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2015 team preview: The San Diego Padres will be a lot more fun this year

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The Padres had a big offseason under new management, and should contend for a playoff spot in 2015.

You could be forgiven if you don't know any players that were on the 2014 San Diego Padres roster. For one, the Tigers and Padres only face off once every three seasons. Most Padres games start at 10:00 p.m. on the East coast, and finishing a game makes for a rough morning the next day. The Padres have also been rather forgettable lately, with one winning season in the past seven years.

Of course, it doesn't matter if you don't remember anyone that was on the Padres' roster last year. Odds are they won't be around in 2015.

The Padres hired A.J. Preller as their general manager on August 5th, shortly after they traded Huston Street, Chase Headley, and Chris Denorfia away at the trade deadline. Preller took a couple of months to get situated, then began using a burgeoning farm system to leverage several high-profile deals for impact talent. Case in point: Preller and the Padres introduced Justin Upton, Matt Kemp, Derek Norris, and Will Middlebrooks as the newest members of the team on the same day. Preller capped off his attempted coup d'état of the NL West by signing James Shields to a four year, $75 million deal in February. But will it be enough to move the needle in a top-heavy National League?

Manager: Bud Black (9th season)
2014 record: 77-85
SB Nation blog:Gaslamp Ball

Lineup

One thing Preller's sleepless December did was to completely retool a Padres outfield that produced just 3.9 fWAR last season. None of those players are gone (aside from Denorfia), but they have all been displaced. As the youngest and least-battered, Wil Myers will likely be the team's primary center fielder. He only played in 87 games last season due to a wrist injury, but wasn't particularly impressive at the plate before or after his stint on the disabled list. The good news: he's already used to playing his home games in extreme pitcher's parks. If Myers can't handle the spacious Petco Park outfield, Cameron Maybin is around and healthy (for the moment).

The most impressive aspect of A.J. Preller's "come at me, bro" offseason is that he was able to pull off a number of deals without trading top prospects Austin Hedges, Matt Wisler, or Hunter Renfroe.

Justin Upton and Matt Kemp will flank Myers, provided the 24-year-old can hold his own defensively. Kemp's long-term value is in question thanks to his rapidly diminishing athleticism, but he hit .309/.365/.606 with 17 home runs after the All-Star break last season. If that is what injury-free Kemp looks like, 2015 could be a big year. Upton has a reputation as a streaky hitter, but he quietly put up a .363 wOBA, 133 wRC+, and .221 ISO with a career-high 102 RBI in 2014. These numbers were actually better than his bounce-back season with the Braves in 2013. Abraham Almonte is still around from last season's Denorfia trade, and Will Venable is one (awful) year removed from a 20 home run, 20 steal season.

All of that outfield talent may not matter if the Padres' infield doesn't offer up some production in its wake. Second baseman Jedd Gyorko is the safest bet to bounce back in 2015, particularly considering he hit .260/.347/.398 in 222 plate appearances after an eight week stint on the disabled list for plantar fasciitis. The Padres need him to be the player that put up 2.5 WAR in 125 games during his rookie year in 2013, not the replacement level player he was last season. While Gyorko has a job, the other three positions are up for grabs. Clint Barmes and Alexi Amarista will compete for the shortstop job, Yangervis Solarte and Will Middlebrooks are battling at third base, and no one really knows who will play first base. Yonder Alonso will most likely be the guy, but the Padres are also experimenting with Carlos Quentin (and pretty much everyone else) over there. Gaslamp Ball is not happy.

Of the major trades Preller made this offseason, the one to acquire catcher Derek Norris might be my favorite. They had to give up a couple of young pitchers to do it, but Norris was an All-Star after putting up a monstrous .879 OPS in the first half last year. He fell off down the stretch as the inning started to take their toll -- he caught a career-high 114 games -- but is still 26 and has four years of club control remaining. At worst he's a solid backup who mashes left-handed pitching, and we saw his best throughout most of 2014. Norris should also help ease top prospect Austin Hedges into the big leagues, but the Padres are probably a year away from that. For now, veteran Tim Federowicz will give Norris a day off now and then.

Pitchers

Before we get to the rotation, here is a bullpen statistic that is going to make you cry. The Tigers had three relievers log at least 10 innings with an ERA below 3.60 last season. The Padres had eight. Five of them had ERAs in the twos -- all in 30 innings or more -- and three of those guys will be in the bullpen again this year. Leading the charge is closer Joaquin Benoit, who continued to give the "proven closer" theory the finger with a 1.49 ERA and 2.32 FIP in 54 1/3 innings. He had 16 holds as the team's setup man and saved 11 of 12 games after Huston Street was traded. Joining Benoit are returning teammates Kevin Quackenbush, Nick Vincent, Dale Thayer, and Alex Torres. Shawn Kelley and Brandon Maurer are offseason additions that should also contribute. They also signed Jose Valverde for kicks.

Whether or not Valverde makes the team (he won't), the Padres should give their bullpen plenty of leads to hold. We all know what James Shields did in 2014, and a move to the National League should only help curb the aging process. His strikeout and walk rates both dipped last year, but nearly everything else -- BABIP, FIP, ground ball rate, etc. -- was in line with his career numbers. Right-hander Ian Kennedy is also on the wrong side of 30, but he is coming off a 200-inning season with a 3.21 FIP and the best strikeout rate of his career. The gains seem to be legitimate, as Kennedy's fastball velocity jumped after working out some mechanical issues he picked up in Arizona.

The parts don't seem to fit together yet -- they have a gazillion outfielders and none of the good ones can play center field -- but they are far more talented than they were in 2014.

Having a pair of veterans like Shields and Kennedy in the rotation is nice, but especially when they will be playing second fiddle to a pair of young studs. Andrew Cashner had the breakout season that everyone predicted, holding opponents to a 2.55 ERA and 3.09 FIP. Tigers fans will remember the one-hit shutout he twirled against them back in April, one of two complete games on his ledger in 2014. However, elbow and shoulder issues limited him to just 123 1/3 innings. Tyson Ross was good and healthy, allowing a 2.81 ERA and 3.24 FIP in 195 2/3 innings. He made the All-Star team, but was shut down in September with elbow soreness after throwing 60 more innings than he did in 2013.

The fifth starter spot remains a question mark, but the Padres have a plethora of options available. Brandon Morrow should get a long look considering his pedigree, but he hasn't been much of a factor since 2012. Robbie Erlin is a crafty left-hander who had a 3.07 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 61 1/3 innings last year, but the 4.99 ERA and 1.40 WHIP weren't so shiny. Still, he could provide some nice balance for an otherwise right-handed rotation. I'm pulling for Odrisamer Despaigne based on his name alone, but the 27-year-old Cuban was easily the most productive of the trio in 2014. He made 16 starts for the Padres -- in his first season in America, no less -- and held opponents to a 3.36 ERA and 3.74 FIP.

Down on the farm

Arguably the most impressive aspect of A.J. Preller's "come at me, bro" offseason is that he was able to pull off a number of deals without trading top prospects Austin Hedges, Matt Wisler, or Hunter Renfroe. Hedges is a defensive dynamo who has already drawn comparisons to Yadier Molina, while Renfroe's combination of immense power and surprising speed could make the outfield quite crowded in 2016. Wisler is the most likely of the trio to see substantial major league time in 2015, though he probably won't make the Opening Day rotation. The Padres' system also houses a couple of solid names in Rymer Liriano and Franchy Cordero.

