2012 Padres FanFest

I took a trip down to San Diego this weekend with a couple of friends for Padres FanFest. I had never been to Petco Park before, and I must admit, it's one of the nicest stadiums I have been to.  I knew I wanted to take the stadium tour and buy merchandise at the garage sale but my mission was to get autographs. So that's what I did as soon as I arrived. 


The Padres had different players and coaches paired up at different stations. You had to get tickets for those stations as you walked into the park. All the stations overlapped each other buy thirty minutes making it impossible to go to every one. So basically you had to pick and choose. 


The first station I hit was former Dodger and current Padres first base coach Dave Roberts and pitcher Luke Gregerson. Getting Dave Roberts' auto was one of my main goals that day, and I'm glad I accomplished it.  Dave was very nice. He chatted with everyone and even took pictures. He was also signing everything that was put in front of him, so I wish I had brought more to get signed, but I did manage to get a couple from him.

Next up was the Yonder Alonso/Joe Thatcher station. This one was kind of a throw-in for me before we took the stadium tour. Yonder didn't seem like he wanted to be there. He was signing very fast and hardly acknowledged the fans. Joe Thatcher was a little friendlier.

We didn't have to get to the next station for a couple of hours, so we decided to take the stadium tour. It was a quick run through the facility, but we got to see the training room, locker room and the dugout. From there we went to the garage sale. Everything was very cheap, so I picked up three Tony Hawk bobbleheads and a pin set.

This is the Padres Opening Day line-up from my birth year

From there we went to the next station, which was for former Yankee and  Hall of Fame broadcaster Jerry Coleman and catcher Nick Hundley. I think Jerry was having a senior moment because he seemed out of it. But he did give me an HOF inscription on a ball. I got Hundley on a Padres postcard. 

After this we went down to the main stage on the field where Cory Luebke, Tim Stauffer and Huston Street  were getting interviewed. When the interview session was over, the three signed for fans. I was only able to get Street.

At this point the FanFest was coming to an end, but the Padres did have a couple more stations set up, so we went to one more, Will Venable and Brad Brach.

The very last thing we did when we left was visit Tony Gwynn's statue. The day wouldn't be complete without seeing Mr. Padre. I want to give a big shout out to Teresa and Alex. I had a great time you guys.


The last thing I want to say is that the Dodgers should have been holding FanFests like this years ago. They are finally going to do one this year on a game day, which I'm happy about, but I would've preferred they did it in the offseason.  

Dodgers News And Notes

Manny starts rehab assignment, Furcal suffers setback. Manny Ramirez, sidelined since July 17 because of a right calf strain, went 1 for 2 tonight with a single and a walk as the Designated Hitter for the Single-A Inland Empire 66er's. The Dodgers expect Ramirez to play for the 66er's again Thursday and Friday before being reevaluated.

From Sports Illustrated:

It's thought that Manny will be placed on waivers once he's off the DL. The waiver rules states that every NL team has first dibs, and if none want him, then every AL team gets a crack. If no one claims Ramirez, the Dodgers may then trade him to any team. If one team or multiple teams claim him, then the team with the worst record at the time of claiming (with every NL team having priority over every AL team) is the only one that can get Ramirez. The Dodgers have the option of letting him go to the claiming team for nothing except the obligation of paying his salary or pulling him off waivers and working out a trade, but only with that one team.

Rafael Furcal, who was scheduled to begin a rehab assignment this week, complained of back soreness, which had worsened Wednesday. Furcal, who has been out the past 15 games because of a low back strain, will stop baseball activities and have a bone scan on Thursday.

Will Manny play next season? His agent, Scott Boras, says Manny wants to play. I wonder where he'll sign.

Dave Roberts expects full recovery from cancer. Former Dodger Dave Roberts, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in March, is expected to make a full recovery. Roberts, who didn't go public with his diagnosis until May 3, completed eight rounds of chemotherapy, and he is undergoing three weeks of radiation treatments at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Get well Dave.

Dodger god Steve Garvey made a cheesy commercial with Tillman the Skateboarding Dog promoting Bark in The Park Night at Dodger Stadium on August 21. The James Loney bobblehead even makes an appearance. Check it out here.

Hittin' The Links

It was announced today that former Dodger, Dave Roberts, is being treated for Hodgkin's lymphoma. Roberts was diagnosed in mid-March and he says the cancer was detected early. He says the prognosis is "good." He has undergone two rounds of chemotherapy so far. Good luck to Dave Roberts. I hope he gets well soon.

Ex-Dodger, Pedro Guerrero, is looking to get back into baseball. After year of battling with alcohol, the former Dodger slugger says he's changed man and wants to return to the game.

Could Cliff Lee be traded again at the deadline? The morning after Lee pitched seven spectacular scoreless innings in the Seattle Mariners' 2-0, 12-inning loss to the Texas Rangers on Friday night, his agent told ESPN's Buster Olney not to expect a return to Seattle in 2011. With a pitching-thin market and the riches of free agency just five months away, Darek Braunecker said it just doesn't make sense to cut a sweetheart deal during this season to stay with the Mariners.

What's happened to George Sherrill? Steve Dilbeck at the Los Angeles Times wonders what's happened to the pitcher we saw in '09