Opening Day

by Geoff Young on Apr 05, 2004

Yep. It’s finally here. Brian Lawrence and Hideo Nomo hook up at Dodger Stadium, 1 PM start. Throw out the high ERAs and hope everyone is ready. I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty giddy about the upcoming season. I know, I always feel that way on Opening Day. But somehow I can’t help but think this is going to be a good year for the Pads.

Caught most of the exhibition games against the M’s this weekend on television. Antonio Osuna looked terrific Saturday night, pumping fastballs past no less than Ichiro Suzuki. And, for the trivia buffs: Brian Giles hit the first homer at Petco in a big-league contest. Mark Loretta knocked the first ball into the Western Metal Supply Co. building. Rick Sutclife seems to think Loretta could hit 20+ home runs this year. I believe that a lot of folks are underselling Loretta in thinking that last year was a fluke, but 20+ dongs? I can see 40 doubles and maybe 15 homers. Maybe. But 20 seems awfully optimistic to me.

In Sunday’s game, Sterling Hitchcock had nothing in the first inning but came back strong and gave up two runs (both in the first) over five innings. His fastball was running low- to mid-80s, and he struck out both John Olerud and Edgar Martinez, making them look bad in the process. No easy task, that.

Kerry Robinson and Sir Eugene Kingsale each saw action. Each was caught stealing. Other than the fact that Robinson has made the club and Kingsale will start at Portland, I still can’t tell the difference between those two. I also don’t understand the justification for carrying a guy whose lone tool is speed. Today’s game really doesn’t allow for that.

The top three guys in the lineup are seeing the ball and hitting it extremely well headed into the season. Sean Burroughs is doing a nice job of working the count, getting his pitch, and hammering baseballs all over the park. If he is able to maintain that approach throughout the season, he could surprise some folks. In my head, I remind myself that Burroughs is probably a year or so away from really making an impact. But I watch his improved approach and confidence at the plate and on the field in general, and I wonder if I’m selling him short. Burroughs is going to be fun to watch this year.

I’m still not sure about Khalil Greene’s bat. I like his new, more open stance. Seems like it should give him a little more balance and leverage. And he is a strong kid with quick hands. But he gets into bad counts a lot and helps the pitcher too much. My suspicion is that, like Xavier Nady last year, Greene will run hot and cold. The difference, of course, is that right field is an offense-first position. If Greene can put up Nady-like numbers while playing shortstop, he and the Padres should be happy.

From where I sit, the keys to the upcoming season look to be:

  • The health of David Wells and the big boppers in the middle of the lineup.
  • The continued development of Adam Eaton and Jake Peavy; can they consistently work into the seventh inning?
  • The amount of production from the 6-7-8 hitters; if either Ramon Hernandez or Jay Payton can come close to what he did last year, this could be a very dangerous offense.

Ben Howard for Blaine Neal

The Pads sent RHP Ben Howard to Florida for RHP Blaine Neal. This is an interesting move. Neal’s profile is similar to Howard’s in a lot of ways: real hard-thrower who has taken longer to develop than expected.

Neal was a fourth-round pick of the Marlins in 1996. In BA’s 2001 Prospect Handbook, he was ranked the #7 prospect in their organization. At that time his fastball was described as "95-96 with late movement."

In the 2002 edition of the same book, Neal was ranked #8 among Marlins prospects. His fastball was described as "93-95 with late movement."

Looks like a couple of teams got tired of waiting for their young power arms to develop and decided to swap ‘em, see if a change of scenery might help.

More info:

Final Spring Training Notes

  • Cirillo out 4-6 weeks with broken finger (NC Times). He hurt it in a bunt attempt against the Rangers last Monday. Former Padre Damian Jackson has been mentioned as a possible replacement, as have in-house candidates Rico Washington and Ben Risinger.
  • Lake Elsinore’s 2004 club will feature Padres’ top pick from 2003 (NC Times). Tim Stauffer is scheduled to make his pro debut next week with the Storm. RHP David Pauley, OF Kennard Jones, and 1B Michael Johnson are among the notable names that will join Stauffer in the Cal League.
  • Padres decide relievers will be in left-field bullpen (NC Times). The pitchers aren’t real thrilled about it, as it is much further from the dugout than the right-field bullpen and the space is limited. "There is no place for Hoffman or the other pitchers to play long toss while warming up. Lengthening the bullpen to provide room for long toss would require moving a fence or taking out a sand volleyball pit." This, of course, begs the question: Why is there a volleyball pit in the middle of a baseball stadium?
  • Padres to use bullpen in left (U-T). From Trevor Hoffman: "They are aware of the situation. I would assume that the right-field bullpen would be in the outfield (beyond the right-center fence) in a year or so." Are you serious? And deprive fans of their God-given right to play volleyball at a baseball game?
  • Is there an echo in right-center? (U-T). Count Seattle’s Bret Boone among those impressed with Petco. He also wonders what the Padres were thinking by making right-center field so unreachable given that their top three power threats all hit the ball to that part of the park. The infield, which from this fan’s perspective looks immaculate and like it plays true, also drew praise.
  • Szuminski could stick with team (U-T). A rehashing of past Rule V disasters in Padreland and a quasi-satisfactory explanation that Szuminski isn’t like the others. Also, news on Tim Stauffer, Gary Matthews Jr. (he isn’t on the radar), and the trade of RHP Brian Sanches (acquired from the Royals last summer in the Rondell White deal). Sanches was shipped to Philly for the ubiquitous PTBNL. Earlier in the week, minor-league RHP J.J. Trujillo was traded to the Royals, also for a PTBNL.

Oh, and there is also the disturbing news that the talented but troubled Milton Bradley has been traded to the Dodgers. The bright side is it cost the Dodgers Franklin Gutierrez, one of their top hitting prospects. But Bradley, if the Dodgers can keep him from imploding in LA, gives them a legit middle-of-the-order threat. Realize this: No matter how the Padre announcers might try to spin it ("desperate" was one word used during Sunday’s telecast), this is not good news for the Padres.

On the other hand, it’s Opening Day and for the first time in a long time, the hometown nine look to field a competitive ballclub. Seriously, what’s not to like?

Play ball!

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