No California Teams this year

For the second time since the Wild Card was introduced in 1995, there will be no California teams in the post season.

In 1999 and this year, the West was represented by Arizona and Texas.
And the Wild Cards in 1999 were the Mets and Red Sox.
We're not sure who it is for this year.

Let's run them down.

In 1995, the Dodgers won the NL West crown. (The Angels lost a one game playoff to Seattle.)
In 1996, both the Padres and Dodgers were in.
In 1997, the Giants won the NL West.
In 1998, the Padres won the National League pennant.
1999 saw no California teams.
2000 had the A's and the Giants winning their Division.
In 2001, the A's won the Wild Card.
2002 was the greatest year for California. The A's won the AL West but the World Series was between the Giants and Angels.
2003 had the A's and Giants winning their Division again.
The 2004 Angels won the Division.
In 2005, the Angels won the Division and advanced to the ALCS. Meanwhile the Padres won the NL West.
2006 saw the Padres and Dodgers both in the National League playoffs and the Oakland A's making it to the ALCS.
The 2007 Angels won the Division.
The 2008 and 2009 Angels and Dodgers each won their Division. Both made the LCS in 2009, the closest we have seen to a Freeway Series.
And the 2010 Giants of course won the World Series.

But with the elimination of the Angels tonight, any California dream for the World Series was put to rest.

Good luck next year, Giants, A's, Dodgers, Angels or Padres.

I want some West Coast Bias next year.

Potential Giant Regrets

There has been a whole lot of strangeness going on by China Basin.

The defense of the Giants' World Championship has hit some unexpected snags.



In late July, the Giants took 2 of 3 IN Philadelphia and took a 4 game lead over Arizona in the West. Then they got Carlos Beltran to spark the offense. Winning the west was merely a formality.



Instead in 17 games, they went from 4 games up to 3 1/2 back of Arizona.



A 7 1/2 game swing in less than 3 weeks!



So after the Braves series, the Giants saw the lowly Astros and the not exactly world beater Padres were on deck. And during those games the Diamondbacks went on a 6 game losing streak.



The Giants won just one game during the D'Backs slide... and they were playing two of the worst teams in the league.



If the Giants don't win the Division, or are scrambling in the last week and throwing Lincecum on short rest, remember August. Remember these series against the Astros and the Padres.



These games count just as much as the games at the end of September.

Let's hope the Giants didn't lose the Division here the way the Padres did last year.

Forget winning the Division... will the Pirates win another GAME?

Look, the Pirates winning the NL Central was always a bit of a long shot. Even on July 19th when they were in first place by themselves, the chances of them holding on to that lead were slim.

But even the most realistic Pirate fan would have had a hard time imagining this fiasco.

They've lost 10 of their past 11 games. Yeah that included some tight games, including the 19 inning fiasco. But they've only one once since then.

And win loss records don't reflect close games. Just wins and losses.

Since they went on this brutal stretch against the Cardinals, Braves and Phillies, the home series against the lowly Cubs and Padres were supposed to be a chance to catch their breath and pick up a few wins before heading to San Francisco.

Well they were swept by the Cubs and are in danger of being swept by the Padres.

Pirates... you NEED to get back on track. A lot of positives have been achieved this year. Fans have shown up. There was excitement for a bit and even some optimism.

But guess what? The Steelers are practicing now. You know, the team that made it to the SUPER BOWL last year. The team that won the Damn Super Bowl a few years ago and a few years before that!

You have Pittsburgh's attention but PNC Park could be empty in September unless you start putting some W's on the board.

The Bucs are 4 games under .500 now.
They have 50 games left.

In order to go 82-80, a winning season to get the whole "longest streak of losing seasons in North American History" crap off their backs, they need to go 28-22 the rest of the way.

Not asking for the moon.
It starts tomorrow.
It's the freaking Padres.

Win a game.

