Apr 9, 2013; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres center fielder Cameron Maybin (right) reacts after umpire Andy Fletcher (49) called him out on strikes during the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Now.

Oh you were looking for more than that?

Cameron Maybin has been awful to start the season. Again.  He has a total of two hits in 24 at bats, four strikeouts, two walks, with one of those being an intentional pass, and zero stolen bases. If you’re keeping track at home, that’s good for a whopping .083 batting average and .154 on-base percentage.

Maybin is known for being a slow starter, as he only compiled 15 total hits last April, but this is getting ridiculous. Maybin signed a 5-year deal with the Padres a couple years ago, and has done very little so far to deserve that contract.  He was obviously highly-touted coming out of high school and was drafted in the first round by the Tigers back in 2005, but he struggled to earn consistent playing time at the MLB level. He eventually made his way to San Diego via trade from the Marlins in 2010 and the Padres thought a change of scenery would revive what was once thought to be a plethora of potential.

Unfortunately, while he has been an above-average center-fielder, he is a huge liability at the plate right now. He looks extremely uncomfortable, especially against right-handers.

While it’s still very early in the season, this is a crucial time for the Padres. Their best hitter is still out in Chase Headley, starting catching Yasmani Grandal is serving his 50-game PED suspension (although Nick Hundley has been an adequate fill-in so far) and bopper Carlos Quentin could be headed to the DL (shocker) after getting hit on the wrist Tuesday night.  With plenty of division games left in the month, they cannot afford such a terrible April that they are too far in the hole to make up ground later in the season, you know, exactly like 2012.  Why keep Maybin in the lineup right now if he is a guaranteed out every single at-bat?  Black could go with a Denorfia, Venable, Guzman outfield and call it a day.

I am as big of a Maybin fan as anyone. But there’s obviously a trend in his game, where it takes him a couple months to heat up.  So give him some starts versus lefties and some spot starts versus righties so he can continue to see pitches and get into the flow of the season. But if Black sticks with him in the lineup every day, he very well could contribute to a 8-18 type of April, where the Friars are looking up at the other four teams in the NL West. Way up.

At 2-6 currently, what does Black have to lose?

Or so it would seem.

Padres fans have been waiting for the 6’6″ 265-pound 1B/OF to finally turn a corner and hit at the major league level but injuries have impeded his development. The 26-year-old made his debut in June 2009 but was sidelined with plantar fasciitis August of that year. 2010 saw him have Tommy John surgery at the end of July in a season where he hadn’t played since May 17. Sprinkle in the fact Blanks had to adjust to the outfield due to Adrian Gonzalez and now Yonder Alonso blocking him from his natural position, one kind of starts pulling for the guy.

Now would seem like the time for him to make his move to solidify a spot on this roster, and this Spring he has taken every opportunity he’s had, batting .339/.431/.593 with 13 RBI (possibly 14, I think he had one more today), and 3 HRs in 59 ABs. But there doesn’t seem to be room on the roster for the guy. Jesus Guzman crushes lefties and has proven to be steady at the plate even though he is a one man circus on the field. Will Venable and Chris Denorfia are going to platoon in RF and there is no way they put Blanks out there.

So what to do with a guy crushing the ball this Spring?

Send him down to AAA. Blanks has been crushing the ball every Spring he has been able to fully participate in but has failed miserably at the major league level.

Spring Training:

2009: 30 G/69 AB .319/.415/.580

2010: 20 G/59 AB .407/.478/.729

2011: *

2012: 15 G/40 AB .325/.386/.593

Regular Season :

2009: 54 G/148 AB .250/.355/.514

2010: 33 G/102 AB .157/.283/.324

2011: 55 G/170 AB .229/.300/.406

2012: *

*His 2011 Spring Training numbers are not listed because he only had 5 AB and his 2012 Regular Season numbers are not listed because he only had 5 AB. 

The numbers he is putting up this Spring are nothing new. I highlight this because I noticed people wondering what was going to happen with Blanks and if he would make our roster. There is no need to make room for a player that has not proven he can hit at the highest level. Believe me, I want Blanks to succeed as much as the next Padres fan but I would not replace Alexi Amarista, Mark Kotsay, Guzman, Venable, and Denorfia on our bench for Blanks.

Yes Blanks needs a chance to prove himself and will only do that with more at bats but I would rather see what he has in September when we know how good we are (or are not) than at the start of the season. For the sake of health on the team, Blanks not getting called up this season would mean no injuries the key members on the team. So here’s to wishing Blanks a great season…in the minors.

The Giants scored all of their runs in the first, when Hunter Pence hit a three-run homer to give the Giants a very early 3-0 lead. It would be the only runs that the Giants would score the rest of the night.

September 23, 2012; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Diego Padres third baseman Chase Headley (7) hits the ball against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at AT

In one of the biggest plays of the night, Cameron Maybin leaped high above the wall, robbing Giants outfielder Xavier Nady of a homer.  Maybin showed off his athletic ability, scaling the wall to bring back the blast. That play seemed to change the momentum of the game.

The Giants lead the game 3-2 in the 3rd inning, when Headley socked a no-doubt homer — a blast that traveled 428 feet to put the Padres ahead 4-3. Two batters later, Jesus Guzman hit his 9th homer of the year. The Padres added two insurance runs in the fifth inning to put the game away.

Stults capped off a tremendous year, going six innings, and allowing just the three runs in the first inning. Stults will finish the season with an 8-2 record, with a sparkling ERA of 2.92.

The Padres will conclude their home schedule with an afternoon game with the Giants.