Don’t Count the San Diego Padres Out Of The West

Few teams have been looking to the start of the 2010 baseball like the San Diego Padres have been. Putting the miserable season of 2009 behind them and getting a fresh start is just what the doctor ordered. Everyone starts out with a fresh slate on opening day and the Padres will look to star to turn their organization around.

While it may be unlikely that San Diego will run away with the World Series, there is no reason not to think that they can make a run and hope to get hot at the right time. This season will be about players stepping up and acting like the professionals that they are paid to be. There is plenty of talent on this team, they just need to deliver.

If any team is going to win, they have to have talent in the starting rotation. Chris Young is going to be looked at hard this year and if he reaches his potential, he will be the driving force behind the turnaround of the Padres. He seems to have a thing for even numbered years, so let’s hope that trend continues.

Heath Bell is the one arm that the Padres know will stand up to any team. He converted close to 90% of his saves last season and will be expected to do the same this year. The team will need to get to him even more this season if they are going to be competitive. To do this, they will have to produce offensively.

San Diego needs to get players across the plate and to do that this combination of veterans and young talent is going to have produce in every aspect. Adrian Gonzalez is their big slugger, but players like Eckstein and Hairston need to show these young guys how it is done. If they can lead and the youngsters heed their advice, who knows what can happen.

San Diego will be challenged right out the gate and they need to look at this as a shot at a new season and not more of the same. They are playing some pretty good teams over the first few weeks of the season and if they can even come out of that run playing .500 ball, teams will know that they are not going to be the doormat that they were last season.

Every new season brings about a fresh start and the Padres need to make the most of this one. This is their chance to get their fans back behind them and once again show how great of a baseball town San Diego can be. The start will be the key and it would be nice to see that stadium filled up in the middle of July as the Padres start ticking off some wins.

By Jake Kohler, article sponsored by TicketSeating.com. TicketSeating.com sells San Diego Padres Tickets, MLB Tickets, Sports Tickets and many more tickets to just about any event in the world.