Player to watch: Tyson Ross

Both Ross and Cashner can be great late-night TV when they're pitching, but the 27-year-old Ross is probably a better bet to stay healthy. He was a rock for the Padres throughout 2014, and even had a 2.73 ERA in the second half despite (a) throwing way more innings than the year prior, and (b) getting bombed in his final outing of the year. Ross throws 94 miles per hour with late movement, resulting in a high ground ball rate. However, he also relies heavily on a nasty slider that picks up plenty of strikeouts. His command can get the better of him at times -- he walked four batters or more in seven starts last year -- but he can be as dominant as any starter in baseball when he's on.

Outlook

The Padres and Cubs should provide a pair of interesting case studies on how roster construction can provide a big boost in team performance. The Cubs are well known for their "win from within" plan, but they added a few big pieces to the mix as well. Meanwhile, the Padres went gangbusters in acquiring as many talented players as possible. The parts don't seem to fit together yet -- they have a gazillion outfielders and none of the good ones can play center field -- but they are far more talented than they were in 2014. If they can get enough offense to put their great pitching staff to use, they could have the breakout season that many are expecting. Even if they don't make the playoffs, August and September should be much more fun than in years past.


Spring Training 2015 Game Thread: 03/04 Padres @ Mariners charity game

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Vedder Cup 2015 kicks off with the annual charity game between the Padres and Mariners.

If you're reading this, congratulations! You made it through a long (albeit exciting) San Diego Padres offseason and the beginning of Spring Training. This afternoon the Friars will kick off their 2015 Spring Training schedule with their annual charity game against the hated Seattle Mariners.

You can look at today's game as the beginning of the most anticipated season of Padres baseball in recent years. And WG bless Buddy Black, he's not wasting any time in getting the newly acquired players in the lineup for all of us to get a taste of what's to come in 2015. Yesterday he revealed to media six of the starting nine set to open up Spring Training, including two of AJ Preller's biggest Winter acquisitions, Matt Kemp and Justin Upton, as well as Clint Barmes, Wil Nieves, and Cameron Maybin, who is really raring to prove himself this Spring.

And as we learned on Saturday, non-roster invitee and 38-year-old southpaw Jason Lane will get the start in the Spring opener and is slated for two innings of work. Minor leaguers Justin Hancock and Jay Jackson will also get turns on the mound in today's exhibition game.

Meanwhile the Mariners, who were rained out of their only scheduled intrasquad game on Monday, will counter with righty Taijan Walker to start. Six other pitchers will also see time on the mound following Walker.

Lineups:

How to listen/watch:

To follow along with today's game, you can listen to the live radio broadcast on MLB.com or the At-Bat app at 12:05 pm PT. Or you can wait and watch the delayed TV broadcast on MLB Network at 9:00 pm PT. Or you can do both, which is probably (definitely) the best option.

GO FRIARS!! KEEP THE FAITH!!

3/4: Open game thread

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Spring Training! Mariners! Padres! Charity! Baseballllll!

Baseball. It's back!

For the first time in ~five months (157 days; 3,761 hours; 225,665 minutes; or 13,539,900 seconds) some Mariners players are about to play a game of "real" baseball. Get excited!

Today, Seattle is running out a solid "B-team" lineup. With the exception of Taijuan Walker, who gets the nod to start today's game, none of the other players (except maybe maybe Chris Taylor, depending on how you think the SS battle will shake out) are projected to be regular starters in 2015. That being said, there's still plenty to watch for. Do James Jones/Stefen Romero look less lost at the plate? Will those ~40 pounds that Jesus Montero lost over the off-season translate into an increase in his slugging percentage or a modicum of competency while playing at first base? Can D.J. Peterson hit a ball hard enough to smash through one of the new chairs/walls/façades that have recently been installed at the Peoria Sports Complex? I'm also excited to see Ketel Marte slap some doubles into the gap and John Hicks smother some balls in the dirt and... it's entirely possible that I'm just very excited about any and all things Mariners right now. It's a great feeling.

Also, it's wonderful to see Walker starting the action today; you'll remember that last pre-season he injured his shoulder, missed most of Spring Training, and didn't end up pitching for the Mariners until the last day of June. A healthy Taijuan Walker who is ready to contribute from day one should go a long way to helping the Mariners in 2015. Taijuan is expected to pitch about two innings today. He'll be followed by Sam Gaviglio, Mike Kickham, David Rollins, Rafael Perez, Carson Smith, and Dominic Leone. As a reminder, Rollins, Perez, and maybe Kickham are all likely competing for the same roster spot as a second lefty out of the 'pen (along with Lucas Luetge and Joe Saunders); even though it's early in Spring Training, their performances could be very important to their futures with the club.

On the other side of the diamond, the Padres are running out a lineup that contains significantly more big league talent (~5 or 6 starters). I don't know that overhauling their roster this past off-season is necessarily going to help the Padres find success in 2015, but it will certainly be fun/interesting/weird to see Matt Kemp and Justin Upton (and Wil Myers, James Shields, and Derek Norris) in Padres uniforms.

Game Info

  • San Diego Padres @ Seattle Mariners, 12:05 PM PST
  • TV: ROOT, Radio: 710 ESPN, Online: mlb.tv
  • Additional note: Today's game is the annual charity game between the Mariners and the Padres, which raises money for youth charities and organizations in the West Valley. 6,500 people are expected to attend the game, which should raise about $100,000.

Billy Bean had the classiest possible response to Daniel Murphy's remarks

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So, you probably heard about Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy's dated remarks on gay people. In response to a question about Major League Baseball's official Ambassador of Inclusion, Billy Bean, who spent time in Mets camp at the bequest of general manager Sandy Alderson, Murphy pulled out all the classic tropes. Whenever I hear someone bust out the "it's a lifestyle" routine I generally do a Liz Lemon eyeroll and make little comments about choices those people made. Fortunately, former Padres outfielder Billy Bean is a bigger person than me.

Earlier today Bean wrote about his experience with the Mets and responded to Murphy's comments. The whole thing is worth reading, but a few generous quotes really stood out to me. When addressing Murphy's remarks, Bean led off by expressing his "tremendous admiration and respect for Daniel Murphy as a family man" for missing Opening Day last year for his son's birth despite media pushback.

Bean continued to take the high road, noting that he appreciated that "Daniel spoke his truth", adding that he respects Murphy and that Murphy was respectful toward him. His reasoning for being understanding is unimpeachable:

The silver lining in his comments are that he would be open to investing in a relationship with a teammate, even if he "disagrees" with the lifestyle. It may not be perfect, but I do see him making an effort to reconcile his religious beliefs with his interpretation of the word lifestyle. It took me 32 years to fully accept my sexual orientation, so it would be hypocritical of me to not be patient with others.

That stopped me right in my tracks. It took me exactly 32 years to get real about it too. Maybe I should be more tolerant of the intolerant and understand that it's a process.

Mariners win meaningless baseball game, lose potentially meaningful first baseman

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The M's beat the Padres today, 4-3. Ji-Man Choi is hurt. Taijuan looked good. BASEBALL IS BACK.

