Padres Press Clips Tuesday, December 1, 2015

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Minor moves: Dodgers nearing deal with Tate UT San Diego Sanders 2

Padres poised to unveil new uniforms? UT San Diego Sanders 6

Dave Roberts a fine man, but not Preller’s guy UT San Diego Canepa 8

SDSU, USD game at Petco moved to Dec. 6 MLB.com Kruth 10

Inbox: Who takes over as closer for Padres? MLB.com Brock 11

Multiple events keep crews busy Padres.com Center 13

Hedges finishes winter league stint with 3 HRs in 72 Abs Padres.com Center 17

Holiday Wonderland returns to Petco Park DiscoverSD.com Bowen 19

Bill Walton Basketball Fest kicks off at Petco Park 10news.com 10news

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Minor moves: Dodgers nearing deal with Tate Tracking the Padres' minor league transactions By Jeff Sanders | 10 a.m. Nov. 11, 2015 | Updated, 7:35 p.m. | Nov. 30, 2015 Donavan Tate's career will extend beyond his oft-interrupted stay with the Padres.

A baseball source on Monday confirmed that the former third overall pick is expected to sign a minor league deal with the . The deal is pending confirmation from the commissioner's office.

Baseball America's John Manuel first reported the Dodgers' interest in Tate, who received a Padres-record $6.25 million signing bonus as the Padres' top selection from the 2009 draft. But the high school center fielder failed two drugs within his first two years in pro ball, was banned 50 games at one point (later reduced to 25 games), had endured a number of injuries when he injured his Achilles in the spring of 2014 upon emerging from a second stay at a rehab facility. Healthy in body mind and spirit in 2015, the 25- year-old Tate played all of his final year under Padres control at high Single-A Lake Elsinore, batting .211/.290/.334 with six homers, 34 RBIs and 112 in 95 games after 605 days away from baseball.

"I don’t feel old at all,” Tate said in June while detailing his off-field struggles for this lengthy profile. "This is going to be my second full season playing without injury. I feel like I’ve got a lot of time left in this game. I want to cherish every moment I have.” It seems he'll have at least one more.

A minor league free agent who never played above A-ball, the 6-foot-3, 200-ound Tate is owns a career .229/.334/.324 batting line in 289 games spread across five minor league seasons. He swiped as many as 21 bases in 107 games in 2012 and set career- highs in total bases (111), doubles (15), homers and RBIs in 2015 as he began to piece his life back together.

Already a husband and a father to a 1-year-old girl, Tate and his wife welcomed a second daughter into the world, according to his Twitter account.

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PADRES SIGNED TO MINOR LEAGUE CONTRACTS FOR 2016

 C: Jason Hagerty (AAA)  SS: Diego Goris (AAA)  OF: Alam Martinez, Danny Tovar (17)  RHP: Johnny Hellweg (AAA), Daniel McCuthen (AAA), Luis Diaz (AA), Martires Arias (LoA), Juan Arias (DSL), Aaron Lezema (18)  LHP: Jeff Ibarra (AA), Ramon Benjamin (AA), Omar Fernandez (16)

PADRES' REMAINING PENDING MINOR LEAGUE FREE AGENTS

 C: Miguel Del Castillo (Hi A), Griff Erickson (AA), Tim Federowicz (AAA), Adolfo Reina (AA)  1B: Cody Decker (AAA)  2B: Benji Gonzalez (AAA)  SS: Mike McCoy (AAA), Ramiro Pena (AAA)  OF: Luis Domoromo (AA), Tyson Gillies (AA)  RHP: Juan Arias (DSL), Jordan Hershiser (Hi A), Daniel McCutchen (AAA), James Needy (AA), Aaron Northcraft (AAA), Adys Portillo (Hi A), Jerry Sullivan (AAA), Cecil Tanner (R)  LHP: Eury de la Rosa (AA), Jason Lane (AAA), Caleb Thielbar (AAA)

PREVIOUS ENTRIES Pirates sign Jake Goebbert (Nov. 26, 2015)

A year after finishing the season on the Padres' 40-man roster, Jake Goebbert spent all of 2015 at Triple-A El Paso. His next shot returning to a big league squad will be with the Pirates.

