Before we pass judgement on the first week of the regular season — and, really, it wasn’t even a full week, instead, the Padres played all of four games, dropping three before defeating the Dodgers on Sunday.

I’m not a big fan of passing judgement — good or bad — on small sample-sizes. It’s not a good way to go through life and in terms of a full Major League season of 162 games, it’s mostly a pointless venture.

That said …

Let’s look at a few things that really stood out during these first four games. As you might guess, most of them aren’t really pleasant. This wasn’t a team that was snake-bitten or largely unlucky in these three games. You can’t really argue that they ‘should have won’ this or that game. You don’t play well, you lose. It’s pretty simple.

Still … it’s four games and if this funk happens in June, few notice. But we don’t have a lot to compare this week with (not Spring Training results, since those are about as salient as the Pet Rock).

So what did we see this week?

– Not much in the way of defense. Through their first four games, the Padres have eight errors. That’s two more than the Giants. Eight errors for a team that has/will depended/depend heavily on run prevention? That was surprising. I don’t think the Padres are a bad defensive team, but I don’t think the will be as good as, say, 2010. We could easily check back in next week and the team might still have eight errors. This looks like a little bit of an aberration to me. Again, let’s give this a little time with the understanding that this team can’t be successful at their current defensive rate.

– The starting pitching scares me. It was easy to pinpoint the Padres hopes for a big season on an improved effort offensively. That’s still the case, but I think what got overlooked some was the starting pitching and that you had two starters coming off surgery (Moseley, Richard) and all without much in the way of a history of being innings-eaters, guys capable and with a history of working deep into games. The first three starters of the year go 5, 4 2/3 and 5 innings. That places a tremendous burden on the bullpen. Add to that Tim Stauffer’s strained right elbow. This is something well worth watching moving forward. The Padres don’t need everyone to do what Clayton Richard did Sunday (7 innings, no earned runs), but it would certainly help.

– The offense. Again, no need to read too much into numbers here, though the 36 strikeouts in four games is a little alarming. No matter what you think of Chad Billingsley, you have to give him some credit for having a monster outing (11 strikeouts, 8 1/3 innings) on Saturday, even if he’d never really shown some of the things he did well (according to the Padres) in his previous starts against them (he has defeated them 12 times, I should add). Are the Padres missing Carlos Quentin? No doubt. They should be better off when he returns from the DL. Strikeouts are bad, hits are good. Duh, I get it Corey.

Again, it will be interesting to review these points in a week, two weeks to see if there’s improvement.

Corey Brock, MLB.com

Twitter: @FollowThePadres

 

Happy Friday, did everyone survive Opening Day?

Great atmosphere at Petco Park yesterday on a postage stamp kind of day, albeit a little cool.

Based on emails, story comments and Tweets, I was a little surprised with the backlash from fans during/after the game.

I realize it’s been six months since the Padres last played a meaningful game but I thought we were past the point of making too much out of one game, especially one played in April.

A random sampling:

– “Time for Headley to go.”

– “Being a Padres fan is difficult.”

– “I really don’t know why I bother with the Padres.”

– “Looks like a vintage Padres offense being run out there.”

– “Padres lose. I thought pitching and defense were supposed to be their strengths.”

During manager Bud Black’s postgame press conference he was essentially asked if he was ‘disappointed’ that Chase Headley struck out with the bases loaded. Black, to his credit, smiled and let the reporter off the hook.

“It’s just one game,” he said.

Hey, nothing wrong, if you’re a fan, about being frustrated by what you saw on Thursday — how pitcher Edinson Volquez walked in two runs with bases-loaded walks, the three errors and the lack of offense with the exception of the thunderbolt Cameron Maybin nearly drilled into the side of the West Metal Supply Co. building. And, of course, everyone is entitled to their opinions.

But it was just one game.

If the schedule had, say, 16 games, the loss Thursday would certainly be viewed as more critical. But it doesn’t. The Padres still have 161 games left on a schedule that runs into October.

I will say this. The April schedule is brutal with 15 more games against National League West teams beginning tonight. There’s also four games against the Phillies. The Padres, for obvious reasons, simply can’t afford any more lapses in run prevention, the hallmark of this team over the last few years — pitching and defense. There wasn’t much of it on Thursday.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be tonight. Or Saturday. Or Sunday. I hate the whole season-is-a-marathon thing, but it’s applicable in this case.

