What every Padres fan should know, Part 1

Let me get some housekeeping items out of the way before I start. First, this is not a guide to viewing games at Petco. Truth be told I have never been to Petco Park, I currently live in DC and I haven't seen the Padres in San Diego since 1994. In fact, I think the last game I went to was the first game of the double header in which Tony Gwynn collected his 2,000th hit.

Second, this is not a guide to being a fan in San Diego but is rather the opposite. I have lived among high concentrations of Colorado Rockies fans, Washington Nationals fans and Baltimore Orioles fans since 1994 and as such, your perspective about your team changes when you understand how other fans view your team. That is what I will talk about in this first part so without further delay, here is what fans need to know.

1. The Adrian Gonzalez rule. The player may change but the general rule still applies, and it applies to most teams, most players are not as popular away from home. Take Gonzalez's case - he is the premier power hitter in the lineup, is a hometown boy and put up numbers comparable to a certain Crime Dog when he played in town. But outside of SD, Gonzalez doesn't compare to the league's other 1B's, or does he? Ducksnorts has a pretty good breakdown showing that Gonzalez has put up some top slugging numbers on the road. Which brings me to my second point:
   
2. You will probably never convince opposing fans how good our players are until they see them in person. If you ask people in DC who the next big 3B will be, any Nationals fan is ready to argue that Ryan Zimmerman is a superstar in the making. Ask the same thing on the opposite coast and Kevin Kouzmanoff's name will dominate the conversation. I have seen both play last year in DC and guess what, they both have potential ... and they both have some work to do before they are even in a superstar conversation.
3. Our pitching staff is overrated by us and underrated by almost everyone else. The knocks against our staff by others, Jake Peavy and Chris Young had career years and aren't that good, Greg Maddux hasn't been an ace in 10 years and Mark Prior and Randy Wolf couldn't stay healthy even if they pitched for a team made up of doctors. Well, Peavy is a perennial Cy Young contender, Young is becoming more consistent, Maddux isn't supposed to be a staff ace and Wolf and Prior don't have to carry the load so whatever innings they turn in are worth the (relatively) small investments we have made in them.
4. The fan base actually travels well to some places. Maybe the lack of a team in the area for more than 30 years had something to do with it but for the past two years when I have gone to Nationals games against the Padres, there are just as many (if not more) Padres fans in attendance than Nats fans. We are no Red Sox nation but I know you didn't see any Pirates fans a week later when Pittsburgh came to town (but then again that was the Pirates). I can't speak for many other places but I do remember a decent fan base at Rockies games a few years back as well.

Hopefully I haven't rambled too much but these were the first things that came to mind. So now I turn the floor over to you, what are some other things every Padres fan should know? After I get some responses I will add Part 2, and you can bet there will be some info on helping Dodgers fans face reality.

Spring recap No. 18: Padres 6, Dodgers 3

Alright, so the Padres leave China with a winning record over the Dodgers after beating them 6-3 sometime while most of us slept Saturday night/Sunday morning.

A bunch of minor league pitchers with no shot at making the major league roster held the Dodgers to 3 runs while Scott Hairston knocked in 2 runs, Kevin Kouzmanoff knocked in another and Adrian Gonzalez went 3-for-4 at the plate.

Stateside, the game against the Rockies was rained out which in turn pushed back Brian Giles' 1st appearance this spring.

Spring recap No. 4: Padres 12, Brewers 4

As has become standard, I will point out a couple of highs and lows from Monday's game.

Highs: Chris Young gave up only 2 hits and 1 run in 2 innings pitched. Chase Headley continued his hot hitting, going 2-for-3 but it was forgotten man Paul McAnulty who hit the game's only HR. McAnulty went 1-for-2 with 3 RBI and 2 runs scored. Luis Rodriguez, fighting for a bench spot, also had a productive day at the plate, going 2-for-2 with 4 RBI.

Lows: Well, we know what won't happen this year - the Padres won't hold runners. Young allowed 2 stolen bases in 2 innings. And for those who like to blow meaningless games out of proportion, Adrian Gonzalez has yet to record a base hit this spring. Yeah, I could care less too. Let me know when he goes all of June without a hit.

