If you're headed to the San Diego County Fair this afternoon at Del Mar, stop by the Padres booth for a chance to spin the prize wheel and win Padres items.
The Padres will have a booth from 2-5 p.m. PDT today. The Swinging Friar mascot and Pad Squad members will be there to keep things lively.
The booth will be near the Turf Club entrance of the Del Mar Racetrack.
Stop by. Say hi.
FJ
The roster move reported after Thursday's game became official Friday before the Padres faced the Rangers.
Right-handed reliever Luis Perdomo was activated from the 15-day disabled list, and LHP Wade LeBlanc was optioned to Triple-A Portland.
The Padres press release on padres.com has all the essentials.
FJ
Padres (31-40)
Tony Gwynn, CF
David Eckstein, 2B
Scott Hairston, LF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Kevin Kouzmanoff, 3B
Chase Headley, DH
Will Venable, RF
Eliezer Alfonzo, C
Everth Cabrera, SS
Walter Silva, P
Texas (39-32)
Ian Kinsler, 2B
David Murphy, LF
Michael Young, 3B
Marlon Byrd, CF
Hank Blalock, DH
Nelson Cruz, RF
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Chris Davis, 1B
Elvis Andrus, SS
Kevin Millwood, P
Game time is 5:05 p.m. PDT.
Broadcast info
TV: Channel 4 San Diego; Cablemas (Spanish)
Radio: XX 1090 AM, 1700 AM; La Poderosa 860 AM (Spanish)
Internet: MLB.TV; Gameday Audio
Game notes
This is the first game of a three-game series, wrapping up interleague play for the Padres. The Padres are 3-9 against the American League in 2009 and have lost 17 of 20 interleague games dating to last year. ...
The Padres are 10-9 all-time vs. Texas but haven't played the Rangers since 2006. ...
Gonzalez drew his 28th walk of the month Thursday, breaking the franchise record for June. Rickey Henderson had 27 walks in June 1996. ...
The Rangers have succeeded on 84.5 percent of their steal attempts this season (60 of 71). ...
Texas is 8-7 in interleague play and has a 3.50 ERA in thos games. The Rangers have lost five of their past seven games against the NL, however.
FJ
The Padres dropped a 9-3 decision at Seattle on Thursday. ... More game coverage comes from the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Tacoma News-Tribune, the Seattle Times, the Associated Press and the Mariners website. ...
Thowing a curveball more has been beneficial to RHP Kevin Correia. ...
MLB.com breaks down what got 1B/OF Kyle Blanks to the Big Leagues. ...
RHP Walter Silva starts tonight at Texas. ...
RHP Chris Young isn't close to a return. ...
Padres Executive Vice President Paul DePodesta blogs about when it's the correct time to promote a prospect. ...
Double-A San Antonio SS Lance Zawadski is No. 11 on the latest Baseball American prospect hot sheet. ...
Minor league games:
Reno 8, Portland 6
Corpus Christi 1, San Antonio 0: More from the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.
Lake Elsinore 5, Inland Empire 3
Fort Wayne 8, South Bend 4: More from the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette and MadFriars.com.
Yakima 12, Eugene 6: More from the Yakima Herald-Republic.
AZL Mariners 3, AZL Padres 2
DSL Padres 6, DSL Diamondbacks 5 ...
The Rangers might be a bit weary today. They needed 12 innings to beat the Diamondbacks at Arizona at Thursday. ...
Texas has a good problem: two closers. ...
Rangers SS Omar Vizquel -- yes, he's still player -- just become No. 1 in career hits for players from Venezuela. ...
Strange as it sounds, hitting has been the Rangers' weak point. ...
Former Padres RHP Rudy Seanez is in Triple-A in the Angels chain this year. He came off the DL today, having healed from a torn pectoral muscle. ...
Former Padres INF and batting coach Dave Magadan will miss tonight's Red Sox game because he is serving a suspension. ...
Former Padres OF Xavier Nady had a rehab setback.
FJ
Friar John is a big fan of self-analysis and introspection. It is the path to improvement.
Wade LeBlanc has taken a step on that path. Witness his quotes in Corey Brock's game story on padres.com.