Pittsburgh on Wednesday signed the 28-year-old Goebbert to a big league deal and added him to the 40-man roster as depth at first base and on the corners in the outfield. The left-handed hitter still has three options left.

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"He's a left-handed hitter who does some things we like. He has some defensive flexibility. With the options, he brings us a ton of flexibility and versatility," Pirates general Neal Huntington told MLB.com. "We like the way he commands the zone. We feel like he's a good complement to our existing group of players." Goebbert hit .294/.392/.452 with 10 homers and 62 RBIs in 2015 in the but was never on the receiving end of a call-up despite the Padres losing both and to various injuries throughout the year. Instead, the Padres added Yangervis Solarte into the first base mix, gave some starts there to Derek Norris and recalled minor league signee Brett Wallace.

Acquired in 2014 along with minor league right-hander from Oakland in the deal, Goebbert hit .218/.313/.317 with one homer and 10 RBIs in 101 at-bats in his first major league action.

Herrera was traded to the Yankees earlier this year for infielder Jose Pirela. ALSO

Recent arrivals: Rated as high as No. 4 in the Brewers system in 2013, RHP Johnny Hellweg has signed with the Padres, according to BaseballAmerica.com. The 27-year-old Hellweg stands at 6-foot-7. He had a 6.05 ERA and a 1.89 WHIP in 16 starts (61 IP) spread between high Single-A and Double-A. … RHP Luis Diaz (Red Sox) has signed after posting a 5.47 ERA in Double-A. … 25- year-old RHPMartires Arias (Mets) went 8-5 with a 2.29 ERA, a .203 average against 115 strikeouts and a 1.09 WHIP in 118 innings split between two A-ball stops. Recent departures: According to Baseball America's minor league free agent tracker, 33-year-old RHP Daniel McCutchen has signed another minor league deal with the Padres after going 9-8 with a 3.60 ERA for Triple-A El Paso in 2015. … SS Hector Gomez, 27, will play in Korea in 2016. … RHP Chris Smith, 34, has signed with the Athletics. Decker, Tate now free agents (Nov. 11, 2015)

With the third overall pick in the 2009 draft, the Padres gambled on a two-sport high school athlete they hoped would one day roam center field and hit in the middle of their order and signed him to a club-record $6.25 million signing bonus. Then, 651

4 picks later, they gave a power-hitting college senior with a few thousand bucks and, essentially, wished him luck in his climb up the system.

One exceeded expectations. One … well … did not.

Today, both Donavan Tate and Cody Decker are minor league free agents. Their paths to this point in their careers, of course, have varied greatly.

Decker is free to seek a new employer after amassing 154 homers across seven seasons, a record for a Padres minor leaguer. He hit a many as 29 in 2012, slugged .524 across nearly 3,000 plate appearances and didn’t get an opportunity in the majors until the final weeks of the 2015 season. The 28-year-old infielder//sometimes-outfielder/rarely-a- went 0-for-11 with five strikeouts and a sacrifice fly while appearing in eight games.

The 25-year-old Tate, meanwhile, never advanced higher than high Single-A Lake Elsinore in his six years of Padres control. In fact, he returned to the Cal League this year for a third time in an attempt to resurrect a career derailed by injuries and addiction. In 95 games, Tate hit .211/.290/.334 with six homers, 34 RBIs and 112 strikeouts in 376 plate appearances. A full accounting of the 589 minor league free agents can be at BaseballAmerica.com.

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Padres poised to unveil new uniforms? Team holding joint press conference with U.S. Navy at 1 p.m. Tuesday By Jeff Sanders | 12:08 p.m. Nov. 30, 2015 One hat, apparently, is out of the bag. Probably time to let the jerseys out, too.

