The 30 Team/30 Day Report Cards: Day 22- San Diego Padres

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 22^nd in runs scored (665), 22^nd in home runs (132), 28^th in batting average (.246), 23^rd in on-base percentage (.317) and 28^th 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), 15^th in quality starts (87) and 22^nd 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!

What on earth is happening to the San Diego Padres?

Earlier this afternoon, the San Diego Padres fell at home to the Colorado Rockies by a score of 6-2 to lose their ninth consecutive game. The Friars, in that time span, have seen their six game lead dwindle down to just a meager 2.5 games pending the outcome of the Giants/Dodgers game later this evening. This substantial slide has made many people wonder if this is indeed it for the Padres, who have basically been baseball's version of "The Little Engine That Could" the entire season.

Around the beginning of the season, many prognosticators (myself included) had the Padres tabbed for a last-place finish in the National League West. In fact, you might have been lucky to see anyone who had them picked to finish above fourth place this year. However, one of the beautiful things about baseball is that when you watch the season unfold, you always have the chance to see something unexpected happen, and the Padres have been a prime example of this. They have shocked everybody in the baseball world up to this point by not only contending, but by leading the National League West for the majority of the season over heavy favorites like the Giants, Rockies and Dodgers.

The Padres are not a flashy team, and they certainly are not a team that lends itself to excitement. In today's homer-happy culture in baseball, the Padres are decidedly different than most teams, as they are absolutely reliant on their pitching to win them ballgames. Their starting rotation that features Mat Latos, Jon Garland, Clayton Richard, Kevin Correia and Wade LeBlanc is arguably the best in baseball in 2010, and those who would even bother to argue against that are likely just playing devil's advocate. Their starting pitching had to be the best in the game this year in order for this team to survive, since their 579 runs scored as a team ranks 12th in the National League and 21st overall in MLB. Their starting staff has not only met many people's expectations, they have went above and beyond them.

The starting staff cannot do it all by themselves though. The Friars have featured the best bullpen in all of baseball by far this year, with a fearsome trio of Luke Gregerson, Mike Adams and Heath Bell closing out games. With the combination of a rock-solid starting rotation and a bullpen that slams the door shut on rallies time and time again, it's no wonder why the Padres have the best team ERA in baseball at 3.36.

However, this team has had their fair share of detractors and non-believers this season. They'll point out the fact that their starters are overachieving, their bullpen is being overworked, and that their lineup is anemic, even with Adrian Gonzalez. All throughout the season, they have been waiting for the other shoe to drop with this team, and for most of the time, they have been coming away disappointed. Now that the Padres are suffering through their worst slump of the season, everybody- supporters and detractors alike- is eagerly waiting to see what will become of baseball's biggest surprise this season. Do the Padres have the intestinal fortitude to snap out of this slump and ride on to the postseason, or has midnight finally struck for this Cinderella team? They still have a whopping seven games left with second-place San Francisco, including the final three games of the season at AT&T Park in early October. When looking at the glass half-full, you could say that this slump is just a prelude to what could be a fantastic finish in the NL West. In the meantime, I'll just hope that this is nothing more than just a temporary slump for the Padres. Besides, what fun would a pennant race be if you didn't have the twists and turns that come with it?

Welcome Back!

Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to welcome you back to this blog. I would like to offer you my sincere apologies for my prolonged absence from here, mainly because school nearly had me in a choke hold over during April, May, and part of June. Now that school has been out for over a month, I can get back to offering you my opinions on the world of baseball, with special attention to the Sox.

A lot has happened since I was last here with you. There have been a whopping five no-hitters, two of which were perfect games. We have also witnessed one of the most agonizing near-misses in the history of no-hitters/perfect games, when Armando Galarraga came within inches of perfection, only to have it snatched from his hands by an errant call from first base umpire Jim Joyce.

In addition to the rash of no-hitters that have been thrown this year, there have also been remarkable stand-outs in the world of pitching. Ubaldo Jimenez of the Colorado Rockies, despite slowing down in recent weeks, has still been one of the best pitchers in baseball, as he continues to sport a 16-2 record, with a 2.67 ERA. Josh Johnson has also been right on Jimenez's heels in the National League Cy Young race, as he is featuring a 10-3 record and a major league-best 1.72 ERA. Other major league pitchers that are having standout seasons include Adam Wainwright and Jaime Garcia of the St. Louis Cardinals, David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays, Cliff Lee of the Texas Rangers and Roy Halladay of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Also, who could forget about the dynamic debut of Stephen Strasburg of the Washington Nationals? Before he went on the DL yesterday with shoulder stiffness, he has been rock solid in his rookie year, going 5-2 with a 2.32 ERA and with an excellent strikeout-to-walk ratio of 75-15 in 54.1 innings. You could almost make the case that what Bob Costas said during his first start was correct: the performance has exceeded the hype.

