San Diego Padres 2008 Preview

It’s that time of year again. Spring training is in full swing, and the baseball season is just around the corner. Over the next month, The Sports Lounge will run a season preview for each team in the majors, leading up to the season opener in Japan on March 25th. Today we continue the season preview with a look at the San Diego Padres.


Manager: Bud Black
2007: 89-74, 3rd NL West

Projected Batting Order

1. Brian Giles, rf (.271, 13 hr, 51 rbi)
2. Scott Hairston, lf (.222, 3 hr, 16 rbi)
3. Adrien Gonzalez, 1b (.282, 30 hr, 100 rbi, 46 2b)
4. Jim Edmonds, cf (.252, 12 hr, 53 rbi)
5. Khalil Greene, ss (.254, 27 hr, 97 rbi)
6. Kevin Kouzmanoff, 3b (.275, 18 hr, 74 rbi)
7. Tadahito Iguchi, 2b (.267, 9 hr, 43 rbi)
8. Josh Bard, c (.285, 5 hr, 51 rbi)

Projected Starting Rotation

1. Jake Peavy (19-6, 2.54 ERA)
2. Chris Young (9-8, 3.12 ERA)
3. Greg Maddux (14-11, 4.14 ERA)
4. Randy Wolf (9-6, 4.73 ERA)
5. Justin Germano (7-10, 4.46 ERA)

Setup: Heath Bell
Closer: Trevor Hoffman

In San Diego, its all about pitching as the Padres were the only team in baseball to post an ERA under 4.00. The issue with this team has always been about finding ways to score runs. To help in that regard, San Diego brought Jim Edmonds and Tadahito Iguchi to help replace Mike Cameron and Marcus Giles. All things considered, this exchange should only come out as a wash. Early indications are that San Diego will once again be disappointed with their team’s offense in 2008. They were unable to get a prized offseason acquisition to really make their offense much improved this year. The other main additions for the Padres were the additions of Randy Wolf and Mark Prior to help with the depth in the rotation.

The Padres are crafted to win pitcher’s duels not shootouts and their lineup reflects that. This isn’t a lineup that strikes fear into pitchers from the lead-off spot all the way down. Adrian Gonzalez has emerged as the team’s best slugger, hitting 30 home runs and knocking in 100 runs last year, pretty impressive when you play half your games in cavernous Petco Park. Khalil Greene has also become a reliable run producer, hitting a career-high 27 home runs last season. However, the Padres will struggle to receive big time production from their outfield. Edmonds and Brian Giles aren’t getting any younger, and Scott Hairston has never been an everyday starter in his career. The rest of the lineup isn’t too intimidating, either. At third base is up and coming Kevin Kouzmanoff, who overcame a difficult beginning of the season to post a solid rookie season. With Cameron and Milton Bradley gone, it will be up to Kouzmanoff to become the team’s best young hitter and carry some of the load left by those guys departures. Kouzmanoff showed flashes at the end of last year, but will need a consistent season for San Diego to contend.

San Diego’s starting rotation will always be fine at the very top with Triple Crown Cy Young winner Jake Peavy. Peavy always had the talent, but last season he put everything together and had a great season as the league’s best pitcher by a mile. Nagging injuries had always derailed him in the past, but he was finally healthy for an entire year in 2007, and his numbers were wonderful because of it. Behind him is the very capable Chris Young, who was battling with Peavy for the league’s ERA title until he lost five straight starts, beginning in August. At his best, Young makes the top two spots of the Padres rotation very imposing. Aging veteran Greg Maddux will take the third spot. Maddux continues to be productive at 41, winning 14 games a year ago, and able to win that number again. The last two spots in the rotation will be a battle between Wolf, Prior, and Justin Germano,. Prior will be out for the first month and a half of the season, so Wolf and Germano will begin the season as the last two starters in the rotation.

Trevor Hoffman and the Padres bullpen begin the new year with the memory of last year’s collapse still fresh in their mind. Hoffman blew saves in San Diego’s final two losses, an epic disaster for one of the game’s most clutch closers. But, if he’s proved anything in his career, its his remarkable ability to shrug off painful outings like that. The rest of the bullpen has lots of quality and depth. Heath Bell and Cla Meredith have become staples of the bullpen in setting up for Hoffman, consistently handling tough situations in the middle innings. Clay Hensley will contend for a starting spot, but its likely that he will end up as a middle reliever in the bullpen. He’s also been a solid contributor for San Diego in the past, but will need to improve on an atrocious 6.84 ERA from last year. Wil Ledezma and Joe Thatcher will give the bullpen some quality arms from the left side.

San Diego is constructed very well, considering its home ballpark, but hasn’t made the strides improving itself like the other clubs in the division have. The Padres have stagnated since their back-to-back division titles of 2005 and 2006. LA, Colorado, and Arizona, especially the latter two, have watched as their crop of young talent has materialized in the last year. Kouzmanoff is the only young prospect in San Diego that has made the leap to the big leagues and the lack of reliable production from the outfield will bring this team down. The Padres will back up this season, winning 81 games to finish 4th in the NL West.