Results tagged ‘ Padres ’
Oh My! Dick Enberg joining the Padres …
We’ll have more on this on Thursday, but here’s the latest about veteran broadcaster Dick Enberg joining the Padres television team. — Corey
SAN DIEGO — “Oh my!”
The Padres have landed a legend for their television broadcast team — Dick Enberg, who is considered not only one of the most versatile broadcasters in sports, but also one of the most recognized.
A source with knowledge of the situation said Wednesday that an official announcement will come Thursday and a press conference will be held at PETCO Park.
It’s believed that Enberg, who currently works for CBS Sports, will call about 120 games next season as part of the Padres television team.
Enberg, who will turn 75 on Jan. 9, lives in nearby La Jolla.
For the past 10 years, Enberg has been a play-by-play announcer for CBS Sports and this past Sunday, he was part of the team that broadcast the San Diego Chargers game.
Prior to going to CBS, Enberg spent 25 years with NBC Sports, beginning in 1975 as the play-by-play announcer for college basketball.
He has covered just about every significant sporting event there is, from Super Bowls to the Olympics. He was the play-by-play voice of the California Angels from 1969-78 and worked one season again with the Angels in ’85.
Enberg has earned a series of national honors, including 14 Emmy Awards as well as nine Sportscaster of the Year Awards.
– Corey Brock, Padres.com, Twitter: @FollowThePadres
Do either Bell and/or Gonzalez have to go?
When I spoke with Padres general manager Kevin Towers last week, he essentially indicated that the team would be reluctant to move Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.
If you’re a Padres fan, do you agree with this? Do you think holding onto Bell and Gonzalez is the best way for the team to make that hard climb back toward being a .500 team or better in 2010?
Or would you rather see the Padres deal away one of these two players for a haul of players who could impact the roster in 2010, position players and/or pitchers? Players who are young and under team control and will be in San Diego for a while. Players who can help now and in the future.
Is that something you, as a Padres fan, are willing to consider?
Understand that in Bell, you have a 31-year-old reliever who is having a monster season. He’s arbitration-eligible, meaning he’s in for a fairly big payday (unless the team signs him to a multi-year deal).
The haul of talent you would receive for Bell wouldn’t be nearly that if, say, you traded away Gonzalez, but it could fetch you possibly two players who could help you in the future. Is that worth trading away your All-Star closer?
How about Gonzalez? Yes, I know he’s a two-time All-Star and Gold Glove winner. He’s from San Diego, fans love him, even for his summer slump, he’s a very good hitter and a very good players. There’s no disputing that.
But imagine if you sold high on Gonzalez right now what that could net you in return. Three or four players, some Major League ready, some close, maybe some top-level prospect to help fill a system that is currently devoid of such players.
Here’s the deal: The Padres will never be a team that makes a big splash in free agency due to the contracts these players command AND get. Promoting from within is a great way to go but as evidenced by this season, those players ARE already here. If there’s hope coming from the farm system, it’s not going to be here this year or possibly even next.
Then isn’t the best way to immediately improve your team through a trade? Do you trade one of these guys, both or circle the wagons, say that these are your building blocks and go into 2010 with essentially the same group (albeit it healthier)?
This is all food for thought. There is no advocating a deal here, just presenting all sides. What do you think?
Cheers, Corey
MLB.com, Padres.com, Twitter (@FollowThePadres)
Heath Bell heading to the WBC …
This just in …
PEORIA, Ariz.
- San Diego
relief pitcher Heath Bell is headed to the World Baseball Classic, a late
addition to a roster that has lost two closers to injuries the last two days.
Bell was pulled aside by
general manager Kevin Towers 10 minutes before the start of Monday’s Cactus
League game against Milwaukee
and was told a Team USA official had asked if he was willing to play.
“The only hesitation I had was if it was OK with [manager]
Bud Black and if it was OK with Bals (Padres pitching coach Darren Balsley). …
I wanted to know if they were OK with everything,” Bell said.
The Padres gave Bell, who has
inherited the job as closer from Trevor Hoffman, the OK to fly to Florida late Monday to join Team USA. Bell has been told that
he will pitch on Wednesday in a scrimmage.
On Sunday, Twins closer Joe Nathan pulled out of the World
Baseball Classic with what was described as shoulder discomfort. Then on
Monday, B.J. Ryan of the Blue Jays said that he was pulling out because he
wanted to remain in camp to work on his mechanics.
