In recent memory the San Diego Padres were one of the worst teams in baseball in the National League West and they were considered a joke team but in the late 90's and mid 2000's they have gotten better over the years and after the breakdown season they had in 2010, 2011 doesn't seem like they will be a team to really worry about, than again everyone said the same thing last year. The Padres in 1996 and 1998 won the NL West division title and in 1998 they would win their first ever National League Pennant and head into their first ever
World Series match-up where they would have to face the American League team of the 90's, the New York Yankees. The Padres got swept by the Yanks in four games and since then that would be their trip the Fall Classic. In 2005 and 2006 they Pads would win back to back NL West Division titles but they would fail to move past the NLDS. The 2010 season everyone had picked the Dodgers or the Rockies to win the NL West division title but no one picked the Pads or the Giants to that matter to do anything. The whole season the Padres would lead their division until the final game of the 2010 season where the underdog Giants would beat them to knock them out of the postseason, the Padres playoff hopes had come to an end. A team that were up 6 games ahead of the Giants in the division on August 18th chocked and it just shows you that in this game you have to 162 games of baseball when it comes down to a playoff race. In the 2010 offseason the Padres lost one of their impact players in first baseman Adrian Gonzalez who signed with the Boston Red Sox. A-Gon was the face of this team and was really their only good power hitter and in 2011 they haven't really found that guy to replace him, 2011 will be a "Wonder" year for the Pads.
Now for the Padres pitching they only have two really good pitchers in Mat Latos and Clayton Richard and after those two guys there are a lot question marks in this rotation and if you want to win a division title you’re going to need more than two front line pitchers. We have seen in the past few years pitching wins you ball games and division titles. I start off with Mat Latos, here's a guy that no one in the NL didn't even know about because they year before he was very wild and had no control over his pitches and in 2009 he was just a rookie but boy what a turnaround he has made for himself and his team.
He has proved in one year that he will be a really good ace for this west coast wonder team. He throws his fastball really nice in the mid to high 90's and if breaking pitches are really nice when everything is working. In 2010 Latos in his second year of pro ball he posed a 2.92 ERA, 14 wins, 10 losses, and 189 strikeouts. The future for this 23 year young stud looks very promising in years to come. Expect him to have a good year. The Pads number two starter in Clayton Richard isn't too bad but there is going to be a lot stress on this guy because if Latos has a off game they are going to depend on him to close the door when needed and in a 3 or 4 game series with a good team they are to need to win at least the two games. Richard who is 6'5 at 240 pounds is a good left handed pitcher and is able to go deep into ball games and in 2010 Richard posted a 3.75 ERA, 14 wins, 9 losses, and 153 strikeouts. After these two guys the rest of this staff is up for grabs for the three, four, and five hole. They have Wade LeBlance who posed a 4.25 ERA with 8 wins, 12 losses, and 110 strikeouts, they have Aaron Harang who they picked up from the Reds who in 2010 posted a 5.25 ERA with 6 wins, 7 losses, and 82 strikeouts, they have Dustin Moselely who in 2010 posted a 4.96 ERA with 4 wins, 4 losses, and 33 strikeouts, and last on this list they have rookie pitcher Cory Luebke who when he pitched had a 4.08 ERA, 1 win, 1 loss, and 18 strikeouts. Like I said this rotation isn't to promising on getting the job done, but somehow last year they did.
The best thing about this Padres team is their bullpen, it is one of the strongest in the NL and that was really the success of this team last year. Their closer and set-up men really held a lot of close ball games. I'm going to start off with one of the Pads set-up guys in Mike Adams who really stepped up in 2010 and was their go to guy down the road. He could easily be an everyday closer on another team that's how good he is. He has a good power fastball at 94 MPH and in 2010 he posted a 1.73 ERA with 38 HLD and 73 strikeouts in the pen. Next is Luke Gregerson who is mainly used as a set-up man in the 6th or 7th inning at times but he is also another good pitcher out of the pen. He's not mainly used in the 8th inning but he is a guy they do call on when they need a big out. In 2010 Gregerson posted a 3.22 ERA with 40 HLD and 89 strikeouts. Now the Pads did pick up a new bullpen man in Chad Qualls who came over from the Tampa Bay Rays and his numbers weren't that great with a 7.32 ERA, 12 saves, and 49 strikeouts. Now Qualls's number don't look all that great but in 2009 with the D-Backs he did have 24 saves with a 3.63 ERA still not all that great but if he can do what he did then I think he will be okay. I think they are going to use Qualls as a middle relief pitcher. Last guy in the pen is closer Heath Bell, and boy this guy is good. He might be the second best closer in the NL behind Giants closer Brain Wilson.