Ryan Ludwick and The Right Stuff

There's a great moment in The Right Stuff that I thought about when I heard the Pirates dealt for Ryan Ludwick today.

When Alan Shepard climbed into the capsule, getting ready to be the first American into space, he saw there was a hand written sign placed on the capsule. It read "No Handball Playing In This Area." Shepard saw it was placed there by John Glenn as a joke.

It was a lame joke and Shepard pointed that out to his rival. He thought Glenn was too squeaky clean not one of the boys.

Glenn for a moment is disappointed that his attempt at humor was rejected but then Shepard says "But I do appreciate it John. I surely do." And they share a bond at that moment that was real and warmer than anything they had up until that part of the movie.

And it was the moment where all the animosity between the two ended. They had a common goal that was greater than their many differences. At that moment they were only compatriots.

It's a great moment in a great movie.

So what the hell does that have to do with Ryan Ludwick being picked up by the Pittsburgh Pirates?

OK, in my analogy, John Glenn is the Pirates organization and Alan Shepard represents the Pirates fans. And the lame handball joke? That's the trade for Ryan Ludwick.

Is it a difference maker?

No.

Will he lead the Pirates to the playoffs?

Probably not.

Will it be a forgotten move in a few weeks?

Probably.

But Pirate fans see the team TRYING to improve for the stretch run instead of shipping off the players that are any good.

That's Shepard saying to Glenn "I do appreciate it. I surely do."

For the first time in a long time, the Pirates are trying. They are giving a damn. And the team isn't just pocketing the revenue sharing.

It's a change in culture.

It's the right stuff.

Watch the clip below... at 17:20 of the clip is the scene I am talking about.

And rent The Right Stuff. What the hell is the matter with you?

What if Hideki Irabu had signed with the Padres?

Hideki Irabu, one of the fastest throwers in Japanese baseball history and his leagues greatest strikeout artist, died today in Los Angeles County. The first reports say it looks like a suicide.

For a pitcher who has been the butt of many jokes and a Frank Costanza rant, there suddenly is nothing funny about him. Like Donnie Moore before him, a player who was a source of ridicule suddenly became a tragic figure.

In 1997 he was brought to New York as a newly minted millionaire potential hero and given the key to city by Rudy Guiliani and a spot in the defending World Champion Yankees' rotation. 11 years later his credit card was declined in a bar in Japan and he got into a brawl.

And today, trying to find work in an independent minor league, he was found dead.

Sitting at my dining room table, I can't sit and pretend to know all of Irabu's demons. Clearly anyone who could go through with ending their own life has plenty. But it is impossible to avoid the thought that failing on such a grand scale in New York may have contributed to his downfall. Joe Torre had him on the roster for the 1998 and 1999 post season but used him in a single game over 6 series. He pitched in mop up duty for Roger Clemens' dreadful Game 3 start in the 1999 ALCS.

I remember being startled when he came out of the bullpen against the Red Sox that day. I forgot he was even on the team.

He became a symbol of a Steinbrenner move to make a backpage splash and tap into the Japanese market instead of improving the team. (Of course if he delivered, Steinbrenner would have taken the credit of being forward thinking.)

And his debut in 1997 was a solid win where he pitched into the 7th. And remember in 1998, he started off as a very effective pitcher. He was the AL Pitcher of the Month for May, 1998. By mid June of 1998, he was 6-1 with a 1.59 ERA and was a big contributor to the Yankees stellar first half. As late as July 20th he had a terrific record (9-3) and a very good ERA (2.86.) A string of 6 bad starts, plus the emergence of El Duque Hernandez, pushed him out of the post season roster.

But his 1998 could hardly be called a total failure. But 1999 was not a good year for him and by 2000 he was an Expo. By 2002 he was a Ranger, his last season in the majors. He pitched in 2009 for the Long Beach Armada of the Golden Baseball League. Former Padres shortstop Garry Templeton was his manager. His teammate was Jose Lima, who passed away last spring.

