So in my last post I decided it was best to hold off on the doom and gloom surrounding the Padres, because the National League West other than the Dodgers didn't seem too lively. I was half-right. The division indeed stinks, as evidenced by the Friars at least splitting in its homestand with the Rockies and Diamondbacks. However, they then went to Houston and were swept in three by the Astros.
In the week in which I suggested the Padres could reasonably be judged, they won two games and lost five.
That's not good. Sure, they might compete for third place in the division -- San Francisco appears to have the best pitching outside LA -- but they'll be 20 games under .500 as they go.
My biggest problem with this team right now is the lack of hitting. We all knew they wouldn't be able to pitch, having just two quality starters and a bullpen thrown together at the last minute. That part was obvious. But even though the lineup looked pretty good in April, this team just doesn't hit well at all, especially with Brian Giles and Kevin Kouzmanoff off to such slow starts.
What do I do if I'm Jeff Moorad and seeing 2009 getting away from me? Two words: youth movement.
The worst part of the Padres struggle is we're not watching a bunch of kids trying to get used to major league ball and jelling with each other. This is a hodge-podge team of some veterans, some youngsters and far too many journeymen brought in to plug gaps. There are few people like Chase Headley to give us hope for coming seasons. That has to change right now.
1. As bad as P Josh Geer was Sunday, he has to stay in the rotation to give him the experience he needs so he can be more consistant. Heck, he was pretty good in his previous outing. That's youth for you.
2. I give Kyle Blanks a week of left field at AAA Portland and then promote him. Headley and Kouz then platoon at third base until one of them really claims the position. Blanks is hitting .290 with 7 HR and 20 RBI.
3. Promote P Mike Ekstrom, a reliever who has had a fabulous start to the season in Portland.
4. Assuming the front office doesn't know anything I don't, I think you have to give Giles until June to straighten things out at the plate. He's too experienced to not figure it out if still capable. If the front office does know something I don't, then make the move now.
5. Set up a frequent flyers account with Alaska Airlines. While Blanks and Ekstrom appear to be the only Beavers right now ready to come up, there are others down there who are on the radar screen and need to be promoted as soon as it makes sense. Some names: pitchers Josh Banks, Wade LeBlanc and Cesar Ramos; and outfielders Emil Brown, Will Venable and Chad Huffman. Banks and Brown have big league experience and Huffman is considered a top prospect who is new to AAA and might not be ready until August.
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Trade update: as poorly as P Luke Gregerson has worked out for the Padres, SS Khalil Greene is at .235 with just 2 HR and 11 RBI, though he seems to have cut down a little on his strikeouts. He also missed time with a sore arm.
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Baseball's fickle fortunes are well on display all over San Diego, where north of Petco Park, the USD Toreros are just 28-25 after losing two of three games at home to San Francisco this past weekend. They will not participate in the WCC Tournament championship series, which will be between Gonzaga and Loyola-Marymount.
The Toreros led the league in team batting, slugging percentage and a bunch of other offensive statistics, but were undone by a pitching staff with an ERA over 5.00 and gave up more walks than all but one team. They also had the league's worst fielding percentage.
After scrapping so hard to get his once-bare bones program into the NCAA Regionals on a regular basis, I bet Coach Rich Hill is re-energized by this setback of a season and will get back to rebuilding right away. The Toreros finish at top-ranked UC Irvine Tuesday, so figure Hill to be ready for the job ahead first thing Wednesday.
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