Padres Editorial: Wish List for 2016 Padres-Defense & Lefties
Even the most positive of San Diego Padres fan has come to a realization that the team is not going to succeed this season. The team has shown moments of greatness this season but ultimately inconsistency has plagued this team the whole year. The talent is there seemingly but within that talent the structure of it is lacking.
The teams defensive in abilities have been exposed time after time. Not only with the errors they commit on the field, but just that fact the Padres defensive range (especially the outfield) is horrible. Continually hits are given up on balls that should have been outs. Plain and simple, the Padres defense is horrendous.
When Wil Myers, Matt Kemp and Justin Upton were all acquired it was like Christmas morning for Padres fans. All though with the addition of these three outfielders, the team had essentially acquired the same player at three different stages of their career. All three players are power hitting right handed batters that have a strike out problem. Each is also average at best on the field. Kemp is the established slugger, Upton is the slugger in his prime and Myers represent the future slugger. Don’t get me wrong when these players were acquired I was just as happy as the next fan, but the defensive issues was a major concern to me right off the bat.
Being predominantly right handed in both the pitching staff and more importantly the line-up has transformed this team into an easy win versus some pitchers. Chris Heston, a right handed pitcher who changes speeds and has a great off speed pitch shut down the Padres Tuesday night. No surprise as continually the team has no answer against this type of pitcher. To be successful in the Major Leagues your lineup has to be well-balanced. The Padres team is the furthest away from balanced as you can get.
The lack of a reliable left-handed pitcher out of the bullpen is another obvious need that never seems to be addressed. Frank Garces has filled that role, but he just hasn’t the stuff at this point in his career to get batters out consistently Robbie Erlin in the minors should be given a shot at some point this season, but the Padres lack of left-handed pitchers is something that needs to be fixed.
These deficiencies need to be addressed if this time wants to seriously contend in the National League West every year. A.J. Preller is surely aware of the problems with this team, now lets just see what his solution is. The trade deadline is surely going to be an exciting time for the Padres. One would predict the team will make multiple moves to get younger and solve their problems.
The defensive liabilities and lack of left-handed players is a problem that will haunt the team if the don’t do something about it. Padres fans expect the team to acquire players with the proper defensive mindset. If the team could be built more around defense without losing any offensive production then the team could really be special.
James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.