I can't help but wonder what would have happened if he played in a smaller market.

The Padres paid the posting fee for Irabu to bring him to America and they owned his signing rights. But, wanting to be on the biggest stage (and have the greatest marketability) he refused to sign with San Diego. He and his agent engineered the trade that sent him to the Bronx.

Had he stayed with the Padres, his fame would not have been as great, but neither would the magnification of his failures. Like the Yankees, the 1997 Padres were coming off a post season berth and had talent.

If he had put up the same numbers with the 1998 Padres as he did with the 1998 Yankees, he would have been beloved by the fans instead of being cursed out.

Remember the '98 Padres were a terrific team that went on to win the National League pennant. They were not as good as the historic 1998 Yankees, but they had a deep lineup and a tough bullpen.

And their fan base is forgiving. Playing for a large passionate fanbase has its disadvantages. Not being able to hide any flaws is one of them. Trevor Hoffman had many high profile critical game blown saves in his career with the Padres. Had he blown those games in New York, Philadelphia or Boston, he would have been run out of town on a rail. In San Diego they are retiring his number.

I wonder if Irabu had pitched in San Diego, if he would have been able to develop and adapt to America better than in New York, where he was expected to be the next Nolan Ryan right out of the gate.

I wonder if Padres fans could have accepted him for what he was instead of tormenting him for what he wasn't. 13 wins and an OK 4.06 ERA mixed in with a pitcher of the month award would get a lot more respect in a smaller market gunning for their second ever pennant.

Maybe he pitches well along side Kevin Brown, Andy Ashby, Sterling Hitchcock and Joey Hamilton. Maybe he fares well against the Yankees in the World Series.

Or maybe his demons were just too strong to conquer. Maybe this has nothing to do with bis baseball career.

But seeing how far he fell makes it impossible to wonder. Did he have to perch himself up so high?

I love throwback jerseys but...

I almost always love it when teams wear old uniforms.
Even the ugly ones.
The Pirates and A's wore some ugly threads in the 1970s and I LOVED it when they busted them out.

But Holy Crap the dark brown Padres uniforms were UGLY! And yes, they were worse than the yellow ones.

I like the brown and yellow "Kid from Left Field" hats... but holy cow these threads stink.

Then again, as of this writing, they have the World Champions down 1-0.

So who am I to criticize their fashion?

Hey Bud Black... Harang was pitching well

When a guy is throwing a no hitter after 6 innings, I'd leave him in the game.
Maybe it's just me.

When you have two dead from the neck up franchises playing each other in a "Let's stay out of the cellar" game, why not have the guy come out for the 7th?

When it is a 33 year old guy who could be throwing the game of his 10 year career... why not give him a chance?

Yes, I know he was hurt recently.
I know it was hot.
I know he was fresh off a rehab assignment.

But why have the "Could he have thrown a no hitter?" question linger over his career?
Seriously how many more years does Aaron Harang have?
2?
3?

You can't push pitchers when they are in their early 20s and you can't push them in their early 30s I guess.

Let him throw until he lets up a hit.
Wouldn't a no hitter from a likable veteran make a down San Diego year a little better?
Especially seeing it would have been the first no hitter in Padres history.

I would have let him pitch the 7th.
Not sure if this qualifies as babying pitchers, but I am going to link the video anyway!

Dick Williams, a man who could breathe life into dead teams

Hall of Fame manager Dick Williams died today... and if you are a fan of the Red Sox, A's or Padres, you should toast him tonight.

Dick Williams was more than a great manager. He was more than someone who took three different teams to the World Series.

He raised teams from the dead.

It's hard to believe this now, but there was a time when the Boston Red Sox were a dead franchise with poor attendance and non contenders.
They had losing seasons every year from 1959 to 1966, including 100 losses in 1965.

Dick Williams took over the club and they went to their first World Series in 19 years. And the Red Sox were revived. You can trace the love for Fenway and the romance of Red Sox Nation to the magical summer of 1967.

