Atrocious; What's Next?

Even Jake Peavy can't cure the Padres' current ills. The staff ace allowed three runs over six innings with six punch outs to take a 9-2 loss against the Mariners. The club has not won a game in over a week (6/20) and one has to go back more than two weeks to find a second win (6/14). If everyone is being honest with themselves, there is no reason to continue on in their current incarnation. Even if they hit a major hot streak and win the horrid NL West, they would be trounced in the playoffs. After reportedly still standing on the fence 10 days ago, the likelihood of front office mailing in a veteran-lead comeback is increasing. For instance, the Union-Tribune yesterday suggested that there is too much financial benefit to dump contracts, such as Randy Wolf's:

The Padres stand to save $1.6 million in salary, plus an additional $175,000 per start if they deal Wolf in late July. With the club preparing to spend several million dollars on foreign amateurs by Wednesday, future savings might be welcomed.

FF would welcome this change of pace. In fact, we see as much or more upside to the strategy - both in terms of current and future success. Outside of one or two guys, it's quite possible that lessor known players will provide as much or more upside compared to current Padre regulars. For instance, we don't see Tad Iguchi unseating Edgar Gonzalez anytime soon. Little-big brother Gonzalez is providing better returns than Iguchi this season, and would seem to be a cheap, effective alternative to pushing Matt Antonelli for 2009. Expect Kevin Towers to to wait until the trading deadline draws near to maximize his leverage. In the meantime, any chance we can find more Gonzalez brothers?

Iguchi Separates Shoulder

Padres second baseman, Tadihito Iguchi, will be placed on the DL after separating his shoulder attempting to dodge a Kevin Kouzmanoff grounder in Thursday night's 2-1 victory over the Mets. Iguchi will be out 4 - 6 weeks which leaves the Padres without a consistent defender (zero errors this season) and the 2 hole hitter in their lineup. The most likely replacement will create an all Gonzalez right side of the infield as FF expects Edgar Gonzalez to see the bulk of the playing time with a promotion in line for Craig Stansberry, who was a PCL All Star last year.

Friar Sale?

The San Diego Padres have become a hot topic in baseball's front offices as ESPN's Jayson Stark reported that one AL executive feels that the Friars may open their doors early stocking players like Khalil Greene, Kevin Kouzmanoff, and Randy Wolf on their shelves. FF was a bit surprised to see Kouz on this list, although opening a spot for Chase Headley doesn't seem too far fetched ~ FF still would be shocked to see the 3rd baseman moved this summer. Other players that FF could see being dealt include a myriad of free agents to be; Brian Giles, Greg Maddux, Michael Barrett, and Tadihito Iguchi. If Estes continues to throw well, the Friars might be well served to swap him for a younger model. In smaller moves FF wouldn't be surprised to see a Scott Hairston or P Mac cleaning their lockers in San Diego.

Not even half way through May and it seems that baseball has given up on the 2008 installment of the Padres. Its a little sad, but at least there will be some exciting rumors swirling to help the water cooler chatter.

Fathers Win On Mothers Day; Take Series

The Friars not only won a game Sunday, but they won a series for the first time in 9 tries! The Pads have played baseball with a certain crispness that has been lacking this season. San Diego got a strong outing by Chris Young and some power off the bats of Scott Hairston and Khalil Greene leading the Friars to a 6-1 victory. The majority of the players in both dugouts used the pink colored bats as part of MLB's Mothers Day/Breast Cancer awareness.

Friar Facts:


Tadahito Iguchi is starting to turn it up a notch as the Friars 2nd baseman continues to play stellar D, and added 3 knocks and his second stolen base in as many games.

Luke Carlin made his second consecutive start and he responded by smoking a double down the right field line for his first Major League hit. Carlin also gunned down a runner attempting to steal second.

Jody Gerut picked up his first hit since returning from Portland. Although it was his only hit of the series, Gerut made solid contact consistently and hit into some loud outs.

The newest Padre (and that's saying something lately), Bryan Corey, tossed a scoreless 9th inning. San Diego announcer Mark Grant noticed that the reliever pitches with his right (push off) foot directly on the rubber. It appears that Corey only uses the balls of his feet and toes to push off.

Kevin Kouzmanoff garnered FF praise on the first play of the game when he charged, fielded and threw out Rockies speedy leadoff man, Willie Tavares, on a bunt attempt.

Familiar Game, Familiar Result

There is little to say about Friday evening's contest at Petco Park. The margin for victory was predictably razor thin, so the three run allowed by Jake Peavy over 6 innings was clearly too much for the Padres anemic offense to overcome (despite statistically ranking as a quality start). Glendon Rusch relived Peavy, allowing a bomb into the sandbox in right center field to Matt Holliday, giving the Rockies a 4-2 lead that would mark the final score. The Friars managed their first run on a ground rule double by Peavy, followed by an opposite field double by Brian Giles. Their second run came on a first-deck bomb into the Western Metal Supply building by Kevin Kouzmanoff, who had previously grounded into a pair of a double plays. Kouzmanoff had entered the game as the least likely batter in the league to ground into a double play. Newcomer Jody Gerut played hard and easily tossed Todd Helton trying to advance to third, but was hitless. Otherwise put, same poor play, same poor result.