2008 Previews, fantasy style

I decided to add one more, albeit late, post to my 2008 previews. However, I am turning the reigns of this post over to a friend of mine, Derrick. Derrick is a contributor to Rotokingdom.net and runs the blog Ultimate Fantasy Baseball Rankings.

Derrick is not a Padres fan by any means, but we won't hold that against him as he really knows his stuff. So for all of you fantasy baseball players out there, here's an outside look at our guys. So without further ado, here's Derrick:

From a Fantasy Baseball perspective the players that fill the roster of the San Diego Padres 2008 Major League baseball team are ... um, well … bland, to put it politely. The few fantasy relevant names that do stand out range from Jake Peavy, perhaps the best fantasy SP in the game, to Jim Edmonds, a defensively talented CF who seems to have left his bat on the better side of his 30’s.

However there are a few bright spots - along with Peavy there are other reliable fantasy players, such as former #1 overall pick Adrian Gonzalez. Gonzalez will turn 26 this season and has slugged .500 or better in each of his seasons in SD, proving that you can hit for power while playing half your games at Petco. At the same time 20 of his 30 2007 HR’s were recorded on the road, so he’s probably a 35-40 HR guy, but we will not see that as long as the current ballpark dimensions remain. I’m expecting Gonzalez to have nearly a repeat of his 2007 performance in 2008.

Chris Young remains the team’s #2 SP entering the 2008 season and is a good one to have in the middle of your fantasy rotation. Young’s numbers greatly improved in 07, due in large part to the fact that he was able to keep the ball inside the park a lot more often. Young allowed only 10 HR’s in 173 IP in 2007 compared to 28 HR’s in 179 IP in 2006. This helped him lower his ERA to a miniscule 3.12. If not for a late season injury, which led to inconsistent performances during August and September, his overall numbers would have been even more impressive.

The knocks on Young have always been his lack of control and sloth-like delivery. Calling him slow to the plate is a vast understatement. I believe that these two factors are intertwined. Because of Young’s extreme height he has a hard time keeping his body tight and compact through his delivery. As such his delivery is not always the same which makes it difficult for him to harness his stuff. When you watch Young pitch you can almost see him concentrating and telling himself to keep it tight as he coils back to begin his delivery. While this concentration is necessary to maintain some semblance of control it causes his delivery to take more time than it should and allows base runners to focus in on his movements and get a great jump, compounding the problem.

I think it’s quite possible Young ends up posting the same numbers he did last season, but with more IP, K’s and Wins, which would make him a top 15 SP. At the same time I stress that this projection is given with a relatively low degree of confidence. The aforementioned control issues being the main culprit. If Young has problems getting the ball over the plate on a consistent basis I would expect his ERA and WHIP to end up closer to the 4.00 and 1.30 levels respectively because of the increase in base-runners and home runs allowed, again caused by the lack of control.

Kevin Kouzmanoff is a name that drew the ire of Padres fans and fantasy managers alike during the first half of the 2007 season. However, the fantasy managers that stuck with Kouz through the hard times, much like Pads manager Bruce Bochy, were rewarded with a stellar 2nd half that saw Kouz hit .317/.366/.524, with 11 home runs over 252 ABs!

Watch for Kouzmanoff to continue to build on his 2nd half success in 2008. A .290, 25 HR, 90 RBI season, while probably at the high end of his abilities, would not surprise me at all.

I hate to write this on a San Diego Padres Blog, but my journalistic oath requires me to be honest (I just lied, I’ve taken no such oath) so you heard it here first: This will finally be the season that we witness Trevor Hoffman age before our eyes. I know that none of you want to hear this and I understand if you are screaming the following at your computer screen right now, “Hoffman was nearly 40 last season and looked just as good as ever! His ERA was under 3.00 and he recorded over 40 saves for the 4th consecutive season! How can you possibly think that he is on the decline?!?”

