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GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS by Jason Martinez posted 5/25/08 GOOD NEWS ... Adrian Gonzalez is now on pace to hit 43 HR's, 40 doubles, and knock in 132 runs. If this team can somehow get back over .500 by season's end, those numbers are good enough to merit some NL MVP votes. BAD NEWS ... Khalil Greene is now on pace to strikeout over 150 times. He struck out 128 times last season. GOOD NEWS ... After 52 games last season, Kevin Kouzmanoff was batting .209 with 4 HR's. After 52 games this season, he's batting .279 with 7 HR's. If he continues on this pace, he could end up with a batting average near .300 and 20-plus homers. BAD NEWS ... After 52 games last season, Kouzmanoff had 33 strikeouts. After 52 games this season, he has 43 strikeouts, which puts him on pace to strikeout around 130 times. GOOD NEWS ... The Padres got six shutout innings from Josh Banks, the likely starter for next Saturday's game at San Francisco, after he pitched two scoreless innings in his Padre debut yesterday. Relievers Mike Adams and Bryan Corey have also been solid since joining the team. BAD NEWS ... Wil Ledezma is wasting a golden opportunity to solidify a spot in the starting rotation for the rest of this season and beyond. Watching hard-throwing lefties Ledezma and Sean Henn struggle with their command has reminded me why the team stopped bringing in these types of pitchers a few years back. Maybe Kevin Towers forgot how painful it was to watch the likes of Dennis Tankersley and Ben Howard. GOOD NEWS ... I'm not saying it's going to happen. But let's just say Scott Hairston was in the starting lineup for the remainder of the season. What would his numbers look like? In my opinion, he would hit .250 with 20 HR's, 64 RBI's, and 10 SB's. Not bad, right? BAD NEWS ... But when you factor in 130+ strikeouts, it lowers Hairston's value significantly. I still like him a lot as a fourth outfielder. GOOD NEWS ... Walk-off home runs are great for team morale. I can see this igniting a fire underneath them and giving them a little bit of confidence going forward. Look for a nice run here in the next month that will finally get them out of having the dreaded 'worst record in baseball' and into 3rd place in the NL West. BAD NEWS ... They're still not in the same league as the Dodgers and D-Backs. GOOD NEWS ... Help is on the way. Chase Headley had four more hits and his 9th HR of the season in today's game at Salt Lake. I can't imagine he's there for more than another week. Carlos Guevara, Justin Hampson, and Clay Hensley could also join the team soon, which would help a bullpen that continues to struggle. |