Mar 17, 2013; Tempe, AZ, USA; San Diego Padres first baseman Yonder Alonso (left) is congratulated by manager Bud Black (right) after scoring during the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

The MLB season is, of course, a marathon. Six months of a grueling schedule with few days off in between games, coupled with dozens of travel days and nights on the road. There are a lot of games to be played and we’ve seen teams get hot at the end of the year to sneak into the playoffs. However, the Padres could very well have their season all but decided before May rolls around.

In 2012, the Padres were an abysmal 7-17 in the month of April (and for the record, an equally bad 10-18 in May). In fact, at 20-41 in the middle of June, the Padres had the worst record in baseball at that time. But it all started with their terrible April which, by the way, included 15 of their 24 games at the (not so) friendly confines of Petco Park. The Padres dug themselves into too deep of a hole and, despite a very solid 42-33 record post All-Star break, it was too little too late.

So this brings me to this season, which was initially filled with tons of hope and promise, especially given the success at the end of the year in 2012, but has now turned into a “let’s try and keep it together” situation. The Padres will be without their best player, 3B Chase Headley, for at least the first couple weeks of the season. Their main source of power and corner outfielder, Carlos Quentin, is continually battling knee issues and, while he does appear to be healthy enough to play lately, we all know that could change literally any day. Padres starting catcher, Yasmani Grandal, won’t be back with the club until around late May, as he will be serving his 50-game drug suspension.

There’s also questions that remain with CF Cameron Maybin. Is this the year he finally breaks out? Last April, Maybin racked up a grand total of 15 hits. It took him until after the All-Star break to really get going, when he actually hit a fairly respectable .283. Can he pick up where he left off? He’s not a rookie anymore; it’s time for him to step up and produce every day.

And then there’s the starting rotation. A couple years ago, the organization had envisioned a much different crop of starting pitchers this 2013 season. As I mentioned earlier this week in my weekend roundup, Cory Luebke, Joe Wieland, and Casey Kelly were all thought to be in the rotation by now, but all are on their way to or recovering from Tommy John surgery. So what are the Padres left with? A wildly, erratic Edinson Volquez as the team’s number one, a steady but below-average number two in Clayton Richard, and Jason Maquis as their number three starter.  Any club with those three guys manning the front end of the rotation can’t feel too confident about the depth and quality of the arms they can roll out on any given day.

The Padres play 18 games in April, of their 26 total, against division opponents, including six against the World Series Champs Giants and six against the new look Dodgers. The Padres had sub-500 records against both of those teams last season. There’s also six games mixed in with the Rockies as well. There are also series against the Mets and Brewers, two teams that will more than likely be competing for a NL wild card spot. Those are a lot of important games to be playing early in the season with a lineup that is going to be in flux. They cannot afford another slow start to the season like 2012, or else we could be talking Chargers football sooner than we want to be.

So can the Padres play respectable ball in the month of April and at least keep their record around .500 until there’s a bit more stability in the lineup?

September 21, 2012; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Casey Kelly (49) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at AT

This past weekend, the Padres lost to the Mariners 1-3 on Friday and were out-slugged by the Rockies 4-10 on Saturday, but did manage to cap the weekend off with a 6-4 win over the Brewers on Sunday. As the season opener for the Padres begins one week from today at Citi Field in New York, the Padres continue to make cuts and fine tune the roster, while even considering making some late additions.

No to Porcello?

It was rumored earlier last week that Padres General Manager Josh Byrnes declined multiple deals that would have brought Detriot Tigers starting pitcher Rick Porcello to San Diego, in exchange for either Padres closer Houston Street or reliever Luke Gregerson.  I can see both sides of why this deal should and should not have been made, but I tend to think it was silly not to make this deal, if it was in fact offered. This was an opportunity to solidify a spot in the rotation with a proven big-leaguer, in a time when the Padres are seemingly scrambling to find a desirable 5th starter. It’s also not as if Gregerson or Street are the one piece that the Padres need to keep in order to compete for a World Series this season. The Padres have always been able to churn out solid bullpen arms and bring in average guys via free agency or trade that become above-average when they arrive in San Diego.  And while Street in particular has been a good closer in the past, his health is a major concern; what good is he if he can’t stay on the field? I guess Byrnes thinks that messing up the bullpen this close to the start of the season would be too damaging, and potentially having guys like Tyson Ross in the rotation is an adequate alternative. Or if the Padres are out of contention come the trade deadline, Byrnes probably figures he would be able to get a bigger haul back for either Street or Gregerson than Rick Porcello, similar to the Mike Adams deal in 2011.

