Padres Acquire Huston Street

The 2011 Winter Meetings are underway in Dallas, and this year's addition has been quite a spectacle. Big name players Albert Pujols, Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Prince Fielder, CJ Wilson, and ex-Padre Heath Bell have been the centerpiece of the meetings. Just days after the Miami Marlins announced a deal with Bell, the Padres have found a replacement closer in Huston Street, arriving from the Colorado Rockies. The Padres will reportedly send a player to be named later in return for Street, and Colorado will pay $1 million of his $8 million contract in 2012. During the 2011 season Street posted a 3.86 ERA while saving 29 games in 33 attempts. In the past he has been somewhat susceptible to the home run, but a move to Petco Park should help reduce this number. As the Winter Meetings continue to entertain, look for the Padres to add pitching depth and much needed offense to return to NL West race.

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Padres Avoid Only Second Losing Streak of Season

The Padres yesterday were trying to avoid a three game losing streak, which has only happened once this year. They are one of only four teams in baseball this year that have not lost 4 consecutive games, and all three of those other teams have managed three or more losing streaks of three games to the Padres one.

That stat says a lot about this team's confidence, and ability to move forward after losses. The pitching staff is a huge reason for this, because every day we have a quality starter ready to pick up the reigns, and a quality bullpen ready to hold the lead. We have four starters with an ERA at 3.25 or less. Clayton Richard leads the team after yesterday's 10 strikeout win at 2.74, followed by Mat Latos (2.85), John Garland (3.13) and Wade LeBlanc (3.25). With three of these guys in their first two years as a Major League starter, I think its safe to say the future looks bright.

padres.com offers more on yesterdays win and the Padres knack for avoiding losing streaks in 2010.

Two Finallys in Two Days

The first finally was one we didn't want, and the second one was great. On Tuesday, the Padres finally lost to the Giants. The Padres bats have been pretty damn quiet for a week, and the result has been more losses than wins. Against the Giants on Tuesday, it was Mike Adams giving up the two run homer, and the Padres failing to score a run from the fifth inning until the 11th. They finally scored some runs, but came up one short when Chase Headley failed to continue his success following an Adrian Gonzales intentional walk.

I hate to admit it, but a lot of the Padres success is going to fall on Headley's ability to protect Adrian Gonzales. I have high hopes for this kid, so I think he can do it, but I don't think the Padres will win this division without it. Tuesday, the Giants scored three runs in the top of the 11th, which usually means a win. The Padres, however, scored two runs before an intentional walk to Adrian and a strike out of Headley to end the game.

The next night, however, the Padres got a win against a Dodgers team that had won 11 out of their last 12 games, including a 3 game sweep at Petco Park. The Padres did it with their bats this time, with Adrian Gonzales racking up 6 RBI and Will Venable scoring 4 runs on 4 hits.

Padres Win Series in San Francisco

The Padres last night guaranteed a win of the series against the Giants in their home stadium. They have been doing it with good pitching from beginning to end, and that is especially pitching with runners on. The Padres bats haven't been great, but they have gotten just enough. On Thur night, they left an insane number of runners on base, reminiscent of previous Padre clubs, but they were much better last night, and came away with two wins.

Somehow this team has found a way to steal bases, leading all major leagues in stolen bases and percentage. Do you want to know about pitching too? The Padres also lead major leagues in team ERA with a staggering 2.69 team era. Is this sustainable? I don't know, but I'd like to think so. They are fortunate enough to be in the NL West where there is more strength in pitching than hitting, which plays right into the Padres hands.

So far, I am very impressed, and as I have said before, this team believes they can win, which makes a big difference.

Protection for Adrian?

I think it is general opinion around the league that Adrian Gonzales will be traded this year. He hasn't had protection in the Padres lineup, but has still managed to put up league leading numbers. The problem is that the Padres havent been winning those games because he is the only one doing it. This year, things seem to be changing.

Chase Headley never seemed to capitalize last year hitting behind Adrian, and that was dissapointing for a lot of us who thought Headley had huge potential. He admitted this year that he took it personally when Adrian was intentially walked, and went to the play tight. This year, Headley is 3 for 3 following an intentional walk to Adrian Gonzales, with a double, home run and 7 RBI, including a walk off single in the bottom of the ninth last night.

These Padres are finding ways to score. Last night David Eckstein was thrown out trying to steal, and it was just the 7th time a Padre has been stopped on a stolen base attempt. The Padres lead the NL with 31 stolen bases. That is just part of this new padres organization, one that has been mired by terrible hitting with runners in scoring position. The overall averages aren't up for the Padres, but the runs and wins are. With the come from behind win last night, the Padres are still sitting atop the NL West with a 1 game lead, but more importantly, this team is confident and knows how to win. They have now won at a .600+ clip over their last 85 games, so I think its time to start thinking this is possible and not a fluke.

Padres Get Third Shutout in Four Days

The San Diego Padres took care of business from the mound at Petco park vs a potent offense this weekend. Over a four game series, the Padres only gave up 2 total runs to the Brewers, and their offensive heavy team.

After getting moved all the way from 21 to 7 on the ESPN.com power rankings, the Padres responded with a 5-2 week, including 3 shutouts, and only 7 runs in the six games since the 10-1 shellacking they took in Florida on Monday. Obviously a series in Petco is a good place for pitchers, but putting up those numbers against offenses like those of the Marlins and Brewers is something to be proud of.

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