Introducing… the 2010 San Diego Padres (Part 1)

Spring training has come to an end which means 2010 regular season is quickly approaching. I had a great opportunity to take a good look at the players we have during spring training. Veteran players are no problem and young players impressed me very much. I had so much fun listening and watching the Padres play. This entry will be about my hopes for each Padres and a much better season. 

1. Young players: non-pitchers

What more I can say? These guys are tough. So the other teams better not underestimate these guys.

Everth Cabrera

He has a great arm, can handle the ball extremely well and nail almost every defensive plays I can think of. He reminds me of 2004-2007 Khalil Greene. As we all know, Khalil is still struggling in the majors and I hope this will not happen to Everth. When Everth came to the majors, I immediately thought he was going to be a huge impact for the Padres. He is the guy who only played single-A baseball. No double-A. No triple-A. To come to the majors by playing single-A ball is absolutely incredible. He is still young but grew so much when he became the starting shortstop and did not miss a single start ever since the day he came back from DL in 2009. I always have high hopes from him because he is extremely talented. 2010 season should be not be a problem for Everth.

 

 

Kyle Blanks

If I am the opposing pitcher, I better watch out when Kyle Blanks comes up to bat. Like Everth, I was happy to hear when Kyle made his major league debut last year. The defensive plays he make are eye-popping wheter he is playing at first base or outfield. Power is the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of him. That power lead him to hit inside the part homerun last year against the Cubs. He is so much fun to watch. He did miss couple of weeks because he was injured and it was last month of the season. I want him to stay healthy throughout the season and hope to see the same Kyle Blanks on the field and on the plate; Power and energy.

 

   

Will Venable

When I think of Will, defense comes to my mind first. Yes, he can hit well but I personally think Will looks stronger when he plays at the outfield. I like him a lot. He made his major league debut in 2008 and I saw promise of his bright future as time progressed. He may look like a soft-spoken player but he does not back down from anyone in the majors. I repeat. Anyone. For example, on August 23rd, 2009, Will and Albert Pujols had some sort of fight. I was thinking to myself, ”WOW. Will? And Albert Pujols?!” As we all know, Albert Pujols is like the king of Major League Baseball right now. I was shocked when Will did not back down from Pujols. This was great for Will because he did not make an excuse of being young but rather stepped up his game. I had to give two thumbs up to Will for the extreme courage. He is fun to watch and I hope to see him grow as well in 2010 and so on.

 

2. Not-so-young-players-but-young-in-a-way-players: non-pitchers

I don’t think that makes sense but I continue.

        

Chase Headley

His natural position is third base. When he made his major league debut during the 2007 season, he was called up because Kevin Kouzmanoff, unfortunately now a former Padre, was injured. His playing time at third base got short as the season rolled on because Kouz was already locked in at third. So he had to shift his position to outfield and did a great job. Now that Kouz is not with the Padres anymore, he is moved back to his natural position and it is finally time for him to shine. I hope he does well in 2010 and so on now that he is at where he started.

 

 

Tony Gwynn Jr.

2010 will be his first year starting the season off with the Padres. When he came to San Diego from Milwaukee, I was screaming in joy. As the son of Mr. Padre, Tony Gwynn Sr., I was glad to hear that Tony Jr. joined us. I forgived him when he forced the Padres to unable to clinch in 2007. Besided that terrible memory, he is an overall a great player. He can run extremely well, which is a good thing since San Diego Padres is not well known as speedy. Speed can actually win games by base stealing and forcing the runner to be at scoring position. I hope to see Tony a lot throughout the season with the mixture of talented outfielders.

 

3. Veteran players: non-pitchers

These guys know and have the ability to help out the young players we have. The leadership skills from the veterans will surprise many teams.

 

David Eckstein

I just know that he will continue to deliver what he has in 2010. His leadership skill is excellent for the young players and I can always depend on him when the Padres are slumping. The former World Series MVP is a great players to have in the young team. Extending him was a great move and he deserves to be the everyday starter at second base. When he was injured last season, the Padres were slumping and Eck could not help the team. His absence sunk the club and I hope this will not happen in 2010 season. I want him to stay healthy throughout the season and continue to do his job very well. With the word “grit” all over his face, I’m sure he can handle the bat by moving the runners over to scoring position and driving them in.

 

  

Adrian Gonzalez

According to my book, he is now one of the veterans for the Padres. He won two Gold Gloves and he represents San Diego by playing for his home team while helping out the city as well. There is still a trade talk about Adrian and I do not want to see him go. The young kids growing up in San Diego playing baseball who are looking up to Adrian will be devastating. As for the Padres, he is a key towards winning games because of his power at the plate and strong defensive plays at first base. Without him, this team will look shaky and I hope this will not happen in 2010. First step for the Padres is keeping Adrian.

 

 

Scott and Jerry Hairston

Did I mentioned that they are cute? Anyways, Both Hairstons experienced in the majors for a long time and it’s an honor having them together in a team that is rebuilding. It’s great to have Scotty back from Oakland because I missed him so much when he left in middle of 2009 season. Jerry recently won the World Series with the Yankees and it’s fun to have former World Series winners with the team that needs a bit of help. I like both of them a lot and it’s going to be very exciting to see them play together. Their offense is great because they can hit bunch of homeruns that’s going to make the fans stand on their feet and cheer on the Padres really loudly. I want to see that a lot throughout the season.

 

4. Catchers

I already wrote about them. You can check out the entry here.

 

So that will do for part 1. Tune in for part 2!