From the AP.

David Wells v. Jeff Weaver in Game 2. Chris Young v. Jeff Suppan in 3.


[Note AP's reference to Ocean Beach as a "rough and tumble" neighborhood.
Hoover spent a lot of time there, and got major Yucks while reading that].




WELLS TO START GAME 2 AT HOME;
YOUNG TO START ON THE ROAD


Eight years after beating them in the World Series, David Wells gets to start a playoff game
for his hometown San Diego Padres. Wells, who plans to retire after this season, will start
Game 2 of the division series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday at Petco Park.

"I couldn't be happier," the 43-year-old left-hander said Tuesday. "This is like a dream
come true. I've been going to Padres games at an early age and supported them my
whole life.

Even though I was in the American League I still had a favorite National League team, and
that was San Diego."

Wells pitched for the Padres in 2004, then signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox.
San Diego reacquired him on Aug. 31 for the stretch run. Although he lost his first two decis-
ions, he was sensational in his final regular-season start, pitching six scoreless innings Satur-
day at Arizona as the Padres won 3-1 to clinch a postseason berth. He didn't even allow an
Arizona baserunner to reach second base.

"It's just nice to represent your hometown," said Wells, who grew up in the rough-and-tumble
OCEAN BEACH district. "It's a part of something big and this couldn't be a better time for me.
It's my last year, and going out on top would be a nice way to go, especially in your hometown."

Wells has a history of postseason success, which is why the Padres got him. The Padres are
the sixth team he'll pitch for in the playoffs, joining the Red Sox, New York Yankees, Toronto,
Cincinnati and Baltimore. He has a career postseason record of 10-4 with a 3.15 ERA.

He won World Series rings with Toronto in 1992 and the Yankees in 1998, when he beat San
Diego in Game 1 of New York's sweep. He was with the Yankees when they lost the 2003 World
Series to Florida. "He's a guy that has a lot of experience," manager Bruce Bochy said.

The Padres will save 6-foot-10 right-hander Chris Young for Game 3 at St. Louis on Saturday.
Young is 6-0 with a 2.41 ERA in 15 road starts this season, holding opponents to a .176 average.
At home, he's 5-5 with a 4.60 ERA, holding opponents to a .238 average.

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa made similar choices. Jeff Weaver, who was 4-1 with a 4.03
ERA in eight road starts after being obtained in a trade with the Angels on July 5, will go in Game
2 while Jeff Suppan will start the third game at St. Louis.

"We haven't played well on the road," La Russa said. "I forget now what the stats were, the wins
we've had, Jeff Weaver has been involved in the majority of them. It made sense, I think, to give
him the ball, and Supp played well at Busch Stadium. That's part of the reason we did that."

We San Diegans are so damn lay back. I love hearing about how "Rough and
Tumble" or what a "Party Town". we are. Gee , I wish I knew this when I
was growing up. IT sure seemed like a "Leave it to Beaver" type place
when I was a teenager. Of course There were actual Beavers, Raccoons and
Coyotes still roaming the streets back then................. LOL OK no
comment.

Losing is not an option.
Think WIN.


Barb =^..^=

On 2006-10-04 20:31:55 -0700, Barb331@webtv.net (Barb =^..^=) said:


Heh .. yeah, we have no heart in this town .. I hear comments like that
then I know none of been to a Padre-Dodger or Padre-Giant game..

"Barb =^..^=" <Barb331@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:13470-45247CAB-732@storefull-3174.bay.webtv.net...

There still *are* beavers roaming the streets... well, El Cajon Blvd.
anyhow. ;o)
And we have coyotes all along the border.
Haven't seen a racoon in town in nearly 30 years though.


The next 2 games are "must win" games. Thursday because we can't afford to
go down 0-2, and Saturday because Young has been our best pitcher.
Then we just need to take 1 of 2 from a team we've handled this season. I
like our chances in that situation.

K2 wrote:

I'm just next door in Santee, and I still see Racoons over here. One
broke and went through a window in our house about a year ago. The
little guy was FREAKED OUT!


Same here. Wells should give us decent pitching today, since he
traditionally pitches well against the Cards, and Young should be as
incredible as he's been most the season on Saturday. I figure if one of
them struggles, it's also about time that our Bats came through for us
and won us a game. So either way, the next two games should be ours.
And hopefully we can just close it out on the 4th game and go on to the
next round fairly unscathed.

On Wed, 4 Oct 2006 22:40:28 -0700, "K2" <K2PadFan@padres.net> wrote:



I saw a family of 5 or 6 raccoons in Pt. Loma about 5 years ago.
They were all sleek and fat too, so they were not having any
trouble finding food ! Cute critters.