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After covering the Pirates, who were terrible last season and didn't improve this offseason, I figured I should go ahead and start the NL West with a similarly dismal situation, The San Diego Padres.

The San Diego Padres

Last Season’s Result: 63-99. 5th place in the NL West.

Major Offseason Changes

• Added 2B David Eckstein (Signed from Arizona)
• Added LF Cliff Floyd (Signed from Tampa)
• Added C Henry Blanco (Signed from Chicago Cubs)
• Lost SS Khalil Greene (Traded to St. Louis)
• Lost RP Trevor Hoffman (Signed with Milwaukee)
• Lost C Michael Barrett (Signed with Toronto)

Letter Grades

• Offseason Moves: F The Padres tried to move their best player and failed. They let the face of their franchise walk away and sign with Milwaukee. They were awful in 2008, and didn’t even make the slightest move to improve their chances in 2009. This division was won in 2008 by the Dodgers who had the 8th best record in the NL, and could very easily be won again with only 84 wins. To do nothing in a winnable division is a terrible insult to fans. I understand with the failing economy that GM Kevin Towers was told he had no choice but to cut the payroll, but those types of excuses do not fly with fans.

• Rotation Grade: C- Jake Peavy is still among the NL’s best, and boosts this rotation a full letter grade, if he is eventually traded then this staff is dismal. Chris Young will try to give a full season, and has been quite good in the past when healthy. Those two can combine to win over 30 games, if they can give the Padres 60 starts.

• Bullpen Grade: D There’s nothing here to be excited about. Heath Bell will start the season as the team’s closer, a role he’s never done. Bell also has the unenviable task of following Trevor Hoffman’s hall of fame tenure in San Diego.

• Lineup Grade: C- The Padres have some promising young talent in this lineup. They will appear weaker offensively than they actual are due to the restraints of PETCO. This year is a lost cause, but there is a future here.

Player most closely linked to team’s 2009 hopes: Chris Young. If Young is healthy and starts 30+ games this year, than they Padres at least have an outside shot at .500. Without Young, they don’t have a chance. (When you read the local thoughts by Geoff Young, I swear I didn’t steal his answer. )

Biggest Breakout Star Potential: Chase Headley. A much heralded prospect coming up through the minors, it appears this is the season Headley will get a chance at full-time starting. The potential is there, as is the opportunity, so this pick was pretty easy for me.

Best Case Scenario: They win the NL west with 83-85 wins. That upside is much more of an indictment of the rest of the west as it is an endorsement of the Padres. The fact is there is no team in the west that is definitely a .500 team this season.

Worst Case Scenario: Peavy gets traded for prospects who can’t help right away, Young can’t get back to form, Kouzmanoff doesn’t improve, and Headley doesn’t emerge. In this scenario the Padres won’t win 60 games.

Prediction for 2009: 66-96. Like I said, I wouldn’t be completely shocked if they won the crappy NL West, although that’s very unlikely. What is likely is that they trade their best player away, and its likely the Padres struggle much of this season with a roster full of question marks.

Local Thoughts

We had couple of responses from Padres faithful. First we have Geoff Young, author of the Ducksnorts 2009 Baseball Annual, which you can check out here. After that we have answers from the readers at www.gaslampball.com, who gave their opinions on the gaslamp site.

By: Geoff Young, again of Ducksnorts.com

• Letter Grade for Offseason Moves: C. They moved Khalil Greene to clear salary and lost Trevor Hoffman to free agency. It's difficult to see Hoffman in another uniform but he's just about at the end of his line, and the Padres aren't likely to contend this year anyway, so his absence shouldn't matter a lot. I like the acquisitions of David Eckstein and Cliff Floyd. I'm glad the team didn't spend big bucks on free agents in what appears to be a down year and with many young players on the horizon. Between the ownership situation and the current economy, maintaining payroll flexibility is crucial.

• Most Essential: Chris Young. We know what Adrian Gonzalez and Jake Peavy will do, but if the Padres are to have any chance at being competitive, Young needs to make 30 starts and return to 2006 form, or something approximating it. Actually, a lot of other things have to go right, but it starts with Young.

• Breakout Potential: I have an irrational belief in Kevin Kouzmanoff, his atrocious strike-zone judgment last year notwithstanding.

• Prediction for 2009: 75-87. I desperately hope that's enough to push them in front of the Giants for fourth place.

Here's the second response we received. It comes from the readers at www.gaslampball.com and it's contained in the comments section found here.

Thanks to everybody for the help.