It Could be a Fun Season Padre Fans

I'm going to start this article out like this, I'm tired of the media. I watched the Padres season preview that's on their official website and one of the guys on their had this to say, "after Adrian Gonzalez, there's no other power threat for pitchers to be afraid of." I guess he didn't see Kevin Kouzmanoff's 23 HR's last season, maybe he just saw a name and didn't bother doing his research.

Another name to throw out there is Jody Gerut. In just 100 games played, he hits 14 HR's, drives in 43 and hits almost .300 (.296), although he will be the team's leadoff hitter, he is still a definite power threat.

Another quote from the same guy, "There's no offensive threat after Adrian Gonzalez, after him, it's just a big dropoff." Again, another mis-step. Kouzmanoff and 2nd baseman David Eckstein have both hit over .400 this spring, Chase Headley has seen a huge improvement both offensively and defensively. What about Brian Giles? Did he just happen to miss that name? Giles was the team's leadoff hitter, but will now hit 3rd in front of Adrian Gonzalez and Kevin Kouzmanoff. Giles hit .306 with 12 HR's and 63 RBI's with a .398 On Base Percentage.

A lot of the media out there will never look at stats when it comes to the San Diego Padres. They think they know everything about the team, so they'll run a little video, pick the team to finish last and think they are absolutely brilliant.

Maybe the team will finish last, but if you're asking me, and I've actually done my research, the Padres are going to surprise a lot of people this year. They're better offensively than they have been in years past, their bullpen will be stronger and if Chris Young and Jake Peavy can stay healthy, they could lead their team to at least 75-85 wins.