Days after a hat store employee posted photos of an early delivery of asunshine-yellow splashed Padres hat, the team on Monday announced a joint press conference with the U.S. Navy set for 1 p.m. Tuesday on the flight deck of the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt, which arrived to its new home port of San Diego last week. Though the subject matter was left off the release, the timing of it is leading to widespread speculation that the Padres are preparing to unveil new uniforms for the 2016 season. Which makes some sense given the belief that the Padres are moving to navy blue camouflage jerseys for their Sunday military appreciation games.

Other details – all unconfirmed by the Padres – leaked at Chris Creamer’s sportslogos.net uniform blog include: ▪ The addition of yellow to the color scheme (see hat, which would be worn with the home uniform) as an accent not unlike its use in the Padres’ official All-Star Game logo. (A Union-Tribune source previously confirmed that hosting the All-Star Game allows for a trial look that could be scrapped if it proves unpopular.) ▪ A new alternate home uniform will incorporate a brown-and-mustard retro look – brown jersey with a “bowtie” Padres wordmark in yellow with a brown cap. ▪ Road uniforms will remain untouched outside the addition of a 2016 All-Star Game patch. ▪ The modern “Swinging Friar” logo will not be worn on the jerseys. In addition to Padres president Mike Dee, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and Capt. Craig Clapperton, commanding officer of the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt, new Padres manager and unnamed “Padres Players” are scheduled to appear.

While pairing yellow with the current navy blue is new (for the Padres, that is – not the Chargers), Padres’ uniforms and logos originally featured yellow from the inception of the team through the mid-80s. The color scheme shifted to brown and orange and morphed to navy blue and orange beginning in 1991. 6

By the time the Padres moved into Petco Park in 2004, sand took over as the new complement to navy blue-based branding. Shifting that accent back to yellow for the 2016 season would help reconnect the current state of the organization to its original look.

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Dave Roberts a fine man, but not Preller’s guy Win or lose, this is A.J.'s production and it's his job to select the cast By Nick Canepa | 6 a.m. Nov. 29, 2015 Sez Me … Dave Roberts is a good guy. Impossible not to like Doc.

A fine baseball man. Smart. Passionate. Cancer survivor. Local. Sophisticated. Wine connoisseur. Even quarterbacked the great 1989 Rancho Buena Vista High football team, one of my favorites. Man, they were good.

But he is not the Padres’ new manager. And although scores of other qualified (or unqualified) people aren’t, many Angry Villagers who carry a torch for him can’t believe San Diego — which (horrors!) didn’t even interview him for its vacant managerial position filled by Andy Green — let him get away to manage the Dodgers. Padres General Manager A.J. Preller didn’t want Roberts. Simple. He certainly had the opportunity, in that Doc was bench coach under . After firing Bud, Preller needed an interim manager and interviewed Roberts, along with Pat Murphy. The job went to Pat, who later probably wished Doc got the job.

How much more do we need to know? If A.J. didn’t want Roberts to be his interim manager, why would he want him as permanent skipper?

Was it a slap in the face? Hardly. Preller hired Green and will have to live with it. It was his hire, get it? Not ours.

We live in an age where we like to think we know everything and yet we don’t know much of anything. We aren’t in hiring and firing business. I’m getting emails from readers who say they let Bruce Bochy get away, but I can tell you now I received thousands of emails — probably from some of these same people — who hated Bochy’s guts and couldn’t wait for him to leave.

Andy and Dave both played in the majors. Roberts never had managed a game at any level until he lost the one he skippered after Black was canned. How can the Dodgers know for sure he’ll be better than ? They can’t. No more than Preller

8 can know Green will be better than Black. Andy at least has managerial papers from the minor league level. So there’s a history.

If anything, really, Green is more qualified.

They may be great. They may stink. Even if Roberts is remarkable — and he has the Bank of England to work with where he’s going — we couldn’t be certain he would have been the guy for the Padres. Different place, different players. Less money. Different set of problems.

