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Post by joshjones1 on Feb 3, 2011 8:13:00 GMT -8
82-80. Third place, NL West.
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Post by azson on Feb 3, 2011 8:57:38 GMT -8
With their lineup they'll be lucky to play .500 ball, imho. But yeah, we both agree no playoffs.
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Post by AztecBill on Feb 4, 2011 14:35:29 GMT -8
82-80. Third place, NL West. That seems resonable. But they could surprise in either direction.
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Post by socal on Feb 4, 2011 19:39:15 GMT -8
I like what has been done at SS and 2nd but 1st is a HUGE downgrade. 3 starting OF's are likely to hit 40 HR's combined with a .250 average. C and 3B will be same as last year at best, which makes them pedestrian.
I expect Dodgers and Diamondbacks to be improved next year as both were way down last season. Rockies have shown a commitment to retaining their stars and if some of their young kids pan out, look out.
Agree. 3rd place finish for Pads.
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Post by sdsportfan on Feb 5, 2011 18:51:42 GMT -8
Pitching and defense wins a lot of games...we're pretty good at both! If starters, and a hit once in awhile, can get us to the 6th inning and game is pretty much over!
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Post by aztecryan on Feb 6, 2011 8:55:28 GMT -8
First base actually may not be as bad as people think....bullpen's strong once again (lacks the depth of previous years though) but we're better in center, second base and shortstop. I think the Padres can contend as I don't see any team getting to 90 wins.
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Post by aztecron on Feb 14, 2011 17:03:33 GMT -8
85-77 Padres pitching and defense will keep us in a lot of games. Our offense could be more consistent this year than last.
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Post by AztecBill on Feb 16, 2011 17:20:47 GMT -8
First base actually may not be as bad as people think....bullpen's strong once again (lacks the depth of previous years though) but we're better in center, second base and shortstop. I think the Padres can contend as I don't see any team getting to 90 wins. If Stauffer is in the bullpen, he will get many more innings than last year and could be a key guy to fill the innings that the traded guys had. Closer | Bell | 8th inning | Gregerson | 7th inning | Adams | Lefty | Thatcher | Other | Frieri | Long/Other | Stauffer | Audition | Qualls |
That is a very good bullpen. Qualls could have a big comeback year. It was only 2009 that he was the closer for Arizona until: Injury LinkHe can begin in games that are mostly decided and can work his way up (and maybe out, if he excels). Depth is probably not there like last year. We can't pull 2 or 3 studs from the minors and not miss a beat like last year.
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Post by aztecron on Feb 17, 2011 10:13:47 GMT -8
I'd like to see Stauffer get the No. 4 spot in the rotation. Moseley can fill the long relief role in the BP. I like Stauffer much more than Le Blanc in that spot. How long are we going to have to wait for Le Blanc to get command of his fastball? Power and control over finesse any day of the week as it leaves more margin for error. 92 MPH with control over 85 MPH lacking control and hitters waiting to tee off on the changeup.
I like our chances with a rotation of Latos, Richards, Harang, Stauffer and Luebke.
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Post by AztecBill on Feb 17, 2011 11:10:11 GMT -8
I'd like to see Stauffer get the No. 4 spot in the rotation. Moseley can fill the long relief role in the BP. I like Stauffer much more than Le Blanc in that spot. How long are we going to have to wait for Le Blanc to get command of his fastball? Power and control over finesse any day of the week as it leaves more margin for error. 92 MPH with control over 85 MPH lacking control and hitters waiting to tee off on the changeup. I like our chances with a rotation of Latos, Richards, Harang, Stauffer and Luebke. I tend to agree. Stauffer is a great starter. He is also great in the bullpen as a spot starter. But why not give LeBlanc an opportunity to try to hold the spot. If he does we will be better off with depth (Stauffer will be used our starters can not go the entire season healthy) and Stauffer will be great to have in extra innings and on days when our starters have short starts, and as a spot starter. LeBlanc was only 25 years old when last season started. It was his first full year in the majors. LeBlanc had a 3.46 ERA in the middle of August last year having started every 5th game. Without one bad start (@ Seattle) out of the 22 starts he had by August 15, Wade's ERA was 2.97. Wade is a lefty. That gives the Padres better balance in the starting rotation. I don't know if that is worth anything. Some people think it is. Pitching LeBlanc on day and a Latos the next doesn't give hitters the same look day to day.
