San Diego Padres

The New York Mets will open their new stadium, Citi Field, tonight at 7:10 p.m. EST when they host the San Diego Padres. The festivities will begin with Tom Seaver throwing out the ceremonial first pitch to Mike Piazza, and the Broadway cast of "West Side Story" will sing the national anthem.

The San Diego Padres wasted no time getting their offense going against Giants' left-hander Barry Zito, scoring three runs in the home half of the first inning, including an RBI double from right-fielder Brian Giles and an RBI single from third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff.

Zito would only last four innings, giving up four runs on seven hits, walking two and striking out four as the Padres outlasted the Giants, and a 51-minute rain delay, for a 7-3 win at Petco Park.

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Diego Padres u8.0 (-115)

Thu April 9th ‘09 3:35p: Click here for MLB betting odds
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Padre fans: With a new owner taking charge here in San Diego, I think it's time for the team to look like themselves again.

The last 20 years have seen the Padres adopt the Mets' color scheme, the Dodgers' color scheme—so much so that the Pads had to wear their blue tops when the Dodgers came to town—and now the Brewers' color scheme.

Personally, I am sick of not being able to tell San Diego from Milwaukee at a glance.

Spring training is by far one of the best times of the year.  If any of you have ever had the privilege to attend a spring training game, you have probably walked away feeling better about the game of baseball than when you arrived.

There is just something special about spring training.  Get to the park early in the morning, and watch the team go through their drills.  Mingling with the players, coaches, and fellow fans. 

In a move to add some depth to the bullpen, the Indians claimed Korean right hander Jae Kuk Ryu off of waivers from the San Diego Padres.

Ryu was pretty bad in Cactus League play, posting an ERA above 10. To make room, the club placed Jake Westbrook on the 60-day disabled list.

I don't know what is worse, having both Peavy and Hoffman (twice) on the mound when all we needed was three outs to secure a playoff berth in 2007, or losing 99 games in 2008.

It's been an ugly run since that horrible weekend in Milwaukee.  Hoffman blowing the save, getting beat by Tony Gwynn Jr.  Peavy on the mound the following night, only to show that for as good as he really is, and the guy is that good, that the October spotlight on him just might be a bit too bright. 

On April 4, 2009 the San Diego Padres will kick off their 40th season in Major League Baseball. In contrast, FOX's popular animated sitcom "The Simpsons" is in the midst of its 20th season on television.

They've had a more successful run than the Padres, too.

In those four decades, San Diego has yet to obtain a World Series championship and boast a grand total of one win in the Fall Classic.

After moving into Petco Park at the start of the 2004 season, the Padres' fortunes seemed to change somewhat, with four consecutive winning seasons and two NL West crowns.

The San Diego Padres has a disappointing season last year only managing 63 wins last year after an 89 win year the season before. This year could be the year things start to change for San Diego and it starts with the pitching rotation.

Jake Peavy will lead the Padres on the staff that includes Chris Young (7-6, 3.96 ERA) and Korean Cha Seung Baek (6-9, 4.62 ERA). A couple of new comers Josh Greer and Wade LeBlanc. Young needs to stay healthy for this team to do well.

O.K. Padre fans, here's your chance to let everyone know which venue you enjoyed more to when attending a Padre game. I know that the Padres are moved for good, but there are several things missing from the Petco Park Experience in contrast to attending a game at the Murph (It will always be the Murph to me)

In the Friars unbridled rush to get into a new stadium, much of what made the Padres home field advantage so tough to overcome was left behind.

So its Petco vs the Murph, who will win?