Padres Off Season Recipe for Success

For one of the few teams to still be without a World Series title, it is really hard to be a Padres fan of late. There are a few of the Friar Faithful out there though. For these fans, these last three seasons have been very disappointing. There is a light at the end of the tunnel though. With recent news from the front office, changes are beginning to be made and the newer, younger batch of Padres are starting to come into their own. With this season's debut of young talent, mostly forced by injuries, the Padres have begun to prove that they are not a dead team to be permanently stored in the division's basement. In fact, had the first half of the season not been so disappointing, they may have even been able to dream of the postseason chase. There are still a few gaps in the field and a couple pieces of the puzzle that need to be fitted in, but overall, this team has started to show that they may be a contender very soon.

After all of the drama and troubling news to pour from the Padres offices last season, the season almost seemed destined to fail before pitchers even reported to spring training. Peavy was on the trade block, Adrian would go if the right offer were to be made, Trevor was tossed aside, there was to be a new owner in the nearly distant future, Brian Giles beats women, and several other headlines really effected the Friar's stability. Then when the season starts, almost everyone gets injured. The front office cut salaries and was looking to trim even more. Even with the trimming, they blew millions on Brian Giles and he just never got started before he got injured. By the All Star break, almost all of baseball had given up on the Padres and they appeared to be headed for over 100 losses.

Then the rookie movement started. With just about everyone being roughed up during the regular season, the replacements came pouring in. There were several bright spots to the second half of the season as the newbies really came through in the clutch and dashed several teams hopes of the post season. This really proved the strength of the underrated farm system and led more people to believe that the PAAAdres (the triple A's being the key) may still have some life left. There were some holes in the team left to fill though. The pitching was still shaky and there is yet to be a true center fielder to emerge from the depths of the farm. So here is a look at a couple of things the Friars may be doing in this off season.

Rotation:

One of the biggest problems that the Padres had this last year was pitching. The starting rotation brought a new meaning to the word rotation. There was a literal merry-go-round of pitchers trying to fill in the last two spots of the starting pitchers. With Peavy getting injured and eventually injured and Young getting hurt, Kevin Correia was given the chance of a lifetime. He went from being a player trying to prove he could still handle the big leagues to becoming the staff Ace. Barring any injuries, Young will hold that title next season. The problem with this is that Young is a solid number two pitcher, not an Ace. He is also injury prone. While it may not usually be his arm that causes the problem, Young seems to spend at least one stint on the DL every season. Many may argue that he is not injury prone since his arm has only affected him once, but he is at least accident prone. For whatever reason he is on the injured list, he is there. This leaves a huge gap in the starting pitchers. This last season, the Padres were able to prove that you can run one game solely through the bullpen, but a whole season of doing this may prove a little taxing. With only three solid starters on the roster, this may turn into a two game stint from the backups. That would be very detrimental. The Friars do have some arms in the minors, but this last season proved that they may not be ready yet. There are quite a few arms to hit the market and trade block this season though. With the talent showcase that was exhibited in the second half of the season, several of the current Pads have raised some eyebrows. This may send a couple pitchers to San Diego. The four arms that came in the Peavy trade may start to see some big league innings this year as well. There still leaves the Ace vacancy. In order for the Padres to be truly competitive, they will need to find their next All-Star caliber pitcher. This will likely come via the trade wires for a temporary patch. There are several good arms in the system, but none that are ready for the everyday quite yet. Expect to see a new face on the mound come spring.

Catcher:

There is not much need for improvement here. With Nick Hundley's performance this last year, he is still the number one candidate for the backstop position. He is still a little rough around the edges and can stand some improvement, but he is showing that he is more than capable. With Carlin as a backup to give Hundley some occasional rest, the Padres should be fine. There are many that argue the need for a veteran catcher on the staff, but there is little that one can do. I would personally like to see Mike Piazza come back. He can still catch a couple games a year and would be a perfect DH for interleague play. He has retired though and the year off may not be very good on his chances for a return. This is why I believe he would make a great hitting coach or at the very least, a bullpen catcher. In this capacity, he can greatly improve the entire club. One thing that Piazza always brought to a club was a great atmosphere in the clubhouse, and a LOT of knowledge on the field. Every club that he was a part of improved during his stint with them. He is a great instructor and not only would help the catchers, but he is one of the greatest hitters to ever play the game.

