The FoC 100th Post Celebratory Review and Beardstravaganza

Wow, one hundred posts. I guess this is a milestone and should be approached in a completely over-the-top fashion thusly. I can honestly say that when I started this in January of Aught-Nine, I imagined that I'd have a hundred posts knocked out much, much sooner. Oh, well; it's finally picking up steam and I have no complaints about the journey. Before I get into links and statistics, let's take a moment to pay our respects to Beard Month with eight completely generic nineties-style 'stache/goat combos: The well trimmed goatee was pretty much a career-long mainstay for all of these guys except for Benes. He spent most of his time in San Diego naked-faced, adopting the look only toward the end of his Padres tenure when it was getting trendy. When it first started appearing on his face is when we should have known he was turning evil and would soon become a member of our hated northern rivals. These next four Pads were nowhere near as decisive; they are pictured in a state of limbo, exhibiting the lazy look favored by George Michael and sdsuaztec4 (nope, I'm still not anywhere near done with this post):

Although this is the one hundredth post, more than a hundred cards are depicted. Including the fourteen in this post, 138 to be exact. This is the part where I get my Wonko on and have some fun breaking down numbers that nobody else is even remotely interested in:

• 3 guest posts
• 16 Tony Gwynn posts, 33 cards (24%)
• 10 cards of Padres pictured with other teams (Abner, Furmaniak, Gaudin, Sut, Jerry Hairy x2, Cora x2, C. Gwynn & B. Giles) (7%)
• 7 non Padres sharing a card with a Padre (Edgar Martinez, A-Rod, Brett Butler & Will Clark w/ Tony, Matt Holliday w/ Adrian & J.R. House and Juan Castro with Ben Davis) (5%)
• Two Dodgers (Butler, C. Gwynn) are pictured, albeit with all references to filthy Dodgerdom obscured.
• 19 players pictured more than once, led by Tony's 33; Klesko & Adrian have 6 & 5 respectively; Broke, Joey, Abner & Briles have 3 apiece.
• This month has far and away been the most prolific, with 29 posts to date showcasing 45 cards, including 23 Tonys in 14 posts. Tied for second are February & April of this year with 12 each.
• Two back to back posts in February are tied for the most comments with 7.
• 63 posts are tied with zero comments.
• My friend Shane a.k.a. Shizzle a.k.a. Sheezy is mentioned, inferred to or referenced on 6 occasions.
• Aside from the two Abners Steve sent with his post, there has been 1 reader contribution.
• 4 logoless oddball cards are depicted
• 1 post doesn't have a card- it's the most important post of them all.
• Gaslamp Ball is mentioned, linked or alluded to more times than can be counted.
• Heath Bell has been mentioned the most times without being profiled

Well, I think that just about puts a bow on it. I'd like to use this part to thank everybody who has read, commented on, retweeted, linked, contributed to or had anything whatsoever to do with these first hundred posts. As always, feedback, submissions, suggestions and anything else you can come up with are more than welcome. Thanks once again.

This Rant Has Nothing To Do With Broke's Rookie Card

I remember the incident when Frank Francisco threw a chair at some A's fans, but until a minute ago when I was googling around trying to find a jumping-off point to blather some more about Doug Brocail, I had no idea that Francisco was heated because some ass heckled Brocail about having a stillborn child. Wow, that was one long sentence. Horrible writing right there, kids. Stay in school. But I digress. Yeah, I know people should be the bigger person and let words go and that they're professional athletes and should have a thick skin and blah, blah and blah, but that's some pretty fucked up shit for anyone to say to anyone else. If somebody popped off with some shit like that to a friend or coworker of mine, I'd probably flip out harder than just throwing a chair. Not saying it was right, but it certainly was understandable.

Going For Broke

I somehow missed the news until I saw him make mention of it himself via twitter. Yep, Broke decided to hang 'em up.

I was never Doug Brocail's biggest fan nor did I dislike him as I have many pitchers of Padres past; he always seemed to fly under my radar even during his stints with the Friar. In retrospect, that seems like a point in his favor; he just went out and put in a solid effort without memorable meltdowns ala Linebrink.

I don't know what his post-retirement plans are but I wish him the very best. As someone who's dealt with his and someone else's share of injuries and surgeries and who was, by all accounts, a leader and a great teammate, he certainly deserves it.