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 Training Game 21 Preview: Mariners vs. Padres

At Peoria Sports Complex, 7:05 p.m. PT
Starters: Miguel Batista (Sea) vs. Justin Germano (SD)

Germano and company are back from China just as roster moves are being made and Randy Wolf is getting extra time throwing in minor league games on days off. The competition for starting spots is getting fierce and this game could go a long way in deciding who will fill in for Mark Prior while he makes his way back from injury.

Spring recaps Nos. 16 and 17

So our bitter rivals to the North took us on in an exhibition game in China and how did it turn out? A 3-3 tie. Isn't that supposed to be like kissing your sister? Not that I would know what that's like but after this I might actually have an idea.

But enough rambling, looking at the box a couple of things stand out the biggest being that it looks like Justin Germano should get the opportunity to start while Mark Prior is still on the mend. He continued to be sharp in MLB's China debut, giving up 1 ER, 5 hits and 1 BB in 5 IP while striking out 5. Trevor Hoffman also found it easier to pitch in China, striking out 2 and giving up 1 BB, no hits and no runs in 1 IP.

Stateside, Wade LeBlanc didn't fare too terribly well in his first start, giving up 5 runs (2 earned) and 7 hits in 2 2/3 IP. LeBlanc showed some control as he struck out 5 while walking none but the A's picked up the win 9-3.

Tony Clark continues to have a hot spring as he went 2-for-3 with an RBI (his spring BA is now .429) and Chip Ambres hit his first HR of the spring.

Estes returns to the mound

Well it looks like the search for a No. 5 starter is about to get a little more crowded, and a little more fragile, as Shawn Estes makes a long-awaited return to the mound in the Cactus League opener on Friday against Kansas City.

It's been almost two seasons since Estes last pitched for SD and I'm sure that many casual fans are wondering either who this guy is or are probably thought Estes has retired.

Looking at Estes' career stats on baseball-reference.com, he was an All Star in 1997 and owns a career record of 99-90 with a 4.71 ERA in 1,634 1/3 innings - 6 of which have been for the Padres (0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in 1 game).

I don't know which is scarier, thinking Estes could be the No. 5 guy until Mark Prior comes back, thinking Prior could be the guy or knowing Glendon Rusch is in the mix. Just thinking about that trio, combined with No. 4 starter Randy Wolf makes my arm start to hurt.

2008 Previews: Starting Pitching

It's no secret by now that the Padres have one of the best, if not the best, 1-2 combos in the majors when it comes to starters. Jake Peavy and Chris Young got off to an amazing start and if it wasn't for a pesky injury after the All Star break, Young may have been a stronger Cy Young candidate.

With Greg Maddux coming back we have a solid enough No. 3 starter that he should guarantee us at least 10 wins once again, despite the fact that Maddux is clearly not the pitcher he was. However, his years of experience have made it possible for him to remain effective.

Any fan worth his weight knows the biggest question for the Padres is who will fill the last two spots in the rotation. Low budget signings Randy Wolf and Mark Prior should be adequate to fill the roles if they can remain healthy, but that's the $64,000 question this season.

Both Wolf and Prior tend to be fly ball pitchers and their home run to fly ball ratios should see the most improvement because of their new surroundings. Should the need arise, both Justin Germano (last year's No. 5 starter) and Clay Hensley headline a list of youngsters who will be itching for another chance to earn a full-time rotation gig.

It remains to be seen how effective Germano really can be - is he more of the pitcher we saw in the first half (only 1 loss), or is he closer to the guy we saw struggle in the second half? A similar questions could be asked of Hensley, but he too is also trying to battle back from injury.

Regardless of who fills the last two spots, someone is going to have to step up in a big way.

Early predictions for the NL West

First things first: I apologize this did not get up on Monday as promised. As most of you probably know, life has a funny way of shifting priorities. But enough excuses.