Anyway, that’s that.

Minor League Highlight from Thursday:

How about left-handed pitcher Frank Garces, the 22-year-old who struck out nine, allowed two hits and no earned runs in six innings for Class A Fort Wayne? I’ll be the first to admit I know little about Garces. I’ll have to poke around a little. But his line from Opening Day really stood out, as did the two hits, walk and two RBIs that shortstop Jace Peterson had in the same game.

Corey Brock, MLB.com

Twitter: @FollowThePadres

 

If you’re a baseball fan of any varying degree — and if you’re reading this, I trust you are — I think we can all agree that Opening Day is the best day of the year.

I’ll save all that cliche stuff about ‘starting anew.’ Let someone else write that. Let’s just say there’s nothing else in professional sports like the first day of baseball season. The first college football games of the year? Watching your team steamroll Bethune-Cookman? Sorry. The first NFL or NBA game of the year? No. That just doesn’t cut it.

With baseball, it’s just different.

I don’t know about you, but Opening Day is all about making memories. I’ll be working today but there was a time when, not unlike you, I was a fan, when I bought a ticket, when sat in the stands with friends and cheered like a wild teenager.

That’s because my favorite Opening Day memory involves be actually being a wild teenager.

Buckle up.

It was April of 1986 and I was a junior in high school. I grew up 40 minutes south of Seattle and spent a lot of time in that since-demolished parking garage called the Kingdome (maybe you’ve been there, maybe you haven’t. If you haven’t, you didn’t miss much). The place did get very loud on occasion (see 1995 playoffs and Grand Slam Summer Jam, featuring Loverboy, BOC, others) when it was filled (which wasn’t often).

Anyway, we didn’t have a high school baseball game that day, maybe it was rained out (happened a lot) and we got out of practice early to go watch my team (then), the Mariners, face the Angels on Opening Day in the Kingdome.

April 8, 1986, it was. I can still remember the details and thanks to Baseball-Reference, I can fill in the blanks pretty well.

For most of my youth, the Mariners were pretty bad. There would be beautiful days where I sat in the Kingdome with 9,000 other fans, watching the Mariners get trounced. Every once in a while (on days games) someone on an upper level would open a door and you would catch a peek of sunlight. But you know what? We didn’t care.

Side note: My mother took me and a bunch of my friends on the train to Seattle for a game when I was, say, 12. Amazing time. Got my picture taken with this guy. Remember him?

Anyway, the game.

The Mariners are facing the Angels who have a young Wally Joyner and an old Reggie Jackson in the lineup. Mike Witt was pitching. He was always pitching against the Mariners. If you don’t remember Witt, the guy threw gas. He had eight strikeouts over 7 1/3 innings and his team had a 4-2 lead when he left the game. Donnie Moore (ugh, sad irony) blew the save when he allowed two runs in the ninth inning.

Now, me and my buddies were sitting in the second deck in left field. Not great seats, but we didn’t care. Pretty tame game until that ninth inning when Alvin Davis led off the inning with a double. The Mariners then sent Barry Bonnell into the game to run because Davis had that proverbial piano-on-the-back thing going for him, though he could certainly rake.

Presley then tied the game with a two-run home run off Moore. The fans, well, what was left of the 42,121, went bonkers. Opening Day, home run in the bottom of the ninth? Are you kidding? As a soon to be 17-year-old, this ranked along the lines of getting your driver’s license.

It only got better from there.

Seattle reliever Pete Ladd held the Angels scoreless in the top of the 10th inning. Facing 39-yearold Ken Forsch, who was in the final year of 16-year career, takes the mound for the Angels in the bottom of the inning.

Terrible inning for Forsch. Great inning for the Mariners. An amazing experience for us.

Here’s how it went (with liner notes):

– Forsch strikes out Danny Tartabull. (Ugh, Scott Bankhead trade. Really?)

– Forsch walks Phil Bradley (Loved watching the former Mizzou quarterback play)

– Ivan Calderon (RIP) singles to center field. Bradley, who could run, scampers (yes, scampers) to third base. Runners on the corners.

– Forsch falls then walks one of my favorite Mariners, Gorman Thomas, to load the bases.

