Estes roughed up, Padres rally not enough against KC

Left-hander Shawn Estes was looking forward to facing live hitters for the first time since 2006 and to be doing it in a Padres uniform.

Estes might have been a little too excited. The Padres' left-hander lasted only 2/3 of an inning, giving up 6 earned runs on 4 hits to go with 2 walks, though the defense behind him botching 2 potential double plays didn't help matters as the Padres lost the first game of spring training 13-9 against the Kansas City Royals of the AL Central.

Offensively, there were some bright spots. Jim Edmonds just missed a HR in the first inning and had an RBI double in the 3rd. Young prospects Will Venable and Matt Antonelli both connected on HR's for the Padres. Rule 5 pick Callix Crabbe also had himself a double and reached base twice. Edgar Gonzalez, older brother to Padres's 1st baseman Adrian Gonzalez, had himself a good day at the plate, going 2-for-2 with a walk and 2 RBI's

On Saturday, the Padres will face the Seattle Mariners at the Peoria Sports Complex. The start will go to left-hander Randy Wolf, who will be followed by right-hander Justin Germano who is scheduled for 2 innings.

McAnulty deserves a chance

I know, I know, a lot of you are going to see the title and say "what is this guy thinking," but you're going to read it anyways aren't you?

I watched a lot of highlights and spoke to a lot of people who attended spring training last year and I kept hearing them say "I'm impressed with Paul McAnulty." I'd see a highlight of him running down a ball in the outfield, making an over the shoulder catch and really hitting the ball well. My first thought was, "he's going to force the Padres hand on this one." Well, he did, but not the way I had hoped.

PMac started the year in San Diego, but never got any regular playing time and only a few pinch hit appearances, a role he struggled to get used to. He was sent to Portland not long after, and that's where he remained for most of the season. Am I a big PMac fan? Absolutely. Does this make me biased? Maybe. I just think he earned a shot to show the Padres that he can be an every day guy.

A good friend of mine, and fellow Padre fan, Todd and I had a discussion about PMac earlier today, and I know he's going to shake his head at this article, but he disagreed with me that Mac was an every day player. He says Sledge outplayed Mac, and we all know how that experiment turned out. Not only did Sledge do absolutely NOTHING, but after having a hot first month, Jose Cruz Jr. didn't help matters much either. So, why not being Mac back up and give him the shot he earned during spring training?

I've come to the realization that Mac is probably more suited to the American League, especially with the DH, but I'll still be one of those fans that thinks he picked the short straw and, subsequently, got the short end of the deal. I'm hoping Mac will do the exact same thing that Jack Cust did after he was traded to Oakland, hit the cover off the ball. Cust was another one of those guys I wanted to see get a shot with the Padres, but I kept hearing that he was an inept outfielder. So, the Padres traded him to Oakland and Cust starting hitting HR's left and right, to the tune of 26 in 350+ at bats...not to shabby if you ask me.

So, if this is the last few days that we see Mac in a Padres uniform, I wish him nothing but the best to whatever team he moves on to. But, I hope, and I know I'm grasping at straws here, but if he hits the cover off the ball and plays great defense, I hope the Padres give him one more shot to prove himself.

Lee "Hacksaw" Hamilton of Xtra Sports 1360 AM

Lee "Hacksaw" Hamilton, a guy a lot of Southern California sports fans have come to know, some of them love him others do not, but he was nice enough to stop by and answer a few questions on the Padres.


Padres Blog: How much credit do you give Greg Maddux to the success of Jake Peavy in 2007?

Hacksaw: Peavy is passionate about his approach to pitching. I think pitching coach Darren Balsley has had a bigger impact on him in terms of mental approach to pitching.


Padres Blog: Kevin Kouzmanoff showed why he was so highly thought of in Cleveland. How good will his sophomore season with the Padres be?

Hacksaw: The Padres patience paid off. They worked with Kouzmanoff on going the other way with pitches. After dropping as low as .111, he hit over 300 the last three months of the season and grew into a patient hitter. The bigger surprise was his mobility at defense was better than anyone thought.


Padres Blog: Assuming Mark Prior will be 100% when he makes his Padres debut. How much stronger does he make the Padres rotation?

