1-Man’s Opinion Column-Tuesday “Going to Get Worse-Not Get Better”

Posted by on March 29th, 2016  •  1 Comment  • 

“Going to Get Worse-Not Getting Better”

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Hope you are enjoying your day today. You can’t enjoy breakfast when your baseball team has won just 8-of-29-games in the Cactus League.

Padres fans can’t. Padres ownership can’t. Padres pitchers can’t.

Here we are the final week of spring training, with opening day coming up next Monday against the Dodgers, and those are not mistaken numbers you see on your computer screen when you look at the Padres pitching staff…

So much for hope springs eternal in the spring. Maybe other places, but not in San Diego.

General Manager AJ Preller has put his team in line to have a catastrophic season, a 90-loss season, a season in which we are celebrating the All Star Game here in July.

There is no other way to describe the mess San Diego’s pitching staff has become. As they enter play today, the final couple of days over in Arizona, they have a team ERA that is nearly 7.00.

This after bringing in 32-pitchers to camp, hoping to fill spots in the rotation. This after two years of wheeling and dealing by the rogue General Manager. This after last summer’s terribly disappointing season.

Tyson Ross, the opening day starter, has been plagued by walks and home-runs and with one start left, has an ERA of (9.00). Can he gather it all in with opening day just around the corner? Sure, but we haven’t seen any signs of dominance yet.

James Shields, and his 21M-contract had a 6.19-ERA, not the kind of numbers an ace would put up. He dismisses the spring training stat as nothing more than getting ready. But somewhere along the line, you need to string together good starts. You cannot flip a switch opening day and say all is okay.

Andrew Cashner is headed to a contract year, coming off a (6-16) season, now followed with a near 5.00-ERA this month, though he has had more consistent outings than the other two.

Crafty lefty Robbie Erlin has had a good spring (2.25) ERA, but there is no resume of dominance from him in parts of two seasons in the majors.

Colin Rea is the only thing coming out of the farm system, and his starts (5.82) are alot like the others, getting banged around.

Drew Pomeranz, found lacking by Cleveland, Colorado and Oakland, got lit up yesterday and went to the showers with an (8.36-ERA).

Brandon Morrow and his courageous battles, diabetes, forearm, then shoulder surgery, is months away if he has no setbacks.

In the bullpen, Fernando Rodney is supposed to be the replacement for Craig Kimbrel, and time will tell. But the opening bell finds him with a (3.60-ERA).

Brandon Mauer gave up 15-runs in 7-innings as a starter, and is back in the pen, and will stabilize things. Maybe there is hope for some kids Ryan Bucther or Jon Edwards, but they are prospects-suspects, till they prove they can do it up here.

Kevin Quackenbush (3.86), Nick Vincent (6.14), Frank Garces (1.93), and Leonal Campos (5.86) round out a very shaky bullpen.

There was hope some plug-in guys could win jobs. Carlos Villanueva (7.27), Matt Thornton (12.00), Johnny Hellweg (6.87) have not impressed anyone.

Even the young arms, Luis Perdomo (14.63) and Josh Martin (11.25) aren’t ready for major league action after taking live fire hits in exhibition games. Blake Smith, another Rule 5-guy is gone, back to the White Sox.

Everyone else has been found lacking, has been sent out, or will be sent out this week.

PCL-Pitcher of the Year Carlos Pimental is back in AAA (62.00-ERA). Jose Domingez, the ex-Dodgers-Tampa Bay reliever is headed out (4.70). Journeymen Daniel McCutcheon (3.48) and Phil Humber (4:35) did not impress.

Gone is former closer Casey Janssen (5.14) who retired after just four weeks in camp. Dumped for a second year in a row is solid AAA-pitcher Clay Mazzoni, who has yet to show he can pitch up here.

Look across the street. You see Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers, Zack Greinke and the Diamondbacks, and a host of arms wearing Giants uniforms led by Madison Bumgarner.

And here in San Diego, 162-games about to be played, with this pitching staff. A long hot summer coming? Possibly.

If this turns out to be a disaster, then there should be some big time heat directed at Padres ownership, the Padres President, and this General Manager, who has delivered us this catastrophic pitching mess.

Enjoying your day. Don’t know if you will enjoy this Padres baseball season.

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One Response to “1-Man’s Opinion Column-Tuesday “Going to Get Worse-Not Get Better””

  1. Roger says:

    . . . .don’t forget Lee, AJ Preller would have not even gotten a 2nd interview if not for his outlandish ideas. He blew away the Padres brass with his outrageous, bombastic talk; otherwise would not have been considered AT ALL. Smart interviewing technique.
    NL West:
    1. Dodgers 2. Arizona 3. SF 4. Rockies. 5. PADRES

    I am serious then I say this: Padres 66 wins this season.

    Chargers: forget the process. Chargers will not put up with all the bull and will move to LA. Two-thirds approval by the populace(will not happen) and all the lawsuits. Forget it. Gone and Gone.

    THANKS

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