– Bonnell (who entered the game as a replacement for Davis … which I still don’t agree with) pops up in foul territory. Ugh. Two outs.

OK. This, my friends, is where my Opening Day memory was made.

Forsch serves up a pitch to Presley (he of the game-tying home run in the ninth inning), who sends it into the seats in left field. Not just a walk-off home run. But a walk-off grand slam. Amazing.

For some reason, I was wearing a yellow sweatshirt. It was borrowed, I believe. It probably wasn’t clean. Why is this important? Because on the news that night, watching the replay, you could see me (or a small, yellow figure, with my friends) jumping up and down in left field after the grand slam.

Holy smokes, it was fun recalling that. Opening Day.

I’ll leave you with that as we head to the Padres opener today against the Dodgers.

Who knows what you’ll see today. Who knows what you’ll remember. Maybe you’ll be tracking a box score 26 years later on Baseball-Reference, trying to piece together details from your own memorable Opening Day. Maybe that day is today.

Enjoy today!

Corey Brock, MLB.com

Twitter: @FollowThePadres

Good morning and happy day-before-Opening Day.

I was off Tuesday, doing the kind of things I should be doing (or that my wife expects) after spending 43 days in Arizona. I would tell you but I don’t want to bore you more than I already do.

Spoiler alert: I mowed my own lawn. Sorry, inside joke there.

Anyway, the Padres defeated the Royals last night at Petco Park, 2-1. You can read about all the details here.

Clayton Richard looked good, was efficient and got a lot of ground balls. That’s sort of the recipe for success that worked well for him in 2010 when he won 14 games.

It also goes to show that if you get a pitcher out of Arizona, different things happen — most of them good. For those calling for Richard to move out of the rotation after some rough starts this spring, this is a good teaching moment for you moving forward. Enter with your own risk when you’re trying to evaluate performances in spring.

Busy day at the ballpark, as the Padres announced their 25-man Opening Day roster after the game.

What to make of the 25-man roster? There’s a few interesting things to take note of.

– Andy Parrino won the backup infield job over Everth Cabrera. I’m sure this rated as a tough decision for the front office. Parrino played well this spring and showed that he can handle several positions defensively. That’s the key here. The Padres aren’t wondering if Parrino is going to win a game with his bat this season. They just don’t want him to lose one with his glove, if that makes sense. I will be honest, I thought the job was for Cabrera to lose. Parrino more than narrowed the gap this spring. I should probably apologize for not giving him a fair shake. Fruit basket, maybe?

– Brad Brach didn’t make the team, but I think he was more a victim of circumstances than anything else. I think Brach more than showed that he deserved a spot on the 25-man roster. He was very good this spring and rediscovered his change-up, a pitch he hadn’t used much since college. Now, a one-inning reliever and a Minor League closer doesn’t need more than two pitches (usually) but I like Brach’s confidence in his change-up. I also like his makeup. This is a guy who has saved over 100 games in the Minor Leagues. I think we’ll see him a lot in San Diego in 2012.

– Now for these circumstances I was talking about regarding Brach. The Padres didn’t place Tim Stauffer (right triceps strain) on the disabled list, which means we’ll see him that second week of the season. But, of course, it essentially means the Padres are down a pitcher for these first four games against the Dodgers. That means the Padres had to carry a true long man and that spot went to Micah Owings. If the Padres get bombed in a game, they can lean on Owings for multiple innings. Brach can’t do that. So this really wasn’t a Brach vs. Owings issue.

– Also, I think Anthony Bass and his performance this spring changed the way the Padres view him. Brass rolled his impressive performance in 2011 with the Padres into the Arizona Fall League and then right into Spring Training, where he impressed the staff. His fastball command was very good, his change-up was also good at times and he got better at controlling the running game. I wrote about Bass on March 21 and how I thought the Padres would use him much like the way they did Cory Luebke a year ago. I think the team views him as an important piece to the bullpen more so than when Spring Training started. Don’t look for him in mop-up roles.

– Jeremy Hermida made the Opening Day roster with Mark Kotsay going on the disabled list. Honestly, I don’t know how much he’ll play but he’s got some pop to offer off the bench. He had a good spring, too — even after tearing ligaments in his pinky. Five outfielders on the roster so it’s going to be tough to get much playing time.