Infielders:

There is really no movement planned for any of the bases. Adrian is always for sale for the right price. With Kyle Blanks showing that he can hit and run, This may not be a bad thing for a Padres team that is trying to stay cheap and competitive. The pieces he can bring would have to be phenomenal, and the Padres have a great backup for the one bagger. The thing is that no one would want to pay what it would take to get Adrian away from the Padres. Eck on second is a match made in heaven for the Friars. He is a phenomenal athlete and erased any doubt about playing second. With his performance in the middle infield this last season, he may be a permanent fixture in SoCal. If Eck does not win the Gold Glove this season, it would be a huge travesty of justice. Short is also a done deal. Evereth Cabrera is here to stay, at least until he is arbitration eligible. After a dynamic first season last year, he is the ultimate answer to the shortstop question. He is cheap and excels at his job. He also brings speed and a fairly consistent bat to the lineup. Cabrera and Eck will be the middle infield for 2010 and possibly beyond. That brings us to third. If any infield moves were to be made in the infield, this would be the spot. With Headley's conversion to the outfield, he may have gotten a little rusty on the hot corner, defense wise. Kouz is, however, due to make a lot more money. After a record breaking defensive season on third, he will be in high demand as well. The big question is, who will be traded? Will it be Kouz or Headley on the third bag next year. It is possible that both of these guys will stay and other moves be made. Kouz is in the same situation as Adrian though. The only difference is that the price tag on Kouz is not nearly as high as Adrian's. This means that it is very possible that someone may snatch him up for a bargain in the off season. This will be an interesting position to watch.

Outfield:

The outfield is a big mess right now. The Pads have four great corner outfielders, but lack a center fielder. There is little hope of getting one, at least a good one, either. Giles, thankfully, does not look to be returning to the Padres, and may not even return to baseball next season. After brutal headlines turning him into a PR nightmare and a season that makes him a defensive and offensive liability, he is quite possibly, done for good. At most, you may see him as a hitting coach for some team in a couple years, but no one wants anything to do with him right now. That leaves Venable, Headley, Gwynn, and Blanks. These four are all great outfielders, but none of them have the ability to play center. OF the four, Gwynn and Venable may be able to patch things up, but this will only be temporary. They both have the speed and desire, but lack the skill, confidence, and command that it takes to truly master this position. It would be great to see Cameron come back to the Friars. He would be a Godsend at this point and he can patch several holes, both defensively and offensively. A leader like Cameron could very well mold Gwynn and Venable into star center fielders. The big problem is that there is a lot of static between Black and Cameron. This tension could be counterproductive. I would also like to see Nick Swisher come over to the Padres. He may not be the best center fielder, but he can get some better reads and has better success than the current alternative. Swisher would also bring the bat that the Padres are searching for to the lineup. He has some great numbers and has actually improved over t past two seasons. Being a constant outfielder has also increased his performance in the expanses of the field. There may be a couple other options via trade or free agents, but do not expect much in the way of signings. Moorad has said that he would prefer the trade route. This makes anyone up for grabs.

Coaching Staff:

I am not a fan of Bud Black. In fact, he makes me miss Bochy. I was frustrated with the Boch, but Black makes him look like manager of the year. My recipe for a winning season is to cut him from the ranks. Unfortunately this is not going to happen. As of now, the entire coaching staff is staying as is. This may be the biggest problem with the club for next years post season hopes. One thing that the front office has admitted they may do is to hire Greg Maddux to help with the pitching staff. He is already agreeing to help in spring training and was instructing the Padres hurlers this last season in Arizona. Hopefully he will once again do this for next season. Even better would be to see him take a permanent role with the coaching staff. He is a great influence and has a lot of knowledge to share. This would be nothing but good for the Padres. As I touched on earlier, I would also like to see Piazza come to the coaching side of the Friars. His hitting prowess and natural catching ability would be a definite boon. Other than that, the coaches can stay the same. For the most part, there are no glaring holes in the instruction of these youngsters.

There may not be many movements for the Padres this season, but some key players may come or go. It will be very interesting to see what happens. The first step is to find out who the new GM is. After that, it would be nice to know where Moorad will go with the payroll. After this season though, it can be nothing but more. You can't really field a cheaper team than the '09 Pads. Maybe if you subtract out Peavy and Giles' salaries, but they will be gone any ways. This may leave quite a bit of "wiggle room" for the new GM to land that right handed bat in center or that new Ace on the mound. Moorad has hinted at a larger salary for the '10 season. With most of the club remaining at the same pay, there will be a lot of cash to spare. I don't see how they can resist the free agents, but they are hinting at more trades than anything. Unless they are going to trade cash for a player, we may see one or two purchases in the off season. I just hope the new GM is smart enough to look to the future with the fixes they get. The last thing this team needs is a veteran (i.e, old and washed up outcast) player to lead the young guys. We have had enough of those in recent history.