A Mixtape for #Padres Fans

Are you old enough to remember buying blank cassettes in order to make a mixtape -- a collection of songs with particular significance, or just the ones you wanted to listen to on repeat in your Walkman?

#AgingMyself

I still like to make mixtapes for all occasions (i.e. - holidays, birthdays, dinner parties, road trips), only now with Itunes I don't have to wait for a certain song to come on the radio and hit "record" on my little purple Sony cassette player. Technology has changed lives, dude.

Anyways, as any San Diego Padres fan -- or anyone whose team isn't necessarily lighting up the standings -- knows, it's a long season. Sometimes when the on-the-field performance isn't much to speak of, conversation turns elsewhere. I've had the pleasure of great conversations with local fans via the magic of Twitter, and a few common themes seems to come up over and over again ---

• why does it feel like the ownership doesn't listen to fans? why do they refuse when asked to offer insight on the supposed fan feedback and focus groups whose data leads them to make decisions on the fan experience and marketing?
• on that note - why does it feel like the ownership and management does nothing to really endear itself to fans, instead distancing itself through the same mediocre business decisions? 
• why does it seem like the team makes the same decisions over and over when from an armchair quarterback perspective, they're idiots? 
• why can't we get three hits in a row (as Steve Poltz so perfectly sang)... your pitchers should't have to throw a shutout every night in order to make sure you have a chance to win... I'm a pitching-and-defense-appreciating girl, but at some point you do have to score in order to win.
• why must we suffer through the same disappointing cycle of tracking our minor league prospects' progress for years, celebrating their debut in the majors and enjoying their success, only to see them traded to a big-time team for more prospects when they are due a new contract?

• And, BRING BACK THE BROWN, ALREADY (or, don't because it looks like poop and the '70s uniforms are ugly and we have no imagination to visualize a modern, updated uniform that incorporates brown as a tribute to Padres' history and to differentiate ourselves from the multitudes of teams wearing blue, which the aforementioned management has latched onto for no apparent reason).... there's some healthy debate on this one, but I refuse to believe that we're the so-called "vocal minority."

And thus, I have made a mixtape for my fellow long-suffering Padres fans, to reflect these thoughts and conversations, inspire hope, and maybe offer a little comic relief. I hope it brings a small slice of satisfaction to this fabulous and long-suffering fanbase.

1. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction; The Rolling Stones -- whether it's like, every pitcher in your starting rotation and half the bullpen needing Tommy John the same year, your homegrown second baseman signing a huge contract and then seemingly forgetting what a bat is for, your starting pitched giving up one run in the first but otherwise pitching a gem and still getting a 1-0 loss, or the ownership making a strong declaration that they claim is based on market research and refuse to disclose said research, it can be hard to get much satisfaction from this team sometimes (and yet, nobody is going anywhere... #KeepTheFaith)
2. I Wanna' Know What Love Is; Foreigner -- "In my life, there's been heartache and pain; I don't know if I can face it again... Can't stop now, I've traveled so far, to change this lonely heart..." I consider this a bit of a love letter to the ownership. CHOOSE ME. LOVE ME. TAKE ME OUT TO A NICE DINNER AND SHOW ME YOU STILL CARE.  

   

   I hate this show and every character in it because of lines like this.

3. Don't Let Me Down; The Beatles -- the title is self-explanatory. Nobody ever loved them like we does.
4. You Were Always On My Mind; Willie Nelson -- I imagine that this would be the ownership/management's answer to my plaintive #3-4.
5. The Fixer; Pearl Jam -- Couldn't leave out something from the center of The Vedder Cup. Don't we all wish some Fixer would come in and get. shit. done. on the field, in the front office, on the teevee, etc. We need a Doug Stamper (and YES I GOT IN A DOUG STAMPER REFERENCE). 

   

   New Manager?

6. I Want You Back; N'Sync -- dedicated to Brown Uniforms everywhere.  

   

   No poop-and-mustard-colored uniform could ever be as awkward as this.