Adios Garcia

Speaking of starting pitching, it was a woefully bad spring for right-hander Freddy Garcia and the Padres finally cut ties with the 36-year-old over the weekend.  Garcia had posted an ERA of 8.77 in 20 2/3 innings so far this spring and apparently that was enough of a sample size. Garcia was competing for a spot in the back of the rotation, but now it seems that the door is open for Tyson Ross, Andrew Cashner and perhaps even Eric Stults to see innings once the season starts. While Ross has been very effective lately, I’m hoping Cashner gets the job.  Let’s see what this flame-thrower can do with a full-time gig in the rotation.

Tommy John Curse?

With the recent news that Padres pitcher Casey Kelly will need Tommy John surgery, it begs the question; what in the world is going on? Just in the past year, pitcher Cory Luebke, pitcher Joe Wieland, outfielder Rymer Liriano, and now pitcher Casey Kelly (there might be more, feel free to add any names in the comments), will be sidelined because of the reconstructive elbow surgery known as “Tommy John.” I realize that this surgery is becoming more and more common-place around the league, but all four of these players are thought to be significant pieces to the Padres future. It not only disrupts the timeline of these guys contributing at the major league level (each player will be out 12-18 months because of the surgery), but it also screws up the organizational plan for when the Padres are projecting to truly being able to compete year in and year out, which affects future signings, trades, and other moves the organization might make.  Perhaps the Padres are plagued by “The Curse of Tommy John?”

Hopefully Cashner can return healthy sooner than expected. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Luckily for San Diego’s brass and the Starting Staff as a whole, their young and promising Starters in the forms of Cory Luebke and Joe Wieland are making progress after both underwent elbow surgery last year.

But not only have the rehab. periods for Luebke and Wieland been going well, injured flame-thrower Andrew Cashner is also on schedule to return to the team sooner than expected from his injury.  According to a recent Tweet from Padres.com Beat Writer Corey Brock:

Sounds like Andrew Cashner could be on a mound by March 1.  He’s ahead of schedule a bit from lacerated thumb tendon. #Padres

 

Cashner as we all know sustained his thumb injury in a bizarre meat dressing accident which left the Right-Handed pitcher with a severed tendon in his pitching hand in December.  Not only will the flame-throwing Cashner be able to return to the team somewhat sooner than expected, but the Padres will be able to welcome another potential contributor to the Starting Rotation sooner as opposed to later this year.

Last year, Cashner was actually the team’s Setup Man for the first two months of the season.  Yet after injuries had forced the Padres to scramble for replacements for the injured Wieland, Stauffer, Luebke, and Dustin Moseley, Cashner was enlisted to help the team as a Starter when June began.  After a solid start against the Astros after a stint in the Minors, Cashner unfortunately injured his right lat muscle in early July against the Diamondbacks.  This injury in turn only allowed him to pitch in 3 games total over the rest of the season.  Although Cashner’s 2012 stat line of a 3-4 record with a 4.27 ERA in 33 Games is nothing to scoff at, I am sure the Padres were looking for a bit more production from the player they acquired in exchange for First Base prospect Anthony Rizzo.

Thankfully, it appears that Cashner could be ready to contribute and add himself and his rocket-arm to the currently murky Starting Rotation situation on the Padres’ hands.  And hey, if better options exist for the Padres to use instead of Cashner in their “Starting Five,” then that should not be an issue at all.  If and when the Right-Hander returns healthy and is not used as a Starter, he can always assume a role back in the Bullpen and chip in with the Setup and 7th Inning duties where he gained experience last year.

Overall, the more potential help is available to the Padres in a pitching-sense, the better.  Hopefully Cashner is able to make a speedy return, because the Friars might need him to log some significant Innings every fifth day.  And even if the team does not need him in that capacity, Cashner would surely provide some terrific depth to San Diego’s Bullpen also.

Stats & Contract Information Courtesy of: Baseball Reference