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San Diego Padres
If the San Diego Padres ever get that new stadium of theirs -- it's scheduled, and we say scheduled, to open in 2004 -- this will be a franchise that will have to beat the talent away with a bat. Really, who wouldn't want to play in a new open-air park in one of the nation's nicest cities for a well-respected manager and a team that, supposedly, will be able to at least pay market price? Until that happens, though, the Padres will scuff along near the bottom of the National League West -- much as they did last year in going 79-83 -- with enough talent to stay respectable but probably not enough to get them into the playoffs. The Padres have some decent, even good, players on their roster. Phil Nevin hit .306 last year with 41 home runs and 126 RBIs. Ryan Klesko hit .286 with 30 dingers and 113 RBIs. Bubba Trammell (.261, 25, 92) returns, too, though he'll probably fight to keep a job in left. The pitching staff doesn't feature any Cy Young candidates, but they have plenty of guys who will take the ball and, with enough help, win a few games. Kevin Jarvis (12-11 in 32 starts with a 4.79 ERA), Bobby Jones (a horrible 8-19 last season with a 5.12 ERA, so he'll be better), Brian Lawrence (5-5, 3.23 in 15 starts) and Brett Tomko (3-1 in four starts last season with Seattle) all are in the plans. Every one of those guys is made better because Trevor Hoffman is around. Hoffman has had at least 37 saves for six straight seasons (he had 43 last year) and never has been on the disabled list. The problem with the Padres is they are still iffy in too many places -- shortstop, second base, catcher (they traded Ben Davis in the trade with Seattle that brought in Tomko), the bench. They could use one or two more respectable hitters. And, certainly, they could use some better starting pitching, especially in a division where guys like Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling and Kevin Brown can shut down a team in a heartbeat. The Padres could manage to stay around .500 this year, or even a little better, with good years from their starters and typical years from guys like Klesko, Nevin and Hoffman. But it probably won't be much better than .500. Just wait 'til 2004, though. Or whenever. Up for grabs: There are a few positional switches in the making, many of them forced by young Sean Burroughs becoming a full-time third baseman. If that happens, as expected, third baseman Nevin will head across the diamond to first and first baseman Klesko will back up into right field, where the now-retired Tony Gwynn once patrolled. Mark Kotsay's about the only guy who can play center. (The Padres' starting center fielder on Opening Day last year, Mike Darr, was killed in a car accident Feb. 15.) The biggest positional tilt will be in left, where Trammell and veteran Ray Lankford (.288 in 40 games last year after coming over from St. Louis) will fight for playing time. Young catcher Wiki Gonzalez and old guy Tom Lampkin (acquired from Seattle) also will scrap for time behind the plate. Spring chicken: Everyone talks about Burroughs, the 21-year-old who hit .322 with nine homers and 55 RBIs in 104 games at Class AAA last year. But look out for 25-year-old shortstop Ramon Vazquez, too, who came over in that big Mariners trade that included Tomko for catcher Davis. Vazquez hit .300 last season with Seattle's Class AAA Tacoma team with 10 homers, 28 doubles and 79 RBIs in 127 games. Right-hander Dennis Tankersley, 10-4 with a 1.98 in 25 starts in the minors last year, could make some noise, too.
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