Bell is a power pitcher who comes right after hitters with the fastball and when he uses his breaking pitches they set up hitter very nicely. Bell in the last two years has really turned it on, at point in his career he wasn't even used as a closer. It's very hard making that transaction from middle relief, to set-up man, to the closer. There's a lot more stress as a closer and we all know getting those last 3 final outs are the hardest part about baseball and he has done a great job of doing that. In 2010 Bell finished with 42 saves, 86 strikeouts, and an ERA of 1.93.
Now the last part about this Padres team that has gotten a little weaker is the lost of Adrian Gonzalez. The Padres really don't have that power house hitting threat and during the offseason they did pick up a few players but no one like A-Gon. At shortstop they did pick up Jason Bartlett from the Tampa Bay Rays and Bartlett isn't a bad hitter to have on your team. He helped a last place losing team win 2 AL East Division titles in 2008 and 2010. But his numbers have dropped by a lot, in 2009 he hit 14 home runs, drove in 66 RBI's and his batting average was .320 where in 2010 everything dropped. He hit 4 home runs, drove in 47 RBI's and his batting average dropped a tone down to .254. His play was really off in 2010 and in 2011 they are going to need that 2009 Jason Bartlett back in action. Over at third base they picked up Jorge Cantu from the Florida Marlins. Now I think Cantu will be the Padres replacement player at first base. In the past Cantu has played first base so it’s really nothing new for him but his power isn't going to replace A-Gon's in the line-up. Cantu is another guy they hope will be the player he used to be. In 2008 Cantu hit 20 home runs, drove 95 RBI's and batted .277, if they get that same player in back then I think A-Gon will be a lost memory. In 2010 Cantu batted .256, hit 11 home runs, and drove in 56 RBI's. Next is first baseman they picked up in Brad Hawpe who also came over from the Tampa Bay Rays, he is another guy who's play really went downhill.
From 2006 to 2009 he hit 20 or more home runs, drove in 80 more RBI's, and had a batting average of .280 or higher, talk about a great player. If he can get back to his old ways he will be their key power hitter and Hawpe knows this division well playing with the Colorado Rockies for 6 years. In 2010 Hawpe batted .245, hit 9 home runs, and drove in 44 RBI's. Next is third base star in Chase Headley who is now the face of this team. Headley who came up with the Pads in 2007 is still a guy who hasn't lived up the hype. He is a great fielder but when it comes to batting he just doesn't cut it. He's a good player but their really going to need him to step up. Headley is still young at 26 years old, but he's been in the league for four going on five years now. Last season Headley hit .264, hit 11 home runs, and drove in 58 RBI's. The last two players on this Padres team are where they are really going to need power out of and that is right fielder Ryan Ludwick and left fielder Will Venable. I start with Ludwick who came over to this team last year during the trade deadline from the St. Louis Cardinals where he hit 11 home runs, drove in 43 RBI's and batted .281. When he came over to the Padres he only hit 6 home runs, drove 26 RBI's, and had a .211 batting average, not really what they expected from this guy when they traded for him and 2011 they are expecting bigger things from Ludwick to be that new power house hitting player. They are looking for that Ludwick player of 2008 and 2009, where in 2008 he hit 37 home runs, drove in 113 RBI's, and batted .299 and in 2009 he hit 22 home runs, drove in 97 RBI's, and batted .269.
In 2010 Ludwick batted .251 allover, hit 17 home runs overall, and drove in 69 RBI's overall. Luckwick is a good player but he is going to have to work on his strikeouts. He struck out 121 times in 2010 but that's not even his career high. His career high was back in 2008 when he had the best season of his career with 147 strikeouts, so if he can cut down on his strikeouts he is going to be a force player in 2011. As for Will Venable he had a pretty good season and I would say he improved on some things but he still hasn't improved in his strikeouts as well. He had 128 strikeouts last year and for a kid at 28 that isn't a good sign. They are going to have to work with him of his plate discipline. He has a chance to be a .280 hitter with 20 home runs and driving in 85 RBI's it's just the matter of learning. We all know he is a great outfielder with speed and a good arm. Last year he stole 29 bases and could have a chance at stealing 35-40 bases a year. He is still young but he is going to have to show the Padres a little more improvement or otherwise he could be going back down to playing Triple-A ball. In 2010 Venable batted .245, hit 13 home runs, and drove in 51 RBI's.
Now what you see is what you get with this 2011 San Diego Padres team, a lot of "WONDER", wondering if their pitching staff is enough and if their line-up is strong enough. As you can see on this Padre line-up there isn’t a player who batted .265 or higher, hit 20 home runs or more, or drove in 70 or more RBI’s. We know they have a power house bullpen but the bullpen can't do everything for this team and that might have been the main reason they lost the NL West Division title, the bullpen players rain out of gas at the end. They were used way too much and that really took a toile on their bullpen and the uses were just way too much, mainly for set-up guys in Mike Adams and Luke Gregerson. In 2011 like I said before it's going to be a "WONDER YEAR" for the Pads.
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