A snakebitten club short on depth and dough is staggered by the loss of its two stars

By Phil Taylor

While his team hits the skids, Klesko, fresh off a .300 season, continues to thrive. David E. Klutho ENEMY LINES An opposing team's scout sizes up the Padres "This season could be a disaster. Not many clubs respond well after losing their closer and cleanup hitter, especially if they weren't contenders to begin with. ... Sean Burroughs has been a big disappointment. The Padres penciled him in at third, and he's playing tight. I'm not convinced that there's power in his swing. I don't believe all the hype. ... Ryan Klesko is an offensive force and a legitimate middle-of-the-order bat. He'll have to carry a lot of people on his back. ... They didn't hurt themselves with the Rondell White deal. He and Bubba Trammell are comparable offensively, and White is a slight upgrade defensively. Playing next to White, though, Mark Kotsay is still going to have to bring his A game. ... The strength of the club is starting pitching. They have some very good young arms. Brian Lawrence knows how to pitch, but Oliver Perez may have the most upside of all these guys. They're talking about using him as a closer, but I think they need to see how he does as a starter first. He'll go right at you. The problem is that he tends to overthrow. ... Jaret Wright is a guy with a power arm who should close, but he just can't maintain his mechanics." IN FACT The Padres set a major league record by using 37 pitchers last season, eclipsing the mark of 32 held by the 2000 Indians.

Rain swept through Peoria, Ariz., on a cool March morning, delaying the Padres' workout. But the holdup would be brief, for there was sun on the horizon in every direction, making it seem as if the rain were falling only on the ball club.

That's a familiar feeling for San Diego. Spring training may be a time of renewed optimism for most teams, but not for the Padres -- not after back-to-back disheartening camps. In February 2002 outfielder Mike Darr was killed in a one-car accident, only three weeks after lefthanded reliever Rob Ramsay had undergone surgery to remove a brain tumor. Ramsay, 29, who missed all of last season and is still undergoing chemotherapy, gave the team a lift by making two relief appearances this spring, but a dark cloud still hovers over the club. Though less tragic, the events of 2003 have been even more devastating to San Diego's season outlook.

Closer Trevor Hoffman, who averaged 42 saves over the last seven seasons, underwent surgery on Feb. 28 to repair his right shoulder; he won't return until the All-Star break, at the earliest. The Padres were still reeling from that blow when, seven days later, leftfielder Phil Nevin, the converted third baseman who averaged 32 home runs from 1999 through 2001, dislocated his left shoulder diving for a fly ball in an exhibition game; he is expected to miss the season. "When we put him [in leftfield], we figured it would be better for him," says manager Bruce Bochy, "because he wouldn't be doing the kind of diving he did at third base."

With owner John Moores claiming losses totaling $100 million since he bought the team in 1994, including $10 million last season, the Padres are reluctant to add to their $43 million payroll, one third of which is going to Hoffman ($9 million) and Nevin ($4.5 million). In Hoffman's place Bochy has turned to 27-year-old Brandon Villafuerte, who has one career save in 40 relief appearances.

Without Nevin, first baseman Ryan Klesko and centerfielder Mark Kotsay are the two most dangerous hitters in a lineup that was 14th in the NL in batting (.253) and runs (662). But they won't see many good pitches to hit unless leftfielder Rondell White, who was acquired from the Yankees on March 19 in a trade that sent outfielder Bubba Trammell and minor league pitcher Mark Phillips to New York, and third baseman Sean Burroughs rebound from disappointing seasons. After batting over .300 in each of the four previous seasons, White slumped to a career-low .240 in 2002. The Padres shifted Klesko and Nevin to new positions last year to make room in the lineup for the highly regarded Burroughs, but injuries and a 5-for-51 slump sent him back to Triple A. Though he hit .377 after being recalled last September, Burroughs showed a disturbing lack of power for a corner infielder. (He has homered only once in 192 big league at bats.) Still, the team has great expectations for him. "The kid's probably got one of the best knacks for taking the pitch deep into the zone, then putting it in play," says Klesko. "He's like Tony Gwynn that way."

The starting rotation features several promising arms, including 26-year-old sinkerballer Brian Lawrence, 25-year-old Adam Eaton and a pair of hard-throwing 21-year-olds, Oliver Perez and Jake Peavy. But even if the youngsters come through, much of their work could be undermined by a patchwork bullpen and a shaky defense. Kotsay covers a lot of ground in center, but the Padres are lacking at the corner outfield positions, which will be manned by the weak-armed White and rookie Xavier Nady, a former infielder who has struggled with shoulder problems.

"We've had some things go wrong for us physically, but we can still be competitive with the players we have," Bochy says. "I'm just as optimistic about our chances as I am every spring." Sounds as if hope springs eternal even for the Padres, but what they need is a lot of luck.

Issue date: March 31, 2003