San Diego Padres: Among the best in MLB?

Are the San Diego Padres really one of the best teams in MLB?

With a 6-2 start, you’d think so. With most “experts” picking them to finish last in the NL West (and possibly with the worst MLB record), you’d think not.

What makes this team go thus far in 2009?

Look no further than the bullpen.

Through eight games, it has been the best bullpen ERA in the majors. (Of course, San Diego started out the same way last year, only to implode on its way to a 63-99 record.)

Outside of Duaner Sanchez, Cla Meredith and Heath Bell, you’ve never heard of any of the guys in the bullpen. Bell won’t make people forget that Trevor Hoffman is the all-time saves leader; but he’s soon going to make people forget about Hoffman as the team’s closer (Bell is for real!)

The starting staff is solid at the top with Jake Peavy (until he gets traded) and Chris Young. When you consider No. 3 starter Walter Silva came to the U.S. on a tryout from Mexico last month, it tells you all that you need to know about the back end of the rotation.

Outside of cleanup-man Adrian Gonzalez, the lineup is either largely unproven or a couple of has-beens. Those has-beens, David Eckstein and Brian Giles, will make opposing pitchers rack up the pitch count … if nothing else.

Thus far, Eckstein is playing with the enthusiasm of a rookie. He can only hope that his enthusiasm spreads; along with his patience.

Nobody is petitioning yet for Bud Black to be the NL Manager of the Year.

But if he can keep this rag-tag bunch at or near .500 all year, he certainly needs to be considered.

Padres need to discover whether Heath Bell can close

Remember back in 1993 when the San Diego Padres brought in an unknown pitcher from the Florida Marlins during the team’s fire sale days who was often booed by San Diego fans?

Little did anyone know that 16 years later, Trevor Hoffman would be the all-time MLB saves leader with 554 (not to mention a member of the Milwaukee Brewers.)

The Padres may have botched their handling of the Hoffman situation after 2008, but there’s no question they need to find out whether Heath Bell is the closer of the future.

(And there’s no better year to do it than in 2009, when the team will likely finish last whether Hoffman or Bell is the closer.)

Bell may be 552 career saves short of Hoffman, but there’s no telling how good (or bad) he’ll be moving from an eighth- to ninth-inning role.

To be sure, the Padres may not get to Bell very often unless Jake Peavy or Chris Young is the starting pitcher. Plus, the set up duo of Cla Meredith and Duaner Sanchez isn’t likely to strike fear in the hearts of opposing batters.

Even so, the Padres need to discover whether Bell can succeed on those limited save opportunities.

As for Hoffman, he’ll start the season on the disabled list for only the second time in his career.

In retrospect, it’s too bad he and the Padres could not have agreed to go one more year together.

When all is said and done, don’t be surprised if Trevor Hoffman and the Milwaukee Brewers are this year’s version of the 2008 one-year marriage between Brett Favre and the New York Jets.

San Diego Padres: Pitching staff is a mess!

Imagine this: Opening Day is less than two weeks away, and the San Diego Padres still have five openings on their pitching staff.

That’s not good news, especially if you are a San Diego sports enthusiast.

There are seven spots filled on the staff … with even some of those being less than what you would expect at this level.

For starters, Jake Peavy and Chris Young are solid. After them are presumably (No. 3) Cha Seung Baek and (No. 4) Kevin Correia, both of whom would be long relievers at best on most teams.

And it gets even worse in the bullpen.

Heath Bell will be a closer for the first time.

Cla Meredith, who was sent to the minors for a time in 2008 for being ineffective, will be one of the two main set-up men.

The other – Duaner Sanchez – was already cut by the New York Mets this year and hasn’t been the same since suffering a serious shoulder injury in a 2006 taxi cab accident.

After those seven, the final five spots are up for grabs. Even General Manager Kevin Towers says the Padres will be looking for pitchers cut by other teams.

So there you have it: The best the Padres can do is hope for people on the scrap heap elsewhere to suddenly become successful Padres in 2009.

Put it this way. If you are the opposition, you have to like your chances unless Peavy or Young pitch at least eight innings vs. you!