That opened the door for Bell, who indicated he always wanted to
represent his country. In fact, Bell
sent three different applications in just to get the point across that he was
indeed serious about playing.
“It’s like a 5-year-old on Christmas Eve, who can’t go to
bed because Santa Claus is coming tomorrow,” Bell said. “I’ve wanted to play for the US team, my
whole life wanted to represent our country in a sport.”
Cheers, Corey
Who is pitching and when? …
I know, you’re growing tired of dental reports, Minor League setbacks and video of guys taking hacks — or just watching pitches — in the batting cage. Hey, same here. That’s the nature of things here.
But, alas, we’ll have games to talk about Wednesday, when the Padres face the Mariners in their annual game for charity, a day before the real Cactus League play starts with these two teams at it again, also in Peoria.
Hitters are starting to round into shape here. They’ve been here a few days now, have done a fair share of hitting, against live pitchers and coaches, and appear to be regaining their form. Some guys, it takes longer. For some, it all comes back pretty quickly.
I have included some video below of these hitters, including newcomers Chris Burke and Dave Eckstein, from earlier today.
Also, here’s a list of the pitchers the Padres will be using in their first three games this spring. Keep in mind that unless there’s a, say, six-pitch inning, these guys will throw just one inning.
Wednesday vs. Seattle: Jake Peavy, Heath Bell, Cla Meredith, Chris Britton, Wilton Lopez, Mark Worrell, Scott Patterson, Mike Ekstrom and Oneli Perez.
Thursday vs. Seattle: Chris Young, Cesar Ramos, Justin Hampson, Joe Thatcher, Cesar Carillo, Edwin Moreno, Nick Schmidt, Arturo Lopez and Ernesto Frieri.
Friday at Cleveland: Che Seung Baek, Jae Kuk Ryu, Chad Reineke, Matt Buschmann, Mat Latos, Will Inman, Ivan Nova, Greg Burke, Gabe DeHoyos.
Cheers, Corey
Floyd destroys BP and a potential new pitcher …
Happy Thursday from Peoria, where it’s finally getting warm here and the camp is abuzz with pitchers, catchers and position players, who went through their first official workouts thus far.
I’ve got some footage of a few hitters below, including newcomer Cliff Floyd as well as Chase Headley, who I will profile in a story on Padres.com later today. Floyd destroyed a few balls today and showed a quick bat. What does that mean on Feb. 19? Who knows?
Also, I’m hearing today that the Padres are closing in on a Minor League deal with a starting pitcher, 32-year-old Walter Silva, who got a full endorsement from Adrian Gonzalez after they played together in the Caribbean World Series early this month.
Silva’s contract is currently owned by a team in Monterrey but it appears he could be a Padre, possibly as soon as tomorrow. As always, we’ll have the details here first.
Silva was 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA in the Caribbean World Series and will be added to the mix of pitchers who are trying to land the No. 4 and No. 5 spots in the starting rotation.
Edgar Gonzalez, who played with Silva in the Caribbean World Series, said Silva sits around 89-91 and can throw 93 with a mean cut-fastball.
Cheers, Corey
Edgar Gonzalez to possibly skip the WBC …
I just talked to infielder Edgar Gonzalez and he said he’s trying to figure out if he’s going to be playing for Mexico in the upcoming World Baseball Classic. Here’s a few graphs from a story that will be posted later on Padres.com.
PEORIA, Ariz. – Edgar Gonzalez is torn between playing for his native Mexico in the upcoming World Baseball Classic and staying put in Peoria to train with the Padres in March.
Gonzalez, the older brother of Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, said Wednesday that he is considering skipping playing for Mexico is he’s not assured of a starting job playing second base.
“I want to be assured of reasonable at-bats because I need them to get ready for when I come back [to Spring Training],” Gonzalez said. “If I’m over there sitting on the bench, that doesn’t help me.”
Gonzalez said he has already had one conversation with Team Mexico manager Vinny Castilla about the situation and was told that “he [Castilla] was going to figure out who exactly is playing and that he would get back to me.”
The deadline for official rosters is Feb. 24, though Gonzalez hopes to hear from Castilla by Feb. 21. Gonzalez is hopeful Castilla calls with good news.
“I want to represent my country and this only happens every four years. It’s a big thing for everyone in Mexico. I would love to play. But if not … I’ll gladly stay here and have fun,” said Gonzalez, who represented Mexico earlier this month in the Caribbean World Series in Mexicali.
Adrian Gonzalez is still planning on playing in the World Baseball Classic.
Cheers, Corey
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