Infield Musings

Barfield appears a lock.

Given Josh Barfield's tremendous spring performance thus far, it would appear that he is in the process of locking-up the second base job. It could be assumed that this development would render Mark Bellhorn superfluous, but that assumption would be incorrect.

With the NL West essentially up for grabs, it seems clear to me that our chances of taking the division crown would be improved mightily if Bellhorn were to supplant Vinny Castilla at third base. Bellhorn figures to post an OBP roughly .075 higher than Castilla, with similar power numbers.

Castilla's supposed defensive wizardry could not possibly close that gap. Brooks Robinson, in his prime, could not close that gap. Teams that have more batters reach base, score more runs. This is obvious to most people not named Bruce Bochy.

And yet, Bochy is an intelligent man, and I trust that he will not take long to recognize the offensive-cipher that Castilla will prove to be.

Klesko done

Or possibly not. I suspect Ryan is capable, still, of a .285/.380/.490 line, even playing half his games in Petco. If he can attain those numbers, the Padres will be tough to beat in the West.

If not, let the Adrian Gonzalez era begin. Or the Walter Young era. Or Tagg Bozied. Really, I'm not picky.

Khalil Greene blossoms?

Sort of. I expect large strides on the offensive side. Seventy extra-base hits are not out of the question, coupled with a leap in bases-on-balls, and a corresponding jump in OBP and slugging.
Think .275/.360/.510. Which is one hell of a line for a shortstop in Petco.

Richard: I'll be shocked if he slugs over .480. I expect something like .260/.330/.440. Maybe a little more average and a bit more power (.270/.340/.470 maybe), but no way he slugs over .500 or has an OBP over .350.

In short, this will be the year he becomes an offensive force, if he's ever going to. It needs to happen, because the apparent benefits of his defense at shortstop are going to disappear in about three years, and he'll be our third baseman.

Mike Piazza

Just hit a grand slam in his first spring training game as a Padre. Just sayin.'

Richard:

Chan Ho Park out of the pen?

He's looked good in relief pitching for Korea and I think that may be where he's most valuable for the Padres this year. His PECOTA Weighted Mean Average as a starter is a K/9 of 6.32, BB/9 of 4.42, HR/9 of 0.98 and ERA of 4.96. If adjusted to relief the numbers are 7.33, 4.81, 0.80 and 3.92. Not bad.