Well what we had here was a baseball game, a real goddamn baseball game played between some Seattle Mariners and more San Diego Padres, and it resulted in a not entirely meaningless victory for the Mariners that is, however, quantifiably unimportant.

Yes, it's spring training, and we've all done this exercise before. The games don't count, the players you recognize are pulled midway through the game, the score changes a couple times, and then it turns into whose prospects are better than whose. Today, it was the Mariners. Tomorrow it will be the Padres, maybe. This is weird. You are reading a paragraph about a baseball game that happened!

Wow! Baseball! Lots of things happened in this here baseball game! For one, Taijuan Walker threw some pitches around some Padres' batters, and that's exciting, because Taijuan Walker is probably going to be on the Seattle Mariners this year. He also didn't give up any runs, and he struck out new Padre Matt Kemp and old Padre Jed Gyorko, and that's also super. Whats even superer is that he hit a very high speed in these, his first actual innings of the year:

Wow! And the team won the game? So are the Mariners going to the playoffs? Well this is the amazing thing about spring training for the Mariners in 2015. Two years ago, the Mariners won like nine thousand games in a row, and Jeff Sullivan left the site probably because it broke his brain in the process. I know that's not what happened, but stick with me here. Last year, the Mariners were tied for third in the Cactus League standings with a record of 18-12, and then they didn't make the playoffs. They were good, though. You know, this line of thinking is kind of breaking down as I type this, but look, dammit, the point I was trying to make is not only do spring training games have no direct correlation to regular season standings, but sometimes, due to the way spring training is structured on the calendar, they have an almost opposite relationship.

You can see this because the only person who will assuredly be on the Mariners this season appearing in today's game was Taijuan Walker. So, in effect, the Tacoma Rainiers defeated the San Diego Padres today. And this is a new thing! A new, exciting thing! We're used to position battles and prospects fighting for jobs and the hope that some unknown kid with gills will put together something magic. Not this year. Today, as the first game of spring training, more than ever, did not matter. And that's exciting as hell.

Even more exciting than the Mariners winning today's game, or Taijuan Walker hitting 96 mph, or even more exciting than D.J. Peterson hitting a mammoth dinger in the third at-bat of the game:

Ahhhhhhh baseball is back.

This was probably the most exciting thing of the game, in that D.J. Peterson has kind of fallen through the cracks over the past couple seasons after getting pelted in the face with a pitch and struggling a tiny bit in the minors. But today, with only an expectation of being the ball bouncing off the wall of Jesus Montero, he reminded people that he can hit baseballs really hard, especially pitches that were meant to be here

peterson1 when they actually end up way off target here:

peterson2 Yes, something to be excited about. D.J. Peterson, who played third base today. This is strangely discouraging because the Mariners have a nine-digit third baseman, but never fear, Ji-Man Choi is here to send Peterson to first base!

Ah, great. Choi is going to miss some time, and I wish I could have grabbed a screenshot of the injury. After the lead changed a couple times thanks to a dinger from Matt Kemp and some NRI M's pitchers doing interesting things, the game almost ended on an errant throw to first that Choi had to leap to grab, ending up on his foot awkwardly and writhing in pain on the ground. Clearly this doesn't really impact the M's major league roster, but he is on the 40-man, and now Tacoma is going to have a situation to deal with. Hopefully the injury isn't too serious, and heres to good vibes out to Choi for a full recovery.

But enough sadness. Remember that exciting stuff at the beginning? Baseball is back! Tomorrow we get to see Robinson Cano and Kyle Seager! And a non-meaningless prospect won the game for the M's today!

gamewinner

This is former football player Patrick Kivlehan getting his second hit of the game, scoring Tyler Marlette on the catching error (ahhhh prospects). M's win 4-3.

So all in all a good first day. We got some Taijuan, we lost a Ji-Man. Tomorrow we get more baseball, and we are all better off for it. It may take a few days to work the Spring Training kinks out of these recaps, just as whoever this is botching a catch in the gif above is working out their early-season kinks in their game. Or, we're all just below-replacement level prospects, relegated to describing something that ultimately doesn't matter on a blog on the internet. Either way, we'll be here yelling about millionaire athletes until fall, and I hope you will be as well. Until then,

Go M's.

Outfielders to Target in 2015

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The Fake Teams fantasy baseball staff offer you some outfielders that you should target in your 2015 fantasy drafts, including Bryce Harper, Matt Kemp and Matt Joyce.

When preparing for your fantasy baseball drafts, it is a must to have a draft strategy, and yesterday, Daniel Kelley offered his thoughts on how to approach outfielders on draft day. We have also provided you with our Top 100 outfielder rankings for 2015:

Part 1

Part 2

Now that we have provided you all these tools you need to prepare for your drafts, your fantasy draft preparation would be incomplete without some outfielders to target, which we provide you today, and some outfielders to avoid, which publishes tomorrow.

We asked each of the fantasy baseball writers to provide you with the outfielders they would target in fantasy drafts this season, and you can find them along with their reasoning below. Some of the players profiled below may be recommended as players to avoid by our writers tomorrow, but are presented to show both sides of the argument for said player.

Outfielders to Target in 2015

Bryce Harper, Nationals - Jack Cecil

Bryce is the man and I want him on all my teams, regardless of what stats they count, or the sport that I am drafting a team for. Basically everything that I want Harper to become, he didn't do last season. But in the dumpster fire that was 2014, there were pieces of hope that allow me to go right back to having Harper fever in 2015. First of all, while few have ever claimed Harper would be a great hitter for average, in the four months he played other than the month after his surgery, he managed an average of .279 or better. As the season went on, we slowly saw the things that helped us all remember what a healthy Harper does. Remember, for all the time baseball fans spend looking at peripherals to project forward, people lose track of what Harper is doing at an age far ahead of most of his competition. He still hasn't faced a pitcher younger than him as a pro in his career, minors included.

I can easily see him hitting .285 this year, and if he can play a healthy 150 games, I think 30-plus home runs are automatic. With health, I'm assuming he'll go back to improving his K and BB rates. Last year a hurt Harper was hitting his homeruns and fly balls further than Jose Bautista and Victor Martinez. Next season, I'm anticipating he goes back to being a top-25 player in distance. Now the main reason I'm assuming health is because Harper's injuries have been impact and not soft-tissue injuries that many athletes suffer over and over again. Harper's types of injuries — walls, being hit by a pitch, sliding into a base — aren't common, and I think the string of unlucky injuries end in 2015, draft Harper as an OF1 with confidence.

Matt Kemp, Padres - Ray Guilfoyle

I might be the guy driving the Matt Kemp train this offseason, as I see him returning to the hitter he was before the shoulder and ankle injuries that plaqued him in parts of 2012, 2013 and half of the 2014 season. As a Dodgers fan, I watched a lot of their games last season, and I saw the old Matt Kemp in the second half. After hitting .269 with 8 home runs, 38 runs scored and 35 RBI in 86 games in the first half of 2014, he exploded to hit .309 with 17 home runs, 39 runs scored and 54 RBI in 64 second half games. His first half wRC+ was 117, which is good, but his 170 wRC+ in the second half ranked second to Buster Posey's 180 wRC+.

Some are down on Kemp this offseason due to his injury risk and the move to San Diego. I can understand that, but I am not sold that Petco will impact him that much. It isn't like Dodger Stadium is a hitter's haven, and I am of the opinion that lineups have an impact on park factors. Just go look at the park factors at Dodger Stadium last year.

