Get To Know Your 2008 San Diego Padres: Pitchers

Well, one of my faithful readers (my cousin, Ted) has gone and done it.  What started out as a simple suggestion has taken over my every thought.  My cousin had offered me a helpful comment asking to break down some of the position battles that could be decided during Spring Training.  No problem, I thought.  Easy enough.  Well…not so easy.  After getting started on what I assumed would be quick dust-up on some of the storylines heading into the new season, I realized that this assignment has rapidly grown out of control.  As such, this will be just the first installment of an in-depth look at all the positions that are up for grabs this season and the athletes that will be competing for space on the 2008 San Diego Padres Baseball Club.

There are some fresh faces, as well as familiar favorites, so I’ll provide a position by position breakdown of the likely scenarios and possible additions on the field this season.  I will be breaking up this look at the new team in to four parts: Pitching, Infield, Outfield and Bench.  Seeing as how the Padres’ brightest spot last season was the pitching staff, I think it’s appropriate to start there.

Pitchers

Last season, San Diego boasted one of the most potent pitching attacks in the National League.  The staff notched a collective 3.70 ERA in 2007 which was good enough for 1st among NL clubs.  With their three best starters returning and a cache of capable arms in the bullpen, the Padres figure to repeat their magic on the mound this season.   

1. Jake Peavy, #44, RHP

San Diego’s ace and favorite Alabaman will return for his 7th season as a major league starting pitcher.  Peavy was last year’s recipient of the NL Cy Young Award and won a career high 19 games for the Friars last season.   He also finished last year with a  2.54 ERA and 240 strikeouts, both league-leading numbers.  The 26 year-old southerner will anchor San Diego’s solid starting rotation and figures to continue puzzling batters with his ferocious and fiery style.  The Padres signed Peavy to a whopping $52 million extension in December of 2007 which will keep the power thrower on the mound at Petco through the 2012 season.  Smart move…

2. Chris Young, #32, RHP

At 6′10″, this right-handed Princeton grad is a beast of a pitcher.  Opposing batters must have had a heck of a time trying to spot the release from Young’s wiry frame as he finished 5th in the National League with a 3.12 ERA.  He led the majors with a .192 opponents batting average against and posted a career-high 167 strikeouts.  Young also tends to crank out his best performances at spacious Petco Park where he notched a Major League leading 1.69 home ERA.  The Texas native earned a well-deserved trip to last year’s All-Star game for the first time in his career and looks to add to his already impressive resume this season.

3. Greg Maddux, #30, RHP

What more can be said about the magnificent, 41 year-old hurler?  Entering his 23rd Major League season, Maddux has already posted a stellar, Hall of Fame-worthy career.  Maddux has won  347 starts over the course of a career that has seen him don jerseys for the Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres.  It has been reported that Maddux told teammates and staffers that his 2007 season with the Padres was the most fun he has had in his impressive career.  With that in mind, it was an easy decision for Maddux to return this season and lend his pitching talents and vast experience.  Affectionately known by Padres’ announcer, Ted Leitner, as “The Professor,” Maddux is a fan and clubhouse favorite who will figure to hold down the three-spot in San Diego’s fierce pitching lineup, perfecting the art of pitching down to a science.  And what a scientist he is…between the months of July and September last season, Maddux pitched a remarkable 59.2 consecutive innings without walking a single batter.  The veteran righty will also attempt to build on his 20 consecutive 13-win seasons, one season better than what pitching legend Cy Young recorded, and figures to climb the ranks of all-time career wins leaders, where he currently ranks 9th. 

4. Randy Wolf,  #?, LHP

Here’s where the Padres’ starting lineup enters some uncharted territory.  Randy Wolf is a new addition to the ballclub and the early favorite to fill this spot in the rotation.  Wolf, with the Dodgers last season, had to undergo surgery for the first time in September.  Not surprisingly, Wolf was concerned about how his arm would respond to the surgery.  Luckily, though, the early feedback from Padres Spring Training in Peoria, AZ is all positive.  Manager Bud Black is encouraged by Wolf’s confidence and has said that he likes the way the ball is coming out of his hand.  Wolf attributes his ability to bounce back so quickly to increased strength training in his legs over the winter.  Hopefully, the early optimism holds true as the Padres are looking for the left-handed Wolf to have a breakout season.  Having battled injuries and adversity, Wolf hopes to remain healthy throughout this season and become a real force for the Friars.  After bouncing around the major leagues, let’s hope Wolf makes are mark with the Pad’s and finds his groove.

