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| Monday, July 17 | |||||
| Midseason report: San Diego Padres ESPN.com | |||||
The San Diego Padres play in one of the toughest divisions in baseball -- the NL West. So it's easy to see that why the young and talent-deprived Padres are in last place. Let's take a look back at what has been a slow and boring first half of baseball in Southern California .
First-half MVP: Two years ago Trevor Hoffman
saved 53 games and played in the World Series. This year he has converted 21 of 24 save opportunities through July 8 but won't be playing in the World Series. Same pitcher, different team. Hoffman's heater is still deadly and he has been almost automatic in the tight situations for the Padres this year. (And who else on the Padres even comes close to being mentioned in this slot?)
Biggest disappointment: Sterling Hitchcock
has talent. He's a southpaw with a mean splitter. But over his eight-year career, Hitchcock has failed to live up to his potential. This year the 29-year-old struggled before under going season-ending elbow surgery on June 6. His 1-6 record and 4.93 ERA in 11 starts is hardly what the Padres were looking for.
Biggest surprise: Eric Owens
batted .266 with 117 hits in 1999, his best year in the majors. Through 79 games this season, Owens has 103 hits and a spectacular .326 batting average. Add in 51 runs and 20 stolen bases and you can see why manger Bruce Bochy likes Owens so much.
Second-half goals: The Padres should make it a goal to improve their play so Tony Gwynn can come back from a knee injury and retire in some sort of style.
Grade:
(Scale: 1 to 4 baseballs; 1 = worst, 4 = best) | ALSO SEE Midseason Feedback: Padres MLB midseason reports ESPN.com's All-Star Game coverage Kurkjian: Stories of the first half Ten second-half questions for the AL Ten second-half questions for the NL | ||||
-- One more time. Two years ago this team was in the World Series. Now they're 37-49 through 86 games. Enough said.