It's right there, for everyone to see: beautiful Petco Park, the gem of a baseball diamond, that has become the heart and soul of the rebirth of the Gaslamp Quarter.

It's right there for everyone to see: the Padres, embarking on a crucial 11-game homestand, with woeful Houston, outmanned Washington, and battered Colorado coming to town.

It's right there for everyone to see: a Padres team, despite winning 8 road games over the last two trips, still in last place in the National League West, in fact further behind now than they were last week. Those gruesome Padres batting statistics they've compiled in their "Home Sweet Home."

With the Astros in town, followed by the Nationals, then the Rockies, it is indeed time for the Padres to make Petco Park a special place. This is their chance to make a statement, make a move in a troubled Western Division race, before it gets too late.

It's right there before your eyes. San Diego is 9-20 in front of the home fans this year. The Padres are hitting a woeful .199 at home, the worst batting average of any of the 30 teams in baseball this year in their home stadiums. Our San Diego team, which gets men on base but cannot drive them in, has an even lower average .163 with runners in scoring position at home.

This was supposed to be a bridge year in San Diego, importing some veteran players on short term contracts, hoping to extract a good year out of them before the stars in the farm system arrive. Anthony Rizzo continues to tear up the Pacific Coast League, and if stays there all summer, he might be on track to hit 45 homers and drive in an amazing 150 runs in Tucson. James Darnell is putting up equally monster numbers at San Antonio.

In San Diego, April was horrid. May was a bit better. Ryan Ludwick has been a terror, raising his batting average 78 points in 21 days, quite a feat, when you consider he was hitting .125 in April. Brad Hawpe has dragged his average from an anemic .071 into the .250 range, hitting home runs and finally getting on base. The improvement in shortstop Jason Bartlett is similar. And Chase Headley brings home a hitting streak and improved on-base percentage too.

But all this improvement has come on the road, not at the friendly confines -- or is it the "not-so-friendly" confines -- of Petco Park.

General Manager Jed Hoyer laid down the law before this last road trip. This losing, this whining, this poor play, will not continue. Owner Jeff Moorad went public saying there will be no changes in the dimensions of Petco Park. You'll have to hit it 420 feet to get it out in left and right center and dead in the middle of the diamond.

What has to change is the culture, the mindset of the roster. Make Petco Park your home field advantage. Drive the ball into the alleys, psyche out the other teams when their long fly balls get caught at the fence and the warning track. Last year's 90-win team was built on speed, stolen bases, great pitching, strong defense, and manufactured rallies.

This year's home show has been dominated by strikeouts, tons of errors, lack of timely hits, 9 shutouts and a pile of one run losses. That all played before sagging attendance and empty seats, with still four months of baseball to be played.

Moorad has preached to his players. Fenway Park has the Green Monster and the Red Sox use it to its advantage. Wrigley Field has the wind blowing out, and it helps the Cubs. Colorado has thin air, altitude, and the humidor, and it makes them better. He has challenged his teams to make Petco their fun house and someone else's house of horrors.

The pitching has gotten progressively better. Young phenom Mat Latos, not always bringing his best stuff to the mound, has been left out there to figure it out, and is 3-1 with a 3.38 ERA coming home. Scoring runs for Tim Stauffer and Dustin Moseley is still a challenge. In 10 starts, San Diego has given Stauffer 16 runs to work with. No one has forgotten Moseley going 25 innings of starts before his team scored its first run for him this season.

The bullpen remains strong, though overworked, but it is those bats that must rally at home.

It's right there for everyone to see. A critical 11-game homestand in June, that either makes the Padres a contender, or buries them as a pretender.

The NL West is a mess. The Giants are without their superstar young catcher Buster Posey, gone for the year with a broken ankle, and power hitting third baseman Pablo Sandoval, out with a broken wrist. The dysfunctional Dodgers have five relief pitchers on the disabled list. Colorado has stopped hitting, has 3-of-5 starting pitchers hurt, and ace Ubaldo Jiminez has just one win. Arizona is rolling, but it is a long season, with a young pitching staff and lots of summer heat ahead.

It is indeed "Put up-Shut up" time for the Friars, and it has to start right now, in this yard, against those teams.