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2009 San Diego Padres Preview

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Written by Daniel Paulling (Contact & Archive) on February 16, 2009

At least the weather is usually good at Petco Park.

Photo by Ben Pollard, used under creative commons license.

Final Record: 63-99

Rank: Last in NL West, 21.0 games behind

Home Park: PETCO Park

Enjoying the Perfect Weather

C Henry Blanco (Signed from Chicago Cubs)
OF Chris Burke (Signed from Arizona Diamondbacks
2B David Eckstein (Signed from Toronto Blue Jays)
OF Cliff Floyd (Signed from Tampa Bay Rays)
RP Mark Worrell (Signed from St. Louis Cardinals)

Leaving for Elsewhere
C Josh Bard (Signed with Boston Red Sox)
SP Shawn Estes (Signed with Los Angeles Dodgers)
SP Charlie Haeger (Signed with Los Angeles Dodgers)
RP Trevor Hoffman (Signed with Milwaukee Brewers)
RP Brett Tomko (Signed with New York Yankees)
C Michael Barrett (Invited to Toronto Blue Jays Spring Training)
SS Khalil Greene (Traded to St. Louis Cardinals)
SP Matt Bush (Traded to Toronto Blue Jays)
SP Greg Maddux (Retired)

The Skinny
The Padres are suffering from severe deficiencies on and off the field. Owner John Moores is in the process of selling the team, but mandated that payroll must be dropped to $40 million. That stifled the Padres’ abilities to make moves this offseason and put them in a bad place with ace Jake Peavy. On the field, the Padres have a lack of offense and depth in the rotation. It’s not going to be a pretty year for the Padres.

Strengths – Two Quality Farmhands
The most discussed Padres’ prospect may have been the recently traded Matt Bush, but for bad reason. Bush was selected first overall a few years ago but never advanced past Class A ball. Should he not advance to the majors, he would be the first player chosen first overall to not advance to the show.

The spotlight should be shown on second baseman Matt Antonelli and outfielder Chase Headley, both of whom could make impacts this season. Combine that with the third overall pick this season (and several high picks over the next few years), and the Padres could re-build through their farm system.

Weakness – Offense
PETCO Park suppresses offensive statistics due to its size, but that isn’t enough to explain away the Padres’ lack of production. Adrian Gonzalez is a high-end producer and Brian Giles gets on base. Other than that, the Padres’ lineup is filled with sub-.330 OBP guys.

Potential Lineup
SS David Eckstein
RF Brian Giles
1B Adrian Gonzalez
3B Kevin Kouzmanoff
LF Chase Headley
2B Chris Burke
CF Jody Gerut
C Nick Hundley

Rotation
SP Jake Peavy
SP Chris Young
SP Cha Seung Baek
SP Kevin Correia
SP Josh Geer / Wade LeBlanc

Bullpen
CL Heath Bell
RP Cla Meredith
RP Mike Adams

One Question for the Padres
The rotation is in dire straits now, especially with so many unknowns toward the end. If the Padres decide to deal Peavy, things could be even worse. Who is going to consistently take the ball? Your guess is as good as mine.

Prediction
It would be a surprise if this team lost less than 95 games, even in that division. There are too many questions about the rotation and lineup to suggest the Padres can finish better than fifth in the West.

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