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Post by aztecron on Feb 17, 2011 11:40:12 GMT -8
I'd like to see Stauffer get the No. 4 spot in the rotation. Moseley can fill the long relief role in the BP. I like Stauffer much more than Le Blanc in that spot. How long are we going to have to wait for Le Blanc to get command of his fastball? Power and control over finesse any day of the week as it leaves more margin for error. 92 MPH with control over 85 MPH lacking control and hitters waiting to tee off on the changeup. I like our chances with a rotation of Latos, Richards, Harang, Stauffer and Luebke. I tend to agree. Stauffer is a great starter. He is also great in the bullpen as a spot starter. But why not give LeBlanc an opportunity to try to hold the spot. If he does we will be better off with depth (Stauffer will be used our starters can not go the entire season healthy) and Stauffer will be great to have in extra innings and on days when our starters have short starts, and as a spot starter. LeBlanc was only 25 years old when last season started. It was his first full year in the majors. LeBlanc had a 3.46 ERA in the middle of August last year having started every 5th game. Without one bad start (@ Seattle) out of the 22 starts he had by August 15, Wade's ERA was 2.97. Wade is a lefty. That gives the Padres better balance in the starting rotation. I don't know if that is worth anything. Some people think it is. Pitching LeBlanc on day and a Latos the next doesn't give hitters the same look day to day. I can't disagree with that argument, Bill. Valid points all around. My personal preference in pitching is power, power, power.
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Post by AztecBill on Feb 23, 2011 14:14:52 GMT -8
I can't disagree with that argument, Bill. Valid points all around. My personal preference in pitching is power, power, power. I have been a Padres fan long enough to fondly remember some awesome years by Randy Jones. 1975 + 1976 Randy pitched over 600 innings (most in past 2 years is Roy Halladay with 490 innings) with 43 complete games with 11 shutouts. His ERA's were 2.24 and 2.74. His fastball must have been in the low 80s.
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Post by aztectone on Feb 23, 2011 16:46:31 GMT -8
86-76
Who cares about homeruns this team was built on Pitching, defense and speed. I look for Venable, Bartlet,Maybin to come close to swipping 25 bags a piece.
Without a true #3 hitter though, I like Bartlett, Hudson and occasionally Maybin at the top of the order.
Bullpen will keep this team winning those 1 run games.
Bartlett Hudson Hawpe Ludwick Headley Venable Hundley Maybin Occasionally batting 2nd on days off and matchups
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Post by OfficialAztecINSIDER on Mar 1, 2011 7:42:03 GMT -8
76-86
4th in the NL West
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Post by aztecron on Mar 1, 2011 19:14:26 GMT -8
I can't disagree with that argument, Bill. Valid points all around. My personal preference in pitching is power, power, power. I have been a Padres fan long enough to fondly remember some awesome years by Randy Jones. 1975 + 1976 Randy pitched over 600 innings (most in past 2 years is Roy Halladay with 490 innings) with 43 complete games with 11 shutouts. His ERA's were 2.24 and 2.74. His fastball must have been in the low 80s. That's not fair, Bill. I, too, loved Randy Jones. Wade LeBlanc ain't no Randy Jones.
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Post by K2Aztec73 on Mar 3, 2011 15:12:35 GMT -8
I can see them possibly going with a true 5-man rotation moreso than the irregular use of the 5th guy we saw last year. There's no reason that both Stauffer and LeBlanc won't both get regular work in the rotation.
It's unlikely that everything will fall into place quite as neatly as it did for most of last season, so I think a record of slightly over .500 give or take a few games and a 3rd place finish looks probable.
A lot will depend on Venable and Headley continuing to progress, and Ludwick playing up to his capabilities. That would help pick up some of the loss of Adrian... no one player on the roster (or that the Padres could afford to pick up) can replace that loss, every spot in the lineup will need to step it up from last season's production. Bartlett and Hudson should be significant upgrades over the offensive production we got from the middle infield last season. A breakthrough season from Venable would go a long way towards helping out. We saw flashes of what he's capable of last season, he just needs to do it more consistently.