That’s it for now.

Corey Brock, MLB.com

Twitter: @FollowThePadres

Well, another Spring Training is in the books.

After six weeks in Arizona, I pulled into the driveway on Sunday afternoon, ready to see my wife, Schnauzer and, soon enough, the weeds I need to tend to in the backyard.

On the five and a half drive yesterday, I started thinking about the time spent in Arizona and what we learned during that time. I decided to try to wrap things up in words, give a few thoughts about the things I saw, what I liked and what it all means.

So here’s a few of the things that stood out to me in Arizona (in no particular order):

– Pitcher Casey Kelly. The Padres have worked with him to quicken his pace as well as slide him to the first base side of the rubber to create a little deception and make it easier for him to throw his fastball down and away. He had a 1.74 ERA in 20 2/3 innings with 18 strikeouts and two walks. I think he took a big step forward this spring. He’ll try to roll that momentum over to his time with Triple-A Tucson. Tough ballpark and very tough league for pitchers.

– The young talent. There wasn’t a day that passed where we didn’t talk about the young talent in camp. Erlin, Wieland, Kelly and, as manager Bud Black called them, the B-bombers, the young players who would fill in late in games. Rymer Liriano, Jonathan Galvez, Edinson Rincon, Jaff Decker, Matt Clark. Too many to name. There was no shortage of talk all winter about how good the Minor League system is. This spring, we got to see it for ourselves. The future looks very promising.

– First baseman Yonder Alonso. The Padres made it clear early that they wanted their new first baseman to play a lot and to get a good look at the pitchers from the NL West, pitchers he’s bound to see this season. Well, Alonso played a ton. He told me a few days ago that he was getting tired. That makes sense. He had 72 at-bats (hitting .314 with seven extra-base hits). He walked three times but I think he’ll walk more during the regular season. As advertised, the guy uses the whole field. I saw him double down the left field line on a ball away. I saw him homer to right-center, I saw him turn on a number of balls. It looks like an advanced approach to hitting. He told me he’s had the same approach since he was 13. He was much better later in game, the result, he told me, of his body telling him it’s time to hit.

– Right fielder Will Venable. Venable told me in camp that, before this spring, he’s often tinkered with different stances in hopes of finding one that works. Through work last winter with hitting coach Phil Plantier, Venable believes he’s found something that works. He’s quieter in his stance. The bat is quiet and he’s done away with the double-tap in his stride that threw off his balance. Better yet for him, he’s quit worrying what went wrong during an at-bat and instead focusing on what he’s doing right. Here’s a snippet from Venable:

“I’ve asked them a lot of questions,” Venable said of Plantier and Alonzo Powell, both in their first season with the team. “If I ask them what I did wrong on a swing, they will tell me not to worry about it and instead focus on the five good swings that I just took. For me, it’s not focusing on the bad stuff.”

– Other highlights? It’s hard not to like the three deals the Padres did in March to lock up Cameron Maybin, Nick Hundley and, last week, Cory Luebke. The Padres will fork over a guarantee of $46 million in those three deals. All three deals rank as club-friendly. All three follow what new GM Josh Byrnes saw work well during his days with John Hart in the Indians front office in the 1990s.

A few things to keep an eye on moving forward:

– The offense. Yes, it was much better in Spring Training. But what do averages in Arizona get you in the regular season? Zilch. Still, I think the offense will be better one-through-eight than it was in 2011. Really, it has to be if the Padres are to eclipse the 71 victories they had a year ago. I wrote about the offense the other day as part of our season preview. You can read about it here.

– Starting pitching. Not much of a history here as far as innings-eaters go, and that scares me a little. If you can’t work deep into a game, that puts stress on the bullpen. Those appearances start to pile up and that can lead to some bad things. That Tim Stauffer might start the season on the disabled list with a strained right triceps isn’t good. The Padres are going to needs guys like Edinson Volquez and Cory Luebke to log some big innings in 2012. The Padres, who lean on the run prevention model as much as anyone in the game, need their starters to work deep. Here’s what Byrnes had to say.

“In general, I think starters’ innings are a real indicator of a team’s success,” Byrnes said. “… It has a huge carry-over effect. You want your starters to pitch deep in games.”

Anyway, just a few thoughts as we move forward toward Opening Day on Thursday.