As much as I like Doc, I have no problem with Preller not hiring a man he had to know better than the Dodgers do. There was a reason. And it’s A.J.’s gig. It was his to win, it will be his to lose. …

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SDSU, USD game at Petco moved to Dec. 6 Event is part of weeklong Bill Walton Basketball Festival By Cash Kruth / MLB.com | November 29th, 2015 The San Diego State University vs. University of San Diego men's basketball game at Petco Park has been moved to Dec. 6 at 2 p.m. PT.

The date of the game, originally Dec. 5, was switched to avoid conflict with the Mountain West Conference football championship game, which San Diego State hosts that day at Qualcomm Stadium. Tickets already purchased for the game will be valid, but no refunds will be issued for the annual matchup. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by visitingwww.padres.com/bball.

The game will be the first men's basketball game at Petco Park and is part of the weeklong Bill Walton Basketball Festival, which tips off Monday morning on an outdoor basketball court that has been built on Petco Park's infield.

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Inbox: Who takes over as closer for Padres? Beat reporter Corey Brock answers offseason questions from fans By Corey Brock / MLB.com | @FollowThePadres | November 27th, 2015 Now that you've had your fill of turkey and all the trimmings of Thanksgiving, let's dive back into the Padres' offseason with a list of your questions.

What do the Padres feel as far as viable closer options within the system? I don't see anyone on the 40-man roster I would want closing games for me. -- Harrison Montague, Provo, Utah I agree that there's no one at the upper levels of the Padres' system who rates as Major League-ready in terms of closing games or even pitching in the back end of games. That said, there's some options on the 40-man roster. Cesar Vargas, whom the Padres just signed to a big league deal, could pitch important innings if he's indeed a fit. Kevin Quackenbush has closed games before and Brandon Maurer, who had a big season as the team's seventh-inning guy, could slide into a more important role in the bullpen. But will either of them close? I'm not sure. I know the team has shown interest in free agent Joakim Soria. That said, I don't think this is where the team allocates a lot of money moving forward.

Would a trade with the Angels seem possible? Their need of a good catcher and second baseman or third baseman would match up well with us. The team could then take a contract off their hands like C.J. Wilson and maybe a younger pitcher like Andrew Heaney? -- Chas Parada, San Diego The Angels just signed Geovany Soto and he might well end up in a job share withCarlos Perez behind the plate, so I'm not sure the Angels would still be looking to add a catcher -- though someone like Derek Norris would offer an upgrade there. The Padres would like to add a left-handed pitcher, but Wilson is set to make $20 million this season in the final year of his deal. Unless the Angels are willing to take on some of that, I don't think the Padres would be interested. Heaney would certainly be a nice fit, but I imagine they see him as a very nice cost- controlled piece of their rotation moving forward.

Any chance the Padres trade away Andrew Cashner to another team? I know that Tyson Ross is wanted, so maybe a package deal? -- Jason Freund, Santee, Calif. I wonder about this myself, Jason. I don't think the market for Cashner would be nearly as strong as it was a year ago at this time. He threw a career-high 184 2/3 innings, but his walk rate jumped (from 2.12 per nine innings in 2014 to 3.22) and he averaged fewer than six innings a start. Still, it stands to reason that he was a bit unlucky (.330 BABIP, batting average on balls in 11 play) and the defense let him down (22 unearned runs). A team (and maybe the Padres are that team) could bet on or hope for improved returns in 2016. There's value there in the market for sure -- I'm just not sure how other teams view him.

Do you think will be shopped before ? If so, what prospects would the Padres get in return for him? -- Michelle Redondo, San Diego

This is weird strange one, Michelle. I don't know how much stock to put into the rumors that the Padres are looking to move Kemp. Certainly, he's owed a lot of money on his current deal, but the team knew that when it acquired him last year. I think moving him in a deal wouldn't net you anything other than salary relief from the team that would take him on. General manager A.J. Preller will listen to offers on all of his players. I just don't know if there's a deal out there where the Padres can move Kemp and his salary.