Will Kemp improve upon his 2014 performance in 2015? It is possible, but a repeat of his 2014 season stats: .287 BA, 25 HRs, 89 RBI would be a very good return for your investment in Kemp. Only 10 hitters hit 25 or more home runs, drove in 80 or more runs and hit .280 or better last season. Kemp was one of the 10.

Dustin Ackley, Seattle Mariners - Tim Finnegan

Ackley, the former No. 2 overall pick from the 2009 draft, has disappointed to this point in his career, but he made a swing adjustment last summer that dramatically changed his results on the field. I have an article detailing this coming out Friday, so you should look out for it. Ackley had a huge second half in 2013, too, but there was a tangible change in process in 2014 that makes me a believer this time. I love his new swing. Ackley's current ADP in Yahoo leagues is 228, and I'm betting on him significantly outperforming that.

Matt Joyce, Angels - Daniel Kelley

If we knew Josh Hamilton were going to play most or all of the season ... I'd still recommend Matt Joyce. If you're going to be half of a platoon, always be the lefty half, because, you know, so many more righty pitchers. Joyce is more-or-less helpless against lefties over his career (.189/.258/.316 career, nine homers in 358 plate appearances), but he can hit righties more than adequately (.261/.356/.463, 79 homers in 2,175 plate appearances). Now, if you're in a league with weekly lineups, Joyce could hurt you — but then again, if you're in a league with weekly lineups, you're so behind the times that you probably have to fax your lineups off every Sunday (seriously, daily lineups or GTFO). In leagues with daily lineups, you can start Joyce against righties, sit him against lefties, celebrate the happy times. Yes, you'll run into situations where a lefty is subbed in for the starting pitcher quickly, but overall, you'll come out ahead.

Steven Souza, Rays - Rob Parker

If you are looking for a young sleeper outfielder to fill out your roster, you could do a lot worse than Souza. He is the kind of all-around contributor that can be very useful to have. Kiley McDaniel at Fangraphs has him with 50 grades on his hit tool, power and speed, with an overall future value of 55. He is entering his first full season in the majors after dominating AAA last year as a 25-year-old who was, admittedly, old for the league. Nonetheless, he did dominate and Tampa Bay thought so highly of him that they were willing to part with Wil Myers for him. They have lots of information we don't have, so I'm going to assume they see something special here. He will take lots of walks and strike out more than average, but his power should be good enough for 17-20 homers and he could easily get the same number of steals, given his 26 steals in 96 AAA games last year. That kind of power/speed combo is rare in fantasy, so I recommend taking a chance on this kid in 2015. He would be an excellent third outfielder with upside for your roster.

Jay Bruce, Reds - Nick Doran

Bruce had a terrible season last year. There is no way to sugarcoat a pitiful .217/.281/.373 slash line that was far below his career slash line of .251/.323/.467 prior to last season. Bruce is entering his age-28 season and is still in the prime years of a typical career arc. Much of his failure last year can be blamed on playing through a knee injury and returning too early from surgery. Bruce finished the 2013 season rated as the 11th-best outfielder in 5x5 leagues and had been in that range for several years prior to his gruesome 2014. There is every reason to believe that he will bounce back close to that level again this year. He is ranked 31st on our Fake Teams consensus rankings this spring, which I feel is a bit too low. His ADP is currently 87th in NFBC drafts, 95th on CBS, 89th on Yahoo and 80th on ESPN. That puts him as an eighth-round pick in 12-team leagues. He is a great bargain pick in the eighth round. If he is still there for you in the eighth round you should snap him up and enjoy the 30 home runs and 100 RBI he brings to the table.

Dodgers-Padres change March 12 game time

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GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Dodgers' first chance to see old friend Matt Kemp this spring will be under the lights, as the Padres have moved the game time of their March 12 contest in Peoria from 1:05 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. PT.

If all goes according to plan for the Dodgers, that will be the first Cactus League start this season for Hyun-jin Ryu, who is scheduled to throw to live hitters on the back fields on Saturday.

The time change was to accommodate Major League Baseball, which is filming something in collaboration with HBO at five different ballparks on March 12, which will be dedicated to the fight against cancer.

This will be the first night game for the Dodgers this spring, and one of only four night games all spring before the club heads back to Los Angeles. The Dodgers also play 7:05 p.m. games on March 13 against the Reds and March 27 against the Giants, plus the split squad contest against the Rangers on March 20 in San Antonio is a 5:05 p.m. PT start.

The Dodgers play the Padres twice this spring, with the Padres coming to Camelback Ranch on March 25. The two teams open the regular season against each other on April 6 at Dodger Stadium.

3/5: Open game thread

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Roenis Elias gets the start in the M's second spring training game as they once again take on their interleague "rivals".

The Mariners played baseball yesterday! D.J. Petersonmashed a home run and Taijuan Walker looked sharp and everything was great... until all of a sudden it wasn't. Late in the ninth inning, Ji-Man Choi landed awkwardly while trying to field an errant throw and broke his right fibula. He is having surgery today and will likely be out of baseball for four to six months (per Greg Johns on Twitter).

Baseball, like most things, is terribly fickle and fleeting. What happened to Choi is awful and should serve as a reminder to not take the Mariners (or any of the stuff you care about) for granted. Some things will certainly go wrong as the season progresses, and although the Mariners appear to be built to weather a fair amount of diversity, there are certainly no guarantees. Do your best to enjoy the hell out of the good moments while also preparing yourself for some bumps in the road.

Today, Lloyd is running out a bunch of his regulars and has put together a lineup that likely resembles the one we'll see against right-handed pitching throughout 2015. I'm so excited to watch these guys hit. Cano! Cruz! Seager! Not Kendrys Morales! When I look at that lineup, I can feel my eyes light up a little bit; every one of these players has, for extended periods of time, demonstrated themselves as being capable of doing some damage offensively. The Mariners sure do seem like they have the potential to score quite a few runs this season. (The 2015 projections on FanGraphs predict that the M's will score 4.12 runs per game this year. For the first time in a long time they're projected to be in the top 50th percentile in runs scored. Woo doggie!)

Following Walker's solid start yesterday, we have Roenis Elias pitching today. This is particularly interesting considering the fact that these two fellas seem to be battling it out for the only open spot in the rotation. I like Roenis a lot and I'm excited to see him throw some baseballs. Hopefully he's just as effective as Walker was yesterday. Elias is likely to be followed by Yoervis Medina, Joe Saunders, Danny Farquhar, Charlie Furbush, and Lucas Luetge (per Bob Dutton on Twitter).

The Padres counter with a largely less-good lineup than they used yesterday (although Andrew Cashner is a  pretty solid pitcher when he's healthy). Additionally, Wil Myers, Derek Norris, and Will Middlebrooks will all be making their débuts for the Padres this afternoon.

Game Info


Spring Training 2015 Game Thread: 03/05 Padres @ Mariners

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After dropping their first Spring Training game of 2015, the Padres will look to even up the Vedder Cup battle in today's matchup against the Mariners. It's another beautiful and sunny day in Peoria, so the Friars should feel right at home

Yesterday we got to see Justin Upton's first home run in a Padres uniform, and it was beautiful. Padres pitchers (nine in total) didn't allow a walk and kept the M's to three runs. Tommy Medica had a nice little game, collecting two hits, driving in a run, and stealing a base. Yangervis Solarte also got a couple of hits, including a double.