When he went to the A's, they hadn't been relevant since Connie Mack was manager. They never had a winning season in Kansas City and the 1971 A's was the franchise's first October since 1931.

He inherited a talented team but he made them an All Time team. The A's won back to back titles under Williams and they went on to win a third title.

In 1977 after a failed turn with the Angels, Williams took over an Expos team that never had a winning season in their first 8 years of existence. By 1979 they were a 95 win club with future Hall of Famers Gary Carter, Andre Dawson and Tony Perez at the core. A non factor franchise became a legit pennant contender and the Expos had their greatest years and drew their most fans.

Then he took over the Padres, another nondescript franchise with no history nor success. Between the Padres first season in 1969 and Williams arrival in 1982, the Padres had a grand total of one winning season and never finished above 4th place.

By his third season, the Padres were a 90 win team and won the 1984 NL West title, then stunned the heavily favored Cubs to give San Diego their first World Series appearance.

Later he took over the Mariners, another hopeless franchise. For a while it looked like he was going to do the same thing there with talented players like Mark Langston, Mike Moore, Jim Presley, Alvin Davis, Harold Reynolds, Danny Tartabull and Phil Bradley on the roster. But alas it didn't work out in the Pacific Northwest.

If only he stuck around for two more seasons in time for the arrival of Ken Griffey Jr. and Randy Johnson in 1989!

He was a Hall of Famer and one of the great managers of all time.

And you can certainly NOT say he took easy jobs.

Rest in Peace, Mr. Williams.

On a side note, we both appear in the great movie "Spaceman: A Baseball Odyssey" and in fact we both appear in this trailer for the film.
My vague connection to an All Time great manager.

Giants walk off and some other thoughts

OF COURSE they got two homers from Nate Schierholtz!

How else are the Giants expected to win?
Normally?

Seriously, I am worried about Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper. They are losing their voice after virtually EVERY game.

With all of the crazy wins this team has, the new Showtime show will have more heart stopping finishes than Hoosiers!

Meanwhile, how awesome was Pablo Sandoval's 8th and 9th innings?

Not only does he get the game tying double, but he saves at least one run with a dazzling 2 out diving stop to end a potential go ahead rally against Brian Wilson.

Speaking of Wilson...
I really was hoping he'd get the win.

He has 6. That's tied with Tim Lincecum. When your CLOSER has as many wins as your ace, you would have to assume your team is dreadful, not in first place approaching the All Star break.

It's been a weird year for the Giants.

It could be the oddest World Championship defense ever.
But hey! It is working.

Eight is Indeed Enough

No need to play that last inning. The Red Sox bats were dead. So the Red Sox lost a series to the Padres. Man was that stupid.

The Sox can beat up the Yankees, Rays and Brewers but can't beat the Padres?

Ugh... let's hope they have a few wins against the Pirates. But today, 8 is enough.

Let's try to not have many games like this, OK?

The Red Sox kept putting the tying run on and bringing the go ahead run to the plate.
They kept getting me excited.
They kept teasing us.

And they just couldn't score off of the Padres bullpen. You know, the one they scored at will on yesterday.

It's important to win series, but now they have to win tomorrow in order to pull it off.

And by the way, the game has been over for 10 minutes, but I think 3 more Padres walked since then.

Time to update the tally.

DODGED BULLET GAMES - 21

April 8 - 9-6 win against the Yankees. (The Sox end their 6 game losing streak with a slugfest. John Lackey stinks but Phil Hughes stinks even more.)
April 10 - 4-0 win against the Yankees. (Beckett and Sabathia duel in a game that was 1-0 until the late innings.)
April 20 - 5-3 win in Oakland. (Red Sox survive a lead off homer and two bases loaded situations and facing the tying run at the plate to win their first road game.)
April 21 - 4-2 win in Anaheim. (The Red Sox stranded 15 men on base and Josh Beckett's went 8 strong with no decision. But the Sox rallied in the 11th to win.)
April 22 - 4-3 win in Anaheim. (Peter Bourjos makes a 2 run errors and the Red Sox survive a bizarre passed ball by Jarrod Saltalamacchia that let a run scored from second.)
May 1 - 3-2 win against the Mariners. (Ichiro loses a ball in the sun that turns into a 9th inning triple for Lowrie. Crawford singles him home for the win.)
May 8 - 9-5 win against the Twins. (Dice-K lets up 3 runs in the first but settles down as the Red Sox clobber Carl Pavano.)