Hacksaw: Prior could be the wildcard for Padres if he can get back by June. They will be paitient in building up his arm strength. The Padres are saying he'll have five minor league rehab starts if there are no setbacks but it takes time. Look for Shawn Estes to be back before Prior. Prior is (42-29) in his career and he's still young enough to get healthy and contribute.

Spring Training Notes: Tony Clark

Tony Clark, an addition that could turn out to be one of the most underrated moves this offseason, talked about being able to play for the Padres and on the NL West.


On playing for the Padres: "I'm looking forward to it. I grew up at Jack Murphy Stadium and had an opportunity to watch the Dave Winfield's, the Tony Gwynn's and Gene Richards of the world. Although I wasn't close to the field, I always wondered what it would be like to be on the same field with them. Now, having an opportunity to wear my hometown uniform and being able to be on the field at Petco Park, it's something me and my family are excited about."

On the NL West: "I know every year when I was in Arizona, we started the season expecting the season to come down to the last few weeks because all the teams were fairly well lined up. I don't expect this year to be any different, the team that can play the most consistant baseball, down the stretch especially, is going to seperate themselves and I don't see any reason why we shouldn't have an opportunity to be the last team standing when it's all said and done."

On his pinch hitting role with the team: "There's a lot of behind the scenes work that goes in to my job, whether it be in the video room, whether it be additional work in the cages or on the field. All in preperation for that one at bat, that one pitch late in the ball game, in hopes of taking the one swing that makes the difference. Each day is a little bit different, preperation is usually the same especially with respect to a team in a 3 or 4-game series when you have a history off some of those guys coming out of the bullpen. A lot of work, I find the less at bats you get, the more work you have to put in to try and be prepared for that one opportunity to make a contribution."

On how he handles a pinch hit in a big role: "You control the controllables. I can't control where the ball is going to go or if it's going to fall in. What I can control, what I just talked about, is my preperation prior to the at bat. So that when I get in the box, I have a game plan, and it's simply a matter of trying to execute that game plan to the best of my ability in hopes that he doesn't execute his as well as I execute mine. You can't control the outcome, but the preperation prior to the at bat is going to give you the opportunity to be successful in those situations."

Gabe Gross could be in Padres' plan

According to Ken Rosenthal, the Padres are still looking for more left field options, but their talks with the Cubs for Matt Murton fizzled out because the Cubs are wanting major league help in return.

That being said, another name that has popped up as a possibility is Brewers' outfielder Gabe Gross who is also getting interest from the A's and Indians.

As of right now, the Padres have Scott Hairston, Chase Headley, Jody Gerut and Jeff DaVanon vying for the LF opening. I'd imagine that Hairston is the odds on favorite to be the opening day starter, but don't count out Jody Gerut.

Padre fans still want the "big bat"

I listen to the sports talk shows out of San Diego, I listen to Padre fans call in and express their opinion on their team but the one thing I keep hearing that noone has been able to explain is the "we need a big bat in the lineup."

Every time I hear a fan call in and say "why can't we get a big bat," but I've yet to hear one name thrown out that the this team would legitimately be able to acquire. Then another question comes to mind, what's wrong with the bats this team already has?

• Kevin Kouzmanoff .275 BA 18 HR's 74 RBI's...not good enough, ok let's try another name.
• Khalil Greene .254 BA 27 HR's 97 RBI's...still not, hmm..ok, one more
• Adrian Gonzalez .282 BA 30 HR's 100 RBI's

What exactly are you looking for Padre fans? Alex Rodriguez? If you want him, are you prepared to pay him $200M? Adam Dunn? Are you prepared for 160 - 180 strikeouts?

This organization has a plan they put in place when CEO Sandy Alderson came on board, they've followed that plan to the T and they're just starting to reap the benefits with guys like Chase Headley, Matt Antonelli and Wade LeBlanc. This team is going to be a team to be reckoned with in 2008, they have a pitching staff and bullpen that could be the strongest in the National League.

Be patient. I'm going to go out on a limb on this one but it's something I truly believe. In 5 years, the Padres and their fans will have celebrated a World Series title, the first in the team's history. When you ask? If you want me to throw out a year, how about 2010. So, please, if you want to come with the "we need a big bat" argument, be prepared with a name and what it's going to take for San Diego to land him, or just let this team ride with what they got.

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