Spring Kicks off for the Padres

Spring Training Begins

Spring Training and the 2010 season officially take the mound Thursday when Chris Young and Kevin Corriea will each get some time on the bump. The word is they will both see two innings, and at this point CY is healthy and eager to go. Hopefully that translates into his finest season so far, both from a health and production standpoint.

By Corey Brock / MLB.com

03/02/10 8:02 PM EST

PEORIA, Ariz. -- After two weeks of preparation, of countless fielding drills and bullpen sessions, Padres pitchers will get a chance Thursday to do something they haven't done all spring -- pitch in a game.

The Padres will play their first game of the spring at 12:05 p.m. PT Thursday against the Seattle Mariners at the Peoria Sports Complex in their annual charity game.

San Diego manager Bud Black said that Chris Young and Kevin Correia -- two pitchers who will help comprise the starting rotation -- will each pitch two innings.

The Padres will play the Mariners, their Peoria brethren, the first four days during Cactus League play.

Several regular position players figure to be in the lineup on Thursday, though Black has not announced a lineup for the game.

Mat Latos, Wade LeBlanc and Sean Gallagher -- all candidates for the No. 5 spot in the starting rotation -- will throw on Friday against the Mariners in San Diego's first official Cactus League game.

On Saturday, in another game against Seattle, Jon Garland and Tim Stauffer will throw at the Peoria Sports Complex.

Finally, on Sunday against Seattle, Clayton Richard and Cesar Carrillo will pitch against the Mariners.

This game might be available via mlb.com radio.

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Blanks reports to camp lighter and ready

Blanks reports 15 lbs lighter than last year

Kyle Blanks is a monster with tremendous potential and a huge ceiling. One of the only real concerns was his weight and whether or not he'd be able to keep it in control. Well it appears he's taking a proactive approach to make sure he gives his career the best possible chance. This is great news for Padre fans as he represents either another potential dynamic bat in the lineup with Adrian Gonzalez or his replacement at first base should the Padres be unable to get him signed and be forced to trade him at some point.

Blanks reports to Padres 15 pounds lighter

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10:00 PM PST on Friday, February 26, 2010

The Associated Press

PEORIA, ARIZ. - The San Diego Padres presented Kyle Blanks with an opportunity, and he wanted to take advantage.

So he went out and dropped 15 pounds this offseason through a combination of dieting and working out.

"It's something I wanted to do regardless," Blanks said. "Could it have an effect? I hope so. I hope being in better shape overall just helps with injury. I feel like I put myself in the best possible position for success."

Blanks hit .250 with 10 homers and 22 RBI in 148 at-bats last season. He is expected to be the Padres' everyday left fielder this year now that Chase Headley has moved to his natural position following the trade of third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff to Oakland.

After finishing the 2009 season weighing 288 pounds, Blanks -- who missed the final five weeks with a strained arch in his right foot -- weighed in at 273 pounds when he came to camp.

Strength and conditioning coach Jim Malone was excited when Blanks was promoted from Class AAA Portland on June 19. Having had the opportunity to work with Blanks during spring training the three previous years, Malone was eager to get the 6-foot-6 athlete into better shape.

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Does Baseball need a CAP ?

Does baseball need a salary cap? Would a salary cap as we currently know it work in MLB considering how the farm systems are intertwined into the mix ? Is the Luxury Tax the way to go, but simply not stiff enough ? Along with a hard top, should there also be a firm bottom that teams must remain above ?

Per the CBA

The Tax Threshold shall be $148 Million in the 2007 Contract Year, $155 Million in the 2008 Contract Year, $162 Million in the 2009 Contract Year, $170m in the 2010 Contract Year and $178m in the 2011 Contract Year

Top 10 team Payrolls in 2009 From CBS

2009 Team Payrolls
No.	Team	Payroll	Average
1.	New York Yankees	$201,449,289	$7,748,050
2.	New York Mets	$135,773,988	$4,849,071
3.	Chicago Cubs	$135,050,000	$5,402,000
4.	Boston Red Sox	$122,696,000	$4,089,867
5.	Detroit Tigers	$115,085,145	$4,110,184
6.	Los Angeles Angels	$113,709,000	$4,061,036
7.	Philadelphia Phillies	$113,004,048	$4,185,335
8.	Houston Astros	$102,996,415	$3,814,682
9.	Los Angeles Dodgers	$100,458,101	$4,018,324
10.	Seattle Mariners	$98,904,167	$3,532,292

Only one team has eclipsed the Luxury Tax, and they blew past it. Is there any shock that it's also the team that just won the World Series? It may sound like sour grapes, but how can small-mid market teams hope to compete with this kind of spending ? Is greater revenue sharing the answer? Should there be stiffer penalties such as loss of draft picks, or forfeiting your right to mid-season trades to go with it ?

