http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/29/23651/ Et tu, Tom Garfinkel, et tu? All of this talk about bringing in the fences at Petco Park. And so many are nodding in agreement. I'm left wondering exactly which Padres club I've been following for all of these …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/29/23630/ Anthony Bass was perfect for the longest time, untouchable, no San Francisco Giants bat could get to him, he flirted with immortality for a good long while. Right into the sixth inning, perfect. All it took was the opposing …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/28/23611/ The easiest thing to do, according to sage philosophers, mixed martial arts experts, and failed politicians, is to kick a man when he is down. The second easiest thing to do then, is to bury a professional baseball team …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/27/23560/ A few hours before the game on Thursday, media members slowly spilled out of the clubhouse and into the Padres dugout. Having dropped the first two games of a three game set to the Washington Nationals, chatter seemed to …

Joe Wieland (pictured) was good on Wednesday afternoon, he simply wasn't quite as good as the Nationals' Jordan Zimmerman. Hours before the game, the talk of possible rain was laughable as the eighty degrees and sunshine made batting practice look …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/25/23484/ Jesus Guzman was out on Tuesday, available only in a serious emergency, with a dental procedure that left him in extreme pain. Kyle Blanks is out for the season. Carlos Quentin isn't quite ready, although he is taking live …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/23/23324/ Before Saturday's game, the Padres were coming off of a four-game losing streak, with a record of 3 wins against 12 losses in the first 15 games. Four hours before first pitch, one might have expected the Padres clubhouse …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/21/23251/ It was Fireworks Friday at Petco, business as usual for what is routinely featured this time of year at the bsllpark. The Padres, however, are not likely to be business as usual for long, these recent games being filled …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/20/23206/ Chase Headley stood in the Padres clubhouse before Thursday's game and fielded questions, everything from his rising performance at the plate to the Padres 1-5 road mark. Then he was asked about the Padres chances beginning a home stand …

Tuesday night in Colorado, it was the 49-year old Jamie Moyer that out-dueled the Padres hitters and the Padres wound up on the wrong side of the record books when Moyer became the oldest pitcher in MLB history to notch …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/17/23007/ Not that there was ever a real need to panic, but if there had been, the Padres response on Monday would have been appropriate. Stay calm. A listing ship will usually right itself in calm waters, and the waters …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/15/22913/ On opening day in Petco Park, Padres starter Edinson Volquez faced Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, in a game where Kershaw left early with an intestinal flu and Volquez momentarily lost the strike zone. The Padres dropped that game 5-3. …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/14/22884/ Padres Manager Buddy Black has said on more than one occasion that his favorite days as a Major League pitching coach and now as a Major League manager are days when a young pitcher makes his big league debut …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/14/22879/ Nick Hundley is hitless so far, nada in 19 at-bats, a far cry from the end of last season. Hundley's a proven good hitter. Jesus Guzman, last year's Padres leader in hitting, struck out three times Thursday evening. In …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/13/22842/ It was easy to sense it was going to be a chilly night at Petco Park, even as the low clouds rolling in early became equally apparent. Cold light wind blew into the press box and onto the field …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/11/22707/ Padres manager Bud Black is always talking about getting the big hit, that it's necessary in order to win games. Wednesday afternoon, the Padres got that big hit. Chris Denorfia hit a two-run shot to lift the Padres to …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/11/22683/ On Sunday, Chase Headley got his first hit of the season, a grand slam. You wonder how much that relieves the pressure, and with Headley's double down the line on Tuesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks after an off-day on …

Suddenly, the Padres farm system is more important than ever and worth keeping two eyes on. Apart from the Dominican Summer Rookie League, the Arizona Rookie League, and the Northwestern Summer League of low-A ball, the seasons of the other …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/08/22466/ You're the skipper of a ball club that has lost three in a row, the first three of the season, which you admit is under the microscope compared to if the club lost three in a row in, say, …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/08/22413/ The Padres looked finished early on Saturday evening, going down to the Dodgers 5-0 by the top of the fourth inning. The announced attendance was 31,909 and however many people were actually in the stands, most seemed to be …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/06/22308/ (Image: Edinson Volquez) Padres manager Bud Black sat in the dugout three hours prior to the start of the game, reflecting on opening day while watching his pitchers take batting practice. When Black was a pitcher, he pitched three …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/04/22213/ At a post-game press conference after the exhibition game between the San Diego Padres and the Kansas City Royals, Padres manager Bud Black announced the changes that were made directly after the game in order to set the 25-man …

It was evident Tuesday evening that even though it was to be the first game of professional baseball played inside of Petco Park in 2012, the big day was set to be on Thursday. The decorative field images near the …

Padres Manager Buddy Black announced on Sunday that the opening day starter for the team will be Edinson Volquez. It was anticipated that Tim Stauffer would land that honor for the second year in a row, but it is now …

There are three exhibition games left in 2012. Most of the position players have been ready for the regular season for a week now, and their opening day can't come too soon. Some of the pitchers don't mind getting in …