Sunrise in San Diego- Revenge of the Ownership

[royals19]

Prologue

George McGovern stood over Will Ferrell. Cane above his head, ready to strike the death blow to the man that had deceived all of baseball, had dirt that would tarnish the Padres' reputation and credibility and more importantly information on McGovern's past that could change all of baseball. While Ferrell begged for mercy, McGovern raised his cane ever further. Ferrell cringed when all of a sudden, a single shot rang out. Ferrell thought he had been shot but after feeling no pain, he looked up at McGovern who brought his cane down and stared at the growing blood spot on his trademark white suit. He fell to his knees eyes darting around into the blistery darkness trying to find the source of the shot. He watched Ferrell get up and run towards the staircase. He tried to get up but couldn't and felt himself drifting off into unconsciousness.

Ferrell left the building and used a mirror to signal the sniper who descended from the next door building. Together, the pair got into a waiting SUV and drove off into the night.....

Ferrell's phone began to ring.

Quote: Originally Posted by Ferrell

McGovern has been dealt with. We held up our part of the bargain. Now its your turn to do something for us....

Just then, an explosion rang out in the night.

As bystanders ran over to help, an arm grabbed the outside of the car and began to help it's climb owner out....

[xboxxerx]

Royals,

I need to thank you for giving the best laugh I have had all week. I'm sitting here reading and picturing some monster SUV and scroll down and see that little thing. Man, I had tears in my eyes.

[royals19]

Quote: Originally Posted by xboxxerx

Royals, I need to thank you for giving the best laugh I have had all week. I'm sitting here reading and picturing some monster SUV and scroll down and see that little thing. Man, I had tears in my eyes.

No problem! You know when Will Ferrell's involved there are going to be a few good laughs.

[AC]

This is still looking good.

[royals19]

Finally ready to get back to the Padres after a quick break. Last season, the San Diego Padres completely turned their ship around posting 89 wins which was good enough for a postseason spot. We beat out our long time rivals the, Dodgers and created new rivalry with the Rockies and Angels.

But now, this can't be just for kicks. We have to go hard. The San Diego Padres are World Series champions and we need to build around that and turn just a simple franchise, into an immortal dynasty.

Right now, off the field, several questions must be swirling through your mind, what happened to Bud Selig, Brad Asmus and Omar Minaya? Who hired Will Ferrell? What is the fate of Padre hero George McGovern? And what in Sam Hill was in that briefcase that Asmus buried in the Field?

This season, all of those story lines will be united in one epic event that could very well change the San Diego Padres and the game of baseball itself.

On the field, we need to show that we can defend our world title and show that last year wasn't a fluke. With this nice young team anchored by Cameron Maybin, Carlos Quentin, Yonder Alonso and Hunter Pence, we have most of the pieces in place ready for another go around. Now I can't guarantee that this year will be as epic as last year, but I can tell you that it will be epic nonetheless. But, with the Padres at the top of the baseball world, the Sun is definitely rising in the great city of San Diego.

2012

The 2012 season was a true Cinderella story for the Padres. They rebounded from a horrible 2011 season and rode their magical carriage all the way to the World Series and pulled off one of the greatest upsets in postseason history by defeating the heavily favored Angels. Last year showed the emergence of several future Padre greats, such Cameron Maybin, Yonder Alonso and Joe Wieland. It also signaled that players such as Carlos Quentin, Hunter Pence and Carlos Beltran were not past their prime yet as Quentin posted his best career power numbers and Pence posted his best career batting average. That year, Everything seemed to click for the Padres and hopefully things can that that again.

Down on the Farm, it was a disappointing year. We didn't care about the wins but we cared about how our players failed to develop adequately. The struggled with pitching and they struggled at the plate. They were a few bright spots however. Yasmani Grandal posted a .320 BA, Casey Kelly struck out 220 batters, and Max Fried made the Futures Game and proved his prospect status in AA. Moving forward, these players are going to have to perform better if the San Diego Padres want to have any hope of sustained success.

2013

2013 is looking like an upbeat year for the Padres. If they can bring back Carlos Quentin and Hunter Pence, they will be golden. The lineup will come along nicely as Cameron Maybin and Chase Utley look to keep last season's numbers going. Pitching will be a big key for the Padres here as they now have a multitude of pitchers to choose from to stock their bullpen and starting rotation. This year, look for top prospects, Yasmani Grandel and Casey Kelly to be playing in San Diego. If all things can come together, the San Diego Padres may just repeat last year's feat.

For more info: Sunrise in San Diego

[royals19]

Of course. We couldn't pick somewhere warmer to have the Winter Baseball meetings. Whatever...