After a rough outing Thursday afternoon in the Padres' loss at Seattle, which resulted in his demotion to Triple-A Portland, LeBlanc didn't wallow in self-pity. And he didn't look for excuses.
This is what he said:
"I've got to throw strikes. I've been doing it in Triple-A, but not up here. I'm just not doing a good job of setting (up my change-up). Down there (at Portland), I was dong a better job of controlling my fastball."
You have to give LeBlanc credit for taking an honest look at himself.
The left-hander has talent. Padres manager Bud Black talked up LeBlanc two springs ago, touting his change-up as Major League-ready even then. The Big League results haven't been there in LeBlanc's brief call-ups, but obviously there is some ability.
With his honesty, and his apparent desire to learn, FJ is guessing LeBlanc will be able to match his talent with improved technique at some point to produce Big League results.
In the meantime, the Padres don't have the luxury of letting another pitcher learn on the job. Black, pitching coach Darren Balsley and bullpen coach Darrel Akerfelds have done yoeman's work with the baby bullpen, but that group's growth would be stunted if starters are allowed to turn in a series of short starts.
So LeBlanc will resume his baseball education at Portland, and the Padres will look to fill innings elsewhere. That's the end of this entry, but just one short line in the story of LeBlanc's career.
FJ
Padres (31-39)
Everth Cabrera, SS
David Eckstein, 2B
Scott Hairston, CF
Adrian Gonzalez, DH
Kevin Kouzmanoff, 3B
Chase Headley, LF
Kyle Blanks, 1B
Edgar Gonzalez, RF
Henry Blanco, C
Wade LeBlanc, P
Seattle (36-35)
Ichiro Suzuki, RF
Russell Branyan, 1B
Adrian Beltre, 3B
Mike Sweeney, DH
Jose Lopez, 2B
Franklin Gutierrez, CF
Rob Johnson, C
Ronny Cedeno, SS
Wladimir Balentien, LF
Jarrod Washburn, P
Broadcast info
TV: None in San Diego; Fox Sports Northwest on satellite
Radio: XX 1090 AM, 1700 AM; La Poderosa 860 AM (Spanish)
Internet: MLB.TV; Gameday Audio
Game notes
Cabrera bats leadoff for the first time in the Majors, and Blanks starts at first base for the first time. ...
Kouzmanoff has batted .302 with five home runs and 12 RBI in his 11 interleague games this season. ...
If Adrian Gonzalez draws another walk this month, he will break the franchise record for walks in June. He and Rickey Henderson (1996) are tied with 27. ...
Gonzalez is making his first start at DH for the Padres, but he has 33 career games there, all with the Texas Rangers. He batted .227 with five homers as a Rangers designated hitter. His last start at DH was September 28, 2005, also at Seattle.
FJ
With first pitch today impending, we'll defer to the on-site writers.
Corey Brock, on padres.com, focuses on Josh Geer's outing Wednesday night. ... Bill Center of the Union-Tribune leads with the game-deciding 2-0 fastball thrown by Edward Mujica to Franklin Gutierrez.
The rubber game of the three-game series is this afternoon. Let's go Padres!
FJ
We're back ...
The Padres took a 4-3 loss Wednesday at Seattle. ... More game coverage from the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Seattle Times, the Associated Press, the Tacoma News-Tribune and the Mariners website. ...
RHP Heath Bell likes to pitch, and often. ...
OF Chase Headley has improved from the right side of the plate. ...
LHP Wade LeBlanc take the ball for the Padres today. ...
Padres Executive VP Paul DePodesta has been active on the blog lately, including an entry today about Kevin Kouzmanoff. ...
Vic Salazar, the former TV news anchor, is now writing sports opinions for a San Diego web startup. Salazar opines about RF Brian Giles. ...
RHP Mat Latos and OF Luis Durango were selected to play in the Futures Game, a showcase for top minor leaguers played the Sunday before the Major League All-Star Game. ...
LHP Nick Schmidt was among four players promoted from low Single-A Fort Wayne to high Single-A Lake Elsinore at midseason, along with OF Sawyer Carroll, 3B James Darnell and 1B Matt Clark. ... Which means this TinCaps story is already outdated. ...
Corresponding promotions have 3B Logan Forsythe and LHP Cory Luebke going up from Lake Elsinore to Double-A San Antonio. ... The Missions put OF Kellen Kulbacki and RHP Carlos Guevara on the DL. ...
