I don't think that anybody really wants to read anyone's opinions on anything without first knowing who they are. It's only for that reason that I'll delve a little bit into who I am before starting to post about real topics. I am not your typical person that would be posting a Padres blog. I don't even wear Padres gear that often, live in the East Village, or have season tickets (although I did at one time). I commute one hour each way from my home in Otay Mesa to work in Ramona, so I can't physically get to all that many Padres games a year.
I am married, have a baby daughter and a dog, and am a fantasy baseball junkie but would first consider myself a fan of baseball. I use the fantasy game to enhance my viewership and interest in baseball in general, but the things that matter to me most about the game are the old fashioned things. The way a beautiful park like Petco looks just before the game starts, the smell of the concession stands and going to a ball game with my dad.
I was born in Escondido, but raised in Seattle starting at the age of 4. I grew up watching and rooting for the Seattle Mariners; where most Padres fans have an undying loyalty for Tony Gwynn, well... I do too. Maybe I'll thoroughly analyze and compare him to some of my favorite Mariners at another point in time.
In 2000, at the age of 25, I moved back to San Diego to draw nearer to the bulk of my family. I had always rooted on the Padres from afar. Now that I was reading about them in the paper every day, they gradually overtook the Mariners as my #1 baseball interest, day in and day out.
When I was a wee lad, I wanted to be a sports journalist. My 'dream job' was to one day cover a major league baseball team as a beat writer. I wrote for the school newspaper at Washington State covering sports of all types as well as student elections. It eventually became clear to me that sports journalism wasn't the avenue I wanted to go down. There were a few reasons, but a key aspect was that the attitude of players and coaches at every level of that institution turned me off. I wasn't cut out for it. When you're getting big-timed by the women's volleyball coach who acts like it's beneath her to have to spend five minutes with you, you start wondering if you want to know any of these pro athletes; if it will ruin your enthusiasm for the games themselves. Oh yeah, and the money sucks, especially starting out.
So why did I decide to post a Padres blog - and why now? What do I expect to make of this? In short, because of the new ownership, and I have absolutely no idea. I have always had this nagging opinion of the Padres that they were just second rate in how they went about conducting their business at the very top. The fact that Bruce Bochy and Bud Black have been their managers over my time here somewhat offsets that. You won't find two more classy, capable men to lead a baseball team.
Yet it's clear that the last few years, the old owner essentially positioned this team to be sold. That's no secret, but it's also no way to run a baseball team. It shouldn't be the main priority and focus. If it were Thomas Tull that purchased this team, I wouldn't have been inspired to start sharing my opinions. It was the O'Malley name, the involvement of men like Fowler and Mickelson, that got me thinking and dreaming and hoping again - dreaming that one day we will be champions after all.
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