Look What I Found... A Guide To Finding Tony Gwynn sized deals on Padres Purchases

I love finding a good deal. Really, I do. I have slept on a tarp behind a dumpster to avoid paying for a hotel for a night. Yeah, I go that far.

 I don't expect you to exactly imitate my ways of finding the best deal, but I am hear to help those who want to listen how to find some fresh Padres threads so you can you can look just like me.

Macklemore wasn't too far off as he talks about poppin' tags, as I do the very same thing.  I hit up thrift stores and I dig and I dig, sometimes with the end result being a 99cent awesome product.

So, yes, the secret is out, thrift stores are the way to go. I have bought everything from t-shirts, visors, hats, flags, bobble heads, baseballs, jackets, posters. If it has a Friar logo on it, I am buying it up real cheap.  1998 Championship T-shirts? I have about 6 of them and I pay no more than $2 each. Where there is a deal, I will find it.

Vintage Tony Gwynn Bat Man Forever shirt and Padres Visor: $3 total

Throwback Padres Ticket Seller authentic jacket: $3

And yes, everything you see here is purchased from thrift stores. When it comes to the Padres,  I pop tags.

Its not always just on merchandise where I am saving a buck. You can also save money on tickets in a variety of ways if you are trying to catch a game that you know of ahead of time.

This season, the Padres have implemented the new "dynamic ticket pricing" where it pays to buy your tickets early.

"We wanted to provicde discounted seats across the ballpark to fans that purchase in advance." said president and COO Tom Garfinkel. "Over time, as the games get closer, ticket prices will normalize, but generally, fans who buy early save money."

Basically what Tommy G is getting at is the Padres want your money now and they are willing to give a discount to get your money. For those big games like Chase Headley bobble head night, Dodgers, Yankees, and other big nights, get down to the park ahead of time to purchase your tickets. Also, remember, if you are trying gain access to the oh so precious park passes, they only go on sale 14 days prior to the game, so mark your calendars and head down to Petco two weeks early, and maybe catch a game while you are there.

For the fans who cannot stand paying the prices at the gates, I have recently been openend up to a new way of buying tickets called SeatGeek.com.

My friend, who works for Apple, came raving to me about this app boasting how it makes StubHub look like a red headed step child, and man was he right. This site combines all major ticketing websites (Ebay, StubHub, TicketsNow, TicketCity) and puts all in one search to find the cheapest prices for you. Not only does it show the cheapest pricing, it also sorts by the best deals in the house to let you know how good of deal you are getting relative to other tickets in the area. Basically find best seats for cheapest price in your favorite area of the park all in one convenient place.

"Found these on StubHub for $2"

This app allows price not to be as big as factor when coming to games so it can get more fans into the park. Last year, the Padres ranked 21st out of 30 teams in attendance. It would be awesome to see this number jump. More people in crowd, more money Padres make, better players Padres can (hopefully) buy or re-sign (Yes, this includes Chase Headley).

Baseball games are much more exciting when the fans get into it. If you don't believe so, go attend a game at Fenway Park, or even a SDSU basketball game. Full crowds make fun games. Rant over.




Why not save some cash this year and follow those easy steps to becoming a better Padres fan without breaking the bank. I feel this is an investment well worth it.

Shhhh...Did You Just Hear Something?

Boom! Here comes the Boom!
Ready or not, here comes Alonso from the South
Boom! Here comes the Boom! Ready or not, how you like me now?

You gotta love that video (click on the lyrics for the link duuuuh) if your a Padres fan.  Yes we know, don't put much value in Spring Training to evaluate productivity- but sheesh did you just hear that pop?

Alonso had a productive rookie campaign and really turned it on in the second half.  He ended the year with a .273/.348/.393 line with 62 RBIs and 48 XBHs- 32% of his hits were for extra bases.  I think this year we will see more power from him- I could see him hitting 15-20 HRs, up from only 9 last year.

Hey guys, I'm good at baseball. What's so funny Clayton?

He has proven that he can hit the left and right-center field gaps and if he doesn't end up generating more power, I am content with him hitting gappers all year.  There's just so much to like a lot about this guy: he plays an above-average first base, has power to all fields, is young, and is durable (played in 155 games last year).

I'm so excited to see what he will do this season.  Mat Latos who?