This offseason has definitely set the bar high for future classes. This year's class featured all star talents like Zack Greinke, Robinson Cano, Brian McCann, Josh Hamilton, Cole Hamels, James Shields and Curtis Granderson. But by the time Theo Epstien and the rest of the GMs got to the meetings, here's what was left:



Now the Padres are making smart moves, going after bullpen pieces, some extra pitching depth and a few backup guys. Theo picked up his newspaper and looked at the Headline.

Spoiler

ROCKIES MAKE FREE AGENT SPLASH

Quote: Originally Posted by Newspaper

The Colorado Rockies made a massive splash in the Free Agent Market signing two of the most touted pitchers available, Cole Hamels and James Shields. The Rockies signed Hamels to a reported 3 year 75 million dollar deal. Hamels went 15-9 with a 2.89 ERA and 204 strikeouts with the Phillies last season. Shields was signed to a 2 year deal 25 million dollar deal. He was an All Star last season and is renowned for his durability and mound presence. With this these two new aces. Things are starting to look bleak for the defending World Champ San Diego Padres.

Epstien spilled his coffee down the front of him. Epstien was p***ed off big time. Hamels had agreed the night before to sign a 6 year 125 million dollar deal with the Padres and was going to sign today but instead he went behind their backs and signed with their new inter-divisional rivals.

Epstien grabbed his Ipad and began going through the lists of pitchers who were still out there on the market. He saw Greinke and Hudson . He kept them in the back of his mind. Then he saw the absolute diamond in the rough after he scrolled down.



That's right. Anibal Sanchez, last year's Cy Young award winner. He couldn't believe it. No offers yet. This was exactly the piece the Padres needed to keep the balance in the NL West. Last year, he posted a 21-5 record with 220 strikeouts and a 1.88 ERA and he was only demanding 3.5 million per year! Epstein couldn't believe it. It was a dream come true!

*****

Epstein turned the paper over and saw a picture of George McGovern and the headline read, "MISSING". Epstein was puzzled. Why would McGovern go missing right before the most important part of the off season? This wasn't like him and he didn't like it. He phoned some of the other scouts and GMs. They had heard nothing.

Just then, a knock was heard on his door and an envelope with the Padres seal was slid under his door. He picked it up and opened it, revealing a piece of paper that read. " After Meeting. McClusky's farm. Tree 19."

Epstein read the message and copied it into his Ipad then threw the note and its envelope into the fire...

[royals19]

DAY 2- Winter Meetings

After the Cole Hamels episode, Theo Epstein had to do SOMETHING to improve the Club's future and find a way to compete with the Tulo and CarGo duo in the long term. His solution, extend two of his best young players:

Spoiler

This move made perfect sense for the Padres. There is no competition for him in sight and he is only going to get better. He has a great bat for PETCO and isn't too bad defensively. Even though he is only under club control for this year, it made more sense for us to extend him at this cost for the next 7 years at just 750K per year. He has two options and those could bring the contract to 9 years.

Spoiler

Wheelin Dealin was absolutely crazy for us this season. He pitched unbelievably well and in my opinion should have won rookie of the year. He reminds me a lot of Jeremy Hellickson stuff wise but I think Wheelin Dealin has a higher ceiling. Once Cliff Lee and Doug Fister and all those guys are gone, Wheelin Dealin should be ready to take over as ace. At just 2.5 M this was an unbelievable bargain. We are really excited to see where this goes.

And just like that, the San Diego Padres had locked up two more young crucial pieces that will be great leaders for the teams moving over. When all of our veterans are gone and most of the other pieces are gone. These two guys should hopefully be able to lead younger teams in the future to the promised land.

Needless to say. It was a pretty successful day 2 for GM Theo Epstein and the San Diego Padres organization.

******

The Padres weren't the only ones celebrating.


The Cincinatti Reds won the Josh Hamilton sweepstakes that the Atlanta Braves were really expected to win. This should be another team to watch. Its just not fair having Votto, Hamilton and DatDudeBP in the same lineup. Then you've got a phenomenal pitching staff lead by Johnny Cueto who will be backed by new acquisition Adam Wainwright.


Then you have the Toronto Blue Jays who have just emerged as a perennial contender. Look at who they added. That's right. Yankee great Robinson Cano. The Yankees offered Cano a 9 year 185 Million dollar deal but he shocked the Nation (and Canada ) by picking the Toronto Blue Jays. The Padres were in on him but as Jimmy McMillan said, The cost was too **** high. He was pretty smart by picking the Jays. They blew the AL East away and told the Yankees and Red Sox to take a seat. They are going to be another very, very, very, very, very, good team for a very, very, very, very, very, long time.

[AC]

I'm too damn happy about us signing Cano to complain about you locking up Alonso/Weiland.

Spoiler

Yeah, have fun beating us in the WS next year. It ain't happening LOL.