Blogging the San Diego Padres… established 1997

We continue our look back at the 2005 season today with one of the most problematic positions for the Padres, first base. Nobody started more than 70 games there for the Friars, none of them fielded the position particularly well, and none of them hit well enough to justify the poor defense. Basically, the black hole that existed for many years at catcher and/or shortstop has moved to first base.

Veteran Phil Nevin saw most of the playing time but was traded to Texas in August. After that, the position was split among Mark Sweeney, Xavier Nady, and Robert Fick.

Phil Nevin

Summary

The 2005 numbers include Nevin’s time with the Rangers. Remarkably, after moving to a much better hitting environment, his game deteriorated even further. With the Pads, Nevin hit .256/.301/.399.

Expectations

From my season preview over at Baseball Think Factory:

Defensively, Nevin is less likely to get injured at first base than he was at third. He has decent range and quick reflexes, but his footwork around the bag can get sloppy and he doesn’t always help his infielders on tough throws. Nevin was one of the more outspoken critics of the spacious dimensions of Petco Park, but he actually managed to put up decent numbers there (.265/.364/.465). If he can concentrate on driving the ball to the power alleys and not worry so much about home runs, he’ll continue to produce for the Padres.

Positives

• Was willing to do anything to try and help the team, including getting back behind the dish when needed.
• Despite uncertain role with the club, kept relatively quiet and left San Diego with class.

Negatives

• Every aspect of game regressed in a big way.
• Bat slowed, no longer able to drive ball with authority to all fields.
• Kept Xavier Nady from getting a legitimate opportunity to play and develop.

Outlook

Unless something remarkable happens, Nevin’s days as a regular are behind him. He’ll be 35 next year, he doesn’t have a defensive position, and he doesn’t hit enough to DH full-time. The best hope is that he returns to form against LHP (against whom he hit .332/.418/.614 from 2002 to 2004, but just .205/.292/.362 last season) and can be a platoon DH for the Rangers. Seems like a waste of money when there are guys like Olmedo Saenz out there who can do a better job for a fraction of the cost.

Mark Sweeney

Summary

Sweeney established career highs in plate appearances, hits, walks, batting average, and on-base percentage, and tied career marks in doubles and RBI. In a season where the Padres never could figure out what to do at first base, Sweeney was asked to do too much. But despite wearing down toward the end of the year and the usual struggles against LHP, Sweeney did a stellar job, especially in light of moving from the best hitting environment in baseball to one of the worst.

Expectations

From my season preview over at Baseball Think Factory: “Sweeney essentially replaces Terrence Long as the left-handed bat off the bench.”

Positives

• Professional hitter with a great batting eye and ability to drive mistakes.
• Great guy to have on the bench, keeps the team loose.

Negatives

• Overexposed as a regular, hitting just .269/.365/.359 after Nevin’s departure.
• Non-factor against LHP, hitting .200/.320/.200 in just 20 at-bats.
• Made crucial baserunning blunders down the stretch and struggled defensively at first, especially on throws to second or home.

Outlook

Still a terrific left-handed bat off the bench, Sweeney generally swings at strikes and can drive the ball to right and right-center. Limit his duties to pinch hitting and he can be a great asset to a ball club. If the Padres can re-sign him at or near the 1 year/$550k he received in 2005, by all means they should bring him back. And they should make sure to have a solution in place at first base so that Sweeney can return to the role in which he excels, that of pinch-hitter extraordinaire.

Xavier Nady

Summary

Bear in mind when looking at these numbers that Nady had only 77 at-bats in 2004. The Padres appear reluctant to commit one way or another to Nady, which doesn’t help him or the club. This attitude seems a little strange for a team that could use a right-handed power bat in the lineup. It also doesn’t give Nady a chance to improve on his areas of weakness. He’s probably not a true impact player, but there’s no reason to think that he couldn’t put together a Nevin-type career if given the opportunity. Eventually Nady will get a chance. When and where are the questions.

Expectations

From my season preview over at Baseball Think Factory: “Nady will see time at all three [outfield] spots, as well as the infield corners. He is out of options, and the Padres intend to get him 300-400 at-bats this year.”

Positives

• Terrific power to all fields.
• Played well when given the chance, which wasn’t very often. Nady’s season high in consecutive games started was 9 (April 4 – 17, in center field when Dave Roberts started the season on the DL) and he started 8 or more games in a row just three times. What he did in those games and the way he did it are revealing:
  

  Xavier Nady: Eight or More Consecutive Starts

  	AB	BA	OBP	SLG	BB/PA	ISO	XBH/H
  Stats courtesy of David Pinto’s Day by Day Database.
  Starting 8+ consecutive games	100	.300	.314	.590	.010	.290	.500
  Other	226	.243	.324	.372	.083	.129	.273

  Nady hacked at everything and hit most of it hard when given the chance. Check out the high ISO and low BB/PA when Nady plays. They seem to say, “Look what I can do; please don’t take me out of the lineup.” Obviously there’s a lot that Nady needs to work on, but the foundation is there.

• Never complained despite Padres apparent confusion over how best to utilize him.

Negatives

• Adequate at several defensive positions, but not real good at any one of them (probably best at corner outfield spot; also was an above-average first baseman in the minors before moving to the outfield).
• Susceptible to fastballs up, breaking balls down and away; gets overanxious at the plate (like Nevin).
• Doesn’t appear to be viewed as an everyday player by some within organization.

Outlook

Nady is at a crossroads. He’s at a point in his career where he should be improving, and possibly by a lot. He has many of the same strengths and weaknesses that Nevin had at a similar stage of development. Nady won’t be a star — his most similar players through age 26 are mostly “tweeners” — but the Padres would do themselves and Nady a great service by at least trying to see what he’s capable of doing on a regular basis.

Nady could blossom into a pretty capable regular if given the opportunity. Whether that happens in San Diego remains to be seen. If the Padres don’t envision Nady as a part of their future, they would do well to move him to another team and get something in return that they can use. Having Nady sit around on the bench isn’t helping anyone.

Robert Fick

Summary

Fick bounced back from a miserable 2004 to put together a mediocre season off the bench for the Padres. He doesn’t really have much power anymore, and most of his value comes from the fact that he is a “gritty veteran” and he can still get behind the plate in an emergency. Fick wore down as the season progressed, hitting just .227/.318/.295 after the All-Star break. Oddly, he also hit lefties better than righties last year.

Expectations

None.

Positives

• Good line drive bat, especially off the bench.
• Adequate defender who can do a tolerable job at many positions.
• Like Sweeney, a great guy on the bench who keeps teammates loose; a real battler.

Negatives

• Substandard power for a regular first baseman (ISO has declined each year since 2001: .204, .163, .149, .120, .100).
• Like many Padres reserves in 2005, overexposed as a regular due to injuries.

Outlook

Fick is a younger, more versatile, less potent version of Sweeney. He will find a spot on someone’s bench due to versatility and leadership qualities, but he’s well past his peak and probably shouldn’t be counted on for much in terms of actual production at this point.