| Jordan Walgreen. 16th February, 2009 - 7:34 pm
 1. What to do with all of these Pitchers
Going into Spring Training, the Padres will look at 34 different pitchers which should be an indication that no one in the organization is comfortable with the rotation, with the exception of Jake Peavy.
With spots open on the back end of the rotation and vacancies in the bullpen, the Padres will look to fill in some big holes.
The one and two spots are solid with Peavy and right-hander Chris Young, but after that it is nothing but unknown and unproven throughout the rest of the pitching staff.
Looking at the projected pitching staff for the 2009 campaign it doesn’t exactly strike fear into any NL West teams hearts:
Projected Starting Five
Jake Peavy, 10-11 with a 2.85 ERA in 2008
Chris Young, 7-6 with a 3.96 ERA in 2008
Cha Seung Baek, 6-10 with a4.79 ERA in 2008
Josh Geer, 2-1 with a 2.67 ERA in 2008 (appeared in only 5 games)
Wade LeBlanc, 1-3 with a 8.02 ERA in 2008 (appeared in only 5 games)
Projected Bullpen
Set Up: Cla Merideth, 0-3 with a 4.09 ERA in 2008
Closer: Heath Bell, 6-6 with a 3.58 in 2008
With the exception of Peavy and Young, nothing is set in stone and this staff could be totally different within the next two weeks so hang on to your seats.
2. The Infield
With the exit of Khalil Greene and Marcus Giles, there is a competition brewing for the middle infield.
David Eckstein should have a lock on second; Eckstein who is a career .284 hitter with a .351 on-base percentage, with that said Eckstein is coming off of his worst hitting season in five years hitting for just .265.
With that said Eckstein has a solid glove and is returning to play second, which suits him better phsyically.
The competition for second will be with Matt Antonelli, who only saw 57 MLB bats on 2008 hitting .193 with one homer, but the Padres have hope for the youngster based on his 2007 minor league stats.
The opening at shortstop might be the most pivotal spot to fill; Luis Rodriguez looks to be the front-runner for that spot.
In 2008, Rodriguez hit .287 with OBP of .326, and came on strong after the All-Star Break. Looking at it from a day-to-day aspect that gives the Padres a sense of comfort with Rodriguez playing short.
If Rodriguez can’t show consistency during Spring Training, the Padres will have to look at reorganizing which could involve moving Eckstein to short and putting Antonelli or Edgar Gonzalez at second.
3. How will the Padres bounce back after a tough 2008?
Going into 2008, there was great hope for the Padres, as they came just short of making the 2007 playoffs after the famous one-game playoff with the Colorado Rockies.
Since the 2007 loss to Rockies, things haven’t been the same in San Diego, the Padres went an NL West worst 63-99, finishing 21 games back in the division.
The franchise is in the middle of being sold in a messy divorce and their major offseason news was attempting to shed Peavy. |