The emotions behind these statements are strong and love for a long-time, trusted ally transcends logic. This is why I am here to help you see through the love-fog and save yourself fantasy heart-break. Hoffman’s velocity has obviously declined. He no longer has the ability to reach back and rely on his stuff to get a strikeout when he needs one most. He has to live on the edge of the plate a lot more than he used to because of his declining stuff, which leads to a higher BB rate. He is having a hard time keeping the ball down in the zone which has led to more of his outs coming from fly balls. All of these little signs of decline combined with his ever increasing age lead me to believe that Hoffman in 2008 will have his worst ERA since 1995 (3.88) and his worst WHIP since his rookie season (1.40).

Please understand, I’m not projecting a total collapse and Hoffman, barring injury, will still start and finish the season as the Pads 9th inning guy. Just look for his numbers to be not quite as sharp as usual and for his Saves totals to be in the 30’s rather than the 40’s.

A few other players on the roster this season that will be fantasy relevant in some formats are Greg Maddux (watch for his numbers to improve with a full season in SD He still doesn’t BB anyone and most of his outs are still of the ground ball variety), Mark Prior (big ? but he’s worth a late-round flier, or at least keeping an eye on), Scott Hairston (has the power to hit 20-25 HRs in Petco), and Heath Bell (has had the stuff for years, finally put it all together last season – if Hoffman goes down he’s a lights out closer).

If you like to go after young guys with upside look no further than two of San Diego’s best, Matt Antonelli and Chase Headley. Both could end up with starting spots out of Spring Training, but more likely will be sent back down to AAA for a bit more seasoning and recalled later in the season. I believe that both are ready to contribute to some degree at the Major League level and it is only a matter of time before these two offensively talented hitters get their opportunity to do what they do best for a team that desperately needs what they do best.

2008 Previews: Left Field

Before we get to the muddiest of all previews, I would like to bring attention to a story from si.com saying we are close to bringing in Tony Clark to back up Adrian Gonzalez at 1B. Whether or not Clark has much of an impact on the offense, one thing Clark will do is help the Padres nail down the trophy for the tallest team in the league. At least we will win something.

Now on to LF. According to the Sports Lunch today with Kevin Towers and Bud Black, our starting lineup is set to feature Scott Hairston as our regular LF (thanks to Gaslamp Ball for the post on the lunch).

Hairston did great things when he came over from the D-backs last year and it would be awesome to see him do more of the same. Like Khalil Greene, Hairston probably won't have the most impressive BA, but given a regular opportunity to play he could put up 20 HR.

The one thing that will hinder Hairston is his lack of patience at the plate, but given that he is only 27, he could get better with time.

If Hairston falters there are a wealth of guys looking for any opportunity to play (including Chase Headley), and it could still be possible that Towers could bring in another player at some point.

LF is definitely one of the biggest questions heading into this year but if Hairston can lock the job down we should be in great shape.

2008 Previews: Short Stop

We continue our look around the horn by looking at the short stop position, or more accurately, Khalil Greene. The 28-year-old is in the prime of his career and should be able to avoid distraction after he recently signed a 2-year deal.

Greene has an impressive defensive highlight real to go along with the power he has developed on offense. But one thing this guy will never do is win a batting title. After watching his HR total jump from 15 in each of his first 3 years in the league to 27 last year, Greene should be able to reach the 20 HR mark again and should see more than 80 RBI to go with a .250 batting average.

Much like Tadahito Iguchi at 2B, Greene should be the only guy we really see at SS this year with a couple of journeymen giving him a day off here and there. With Greene and Adrian Gonzalez at the heart of the lineup once again, this offense should be able to put up enough runs to support its pitchers.

2008 Previews: First Base

If you go just by the "official" depth chart posted on padres.com, the question is not how much further will Adrian Gonzalez progress this year, but who will back him up if he should miss any significant time?

Gonzalez played in all but two games last year and played in 156 games in 2006, so health shouldn't be an issue but you never know. That said, things look good for Gonzalez to surpass most of his numbers from last year and despite being stuck in Petco, his power numbers continue to rise. He should be a legitimate bet to hit another 30 HR and knock in another 100 RBI at least this year.