Medica, who came off the bench yesterday, will be in the starting lineup as the designated hitter for game 2 against Seattle. Andrew Cashner gets the ball this afternoon to make his 2015 debut, so hopefully you all have your duck calls handy. Ian Kennedy is also slated to get some work in on the mound this afternoon. Other probables outof the Padres pitching arsenal include Robbie Erlin, Dale Thayer, Joaquin Benoit, and Scott Elbert.

And while we saw the Padres debuts of Upton and Matt Kemp yesterday, there will be even more new faces in the lineup today. We'll get our first looks at Wil Myers, Derek Norris, and Will Middlebrooks, who are all in the starting nine.

Roenis Elias will get the start for Seattle, but Yoervis Medina, Joe Saunders, Danny Farquhar, Charlie Furbush, and Lucas Luetge are also likely to pitch against the Padres.

Lineups:

How to listen/watch:

Yesterday Bob Scanlan teamed up with Jesse Agler for the webcast of the Spring Training opener, but today Scan will be back with his regular partner, Uncle Teddy, on ESPN 1700, MLB.com, and At-Bat. MLB.TV subscribers can watch the game live, and everyone else (except jbox) can come back tonight for the delayed showing of the game on MLB Network at 11:00 pm PT.

GO FRIARS!! KEEP THE FAITH!!

10 Gifs From the First Game of Spring Training

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Not able to watch the game yesterday? Don't have the patience to wait for re-broadcasts? Need a little bit more sustenance than a 3-minute recap video? We've got you covered.

First Padres at-bat; a hit from Daddy Longlegs

After a few great, and not-so great at-bats in the Dominican Winter League, Maybin returned to the lead of the Padres' lineup to whip one into left field. Cam followed up immediately with a stolen base, the first of the Padres Spring. Maybin got such a good jump that both the Mariners pitcher Taijuan Walker and the broadcast crew didn't notice until he was standing up on second.

Kemp's first at-bat in a not-brown Padres uniform

Probably the most anticipated moment of the offseason; Kemp's first public appearance for San Diego. In his debut he managed to rip one down the third base line, only going a few inches foul. The rest of his pitches stayed low after that, and Matt got caught chasing. Despite looking pretty healthy, he goes on 0-3 for the rest of the game.

Barmes does that thing where you get 2 outs in 1 play

Despite Clint biffing a routine ground ball earlier in the game, he still filled the position in as much as anybody expected. Offensively there was nothing to be seen that day from Barmes. So the shortstop position still appears to be just as up for grabs as it was before spring training started.

Yangervis Solarte's almost triple

Speaking of up for grabs, the third base role has been a gaping chasm in the Padres lineup for some time now. Yesterday Solarte showed that he's pretty damn ready to fill the role, slapping a ball into far right field that almost bounced for a ground-rule double.

Unfortunately Solarte got a little bit ahead of himself. After probably being waved around, he spent most of his time rounding second staring into right field instead of putting his head down and trying his best not to get thrown out at third. He was then thrown out at third.

The first home run, of many, from Justin Upton

Something that's probably just as anticipated as Kemp's first appearance was Upton's. Except instead of speculation on players like Kemp and Myers, we're all very aware on what Upton's performance is going to be in 2015. Yesterday he highlighted the game for the Padres with a big smack into center field, taking advantage of the brand-new home run mark that now cuts through the batter's eye wall.

Tommy Medica snags a foul, hits an RBI "For You"

Reminiscent of the back-to-back Nelson-Medica foul-ball greatness in August of 2014, Medica starts warming up his first baseman's mitt for the spring. Replacing Alonso towards the end of the game, Tommy Boy started making more of an impact.

One of those impacts was a late-game RBI to knock in Cory Spangenberg after Spangy stole second. Despite being brought in at the end of the game, Tommy went 2-2, including a rallying single in extra-innings.

Solarte makes his case for third base

st-solartesnag

Working the hot corner well, Yangervis snags a sharp grounder heading for the green pastures of the left field line. Not only did he save a run, but he showed off his arm with a deep and accurate throw to end the inning. The following game we get to see a display of our other 3B candidate Middlebrooks, and comparisons will be made, with Bud Black saying that third base will be the biggest position competition this spring.

Rookie Rymer ruins everything, gives up game-winning run, curses the season

st-rookierymer

Despite it all, and despite it being only a charity game at the very beginning of spring training; Rymer Liriano showed up just in time to ruin it all. Misjudging a sharp bounce and deflecting it off of his glove; the game-winning run managed to make its way all the way from first base. The amazing off-season acquisitions, the solid performances by potential starters, all destroyed. Better luck in 2016.

Mariners defeat Padres 9-4, Nelson Cruz certainly, most definitely, does nothing of note

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Or, How Is That Even Humanly Possible What The Crap

Lots of things happening down in Peoria this afternoon ranging from the fantastic, to the mundane, to the Endy Chavez. As for the details, well, we've got those too. We have an 9-4 victory against the San Diego Padres. We have a bat flung to first base on a strikeout by John Baker. We've got Trumpet Guy. We've also got, hopefully, a functional PITCHf/x system up and running.

They've been having server troubles down at the complex, which led to some 1950's style eye-testing during Taijuan's stint yesterday. But unfortunately for Elias, we've got at least a little placement to show us where his pitches were landing during a rough couple of innings:

elias1

It's Elias' first time facing hitters in a game this year, and he's always had a little bit of a command problem. The good news is that he was actually spotting up his fastball pretty well, which is an important first step to locating pitches. Offspeed stuff hanging? Slider landing behind the ankles? Well, you're completely screwed if you can't even land a fastball to regain control of the zone. And he was certainly helped by what is turning into a pretty exciting defensive infield in the process.

Elias threw 23 pitches, 16 of which were called as strikes, which sounds better than it was. But all in all a great first appearance from the Cuban lefty who will probably be opening the year down in Tacoma. Danny Farquhar, though? Not so much. And by this time PITCHf/x was fully up and running.  farquhar1

And they say technology is supposed to help us.

farquhar2

Poor Danny was having even more trouble than Elias today, reaching his pitch limit in the middle of a 2-2 count to Willl Middlebrooks. He walked one and gave up a run, throwing 13 of his 30 pitches outside the zone. Again, first appearance of the spring, nothing to worry about. He was averaging about 87 on his cutter, his go-to pitch that averaged around 92 MPH last spring. But it has been steadily declining since May, ending the year with an 89 MPH average in September. It will be interesting to see if he can build veto the deeper we get into spring, but you have to realize he probably isn't going anywhere either way, so, you know, whatever.

Joe Saunders made his first appearance of the year as well, promptly giving up a dinger to the first batter he faced and then laboring to end the game before the sun went down. But this game didn't take place at Safeco, so he's most definitely fine of course yes very much. Yoervis and Lucas Luetge (!) each had a pair of strikeouts in their innings, and Furbush ran into a little cobwebs trouble too.

