Tuesday, October 31, 2006
The Season in Review- San Diego Padres
Though the San Diego Padres season ended with a disappointing Division Series against the Cardinals, they should be happy about the season and what it could mean for the future. They are N.L. West champions for the 2nd consecutive season.
The reason they won the division was most likely their pitching, with the best team ERA in the N.L. They had a rotation that included Chris Young, Woody Williams, and Clay Hensley, all with ERAs under 4.00, plus Jake Peavy, who had a 3.68 ERA in the 2nd half. Chris Young could have easily been the ace in the rotation, with a 3.46 ERA and 164 strikeouts in 179.1 innings. Twice during the season he took a no-hitter into at least the 8th, once against Colorado, where a double to lead off the 8th inning broke it up, and once against Pittsburgh, broken up by a two-run homer by former Padre Joe Randa with one out in the 9th.
Woody Williams proved that even at 39, he could still be a good pitcher, going 12-5 with a 3.65 ERA in a season shortened by almost 2 months because of a calf injury.
After the first month of the season, Clay Hensley had an ERA of 5.48 in 21.1 innings, and appeared very inconsistent. However, he allowed only 4 runs over his next 20 innings, including a complete game two-hit shutout, and stayed consistent for the rest of the year, finishing with a 3.71 ERA.
In the bullpen, the Padres once again had Trevor Hoffman as their closer. Hoffman tied Lee Smith for first on the all-time saves list on September 23rd against Pittsburgh, and then passed him the next day. Though he was 38 years old this season, he showed that he is still able to handle the 9th inning. He finished with a 2.14 ERA, his lowest since 1999, and 46 saves in 51 chances, his highest total since 1998.
Helping get the lead to the 9th inning for Hoffman was Rookie of the Year candidate Cla Meredith. As if his 1.07 ERA and only 6 walks in 50.2 innings weren’t impressive enough, from July 18th to September 17th, nearly 2 months, he did not allow any earned runs. That was 33.2 innings, breaking the record for a Padres pitcher, either starter or reliever. It also tied Orel Hershiser for the 2nd longest scoreless streak by a rookie pitcher since 1970.
The biggest problem for the Padres was their offense. The San Diego pitching gave the offense a chance in the playoffs, but that chance was ignored. They went 2-for-32 (.063 average) with runners in scoring position in 4 playoff games, including a 1-for-15 in one of the games. The offense wasn’t much of the reason for the Padres’ regular season success, either. Adrian Gonzalez led the team with 24 home runs and a .304 average, and was only 1 RBI behind Brian Giles’ and Mike Cameron’s 83 RBI.
The Padres were one of the top teams in both fielding and speed. They had 3 players that stole at least 20 bases; Dave Roberts (49), Mike Cameron (25), and rookie Josh Barfield (21). Roberts, Cameron, and Barfield combined for 95 stolen bases and only 20 times caught stealing. On defense, their .985 fielding percentage tied them for 5th in the majors and 2nd in the National League. They committed only 92 errors, 9th in the majors and 4th in the National League.
In 2007 they will be trying to win their 3rd N.L. West title in a row, and they are hoping they will have a better offense to go along with their great pitching to help.
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