Before his promotion, Carroll got a nice writeup in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. ...
Baseball America offers firsthand scouting reports of Luebke and RHP Wynn Pelzer from this week's all-star game between the California League and Carolina League. ...
Fort Wayne, which finished in first place in the first half of the season, starts the second half tonight. ...
C Jason Hagerty was among the recent signees who took BP with the Padres at Safeco Field before joining the short-season Single-A Eugene Emeralds. ... Here's a story on the signings. ...
Minor league games:
Portland had its game against Reno postponed because a light fixture fell.
Corpus Christi 1, San Antonio 0: More from the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.
Lake Elsinore was off.
Fort Wayne was off.
Yakima 6, Eugene 3: More from the Yakima Herald-Republic.
AZL Padres were off.
DSL Reds 2, DSL Padres 1 ...
The MadFriars minor league roundup is free today. ...
Mariners 3B Adrian Beltre has bone spurs in his shoulder. ... SS Yuniesky Betancourt appears DL-bound.
FJ
The Padres on Friday promoted their top prospect, big hitter Kyle Blanks, to the Big Leagues.
This move came in a flurry of roster activity, but it is much more than just another move. Blanks represents a "future is now" philosophy put into play by the front office.
And it means the executives aren''t willing to sit by idly and watch the offense struggle to support star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez.
So Blanks (pictured, right) is here because he can hit. He is not in the lineup tonight, but he surely isn't here merely to pinch-hit. He figures to play, at the very least, when the Padres need a designated hitter next week at Seattle and Texas.
What about Cliff Floyd? He went on the 60-day disabled list because of a torn labrum in the same shoulder that put him on the DL to open the season.
Catcher Nick Hundley also went to the 15-day DL because of his injured wrist. And infielder Josh Wilson was put on waivers, then claimed by the Mariners.
So who's new besides Blanks? Shortstop Everth Cabrera, one of the more exciting players on the team in the early weeks of the season before suffering a broken hand, was activated from the 60-day DL. And veteran catcher Eliezer Alfonzo was brought up from Triple-A Portland to fill Hundley's spot.
The Padres also placed right-hander Chris Young (shoulder strain) on the DL and brought up LHP Wade LeBlanc to start against the Athletics tonight. That move was expected, though not made official until this afternoon.
Needing to open a spot on the 40-man roster, the Padres exposed LHP Arturo Lopez to waivers and wound up losing him. The Mets put in a claim.
So, about Blanks: He batted .283 with 12 home runs in 66 games with Portland this year. He was the organization's player of the year in 2008 while batting .325 with 23 doubles, 20 home runs and 107 RBI for Double-A San Antonio.
Although Blanks is a first baseman, the same position as Gonzalez, the Padres gave him a taste of the outfield this year, anticipating a midseason promotion. He has played 15 games in left field for Portland in 2009.
Blanks is 22 years old, 6-foot-6 and 270 pounds. But he's no brute of a slugger. He's a hitter first who can put bat on ball with regularity -- .304 career average in the minors -- and actually had to work to develop his power in the minor leagues. And he is athletic enough that the Padres brass thought trying him in the outfield was a worthwhile endeavor.
FJ know one thing: He will be watching intently and hoping for good things from Blanks. It will be fun to watch him develop at this level.
FJ
Friar John thinks the only thing better than day baseball is a victory under the sun.
Adrian Gonzalez went 4-for-4 and hit his first home run since June 2 to lead the Padres past the Mariners at PETCO Park on Thursday afternoon.
Check out Corey Brock's game story at padres.com for details.
A walk-off win always feels good -- Kevin Kouzmanoff drove home Gonzalez with two outs in the 10th for the winning run -- but this one feels especially good.
The offense did a little damage after scoring just one run in the previous 29 innings. The Padres broke a five-game winning streak. And the Padres ended a 12-game losing streak in interleague play.
Word is out about some roster moves that should bolster the offense. The Padres' next American League foe, the Oakland Athletics, might be facing a greater challenge than the Angels and Mariners did.
FJ is eager to see what shakes out later today.
FJ
(Photo of postgame celebration taken by Padres team photographer Chris Hardy)
