San Diego Padres Information
Padre's manager Bud Black is in the final year of his contract after being extended a year last season after posting a ten game improvement over 2008's final record. This season with Jed Hoyer in place as the new General Manager, the team hopes to get back to the playoffs not seen since 2006 but knows his team is still one of the if not the youngest in the league. Fifteen players made their Major League debuts with the Padres and they helped to finish out the 2009 season on a 37-25 tear.
Hoyer made moves in the final weeks of the offseason. Shedding his low profile, Hoyer traded 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff to the Oakland A's for outfielders Scott Hairston and Aaron Cunningham. Other arrivals to the team are OF Matt Stairs, C Dusty Ryan, RHP Jon Garland, C Yorvit Torrealba and RHP Radhames Liz.
The projected rotation looks to be RHP Jon Garland, RHP Chris Young, RHP Kevin Corriea, LHP Clayton Richard, RHP Mat Latos or RHP Tim Stauffer. The Bullpen is shaping up to be RHP Heath Bell (Closer), RHP Mike Adams, RHP Luke Gregerson, RHP Edward Mujica, LHP Joe Thatcher, RHP Sean Gallagher, RHP Adam Russell or RHP Ryan Webb or RHP Luis Perdomo.
The Padres started the opening night of the ’07 season announcing that Padre Adrian Gonzales will continue to wear the jersey until 2010, with options for 2011. It seems that this season, as has been the case on previous ones, the strength is in the bull pen – starting the season with a record 28 1/3 scoreless innings. Pitching has proved to be a Padre strength as well, with Jake Peavy named NL pitcher of the month, and Trevor Hoffman winning the Delivery man of the Month award for May ’07. This is one team to keep an eye on – if the fans that filled ATT Park at the start of the season to capacity are anything to go by!
Expectations are high in San Diego, where the hometown Padres move into a brand new ballpark, and bring in a few new players to hopefully push them over the top in the tough NL West. Beginning in 2004, the Padres will move out of Qualcomm Stadium and into PETCO Park, a state-of-the-art baseball-only stadium. With almost every homerun in the new park needing to be hit at least 350 feet, to say the park is pitcher friendly would be quite an understatement. Bruce Bochy will lead the San Diego Padres for the 10th season, and he’s had his ups and downs as manager in San Diego. He’s only made the playoffs once, but during that year, his team made only the second World Series appearance in franchise history. That year, they were swept by the New York Yankees for the championship. Every season since then has been a losing one in San Diego, but management has faith Bochy can turn things around in 2004.
The team finished 2003 with a payroll in the bottom half of the league, and combined with a new ball park, the Padres had money to throw in the direction of would-be free agents this winter. With this revenue savings, the Padres were able to acquire a star on each side of the field. On offense, they went out and signed hometown hero and all-star outfielder Brian Giles from Pittsburgh. Giles will add needed power to a team without a true home run hitter, especially a team moving into a very spacious ballpark. Giles will likely team up with Phil Nevin and Ryan Klesko, two players known for their long ball ability but who are coming off injury plagued seasons. Khalil Greene is an up-and-coming shortstop with all-star potential in the future, and Mark Loretta has become a steady contributor from his post at second base.