Dynamic Duo

In case you didn't know, I adore middle infield players. Just by watching shortstops and second basemen play always make me happy and I get very excited. Flipping double plays and diving to get the baseball drops my jaw and hanging them wide opened. This year's duo is shortstop Everth Cabrera and second baseman David Eckstein. I enjoyed watching them so much throughout the season and I even took notes. It was a mixture of the young and the experienced and they are the best ones I have seen so far.

When Everth was injured, I was incredibley disappointed to see him start the season off in the disabled list. He was and still is young and I wanted to see so much from him at shortstop. Utility man Luis Rodriguez did his job and he didn't disappoint me but didn't make me happy at the same time. Eventually, Everth came off the DL and didn't miss a single start ever since he came back. He obviously started off slow but proved to Padres fans and myself that he has a strong potential to play in the big leagues with confidence and skills. When "Khalil Greene days at shortstop" was over, I expected a younger, better player to replace him. The answer is simply a 22-year-old named Everth Cabrera. Everth may have very similar skills like Khalil but that doesn't mean he needs to play like Khalil. I enjoy watching this guy so much and I can see a bright light sprouting out from him in his days as a Padre.

As for second baseman, David Eckstein is the well-experienced, former World Series MVP, eight-year-vetran type of player. He obviously is the leader of this club and showed strong leadership skills to the young players. When he is not playing, the Padres seemed to fall apart and lost. That's how much we need this guy so much. He is not the type of guy who blasts 20 homeruns or gets 100 RBIs in a season but I can see his strong desire to play the very best every single game. That's what matters the most for me from a baseball player; a big potential and desire. This guy runs to first when he gets a walk. Being a baseball fan for little bit more than four years, he is the one and only player who sprints from getting a walk. Anyway, the Padres made a very smart move by signing him in January and extending him to 2010 in August. If they didn't make this move, the Padres are going to be lost for a very long time.  

Everth Cabrera+David Eckstein=all the Padres need at middle infield. It seems like a lofty equation but this move looks very appropriate. Eck is 34 and heading towards twilight of his career (I don't want to admit it that much) while Everth is 22 and still has many days to enjoy his time at the major leagues. David is a mentor to Everth and I love seeing this from a dynamic duo of middle infield. Next year should be more fun and exciting because they obviously proved that they can play solid basedball and work as a strong team.