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The San Diego Padres team that will spend its 17th
Spring Training at Peoria Sports Complex in 2010
will feature youth, speed, excitement and
confidence.
That confidence was built on a strong finish last
season that saw an influx of young, athletic players
pay off with a dramatic turnaround on the field. The
Padres were 37-25 after July 28, the fifth-best
record in the Major Leagues in that time and the
third-best record in the National League. That
followed a 38-62 start to the year.
The turnaround coincided with a transformation in
the team itself. The Padres turned to their younger,
athletic players and added power pitchers via
midseason trades. Shortstop Everth Cabrera, a
Single-A player the previous year, was installed as
the everyday shortstop and posted a credible .342
on-base percentage while stealing a team-high 25
bases. He showed remarkable range and arm strength
on defense.
Kyle Blanks and Will Venable were brought up from
Triple-A and saw extensive time in the outfield.
Blanks, converted from first base, popped 10 home
runs in 148 at-bats before a foot injury ended his
season. Venable batted .255 and hit 12 home runs in
293 at-bats.
Tony Gwynn Jr. came over from Milwaukee in May and
saw the most playing time of his Major League
career. The son of the Padres legend had a happy
homecoming by posting a .350 on-base percentage,
stealing 11 bases and scoring 59 runs in 119 games
with the Padres. His speed in the outfield paid off
in the expanses of PETCO Park.
Those players complemented a middle of the order
that was led by first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, an
All-Star and Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner for
the second straight season. Gonzalez batted .277
with 90 runs, 99 RBI and a career-high 40 home runs.
On Aug. 1, he went 6-for-6 against the Brewers,
becoming the first Padres player with six hits in a
nine-inning game.
Chase Headley (.262 batting average, 12 homers, 64
RBI in his first full Big League season) helped
support Gonzalez in the middle of the lineup.
Headley has a good chance to improve on those
numbers as he moves back to his natural position,
third base, following the trade of Kevin Kouzmanoff
to Oakland.
That
deal brought outfielder Scott Hairston back to San
Diego. A right-handed power bat, he has 19 home runs
in 344 career at-bats at PETCO Park.
The 2009 Padres ranked 10th in the NL with a 4.37
team ERA. That showing was remarkable considering
the Padres revamped their entire bullpen during
Spring Training and saw their expected top three
starters -- Jake Peavy, Chris Young and Cha Seung
Baek -- combine for only 27 starts because of
injuries.
The new-look bullpen became a strength as Heath Bell
seamlessly stepped in for vaunted closer Trevor
Hoffman and led the NL with 42 saves. Setup reliever
Mike Adams was darned near perfect, posting a 0.73
ERA in 37 games after recovering from shoulder
surgery. Rookie Luke Gregerson, acquired in March as
the player to named later in the trade that sent
shortstop Khalil Greene to St. Louis, worked his way
into late-inning duty by posting a 3.24 ERA and
striking out 93 batters in 75 innings.
Young will be looking for a bounce-back season in
2010 after a premature halt to 2009 because of
arthroscopic shoulder surgery. Peavy was traded to
the White Sox for four pitchers in July, while still
on the disabled list because of an ankle injury.
That deal paid immediate dividends as left-hander
Clayton Richard stabilized the rotation, going 5-2 in
12 starts with the Padres. Two others in the deal,
Aaron Poreda and Adam Russell, got late-season
call-ups and will be competing for Opening Day
roster spots in Spring Training. The fourth pitcher,
Dexter Carter, is a promising prospect.
Kevin
Correia is back after winning a career-high 12 games
in his first year with the Padres. Mat Latos showed
great promise as a rookie, going 4-5 with a 4.62 EAR
but holding batters to a .232 batting average. The
rotation added durability and depth with the signing
of veteran righty Jon Garland (11-13, 4.01 ERA in 33
starts in 2009) in late January.
Three other pitchers -- Sean Gallagher, Ryan Webb
and Craig Italiano -- were acquired from Oakland in
2009 and will be looking to pin
down Major League jobs during Spring Training.
View the
San Diego Padres Spring Training Game Schedule
Visit the
San Diego Padres Team Page
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