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Post by K2Aztec73 on Mar 3, 2011 21:45:59 GMT -8
no one player on the roster (or that the Padres could afford to pick up) can replace that loss Heh. You mean choose to "afford." Yes... the owners establish the team's budget, which is a choice. A choice affected by available income streams. The Padres will never be in a position to go toe to toe with the big boys... the NY, Chicago, Boston, and LA teams.. It would be nice to see them ratchet the budget up into the Milwaukee, SF, midrange though. It will probably require a major restructuring of the TV deal, and I don't know if such a thing is in the cards.
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Post by AztecBill on Mar 4, 2011 9:22:44 GMT -8
I have been a Padres fan long enough to fondly remember some awesome years by Randy Jones. 1975 + 1976 Randy pitched over 600 innings (most in past 2 years is Roy Halladay with 490 innings) with 43 complete games with 11 shutouts. His ERA's were 2.24 and 2.74. His fastball must have been in the low 80s. That's not fair, Bill. I, too, loved Randy Jones. Wade LeBlanc ain't no Randy Jones. That's not fair. I never said he was. I was merely pointing out that you don't have to have "power, power, power" to be effective.
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Post by AztecBill on Mar 4, 2011 17:06:53 GMT -8
I'd like to see Stauffer get the No. 4 spot in the rotation. Moseley can fill the long relief role in the BP. I like Stauffer much more than Le Blanc in that spot. How long are we going to have to wait for Le Blanc to get command of his fastball? Power and control over finesse any day of the week as it leaves more margin for error. 92 MPH with control over 85 MPH lacking control and hitters waiting to tee off on the changeup. I like our chances with a rotation of Latos, Richards, Harang, Stauffer and Luebke. I tend to agree. Stauffer is a great starter. He is also great in the bullpen as a spot starter. But why not give LeBlanc an opportunity to try to hold the spot. If he does we will be better off with depth (Stauffer will be used our starters can not go the entire season healthy) and Stauffer will be great to have in extra innings and on days when our starters have short starts, and as a spot starter. LeBlanc was only 25 years old when last season started. It was his first full year in the majors. LeBlanc had a 3.46 ERA in the middle of August last year having started every 5th game. Without one bad start (@ Seattle) out of the 22 starts he had by August 15, Wade's ERA was 2.97. Wade is a lefty. That gives the Padres better balance in the starting rotation. I don't know if that is worth anything. Some people think it is. Pitching LeBlanc on day and a Latos the next doesn't give hitters the same look day to day. Stauffers role last year as a swing man can be taken over quite nicley by Mosley. That is what he did with the Yankees last year. That allows Stauffer to start in the starting rotation.
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Post by aztecron on Mar 4, 2011 19:49:53 GMT -8
I tend to agree. Stauffer is a great starter. He is also great in the bullpen as a spot starter. But why not give LeBlanc an opportunity to try to hold the spot. If he does we will be better off with depth (Stauffer will be used our starters can not go the entire season healthy) and Stauffer will be great to have in extra innings and on days when our starters have short starts, and as a spot starter. LeBlanc was only 25 years old when last season started. It was his first full year in the majors. LeBlanc had a 3.46 ERA in the middle of August last year having started every 5th game. Without one bad start (@ Seattle) out of the 22 starts he had by August 15, Wade's ERA was 2.97. Wade is a lefty. That gives the Padres better balance in the starting rotation. I don't know if that is worth anything. Some people think it is. Pitching LeBlanc on day and a Latos the next doesn't give hitters the same look day to day. Stauffers role last year as a swing man can be taken over quite nicley by Mosley. That is what he did with the Yankees last year. That allows Stauffer to start in the starting rotation. That is the scenario I'd like to see for us starting out the year. As for your post above re: control pitcher can succeed - I get it, but that pitcher has to have control. LeBlanc hasn't shown the consistency needed with his command, so hitters wait for the change up to hit. If, and I say if, LeBlanc shows improved fastball command then I wouldn't mind seeing him as the number 5 starter in lieu of Luebke. And the comparison of Jones to LeBlanc might not be a valid comparison in that Jones had a phenomenal sinker as I'm sure you know. It was absolutely sick. LeBlanc doesn't have a phenomenal pitch, although he does have a good to very good change up. In Jones CY year he had 40 starts and 25 complete games. Pitched 315 innings with a WHIP of 1.027 and a total of 50 BB's of which 9 were intentional. LeBlanc last year had 51 BB's with 5 intentional in 146 innings and a WHIP of 1.425. It's all about control.
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