Thu Jul 17 13:16:04 2008

Comment | Email | Print

For Padres, the future begins now

---

(Sports Network) - Expect the San Diego Padres to undergo a much-needed facelift in the coming weeks.

Although not hopelessly far out of the race in the cookie dough-soft National League West at the moment, there are wisely no grand illusions among the Padres' front office contingent that their disappointing team can be a legitimate playoff contender under its current configuration. Weighed down by one of the two least productive offenses in the majors, San Diego limped into the All-Star break with a 37-58 record that was tied with underachieving Seattle for the second-worst mark in baseball.

Only time will tell whether the fall from grace of a franchise that captured division titles in 2005 and 2006 and just missed out on a postseason berth a year ago is a temporary one. Still, it's become more clear than a San Diego morning that the Padres will have to upgrade their talent base on the big- league roster as well as the farm system to ensure the 2007 season was merely a brief bump in the road.

With the team preparing for a full-scale fire sale come the July 31 trade deadline, veterans such as outfielder Brian Giles and pitchers Greg Maddux and Randy Wolf could find themselves wearing different uniforms over the season's final two months.

Giles would probably be the most attractive member of that trio to opposing teams, as he's remained an accomplished table-setter despite a dramatic decline in power over the last few years. The 37-year-old is batting a robust .331 this season in games played outside the Padres' Petco Park home, a notorious house of horrors for hitters.

The patient and professional right fielder is also the least likely of that above-mentioned group to be dealt, however. The Padres hold an affordable $9 million option on Giles for next year, plus it may be counterproductive for the club to depart with one of its few reliable bats.

Maddux should draw some interest due to his Hall of Fame resume, abundance of playoff experience and an expected shortage of available quality arms on the trade market, but teams aren't going to bowl the Padres over for a 42-year-old who's posted a 5.71 earned run average away from pitcher-friendly Petco this year. Complicating matters is the full no-trade clause Maddux possesses, and the prevailing belief is that the four-time NL Cy Young winner will only approve a deal to a contender on the west coast.

Wolf, a free agent at season's end, has the best chance of moving on at the deadline since he's only 31 and has a relatively inexpensive contract. The left-hander still carries some red flags, though, as he's pitched even more poorly than Maddux on the road and made 18 starts or less in each of the past three seasons due to elbow and shoulder injuries.

Wolf didn't enhance his stock with Sunday's performance against Atlanta, in which the struggling southpaw allowed six runs in five innings during San Diego's 12-3 loss to the Braves.

Reserve first baseman Tony Clark and second baseman Tadahito Iguchi could also be moved soon, although neither player figures to bring much in return. Clark would be intriguing to a team seeking a proven power bat off the bench, but Iguchi's value has been hurt by a separated shoulder that has sidelined him since early June.

LONG NIGHT FOR GONZALEZ

Adrian Gonzalez's first All-Star Game turned out to be more than the Padres first baseman had initially anticipated. San Diego's lone representative on the NL squad took over for Houston's Lance Berkman in the sixth inning of Tuesday's Midsummer Classic and remained in the lineup until the end of the American League's narrow 4-3, 15-inning victory at New York's historic Yankee Stadium.

Gonzalez wound up getting four at-bats in the contest and made a contribution early on. In his first plate appearance of the night, the former No. 1 overall pick came through with a key sacrifice fly against Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon in the top of the eighth inning that gave the NL a brief 3-2 lead. Gonzalez also singled off Kansas City reliever Joakim Soria to start the 11th frame before being left stranded, but struck out with the bases loaded against Baltimore's George Sherrill to end the top of the 12th.

The left-handed slugger stated afterward that he enjoyed being a part of one of the most nail-biting All-Star Games in recent memory, and remarked how the 4-hour, 50-minute marathon compared to some of the ones played by San Diego, which had outings of 22 and 18 innings earlier this season.

"It was like a Padre game," Gonzalez told the Padres' official site. "It was a tough one to swallow."

INJURY REPORT

Starting pitcher Chris Young, sidelined since breaking his nose on a scary line drive off the bat of St. Louis Cardinals superstar Albert Pujols on May 21, took a big step in his road back to recovery on Wednesday. The towering right-hander faced live hitters for the first time since the incident when he made a rehab start for Class-A Lake Elsinore, and the results were quite encouraging. Young worked 3 2/3 innings in his California League assignment and allowed one run on two hits while striking out four batters. More importantly, the 2007 All Star did not issue a walk and threw 43 of his 59 pitches for strikes.

Young was caught on Wednesday by Josh Bard, who began his rehab stint with Lake Elsinore on Sunday. The switch-hitting catcher is working his way back from a high ankle sprain suffered in the same game Young got hurt. Ironically, Bard's injury came as the result of a home-plate collision with Pujols.

Bard is expected to return to the Padres at some point during the club's upcoming 11-game road trip, which begins Thursday in St. Louis. Young is believed to be about two weeks away from being ready.

Giles sat out the Padres' final six games before the All-Star break with a strained left hamstring, but the San Diego Union Tribune reported earlier this week that the steady right fielder is likely to be in the lineup for Thursday's clash with the Cardinals. Giles has not started a game since July 5.

WHO'S HOT

Outfielder Scott Hairston hit safely in seven of his eight games prior to the break and batted a torrid .438 (14-for-32) with five home runs, eight RBI and nine runs scored over that span. The young power hitter has done most of his damage from the leadoff spot, where Hairston is batting .327 with nine homers in 110 at-bats.

Staff ace Jake Peavy has not surrendered a run in a combined 14 innings over his last two starts, a pair of victories against Arizona and Atlanta. Since coming back from a month-long stint on the disabled list with a strained right elbow, the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner has recorded an excellent 1.75 ERA along with a 3-2 record in six starts.

WHO'S NOT

Gonzalez closed out his otherwise stellar first half with a 5-for-34 (.147) stretch that has dropped the All-Star's season average to .276, his lowest mark since May 24. He's also hit just one home run since June 24 after belting 21 long balls over his first 77 games of the year.

Pitcher Cha Seung Baek is 1-3 with a 6.08 ERA over his last five outings, four of which have been starts. The waiver-wire pickup was rocked for three runs on four hits in a 1 1/3-inning relief stint during Sunday's lopsided loss to the Braves.

ON DECK

San Diego starts up its 11-game, three-city road trip with four straight meetings with the playoff-hopeful Cardinals beginning on Thursday. The Padres will then head to Cincinnati for three dates before participating in a four- game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates from July 24-27.

Peavy (7-5, 2.47) faces off against Kyle Lohse (11-2, 3.39) in Thursday's opener with St. Louis, while Maddux (3-8, 3.90) opposes Braden Looper (9-7, 4.25) on Friday. Wolf (6-9, 4.66) and Baek (2-5, 5.25) get the nods for San Diego in the final two games of the series, with Todd Wellemeyer (7-4, 4.04) and rookie Jaime Garcia slated to go for the Cardinals.