Peavy Paces Padre Victory

Jake Peavy was the stopper for San Diego, despite allowing a two run homer in the first to put the Padres down by 1. In recent weeks, this would have been enough to sink the Friars, but Peavy buckled down and the offensive showed signs of life on the way to defeating the Fish Saturday evening at Dolphin Stadium 7-2. The 2, 3, 4 and 5 hitters, Tadihito Iguchi, Adrian Gonzalez, Kevin Kouzmanoff and Jim Edmonds, respectively, all managed at least two hits to lead the barrage. To cap off the scoring, Gonzalez notched his third hit with an opposite field bomb (putting him on pace for 35 on the season). Every position player had a hit on the evening; this includes Callix Crabbe, who came in for Khalil Greene in the 7th to play shortstop. Greene's injury has is reported by Padres.com to be an irritated left eye, with no word on when he is likely to return to the lineup.

Peavy went 5 2/3 innings with 8 punchouts, but should have completed 6 if not for a missed strike three call by the home plate umpire on a back door slider. Cla Meredith and Heath Bell were brought and performed inline with traditional bullpen expectations. Bud Black finally found an comfortable inning for Joe Thatcher to work out the kinks in the ninth. After appearing a bit erratic, the now cut-fastball avoiding sidewinding southpaw, induced a double play and slick play from Kouz to end the game.

Crabbe Slick at Short
Crabbe did his best Khalil impression in the ninth with a nifty turn to complete a double play on the a feed from Iguchi. Earlier, Edmonds was easily tossed a second base on an apparent missed run and hit with Crabbe at the plate.

Marlins Announcing Crew
These guys don't call the best game in the league, but FF gives them credit for being one of the few opposing duos that call it fair enough that we don't have to break out the mute button.

Crasnick Pegs Pads Perfectly

Jerry Crasnick's column today on the Padres hits the nail on the head; the Padres can't hit - regardless of venue. He quotes Bud Black as saying,

"In any given lineup, when things are going well and you're scoring runs and the offense is clicking, you might have five, six or seven guys really swinging the bat well... When things are going along as normal -- win a couple of games, lose a couple -- you have three or four guys in the lineup swinging well. What we have going now, on a given night, is maybe one or two guys swinging well.

I think we're going to get out of it, and we'll reach the level of what our guys have done in their careers. Over the course of six months, it's never smooth sailing. But this storm has hit early and it's hit hard."

Of course the real question here is how much career norms will help. FF (unfortunately) sees it as something like this:

1. Brian Giles - Good for 30 doubles, .400 OBP, and 60 pop outs short of third base
2. Tad Iguchi - A solid hitter likely to match his career average of about .274
3. Adrian Gonzalez - Solid #3 hitter on most clubs
4. Kevin Kouzmanoff - Should quietly hit about .300 with 35 doubles, but not a classic 4 hitter
5. Jim Edmonds - This season's Vinny Castilla - great clubhouse guy, but it's likely the end of the road
6. Khalil Green - Will hit .250 with about 25 bombs, but it on fire or not
7. Josh Bard - Seems gassed already, but should fight back to about .280
8. Scott Hairston - The reason he hasn't been a regular has become apparent

Not exactly a fear inducing lineup. We honestly like Jake Peavy's at bats more than many of the team's fielders. We'd love to be wrong about this and hope the Friars catch on fire, but two thirds of the outfield doesn't seem likely to play at an average pace as the season continues, putting the club at a severe disadvantage.

Germano Shelled

Justin Germano entered the evening as one of the top five pitchers in National League ERA. After allowing 4 runs on 9 pitches, and 10 in 3.1 innings, he took a big loss Monday night at Minute Maid Park with former President George Herbert Walker Bush and his wife Bar in attendance. Wil Ledezma pitched an out shy of 4 scoreless innings in relief before giving way to Kevin Cameron, who tossed a perfect 8th. Padre hitting was good - for the Padres. 6 of 8 knocks went for extra bases while both Jim Edmonds and Adrian Gonzalez reached the Minute Maid porch for bases empty, opposite field bombs. Unfortunately, the Friars seem to be making a habit of losing big or wining tight. The combination of Minute Maid's friendly conditions and Jake Peavy's pitching will hopefully bring positive results Tuesday night.

Iguchi Occupies Eight Hole
Tad Iguchi has been mired in a deep slump and was dropped by manager Bud Black into the eighth spot in the order Monday. He responded with a single and a walk in 4 trips to the plate.

