The San Diego Union-Tribune offered an interesting question Tuesday in pointing out that the Padres are, entering tonight's game vs the Twins, are 13 games below .500 and in the bottom half of the National League in nearly every important statistic, but the National League West has been so unexpectedly bad that the Friars are only 8 games out of first place -- a margin that can easily be closed with another decent winning streak.
So, to borrow from the article's headline, are the Padres buyers or sellers? Club President Sandy Alderson said he's taking a wait-and-see approach, meaning nothing dramatic is likely to happen until we get closer to the July 31 non-waiver trading deadline.
I think that's probably the right approach, barring some other team calling with a generous offer, say A-Rod in exchange for Cla Meredith. Hey, a guy can dream, right?
While I think I would take Alderson's approach, I think the Padres are going to end up in the seller's camp. The recent series vs the Yankees and Tigers, in which they were 1-5, showed they're just not close to being ready for prime time. They beat up on the sagging Mets and the struggling Dodgers to make themselves look decent a couple weeks ago, but interleague play has been a reality check.
One question that's been raised lately has been whether to trade Kevin Kouzmanoff, who has not displayed the power expected of him so far at third base. He's batting just .263 with only 33 RBI through nearly half the season and more than two-thirds of his hits have merely been singles. I don't mind a power-hitter who can shorten up the stroke when the situation calls for it, but I want him to be hitting .300 if that's the case. Still, Kouz is only a sophomore as a regular, and I'd hate to see him go. Depends on the offer, you know? Otherwise, the front office planned for a power offense based on Kouz at third and Chase Headley in left and ought to stay on that track.
As I see it, the Padres have two black holes, catcher and second base. The Padres might have the worst catching in the majors. Outfield, an area that I called AAAA quality before the season, might have some promise with Chase Headley, Jody Gerut and Brian Giles having a pretty good season. But Michael Barrett is at .187 and Luke Carlin is hitting at a .172 clip. I sorta like Carlin, but that's not cutting it. When Tadahito Iguchi is ready to return to second base, I'm not going to be too excited. The Friars should keep Edgar Gonzalez and his bat right there next to little bro.
Don't look for someone else to come from the minors. While Matt Antonelli is reportedly coming around some, his batting average is still far under the Mendoza line. The pitchers mentioned in the article? A couple have ERAs over 6 and have allowed far more hits than innings pitched. The problem in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League isn't just hits, its that average fly balls go for home runs. So while ERAs will be inflated while it seems like you're in old-style Coors Field every start, your hits-to-innings pitched ratio should still be reasonable.
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When I was running Sandiegosportstown.com. one of my best photos was of Rancho Bernardo High P Brandon Burke. He came up to me one day with a smile and told me how much he and his family enjoyed the photo. I appreciated the comment, since my photography mostly stunk.
Now Burke's Fresno State Bulldogs are in the finals of the College World Series, and he's a key part of it. I'm rooting for him.
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If the baseball talk is getting you down, Chargers pre-season camp begins July 25. SDSU is supposed to start the first week of August.
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