Remember, all your Padres news can be found right here. Bookmark it. Also, you can always finding me on Twitter as well at @FollowThePadres.

Corey Brock, MLB.com

 

 

Updated: 11 a.m.

PEORIA, Ariz. — Happy Sunday from Peoria and the ultimate getaway day here as players, coaches, staff and, of course, yours truly, pack up and head back to San Diego after spending six weeks in Arizona.

I’ll never be so happy to pass through Gila Bend. But careful, that place is a speed trap!

Anyway, a few interesting items on the final day in camp. All of these will be detailed later at Padres.com. But here’s a sample:

– Edinson Volquez will start Opening Day on Thursday. You can read about him here.

– Tim Stauffer has a strained right triceps. A little dead-arm late in camp. More on it in notes later on Padres.com

– The rotation for the first series is: Volquez, Luebke, Moseley and Richard.

– Mark Kotsay has a strained right calf. He’ll have a few days of treatment to see how it sets up. The DL could be a consideration.

– James Darnell was optioned to Triple-A Tucson.

– Since Stauffer is down for a while, I wouldn’t be surprised if Owings and Bass made the Opening Day roster.

– Joe Wieland, Casey Kelly and Jeff Suppan will open season with Triple-A Tucson. Suppan (right triceps) is a ways away, though.

– The Padres could go right up until the deadline (Wednesday, 2 p.m. PT) to finalize the roster.

Much more later at Padres.com.

That’s it for me. Hitting the road for San Diego. I hope you’ve found this blog interesting and worth visiting daily. The number of hits I’ve been able to track are amazing, so unless my mother is hitting refresh every three minutes, someone is reading this.

Here’s the information on today’s game. Starting position players will get two or so at-bats before making a beeline toward San Diego.

* Padres (19-14) at Rangers (11-17), 1:05 p.m. Surprise Recreation Campus

Radio/TV: XX 1090 (Andy Masur, Bob Scanlan).

Lineup: Maybin CF, Venable RF, Headley 3B, Guzman LF, Alonso 1B, Blanks DH, Hudson 2B, Bartlett SS, Baker C.

Pitchers: Luebke 4 innings, Kelly 4, Frieri 1.

Corey Brock, MLB.com

Twitter: @FollowThePadres

Updated: 3:45 p.m.

PEORIA, Ariz. — Just for fun this morning, I went through my ‘sent’ mail in my Outlook. Specifically, I was looking for how many emails I peppered the media relations staff — specifically director of communications Warren Miller and coordinator of media relations Josh Ishoo — with since I first arrived in Arizona on Feb. 18. The totals are as such:

– 158 outgoing emails to Miller

– 54 outgoing emails to Ishoo

What can we glean from this information? That I’m super-needy? (Well, that’s true). That I’m a high maintenance kind of reporter? (I don’t think so, but don’t ask me). That I’m naturally inquisitive and seek to gain knowledge each day that I may pass along to you, my trusty followers? Sure, I guess that works.

In fairness, not all of these emails are work emails. For instance, I emailed Josh indie rock videos he should watch (Anna Sun, by ‘Walk The Moon’). I might have even asked Warren about some burrito place in El Centro last month. Real high-priority stuff.

But most of the emails have to do with work — the Padres, the team I cover. And for my money, Warren and Josh — while not answering every email — have graded out as a 80 on the scouting scale this spring. Neither one of them went back to San Diego for a few days off. Every time I arrived here at the complex (and I get here early … probably to email Warren and Josh, now that I think about it), these guys are plugging away in their office.

These guys work. A lot. All day. Into the night, if needed. I’ll never complain about long hours to these guys. I save that for my wife and dog.

It’s been a busy spring here. Ownership issues, the new television contract that still hasn’t been made official, the three players the Padres have wrapped up to extensions — Cameron Maybin, Nick Hundley and Cory Luebke. They act as buffers between us and the front office. There’s been no shortage of news here, either. Press releases to send, interviews to coordinate, game notes to write each day, regular-season needs to prepare for.

Players finish games at 4 p.m. and scatter for the day. The writers aren’t too far behind. Warren and Josh know no set hours. They won’t until they can’t keep their eyes open, not because there’s nothing left to do. There’s always something left to do.

