thought traffic was bad here). The list goes on and on. Seeing Tienanmen Square was amazing even if most Chinese will never likely understand why.

That’s it for now. Got one more game today then flying back to Phoenix, through Seattle to refuel. I’ll be back in San Diego at this time tomorrow, which is crazy. What an experience! Thanks to all (family and otherwise) who checked in during the trip.

See you soon, Corey

Hey, just got back from the Great Wall or, what they should call it, the Great Hike Up Some Old Stone, though that probably wouldn’t fit on a t-shirt, coffee mug or about any other merchandise that was for sale at the base of the Great Wall on a cloudless day here Thursday.

As pitcher Jared Wells said afterwards: "I’ve been doing a lot of running [in Spring Training]. But I didn’t think I would be breathing that hard up there."

The bus trip took about an hour and a half to cover the 50 or so miles from the hotel to the Great Wall and one of it’s prime points of entry for tourists (Baldeling), as getting through traffic here is no easy task.

That’s where we emptied our four buses and set on foot up the wall. From what I gather, not many made it to the top of the hill, which once served as a military outpost during the Ming Dynasty.

Now, it’s just an In-and-Out Burger.

Only kidding. Anyway, had a great time, as did the players, as you can read in my article that should be up on the website. Even the Friar got in the act. Not sure what he’s doing here, though it might be some ancient tribal break-dancing that I here is huge in these part. You go, DJ Mao!

Cheers, Corey

So, I made it, in one piece, with some semblance of sanity, though my hair as clearly seen better days. But, hey, I’m in Beijing and fast approaching a full day without sleep, though that certainly won’t keep me from blogging from China.

What a day! We started this morning in Peoria, where we did our TSA check (see picture) at the team’s Spring Training facility before boarding buses (four altogether) for Sky Harbor Airport where we got on what might have been the biggest airplane of all time, a mammoth Northwest 747, where the 105 or so people in the traveling party rode in style, non-stop to Beijing.

Talk about smooth sailing, wow. It was essentially like riding in first class, complete with wine, good food (again, see picture) and a portable video player where you can choose games, TV shows and, of course, a handful of movies. I knocked off Gone Baby Gone and Michael Clayton while passing the flight that was 13-plus hours, door-to-door. No this wasn’t a trip on Southwest by any means.

People mostly passed the time by sleeping, though some watched movies, players played cards and at least one Padre, Scott Hairston, who was hit in the arm by a pitch Tuesday night, had treatment on the plane by assistant trainer Paul Navarro. Treatment at 40,000 feet, how nice.

Arrived at the Grant Hyatt after sitting in traffic coming in from the airport (ah, felt like I was back in Seattle) before hanging out with some media types because, really, after spending the last 15 or so hours together, there was no sense (or energy) in branching out.

Anyway, tomorrow should be fun. We’re going to the Great Wall, where I’ll take some more photos to post tomorrow. And, the reason I’m here, I’ll have some stories on the main Padres page, so check back for all the details from Beijing.

Cheers, Corey

It’s not often you can answer that old tiresome question, "What did you do today?" with, oh, juts went to China. Usually, it’s like, went to the gym, hit a bucket of balls, maybe even did a pass through the Coffee Bean, you know, when I’m feeling adventurous. But China? Never before today.

Arrived here at the team complex in Peoria early to drop off my bag and check email, blog a little and purchase life insurance so the dog can live a comfortable life after I’m gone. Move on Sofie Bean … you will be fine eventually, someone else will be there to pick up your poop.

Kidding, of course, though my media relations people here with the Padres were kind enough to hand me a packet this morning that, silly me, I figured had some important documents for the upcoming trip. What did I get? A few printed articles from the aircrash.org.

Man, it’s nice to have such thoughtful friends. Guess who’s not getting a budda statue or a pirated DVD copy of The Other Boleyn Girl? That’s right.

Anyway, my next post will be from Beijing sometime tomorrow. Wish me luck friends.

Cheers, Corey

So the wife and dog have left me — relax, they went home to San Diego — leaving me alone here again in Peoria so that I can resume my daily routine of covering the Padres and stopping by Salty Senorita, where I already know too many of the staff by first name and can probably recite the drinks specials without benefit of a menu.

Yes, it’s been a productive spring for me. Hey, I took golf lessons and saw the Foo Fighters. Really, what more can you ask of me?

Anyway, since we have a night game today, I’m doing a little laundry, packing and also downloading Season 2 of Weeds for the Ipod to take on the trip.

Warren Miller, head media relations honcho for the Padres, has already warned me not to bother him on the trip, leaving me 12 or so hours to read, sleep and watch the Ipod before we land in Beijing at, according to my clock, sometime around Memorial Day.

I’ll double-check that before we leave, but I know it’s a pretty long flight.

Anyway, the plan in Beijing is to write some stories, blog some and generally just enjoy myself. We’ll have stories each days and my plan, as it stands, is to take pictures and try to post them.

That’s about it, if you have any questions or comments, email me or leave them here. I’m open to any suggestions on places to go, things to do. FYI, someone has already told me about Tsingtao  beer, so I’ve got that covered. Anyway, until next time …

Yours truly, your intrepid Padres reporter, Beijing bureau. Corey.