Ah yes so lets see we are at about five hundred words so far, and there's probably nothing else we can talk about from this game. Unless...oh, right! Seth Smith had this amazing moment early in the game, channeling his inner Yoenis Cespedes on a misplayed fly into right field.

smiththrow

The best part about this is that you can tell the camera operator had no idea Smith had it in him, as the Mariners haven't really had a legit arm in the outfield since about 2010 or so. Oh a bobbled catch? Runner headed to third? Ah, I guess I can just casually follow this ball as it bounces eight times on its way back into the WAIT HOLY SHIT WHAT WHERE IS IT HOW CAN WHAT?

I'm probably overplaying this a little bit, but it's just weird to see an outfield throw by a Mariner 1. Get back to the infield without rolling in the grass for a half-hour, 2. Actually land in the glove of an infielder in tagging position, and 3. I'm happy for Ichiro, and glad he's not on the Mariners, but damn it feels weird to see him in a Marlins uniform oh here we go

Alright um...lets see. Surely I'm missing something here! Uh...Patrick Kivlehan hit a homer in the eighth. Kyle Seager and Logan Morrison both went 2-3, and Mike Zunino got hit by a pitch because all the bones in his body were removed by Dr. Cornelius and replaced with a vinyl exoskeleton designed to attract baseballs. Brad Miller still has long hair, and NRI Justin Germano recorded a strikeout with one pitch thanks to Lord Farquhar. That's it.

Seriously, nothing else happened today.

Nothing.

Well...

I mean...um. Wellllllll...fine look at this. No, wait don't look.

Listen.

Link to purchase new underwear can be found here, and please, please remember to be careful while watching games this season. Accidents can't always be avoided, but we can take steps to be more responsible spectators in the process.

Should the Twins extend Brian Dozier?

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As usual, the answer isn't as easy as a simple "yes" or "no."

On Tuesday, Mike Berardino filed a report on how the Minnesota Twins and Brian Dozier were making progress towards an extension. In came as a bit of a surprise, not because Dozier isn't worthy of being considered for a long-term contract but because he won't be arbitration eligible until after the 2015 season.

Dozier was worth 4.6 fWAR in 2014; the fifth-best mark for a second baseman on the year. Over the last two seasons he's been worth 7.3 fWAR, which ties him for seventh-best in that period (with Ian Kinsler). To answer the very basic question "Is Brian Dozier one of the best second basemen in baseball?" the answer is quite obviously "Yes - yes he is."

Part of what makes Dozier so valuable is that he's currently a pre-arbitration player. Of those six other second basemen alluded to in the last paragraph, most of them are making multiple millions per season; while the Phillies paid Chase Utley $25 million for 8.1 fWAR the last two years, for his 7.3 fWAR the Twins paid Dozier just north of $1 million. Such is the power, and the value, in having very good players under team control.

Considering the company that Dozier has kept these last two years, it's clear why Minnesota is interested in securing a multi-year deal with their star second baseman. Second base is a premium position, and a guy who can hit for power at that position tends to get expensive very quickly. By securing a multi-year contract the team achieves a level of stability within their payroll. For Dozier, it's a guaranteed payday. Both sides benefit.

But the Twins only truly benefit if Dozier continues to perform at a near All-Star level. This is where we start to see the tough questions. Tony Blengino posted on the topic of locking up Dozier over at FanGraphs earlier today, and he comes to the conclusion that while Dozier is a fine overall player who has commendable skill sets and an uncanny history of adjusting and finding ways to be successful, he may be heading for what we might optimistically call a plateau.

Brian Dozier has now established himself as one of the most extreme pull hitters in the game. ... A typical righthanded hitter might have a pull ratio of a little over 1:1 on fly balls, about 2:1 on liners, and 4:1 on grounders. Dozier’s marks were 2.35 for fly balls, 3.17 for liners, and 6.20 for grounders in 2014. Extreme pulling is generally a hallmark of a player harvesting power near the end of a career, when it’s basically all that he has left in his offensive game. ... Pitchers develop a book on such hitters, and over time will give them nothing they can pull for distance. Hitters must then adjust, or perish. Unfortunately for such hitters, extreme pulling is quite often their last adjustment. Dozier has not shown an ability to hit a ball even reasonably hard the other way in the air, on a line, or on the ground. Pitchers are going to pitch him away, and all Dozier is going to be able to do is draw a walk……for a little while at least, until that skill begins to decline as his ability to inflict damage erodes. ... To become a starter at that level and have some success, he has had to totally sell out to the short term fruits of extreme pulling. Pitchers are now likely to have the last word.

I think that's a bit of a doomsday scenario, but we'd be foolish to not see Blengino's conclusion for what it is: a likelihood. Lew Ford flashed for the Twins early in his career before pitchers got a book on him and stopped throwing him inside.

But it's also worth noting that players can adjust. Trevor Plouffe did just that in 2014, after developing a reputation as being a quasi-dangerous pull hitter; hopefully Plouffe can continue to hit well this year. But when you adjust to being a pull hitter so early in your career, as Dozier has done, it's worth attempting to see the forest for the trees.

Keeping all of that in mind, let's explore a few specifics about what an extension for Dozier might involve in terms of years, age, and dollars.

Player status

Year201520162017201820192020
StatusPre-ArbArb 1Arb 2Arb 3Free AgentFree Agent
Extension Year123456
Age282930313233

We go a fair distance into the future here, because a couple of players who have recently received similar extensions had them go that long. Let's run through that list of comparable players.

Recent comparable extensions

PlayerPosExtension LengthExtension ValueAge in 1st YearService Time
Kyle Seager (SEA)3B7 Years
(plus 1 year club option)
$100.0 MM27 (2015)3.085
Jason Kipnis (CLE)2B6 Years
(plus 1 year club option)
$52.5 MM27 (2014)2.075
Matt Carpenter (STL)2B/3B6 Years
(plus 1 year club option)
$52.0 MM28 (2014)2.012
Jedd Gyorko (SD)2B5 Years
(plus 1 year club option)
$35.0 MM26 (2015)2.000
Todd Frazier (CIN)3B2 Years$12.0 MM29 (2015)3.071

Dozier's age in year one (28) and his service time (2.100) are certainly in line with the field. Of this group, Dozier's OPS (.715) ranks fifth, his home runs (47) third, his stolen bases (44) second, and his RBI (170) fifth. Which isn't bad by any means, considering the company.

Where you may begin to draw some separation between these six players, all of whom have relatively small Major League track records, is when you bring in their minor league history. A short MLB track record of production isn't a bad baseline off of which to work if that player was also a consistent offensive player as he rose through his respective system. And this is where Dozier's history works against him.

Minor league track record

PlayerPAAVGOBPSLGOPS
Matt Carpenter1448.299.408.450.858
Brian Dozier1613.298.370.409.779
Todd Frazier2258.280.353.475.827
Jedd Gyorko1538.320.386.529.916
Jason Kipnis1130.296.376.485.861
Kyle Seager1245.328.401.474.875

In this context, some of those extensions start to make a little more sense. Gyorko was a fantastic hitter in the minor leagues, even if his 2014 with the Padres wasn't all that inspiring. Kipnis, Seager, and Frazier looked like fairly complete hitters. Carpenter's eye was second to none, and it's a trait that's continued in his time with the Cardinals. All of them showed a level of power in the minor leagues that Dozier did not.

