Reporting on the first day of spring in Peoria, the Padres pitching staff on paper seem so strong. Jake Peavy, Chris Young, Greg Maddox, Shawn Estes, Mark Prior, Trevor Hoffman, Heath Bell, Cla Meredith, Joe Thatcher and so on. Yes, on paper that looked very promising though paper do not win ballgames. Here are my assessments.....

• Jake Peavy - The lone shining star on the pitching staff for the entire year. Imagine if Jake had any run support his win totals would have been more than 10 and Padres losses would be below 90. Grade - B.
• Chris Young - His season went down the tubes with that nasty liner from Cardinals' 1B Albert Pulos. In all fairness and with due respect in Chris comeback which is no gimmie, his grade reflects that. Grade - C
• Greg Maddox - Was the main horse for the Padres and should have won more games than he did with the Padres. For a player over the age of 40, Greg was still dealing it better than those who are 20 years in junior to him. Grade - B+.
• Trevor Hoffman - Trevor's struggles right off from the gate had set the tone for the Padres season. A few gut wrenching losses in the beginning had many people wondering what kind of a year 2008 was going to be. Grade - C.
• Heath Bell - Heath lived off 2007 season reputation and offered more long balls in crucial situations in 08 as compared to 07 season. Grade - C-.

All others not worth grading on, 99 losses says enough.....

Dugout chatter.....

After hearing the talk about the possibilities of trading P Jake Peavy, I wonder why San Diegans are so upset. The Padres just completed a season with 99 losses, how do we expect the Padres to improve if they do not make any moves ? In order to get talent, an organization needs to trade talent. It's called about leveraging your assets to get better. I am one of the very few season ticketholders who are looking for a mega trade to happen. I expect one or two of the followng players to be traded, Khalil Greene, Adrian Gonzalez, Jake Peavy, Kevin Kouzmanoff, Heath Bell, and Chris Young. As a season ticketholder, I am a San Diego Padres fan first, fan's favorites comes second in my book. The days of Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell and Ron Cey being together for 10 years are long and gone. Hey ! Even Pete Rose left Cincinnati. If the Padres do not make a mega trade, I will ask for a 10% discount on 2009 Season ticket package. It's time to hunker down and make some bold movements, otherwise the franchise is sending the wrong message to it's Players and Fan base. Yes, the fan base that supplements their profits.

Stay tuned....

Nov 3 - 6 is the GM Meetings in Dana Point, by then something should be brewing. Hang in there Padres fans! Like you and I sitting on the sidelines watching and waiting...

This is the 2nd of 6 posts in regards to grading the Padres Organization and Ballclub. The Padres entered Peoria back in February with many questions in the outfield. Left field was up for grabs, Center field had the aging Jim Edmonds and in Right field, Brian Giles was coming off knee surgery. So basically, there were holes in the outfield to begin with and this didn't bode well.

• LF - Scott Hairston played rather well in both left field and center field. Scott provided pop with his lethal bat and injected speed to the Padres ballclub. Grade - B. Chase Headley was called up in June and hit his 1st homer in Yankee Stadium against the Yanks. The last Padre player to debut against the Yanks was P Jake Peavy and we all know the kind of player Jake is now. Things look promising for Chase. Grade - C+.
• CF - Jim Edmonds pickup was a huge mistake and brought memories back of the trade of Woody Williams for Ray Lankford. Egawds ! I just hope the Padres ballclub isn't snake bitten by David Freese in the upcoming years. I guess Padres' GM Kevin Towers didn't learn from his past mistake in dealing with the St. Louis Cardinals for an aging semi-retired outfielder. Maybe, just maybe Kevin Towers will learn from this. Grade - F. On the bright spot, Jody Gerut was a pleasant surprise and provided great defense along with a sound bat at the plate. In fact, Gerut in my opinion won a spot on the roster for 2009 and he will be a catalyst for the ballclub. Grade - B.
• RF - The dependable, heart and soul of the ballclub Brian Giles played great as usual. I know Giles didn't hit more dingers but Giles led by example and is a key ingredient for the Padres in 2009. Hopefully, the Pick-n-Save Padres will empty the purse strings in order to keep one of their good players. It remains to be seen, Grade - B+.

 

On the side note, just dreaming here and tossing out a wild idea, well maybe not that wild. Just recently, it was made known through the media outlet the Padres had issues with SS Khalil Greene for accidently injuring himself. The Padres want to dock Greene's payment for 2 months. I can understand the Front Office perspective, though I have something to toss out myself. Since being a Season Ticketholder, I would like to get a sweet deal like NBA New Jersery Net franchise are giving their season ticketholders. But in my case would be for enduring the Great Padres 2008 Season collapse. Check this out.....

"Mr. Yormark of the Nets said he knew before the summer the sputtering economy would make this one of the toughest off-seasons in his 20-year career. Last season, the Nets traded their biggest star, Jason Kidd, then unloaded the popular Richard Jefferson in June.

This off-season, Mr. Yormark told his sales staff to be creative. In the spring the team pledged to give back 10% of any season-ticket purchase in the form of a gas card. When the team secured the 10th pick in the NBA draft, it began slashing prices on season tickets.