Gonzalez is blossoming into something truly special and it should be fun to watch him take that next step this year. I am probably most excited to see what Gonzalez can do this season. This area will be a strength of the Padres this year.

2007 recaps: Offense

Alright, It's been almost two weeks now since Colorado prevented the Pads from making the 2007 postseason. To me, that means it has been long enough since the end of the season to now recap the 2007 season without two much bitterness. Today I will start with the offense.

In my opinion, the offense this season was maddeningly inconsistent. While the Padres scored 741 runs and only allowed 666 (that's an ominous number), it seems like many winnable games were lost this season that again, any one of which could have send SD to the postseason.

Adrian Gonzalez led the team with 30 home runs - but that was way too low for the way he started the season, he should have reached 40 and knocked in more than 100 RBI. However, this was only his second full season and so I am sure he will continue to progress and avoid three-month long slumps in the future.

Khalil Greene was second on the team in HRs (27) and RBI (97) but he also struck out 128 times. Remarkably Gonzalez (140) and Mike Cameron (160) struck out more than him but it seemed like he always struck out. I guess he only hit .254 so maybe that's why it felt like more K's than it really was.

I liked Brian Giles once he was moved into the leadoff spot this year. He is a shell of the power hitter he once was (although he had quite a few multi-HR games during dry spells for the rest of the O), but he knew how to get on base (.361). If we decide to once again not worry about stealing bases, Giles could be an interesting candidate for the leadoff spot again - but that is a discussion for later this offseason.

I liked the additions of Milton Bradley and Scott Hairston during the season, especially the spark that Bradley provided, but for the most part the only other offensive players I won't mind having back are Kevin Kouzmanoff and Josh Bard, but again, another topic for another day.

One final thing I will say is that a return to the playoffs will hinge on getting the pitchers run support next season and this year's crew didn't cut it, meaning changes will need to be made. There are some interesting pieces here and it showed during 2007. Now lets see the Pads take the next step in 2008. A review of the starting pitching is up next.

The pack has finally caught up

Wow, it's time to get off this runaway train before it hits a burning building.

What seemed like an almost sure thing in July and even August has become a possibility as the Pads are no longer solely on top in the NL wild card race. What happened to this team that was at one point a trendy pick by writers to be in the World Series? Is there one moment this season that set the stage for the collapse that has taken place since?

Despite the late struggles of the rotation, the Pads are still the best in the NL in terms of pitching. They are the only team with a collective ERA under 4.00 (3.63) and have compiled 20 shut outs this season. Offensively SD is towards the bottom of the league but runs have been coming a lot easier lately - and so are the losses.

The talent on this team now, I feel, is a lot better than what we started the season off with but it doesn't seem to have made a huge impact. Did Chris Young's injury really affect the race that much? I don't want to say our season has come down to one player's oblique but things haven't been the same, with Young or the team, since that injury occurred.

Kevin Towers released David Wells because he was too taxing on the pen but look at what's happened since then. Not only have the Pads been able to find a successful No. 5 starter but Justin Germano has been ineffective too. It makes me feel like if Boomer was still here at least we wouldn't be worried about two starters making it to the second. We could be comfortable until the fourth.

But the struggles are related to more than just the pitching staff. I would say Milton Bradley's constant health battles have also kept the team inconsistent. I still think this was a great pickup (yes, even after he blew up and Bud Black had to put on a WWE clinic to restrain him, injuring him in the process) but if he could have stayed on the field the Pads may still have a small cushion in the wild card. But again, one injury does not a team's struggles make.

SD seemed to make it through two month's of Adrian Gonzalez struggling but what about the fact that Josh Bard, Marcus Giles, Michael Barrett and a third outfielder have not been every day players like we need. I'm not bagging on Bard, he has played far better than I think we've expected, but Barrett was brought in so we wouldn't have to use Bard every day and Giles can't keep Geoff Blum off the field.

