Cory Luebke and the new market inefficiency

I've heard from some of the ladies that Cory Luebke is ridiculously good looking.

Let's be honest -- I've heard some guys say it too.

Personally, I'm comfortable enough to admit that a young buck is handsome but the preferences of women often leave me confused, baffled, dumbfounded, and confused yet again. As is the case I'm never quite sure where the ladies stand in terms of what sets the bar for a ridiculously good looking man.

Is Cory Luebke good looking? I think he looks pretty good at the front end of the Padres rotation in 2012!

I guess he's a good looking guy. Sure, I'll go with it. Corey Luebke. Good looking man!

I was amazed who else thought the same thing this morning as I read Bill Center's column . . .

Padres and Mariners: Vedder Cup action resumes this Sunday

As we approach the first game of spring the anticipation is palpable. This Sunday when the Padres take the field they do so against their hated rival from the Pacific Northwest -- the Seattle Mariners.

Since 1936 these cities and their baseball teams have done battle but it was not until last year that the clash took on a name -- The Battle for the Vedder Cup.

After holding the Vedder Cup in 2010 the Padres lost the Cup back to Seattle during a tumultuous 2011. In Peoria, Arizona on March 4th, our San Diego Padres prepare to confront the detested Sea Men of Seattle in a precursor to the 2012 Interleague showdown.

This Sunday's Spring Training opener serves as a mere preview to what will come in 2012 but it's a barometer of sorts, nonetheless. Each side will look into their opponent's eyes and evaluate their prospects -- their prospects of either retaining or RETAKING the Vedder Cup!

As pitchers and catchers prepared to report to Peoria in 2011 I wrote a detailed history of this epic but little known rivalry . . .

African Proverbs: Padres Players Edition

Earlier in the month we attempted to show how Orlando Hudson would have benefited from exposure to proverbs at some point in his life. Then we sought to explain the actions of the Padres Front Office through small pieces of African wisdom. This is the third installment of the African Proverb series -- the Padres Players Edition.

 

The Oldest Pitching Match-up . . . EVAR!

In last week's Gwynn Thoughts I discussed Tony Gwynn. Yes, yes, but there was more!

The game in which he was immortalized with an eternal statue featured a pitching match-up between old timers David Wells and Jaime Moyer. They combined for a whopping 88 years and 307 days which is older than most of the trees in southern California.* This particular match-up between Wells and Moyer in 2007, in terms of collective ages, was the second oldest in baseball history.

*I cannot verify this.

The record was set 20 years earlier when two future Hall of Famers locked horns . . .

Padres, Dead Kennedys, and A Holiday In Peoria

After a short drive I tried to piece together my upcoming trip to Peoria. As the legs of the event began to fall into place in my mind the Dead Kennedys' Holiday in Cambodia began to play on the radio. And as any fool will tell you, Cambodia and Peoria rhyme perfectly, so I began to pen a song.

This song is based on my one experience in Peoria last season, which inexplicably found me in the Press Box at the Peoria Sports Complex viewing the first game of Spring Training. The song is also pieced together from the musings of Corey Brock of Padres.com and the North County Times' Dan Hayes, two authority figures on Peoria Arizona . . .

You can't always get what you want

I really want to like Orlando Hudson. Let me amend that statement -- I really don't want to dislike guys who play for the Padres. 

I don't care to critique guys I ultimately need to cheer for in order for the Padres to attain success.

Yet here I am, during the week before position players are required to report to Peoria, Arizona and I've already ripped into Orlando Hudson twice. I'm bashing a guy who showed up early to camp!

But it could all be solved quite easily . . .

Orlando Hudson's Act of Contrition . . . not really

The Union Tribune's Bill Center has given Orlando Hudson a forum to reconstruct a tattered image. Your job, if you choose to accept it, is to either reject or accept his act of contrition . . .

Edinson Volquez: Haircuts and Success

On Dan Hayes' blog this morning he wrote a teaser to an upcoming article about newly acquired RHP, Edinson Volquez.

A quote from Volquez confirmed what I have long thought to be a key to his future success:

"Right now, the way my hair feels, I think I'm going to have a good season this year," Volquez said. "I'm ready."

I couldn't agree more with Volquez. Look at the before and after shots of his hair.

Is Volquez' move from baseball's equivalent of an 1860s outhouse (Great American Ballpark) to the cavernous environs of PETCO Park going to help his psyche and consequently his performance? Sure.

Things Bud Black has outlasted

I read the opening paragraph of Bill Center's article this morning and immediately stopped.

My mind was blown after reading these words written about Padres manager Bud Black:

 " . . . where he begins his sixth spring training as Padres manager Monday."

It seems like only yesterday that Bud Black arrived from Anaheim and the Bruce Bochy Era concluded. Yet here he is, beginning his 6th season with the Padres.

The only thing I could think of in response to this piece of information was to make a reference to a long running sit-com that I've never even watched. But Bud Black deserves better than that.

Bud Black should be applauded for making it to a 6th season as not everyone / everything has such staying power.

Here's a list of things that weren't as fortunate to make it to a sixth year. . .

Orlando Hudson Reports Early To Spring Training

Yesterday, Dan Hayes of the North County Times reported via Twiter, that all 35 Padres pitchers and catchers had reported to Peoria, Arizona. In addition to the mandatory appearance by pitchers and catchers 8 position players reported voluntarily. One of the position players was the oft maligned Orlando Hudson.

Orlando Hudson is well aware that his stock tumbled last year after coming to San Diego. The Padres tried to move him but his services went unwanted this winter.

Hudson is essentially a free agent following 2012 as the Padres would have to pay him $8 million dollars in 2013 but are likely to buy him out for $2 million instead.

Is his early arrival an attempt at some sort of penance? Perhaps this move by the O-Dog will show an attempt to provide the leadership that was sorely lacking last season and eventually persuade another team to offer him a multi-year deal in 2013.

According to sources on the ground at the  Peoria Sports Complex, Orlando Hudson has already contributed selflessly to the cause in 2012 . . .