If there is one place I could pick to be at during this time of year, it would have to be sunny San Diego. Let's head there for day nine of our report cards today!
San Diego Padres:
Record: 75-87 (Fourth place in the NL West, 20 games behind Los Angeles).
Batting Leaders:
Batting Average: Adrian Gonzalez (.277)
Home Runs: Adrian Gonzalez (40)
RBIs: Adrian Gonzalez (99)
On-base Percentage: Adrian Gonzalez (.407)
Pitching Leaders:
Wins: Kevin Correia (12)
ERA: Kevin Correia (3.91). Bullpen- Mike Adams (0.73).
Strikeouts: Kevin Correia (142)
Innings Pitched: Kevin Correia (198.0)
WHIP: Jake Peavy (1.19)
Saves: Heath Bell (42)
Highlight of the Season: A ten-game winning streak from May 15-25.
Lowlight of the Season: From June 30 to the All-Star Break, the team went 3-11, which destroyed any remaining bit of hope the team had of contending.
The Lowdown:
The Padres of 2009 were affected by a greatly reduced payroll, thanks to the divorce of their former owner, John Moores. With the team's status in limbo during the divorce, Moores sold the team to an ownership group led by former Diamondbacks CEO Jeff Moorad in early 2009. Now that the fans and players know who the owner is, they no longer have to watch the team become victims of an ugly custody battle. However, it remains to be seen exactly what approach Moorad will take to rebuild this team. All we can do for the time being is examine the remains of what was once a decent team three to four years ago.
Offense:
The offensive load of the Padres in 2009 rested squarely on the shoulders of first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, and he did not disappoint, as he put up one of the best seasons at the plate in Padres history. His 40 home runs and 99 RBIs were easily the best season for a Padres hitter since Greg Vaughn's monster 1998 campaign, when he clobbered 50 home runs and drove in 119 for the eventual National League Champions. What made Gonzalez's season all the more impressive was the fact that he managed to do it in Petco Park, a notorious pitchers' park.
Once you get past Gonzalez, this lineup is painfully weak. There was nobody on the team that hit over .300 this year (including Gonzalez), and nobody outside of him hit over 20 home runs. The 638 runs they scored as a team ranked 29th in the majors, and their .242 team batting average was dead last. Nothing else to report here; this lineup, as a whole, flat out stinks.
Final Grade: F
Pitching:
Their rotation was crippled greatly by the absence of starting pitcher Chris Young, and by the trade of Jake Peavy. Those two were easily the best pitchers on the team, and they gave San Diego an effective 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation. However, Young ended up becoming a victim of injuries in 2009, as he only started 14 games. In that time span, he went 4-6, with a 5.21 ERA. His statline was made worse by the fact that he lost his final four starts, in which he was likely pitching hurt. His last start came on June 14, a 6-0 loss to the Angels, before he was placed on the DL. He eventually underwent arthroscopic surgery on elbow and missed the rest of the season.
Peavy, however, was a victim of a trade. All throughout the tumultuous offseason for the team, Peavy's name was linked to several trade rumors, the biggest of which involved him going to the Chicago Cubs. Ultimately, he did go to Chicago- the right side of town, that is! The White Sox acquired him in a trade on July 31, which sent Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Dexter Carter and Adam Russell to San Diego in exchange for the righty. During his time in San Diego, the 2007 Cy Young Award winner was solid, going 6-6 in 13 starts, with a 3.97 ERA.
In the absence of those two, an unlikely pitcher would step up and become the staff ace during the season: Kevin Correia. The 29-year-old San Diego native put together an admirable campaign, going 12-11 in 33 starts, with a 3.91 ERA in 198 innings pitched. He also only surrendered 17 home runs in that time frame, another impressive stat, regardless if he pitches in a park that is heaven for pitchers. The rest of the pitching staff was nothing to write home about though, as starters Chad Gaudin and Josh Geer each recorded ERAs over five.
The Padres' bullpen had several standouts in 2009, including Luke Gregorson, closer Heath Bell, and Joe Thatcher. Gregorson proved to be a very effective set-up man for closer Bell, recording 27 holds and a 3.24 ERA in 75 innings. He also struck out an impressive 93 batters in that same time frame, which is a very comforting thing for Padres fans, and their manager, Bud Black. Even though the lineup was very weak, they knew that if they had a lead going into the late innings of a game, they had a lights-out bullpen that was capable of shortening the game and slamming the door.
Adding to their comfort was the season put together by Joe Thatcher. He was another reliable arm out of the 'pen in '09, appearing in 52 games and recording a 2.80 ERA. He also proved himself capable of getting a big strikeout when he needed to, fanning 55 in 45 innings. Gregorson and Thatcher each featured good enough arms in 2009 to build the bridge to get to closer Heath Bell.
Bell has filled the rather large shoes left by legendary closer Trevor Hoffman quite adequately, recording 42 saves in 48 chances this season. Even though the six blown saves he recorded are suspect, there was nothing suspect about the 2.71 ERA he put together in 69.2 innings this season. What was also impressive was that over that time span, he only surrendered three home runs. Three! That is exactly what you want out of your closer: someone who can turn out the lights at the end of the game, and won't leave you on the edge of your seat wondering if he'll do it. The season he put together was good enough for him to receive the 2009 National League Rolaids Relief Man Award, a yearly award given to the best reliever in each league.
When looking at the team stats for the Friars, and how they stack up against the rest of MLB, they hold up somewhat well in some categories, especially considering the absence of their two best hurlers. They finished 17th in ERA (4.37) and also featured the ninth-lowest "batting average against," coming in at a .258 clip. However, the major thing that killed this rotation (outside of not having Peavy and Young) was the amount of walks and runs they surrendered. The 603 walks they issued was the fourth highest in baseball, and the 769 runs they gave up was the ninth highest. Even if you do play in a pitchers' park, surrendering a ton of walks will ultimately haunt you.
Final Grade: C
Wild Card: Ballpark
There was nothing that really separated the Padres from the rest of the crowd, and I mean that in a good and bad way. So, I'll just give them a grade on their ballpark, since it looks great on television, and it is a ballpark that I would love to go to someday.
Final Grade: A-
Overall:
Nothing really impressed me about this team, except for Adrian Gonzalez and maybe Heath Bell. Their lineup was spectacularly bad, and their pitching was pretty mediocre. It is a good thing that they have such a beautiful ballpark, because this is probably baseball's most boring team to watch.
Final Grade: C-
Check back tomorrow for two report cards: one for the Oakland Athletics and one for the Toronto Blue Jays!
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