Looking at this club, it seems that injuries and season-long slumps - along with stellar play by a young Arizona club that wasn't supposed to contend this year - have finally caught up to the Padres and unless some real playoff magic happens, they could be at home in October for the first time since 2004.

I'm not one to loose faith in my team but right now it's hard to fight the urge to say 2007 was fun while it lasted, let's hope 2008 is finally the year. So instead let's start praying for a playoff miracle.

An official apology

So I just realized that I have been hard on the guys lately. I ragged on them when they blew a game against the Mets earlier this week and even when they beat them the next night I was still critical.

I don't want this to come across as an excuse (but it sounds like one anyway) but with all of the changes that have been going on in my life lately I feel like I wasn't paying as much attention as I should have been to the bigger picture. I didn't realize the Pads took 2 of 3 from NY while increasing their lead in the Wild Card race.

Last night's drubbing added even more padding to securing a playoff spot and from the looks of it, it seems Milton Bradley's return to the lineup has helped out guys like Adrian Gonzalez.

I won't apologize for the comments I have made about the pitching because I still think we need more consistency all around at the moment but I will say I shouldn't be so hard on these guys are they have gotten things going in the right direction. Another drubbing of the Phillies would be great, but it hasn't been Clay Hensley's year so who knows what the outcome will be.

30 runs and more struggles for the pen

I don't make it a point to often talk about non-Padres affiliated news but I had one thing to say about Texas beating Baltimore 30-3 Wednesday. I think the thing I am most surprised about is that Texas reliever Wes Littleton actually picked up a save in the process by entering it when the score was 14-3 and pitching the last three innings in which the Rangers scored 16 runs. Needless to say the game was already out of hand but I guess save rules are save rules. This type of outing only strengthens the argument for those who think saves are a worthless stat. As far as the Orioles are concerned, too bad there isn't a 10-run rule like in little league.

In Padres news, Trevor Hoffman has officially hit a slump after blowing another save and the pen seems to be in almost a full tailspin. Heath Bell eventually picked up the save after Adrian Gonzalez homered in the top of the 10th but these kinds of outings are not good. Granted we got to Billy Wagner before the Mets got to Hoffman and both closers have struggled in this series but it seems that if the Padres continue to ball like this heading into the playoffs they could have another first round exit.

Hopefully leaving the glitz and glamor of the Big Apple for Philly will turn things back to normal for pen. It will be a matchup of ancient ones as Greg Maddux takes on Jamie Moyer. Fire up the time machine.

Linebrink traded to Milwaukee

I wish I had something insightful and useful to say as far as the Scott Linebrink trade is concerned but after ready what Anthony had to say over at Friar Watch, he pretty much gives all the details we need to know about the young guys SD gets and what they can bring to the club.

As far as Wednesday's game is concerned, SD got absolutely shelled by a guy who threw only 74 pitches and should be getting shelled himself considering the type of season he is having. While I admit that all good teams eventually slump at some point, you still can't lose games to teams like the Rockies when they send pitchers like Aaron Cook to the mound. His season stats beg for him to get knocked around every game and SD should be able to do that.

Now I have said before that you need to ride these things out a little bit before panicking, but I am starting to seriously wonder if the Padres have enough consistent offense to make the playoffs. Sure we can put up runs with the best teams but it seems when one or two guys begin to struggle there is no one there to pick up the slack. Adrian Gonzalez seems to finally be hitting the ball again but where is the support?

It would be nice if we could save some of the offensive outbursts the team seems to regularly have and stretch them out over a few games so SD could notch more wins but sometimes you just have to take what you get when you can get it, and if you are the Padres you never turn down any form of offense. Let's hope someone else finds their stroke at Minute Maid park this weekend. SD is going to need it with David Wells taking the mound to open the series.

Slumping no more?

So right after I write about guys being in slumps and needing to get out of them soon, Adrian Gonzalez hits his first home run in a long time and Greg Maddux goes out and gets the job done (even if the pen almost gave the game away). And we even had a heroic Geoff Blum citing to boot.