Hey, we’re all fortunate to be doing what we’re doing. I cover baseball for a living. These guys work in baseball. I get it. I just felt that these guys need to be singled out for the job they do. They’re good people. They’re good friends. They’re very good at what they do.

So consider this my ‘thank you’ card of sorts.

And just be glad I didn’t email it.

Updated: 10:10 a.m.

* Brewers (12-14) at Padres (19-12), 12:05 p.m. Peoria Sports Complex

Radio/TV: XX 1090 (Ted Leitner, Jerry Coleman, Bob Scanlan) and Fox Sports San Diego.

Lineup: Denorfia 8, Hudson 4, Headley 5, Guzman 3, Blanks 9, Bartlett 6, Baker 2, Darnell 7, Stauffer 1.

Pitching: Stauffer 4 or 5, Owings 2, Gregerson 1, Street 1.

* Padres (19-12) at Mariners (12-8), 6:05 p.m. Peoria Sports Complex.

Radio/TV: None.

Lineup: Maybin 8, Venable 9, Alonso 3, Hundley 2, Kotsay 7, Gyorko 5, Hermida 0, Parrino 6, Cabrera 4, Wieland 1.

Pitching: Wieland 5, Thayer 2, Brach 1, Bass 1.

Updated: 10:30 a.m.

– 2B Orlando Hudson felt fine after Friday’s game and will play again today. It’s not really the groin anymore but getting over a nasty cold that sidelined him a few days.

– RHP Jeff Suppan will remain behind here in Peoria to work his way back to being able to pitch in games. Suppan hasn’t pitched in nearly two weeks because of a strained right triceps. He’ll pitch in games in extended Spring Training before he’s able to join Triple-A Tucson.

– OF Carlos Quentin, who had knee surgery on March 19, is able to do some hitting in the cage that involves a chair. Not sure how that all works but the point is he’s doing better and progressing along nicely with his original timeline.

– That’s it for now. Good chance we’ll have some player movement later today, as the Padres send players over to their Minor League camp.

Updated: 3:45 p.m.

– Padres lost today to the Brewers, 10-7. Tim Stauffer was roughed up a little today, but Bud Black said his stuff was better than last time out. The grand slam he allowed to Mat Gamel came when he got his signals crossed with catcher John Baker. Stauffer was to throw a fastball away but instead threw a slider down the middle. Hey, it happens.

– After the first game, the Padres reassigned catcher Brad Davis and right-handed pitcher Dale Thayer to Minor League camp. Both, I’m sure, will end up with Triple-A Tucson.

– C John Baker threw out two base runners on Saturday. He told me afterwards that he was very pleased.

– Here’s the box score from the first game.

Corey Brock, MLB.com

Twitter: @FollowThePadres

Updated: 5:05 p.m.

PEORIA, Ariz. — The Padres are down to their final four games (and three days) in Spring Training. One game tonight, two tomorrow and one more Sunday before the team breaks camp.

What does this mean for Orlando Hudson and Kyle Blanks? Well, they’ll be playing a lot this weekend — for different reasons.

Hudson has played once since March 14 because of a nagging strained right groin and he needs his at-bats to get his timing down AND to see if his groin is truly fine. If it’s not, then that’s a totally different — and complicated — issue for the team.

Let’s assume his groin is fine, look for Hudson to get a lot of at-bats over the weekend. And there’s still two exhibition games next week against the Royals.

As for Blanks, his at-bats are much more important. His sore left shoulder came at a terrible time in camp, right when outfielder Carlos Quentin needed knee surgery. Blanks had a pinch-hit single Thursday and is starting in left field tonight.

Unlike Hudson, Blanks is trying to make the team. My best guess is he’s competing with James Darnell for a spot on the bench to open the season. One of those two players heads to Triple-A Tucson.

There’s a few other camp battles going on, as I’ll detail later on Padres.com.

There is an upshot to Hudson AND Blanks being in the lineup today.

“Injury-wise, we’re getting to be where we’d like to be,” said manager Bud Black, who didn’t have much of a list of injured/hurt players to go over Friday afternoon, a change from recent days/weeks.

 

* Giants (16-12) at Padres (18-12), 7:05 p.m. Peoria Sports Complex

Radio/TV: XX 1090 (Ted Leitner, Bob Scanlan) and Fox Sports San Diego.