As Jan. winds down, it's time for anyone and everyone to start making predictions. So starting today, here are my breakdowns of the NL West and the Padres. Today's prediction is the order in which the teams will finish in the division with a short reason why. (Disclaimer: Since it is Jan., I reserve the right to change my predictions based on potential injuries during Spring Training. You didn't seriously think I would allow myself to be held completely to these did you?)

1. Diamondbacks: It would be easy to go with the homer pick here but AZ really surprised everyone last year, especially those who said '08 would be their year. Well, it's now '08 and they have added Dan Haren to the rotation. This team will be tough to beat again and probably has the best shot at winning the division.

2. Padres: You didn't think I'd pick them to finish any lower did you? In midseason they were the best team in the NL but they faded fast and eventually lost game 163 to Colorado. Mark Prior and Randy Wolf are interesting additions to the rotation and along with Jim Edmonds and Tadahito Iguchi this team has made some changes in hopes of playing a little longer in '08. These moves should work.

3. Rockies: They needed to win 21 of their last 22 to make the playoffs and then swept through the NL before being swept out by the Red Sox. Kip Wells is not the answer to replace the "Dragon Slayer" Josh Fogg though and no one will be caught off guard this time. However, Matt Holliday is really good, even if he never touched the plate.

4. Dodgers: Call this a hater pick if you want but Joe Torre does not equal playoffs for the boys in blue. This team still has a lot of work to do and will need more than one year for Torre to work his magic.

5. Giants: This organization is currently a mess and we will definitely need a scorecard to tell who the players are, but they are finally escaping the loooooong shadow of Barry Bonds. But they are still a couple of years away from actually turning this thing around and they should safely be entrenched in the basement by the end of April.

There you have it. Agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments.

Did the Padres add enough this offseason?

Looking at the guys Kevin Towers brought in to help get this team back to the playoffs in 2008, I have two questions for readers:

1. Did Towers add enough to get this team over the hump (barring injury setbacks)?

2. Of the players that changed teams or were available this offseason, who would you have liked to seen retained or added to the roster (keeping in mind that A Rod or Johan Santana had no shot of coming here in the first place)?

My answers? For No. 1 I think that everything has to go right in order for it to work. Is that a generic answer? You bet. Is it meaningless? Not in the least. To elaborate, the Padres have talent and when guys like Randy Wolf and Mark Prior are healthy, they can be No. 2 starters. However, the reason they were available was because when was the last time either of these guys was a No. 2 starter? You get my point.

For No. 2, I would have liked to see Geoff Blum come back just because of his versatility on defense but other than him, I would have liked to see SD be able to retain Milton Bradley. At the very least he would have kept reporters and bloggers busy throughout the year. It would also be cool if we could sign a guy like Bartolo Colon, who is still out on the market. Granted, this violates my price range rule but between his injury-plagued '07, the horrible stats when he did pitch and the fact that he's 35 at the end of May, this has KT Bargain written all over it.

Now that you've heard my view, let me know what you think? Who do you think would have fit in well in SD? Get posting.

Happy 2008

It's a new year and hopefully a rejuvenation of this blog. In the tradition of making resolutions, my resolution is to blog more frequently, both during the season and off-season. Now for some catching up.

1. Looking for more blogs about the San Diego Padres? Check out padreblogs.com. The site is owned by Geoff Young of Ducksnorts, and is a list of links of blogs on the Padres.

2. Mark Prior is now a Padre. When he is healthy, Prior is a talented pitcher. However, it's been a while since he wax healthy. As the guys over at Gaslamp Ball have been saying, if Prior and Randy Wolf stay healthy, this could be the year we get back to the World Series but on the other side of things, their arms could fall off in the middle of an inning too.

Regardless of how last year ended, the one thing 2008 should bring is plenty of excitement. It seems Kevin Towers has done a good job of shopping this offseason to fill needs with capable players. Now we just need to spend the next 10 months doing whatever we can to ward away injuries. Does anyone have any bug spray?