Every Fifth Day

The horses who carried the workload on the bump for the Padres last season comprised of (games started in parenthesis): Mat Latos (31), Tim Stauffer (31), Aaron Harang (28), Dustin Moseley (20), and Clayton Richard (18).


Cory Luebke (17) and Wade LeBlanc (17) also made substantial contributions; however, LeBlanc is headed for bluer waters as he was traded to Miami for catcher John Buck. A renewed Harang was offered arbitration, so it will be interesting to see what develops there.


Latos and Stauffer look to be the anchors, while Luebke (6-10, 3.29) has clearly earned a spot in the rotation with a 9.92 K/9, second only to Richard. Look for him to have a breakout season. Richard is recovering well and is expected to bounce back from shoulder surgery.


The remaining spot (or spots) are open for debate. Anthony Bass excelled in relief during the regular season, but the plan seems to be to transition him back to starter, as he made 5 starts (21.2 IP) in this year's Arizona Fall League. He surrendered 25 hits while striking out 23 and walking 5. 


Last season's Tuscon squad doesn't seem likely to produce any candidates for the remaining spots on the big league club. Most of the hurlers from that team are no longer in the organization.


That being said, there are several members of San Antonio's record-setting championship squad who are poised to see time with the big league club in 2012. Casey Kelly (11-6, 3.98, 105K), Robbie Erlin (6-2, 3.50, 92K), and Joe Wieland (7-1, 1.80, 54K) are all future fixtures in the rotation who have some solid upside.


Finally, there's free agency. Some persons of interest in my mind are Edwin Jackson and (a healthy) Scott Kazmir. Both could benefit from pitching in Petco. The best options, though, are probably going to require big money, the kind of money the Padres aren't likely to shell out this season. Outside of those arms, the pickings are slim.


If Latos and Richard can return to form, combined with a strong full season from Luebke, then this rotation could be a force to reckon with. However, as always, it's not the pitching that tends to be the concern in San Diego. It's more about whether the pitching staff can get the run support they need.  
  

Bench Me!

For this next entry, I'll discuss the Padres bench.

I'm going to assume the team carries 12 pitchers, so that leaves 5 spots for the bench. Here are the five guys I see holding down those spots: 


#1 John Baker, C: the more I see of him, the more I like. I think he may be the perfect compliment to Hundley.


#2 Logan Forsythe, IF: would love to see him get a crack at starting, but I think 3B is his natural position, and we're loaded there. If Cabrera can't establish himself, I'd give Forsythe the first shot at replacing him.


#3 Andy Parrino, IF: really made a nice impression last season in this role; would love to see him back again. Plus the switch hitting is a great option for the bench.


#4 Mark Kotsay, OF: wasn't really sure about the signing as far as tools go, but I guess the clubhouse factor must have been a big one. I would have been happy with Hermida or Cunningham in this role as well.


#5 ???: I don't think we've finished filling out the bench from free agency yet, so I'm leaving one spot to be determined later. If we pick up a starter for the OF, Venable could be this spot. Or, Brynes might have Rizzo and Guzman platooning (not a fan of the platoon, as previously mentioned).


I like the looks of this bench more than I did last season, especially at C and IF.


The OF (besides Maybin) is the big question at this point, as are the starters. If Blanks and Venable don't rise up, we're in huge trouble. If Guzman could figure a way to effectively use the leather, he'd be a nice option out in the grass, allowing Blanks or Rizzo to take over at 1B. Ultimately, though, I'd like to see a major move made for a corner OF. We've got the prospect pipeline and the increased payroll...let's do this!

Okay...enough already. Let's set the lineup.

Thanksgiving is officially over. It's time to start talking baseball again.

Well...maybe it's a bit premature, but I'm sitting here with both kids asleep (magically and inexplicably) while the Mrs. is out scratching and clawing her way through the Black Friday crowds.

I'm putting off cleaning up the T-Day Bombs that were dropped on our kitchen because I found the replay of the Diamondbacks' N.L. West-clinching game against the Giants, and I'm thinking it's time to start talking about baseball again.

Now, it's not that I like the Giants...hate them, in fact. I don't like Arizona either...though it seems that San Diego is quickly becoming Arizona West, maybe I should start warming up to them. The fact is, I'm ready for the 2012 season to begin, so ANY baseball is GREAT baseball at this point. Now...on to the main event of the evening.

For this first blog, I figured I'd take my shot at a starting lineup I'd like to see the San Diego Padres run out for the 2012 season. Make no mistake...I'm a fan...not an expert, and these are my humble opinions.

Here's what I'd like to see on the Opening Day lineup card:

Everth Cabrera, 2B

Chase Headley, 3B

Jesus Guzman, 1B**

Kyle Blanks, LF

Nick Hundley, C

Cameron Maybin, CF

Will Venable, RF**

Jason Bartlett, SS**

Mat Latos, P

Now...there are some asterisks.

#1 Guzman isn't a defender by any means, but he can swing it. My preference would be for Rizzo to take this spot from him, but I think the 3-hole may be too much pressure for such a young guy, and he has to prove he can hit at the big league level. I don't like the idea of platooning. I believe in bench players and starters, no crossovers.

#2 Venable is on his last leg. If there's a guy we can go get for some prospects (Carlos Quentin, Domonic Brown, Nick Swisher, etc.), then I'm all for it. If not, Venable has the last chance to prove he can be a starter. Love the guy, but he's struggled mightily.

#3 Bartlett is another one I'm not sold on. Was happy with the signing originally, but just not sure he can bring back what he had. Same as above...if we can get someone else, I'm interested.

The other glaring change is 2B. Honestly, I loved the idea of the Bartlett/Hudson combo, but it didn't pan out at all. Cabrera, in my mind, should get the shot at his more natural position and maybe that could take the pressure off in the batter's box. That means we've got to beg someone to take Hudson off our hands, which may prove insurmountable.

That's my take...more on the bench later. The dishes are sending angry glares at me, and Baby Friar looks like he's trying to wake up. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Play ball!