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2009 San Diego Padres Odds & Predictions

Written by Jimmy Boyd

padres 33109 There’s no sense in sugar coating anything for the Padres fans. They know as well as I do that this is going to be a long season. After winning 89 games in 2007, the Padres won just 63 last season to find the NL West cellar. It was San Diego’s worst season in 15 years and it doesn’t appear 2009 will be much better. The San Diego Padres are listed at +12000 to win the World Series.

Pitching
Fortunately for Padres fans, the team did not have enough leverage to move ace Jake Peavy and his big contract so you should get to see him pitch another year at Petco Park. Peavy won the Cy Young in 2007, but his 10-11 mark in 2008 speaks volumes about how bad this team was as he posted an outstanding 2.85 ERA. Right hander Chris Young had a spell of bad luck in 2008 with a broken nose and forearm injury. Young is a guy with double digit wins potential who can post a sub-.400 ERA. The rotation loses Hall of Famer Greg Maddux, who was traded to the Dodgers and has since retired. Hopefully these guys were able to learn plenty from him while he was there. That leaves Cha Seung Baek to move up in the rotation. His 2008 numbers were far from impressive (6-9, 4.62 ERA), but he does have a decent upside and could be a decent sleeper for your fantasy league. Look for Josh Geer and Wade LeBlanc to round out the rotation.

What a different look it will be without all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman getting the ball in the ninth. That leaves durable setup artist Health Bell to close out games. Expect to see sidearmer Cla Meredith work the setup role.

Lineup
You can count on at least one Padre putting up big numbers this season and that’s first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. Gonzalez slugged 36 homeruns and 119 RBIs and also picked up a Gold Glove Award for his work in the field. The Padres strength is at the corners with Kevin Kouzmanoff across the diamond from Gonzalez. Kouz has the ability to put up some nice power numbers as well and is coming off a 23 homerun, 84 RBI year. Right fielder Brian Giles will be 38 years old this season, but he continues to be a strong on base percentage player. His .398 OBP ranked sixth in the NL last season. Second baseman David Eckstein, center fielder Jody Gerut, left fielder Chase Headley, shortstop Luis Rodriguez, and catch Nick Hundley will likely fill out the lineup card.

Prediction: 5th NL West
It’s going to get worse before it will get better in San Diego as ace Jake Peavy will part ways with the organization as soon as they can get a deal made. It’s been a nice run with four straight winning seasons from 2004-2007 and two division titles but now it’s time to start rebuilding. Last place seems inevitable for the 2009 Padres. The San Diego Padres are listed at +1800 to win the NL West.

Do you MLB betting alongside Jimmy Boyd this season for consistent winning baseball picks against the MLB odds.

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