Hi, Corey, I'm a big Padres fan and I'm curious to see how things unfold this offseason. Do you believe that the Pads will land a top free agent? -- Robbie Charles, San Diego Hey, Robbie, good question. We know this much: The Padres trimmed about $19 million of payroll for 2016 by trading relievers Joaquin Benoit and . Preller even went as far to say the team has greater financial flexibility now to potentially pursue players in free agency. But will they? I can't see the Padres getting too deep in conversations with some of the big- ticket players out there --Chris Davis, etc. But there could be some smarter and less expensive fits. Could the Padres find a shortstop on a smaller deal, like Alexei Ramirez, while waiting for newly acquired Javier Guerra to reach the big leagues, for example?

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Multiple Petco Park events keep crews busy Basketball Festival, Holiday Wonderland share field this week By Bill Center / MLB.com | November 30th, 2015

As everyone knows, the Padres play 81 homes games each season at Petco Park.

But not as readily known is the fact that the Padres' downtown home hosts more than twice as many non- baseball events each season -- the variety ranging from Comic-Con forums to corporate programs to concerts to the Rock & Roll Marathon to Supercross and Monster Truck shows.

And more. So much more. This week, Petco Park will host two events simultaneously -- the Bill Walton Basketball Festival and the Holiday Wonderland.

The basketball festival opened Monday and will conclude Sunday with the rescheduled basketball game between San Diego State and the University of San Diego. The second annual Holiday Wonderland opens Friday.

"It's been busy around here," said Nick Capo, who, as Petco Park's senior director of ballpark operations and events, is responsible for the logistics surrounding the construction of various events at Petco Park. And before the construction began for the Basketball Festival/Holiday Wonderland, Petco Park had been transformed into a nine-hole golf course -- The Links at Petco Park.

"Petco Park is an entertainment hub for San Diego," said Capo, a member of the ballpark management team. "We're like an outdoor convention center. It's challenging at times, but fun. Baseball is the only constant."

Part of the fun is wondering what Petco Park leaders will come up with next. A championship boxing match? A WWE wrestling event? The next great concert? Or something truly different? After all, who would have thought about putting a golf course inside Petco Park.

"The sky is the limit," said Capo. "We've pretty much done it all … maybe a haunted house for future Halloweens. Part of the fun is guessing what they can do next. It helps to be close to the Convention Center.

"We're perfectly positioned when a large group needs a hospitality site." 13

Petco Park's location in the heart of San Diego's action district is not the only thing going for special events in the Padres' home.

"Part of it is where we are located," said Capo. "Some ballparks are dealing with snow over the winter. But part of it is our leadership and relationships. We do a lot of things the public never sees."

Everyone knows that Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones and Taylor Swift all played Petco Park in the past 15 months. But did you know Aerosmith was at Petco Park recently playing for a private corporate event?

The ballpark management team is led by Mark Guglielmo, the general manager of Petco Park and the Padres' vice president of ballpark operations.

In addition to Capo, other key members of the team include director of event operations Ken Kawachi, director of field operations and head groundskeeper Matt Balough and senior manager of special events Jaclyn Lash.

"The planning phase brings the event and experience to life," said Capo. "The logistics and execution puts the planning into motion."

The logistics, however, are complicated in that all the materials used in the construction and staging of special events on the field of Petco Park -- including cranes -- have to pass through one tunnel at the corner of the Western Metal Supply Co. building.

Seldom has that tunnel witnessed more action than in the past couple weeks as crews built the outdoor basketball court and the grandstands at the same time other workers were starting construction of the Holiday Wonderland.

It all started with the conclusion of the golf event on Nov. 5.

First, Balough had to get the playing field back in shape for a two-day baseball event Nov. 11-12, followed by a special event the following day.

Capo's team immediately started bringing in the basketball court and grandstands.

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Construction of the bleachers started on Nov. 15 and was completed a week later -- the same day construction started on both the basketball court and Holiday Wonderland.

"We have a lot of vendors working on different things at the same time," Capo said. "There's a lot of teamwork and cooperation involved starting at the line to move equipment and parts through the tunnel."

More than 4,500 temporary seats were built for the San Diego State-USD basketball game in two areas.