May 9 - 2-1 win against the Twins. (A bullpen breakdown cost Beckett the decision but Cark Crawford ended the game with an 11th inning walk off hit.)
May 13 - 5-4 win in the Bronx. (Youkilis homers off of Joba and Bard and Papelbon make it more interesting than it needed to be.)
May 15 - 7-5 win in the Bronx. (Sox fall behind 4-1 but come back as Youk, Papi and Salty all homer.)
May 16 - 8-7 win against the Orioles. (Down 6-0 after 6 innings, the Sox rally and win it with a 2 run walk off double by Adrian Gonzalez)
May 18 - 1-0 win against Detroit. (With 2 outs in the 8th, Salty doubles home Crawford from first for the only run. Papelbon gets himself in and out of 9th inning trouble.)
May 19 - 4-3 win against Detroit. (Bard blows Beckett's lead but Carl Crawford wins it with a walk off hit.)
May 24 - 4-2 win in Cleveland. (Varitek throws two runners out and homers as the Red Sox win their first game against the Indians.)
May 29 - 4-3 win in Detroit. (The Red Sox blow an early 3-0 lead but David Ortiz wins the game with a pinch 9th inning homer.)
June 3 - 8-6 win against Oakland. (Buchholz lets up 4 runs in the first but the Sox come back thanks to Carl Crawford's 2 run single.)
June 4 - 9-8 win against Oakland. (Red Sox blow a 4 run 9th inning lead and trail in the 11th before Ellsbury ties it and Drew wins it in 14.)
June 7 - 6-4 win in the Bronx. (Papelbon strikes out A-Rod to end the game with a runner on base.)
June 9 - 8-3 win in the Bronx. (Down 2-0 to Sabathia in the 7th, the Sox score 7 runs as Papi exacts revenge after getting plunked. A 3+ hour rain delay pushed the game past 1:30 AM)

June 15 - 3-0 win in Tampa Bay. (Youkilis homers in the 7th for the only runs in Beckett's 1 hit masterpiece.)
June 16 - 4-2 win in Tampa Bay. (Papelbon wiggles out of a 2 on, nobody out jam in the 9th thanks to Youk's diving catch.)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 19

April 1 - 9-5 loss in Texas. (The Sox tie Opening Day in the 8th with an Ortiz homer only to have Bard implode and the Sox let up 4 in the bottom of the 8th.)

