Competing in 2013

The Padres spent Sunday spending $27 million. I'm still in pajamas and it's 2pm. So you could say our days have been a bit different. But I digress.

The Padres signed local boy Carlos Quentin to a 3 year, $27 million contract, ending all conversations about whether (and for what) he would be traded. He won't be. He is here to stay.

But this isn't a conversation about the merits of that deal. For the most part I like it, though the no-trade clause is always dangerous. But time will tell whether this was a smart move.

No, today I'm more interested in what this means about the organizations expectations for the immediate future. A signing like this would seem to indicate that the rebuilding process is in its final leg. That the team is planning to be competitive, perhaps as soon as 2013. So, let's look at that.

For one, 2012 has provided little in the way of a barometer regarding the Padres pitching staff. The current staff is a hodgepodge of players who happened to be available and answered their phone. For example, currently I'm watching Ross Ohlendorf pitch, a player who started 2012 in Pawtucket. Kip Wells, Jason Marquis. To paraphrase a sage mentor "these are not the starting pitchers you are looking for."

By now the Padres injury struggles are well documented. Needless to say, the post-Latos trade projected starting 5 of Volquez, Luebke, Stauffer, Richard and Moseley/Bass spent precious little time on the field.

Then there's the middle infield. I hate to do this to you and I'll make it fast but, we started this year with the Hudson/Barlett tandem. A distant memory now, it took awhile to rectify this situation because, you guessed it, injury. Forsythe and Cabrera were injured, Amarista was an Angel. The times were different.

But not anymore. Hudson is gone. Bartlett is going to be gone. Hundley's struggles (and now injury) are in Tucson. The lion share of the Latos trade is on the field in San Diego. The team is drastically different then it was to start the year. Hell, it's different from where this team was on Memorial Day.

Yes the team is playing better. Yes the competition has been weaker. But keep in mind, this is a team that got swept from the Cubs so beating even weak teams is progress.

Can they compete in 2013? Here's what their lineup by mid-June should look like. This obviously takes the optimistic view that they will not suffer as many injuries next year as this.

C Yasmani Grandal
1B Yonder Alonso
2B Forsythe/Amarista
SS Cabrera/Amarista
3B Headley or Gyorko
LF Quentin
CF Maybin
RF Venable/Denofia

SP Luebke
SP Stauffer
SP Cashner
SP Richard
SP Bass or whoever 2013's Volquez/Harang type person is

Closer: No idea

Now, let's look at the NL West. Currently the Giants lead the West with a 53-42 record despite being 11th in Runs Scored in the NL. (The Dodgers are 13th in that category BTW). It doesn't take a ton of firepower to win the West. It does take pitching.

So, can this team compete in 2013? I imagine that depends on how you define "competing?" I define it as playing important baseball games in September. Can the team above stay in the race in the West in 2013? I think they've shown in the past 3 weeks that they can. It's a young team, but, thanks to injuries in 2012, many of the young pieces are getting MLB experience ahead of schedule. That can only help moving forward.

It's for that reason that I like the Quentin signing. The team believes they are close. The product on the field is better. And the NL West is not top-heavy. You don't extend Quentin when you are rebuilding.

It appears that rebuilding process is now near its end.

If the Padres Win and I Don't See It, Did It Happen?

MLB as an organization can sometimes do the most frustrating things. For some reason, they seem dead set on ensuring that they never create any new fans. They have accomplished this goal in a variety of ways: putting a stranglehold on their footage which makes it nearly impossible to find clips of classic games (try to YouTube Joe Carter's World Series Winning HR and see if you can find a clip that wasn't just recorded by someone off their own TV); utilizing an insane blackout policy that, most notably, blacks out games for 6 teams in Las Vegas, which is home to a grand total of 0; and consistently dropping the ball on Opening Day.

Opening Day is fantastic and every baseball fan in America looks forward to it with the same zeal and excitement of Christmas. In previous years, MLB has started the "Opening Night" which I believed to be the previous years World Series champion in a one game showcase for the sport followed by Opening Day for everyone else (though, if memory serves, I think the Nationals had this honor once when their new stadium opened). Not a bad idea. Stealing a page from the NFL, MLB had created "an event" to bring people in.

So, one would assume the Giants would be playing in "Opening Night" this year, no? Wrong. Yes, the Giants did play a night game and yes it was on Opening Day, but it was at the end of a day full of games in the middle of the week. The first slate of MLB games for the 2011 season took place while most of America was at work. Nothing creates new fans like showcasing your sport at a time that no one can watch it. Brilliant.

To that end, the Padres opened their 2011 campaign in St. Louis at a 1:00pm start here on the West Coast. No chance to watch this while at work, so I set my DVR to record the nationally televised game on ESPN. Even tacked on an extra hour, a veteran move for anyone trying to record live sports (won't tell you how many last second drives, overtimes or 9th innings I've missed by not doing this).

Full disclosure: I live in Riverside, CA; outside the San Diego television market and outside the blackout radius for the San Diego Padres per MLB. Since moving up here more than a year ago, I have seen the Padres on MLB Network, Fox and ESPN without an issue.

Except for Opening Day. After watching the final inning of the Tigers vs Yankees game, I settled in for Tim Stauffer and the new look Padres. What I got was ESPNNews. 4 hours of ESPNNews.

I was less than pleasant to be around at this point.

After some cursing and venting via Twitter, I had to face reality. I wasn't going to be able to see the game. Therefore, might as well left the "information embargo" I had begun since 1:00pm and find out who won.

What I saw was stories of the Cameron Maybin Show. Diving catches, a game tying, down to their last out, HR in the 9th and an overall display of the potential that made him worth the relievers it cost to get him. It was a thrilling game and was reminiscent of so many of the 90 wins from 2010.

The Padres opened the 2011 campaign by winning in dramatic fashion against a team and in a city where they notoriously struggle.

Or so I'm told. Since I couldn't see it. Congratulations MLB.tv, you just got yourself a new customer.