Basicly, baseball is about as exciting to watch as it is to watch paint drying. I follow it a little during the regular season, but I rarely get into it until just before and around playoff time, when it gets exciting for me. No offense, I do the same with basketball (Lakers fan), there are simple TOO MANY games to be played along the way for it to keep my interest. At least Basketball is a fast paced game and exciting to watch. Baseball (for me) not so much, until it gets down to the nitty gritty. Hockey for some reason is a different story for me, perhaps because it is actually as brutal a sport as football and fun to watch, with constant excitement.
If Kouzmanoff starts off slow like he did last year so will the Padres...Gonzo and Greene are going to get their HRs...Kouz has had a year to see the NLs pitching, there is no excuses now...If he cant hit the ball we are still in the same situation as we have always been...Looking for a 3rd baseman Defensively the Outfield looks OK...Giles in RF..Edmonds in CF...LF is up for grabs Rotation: Peavy Young Maddux Prior ??? 5th spot is up for grabs and Im sure there is an arm in there Im a big fan of Heath Bell...When Hoffman hangs it up this is his replacement
Honestly, I think Kouz just needed to find his swing. Most rookies start off slow. Looking at his numbers, he actually finished on par with most of the ROY candidates, and that was despite 6 weeks of him being completely worthless! He'll be fine this year. I'm sure of it. As for the outfield, I don't like the age, and I don't like the fact that none of them are real threats at the plate. I do like the defensive side of things, but we need to be finding youth to get ready to play out there. The rotation is strong. The 4th and 5th spot will either be Prior or Hensley IMO, although Wolf could go in there too. Hensley had a horrible year last year, however, he was screwed over too. Injured at the end of training camp with a blister on his throwing hand, and he never was given time for it to heal. Instead of time off, they sent him back ot the minors where he was able to get better. When he came back, he was always thrown in bad positions (relief roles in tough situations, the start against Barry when he was chasing Aaron, etc). If he's healthy, I think he makes for a solid 4th pitcher.
Towers does a good job of evaluating talent. I had forgotten about Wolfe, totaly forgot about that. I know he had surgery as did Prior, Im sure they had physicals before they signed. Petco is a pitchers friendly ballpark and it should work to their advantage Kouz IMO is the key to the ultimate success of the Padres. Ive always noticed with players switching from AL to NL or vice versa that it takes a full season to see ALL the pitching that is out there. Wally Joyner needs to grab Kouz and seriously work with him in the spring. Did you notice how much better the Padres hitting was when Wally had taken over?...Its a LONG season...It should be another good one
Wolf and Prior both could prove to be extremely valuable, and both are very low risk, so I think both made for good acquisitions. Remember what Chris Carpenter did, and you'll understand what I mean. As for Joyner, that's an excellent point. Team hitting went up 20 or 30 points after he took over. I think the Friars could surprise a lot of people.
They will surprize the media and sportswriters...I know I dont live there but Im beginning to think that Padres fans are EXPECTING them into the post season Wally had such a sweet swing when he was a playing. Ive often wanted the Pads to look into T. Gwynn as a hitting coach. Im not seeing any serious results in his SDSU gig. I kind of figured by now SDSU baseball would be nationaly ranked. I truely believe we take the West
Don't overlook the D-backs, they just got harden from the A's...their one two punch is Webb and Harden....that's scary actually . And these guys always hit .
When I saw the D-Back pull off that trade...I was thinking..."Why didnt we get in on that?"...That guy is thier new Ace
I honestly see it being a two team race in the West between the Pads and the DBacks. The Rockies lost Jennings, which was a really big hit for them, but they still have the bats. The Dodgers got Torre, but I think it'll take a season for him to really do his magic. The Giants just plain suck, but they can definitely be an upset if you overlook them.
Yes I agree, the magic from last years Rockies is gone...there's no way they do that again, with that pitching staff . I still don't know how they pulled it off last year...they just got hot at the right time I Guess . You guys should join the Padre group !