Plus, there have been many compelling division races in baseball through this point of the season. There have been many surprises in the National League, including the outstanding performances put on by the San Diego Padres and the Cincinnati Reds, who are both leading their respective divisions as of July 30. Also, the Atlanta Braves have returned to their perch atop the National League East, as they continue to lead their division by two and a half over Philadelphia.

There has been just as many surprises in the American League as well. The Chicago White Sox, who trailed the Minnesota Twins by a whopping nine and a half games on June 8, have stormed back to take the division lead, as they are up by a game and a half entering tonight's play. The Texas Rangers, after acquiring ace pitcher Cliff Lee in a trade with the Seattle Mariners, have plowed ahead of the Angels and A's, leading the West by eight and a half entering tonight. In addition to those races, the Rays and Yankees are continuing their battle atop the AL East, as the Yankees lead by two games over Tampa entering tonight.

Also, who can forget about the trade deadline tomorrow? There has already been a flurry of activity, as we have already seen Roy Oswalt get dealt from Houston to Philly, Edwin Jackson get dealt from Arizona to the South Side of Chicago and Matt Capps get dealt from Washington to Minnesota in just the last couple of days. With tomorrow's 4 pm deadline still looming, we should not be surprised to see more big trades go down in the next several hours.

It has been an absolute blast following baseball this summer (as it always is), and it has been even more of a blast watching the Sox make an incredible comeback to take over first place in the Central. With two months left before the postseason, you can all but gurarantee that there will be a lot more fun surprises headed our way in MLB. Rest assured, that whenever those surprises occur, I'll try to give you my thoughts on at least some of them! Once again, I would like to offer you my most sincere apologies for my prolonged absence, and you will definitely hear back from me soon!

The 30 Day/30 Team Report Cards: Day 9- San Diego Padres

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!

Rumor has it that....

The White Sox, Padres and Angels are discussing a three-way trade that would send Paul Konerko to Los Angeles, Adrian Gonzalez to Chicago and prospects to San Diego. A very interesting proposition, in my honest opinion. We would be getting a very great left-handed hitter who clubbed 40 home runs last year while playing in a pitcher's ballpark, not to mention a guy who can add some more balance to the lineup. With Thome's departure, there was a clear void in the lineup as far as left-handed power goes. If the Sox were somehow able to acquire Gonzalez, that void would be gone.

However, there is the issue of Konerko's no-trade clause, which is present only because of his 10-5 rights (10-5 rights means that if a player has been in the majors for at least 10 seasons, with the last five being on the same team, they have the power to veto any trade). According to the linked article, Konerko lives in Arizona during the offseason, and as you already know, Southern California is pretty close to Arizona. Nonetheless, I do not know how I feel about Konerko being traded. Yes, he is an "old" 33, but he is still very productive at the plate, and on the field as well. He hit .277 this year (his highest average since 2006), with 28 home runs and 88 RBIs, which is a pretty solid year at the plate. He was also one of my favorite players growing up, and I still have my Paul Konerko autograph on the bill of my Sox hat proudly sitting atop my trophy shelf. He is one of the greatest players in Sox history; he is second in team history in home runs, and he and Frank Thomas are the only two players in Sox history to post back-to-back 40 homer seasons. Sox fans will not forget how clutch he was during the 2005 postseason, when he hit possibly the biggest home run in team history in Game 2 (a 7th inning grand slam off of Chad Qualls). The day "Paulie" plays his final game in a Sox uniform will definitely be a sad one for me and many Sox fans.

But...if they do acquire Gonzalez, I would still be estatic. I would love to see him paired with Carlos Quentin in the lineup next year, and I would love to see him do work on American League pitching. He is similar to Konerko in a lot of ways. He carries himself with a quiet dignity that is similar to "Paulie;" he has unheralded power, just like him and he can field his position very well, just like him, too. The most awesome aspect about this trade idea is that he's 27 years old, which means he is just about to enter his prime. Now that I think about it, if this trade were to go through, I would be sad that Konerko left, but, at the same time, it would be like he never left at all once Gonzalez suits up at first. Like the old saying goes: "sometimes the more things change, the more they stay the same." Kenny, if you were able to get this deal done, go for it!