This Padres ballclub is very interesting. They play more old-style baseball than the modern game. Their pitching is fantastic, and if they can get one more bat, one more power hitter, for example a Corey Hart, this team will be good. The reason they are winning right now is they are pitching well. If you are an ordinary fan, nothing strikes you or gets you worried about the Padres. So why are they a NL best 32-22? Timely hitting, good pitching, and good defense.

The Padres have a new hero every single night. It’s not just one man getting it done, it’s the entire group. Take this for example: Wednesday, against the Mets, the Padres were held scoreless through the first 8 innings. Tony Gwynn led off the 9th with a single, and then proceeded to steal 2nd base. Matt Stairs and Jerry Hairston then K’d, bringing up David Eckstein. He singled up the middle, driving in Tony to tie the game at 1 apiece. The Padres then won it in the 11th on an Adrian Gonzalez walk off grand slam. It’s really awesome, because you know that even if some hitters in your lineup are slumping, other guys can come through. 

Now to the pitching side of things: The Padres have 5 quality starters. Sure, they don’t have a #1 elite pitcher, but they have 5 guys that could be a #2. Wade LeBlanc, Jon Garland, Mat Latos, Kevin Correia, and Clayton Richard could all be #2’s on a lot of teams. Mat Latos, though, is going to be a #1 starter for the Padres for a long time. He has the stuff, and is growing a lot this season as a starting pitcher. Wade LeBlanc is coming into his own as well. He was dominant in his first couple starts of the season, then struggled in 2 straight starts. He rebounded and did not have a bad outing last time out against the Mets, throwing 5.1 innings of 2 run ball. Jon Garland is pitching very well, along with Clayton Richard. Kevin Correia had a tough 2 outings after the death of his brother, but then won his next start, although he didn’t pitch well, giving up 6 runs.

All of this said, one big bat could make a big difference for the Padres. I prefer they go after Corey Hart of the Milwaukee Brewers, who is a right handed slugger that would be great in a lefty-filled lineup. The Brewers want pitching, and the Padres have an abundance of pitching, more than enough, so I think the Padres and Brewers could make a deal there.

The Padres lost game 1 to the Phillies yesterday, but today they’re back at it again. Jon Garland, who’s been stellar for the Padres this season, goes up against lefty Jamie Moyer. Should be a great game, first pitch is at 4:05 PM PT.

I hope everyone has a great and safe day today, God bless!

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