YOOOOOOOO Adrian

Adrian Gonzalez won his first, of hopefully many, Gold Glove today. The San Diego native, and smooth fielding first baseman was one of the lone bright spots in an otherwise dismal season for the Padres.

Straight from the Padres site ....

SAN DIEGO -- John Boggs, the agent for San Diego first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, was talking about the National League All-Star last month, though the conversation wasn't so much about his offense as his defense.

"What does he got to do to win a Gold Glove?" Boggs said.

On Wednesday, Boggs and Gonzalez got their answer, as the 26-year-old was awarded the National League's Rawlings Gold Glove Award for his defensive play at first base.

It is the first Gold Glove Award for Gonzalez and the 20th in franchise history, as well as the first for a first baseman in franchise history.

Gonzalez, the 10th Padre to win the award, joins the likes of Tony Gwynn, Ozzie Smith, Dave Winfield and Ken Caminiti.

Gonzalez, who along with Philadelphia's Ryan Howard were the only National League players to appear in 162 games last season, tied with Houston's Lance Berkman and St. Louis' Albert Pujols for the best fielding percentage (.996) among NL first basemen.

The left-handed Gonzalez made six errors in 1,442 chances in 161 games at first base.

"He made plays with his arm," said Padres manager Bud Black, who often marveled at Gonzalez's ability to make the 3-6-3 double play look easy.

Gonzalez, a first-time All-Star, wasn't bad with the bat, either. He hit .279 with 36 home runs and 119 RBIs, ranking fifth in the league in home runs and third in RBIs.

"Without him, I do not know where we would be. He's played pretty much every day. He's been tremendous, with the power, the RBIs, the defense; he's been an All-Star performer, no doubt. He's been our best player," Black said.

Also, Greg Maddux picked up a record 18th Gold Glove Award of his illustrious career, named the NL recipient for pitchers. Maddux, traded to the Dodgers on Aug. 19, made just three errors in 77 chances overall, including his time with the Padres before the waiver trade. He was involved in four more double plays, extending his all-time record for a pitcher to 98.

Corey Brock is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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GM Meetings 2008

Todd Kauffman Bio
Planet Padres Beat Writer

REBUILDING OR NOT, BIG CHANGES ARE IN STORE

The San Diego Padres could be in for some huge changes going into the 2009 season. New players coming in, familiar faces going out and possibly a player that was supposed to be the face of this franchise, may not be a Padre when the season opens next April.

As the GM Meetings open today in Dana Point, there's only one topic that Padre fans want to talk about, and that topic is whether or not Jake Peavy will be in a Padres uniform in 2009. According to reports, General Manager Kevin Towers is talking to at least three teams about the possibility of trading the Padres' ace. The one team that seems to be on the top of that list is the Atlanta Braves, but Towers says any deal will be based on quality not quantity, meaning any deal he makes with any team will have to involve the right players in return.

"In any type of Peavy deal, ideally we'd get pitching, but we want the best players back and are focusing to improve our club in '09 and beyond,"

said Towers. "If a deal presents itself that doesn't make us better, then I don't see us moving him."

A player that might be included in the deal, from San Diego, is long time short stop Khalil Greene. The Padres seem to have tired of his constant injuries and lack of offensive ability the past few years, so why not include him in the deal?

If you're asking me about all this, I think dealing Peavy is the wrong way to go about "rebuilding," if in fact that's what the Padres are doing. Jake is still one of the premier pitchers in not just the National League, but in all of baseball, so why get rid of a big time pitcher like that?

Do I think this team can win in 2009, absolutely. Let's not kid ourselves here, these young players showed they know how to win. I know fans have been impatient for a number of years, yes I know the argument of "we were promised this and we were promised that," continues to come up but this franchise is almost to the point where they're reaping the benefits of rebuilding their farm system. You saw players like Chase Headley, Will Venable, Wade LeBlanc and Josh Geer come up and make an impact, and they weren't even up for a full season, imagine what they could do with a full season with the Padres.

This team isn't going to spend money like Boston, New York and LA, but I believe they have the talent to really be a surprise in the NL West next year. Don't believe me, that's fine, I'll still be here if I'm wrong, but I think the 2009 team is going to be a team Padre fans will really enjoy

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