Second of a three-day series about the National League West.
PEORIA, Ariz. — At first glance, it’s hard to understand why Trevor Hoffman is still pitching. He’s 40, and barely breaks 85 miles per hour with his fastball. Yet look into his eyes and flames practically appear. He’s tenacious and reliable, not unlike his pet bulldog Bubba, who often roams the Petco Park clubhouse.
Approaching him is never uncomfortable.
“From Denver, right? Your team had a great season,” Hoffman says to a visitor.
In truth, Hoffman wishes he had ruined it. In the 13th inning of baseball’s best game last season, the all-time saves leader couldn’t padlock the door. After 19 pitches, a two-run lead vanished, sending the Rockies and Coors Field fans into delirium as Colorado won the play-in game to make the playoffs.
Even in the Arizona desert, the memory of that night still lingers.
“Anything less than the playoffs would absolutely be a disappointment,” said Jake Peavy, the National League’s reigning Cy Young Award winner.
The method won’t change. The Padres are built around strong starting pitching and wildly effective, if not anonymous, middle relievers. San Diego’s 3.70 ERA was tops in baseball. Peavy won 19 games, including a 9-1 record in the division.
He will have plenty of solid company in the rotation. Greg Maddux was clutch last season, serving as a de facto pitching coach while consistently winning big games.
With the addition of Randy Wolf and Mark Prior, who should be ready in early May, the Padres have four starters who have been 12-game winners.
“I just like the fact that this team can really pitch,” said Shawn Estes, locked in a battle for the rotation’s fifth spot. “In that ballpark, that’s how you win. It wasn’t like we tore the cover off the ball.”
In the offseason, general manager Kevin Towers set about improving his offense. He replaced free-agent center fielder Mike Cameron with Jim Edmonds, who could start the year on the disabled list. Tadahito Iguchi takes over at second base, and veteran Tony Clark gives the bench more pop.
“We should be better offensively,” said Towers.
A few more potent bats would take pressure off a bullpen that’s been remarkably resilient in recent seasons. Towers had made an art of plucking reclamation projects off the waiver wire and in nondescript trades. Scott Linebrink was Hoffman’s bodyguard until it was deemed that his tires were bald, leading to bigger roles for Cla Meredith and Heath Bell.
“A lot of games are won from the seventh inning on, and our guys can shut a team down,” Estes said.
Perhaps the biggest challenge is to avoid a letdown, a hangover effect from last season’s abrupt ending.
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
