Here, there and everywhere

Been buried on other projects and have neglected the blog. Apologies all around.

In catching up, FJ will present a Padres Stew entry:

Diamondbacks 4, Padres 3
Three Padres errors in the third inning Tuesday night proved decisive as Arizona scored twice to take the lead. The Diamondbacks built the lead to 4-1 and held off a Padres rally. On the plus side, Tony Gwynn had another hit and a walk and is batting .303 after 42 games with the Padres. That's not just a good start; that's plain good.

Check out the game story at padres.com.

Today's game
The Padres (35-48) face the Diamondbacks (35-49) in the series finale at Chase Field. The Padres, seeking to avoid a three-game sweep, send Chad Gaudin to the mound against Max Scherzer.

Game time is 12:40 p.m. PDT, and there will be no TV in San Diego. XX 1090 AM/1700 AM and La Poderosa 860 AM (Spanish) have the radio broadcast. You can follow the action on the internet via MLB.TV or Gameday Audio.

News and notes
The roster has been shuffled and reshuffled in recent days. On Tuesday, the Padres brought up INF Craig Stansberry from Triple-A Portland and designated RHP Walter Silva for assignment. ...

Monday saw 2B David Eckstein go to the 15-day disabled list because of a hamstring strain, and LHP Luke Gregerson activated. RHP Mike Ekstrom was recalled from Portland, and LHP Joe Thatcher was sent down. ...

After Sunday's game, the Padres traded outfielder Scott Hairston to the Oakland Athletics for RHPs Ryan Webb and Craig Italiano, plus a player to be named. Webb joined the Padres, and Italiano was assigned to Single-A Lake Elsinore. ... Padres Executive VP Paul DePodesta outlined some reasons for the trade on his blog. ...

Before Sunday's game, C Jose Lobaton was tabbed for promotion from Portland to replace C Henry Blanco, who went to the 15-day DL because of a hamstring injury. ...

Eckstein has switched his uniform number from 3 to 22, a number that has special meaning to he and his wife. Check out this story for details. Kyle Blanks goes from 22 to No. 8.

Seeing stars
Congratulations to worthy All-Stars Heath Bell and Adrian Gonzalez. The Padres closer and first baseman were selected to the National League squad via the vote of their peers -- player selections. Gonzalez also will compete in the Home Run Derby on Monday, the day before the All-Star Game at St. Louis.

You can catch the Home Run Derby on the big screen at the Park at the Park. It will be shown as part of the Away at the Park program that brings most Padres road games to the video screen at the Park at the Park, allowing fans to enjoy the ambiance of the ballpark even when the team is away.

This date in Padres history: July 8
1976: Randy Jones gets the win as the Padres beat the Cubs 6-3 at Wrigley Field. Jones improves to 16-3 heading into the All-Star break.

Born on this date: former minor league OF Ernie Young, 1969.

FJ