While Seating Solutions was constructing the grandstands and the court was going down, Capo was coordinating the construction of Holiday Wonderland starting with the snow hill. Then he'd go back to the basketball site to coordinate the construction of camera positions. Then back to Holiday Wonderland …

"Six to seven companies are involved in these two projects, plus the labor," Capo said. "No event ever goes 100 percent to plan. You don't go in hoping it will. You go in knowing that when things don't go completely as planned, you have the plan and people to fix the problem. We learn with every event."

For example, the San Diego State-USD basketball game was pushed back from Saturday to Sunday at 2 p.m. because the Aztecs will be hosting the Mountain West Conference football championship game Saturday afternoon at Qualcomm Stadium. But the Bill Walton Basketball Festival is much more than Sunday's featured attraction -- the first college basketball game ever at Petco Park. Tickets for Sunday's San Diego State-USD game are still available at padres.com/bball.

Starting Monday, there will be 26 events on the court through Sunday, including six high school games, corporate 3-on-3 games, youth games, clinics with Bill Walton and special events for wheelchair basketball teams.

Although construction activities slow during the week of the Basketball Festival -- remember, finishing touches will still being made to the Holiday Wonderland --Guglielmo's team will remain busy.

Major League Baseball officials will be visiting Petco Park this week to discuss planning for next July's All-Star Game.

And the cycle continues.

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"We're already talking about how we can improve next year's golf event," Capo said. "We debrief after every event to figure out ways to make it better."

Following the closing of Holiday Wonderland on Dec. 23, the crew at Petco Park gets two days off.

Then on Dec. 26, the crew starts planning for January's motorsports events while replacing all the lights at Petco Park with Musco's SportsCluster LED lighting system.

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Hedges finishes winter league stint with 3 HRs in 72 ABs 2 free agent pitchers have 0.00 ERA By Bill Center / | November 30th, 2015 Austin Hedges took another step toward becoming a full-time Major League catcher the past two months when he hit .236 with three homers in 21 games for Escogido of the Dominican Republic Winter League. Hedges, 23, completed his tour with the Leones two weeks ago and was replaced on the Escogido roster by another Padres catcher, Rocky Gale.

The 27-year-old Gale is off to an 11-for-28 (.393) in eight games with the Leones.

That Gale would succeed Hedges with the Leones is not a coincidence. Moises Alou, who is a special assistant in the Padres' player development department, is also the general manager of the Leones. Hedges decided to play winter ball and get more at-bats after hitting .168 in 137 at-bats for the Padres in 56 games as Derek Norris' backup last season. Hedges made his Major League debut last May 4 after hitting .324 in 21 games with Triple-A El Paso.

Hedges determined he needed more playing time after getting only 208 at-bats during the regular 2015 season.

The Padres are happy with the way Hedges played in his first season of winter ball in a foreign country. Hedges' defensive tools, including his handling of pitchers and game management, are already considered to be at the Major League level. But his offensive skills were just developing at El Paso when the Padres needed him to back up Norris. Hedges was the Padres' second round pick in the 2011 Draft.

Two other hitters continue to impress the Padres in winter ball. Jose Pirela, who turned 26 on Nov. 21, is hitting .357 with a .434 on-base percentage with Zulia in his native Venezuela. Pirela was acquired by the Padres from the Yankees last Nov. 11 in a trade for pitcher Ronald Herrera. The infielder has a .255 average in 98 at-bats over the past two seasons with the Yankees.

Pirela is 45-for-126 for Zulia with nine doubles, two triples, two homers, 15 RBIs and 24 runs scored in 33 games. Pirela ranks fifth in batting average and on-base percentage in Venezuela and is seventh in runs scored. He is a candidate to make the Padres 2016 roster.

Luis Urias, 18, is hitting .280 (30-for-107) with a .369 on-base percentage in 36 games for Obregon of the Mexican Pacific League. 17

Recently signed Minor League free-agent pitchers Luis Diaz and Ramon Benjamin are also pitching well in winter leagues. Both are on the roster of Triple-A El Paso.