5. (Up For Grabs)

The five spot in the starting rotation is a question mark heading in to the season.  In the offseason, the Padres picked up Mark Prior and he is expected to fill the spot, eventually.  However, that is contingent upon Prior’s health.  The right-hander has endured various injuries that have hampered his production in recent years.  Talk surrounding Prior, right now, is focused more on where he will undergo his rehabilitation starts.  No one, however, is willing to guess when he’ll be ready to take the mound as a starter for the Friars.  That leaves the last spot in the starting rotation up for grabs to begin the season.  An early favorite could be Justin Germano, who had some very strong performances for the Padres as a starter last year.  Germano started out fast and generated a lot of excitement, beginning the season 5-0 in his first seven starts.  However, opposing batters soon began to make adjustment on the young pitchers and that, coupled with poor run support, led to a decline in the right-handers effectiveness.  If Germano learns to make his own adjustments and learn from the experience of veterans like Greg Maddux, he could find a way to sustain his early success for a longer period and make himself a viable starting option. 

Although there are a couple more possibilities for the fifth spot in the rotation, I’ll save them for discussion in the next part of this series where I’ll discuss the players battling for spots in the bullpen.

Three of the liveliest arms from last season’s pen will return this season.  The sidearmed righty Cla Meredith, the likely setup man Heath Bell, and Hell’s Bells himself, Trever Hoffman.  We’ll discuss them and the rest of the arms competing for bullpen spots in the next installment of Padres Rule.  Until that time…

-Collin Elliott

The Latest Padres News & Notes…

Okay, I think the sting of the Chargers’ painful AFC Championship Game loss has finally subsided…kind of…not really.  Well, I’m over it enough to start getting excited for Padres baseball again.  Ah, I can almost taste it as spring is rousing from her slumber and preparing to wipe the sleep from her eyes.  The warm San Diego ocean breezes are just around the corner and with them will come a fresh new season of baseball.  So, as spring training approaches, let’s take a look at the latest news surrounding the Friars.  Somebody get me a hot dog.

The most recent talk in Padre-land is the possible acquisition of first baseman Tony Clark.  As a bench player for the NL West champion Arizona Diamondbacks (ouch…that hurts to type) last season, Clark batted .249 with 17 homers and 51 RBI in only 221 at bats.  Just to put that into a little perspective, Clark’s 17 homerun blast total puts him ahead of all but four of San Diego’s starters last season!  With bench power like that, the prospect of adding Clark to the roster is very intriguing.  Even better, Clark has significant local ties.  He graduated from Christian High School in El Cajon and attended San Diego State.  At 6′7″ and 240 lbs., the 35 year-old switch-hitter is a beast.  If acquired, Clark would be expected to back up Adrain Gonzalez at first and provide some much needed depth off the bench.  According to Clark’s agent, John Boggs, his client has a 50-50 chance of signing with the Pad’s, but it’s clear that Padres GM Kevin Towers is very interested in the veteran ballplayer and the leadership he could bring.  With a spacious park like Petco to play in, let’s hope the Friars find a way to bring this guy in.

Now, on to centerfield.  I opined in an earlier blog entry about the Padres’ acquisition of centerfielder Jim Edmonds from the St. Louis Cardinals so I won’t cover old ground concerning him right now.  The real question marks arise out of the vacancies behind Edmonds, who is going to back him up if he goes down with injury (which, judging by his recent history, is a very real possibility)?  As of right now, the depth in that particular patch of real estate in the outfield is looking a bit…well, shallow.  Kevin Towers called in to the Coach John Kentera and Joe Tutino show on XX Sports Radio today to discuss the team’s plans at the position.  He alluded to a telephone conversation he had with veteran centerfielder and former Padre Steve Finley last night.  Apparently, Towers is keeping Finley’s contact info near the front of his Rolodex over the next few weeks.  Though the Padres’ GM will be giving infielder Chase Headley a close look this spring as he attempts to make the shift to the outfield, he noted that Finley is “just a phone call away.”  At 43 years old, Finley is certainly past his prime as an impact starter.  However, by all accounts, the centerfielder keeps himself in remarkable shape and could provide the type of leadership and experience necessary to fill in if Edmonds were to miss a significant amount of time.  Not to mention, as a member of the 1998 National League champion Padres, he could prove to be a hit with the fans.

