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.

Free Money: The 2013 Baseball Betting Bible

*In no way, shape, or form is this expert opinion, I just have a gambling problem

Are you one of the suckers trying to hit the baseball betting jackpot this season? Can you see into the future and know who is going to win it all this year like some kind of fortune teller? Have you accurately predicted the last three years World Series teams? If so, please call me, I would like to have some insider information.

I am sure she is an expert.

Betting on baseball is fun and winning is even more fun. I usually only get to have to fun of making my dumb bets and detest the casino workers laugh at me while counting my money. Not this year. This is the year I make it out of the casino with enough money to go back next year and make more ludicrous wagers.

For starters, the odds of the divisions.

Who is parlaying the Astros and Marlins with me?

My winners:
Braves, Cardinals, Giants, Blue Jays, Tigers, Angels

Now you are thinking wait Bret, you picked three of the predicted AL division winners? That is hardly something you are giving us insight about.. I do have a rebuttal. I did this because those teams are seriously freakin' good. Each of these three teams have the best teams on paper.

 -You are trying to tell me the Tigers won't win the division? The same team that made it to the World Series last year and then, oh yeah, added Torii Hunter and Victor Martinez to the already powerful lineup.
-Sorry, A's fans, the only thing doing the Bernie this year will be the Coco Crisp bobblehead giveaway, the Angels have the West locked.
-Blue Jays...They are starting a Cy Young winner-knuckleballer on opening day, and picked up Josh Johnson, Mark Burhle, Melky Cabrera and Jose Reyes. They seem to have the East locked over and aging Yankee team and a Red Sox team full of ???

Just wait 'til Interleagues where I can hit, too!

The NL Race I feel is as open as upper deck seats at Petco Park. I chose these teams in the west because with the crap shoot the NL may be, if you are looking to take a bigger risk, the reward may be in your future

-I picked the Braves this year because of what they did to their offense. Losing Chipper Jones but picking up the Uptons' to add to Heyward? I feel the Nationals might have a slight edge with their baller rotation and that snot-nosed kid Harper they have, but to get a good ROI (return on investment for those non-business folk), Braves are 8/5 vs. Nationals 5/6.
-Cardinals never seem to be a bad pick. Sure, the Reds have won the division last two years, including last year by 9 wins, but it comes down to the ROI factor. I never can count the Cardinals out because of  their potent lineup filled with potential All-Stars. Yeah, Chris Carpenter out for the year doesn't help, but doesn't that guy get hurt every year.
-I will say it now in capital letters: THE NL WEST WILL BE THE MOST COMPETITIVE DIVISION IN BASEBALL THIS YEAR. Now that I have that out of me I will explain why I picked the Giants. It is simple: chemistry. As much as I hated seeing them win the Fall Classic two of the last three years without having the best team, they play well together. I know emotions aren't supposed to get in the way and looking at the Dodgers lineup it is hard to bet against them, but the Giants have a knack of winning and with another better ROI. If Zito can pitch like he did in the playoffs last year and Tim Lincecum's hair cut can renew his pitching of old, this team can be good.

Someone looks ready for a Harry Potter remake.

Pennant Odds:

My two picks for the pennants this year are the Washington Nationals and the Detroit Tigers. But wait! You didn't even pick the Nationals to win the division! True. I did not, but there are still two wild card slots and the Nationals WILL make the playoffs. Their lineup is good and their staff (if Strasburg is allowed to pitch this year) is made for playoff series. The Tigers have the best team in baseball in my opinion and you can see my reasoning in the graphic below.

World Series:

My pick for the World Series this year is the Tigers. The AL Playoffs is going to be tough but I can't bet against a team that went to the World Series last year AND got even better this year. Their rotation is deep and their lineup is powerful, I just hope they don't take a dump in the big one. Personally, I want to see how big of riot the people in Detroit can muster up. After the Giants winning it all last year and creating havoc, the people in MoTown must have taken it personal.


So, go ahead and listen to me. If you want to get paid this season, follow along to my step by step guide of how to strike it rich this year betting on baseball. You may not deem me an expect, but you are the one looking for tips, so obviously you have no clue neither. I still am going to make a silly 80/1 Padres World Series bet, because who knows? They still have to play the game and at least we aren't the Astros.

That's a bet the even Pete Rose would take.

Go Padres