April 5 - 3-1 loss in Cleveland. (The Sox drop their 4th straight as the bats are dead in Cleveland.)
April 7 - 1-0 loss in Cleveland. (Sox blow a great Lester performance on a squeeze bunt and Darnell McDonald overrunning the bag to end the game.)
April 12 - 3-2 loss to Tampa Bay. (A solid Lester performance is wasted as Kyle Farnsworth of all people shuts down the Sox.)
April 15 - 7-6 loss to Toronto. (Bobby Jenks implodes with a 4 run seventh inning as the Red Sox waste Pedroia and Youkilis homers and a clutch RBI double by Scuatro.
April 19 - 5-0 loss in Oakland. (Pedroia gets picked off, the Sox bats go dead and waste a solid Lackey start.)
April 26 - 4-1 loss in Baltimore. (Buchholz pitches tentatively and the Sox let Kevin Gregg of all people to close out the 9th.)
April 27 - 5-4 loss in Baltimore. (The Sox tie the game with a 3 run 8th only to have Bard lose it in the bottom of the 8th.)
April 29 - 5-4 loss to Mariners. (Bobby Jenks blows a 7th inning lead, wasting 2 Mike Cameron homers.)
April 30 - 2-0 loss to Mariners. (The Sox strand 11 runners and let Milton Bradley double home the go ahead run.)
May 4 - 5-3 loss to Angels. (7 hours with rain delays and stranded runners. Marco Scutaro was thrown out at the plate in the 12th)
May 10 - 7-6 loss in Toronto. (8th and 9th inning heroics, including a homer by Adrian Gonzalez, are undone by a walk off sacrifice fly by David Cooper.)
May 21 - 9-3 loss to Cubs. (Up 3-1 in the 8th inning, the bullpen and defense implode. The Cubs score 8 runs while both teams wear their 1918 uniforms.)
May 23- 3-2 loss in Cleveland. (The Sox blow a 2-1 8th inning lead when the Indians rally with 2 outs. Crawford ends the game on a double play.)
May 29 - 3-0 loss in Detroit. (Verlander keeps the Sox off base and prevents the sweep.)
June 1 - 7-4 loss to White Sox. (Konerko drives in three, spoiling a game tying Ortiz homer.)

June 14 - 4-0 loss in Tampa Bay. (Wakefield's solid outing is spoiled. Longoria scores on a passed ball.)
June 18 - 4-2 loss to Milwaukee. (The Brewers hit three homers early off of Lester and hang on.)
June 21 - 5-4 loss to San Diego. (Ortiz hits a double play in the 9th to stifle a potential winning rally.)

Down to +2.

Win tomorrow and the series is in the W column.

The franchise moves that almost happened - My latest for The Hardball Times

Can you imagine the Senators moving not to Minnesota but to Los Angeles?
What about the Milwaukee White Sox?
Or the Tampa Bay Giants?
Or the North Carolina Twins?
Or the A's playing in just about any American city save for Walla Walla Washington?

Well they almost happened, and I wrote about them in my latest for The Hardball Times.

These are the franchise moves that ALMOST happened. And some were real close to being finalized. The Padres move from San Diego to Washington looked like such a done deal in the mid 1970s that Topps actually printed cards with the Padres players but the team name was "Washington National League."

You want to read more of these strange "What if?" scenarios?

Check out the article HERE.

Hey Padres... wear these hats instead of the camouflage

I think it is good to honor the military after taking down Osama Bin Laden.
And the Padres are doing so by wearing their military camouflage uniforms, which I have already made clear that I am not a fan.

Why not the Red White and Blue hats?
It is a day for all Americans to feel at least a sense of justice and closure regarding that awful day. There will no doubt be flag waving, so why not have the flag waving on the field?

Just a thought.

I am going to get grief for my old camouflage post

To honor the brave soldiers who took out Bin Laden at his hideout Mansion in Pakistan, the San Diego Padres will wear their special camouflage uniforms.

Last year I wrote a blog post where I trashed the uniforms. I took great pains at the beginning of the article to make it clear that I understood they were honoring the military and that I knew the Padres do a lot for the many locals who are in the armed forces. I just thought the uniforms were ugly.

I still do.

But despite my preamble, I still got people writing to me saying "Don't you understand that they are honoring the military?"

Yes. Yes I do.
I was considering taking down that post, but nope. It is up there.

I did go back and write a new disclaimer in bold and italics. I know it will be ignored.

If I take flak, I can handle it. I am not trying to pull a John Steigerwald and be the angry counter arguer.

I just think the uniforms are ugly.
But I am glad Bin Laden is gone. And the brave soldiers who took them out deserve our praise.

Now play ball.

Cameron Maybin finds a nice way to win over his new team

He was recalled too quickly by the Tigers as a rookie and underachieved with the Marlins after the Miguel Cabrera trade.

Now Cameron Maybin needs to produce in San Diego before wearing the "bust" label.

