San Diego Padres
Record: 90-72 (Second place in NL West, two games behind San Francisco)
Batting Leaders
Batting Average: Adrian Gonzalez (.298)
Home Runs: Adrian Gonzalez (31)
RBIs: Adrian Gonzalez (101)
On-base Percentage: Adrian Gonzalez (.393)
Pitching Leaders
Wins: Clayton Richard, Jon Garland and Mat Latos (14)
Strikeouts: Mat Latos (189)
Innings Pitched: Clayton Richard (201.2)
ERA: Mat Latos (2.92). Bullpen- Joe Thatcher (1.29)
WHIP: Mat Latos (1.08). Bullpen- Luke Gregerson (0.83)
Saves: Heath Bell (47)
Highlight of the Year: On August 25, the Padres defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 9-3 to extend their NL West division lead to 6.5 games over San Francisco, their largest lead of the season.
Lowlight of the Year: The Padres after that date would finish 14-23 to ultimately miss the playoffs by an excruciating two games. In an even more cruel twist of fate, the Padres began a ten-game losing streak on August 26 to set off their free fall into oblivion.
The Lowdown:
The Padres were by far and away the most surprising team in baseball last year, finishing with 90 wins for the first time since 1998 with a largely unknown roster. There was not one single person who believed the Padres would even finish out of last place this year, let alone contend for the division title. The Friars stayed in contention (and in first) throughout the season based on the strength of their outstanding pitching, which statistically was the best in baseball. Their pitching had to be on point, because their offense was incredibly weak outside of Adrian Gonzalez for the majority of the season. The team would make some key moves to bolster the offense later in the season, acquiring Ryan Ludwick and Miguel Tejada through trades to give San Diego a respectable lineup. However, their magic carpet ride would come to a deflating and demoralizing end in September, as the team could not hold off San Francisco, nor could they hold off a devastating 12-16 finish that saw them lose the division to the Giants by just two games. What potentially could have been the most shocking postseason run in recent baseball history was reduced to just a mere footnote, as it remains uncertain if the team can replicate the magic in 2011.
Offense:
Adrian Gonzalez was once again the offensive leader of this team, as he would finish with MVP-caliber numbers in 2010. The San Diego native finished with a .298 average, with 31 home runs and 101 RBIs, to go along with a .393 on-base percentage, which tied for the fourth-best in the NL. The impressive numbers he put up playing mostly in a pitcher-friendly park are simply amazing, and the Padres will really miss his presence in the lineup heading into this season.
Nobody else really had much of a presence in the Friars’ lineup however, as only two other regulars even cracked .270 in batting average (Chris Denorfia and Yorvit Torrealba each hit .271). In fact, only Will Venable even hit more than 12 home runs on this squad, finishing with 13 along with 51 RBIs. Miguel Tejada and Ryan Ludwick also added a marginal boost to this otherwise lackluster offense, combining for 15 home runs and 58 RBIs in the games they played. Nonetheless, the Padres finished 22nd in runs scored (665), 22nd in home runs (132), 28th in batting average (.246), 23rd in on-base percentage (.317) and 28th in slugging (.371). While we all know that hindsight is 20/20, a better offensive effort would have easily placed this team into postseason play.
Final Grade: D-
Pitching:
San Diego’s pitching put together a performance that was the complete opposite of their offense, as they were easily the best staff in baseball this year. While there wasn’t necessarily a true “ace” in their starting rotation, right hander Mat Latos looks like he could assume the role very soon. Latos led the Padres in the majority of their pitching statistics, as he tied for the team lead in wins (14), along with leading the team in strikeouts (189), ERA (2.92) and WHIP (1.08). The 23-year-old nearly quadrupled his innings output from last year as well, finishing with 184.2 innings pitched, an indication that he’s ready to be a leader and stopper in their rotation.
In addition to his strong performance, lefty Clayton Richard and righty Jon Garland put together great seasons on the mound as well. Richard, in his first full season with the Padres, would finish 14-9 with a 3.75 ERA, including leading the team in innings pitched with 3.75. Jon Garland appeared to recapture the magic that he featured for the 2005 White Sox this year, finishing 14-12 with a 3.47 ERA in 200 innings. Lefty Wade LeBlanc and righty Kevin Correia rounded out the rotation, finishing with ERAs of 4.25 and 5.40, respectively.
As good as the Padres’ rotation was this year, their bullpen was even better. They featured the best bullpen ERA in baseball at 2.81, and they also featured three pitchers with ERAs under two with at least 60 appearances (Mike Adams, Heath Bell and Joe Thatcher). There isn’t one person you can pinpoint as the best reliever in this bullpen, as a host of players had phenomenal seasons. Lefty Joe Thatcher finished with the lowest ERA of any of the relievers (1.29), and he also fashioned a WHIP of 0.86. Set-up man Luke Gregerson had the most appearances of anybody on this staff (80), and he finished with a 3.22 ERA, along with a team-best WHIP of 0.83. Mike Adams, who also set-up for Heath Bell, finished with an ERA of 1.76 and a WHIP of 1.07 in 70 appeances, and Bell would finish with the second-most saves in the National League with 47, to go along with a 1.93 ERA.
Collectively, the Padres staff finished second in the majors in ERA (3.39), second in WHIP (1.25), second in “batting average against” (.240), 15th in quality starts (87) and 22nd in home runs allowed (139). You can forgive this team for the low number of quality starts because of the outstanding bullpen they have at their disposal. This staff was simply phenomenal.
Final Grade: A+
Wild Card: Bud Black
His Manager of the Year honor was well-deserved, in spite of the team’s unspectacular finish. Just the fact that this team was in contention for as long as they were was incredible, and the way he handled the young arms of Mat Latos and Clayton Richard down the stretch should be commended. Remarkably enough, the Padres were without one of their best starters for the majority of the season, as Chris Young was battling injuries. Even though a great case could have been made for Cincinnati’s Dusty Baker winning the award, I truly believe that what Bud Black did this year was remarkable.
Final Grade: A+
Overall:
How this team was able to stay in contention with the lack of offense they had was stunning. Their starting pitching was on-point more often than not, and their bullpen was absolutely lights out. With Adrian Gonzalez and Jon Garland gone however, this team will have a decidedly different look to it heading into this season. Can they repeat the magic again? Only time will tell.
Final Grade: B+
Check back soon for the report card on the Texas Rangers!
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