Watching the game on MLB's Gameday, I was shocked when I logged on in the top of the second and saw Maddux struck out the side to open the game. Having Maddux on one of my fantasy teams, I know firsthand that his strikeouts have been few and far between. But to watch him strike out 6 was great and would have been better if I had actually started him last night. Oh well, the Padres winning that game is good enough for me.

But the biggest question after last night's game now has to be what to do with Scott Linebrink. I have previously gone on record to advocate that he should be given the time and opportunity to get himself out of this funk but letting two guys get on and then giving up a 3-run HR when all you have to do is get three guys out is not a good sign.

While Linebrink looked like he was turning things around at one point, he has struggled off and on since June 1, giving up 9 earned runs in 18 2/3 innings. He has also given up 21 hits in that span and 4 of his 5 blown saves have come during that span. But luckily for him, SD has come back to win 2 of those 4 games.

If you look at his home/road splits, that appears to be part of the problem as hitters are batting .303 with an .880 OPS against him on the road and .163/.528 at home. But then again, last night's fiasco was at home, so numbers only tell part of the story.

As I look at my ramblings I really have no idea what to do other than to suggest that Heath Bell should take over at the 8th inning specialist if Bud Black is going to insist on having one. I think Linebrink has had enough time to straighten things out and it isn't happening so now a move has to be made.

Of course, with SD eventually winning last night and maintaining its place as one of the top teams in the NL, I guess I shouldn't be too picky. I mean, the Padres actually could have lost last night.

Stuck in the slumps?

How great was it to see Adrian Gonzalez pick up two doubles last night, giving fans more signs that he may finally be coming out of his slump?

Too bad for us that El Duque was on fire last night and kept Gonzalez on second after both of those doubles. I continue to see differing opinions online of whether the Padres really need that extra bat but I'll tell you, usually when a guy has a line like Hernandez's, you could have a lineup full of Alex Rodriguez's and it wouldn't have made a difference. Let's hope the Padres can pick up the rubber match tonight.

The one thing that worries me after last night's game though is that Jake Peavy is not as sharp as he was during the season. I don't know if this is just a slump but I would have thought that after the 2006 he had, karma would've let him avoid a slump until 2008.

The biggest worry about Peavy though is the fact that he is not the only one slumping. Greg Maddux can't seem to get people out, Gonzalez didn't hit much in June and now with Peavy not as sharp as he had been, it seems the Padres have to rely on fewer guys to carry more of the load - which usually ends in disaster.

Hopefully these are just the little mid-year hiccups great teams always seem to battle through before they make the a big playoff run. Think about it this way, St. Louis barely even made the playoffs before winning the World Series so if SD can get to the playoffs in one piece, maybe lady luck will bring the first pro sports title to SD with her.

Offensive outburst

Did anyone else enjoy rocking the Cubs for 11 runs and 5 home runs? Talk about the best way to get payback, this game showed the Cubbies that SD means business.

Of course we are probably going to lose Jake Peavy and Chris Young to suspensions stemming from Saturday's brawl, but if the offense can have another outburst like it did Sunday, the Padres may be able to survive a game or two without the staff aces.

Greg Maddux was solid in his start but Mike Cameron stole the show with his two home runs in first two at bats. Adrian Gonzalez also had a big game - which he was due for - and even Khalil Greene made rare contact and jacked one out of the yard. Is it me or is Greene a white version of Ozzie Smith, minus the cool backflip? Greene couldn't hit the broad side of a barn if it was thrown at him but he plays fantastic, effortless defense.

Monday's an off day and then the Baltimore Orioles (from my neck of the woods) come to town to resume interleague play. Hopefully this round will be better than the round before SD hit Chicago.

Baseball Tonight

Just saw the highlights from Sunday's game on Baseball Tonight and two things stuck out:

1. Loved John Kruk's comment about Tony Gwynn Jr. striking out, saying "his daddy never did that." Classic. Just another reason why there will never be another Tony Gwynn.

