Tucson – Wake up in San Diego and it’s easy to forget the rest of the world exists. The weather is a daily postcard, the ocean soothes the senses and the fish tacos satisfy appetites.
The city’s unofficial uniform is sandals, khaki shorts and a Tommy Bahama T-shirt. Hard to take life too seriously. No wonder the Padres don’t seem to mind that no one seems to, well, take them too seriously.
“To be honest, I don’t think anyone wants to see the Padres succeed,” Padres pitcher David Wells said Tuesday. “They are never talked about. Being in the American League, all you hear is about the Dodgers and Giants, maybe Houston. We have great young talent. I hope people don’t write anything about us. That means the only pressure is what we apply on ourselves.”
Think on that a minute. The Padres have won back-to-back National League West titles, and they face less scrutiny than the fifth starter in the Red Sox’s rotation or the Yankees’ last bench player. Rather than be offended, the Padres relish their anonymity, not burdened by the Cubs’ baggage, the Angels’ drama or the Cardinals’ expectations.
“We can still surprise people. Maybe it’s our market, where we are at,” said Padres general manager Kevin Towers. “It certainly doesn’t hurt our feelings. I can’t remember the last time anyone picked us to win our division.”
Towers believes it will take 90 wins to advance to the playoffs this season, either as a wild card or division champion. San Diego won 88 games last season and was promptly bounced from the playoffs by the Cardinals again.
The Dodgers are the sexy, if not safe, pick to win the NL West. But the Padres could be better if their two grumpy old men – Wells and Greg Maddux – stay healthy. Their rotation, in order, according to Towers: Jake Peavy, Chris Young, Clay Hensley, Maddux and Wells.
“This is a team that is comfortable winning 2-1 or 3-0,” said utilityman Todd Walker, who soon could be traded for more pitching. “The pitching is going to keep them in a lot of games.”
San Diego’s bullpen is short on big names – save for Trevor Hoffman, a future Hall of Famer – and long on results. Towers’ acquisition of Cla Meredith, a modern-day Dan Quisenberry, arguably won the division last season. Meredith and Scott Linebrink provide a Coronado Bridge to Hoffman.
Because Petco Park is where home runs go to die, the Padres’ offense is suspicious. Marcus Giles likely will lead off, followed by brother Brian, Mike Cameron, Adrian Gonzalez, Terrmel Sledge, Kevin Kouzmanoff, Josh Bard and Khalil Greene.
Ron Burgundy had more power in San Diego than these guys. Yet underappreciated and overlooked never looked so good.
“There’s a time and place for predictions, but I would love to see this team go all the way and bring a championship to San Diego,” Wells said. “I felt we had a way better team than St. Louis. We have the makeup to get out of the first round this season, then anything can happen as we continue to fly under the radar.”
Footnotes
A virtual lock for Colorado’s rotation, Jason Hirsh’s lack of velocity in camp has not concerned the Rockies. The focus is on him throwing from a downward plane. … The Marlins have shown interest in Diamondbacks reliever Jorge Julio. … Teams that release players today are obligated to pay only a sixth of their salaries.
