As injuries get worse, Padres get better

Remember not so long ago when the Padres had the worst record in Major League Baseball?

Then starting pitchers Jake Peavy, Chris Young and Shawn Estes were injured.

Catcher Josh Bard also went down; ditto with second baseman Tadahito Iguchi.

So, with this many people sidelined, what happens?

The Padres are on a five-game winning streak, their longest of the season.

With a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers this Tuesday-Thursday, the Padres could conceivably move into a tie for second place in the NL West.

How do you explain this?

You don’t.

It seems the more Padre players have fallen; the more the Padres make their opponents fall.

When everybody finally comes back (hopefully by the All-Star break), the Padres could be in contention because of their substitutes. More likely, they could have a very difficult time when they begin 15 games of interleague play Friday against the much stronger American League.

During a 162-game season, every team gets hot at some point. It’s interesting that the Padres’ hot streak has come when you would least expect it.

What happened to Padres' starting pitching?

Remember when the Padres bragged about having perhaps the best starting pitching rotation in Major League Baseball?

Well, don’t look now, but …

Jake Peavy (4-2, 2.47) is not pitching like a Cy Young winner.

Chris Young (3-3, 3.94) has turned very average.

Greg Maddux (3-3, 3.60) will probably be gone to a contending team in July.

Randy Wolf (2-3, 5.16) has had a terrible May.

Aging Shawn Estes will make his first major-league start in more than two years tonight against the Chicago Cubs.

The starting pitchers were once thought to be the only strength among the Padres. Now, it looks as if the team does not have any strengths at all.

Padres counting on the old and injured

The Padres better hope the injury to new center fielder Jim Edmonds is not an omen.

Edmonds, 37, could conceivably still be on the sideline with a strained calf when the Padres open their season March 31 vs. the Houston Astros at Petco Park.

The former St. Louis Cardinal is just one of the aging and/or injury prone players the Padres are counting on in 2008.

Right fielder Brian Giles, 37, is coming off knee surgery.

No. 4 starting pitcher Randy Wolf hasn’t pitched in a regular-season game since last July due to a shoulder injury.

Three of the contenders for No. 5 starting pitcher are also dealing with 2007 injuries: Mark Prior (shoulder), Shawn Estes (Tommy John surgery) and Glendon Rusch (blood clot in lungs.)

Yes, it appears the team is banking on the unknown when it comes to battling back from injuries.

General Manager Kevin Towers told Channel 4 San Diego on Sunday that the Padres may need to go get another center fielder if Edmonds is still unhealthy in two weeks or so.

This is not a good sign for a team already hedging its 2008 season on the old and injured.

Padres pitchers are hurting

The Padres have done quite well taking players off other teams’ scrap heaps the past couple of years, but can it happen again in 2008?

Take a look at the pitching staff after you get past the top three starters: Jake Peavy, Chris Young and Greg Maddux.

What you have waiting in the wings could potentially be dangerous to opponents … or dangerous to the Padres for counting on so many pitchers coming off injuries.

Consider:

Randy Wolf hasn’t pitched since last July 3 because of a shoulder ailment.
Mark Prior hardly pitched at all in 2007 due to shoulder and oblique injuries.
Shawn Estes hasn’t worked since April 2006 due to Tommy John surgery.
Glendon Rusch hasn’t pitched since 2006 because of a blood clot in his lung, a bad back and a strained elbow.

If any two of these four recover and have a successful 2008, the Padres should be sitting pretty. If not, they’re going to be sitting back and wondering why they signed so many hurting pitchers.

The Padres have done well the past two seasons by picking up other teams’ leftovers such as Heath Bell, Josh Bard and Cla Meredith.

But all three came to San Diego in good health … which is more than you can say about the candidates vying for the final two jobs in this year’s starting rotation.