I know those lyrics at the top got you pumped, so here it is (can they make a Padres theme song, but not as awful as the one for the Chargers):

Spring Training 2013: February 25th (Game 4)

The Padres face the Brewers with the rights to sudsy beverages as the victor's prize. Would the evil conglomerate empire or the valiant microbreweries prevail in this beer fight?

Your kung-fu is week, Fuzzles.

Not bear fight, beer fight! Oh thank Xenu, the jump is here.

Analyzing "Padres: The Sad Truth"

Baseball fans traditionally associate early February with the fondest of emotions. The failures of the last season are soon forgotten as the hopeful turn their gaze and calendars to April. Even San Diego, a hard-luck baseball town if there ever was (ask us about our indoor soccer team!) is generally not immune.

Change The Padres is trying to convince Padres fans that "enough is enough".

In the midst of the fond expectancy of spring, one fan decided that he's had enough. Change the Padres (nee David Marver) showed his documentary to Scott Miller of CBSSports.com, and then to a national audience.  His bones-to-pick with the front office are numerous, divided among three central arguments (The Padres have lied to you., The Padres are the cheapest team in baseball., New ownership = old ownership.). Like any good PSA, the final segment dedicates itself to informing you, disgruntled viewer, how to hit the Padres where it hurts.

The video is long-winded, as such, my response will be exasperatingly lengthy.

Padres FanFest Tomorrow Morning!

If you are a Padres fan, you have to go tomorrow to this. Period.

What better way to spend a Saturday morning than FREE ADMISSION to the park where you can meet players, listen to panels and buy game used gear? If you are a baseball fan, I can't think of a better way at all.

At 10am-4pm tomorrow at Petco Park, the Padres throw their doors open for you to explore the park. From different vendors, to club house tours, to autograph session and clinics, its great family fun, and oh yeah, I said it was FREE right?

Basically 100% of you out their will never get to play in the Major Leagues, but I love that the team opens it up and lets you come down on the field, run the bases and play catch on the same field the Padres do. Basically, this is the ultimate fan experience. I have been for the last three years and have loved it every time.

For those of you super Padres fan, sign up to get early access 30 minutes before the general public. This also is free, just click HERE!


Autographs will be going on throughout the day and are limited to the first 250 people per session with wristbands which you can acquire upon entry:

Hope to see everyone there tomorrow as it will be a blast. For complete information about this event, visit HERE!

Go Padres!

The Pitiful Padres: Here we begin.

The 2013 San Diego Padres season is closing in on us quickly. In just five days time, pitchers and catchers will be reporting to Peoria to begin their spring training and just nine days time until the full roster voluntary date for all players invited to Spring Training this year.

This is going to be a big year for the Pads. With new owners, hopefully big things to expected and the lack of playoff streak can end. This being said, the NL West is not going to be a cake walk this year....again. Our rivals from two hours away have decided they wanted to spend every penny Magic Johnson and all his buddies have on signing every big name player they can get a hold of for the Dodgers and the Giants are coming off their second World Series in the last few years.

I have faith though. We have a good team as it is, when healthy, and if players play to their full potential we can get a lot out of this squad. Even with the 5th lowest payroll in the league (even after a 17% increase from last year according to Yahoo!), odds are against them, but I have a feeling this could be a great year.

The fences moving in, Headley coming off an MVP caliber season and Alonzo coming into his sophomore season (and Grandal after his 50 game...um...vacation). With Maybin getting hot the second half of the season, Hundley returning to the lineup after clearing his head in the minors and the Padres hopefully not using 15 different starting pitchers this year due to a ton of bad luck, I could see this being a fun summer being a Padres fans, with hopeful shades of 2010.

Of course ever team gets excited to start of the year and every teams fanbase is "going to win the World Series". I am not going to predict that, but I wouldn't be surprised if they snuck into the playoffs somehow. With the 5th best 2nd half record last year (other 4 teams made the playoffs), the Padres have shown what they are capable of and if they improve their road performance (34-47) and keep up their home performance (42-39), I have full confidence the Pads can break .500 this year.

Who knows? I could be speculating. But why not have faith? Why count out the Padres? I won't until they are mathematically eliminated. I hope for a fun season and I plan on being at Petco Park for as many games possible this year.

I hope to see everyone at Fan Fest this Saturday, February 9th at Petco Park where you can meet the players, get autographs, run the bases, tour the clubhouse, buy season tickets, play catch on the field, buy game used gear, and get excited about the 2013 Padres.

Good luck guys, and I hope to keep the excitement up late into October.

-Bret