One team that will be happy to put last season behind them will be the San Diego Padres. They had it pretty rough last year and 2010 brings a lot of hope and optimism with it. This is their chance to show off some young talent and hopefully give the mainstays a run for their money. Some old favorites have left, but some of these young players are now looking to make a name for themselves.
This is not to say that San Diego is going to run away with the division; that is hardly the case. What we are saying is that with many of the losses that teams have seen and the gains that some of the bottom tier teams from last season are seeing, a team like San Diego can be in the picture if they play up to their potential all season long.
If any team is going to win, they have to have talent in the starting rotation. Chris Young is going to be looked at hard this year and if he reaches his potential, he will be the driving force behind the turnaround of the Padres. He seems to have a thing for even numbered years, so let's hope that trend continues.
Heath Bell is the one arm that the Padres know will stand up to any team. He converted close to 90% of his saves last season and will be expected to do the same this year. The team will need to get to him even more this season if they are going to be competitive. To do this, they will have to produce offensively.
San Diego needs to get players across the plate and to do that this combination of veterans and young talent is going to have produce in every aspect. Adrian Gonzalez is their big slugger, but players like Eckstein and Hairston need to show these young guys how it is done. If they can lead and the youngsters heed their advice, who knows what can happen.
The season does not start off easy for San Diego, but they need to look at this as an opportunity to make a statement that this is not the same old Padres. If they take that approach, they could very well have some success and set the stage to have a great year. It is a lot of ifs, but momentum is strange thing and they would not be the first team to go from the basement to the playoffs.
Every season starts off 0-0 and it is up to the players to take the bull by the horns and make the most of their opportunity to be professional baseball players. After having a season like last year, you can only hope that the taste that was left in the mouths of these players was enough to create the driving force to get fans back in the seats and get some wins up on the scoreboard. - 31492
This is not to say that San Diego is going to run away with the division; that is hardly the case. What we are saying is that with many of the losses that teams have seen and the gains that some of the bottom tier teams from last season are seeing, a team like San Diego can be in the picture if they play up to their potential all season long.
If any team is going to win, they have to have talent in the starting rotation. Chris Young is going to be looked at hard this year and if he reaches his potential, he will be the driving force behind the turnaround of the Padres. He seems to have a thing for even numbered years, so let's hope that trend continues.
Heath Bell is the one arm that the Padres know will stand up to any team. He converted close to 90% of his saves last season and will be expected to do the same this year. The team will need to get to him even more this season if they are going to be competitive. To do this, they will have to produce offensively.
San Diego needs to get players across the plate and to do that this combination of veterans and young talent is going to have produce in every aspect. Adrian Gonzalez is their big slugger, but players like Eckstein and Hairston need to show these young guys how it is done. If they can lead and the youngsters heed their advice, who knows what can happen.
The season does not start off easy for San Diego, but they need to look at this as an opportunity to make a statement that this is not the same old Padres. If they take that approach, they could very well have some success and set the stage to have a great year. It is a lot of ifs, but momentum is strange thing and they would not be the first team to go from the basement to the playoffs.
Every season starts off 0-0 and it is up to the players to take the bull by the horns and make the most of their opportunity to be professional baseball players. After having a season like last year, you can only hope that the taste that was left in the mouths of these players was enough to create the driving force to get fans back in the seats and get some wins up on the scoreboard. - 31492
About the Author:
By Jake Kohler, sponsored by TicketSeating.com. TicketSeating.com sells San Diego Padres Tickets, MLB Tickets, Sports Tickets and many more tickets to your favorite events around your area.