Then came a buy-one-get-one-free season ticket offer. When the financial markets collapsed, taking out thousands of jobs in the Nets' backyard, Mr. Yormark instituted the buy-now-pay-later offer."

- source Wall Street Journal, "As Economy Weakens, Sports Feel a Chill", 14 Oct 2008.- 

Upcoming next, the Starting Pitchers..... 

 

 

This is the 1st of 6 reports based on the 2008 San Diego Padres baseball club from the players up to the Front Office. Today's posting deals with the Infielders including Catchers. Here are my personal assessment and grades:

• 1B - Adrian Gonzalez, one word 'STUD'. The best player on the team and still has tremendous skills to improve on his career year. What Adrian accomplished with no support in the line-up is purely amazing. Just think where the Padres would be without Adrian, most likely staring at 110 loses. Grade - A+
• 2B - Hmmm, I am still waiting on Padres CEO Sandy Alderson to find that easy to come by second baseman. Back in 2007, the Front Office thought Marcus Giles was bad, 2008 was even worse. After reading Padres' GM Kevin Towers statement in the Union Tribune on Saturday 11 Oct 08 "Towers said. "I don't see us going out and getting a second baseman."  I just cringed at this remark, anyhow I keep my fingers crossed in hopes Towers was just blowing smoke. Grade - F.
• SS - Khalil Greene, I could sum up Greene in two words "September Sabbaticals". Ahh, it appears a pattern is occurring and perhaps Khalil is instituting the Academic philosophy to his profession at Shortstop. Khalil's performance for the year was simply horrible. Grade - F.
• 3B - Kevin Kouzmanoff, made progress and performed commendably for his second season in the big leagues. The other marketable starting position player on the Padres along with Adrian Gonzalez, who may end up in a trade. Grade - B+.
• C - So many here to report and grade on. Though I will keep it simple and categorize this position into Veterans and Rookies. Veterans - Barrett and Bard. Hmmm, I wonder if Barrett brought over the Cubs curse to San Diego. As for Bard, I bet he wishes that Piazza was still around so Josh could be in the shadows and substitute from time to time. Grade - F. Rookies - Carlin and Hundley, well Carlin almost hit like Comedian George Carlin on the field but was a very respectable behind the dish in terms of the defensive aspect. Hundley, simply is the real deal and restored some creditability in terms of all-around play from the catchers position. Only question, why did it take the Front Office so long to promote Hundley. Grade - C+.

Anyhow, this assessment is purely based on my observations throughout the 2008 season, in the next post I will be addressing the outfielders.

A surprising news event occurred on Thursday when news leaked about 49% share of the Padres Franchise is up for sale. This sale will have many profound affects on the ballclub, from Front Office all the way down to the minor leagues. I do not know if anyone would want to acquire 49% of the team and be a minority owner of the team. We all know what happened last time when the Ownership was shared between Moores and Lucchino. Evidently, that duo ownership had broken up and Lucchino went on to win championships in Boston. Personally speaking, I think if anyone wants to purchase the Padres it will be someone who wants full control and ownership. Right now, Sandy Alderson owns 5% in the franchise and if someone else purchases the franchise, Alderson's fate is also in jeopardy. I just hope whomever is seriously thinking of acquiring the Padres, that new ownership gives Alderson and his entourage a chance to prove their baseball model. At this juncture, the Padres can not afford to start over AGAIN in terms of baseball philosophy, so much has been invested and there are signs on the horizon things will be improving greatly.

I spent last night pondering who I would like to see on that short-list of potential buyers for the Padres. Here it is.....

• Larry Lucchino - Well, based on previous past record, Larry knew how to market the Padres and is a smart baseball man with a successful proven record with not just ONE franchise but several (Orioles, Padres, and Red Sox). I am not sure Larry will agree with Sandy's philosophy but we never know and Larry still has a house out here in San Diego.
• Leigh Steinberg - Yes, that's right the former Sports Agent. It is widely known that Leigh has pursued owning a Football or Basketball franchise in Orange County. Heck, why not go for the Padres in San Diego ?? It's only a short Amtrak ride for Leigh down south. I see Leigh as a great candidate since he will most likely be hands off Owner and let the baseball people run his franchise. Look at the D'backs, ex-Sports Agent Jeff Moorad is the CEO. So it can happen too !!
• Jerry Colangelo - No matter what anyone says, Colangelo is a winner. He's proven that with owning the Phoenix Suns, Arizona Diamondbacks, and USA Basketball team. San Diego is only a 1 hr flight from Phoenix, possibilities are good.
• Peter O'Malley - Yes I know this sounds far-fetched and probably unrealistic. But hear me out, O'Malley wanted to purchase back the Dodgers when FOX had the Dodgers up for sale. If O'Malley wants to make a splash back into the baseball scene, why not go for the Padres and have the last laugh at the Dodgers. Plus, O'Malley knows how to run a baseball club and has a history with international baseball.

Anyhow, what ever lies ahead of the Padres, one thing for sure there will be changes to the entire organization and I do expect to see two of the three players (Gonzalez, Kouzmanoff and Peavy) gone as well. Especially, if the Padres can receive 8-10 players for two outstanding players.

Hang in there Padres Fans.....