7. We're All in This Together; High School Musical soundtrack -- the Padres are a mid-market team, generally shunned or ignored by the national media, and our home games are routinely infiltrated by fans of other teams who are either SD transplants or or marked the trip on their calendar when the schedule came out because Why Wouldn't You Want To Come To San Diego On Vacation From Chicago?  Fellow Fans, the odds are stacked against us; we shouldn't waste our time and energy on arguing within the ranks on the uniform color or who's batting eighth. 
8. Fighter; Christina Aguilera  -- Hey Padres, it's frustrating loving you sometimes. Thanks for making me a little bit stronger. "But your joy ride just came down in flames 'cause your greed sold me out in shame" -- dedicated to the '93 fire sale (in which I distinctly remember being So. Mad. in the car with my dad -- I think we were getting tacos -- at the trading of Gary Sheffield, but then I stood next to him crying at Trevor's #51 retirement ceremony so sometimes life comes full-circle.) Full disclosure -- I would have preferred a way to get Dirrty on this list as far as Xtina goes, but I wanted to maintain the integrity of this project.
9. Hold On; Wilson Phillips -- it's kind of like the musical manifestation of Keep The Faith. 
10. Faithfully; Journey -- it can't be easy being a professional ballplayer... the long road trips (especially the young'uns on long bus trips), the pressure of trying to make the most of every opportunity... I've had this conversation many times over the years --- for all their frustrating decisions, I've always felt like, overall, the Padres have a pretty good group of guys. Not a ton of assholes in the bunch. And, at least in recent years, even when the talent might not be up to par and the going gets tough, you never doubt that they're at the plate just phoning it in... they're at least trying.  So I imagine this as a duet between players and fans.
11. I Dreamed a Dream; Les Miserables soundtrack -- A bit dramatic. But remember when you were just a youngster of a fan and yeah the losses hurt and sometimes players let you down but you didn't know enough to really critique the team and either way it didn't matter because you were just so damn happy and excited to watch baseball? Going to a game was like going to Disneyland combined with Chuck E. Cheese combined with your birthday. Why don't we retain that excitement?  

    

    vive la revolution?

12. Stand By Your Man; Tammy Wynette -- and show the world you love him. Keep giving all the love you can.
13. They Go to San Diego; Mel Torme - because we're the destination for pitchers hoping to revitalize their careers, troubled players needing a change of scenery, or once-glorious bats hoping to squeak out a couple more seasons in a low-pressure environment with plenty of golf options and a great environment that their kids will love during the summer.
14. A Little Bit is Better Than Nada; The Texas Tornados -- because mediocre and even downright bad baseball is better than no baseball (also, this is from the Tin Cup soundtrack and you gotta' love Kevin Costner playing a down-on-his-luck athlete going after his dream, right?).
15. The Weather is Here, Wish You Were Beautiful; Jimmy Buffett -- more for the title/chorus than the entirety of the lyrics, but hey, come for the weather, right?
16. Won't Get Fooled Again; The Who -- One, this is a fave of mine and completely bad ass. Speak up with your voice and your wallet and demand more from the powers-that-be, it's our money their taking to  (not so easy when bad baseball is better than no baseball, though).
17. Minority; Green Day -- another tribute to the "Vocal Minority" of the #BringBackTheBrown movement.
18. Local Hero; Bruce Springsteen -- let me get deep for a second; because I feel like whoring the Park in the Park out to the Fox Sports San Diego desk (on what planet is it necessary to have a desk/stage that big?) has compromised the Park in the Park experience (the top of the hill was among the best seats out there) and more importantly, the Tony Gwynn statue. There is no justifiable excuse in my mind for that monstrosity of a news desk to be blocking Mr. Padre and taking away from fans' ability to experience something so meaningful (this has been covered much more eloquently here). 

    

    Tony deserves better. So do the fans.

19. Let It Be; The Beatles -- When the night is covered by the marine layer, there is still a light that shines on our team... 'til tomorrow, Let It Be. There will be an answer.... maybe from the draft, maybe from a trade or free agency signing, maybe from yet another Tommy John; but listen to your heart for The Colonel's words of wisdom. 
20. Baseball; Ozma -- baseball is inherently nostalgic... and it's a GAME. Let's not let the business of baseball ruin the thrill of a triple, the grace of a double play, or the edge-of-your-seat drama of a no-hit bid. As Crash Davis said better than I ever could; "This game's fun, ok? Fun goddammit!"

    

    It would always be worse.

Ok Padres fans, what do you think? Agree/disagree...what songs would you add? I would love to expand the list!! Aside from making the on-the-field changes that the team obviously needs, what would you do to make sure we're all having more fun (goddammit)? Have you signed the Bring Back the Brown petition yet? Is "You Lost That Loving Feeling" a good move for in-game sing-along or is it like trying to make "Fetch" happen?

xoxox

Keeping the Faith,