Rookie Night

Padres (32-44) at Giants (45-30). 1st of 3-game series.

LATE NOTE: Tonight, the Giants are back in their own yard. They were set to face Andrew Chashner, but he has been put on a 15-day dl.  He has been replaced by a rookie making his first Major League appearance, Odrisamer Despaigne who's been called up from AAA ElPaso. The Padres have a major pitching rotation problem with two guys on the DL - and Casey Kelly on the 60-day list. Ouchies for the Padres.  I hope the Giants can get on top of the new kid. He is so new the TV guys have to pause before they attempt to say it.  I'm still trying to figure it out.

There are a few notes of interest for this game.

1. It is the 47th birthday of Hensley (BAM BAM) Meulens, the Giants' hitting coach.

2. There will be a pre-game ceremony to honor Tony (Mr. Padre) Gwynn who recently died of mouth cancer. He was 54. It was the diagnosis of Gwynn that prompted Bruce Bochy to give up chewing tobacco.

3. Joe Panik, a rookie, has been called up from Fresno AAA. He is a true rookie. He made an appearance in the Saturday game against the Diamondbacks, drawing a walk. On Sunday, he started at 2nd base and played the whole game. He got a couple of hits and made some nice defensive plays, including a glove toss to first base for an out. Well done,

It seems that we are all very excited to have Panik be making his at-home debut tonight. I am certain that he will get a very warm welcome. His parents and girlfriend were there for the first two games but have gone back home to New York. He'll be at 2nd again.  Panik is very Posey-esque.  He is very groomed and confident. He was went to St. John's.  A Jesuit school in Queens, NY.  He was definitely cut from Jesuit cloth. He is his own man, and I'm guessing he will do well. I'm sure the folks at ATT are set to give him a warm welcome. We need him.

4. Mike Morse returns to play first base after a brief absence with a back injury.  There is a sigh of relief here, though Morse's bat has been very cold of late. We need some hits from THE BEAST.
His injury happened with a swing-and-a-miss. He walked away limping,   I can only imagine how much energy it takes from a slugger like Morse to swing and miss. The guy is 6-5 and huge, all muscle. The biggest guy on the team.

5. The mighty Hunter Pence has moved his batting average up to .301. Only guy on the roster to be over ,300. He's been kissing .300 for a while, but getting to .301 is just cool.