Well making a highlight reel catch in the first and hitting a 2 out 9th inning game tying home run on the road is a nice start.

Now keep that up over the season and maybe the Padres will have made a steal.

San Diego pays tribute to Trevor Hoffman

Here Trevor Hoffman says good bye and thank you to San Diego and the Padres organization.

And by the looks of this picture, he is doing in front of a crowd about the size of a Padres game during the pennant stretch.

Before any of you Padre fans give me grief, I was in San Diego for Labor Day, 2010. Not only was the stadium half empty, but the team wouldn't take my money!

Show up to the games.
And give Trevor Hoffman a nice hand while you are at it.

Fare thee well, Trevor Hoffman

I admit that I've been rough on Trevor Hoffman on this blog.
I don't think he is a Hall of Famer.
I don't think he was one of the elite closers.
I think he was a fine pitcher who compiled saves when it was easy to do so and blew way too many big games to be in Cooperstown in my book.

Yes, he is the All Time Saves leader.

Lee Smith was as well. Is he a Hall of Famer?
Jeff Reardon was as well. Is he a Hall of Famer? (And Reardon had the "clinching the World Series moment" that neither Smith nor Hoffman had.)

By the time Hoffman's name reaches the ballot, Mariano Rivera, a legit Hall of Famer, will have the 42 saves needed to be the new All Time Saves leader.

All that being said, he had a terrific career and it seems like nobody had a bad thing to say about him.

And I feel an odd connection as a fan because his older brother, Glenn Hoffman, was on many of the Red Sox teams I grew up watching.

So good luck Trevor Hoffman. Your career was one worth saluting, especially when you consider how quickly relievers flame out.

And if you get elected to the Hall of Fame, I won't protest. I can't imagine how someone could get MAD if a player they don't agree with gets elected.

I promise in five years, if this blog is still up, I will have toned down my rhetoric.

A Christmas gift for Padres fan: Optimism

This Christmas, some baseball fans should already be pessimistic about their teams chances in 2011.

The Pirates are obviously not going to be good and their losing season streak will no doubt reach a shameful 19. The Royals waved the white flag with the Greinke trade. The Mets and Cubs are a year away from a massive relief of bad contracts expiring. The Diamondbacks should have another year wandering in the desert. And the Nationals will probably stink again even though they seem to think they are on the verge of contending.

You would think that I would throw the Padres onto the scrap heap of hopeless teams, especially after dealing Adrian Gonzalez and inevitably sending Heath Bell packing before Opening Day.

But I can’t. I think there are too many reasons to be optimistic in PetCo Park, and I don’t just mean the ability to get a decent seat.

First of all, they are still LOADED with pitching talent. Mat Latos looks like he will be an All Star for a while. Clayton Richard looks like a steal from the White Sox. And even though Jon Garland has skedaddled and taken his 200 innings with him, there are other options. Aaron Harang has come to town and while he has been kind of lousy the last few years, he is moving from the hitters haven of Great America Ballpark to the pitcher paradise of PetCo Park.

Also Tim Stauffer, Cory Luebke or even young Simon Castro could step in and fill out the back of the rotation.

And their 2010 bullpen was a never ending parade of effective arms. Whenever I saw the Padres play (and as a West Coast resident I saw them A LOT) they always pulled out some reliever that I hadn’t heard of before but had some sickeningly good numbers.

Seriously, besides the biggest baseball fans or residents of the Gaslamp District, who the hell heard of Ernesto Frieri, Luke Gregerson, Edward Mujica, Joe Thatcher or Ryan Webb? If Heath Bell is dealt, ONE of those guys could step in and pitch the 9th.

And if Bell is dealt, Padres GM Jed Hoyer seems to be pretty good at actually getting useful players in return. Clayton Richard came over in a deal for a broken down Jake Peavy. Casey Kelly, brought over in the Adrian Gonzalez trade, could be in the pitching staff this year. Gonzalez also yielded Anthony Rizzo who could fill in at first base and Raymond Fuentes who could be in the outfield by 2012.