Conclusions

As pessimistic as some of this might sound, I'm actually not opposed to a Dozier extension. Seager's deal is in another stratosphere so we don't need to consider that one anyway, but even if the front office is using Kipnis and Carpenter as comparables then I'd be very nervous. Dozier is a good player, and because he's still under team control his value as a pre-arbitration player is on the extreme high end of the chart, but in understanding the full context of Dozier's history, how he uses his power and the factors going into his batted ball tendencies, there is every reason in the world to be cautious.

This discussion can go a number of ways. Yes, the Twins could consider trading Dozier since his value is high, but such a deal would almost certainly make the team less competitive in 2015 by forcing a lesser player into the position. A number of people I've spoken to believe that a Dozier extension should buy out all of his arbitration seasons (and potentially his first year of free agency). Both of those options seem premature.

The pragmatic option is to wait on extending Dozier. By asking him to perform for one more season, the Twins would be making a wiser investment by having a player with another year's record under his belt. There is also zero pressure on the organization to extend Dozier at this point in time, since he's under team control for four more years. It's worth noting that in 2018, his third and final year of arbitration eligibility, Dozier will be in his age-31 season.

If we wanted to go outside those boxes, the Twins could sign their star second baseman to a three-year contract. It splits the difference between doing nothing (and risking a larger contract if Dozier has another very good year), and committing too early and for too long if Dozier tanks.

Frazier, the Reds third baseman, will have his third year of arbitration eligibility waiting on the other end of his two-year deal. Minnesota could go a similar route on a three-year offer. It would still guarantee Dozier a payday, and it would still give the Twins a level payroll certainty in 2016 and 2017, yet the commitment is shorter and it would be a friendly-looking contract should the team choose to explore trade options down the line. Jorge Polanco may not be ready to fill in at second base this year, or even next year full-time, but he (or someone else) could be ready eventually.

The biggest issue at play here isn't the money. It's the years. So, sure. The Twins could certainly explore an extension with Brian Dozier and have it turn out well for everyone. But there's also a scenario here where the risk becomes worrisome. Let's hope the Twins don't go beyond three or four years.

Mariners 9, Padres 4: It's a Good Thing These Games Don't Mean Anything

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The Padres have lost their first two spring training games to the Mariners, so you might as well jump off the bandwagon now. See you all at a Chargers game or something.

What's that? Spring training games are meaningless and you're still here? Well, then here are the highlights from this afternoon's ballgame. Wil Myers had his first hit in a Padre uniform, a line drive single to center field. Will Venable had a two-run homer off Charlie Furbush in the fifth inning. Taylor Lindsey, the key piece in last summer's Huston Street deal, hit his first bomb of the spring off Joe Saunders.

In lowlights, Padres pitching struggled today (in case you hadn't gathered that from the Mariners' 9 runs). Shaun Kelley took the biggest hit, allowing 4 runs in a third of an inning. That's not all on him, though. Endy Chavez reached base on an error by shortstop Ramiro Pena before coming home on Patrick Kivlehan's homer. Another unearned run would score when Austin Hedges tried to turn two and overthrew second base, where he was trying to catch our old friend John Baker.

Tomorrow afternoon, Odrisamer Despaigne takes the hill against the White Sox. First pitch is at 12:05 PM, and you can listen on ESPN 1700.

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Spring Training 2015 Game Thread: 03/06 Padres vs. White Sox

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Third game's a charm, right?

Still seeking their first win of the Spring, the Padres will take on the White Sox today in Peoria. Odrisamer Despaigne gets the start in the third Spring Training game. Brandon Morrow will get the ball as well in his Padres debut. Both Despaigne and Morrow are in the running for the fifth rotation spot going into the season.

It's Clint Barmes' birthday today, and I bet nothing would make for a better gift than the first win of the year. NOTHING!

According to Buddy Black, Justin Upton is feeling "under the weather" today, which is why he isn't in the lineup. I wonder if he has the same thing that's been going around here in San Diego. Seems like everyone, including myself, has been feeling under the weather lately. 

Lineups:

How to watch/listen:

No TV for today's game, but you can catch the radio call on ESPN 1700, MLB.com, or At-Bat. Game time is set for 12:05 pm PT.

Padres 5, White Sox 0: Kemp Struts His Stuff

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If you missed a few innings of this afternoon's game, you share something in common with everybody else who was listening.  The radio feed disappeared for a couple innings in the middle of the game. But Gameday kept on ticking, so we can tell you that the Padres pitching staff combined to shut the White Sox down this afternoon. Odrisamer Despaigne started for the Friars and held the Sox to two hits and a walk in his two innings on the hill while picking up a pair of Ks. Brandon Morrow joined O-Des in the two inning club, and veteran reliever Jose Valverde impressed with a couple strikeouts in his spotless ninth inning performance.

Offensively, Matt Kemp got into the groove with a couple singles and an RBI in his three at bats. Tim Federowicz, a.k.a. the guy that came with Kemp, went 1-2, smacking an RBI double up the middle to give the Padres their first lead of the spring in the bottom of the fifth inning.

The team heads to Scottsdale tomorrow, where James Shields will make his spring debut against the Giants. You can hear the first pitch at 12:05 PM on 1090 AM.

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Know Your Enemy: San Diego Padres

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Pay attention, because there are a lot of new faces here.

The Padres have probably had to wear some of those "HELLO MY NAME IS" badges around spring camp, because they have an entire new outfield, a new pitcher at the top of the rotation, a new starting catcher, and other players who are only in their second year with the team such as closer Joaquin Benoit, who took over and did a very good job after Huston Street was traded.

The Padres revamped their entire outfield with the trade acquisitions of Justin Upton, Wil Myers and Matt Kemp. They took some chances with Kemp, who has been returning from injury and was pretty good the second half of last year. Myers was also injured and didn't play well after his Rookie of the Year season. Upton had a nice year for the Braves last year and got some downballot MVP consideration.

To this they added San Diego resident James Shields. Will "Big Game James" produce the way he did for the Royals last year? Petco Park has been an extreme pitcher's park for most of its existence and having a solid rotation can go a long way toward helping a team win in a place like that. They will be hoping Andrew Cashner and Brandon Morrow can come back from injury-plagued seasons. Derek Norris brings some playoff experience from Oakland where he had a good offensive season in 2014 and posted 3.0 bWAR.

That's a lot of hoping, but the Padres did win more games than the Cubs last year (77, to the Cubs' 73) and they have certainly improved their offense. That's a low bar to hurdle as the Padres were dead last in the major leagues in runs in 2014 by a considerable margin. They scored 535 runs. Next-worst was the Braves at 573.

To give you an idea of how bad that is, only eight other teams in the divisional play era (since 1969) scored fewer than 535 runs in a non-labor-dispute season. (And of those eight, three were Padres teams.) They'll probably do better almost by default. And they were very good at run prevention last year: fourth-best in fewest runs allowed (577). The addition of Shields could put them right near the top.

The Padres will visit Wrigley Field April 17-18-19 and the Cubs will travel to San Diego for a three-game series May 19-20-21. Thus the Padres will become the first team to complete its season series with the Cubs, just 43 games into the 2015 season.

Spring Training Game Thread: 03/07 Padres @ Giants

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Three games into Spring Training and the Padres finally have their first victory in the books after shutting out the White Sox 5-0 yesterday. Both Odrisamer Despaigne and Brandon Morrow looked great in their Spring debuts, turning up the heat in the competition for the Padres' fifth rotation spot. On the offensive side, Matt Kemp got his first two hits and first RBI in a Padres uniform, while his trade mate Tim Federowicz got a double and an RBI of his own.

