2007 San Diego Padres Picks & Predictions
June 16, 2008
The San Diego Padres will only go as far as their arms will take them. Future hall of famer Greg Maddux joins the Padres’ rotation to try to give San Diego a third straight National League West title. My hunch is that the other teams in the division have caught up and that the Padres’ lack of offense will finally catch up with them this season.
Pitching got San Diego to the playoffs each of the last two seasons but it couldn’t carry the Pad’s past St. Louis either time. Chris Young and Jake Peavy are, perhaps, the best one-two punch in the National League. Greg Maddux joins San Diego’s two ace-quality pitchers and brings 15-win potential. Clay Hensley and Mike Thompson are unproven at best. They round out San Diego’s starting five and will probably have the Padres contemplating a four-man rotation all season long to skip one of their starts. The games best stopper, Trevor Hoffman, can still get it done in the ninth and that’s a big reason why San Diego took the division last year. His NL-best 46 saves should have won the NL Cy Young in my opinion, but relievers always get snubbed. You can chalk it up for the Padres when Hoffy gets the ball with a lead in the ninth, but his lack of chances due to a weak offense will keep him from eclipsing the 45-save mark again in 2007.
Here’s the offense in a nutshell. The Giles brothers (Marcus and Brian), Terrmel Sledge, Adrian Gonzalez, and Mike Cameron. Gonzalez is really the only one I expect great things from. I think he is the future star of this franchise. Last season’s 24 homeruns and 82 RBIs were just the tip of the ice berg. Sledge has been big shoes to fill in the lead off spot taking over for fan favorite Dave Roberts. The Giles brothers won’t put up big enough power numbers to give this team a boost. Mike Cameron and Adrian Gonzalez will be the offense for the Padres this year.
Of the player’s returning, San Diego only had two players hit more than 20 homeruns last season, and no one drover in more than 85. That shows you just how lackluster these boys have been at the plate. Pitching has enabled San Diego to compete in the mild west, but its lack of pop has gotten the Pads embarrassed in the postseason and has led to blaming Petco Park as being an unfriendly hitters’ park. The Dodgers will be the best team in SoCal in 2007 with San Franciso and Arizona also having shots to jump past the Pads.
San Diego should still be a solid team to back with Peavy, Young, and Maddux hurling, especially at home, but I definitely would not recommend being an everyday backer of the Padres. I’m usually not a big fan of playing totals, but I anticipate some great unders opportunities on the Padres this season. San Diego isn’t going to score many runs and their top three pitchers should keep them in most games. We’ll look for some spots to play some unders on San Diego this season, especially in its home park.
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