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WHO NEEDS LINEUP PROTECTION? APPARENTLY, NOT ADRIAN GONZALEZ by Jason Martinez sdpadrefan.com posted 5/05/08 As the Padre offense continues to set new standards for awfulness, their first baseman has stuck out like a sore thumb. Adrian Gonzalez can flat out hit. After homering in four of his last five games, the 25 year-old leads the majors in home runs on the road with seven. He's second in the majors in RBI's on the road with 16. Scary to think of where the Padre offense would be without him. Scary to think of what kind of numbers he'd put up if he didn't have to play half of his games at Petco. Scary to think of what kind of numbers he'd put up if he had anyone else in the lineup that could strike just a little bit of fear into an opponent. While Kevin Kouzmanoff has done nothing to embarrass himself at the plate this season, his .277 batting average, two homers and 10 RBI's would have him batting in the 7th or 8th hole on most teams. On this Padre team, two homers and 10 RBI's makes him the cleanup hitter behind Gonzalez. In fairness to 'Kouz', he is probably suffering from having even less protection directly behind him in the order but the fact that he was recently leading the NL in singles is not a good sign if you're a Padre fan. With an offense that ranks at the bottom of nearly every offensive category in the majors, it's a wonder why anyone would throw the ball anywhere near the strike zone against Gonzalez. Still, he's off to an amazing start, batting .302 with 8 homers and 23 RBI's. Unfortunately, these numbers aren't going to get him to any all-star game as long as the likes of Lance Berkman, Prince Fielder, Ryan Howard, Derrek Lee, and Albert Pujols play the same position. As good as those guys are, take a look at their lineup protection and home park, and you realize just how great of a player the Padres have in Adrian Gonzalez. It's just a shame he has no help. |