The San Diego Padres will only go as far as their arms will take them. Future hall of famer Greg Maddux joined the Padres’ rotation to try to give San Diego a third straight National League West title. My hunch is that the other teams in the division have caught up and that the Padres’ lack of offense will finally catch up with them this season. Sportbet.com has the Padres at +1250 to win the 2007 World Series Champions.
Pitching got San Diego to the playoffs each of the last two seasons but it couldn’t carry the Padres past St. Louis either time as offense was nowhere to be found. Chris Young and Jake Peavy are, perhaps, the best one-two punch in the National League. Greg Maddux joins San Diego’s two ace-quality pitchers and brings 15-win potential. Clay Hensley and Mike Thompson are unproven at best. They round out San Diego’s starting five and will probably have the Padres contemplating a four-man rotation all season long to skip one of their starts.
Here’s the offense in a nutshell. The Giles brothers (Marcus and Brian), Terrmel Sledge, Adrian Gonzalez, and Mike Cameron. Gonzalez is really the only one I expect great things from. I think he is the future star of this franchise. Last season's 24 homeruns and 82 RBIs were just the tip of the ice berg. Sledge has been big shoes to fill in the lead off spot taking over for fan favorite Dave Roberts. The Giles brothers won’t put up big enough power numbers to give this team a boost. Mike Cameron and Adrian Gonzalez will be the offense for the Padres this year which should finish near the bottom on the National League.
Of the player’s returning for San Diego, only two hit more than 20 homeruns last season, and no one drove in more than 85. That shows you just how lackluster these boys have been at the plate. Pitching has enabled San Diego to compete in the mild west, but its lack of pop has gotten the Pads embarrassed in the postseason and has led to blaming Petco Park as being an unfriendly hitters’ park. The Dodgers will be the best team in SoCal in 2007 with San Franciso and Arizona also having shots to jump past the Pads.
San Diego should still be a solid team to back with Peavy, Young, and Maddux hurling, especially at home, but I definitely would not recommend being an everyday backer of the Padres. I’m usually not a big fan of playing totals, but I anticipate some great unders opportunities on the Padres this season. San Diego isn’t going to score many runs and their top three pitchers should keep them in most games.
NEW YORK YANKEES: +350
BOSTON RED SOX: +650
CHICAGO WHITE SOX: +650
OAKLAND ATHLETICS: +900
LOS ANGELES ANGELS: +700
MINNESOTA TWINS: +1200
DETROIT TIGERS: +700
TORONTO BLUE JAYS: +900
CLEVELAND INDIANS: +1200
TEXAS RANGERS: +3800
NEW YORK METS: +480
ST LOUIS CARDINALS: +700
SAN DIEGO PADRES: +1250
LOS ANGELES DODGERS: +900
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES: +900
FLORIDA MARLINS: +1400
ATLANTA BRAVES: +1900
HOUSTON ASTROS: +1300
CINCINNATI REDS: +3000
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS: +3800
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS: +4000
BALTIMORE ORIOLES: +4700
CHICAGO CUBS: +1000
COLORADO ROCKIES: +4300
KANSAS CITY ROYALS: +6400
MILWAUKEE BREWERS: +3800
PITTSBURGH PIRATES: +5000
SEATTLE MARINERS: +4300
TAMPA BAY DEVIL RAYS: +6400
WASHINGTON NATIONALS: +7000
