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People are bigger than baseball. Dirk Hayhurst is bigger than baseball. You and I are bigger than baseball. This is just some of the insight Hayhurst shared with me during a phone conversation that covered his new book, his beginnings in baseball, being drafted by the Padres, and what baseball means to him among other things.

Dirk Hayhurst played during parts of two Major League seasons for the Padres and the Blue Jays. He spent most of his career in the minor leagues though. That time as a prospect – or a non-prospect as he often calls himself – is what lead him to his new calling. While Hayhurst is still technically a free agent after spending the 2011 season with Tampa Bay’s Triple-A affiliate, his new passion is for writing. He wrote The Bullpen Gospels in 2010, and he has his second book, Out of My League, hitting shelves this March.

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September 28, 2011; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres right fielder Will Venable (right) is congratulated by catcher Nick Hundley (4) following a grand slam homerun during the sixth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-US PRESSWIRE

Forgive me if I’m a little biased toward the FanSided’s network of sites, but Seedlings to Stars did a fantastic job with their list of the game’s top-100 prospects. If we add some of the players included in S2S’s list to MLB.com‘s list, the Padres would rank first in number of top-100 prospects with eight.

No matter the list, six or eight, the Padres should be excited about their future. So should the fans. In an interview with Padres.com writer Corey Brock, Yonder Alonso summed up the sentiment nicely:

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Jesus Guzman could be the Padres "Utility Deluxe Player" in 2012, Image Courtesy of bostonherald.com

On the Padres’ team website, one fan asked San Diego’s beat writer Corey Brock about how the Padres will plan to use Jesus Guzman during the 2012 season.  Brock replied that San Diego will have to get very creative in terms of shuffling Guzman around to get him in situations to help the club this season.

The thought of Guzman being constantly moved around and inserted into the lineup got me thinking about where and how Guzman could help the club in 2012.  Furthermore, I thought I’d discuss Jesus Guzman the player, his success from last season, and talk about how/where he can help the Padres in 2012.

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It may seem like an exercise in futility.  Projecting a player with 217 plate appearances against a player with 4,210 plate appearances, three All-Star appearances, and 230 home runs.  Set aside the massive $214 million contract Prince Fielder just got from the Tigers, the two players are surprisingly similar at first glance.

This is not to be taken as a suggestion that Yonder Alonso will become as productive and deadly as Fielder.  If that were the case, the Padres would need to start grooming another first baseman now because Alonso would be gone to the highest bidder after a couple of seasons.  Instead, we’ll simply compare what we know of Alonso and Fielder in an attempt to project Alonso’s possible productivity in San Diego.  Interestingly, both players bat left-handed, but throw right-handed.  Both are large first basemen, with Alonso standing a few inches taller.

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According to John Maffei of the North County Times, some of the Padres players are scheduled to meet at PETCO Park for a voluntary workout.  The meeting in actually more about allowing players to greet each other, to get the new players acclimated, and to allow management a sneak peak at some of the top prospects and new faces.

Josh Byrnes was quoted in the article as saying:

“We had a lot of new guys last season, too, and we didn’t seem to click until late in the season.

“I don’t want that to happen again, so these workouts are a point of emphasis.”

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A comment from reader, Justme1103, on the question regarding what’s missing with the Padres sparked a thought.  This was Justme1103′s comment:

Quentin’s defense scares me. The middle infield is terrible, but there are no better options on the current roster. I think we need another starting pitcher. In my mind we have two #3 starters (Luebke, Stauffer) a #4 (Volquez) and two #5′s (Moseley, Richard). If we can’t have a true 1 or 2, it’s probably best to upgrade your 4′s and 5′s to 3′s.

The fact is, he* has a point.  Does a team need a true ace?  Probably not.  However, each of the play-off teams last season had an ace (Dbacks – Ian Kennedy, Brewers – Zack Greinke, Cardinals – Chris Carpenter, Philadelphia – Roy Halladay & Cliff Lee & Cole Hamels & Roy Oswalt, Ranger – C.J. Wilson, Tigers – Justin Verlander, Rays – David Price, Yankees – C.C. Sabathia).  Do they Padres have anyone on their projected 25-man roster who can even develop into a number one starter?

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While the Padres are no slouch at drawing fans, the team is hardly leading the league in yearly attendance figures. Attendance has been adequate, but not impressive. So why fix something that’s not technically broken?It should be addressed now to head off any potential issues in the future.

The San Diego Chargers are walking a line. The team is often brought up in relocation discussions. The same thing has happened in the past with the Padres and can happen again if the city and the team are not careful.  The Padres, the city of San Diego, and fans do not even want to think about this subject. Not now or anytime in the future. With that in mind, let’s consider some options for increasing attendance.

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And then there was one.  Yesterday, the Padres and Clayton Richard came to terms on a one year deal before his case was set to be heard through arbitration.  The Padres will pay Richard $2,705,000 during the 2012 season.  That equates to a $2,236,200 raise.

Richard came has been a solid contributor for the Padres since coming over from the White Sox in 2009.  He’s 24-20 with a 3.84 ERA in his three years with San Diego.  He is, however, coming off season ending shoulder surgery on his throwing arm.

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The Padres are better on paper.  Is there any debating that? I think with the projections I covered a couple days ago, there’s no doubt this team is better.  However, better doesn’t win divisions.

If the Padres want to win the division (and by want, I mean want to do more than hope they win), do they need anymore pieces?  Josh Brynes wants another reliever, but he had t found that right fit yet.  The offense should be improved.  So just where do the improvements need to come from, if any improvements are needed?
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San Diego's Spangenberg is the #1 2B prospect according to MLB.com, Image Courtesy of tcpalm.com

Over the last few seasons, the Padres have been able to acquire a wealth of young talent which is beginning to pay dividends for the franchise at the minor league level.  Now that talent is beginning to get noticed on a national level.

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