The lineups: Maybin 8, Hudson 4, Headley 5, Guzman 3, Hundley 2, Blanks 7, Denorfia 9, Cabrera 6, Moseley 1.

The pitchers: Moseley 6, Cashner 1, Mikolas 1, Boxberger 1.

 

Corey Brock, MLB.com

Twitter: @FollowThePadres

Update: 4:35 p.m.

PEORIA, Ariz. — Can you believe it? We made it to the 40-day mark. You still with me? Raise your hand if you’ve been checking here each day for your Padres news. Seriously, I do appreciate the feedback, comments, emails, faxes. Glad to know that someone other than my mom is following along.

And, thanks mom.

The point of these blog posts during Spring Training — especially during the time before games started — was to give you, the reader, a little look behind the scenes of what goes on here, the thoughts of the manager, the players, the coaches. A look at the process of how a team goes from the report date in mid-February to being ready for Opening Day.

Hopefully I’ve provided that for you.

If I haven’t, well then back to your Glee reruns.

Here’s a look at the game information for today.

As always, check back later for updates from the game against the Cubs and other assorted notes.

* Cubs (14-14) at Padres (17-12), 1:05 .m. Peoria Sports Complex

Radio/TV: XX 1700 (Andy Masur, Bob Scanlan, Jerry Coleman).

The lineups: Venable 8, Kotsay 7, Alonso 3, Hundley 2, Denorfia 9, Darnell 5, Bartlett 6, Cabrera 4, Richard 1.

The pitchers: Richard 6, Gregerson 1, Frieri 1, Brach 1.

Update: 10:15 a.m.

– 2B Orlando Hudson, who was to play today, has been sent home sick. Bud Black hopes he’s well enough to play Friday.

– 1B/OF Kyle Blanks is on the lineup card today. Not sure if he’ll get in but his left shoulder is feeling a lot better, especially after a full day of workouts on Wednesday. I don’t see how he lands on DL now unless he has a relapse.

– RHP Jeff Suppan will test his strained right triceps by playing catch at 90 feet today. So far, so good after two days of playing catch.

– RP Luke Gregerson, sidelined this week with by back spasms, will pitch one inning in today’s game.

– Bullpen catcher Mark Merila is moving on to become a professional scout. He’ll move back to his native Minneapolis where he played baseball for the University of Minnesota. Ten years into his job as bullpen catcher with the team, he had a grand mal seizure in 2005. It was discovered that he had a brain tumor. His health is better now and he’ll scout American League teams from Target Field this season for the Padres.

– INF Logan Forsythe is nearing the three-week mark in his recovery from foot surgery. He told me that he’ll be able to start jogging straight ahead (no cuts) in a week. He’ll remain back in Peoria for rehabilitation and play in games here before he’s eventually sent out to join a team, likely sometime in late April or early May.

Update: 4:35 p.m.

– INF Jonathan Galvez suffered a sprained ankle in today’s game. He was later optioned to Minor League game. Galvez had a good spring, hitting .371 after getting a hit today.

– The Padres came back to beat the Cubs today, 12-11. Crazy game, 34 hits, 23 runs. Home runs. Hard infield hits. As Bud Black called it, “a good old-fashioned Cactus League game.” The box score can be found here.

– Pitcher Clayton Richard struggled today, allowing eight earned runs on 12 hits over 4 1/3 innings. He said afterwards that he elevated some pitches and the Cubs made him pay. He did feel good about getting to 91 pitches and getting to that point with no residual issues at all from the shoulder surgery he had last summer.

– Another scoreless inning (and a save) for RP Brad Brach. His ERA is down to 0.93. What do you think? Is he on the team? My guess is the last spot in the bullpen comes down to him and Micah Owings. How about this: If the Padres envision a important role of sorts for Anthony Bass, do you then keep Owings for long relief, like in games when you’re way ahead or way behind? Or, if you envision that kind of role for Bass then do you possibly keep Bass to give you a sixth inning arm?

– Hey, Kyle Blanks got an at-bat today and had a hit. Good chance we see him tomorrow night and possibly Saturday and Sunday if his shoulder permits. He’s running short on time as the Padres inch closer to making a decision on the 25-man roster. With Carlos Quentin out, who do you like, Blanks (.240) or James Darnell (.273).