2. They interviewed Jake Peavy after they showed the highlights and I loved Jake's comments about the team not having any superstars. During the highlight of the Red Sox game before, a graphic was then shown comparing the combo David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez and the combo of Kevin Youkilis and Mike Lowell. Peavy said the team has no guys like the Sox's duos, but that they have scrappy guys, praised Adrian Gonzalez's reaction of the bunt DP and said Gonzalez will eventually be a super star.

You've got to love when the Padres can get some pub for great play like in Sunday's game.

Finding consistency

Thanks to struggling Adrian Gonzalez, Kevin Kouzmanoff and Mike Cameron, the Padres opened their series with the Cubs with a 5-1 win at home. The trio each had a home run off of Cubs pitcher Rich Hill - Cameron had two - and helped the Padres jump out to an early lead.

Jake Peavy then went into cruise control and kept the Cubs at bay, even though he only struck out a pedestrian six batters by his standards. It was also nice to see the Padres hit four home runs in a single game at Petco, considering people use words like "cavernous" and "pitcher's park" to describe it.

It's also great to see the guys five games above .500 now and have now won four of their last five. Game two against the Cubs will feature David Wells against Ted Lilly. I have a feeling the first one to seven runs will win this one.

Hail to the (real) Kings

I have to say I was pretty nervous when I saw we were facing King Felix Hernandez today - and putting Justin Germano on the mound opposite him. But despite Trevor Hoffman's attempt to make the game more interesting late, the Friars won the game and took the series.

Except for Greg Maddux's shellacking Saturday, it was nice to see the Padres offense all get going. Kevin Kouzmanoff brought his average up after a 3-for-3 night Saturday (even though it dropped a little bit Sunday) and it appears Adrian Gonzalez also found his stroke Sunday and broke out of his slump.

And after a day off on Monday, the Padres should find more success with Jake Peavy taking the mound Tuesday against the Cubs.

Quick thoughts

Just a couple of quick thoughts from the Reds series.

1. I would have thought this a couple of years ago but based on performance this season, who would have thought Greg Maddux and David Wells would have solid outings while Jake Peavy would need some help? Granted, Wells didn't win his outing either, and the Padres lost that game, but he actually held down the fort pretty well. Maybe this old part of the rotation will be able to hold its own for one more year after all.

2. After slow starts it's nice to see Mike Cameron and Kevin Kouzmanoff starting to get comfortable at the plate, but how depressing is it to go 3-for-3 and only raise your batting average to .163. A couple more games like that and he may actually get his average north of the Mendoza Line.

3. While Cameron and Kouzmanoff heat up, Adrian Gonzalez is cooling off. Gonzalez was 1-for-13 during the Reds series with no RBIs and no HRs. May has been a tough month in general for Gonzalez as he has only added 3 HRs and 6 RBIs to his solid April totals while hitting a sparse .211.

The Mariners and Miguel Batista are up next. Batista is 3-3 this year but his ERA is a nice 6.98 - well at least it's nice for the Padres who might be able to get some runs Friday.

Friars squeeze one out

Not only is it great to see the Padres back in the win column, but it was great to see how they won. The things that impressed me (in no particular order):

1. Kevin Kouzmanoff finally got some luck when Austin Kearns mistimed his jump on Kouzmanoff's hit to the wall in right, giving Kevin a RBI triple. Hopefully this will be a turning point for the rookie and his hitting this year.

2. Have to love the suicide squeeze Oscar Robles laid down to score Kouzmanoff later in the 7th right after the Nationals pulled Shawn Hill.

3. Chris Young had a great performance on the mound, pitching eight solid innings where he gave up only three hits and struck out eight. Young seemed in control all night and if he could pitch that way consistently, he could be almost as dominant as Jake Peavy.

4. It was nice to see Adrian Gonzalez get retribution on Dmitri Young. After Young robbed Gonzalez of a hit Monday and turned it into a double play, Gonzalez came back with the same play Tuesday, catching a shot from Young and doubling off Kearns.

5. And of course it's always good to see Trevor Hoffman get one save closer to 500 for his career, especially when it helps the Padres get back above .500.