Padres Field In Bad Shape

Talk about a bad dye job.

The grounds crew at Qualcomm Stadium spread 10,000 gallons of a vegetable dye called "Wintergreen" mixed with fertilizer on the field in an effort to make it presentable for Game 3 Tuesday night.

It's the second time the field needed treatment during the postseason.

Even with the cosmetic assist, the grass looked less than suitable for a World Series. Right-center field had bare spots from tractors dragged over it to move stands while converting the stadium from baseball to football and back to baseball.

The Padres share the stadium with the NFL's San Diego Chargers, who had a home game last Sunday which chewed up the field and created divots in the outfield.

"It's not bad," San Diego outfielder Tony Gwynn said. "It's going to be quick. It looks green. The dirt is green."

Yankees owner George Steinbrenner wasn't impressed.

"That thing is like a cow pasture," he said after walking the field and complaining about divots. "When I was coaching in the Big 10, I never saw fields that bad."

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