– Luke Gregerson pitched today and tossed a scoreless inning, shunning the back issues that have troubled him this week. Bud Black had some glowing things to say about Gregerson’s slider today, which is a very good thing with the regular-season opener a week away.

That’s it for today. Have a good night.

Corey Brock, MLB.com

Twitter: @FollowThePadres

Updated: 6:23 p.m.

PEORIA, Ariz. — The Padres made two more moves on Wednesday, optioning catcher Yasmani Grandal to Triple-A Tucson while reassigning left-handed pitcher Alex Hinshaw to Minor League camp.

There are now 38 players in camp.

I would expect a few more players to be moved before the team breaks camp on Sunday. The team will take a handful of extra players back to San Diego for exhibition games on Tuesday and Wednesday. Some of those players, especially for the game against the Royals in Lake Elsinore, will be players who will play for the Storm this season.

I don’t think the Padres settle on their 25-man roster until the day before Opening Day, which is Thursday, April 5.

Hinshaw pitched well at times in camp, showed a hard slider from the left side and a fastball that ran 93-94. Hinshaw had a 5.63 ERA in nine outings with seven strikeouts and four walks in eight innings.

“He’s got a good arm,” Padres manager Bud Black said. “You can’t deny the talent. It’s in there. It’s just a matter of consistency.”

Grandal impressed the staff in camp, both offensively and defensively. He hit .353 with two home runs and 11 RBIs in 14 games. He will be the primary catch at Triple-A Tucson.

“It was good for him,” Black said of Grandal’s first big league camp. “I thought he had a good camp. The last 10 days he showed some great at-bats.”

Anyway, more information as the day rolls along here.

Here’s the information for today’s game.

* Padres (16-12) at White Sox (11-13), 1:05 .m. Camelback Ranch

Radio/TV: XX 1700 (Ted Leitner, Bob Scanlan, Jerry Coleman).

The lineups: Maybin 8, Venable 9, Headley 5, Guzman 0, Alonso 3, Hermida 7, Baker 2, Bartlett 6, Parrino 4.

The pitchers: Volquez 6, Street 1, Bass 2.

– 1B/OF Kyle Blanks is itching to play again. His left shoulder is feeling better to the point where he took batting practice on Wednesday morning with a full morning of baseball-related activities today. He said he wants to play tomorrow (Thursday), but we wouldn’t likely see him before the weekend.

– 2B Orlando Hudson (strained right groin) is set to play Thursday. No change there. He’ll play Thursday, Friday and Saturday to get his timing and to get him prepared for next week.

– RP Luke Gregerson (back spasms) still has a sore back. Not sure how much of a concern this is yet. We’ll see tomorrow.

– RHP Jeff Suppan will play catch for a second day to test his strained right triceps.

Updated: 6:23 p.m.

– Edinson Volquez became the first Padres pitcher to go seven innings today. He allowed two runs on two hits in the first inning and then settled down, allowing three more hits over the next six scoreless innings. All told, he threw 92 pitches. There were three walks in there but he got nine fly balls (God bless, Petco) and his change-up led him to some quick outs later in the game. He told reporters after that: “I made better pitches the rest of the way,” Volquez said. “I was trying to work deep into the game. That was a problem last year. But I feel more confident in myself. I think I’ve put everything together to be more consistent in the strike zone.”

– The Padres had 18 hits and scored 10 runs over the last three innings of a13-2 victory over a split-squad team of White Sox. The box score can be found right here. Highlights? Chase Headley hit a long home run to center field, a ball that lands in the Afghan Pines. Yes, Afghan Pines, as I kicked around on Twitter during the game. Yonder Alonso hit a home run, as did Andy Parrino. Plenty of offense.

– Huston Street and Anthony Bass hardly broke a sweat on a hot day in Glendale. Bass lowered his ERA to 1.93. I’m curious to watch him as we move into the regular season. As I opined a while back, I can see the Padres handling him like they did Cory Luebke a year ago.

– I wrote a story about the quality and depth of catching in the Padres system right now, starting at the top with Nick Hundley and John Baker. Terry Kennedy, the Triple-A manager in Tucson, had some really good stuff to say, especially about 19-year-old Austin Hedges.

Corey Brock, MLB.com

Twitter: @FollowThePadres