Worst and Worser

Friday May 6, 2011

Yesterday I gave you the bad news and it got worse for the Padres since I posted that piece.

The Padres "best" hitter on the season so far, catcher Nick Hundley, was placed on the the 15 day DL with a strained oblique muscle.

Just two days ago the 2nd best hitter on the team so far this season, 2B Orlando Hudson, who was hitting a robust .245 at the time, was placed on the 15 day DL with a hamstring strain in his right leg.

Hundley was hitting above his career average so regression towards the mean would indicate his batting average will drop when he returns.

Hudson was below his career average & 23 points below his 2010 average so will likely improve only slightly when he returns but with less speed due to the hamstring injury. Less speed means even less XBH on a team that is sorely lacking in xbh.

Brad Hawpe is hitting just about what he did with Tampa Bay, so unless the Padres suddenly start playing their home games in Coors Field, don't expect much improvement from him. His 23k vs 4 bb is an excellent indicator of how lost he is at the plate.

Ryan Ludwick has shown some signs of life recently, but since he is currently hitting at almost exactly the same pace as his stint with the Padres in 2010, I am not holding out much hope there either.

The only true hope of improvement I see is in Will Venable who has shown absolutely no extra base power in 2011 after 13 hr & 31 xbh in 392 abs in 2010 and is hitting more than 50 points lower than both his career and 2010 batting average.

The Padres offense has regressed substantially in the past 3 days and any more injuries will simply compound an already critical problem.

Things are the worst I have ever seen offensively and getting worser.