This afternoon might be the most anticipated Padres pitching performance of Spring so far as James Shields makes his San Diego debut. After pitching into October last season, Buddy Black and the Friars wanted to give Shields a little extra rest before putting him to work. And But it looks like the Giants DID NOT had have the same idea when it came to Madison Bumgarner, who will also be making his Spring debut start today after making his Spring debut on March 3rd and giving up four runs in less than three innings.

Today's starting pitching matchup should look familiar. Last October, Shields and Bumgarner met twice in the postseason. The first time, in Game 1 of the seven-game series, Shields allowed five runs in just three innings while Bumgarner kept the Royals to one run through seven frames. The second time around, in game 5, Shields pitched much more effectively, keeping SF to two runs in six innings of work. Bumgarner, however, dominated with a four-hit shutout, a performance dubbed by Buddy Black among many others as "one of the best [postseason] performances of all time."

So today's rematch of sorts should be a fun one to watch. Shields is ready to get back on the mound and we're definitely ready to see him pitch in that Padres uniform.

As we look at today's lineup, a couple of things to note:

  • Justin Upton is still out of the lineup after feeling "under the weather" prior to yesterday's game, but he's resting his way back to full health and could return as soon as tomorrow.

Lineups:

How to watch/listen:

You can watch today's game live on MLB.TV at 12:05 pm PT.or catch the delayed showing tonight at 9:00 pm on MLB Network. As usual, the live radio broadcast is available on padres.com, At-Bat, or The Mighty 1090.

GO FRIARS!! KEEP THE FAITH!! SLAY THE GIANTS!!

Nolan Arenado hit a home run and a double in the Colorado Rockies' first Cactus League win

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The Rockies beat the Cubs 7-5 on Saturday afternoon.

The bats woke up today as the Rockies beat the Cubs this afternoon on the strength of seven runs from 12 hits. Nolan Armando started off the scoring in the bottom of the first. With two on, Arenado hit a home run to left field. It was not only the first home run of the spring for the Rockies, but it gave the team its first lead. Arenado also doubled in the third, after which McKenry singled him in. The Rockies had two more extra base hits on the day, including doubles off the bats of Trevor Story and Kyle Parker.

Starting pitcher Brett Marshall tossed the first two innings, but relievers covered the remaining seven innings one-by-one. Marshall was impressive in the first, as he sat down the Cubs in order. Two of the three outs were in the air. According to Twitter reports, Marshall's fastball sat between 90 and 94 miles per hour. His slider and changeup sounded like they were working as well, so it was a nice outing.

The big blemish came off of the bat of top prospect in baseball Kris Bryant. In the second, the right-handed Bryant mashed an inside fastball in the lower half of the zone and sent it over the left-center field wall for a two-run dinger. It sounded impressive. In all, Marshall gave up two hits, two runs, struck out one and waked one in his two-inning outing.

Kraig Sitton, Rafael Betancourt, and LaTroy Hawkins each pitched a scoreless inning wherein they each gave up a hit and struck out one. Betancourt's outs were of the hard hit variety, but it's great to see him get an inning under his belt. John Axford pitched a clean fifth inning for his Rockies debut. Two of his outs came by the ground ball, while the other was strike out. Adam Ottavino gave up a hit but nothing else in his inning. Boone Logan gave up a hit and a run in a 17 pitch eighth inning.

The game was not without drama at the end. The plan was for Justin Miller to finish the game, but after giving up a home run to Matt Szczur, to make the game 7-4, Miller allowed two singles and and gave up two walks to make it 7-5. He did pepper in two outs, but Walt Weiss brought in Brooks Brown to finish the game. Brown did just that, as he got Mike Baxter to ground out to wrap up the Rockies' first victory of the spring.

There were two minor injuries. Roger Bernadina bruised his wrist after a run in with first baseman Anthony Rizzo, and Omar Quintanilla was hit by a pitch, also on his wrist. Neither injury is serious.

In all, it was a fine day for the Rockies. It's nice to see Arenado swinging the bat well. The only pitcher to really run into trouble was Justin Miller, despite the ten total hits given up, but he's unlikely to play a role on the big league club this season.

Tomorrow, Tyler Matzek will make his spring debut against the San Diego Padres.

Padres 7, Giants 6: Wil Myers Hits First Homer, Shields Shines

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This afternoon, the Padres took on the division rival Giants for the first time this spring, and our boys showed up swinging. Wil Myershit his first bomb of the spring, taking Tim Lincecum's pitch over the tall right field wall in Scottsdale. Joining Myers in the home run club was Rymer Liriano, who went deep on Cody Hall, providing an essential insurance run for the ninth inning.

But it wasn't just the long ball that kept the Friars on top today. Cory Spangenberg got the scoring started early, hitting a two RBI single off World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner in the second. Alexi Amarista continued his strong spring with a pair of RBIs, one on a ground out, and another on a double off Lincecum.

James Shields breezed through his first start in a Padres uniform, forcing two batters into ground outs while catching another with an easy fly. He was only touched by Angel Pagan, who dropped a bloop single into center field. Matt Wisler looked sharp in his first appearance of the spring, striking out the first two batters he faced. He got stung a bit in his second inning of work, when he issued a walk to Gary Brown, who would score on Brandon Belt's double to right.

Tyson Ross will be making his spring debut tomorrow afternoon against the Rockies. First pitch is at 1:05 PM, and you'll be able to catch this one live on Fox Sports San Diego.

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Yankees were the closest team to acquiring Cole Hamels

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It's no surprise that the Yankees would look into acquiring Cole Hamels at some point this season. He's on a Phillies team that desperately needs to shed payroll, he's probably their best movable piece, and the Yankees currently have Chris Capuano written in as their fifth starter. The only thing holding a trade back would be Hamels' exorbitant contract–$94 million over the next four years with a $20 team option/$24 million vesting option for 2019–and the prospects that Ruben Amaro will surely demand from any team.

When a player's high cost is in both money and personnel, teams get a little hesitant, which is likely why the Red Sox balked at the proposed package of top catching prospect Blake Swihart and prized talent Mookie Betts. According to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, the Phillies were also in talks with the Rangers, Padres, and Yankees the most and, according to a source, the Yankees were the closest to acquiring Hamels.

It's hard to say who the Yankees offered, but a package that included, say, Gary Sanchez and Rob Refsnyder would be closest in matching the trade that Boston turned down. Of course, anyone from Luis Severino, Aaron Judge, and Greg Bird could be made available to acquire someone like Hamels, but hopefully Brian Cashman is crafty enough to know that, while the Phillies could simply decide not to trade their ace, he shouldn't give Amaro everything he asks for. Of course, this could also all be talk in order to get the Red Sox to commit to a deal before their rivals get a new weapon.

For the Yankees, Hamels might be the perfect addition for the 2015 season. They have room for him, and he would fit right into the top of their rotation, serving as their alternative to signing Max Scherzer and Jon Lester to big free agent deals. Even if nothing happens during spring training, this could be a story line to follow through the first half of the season and into the trade deadline. If the Yankees are in contention and Hamels is effective and healthy, expect talks to continue and more rumors to swirl until the 31-year-old finally ends up somewhere.

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