One thing is certain, and that is that MLB is broken when ONE team can spend almost as much as the bottom 5 teams combined, and that needs to be fixed !

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Moorad says AGon not being shopped

Moorad 1090am Interview today

Moorad this am on 1090 was asked about all the rumors swirling regarding their franchise player Adrian Gonzalez. Below is paraphrasing of course, but should give the flavor of how that conversation went.......

" Padres are NOT shopping AGon......"

" but it is policy to listen to any offer for any player, and has been here even during KT's reign....."

Moorad asked Jed if he thought Epstein was going to make a run at AGon.......Hoyer responded that he thinks Theo has cooled to that idea, is going another direction, and doesn't have the "inventory" to get it done anyway

Kevin Towers says AGon is on his way out

KT speaks out on Adrian Gonzalez's future with the Padres

NY Daily News

Sadly, the Padres must deal Gonzalez.

Revenue-sharing money simply isn't enough right now in their market, where a bad local TV package reaps only about $2million and they have $18 million a year in stadium debt. In addition, nobody knows how much it's costing new owner Jeff Moorad to complete his buyout of John Moores. "They're going to have a $40 million payroll for the foreseeable future," said recently fired Padres GM Kevin Towers, "and there's just no way they can devote half of that to one player. It's just a matter of when they decide to trade (Gonzalez)."

Rotoworlds spin on the same subject siting the same source

Former Padres general manager Kevin Towers says Adrian Gonzalez will be traded.

"They're going to have a $40 million payroll for the foreseeable future," said Towers in reference to his former team. "And there's just no way they can devote half of that to one player. It's just a matter of when they decide to trade (Gonzalez)." Gonzalez is set to make just $4.75 million in 2010 with a $5.5 million club option for 2011 before hitting the open market in 2012, so new Padres general manager Jed Hoyer could make out like a bandit in a potential trade. The Red Sox, Hoyer's former club, are rumored to have interest in the 27-year-old first baseman.

Well all I can say is that Hoyer better have one helluva return if he doesn't want the Padre fans to riot at Petco.

Play Ball !!!

The Hoyer Era has arrived

Jed Hoyer is the man for the job

By Thomas Harding / MLB.com

10/25/09 12:48 AM ET

Red Sox assistant general manager Jed Hoyer has been chosen the next general manager of the Padres, a club source told MLB.com on Saturday.

The Padres were not prepared to make a formal announcement during the weekend. But Hoyer, 35, is set to replace Kevin Towers, who was GM for 14 seasons before new Padres chief executive Jeff Moorad informed him near the end of the season that he would not be retained for 2010.

Hoyer will take over a young squad that went 33-25 during the last two months of the season, before finishing with a 75-87 record to take fourth place in the National League West in 2009.

Hoyer has spent his entire front-office career with the Red Sox, starting in 2002 as a baseball operations intern and becoming a baseball operations assistant the following year. Hoyer and Ben Cherington served briefly as co-GMs after the 2005 season when Theo Epstein was working through contract issues.

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Asst. GM of the Yanks --> Dogs to GM of the Pads?

Ng interviewed this weekend

By Jim Street / MLB.com

10/17/09 11:45 PM ET

Dodgers assistant general manager Kim Ng interviewed for the vacant general manger position with the Padres, a San Diego club official has confirmed to MLB.com.

Ng, who previously has interviewed for GM openings with the Dodgers and Mariners, was spotted having lunch with new Padres owner Jeff Moorad, and she was interviewed on Saturday.

Ng could be not reached by MLB.com for comment.

The Padres are looking for a replacement for Kevin Towers, who was dismissed after 14 seasons with the National League West franchise.