Take note Pittsburgh. Just because you trade expensive players doesn’t mean you have to dump them for no value in return.

And I think some of the moves they have made have made the team better. Jason Bartlett and Orlando Hudson are a terrific middle of the infield and should be an improvement defensively. And Brad Hawpe is just a season removed from being an All Star. The Padres don’t need All Star production from him… just hit well enough to not have first base be a hole.

And in the light of what happened in 2010, many of the young Padres experienced meaningful games in what was supposed to be a rebuilding season. If they went 2-8 between August 26th and September 5th instead of 0-10, they would have been playing in the playoffs. As it were, they won 90 games and lost the Division to the eventual World Champions.

And the Giants will inevitably take a slight step back in the wake of their World Series title, the Diamondbacks are rebuilding, the Dodgers are a mess and who knows what will happen in Colorado. The NL West isn’t the AL East with super powers gobbling up super stars.

And what else did the Giants championship teach us? With a good pitching staff, you don’t need to be an offensive powerhouse to win. The Giants upgraded their offense from “A FEMA level disaster” to merely “terrible” and look where they ended up.

If Bell could fill in a hole or two in the line up and the young pitching takes advantage of the ballpark and the improved defense, they could have a winning season. And in the NL West, a winning season could mean contention in September.

And what else can you ask for in September than meaningful games. So be optimistic this Christmas morning, Padres fan. You may not have the sexiest team, but you do have reason to look forward to 2011.

Go ahead and have images of National League West titles dancing in your head.

I'm really looking forward to playing with Adrian Gonzalez. Wait, what did you say?

This picture was taken at the exact moment that someone informed Orlando Hudson that he signed a contract with a rebuilding team.

Don't worry O-Dog. Play well in 2011 and you'll be traded to a contender by August 1.

I am thrilled about Adrian Gonzalez but...

One element of it is sad and one element worries me.

Of course the greedy Red Sox fan in me couldn't care less about the Padres. But the baseball man in me wonders why the Padres, with a staggeringly low payroll and revenue sharing, couldn't sign Adrian Gonzalez to a 5 year extension.

A great hitter and San Diego native could have been the face of the franchise like Joe Mauer is to the Twins. A 5 year extension would have him as a 10 year Padre and no doubt join the retired numbers in Petco Park.

And they could have had an extra $20 to resign him this summer if they accepted my money.

So Red Sox fans, have your guard up. The "Red Sox are just as bad as the Yankees" rhetoric is coming back.

Just accept it, say "Yeah, hate my team. I don't care" and enjoy the show.

Almost exactly a year ago, I lamented that the Red Sox had no offensive identity anymore and they needed that left-right combo that sparked their best teams:

Carl Yastrzemski and Tony Conigliaro
Fred Lynn and Jim Rice.
Wade Boggs and Jim Rice.
Mike Greenwell and Ellis Burks.
Mo Vaughn and Nomar Garciaparra.
David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez.

Maybe Gonzalez and Youk can be that 1-2 combo.

But I am a little bit concerned about one thing:
The Red Sox didn't have to deal Ryan Kalish, Jose Iglesias, Daniel Bard or Jacoby Ellsbury to land a potential MVP candidate.

"Why does this worry you, Sully?" You might be asking. "This means the Red Sox could have fleeced them... or at worst dealt away players who wouldn't be a factor in 2011."

Call me a worrywart... but doesn't that raise a red flag?

That the Padres would settle for players who could very well turn out to be good but not big league ready?

Combine that with Gonzalez coming off of shoulder surgery, I hope the Padres don't know something that we don't know.

Either way, welcome to Boston. I am rooting big time for Gonzalez and I hope like hell the "Red Sox are the new Evil Empire" articles keep coming all the way through October.

You are going to love Fenway. The stands are actually FULL during a pennant race.