Flashing Some Leather
Both Brian Giles and Gonzalez made nifty catches in right field. Gonzalez went Willie Mays on ball down the line that was looking like an extra base bloop before he reached out to snag the out. Giles made a nice sliding catch of a Geoff Blum liner as well.

Bard is Back
Josh Bard threw out another runner, pushing his season rate for retiring would-be base thieves to 21%. This is significantly better the 8% mark he posted in 2007 and is especially impressive given the amount of work he's been receiving of late, which is bound to take its toll as the games add up.

Randy Rocks Rox

San Diego southpaw starter, Randy Wolf, was brilliant in his 3rd start as a Friar. Wolf dominated a struggling Colorado lineup for 7 innings of one hit 9 strike out ball en route to his first Padres victory. The Friars bats were making double time in the 5th as Brian Giles, Kevin Kouzmanoff, and Jim Edmonds all delivered 2 run two baggers in the 6 run frame that accounted for all the games runs. Newly reinstated Kevin Cameron recorded the final six outs surrendering a harmless single in the 9th.

San Diego Short Hops:

The Padres 6-0 victory Tuesday night at Petco Park comes on the heals of a 1-0 shutout on Sunday, proving that its hard to lose when your pitching is ridiculously sharp.

Scott Hairston seems due a day off as his average is dropping while his poor at bats are accumulating, with back to back lefties to close out the Colorado series FF expects to see Justin Huber get at least 1 start in place of the Pads starting LF.

Josh Bard seemed to switch the bat he had been using (a light Ash to a darker stick) after he broke enough bats over the weekend in LA to raise a red flag in Boulder or Berkley

Through 14 games not a single starting infielder has received a day off, with Callix Crabbe the only reserve at second, short, and third FF expects to see Crabbe get a couple of spot starts for Tad Iguhci and Khalil Greene over the next 10 or so ballgames.

Speaking of Callix Crabbe, he joined teammates Scott Hairston and Tony Clark in wearing #42 in honor of Jackie Robinson breaking MLB's color barrier on this date in 1947.

Peavy Off, But Singles Lead the Way

Jake Peavy clearly didn't have his best pitches Friday night, but his mindset pushed him through his third quality start - and win - of the season. The offense picked up Peavy with a barrage of singles and a lone double to plate seven runs. Six Friars amassed multiple hit games with Kevin Kouzmanoff leading the way with a trio out of the cleanup spot. Callix Crabbe showed his impact in the eighth innings while pinch running for the ever-reliable Tony Clark. He easily stole second, then scored on Tad Iguchi's dribbler through the 3.5 hole. Given the continued struggles of future hall of famer Trevor Hoffman, who was again touched up for a run, despite earning a save, these kinds of insurance runs cannot be understated. The bullpen's other slow starter, Joe Thatcher also coughed up another run.

Tossed
Scotty Hairston threw a strike to Josh Bard to erase Dodger Russell Martin, who came into the plate with a half-hearted shoulder. Bard and Martin exchanged pats on their midsection and butt, respectively, to show no ill will.

Coach Hill Would Be Proud
Iguchi continues to impress FF by playing ball the right way (for you PLHS alumni out there, that means Coach Hill's way). On a run-and-hit, Iguchi practically threw his bat to protect flat-of-foot Brian Giles at second.

The Ghost of Bruce Bochey
Bud Black was momentarily possessed by Bruce Bochey at Dodger Stadium, instructing Jake Peavy to forgo a sacrifice bunt attempt to instead ground into an inning ending double play in the second.

Friars Take 3 Of 4 From Houston

The San Diego Padres opened the season winning their first series taking 3 of 4 from the Astros. Randy Wolf made his Padres debut and showed well, tossing 6 innings allowing just 1 run on 4 hits while striking out 5. Wolf left with a 2-1 lead courtesy of a first inning, 2 run blast off the bat of Kevin Kouzmanoff. Enrique Gonzalez surrendered the tying run in the 7th, but the Padres' Scott Hairston started a rally with his third hit of the game, a triple past Astros center fielder Jose Cruz. He was immediately picked up by Tad Iguchi for the go ahead and winning run. Trevor Hoffman was aggressive in retiring the Astros in order on just 8 pitches, coaxing 3 groundouts.

Pads Points:

The Pads welcome in the LA Dodgers for a weekend series beginning tomorrow with Justin Germano taking the hill on Friday.

The premier matchup this weekend will be a Saturday afternoon tilt featuring staff aces Jake Peavy and Brad Penny.

Scott Hairston hit out of the leadoff spot Thursday and responded by getting on base all 4 plate appearances by walking and falling a homer shy of the Padres first ever cycle.

Keving Kouzmanoff added 2 hits as he was slotted in the cleanup spot for the first time this season with Gonzalez flip-flipping with him.