Elsewhere on the roster, the Padres seem to be pretty content with the players they have going in to the 2008 season.  Khalil Greene’s two-year, $11 million contract extension should be finalized any day now, keeping the dynamic shortstop (in ability, not personality) in the infield to provide some more jaw-dropping plays for at least the next couple of seasons.  All things considered, the Padres figure to be, as team CEO Sandy Alderson loves to put it, “competitive” this season.  I’m certainly hopeful, so we’ll have to see how it plays out.

In other baseball news, Rogers Clemens and his ex-trainer/buddy Brian McNamee continue their boyish finger pointing, each one claiming the other to be a liar over Clemens’ alleged steroid use.  Enough print has been wasted on the entire subject so I’ll say just one thing: can’t Clemens find some larger attorneys to be photographed with?  One would think that for a guy who is trying to convince the public that he hasn’t pumped himself full of performance-enhancing drugs wouldn’t want to be seen with a team of lawyers who all look like hobbits next to him.  Is this a Senate investigation or a stage adaptation of Gulliver’s Travels?  Just an observation…

That’s it for now, Padres fans.  Spring training is a mere 20 days away, so let’s dust off those mitts, tar up the bats and put away the stinging 13-inning play-in loss to the Rockies last season.  It’s time for a fresh start and I’ll keep you up to date with all the happenings in and out of the clubhouse leading up to, and through, the 2008 season.  Until that time…

P.S. Perhaps it’s time we retired the NFL Pro Bowl.  Could we be less interested?  It was reported this week that the Chargers’ Jamal Williams and Antonio Gates, among others will be sitting out the exhibition game, to nurse some nagging injuries.  How, exactly, is the public supposed to get excited about a game where the players don’t even have a desire to play the game, let alone win it?  Everyone, it seems, desperately wants to be voted into the Pro Bowl, but participate in it?  Are you crazy?  Jeez…what a joke.

-Collin Elliott

P.S.S. Due to the fact that 3/4 of my last blog entry was mysteriously erased, I have decided to backup this and all future entries on my computer’s hard drive, what a concept.  That’s the kind of forward thinking that will take your faithful narrator straight to the top…

PADRES-DODGERS RIVALRY’S NEWEST CHAPTER TO BE SET IN CHINA

Looks like the Pads are having a little case of wanderlust this baseball season.  That’s right, the Padres’ spring training will take a little detour (ok, a big detour) this season as the Padres and Dodgers have been chosen to meet in the very first Major League Baseball games to be played in China.  On March 15 and 16, the two teams will

Just in time to opine on the latest free agency moves, the upcoming Padres season and all the goings-on in or around Major League Baseball (including players who got Mitch-slapped last week) comes Padres Rule with your new host: Collin Elliott.  Tell your friends, e-mail your co-workers and call your family (they’d like to hear from you anyways) to tell them the good news.  We’re going to talk Padres here and we’re not holding any opinions back.  That’s right, the good,  the bad, the mediocre and the indifferent….you’ll see it all here and all of your opinions out there will be welcome, too……unless, of course, you’re a bonehead (which is entirely up to me to decide). 

San Diego is a great town and right now is a great time to be a sports fan here.  We’re above the below and just below the upper but the future for our beloved Padres and Chargers is looking up (well, unless the Chargers pack up and leave town, that is) but let’s not dwell on that possible Bolt abandonment right now.  After all, this site is called Padres Rule.  (Important Note: Though this is and will remain primarily a forum to discuss San Diego Padres baseball, from time to time you will see me comment on Chargers related news and notes, as I am a rabid Bolts fan, as well) 

Enough formalities, the time has now come to get some seriously passionate Padres discussion onto the digital highway, a sort of “homebase” for Padres fans (and yes, pun intended).  My hope is that all of you out there will feel compelled to send me your feedback, comments and opinions on a regular basis so that we might start a collective, ongoing discussion about the Padres and how we feel about the direction they are headed.  I hope to inform you, inspire you and perhaps, incense you.  But most of all, I hope to entertain you…..for that is the gift that lasts forever……or is that diamonds?  No matter, one way or another I hope you enjoy it.  Stay tuned for the next posting because we’re going to dive right in to the latest Padres acquisitions, including Jim Edmonds and Tadahito Iguchi, and discuss the Mitchell Report, which critics are already calling the most gripping and chilling Congressional tattle-tale document issued since the McCarthy era, well done!  So smile….Spring Training is right around the corner and we’ve got plenty to talk about.  Until that time…Padres fans rejoice!

 P.S. Chargers 51-Lions 14, in case you missed it.