Padres Will Survive Without Adrian Gonzalez

For the first time in five years Adrian Gonzalez's name was absent from the Opening Day lineup for the San Diego Padres.

The Gold Glove first baseman was traded to the Boston Red Sox in December for prospects Anthony Rizzo, Casey Kelly, Reymond Fuentes and Eric Patterson. Gonzalez's departure and its effects on this year’s Padres team was the talk of the town during the offseason.

The most popular opinion of the radio talk show callers was that the Padres have no chance to repeat last year’s success because Gonzales led the team in home runs (31), runs batted in (101), batting average (.298), hits (176), runs (87) and every other major hitting category.

While the callers' logic is a legitimate argument, what they fail to take into consideration is the Padres' philosophy.

By no means are the Padres going to be mistaken for the ’27 New York Yankees, whose lineup was anchored by the legendary Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.  

Instead they focus on “small ball”: stealing bases, being more aggressive on the basepaths, bunting to move the runner up, doubles as their friend, and solid starters and relievers giving up few runs, with a solid defense backing them up.

With this new formula, the Padres have to rely on their pitching staff. If they score at least as many runs as they did last year, they will still have success.

And while having a guy that can hit 30 homers and drive in 100 runs in a season is a luxury, the Padres were going to lose Gonzalez after the season to free agency and felt that they could trade Gonzalez, build for the future, and still be competitive this year.

To say the Padres will be better without one of the best first baseman in baseball is irresponsible, but it is also easy and lazy to say they have no chance without him.

Sure, they won’t have a guy to rely on to put up the power numbers, but in baseball today home runs are getting more infrequent and fans no longer can expect a home run from their slugger on a regular basis.

What the Padres did to combat losing Gonzalez is strengthen their defense up the middle with shortstop Jason Bartlett and second baseman Orlando Hudson. In the opener in St. Louis, the duo combined for four double plays.

They also acquired speedy outfielder Cameron Mayben from the Florida Marlins, who tied the game with a home run in the ninth, then singled to move around what proved to be the winning run in the 11th inning.

San Diego added Aaron Harang to the starting rotation and brought in Brad Hawpe to play first base, at least until the injured Kyle Blanks comes back.

Yes, it will be fun to see Gonzalez pepper balls off the green monster in Fenway Park and drive in a ton of runs for the league’s most potent offense, but it will also be fun to watch what could be the best pitching staff in baseball shut down opposing lineups and our hitters run around the bases like Willy “Mays” Hayes in Major League.

Other Opening Day Observations:                                   

Did somebody forget to tell New York that Thursday was Opening Day? For a Yankees team that has the most celebrated history in the majors, and one of the best teams in baseball, it was surprising to see some empty seats. On further inspection, the temperature at game time was 42 degrees with 12 mph winds. Attendance was announced at 48,226, 92.3 percent of capacity...

When I flipped on the TV and saw the Padres' new gray away uniforms, I instantly loved them. Props to management for making the change…

I couldn’t help notice how severe the TV camera angle was from what seemed like the upper deck of Busch Stadium. It takes away your depth perception and almost takes the fun out of watching the game, as you cannot judge the ball's angle or how far it will travel when hit…

Over on ESPN, they unveiled a new set of graphics for the starting lineup and stats for players when they come to bat. They are by far the best yet, with a more subtle design that no longer is a distraction from the stats…

For the Record:

The Padres will finish the season with a record better than .500 and will place no lower than third in the NL West.