Callix Crabbe made his MLB debut flying out to left in the 8th.

Jody Gerut started in RF giving Brian Giles an extended rest for his surgically repaired right knee.

Tadihito Iguchi and Heath Bell teamed up for a nice play to end the 8th; with Adrian Gonzalez diving after the ball, Iguchi calmly fielded the ball on the outfield grass and delivered a strike to Bell who was covering the bag.

Peavy & Mates Blank 'Stros In Opener

The 2008 Padres campaign opened with a familiar sight as the Friars cruise to a 4-0 shutout victory over the visiting Houston Astros. The season opener is always a special occasion, however, with good friends and great hurlers Jake Peavy and Roy Oswalt squaring off there was more allure around game 1 of 162. The reigning NL Cy Young award winner found himself in his tightest spot in the first inning after a leadoff single (and stolen base, who knew), and an one out walk; a couple of harmless infield pop-ups later the Friars were in their dugout taking their cuts versus Houston ace Roy Oswalt.

From that point forward Padres ace Jake Peavy took control of the game with his electric right arm and his bat. After the Friars wasted a 1 out double by new 2nd sacker Taditho Iguchi and a Kouzmanoff laser off Oswalt's hip in the first, the Pads took a 1-0 lead in the second inning via a Peavy sacrifice fly to left. San Diego's second run came courtesy a line drive single over the head of Astro shortstop Miguel Tejada by, you guessed it, Jake Peavy.

The Friars ace tossed 7 shut out innings while surrendering only 3 hits and striking out 4 on his way to his first win of the '08 season. From there, the Padres pen took care of the rest with Heath Bell working the 8th and Cla Meredith facing the minimum thanks to a great Scott Hairston throw nailing an over aggressive Tejada trying to stretch a single into a double to leadoff the 9th. All said and done, the Padres totaled 14 basehits in route to a typical 4-0 victory to begin the 2008 season.

San Diego Short Hops:

5 Padre hitters had a 2 or more knocks; Adrian Gonzalez, Khalil Greene, Josh Bard, and Paul McAnulty collected two hits apiece while Tad Iguchi swatted two doubles and a single to endear himself to the San Diego crowd early in the season.

The Padres played flawless defense after a questionable spring scattered with errors. It was a pleasant surprise for FF and Pads fans worldwide.

San Diego native and Aztec alum, Tony Clark, wasted little time getting in the Padres scorebook as he smashed the first pitch he saw in Padres colors for a RBI single.

Tuesday night features All Star starter Chris Young after his offseason workouts that centered around his larger midsection.

Friar Offseason a B?

Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman has graded the Padres' offseason maneuvering at a B level (above average!). Really? Of Kevin Tower's moves, Heyman says,

11. Padres. No one makes more worthwhile low-budget pickups than San Diego(Mark Prior, Randy Wolf, Tony Clark this winter). Maybe it's the lure of San Diego, I'm not sure. Jim Edmonds may have a resurgence back home in Southern California, too. But I still can't help but feel Barry Bonds could turn it into a dynamo. B

IF KT's low monetary bets on Prior and Wolf pay off, then this offseason will be at best above average. While FF likes these moves, the reality is that the bar has been raised by the competition the already hyper-competitive National League West. These moves may not expose the Padres to much payroll risk, but they certainly expose them to a tremendous amount of performance risk. Should either pitcher falter, KT will have to start from scratch.

Tony Clark is a good pickup for the clubhouse and to spell Adrian Gonzalez, but this a bit of reach in the above average classification. AJ Smith could argue that keeping a backup in Michael Turner was a major offseason move, but he didn't have have to plug six spots in the starting lineup (LF, CF, 2B, C, SP4, SP5). Speaking of these positions, LF remains wide open. FF likes Scott Hairston and would love to see Chase Headley emerge, but when the team can't anoint a green player as the presumptive starter, it's hard to argue the void is filled. Mike Cameron for Jim Edmonds is a wash in center at best. Tadahito Iguchi is clearly an upgrade over the 2007 2B platoon. FF continues to be be disturbed by apparently satisfaction with the unchanged backstops.

A quick sidebar for the national media: Get off the Padres-Barry Bonds obsession. You think that people freaked when Burger King stopped selling the Whopper? San Diego would embrace Al Davis before Barry Bonds.

Some positive things did happen over the offseason: Jake Peavy was signed to a contract extension, Greg Maddux was brought back, the Terrmel Sledge experiment ended, not to mention some potential pitching and bench depth was added. Guess FF must have forgotten when treading water became an above average effort. Either Milton Bradley or Kosuke Fukudome could have made the grade a B+ or better; a pre- or in-season move could still push the Friars to the next level, but FF thinks KT will stay the course until he has a better feel for Hairston and Headley.