Padres more talented without Adrian?

[HollywoodLeo]

Jed Hoyer seems to share PFF's view of the talent level of this team.

Padres: More talented 1-25 without Gonzalez? - CBSSports.com

They were the feel-good hit of the summer of 2010, winning 90 games and waging a spirited pennant run until San Francisco finally eliminated them on the last day of the season.

Then they traded All-Star Adrian Gonzalez and ... they'll be better in 2011?

Hard to imagine that until we see where the San Diego runs will come from. And general manager Jed Hoyer isn't necessarily predicting it. But he won't be surprised if it happens.

"I think the idea that we were entering a fire sale period where we were not going to be competitive ... it was born of reaction from the Adrian deal and the uncertainty after that," Hoyer said during a recent conference call. "It is our intent to field a competitive team.
"We can't replace Adrian with one guy. ..."

Perhaps they won't be able to do that even with five key newcomers -- shortstop Jason Bartlett (acquired in a trade with Tampa Bay), free agent second baseman Orlando Hudson, center fielder Cameron Maybin (acquired in a trade with Florida), free agent Brad Hawpe (who will replace Gonzalez at first base) and veteran utilityman Jorge Cantu (the Padres also are taking a flier on starter Aaron Harang).

But, Hoyer said, "I think we are more talented one through 25 than we were a year ago. We have balance and depth."

One of the GM's goals was to improve up the middle, and the Padres think they did that with Maybin, Bartlett and Hudson.

They no longer have a big bopper in the middle of their lineup, so on-base percentage and smart execution will be a vital.

"This is the most humbling sport there is," Hoyer said. "We were fortunate to win 90 games last year. A lot of things went well for us.

"Four other teams in our division had good offseasons. ... It was an interesting offseason. We executed our plan well. At the same time, there's a lot of uncertainty. And a lot of good teams competing against us."

This is all a conspiracy to try and get my hopes up so they can be dashed again, but it won't work.

[padrefanforever]

I giant F/U banner is waving here.......bahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Of course he shares my line of thinking.....He knows baseball too It's not just about one player when so many other positions got better.....This wasn't tough, but you guys sure made it that way

[love_that_reefer]

The rotation isn't as deep or talented and there is no big threat in the line up. They do have a better middle infield but they got worse at catcher. Hoyer is working the spin machine like any GM would do after trading away the face of the franchise. Don't see how you guys thought you would hear any different. No way this team wins 90 games again.

[HollywoodLeo]

I still think it's a conspiracy.

[padrefanforever]

What I find funny is the idea that they need a "big threat" when the team that just won the WS didn't have a Big Threat anywhere in their lineup. , and the person bringing this up is a fan of theirs

The rotation is as solid if not moreso this year......

[love_that_reefer]

The Giants had a lot more thunder in that lineup than the Padres do (Huff hit two less HRs and .13 lower OPS) and no, the rotation is not as solid as last year's. I'll let the game on the field to do the talking.

[HollywoodLeo]

What I find funny is the idea that they need a "big threat" when the team that just won the WS didn't have a Big Threat anywhere in their lineup. , and the person bringing this up is a fan of theirs

The rotation is as solid if not moreso this year......

I don't think they need a "big threat" I just think they need to be able to score runs. I'm not sold on them being able to do that. (I don't think it's going to be as putrid as others think either, though)

[Kingdom]

Cameron Maybin! Jason Bartlett! Toni Kukoc! Brent Barry!

[HollywoodLeo]

The Giants had a lot more thunder in that lineup than the Padres do (Huff hit two less HRs and .13 lower OPS) and no, the rotation is not as solid as last year's. I'll let the game on the field to do the talking.

I disagree with you regarding the rotation so long as Latos doesn't suffer a workload related slump.

Might be a bit of a downgrade, but with Garland being the only real loss (Correia sucks) it's at least a push.

[love_that_reefer]

I got Latos, LeBlanc, Richard, Stauffer and Harang. Is that right? I expect Latos to regress just as I expect Bumgarner of the Giants to because of the workload.

[HollywoodLeo]

I did tack on that "if" caveat. They'll definitely have a downgrade if Latos regresses due to workload, and that is a real possibility.

[HollywoodLeo]

Sportsline.com lists the depth chart for starters as Latos, Harang, LeBlanc, Richard, Corey Luebke, and Dustin Mosley. They have Stauffer in the pen but I'm sure he'll fight for a spot along with Luebke and Mosley. Latos and Richard are the only real definites, LeBlanc and Harang probably own spots to lose, and the 5 spot is probably up for grabs.

[love_that_reefer]

Yeah I just don't see it being better than last year's. Harang would really have to turn things around.