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. 9: Padres 9, Rangers 5

It may be spring but there is no denying that Chase Headley is putting up numbers and Saturday's game was no exception as he went 2-for-3 with 2 runs scored, 3 RBI, a triple and his 2nd HR of the spring.

With Headley hitting like this, it makes me feel not quite as anxious about the possibility of him playing left while Scott Hairston mans center.

Greg Maddux also had a good game for the Pads, giving up only 1 run in the 3 IP while striking out 1.

Heath Bell, on the other hand, continues to look lost as his ERA raises to 15.00 after giving up 3 earned runs in 1 inning. How worried about his performance am I? He was the only Padre I drafted in my fantasy baseball league Saturday night.

Spring recap No. 8: Padres 6, Diamondbacks 3

Before we get to the game, here is a Jim Edmonds update. Apparently he will be sidelined 2-3 weeks with his strained calf. So we will see when he really returns. Don't like my outlook, well we can just go with Bud Black's comments in that he is "hoping for the best."

Ok, the game. Chris Young pitched 3 innings of no hit ball, walking 1 and striking out 3.

Offensively, Will Venable went 1-for-2 again, driving in 2 more runs and raising his BA to .417. I don't want to get excited over spring stats but it's nice to see him having this type of success. Scott Hairston also had a good day offensively, going 2-for-3 with a HR and 3 RBI.

Should we be worried about the OF?

A lot of talk has been made about the No. 5 spot in the rotation or who will man LF but as we get closer to the start of spring, I can't help but think we are in need of two full OF rotations.

With Scott Hairston only penciled in at left, what would happen if he fails to pan out and both Jim Edmonds and Brian Giles are seriously bit by the injury bug? Who fills in?

Obviously the Chase Headley experiment out in LF would have to be revisited but what would we do for longer term CF and RF replacements? Do we call up 2B of the future Matt Antonelli to pitch in for Giles or does Paul McAnulty get another shot? And what about center? Rule V draftee Callix Crabbe is listed as the backup for 2B and all 3 OF spots but would anyone be comfortable sending out an OF of Hairston/Headley, Crabbe and Antonelli/McAnulty?

All of these questions are starting to make my head hurt and I can tell it is getting late because I have been rambling for a while now so I will say this, whenever Kevin Towers finally picks up that extra OF, it won't be too soon because the alternative is looking a little too ripe for my taste.

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.

Padres shopping list for free agency

I'm currently reading "Moneyball" (yes, I am really late to the party) and every time I put the book down I am suddenly in the move to play GM so with free agency officially open (it's just past 12:15 on the East Coast), I thought I would finally give my thoughts on some free agents the Padres should target.

Before I go on to new additions I first want to ID the areas of need. Obviously most of the talk has been on CF but with the release of Marcus Giles, 2B is also a need (it kind of was before the move) along with LF and Nos. 4 and 5 starters.

Let's deal with the big question first, who do the Padres target in a market full of CF's? The biggest attractions are Andruw Jones, Torii Hunter and even Aaron Rowand. Obviously if the price is right, Jones or Rowand are more attractive based simply on age. While Mike Cameron could also return, I think Jones is the intriguing choice here based simply on the fact he had a terrible '07, possibly putting him in the Padres range.

If the market prices are too high, expect Towers to pull off a trade. My suggestion is that we sign Doug Mirabelli again and trade him back to the Red Sox either Coco Crisp or a couple of minor leaguers on the verge of breaking out this season.

In left, I think the Padres should focus on resigning Milton Bradley. When he played he provided the lone offensive spark and except for the incident where he needed to be tackled by Bud Black, he has behaved himself.

To fill the hole at 2B, it is being rumored that SD is toying with moving reserve OF Scott Hairston there. While this would get his bat in the lineup every day, I think Hairston has more value as the guy who backs up Bradley. One move I think needs to be made is bring Geoff Blum back - he filled in admirably for Giles when the latter was benched - to be the utility guy off the bench. What would be great is if Blum could help Matt Antonelli get adjusted to the big leagues. Another option here could be Kaz Matsui, who had a resurgence with the Rockies and would bring speed and stolen bases to a team that didn't have much of either last year.

As for pitchers, one name that intrigues me is Jason Jennings. This guy could actually pitch at Coors but with no run support in Houston he had a pretty lousy year. With the help of Black, Jennings could regain his form and actually see his numbers improve quite a bit by pitching at Petco. Matt Clement and Kerry Wood have also been rumored to be on there way but I think Jennings has more upside.

Regardless of what happens the next few weeks and months, I think the biggest thing I want to see as a fan is some proof that the team is dedicated to winning and will make smart moves in trying to do so. Even if a couple of these holes are filled by minor leaguers, as long as we get someone to man CF I will be pleased. So let's hope Kevin Towers can make another one of those moves he is famous for.

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.