Right-handed starter Diaz, 23, is 1-1 with a 1.55 ERA over 46 1/3 innings in nine starts in Venezuela. He pitched in the Double-A Eastern League last season and was 2-10 with a 5.47 ERA in 27 starts.

Left-handed reliever Benjamin, 28, has a 0.00 ERA in five relief appearances in the Dominican Republic. He has allowed three hits in six innings. Benjamin was 7-4 with six saves and a 2.88 ERA in 51 relief appearances between high Advanced and Double-A last season. He allowed 54 hits with 52 strikeouts in 65 2/3 innings.

Two right-handed relievers who finished last season in the Padres' bullpen are also off to fast starts in winter ball. Marcos Mateo is 1-0 with five saves and a 0.00 ERA in 10 appearances in the Dominican Republic. He has 10 strikeouts with one walk in 10 innings. Jay Jacksonis 1-0 with three saves and a 0.00 ERA in nine appearances in Mexico. He has 16 strikeouts in nine innings.

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Holiday Wonderland returns to Petco Park The second annual Petco Park Holiday Wonderland is back with rides, lights and Santa-sightings on Dec. 4 By Liz Bowen12:34 P.M.NOV. 30, 2015 Ready to spread the holiday cheer? Head over to Petco Park for the second annual Holiday Wonderland event taking place each Friday, Saturday and Sunday from Dec. 4 through Dec. 23. The festivities will also be open for a few dates during the week of Christmas on Monday, Dec. 21 and Wednesday, Dec. 23.

The winter celebration, taking place both on the field and inside the stadium, is ideal for all-ages. This year’s festivities will include large lighting displays, a polar express ride, a 40-foot-tall lit-up Christmas tree, snow play, reindeer feeding and the chance to sit on good ol’ Saint Nick’s lap. Special holiday-inspired Padres merchandise and collectables will also be available for purchase.

A ride on the polar express around the Petco Park field is $5. For $25, children can enjoy the classic photo-op on Santa’s lap, including a printed photo, dedicated line and a celebratory Padres ornament.

Food and refreshments will be available on-site each night of the event.

Admission is $15 for adults; $10 for children. Attendees can also purchase the Red Bow Package for $50, which offers two tickets that are good for any night of the event, private separate entry to the field and a limited edition Padres-themed The Elf on the Shelf. Tickets can be purchased at purchase.tickets.com.

For more information, please visit sandiego.padres.mlb.com

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Bill Walton Basketball Fest kicks off at Petco Park

City News Service 6:33 AM, Nov 30, 2015 3:38 PM, Nov 30, 2015 SAN DIEGO -- San Diego will give outdoor hoops another shot this week with the Bill Walton Basketball Festival, which began Monday at Petco Park.

The seven-day event is highlighted by a game between San Diego State and the University of San Diego -- now rescheduled for Sunday because the Mountain West Conference football championship game between the Aztecs and the Air Force Academy will be played at Qualcomm Stadium Saturday.

After some corporate 3-on-3 games, the first day of the festival will feature high school contests. The tourney is named for Walton, the former Helix High, UCLA and Portland Trail Blazers star. Walton went on to play for the then-San Diego Clippers from 1979-1985.

The opener at 3 p.m. Monday will match traditional girls' powers La Jolla Country Day and Mt. Miguel. The La Jolla Country Day boys will follow with a game against San Ysidro. The nightcap at 7 p.m. will be the San Ysidro girls against Castle Park.

The week will also include physical education classes for nearby schools, a coaches clinic and open court play for various organizations.

The festival is a variation of the short-lived aircraft carrier game rage a few years ago. North Carolina and Michigan State played on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson on Veterans Day 2011 in San Diego Bay in a very well-received event that spawned a few spinoffs that didn't go as well.

The next year, a game between San Diego State and Syracuse was postponed for two days by bad weather, and when it went on, players from both teams were bothered by the sun and breeze.

Two other games that were to take place on vessels on the East Coast were canceled because of poor court conditions.

The weather forecast in San Diego this week calls for mostly sunny skies and light breezes.

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