Scott Miller’s Mid Season Report Card – F

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According to our calculations, The Padres Front Office Screwed The Pooch in 2008.

Jim Edmonds – $6,000,000 / 6 Weeks

Tadahito Iguchi – $4,000,000 / 2 Months

Randy Wolf – $4,000,000 / 6W – 10L – 4.74 ERA – 3.5 Months

Mark Prior – $1,000,000 / No Pitches Thrown

Kosuke Fukodome – $48,000,000 / 4 Years – 1st Year = Rookie All-Star

We were disgusted before the season and now you understand.  We are competing for the worst record in baseball and are on pace to lose more than 100 games.  The Padres gave us some fish food about not being able to match Chicago in the negotiations, we cannot compete with large-market teams, blah blah blah.  If you spend money like the Padres… NO $HIT!

Look at these worthless investments and don’t make me get out Joe Randa and Todd Walker stats.  There are plenty of healthy prospects out there who could be great Padres if we would agree to pay a legit major league salary.  Unfortunately, these geniuses in the front office keep signing has-been or never-will-be players for sums that add up to major league salaries for a legit piece here and there.  Not to mention what a legit player could return in Merchandise sales.  Fukodome has international appeal and could’ve been a major revenue source for the Padres had they grown a set and signed him.

Small market teams compete all of the time, but they rarely waste their revenue or draft picks on injured or $hitty players.  Minnesota is a team that is competitive year in and year out in a small market.  Tampa Bay has been growing their team from within over the past few years and is poised to make a run in the next few.  Arizona is not a large market, but they have a World Championship last time I checked and were in the NLCS last year in fact.

The Padres Ridiculous Draft History: 2001 – 2008

Written by John Maffei – jmaffei@nctimes.com – NC Times Article

The Padres haven’t had any luck keeping their recent first-round draft picks healthy.

The Padres and Dysktra had agreed on a $1.4 million deal, before the medical problems surfaced. Now, the Padres have three options: They could honor their original deal and sign Dykstra for $1.4 million; They could attempt to negotiate a lesser-priced, incentive-laden deal, or they could pass on Dykstra entirely and receive a bonus pick in the first round next season.

Dykstra, however, is just the latest first-round draft pick of the Padres to develop medical issues.

— They took infielder Jake Gautreau with the 14th overall pick in 2001, and the Tulane product appeared to be on the fast track to the big leagues before he came down with ulcerative colitis, a chronic inflammation of the large intestine. He was traded to the Indians for Corey Smith in 2005 and is playing independent ball now.

— Pitcher Tim Stauffer arrived from Richmond with the fourth overall pick in 2003. He informed the Padres he had a shoulder injury before he signed, and his honesty cost him two-thirds of a projected $2 million signing bonus. Stauffer made it to the big leagues in 2005, but has struggled throughout his three big-league stints, compiling a 4-7 record with a 6.37 ERA in 18 appearances. In May, he underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum, and an injury which will knock him out for a year.

— In 2004, the Padres used the No. 1 overall pick to take Mission Bay High shortstop Matt Bush. They converted him to a pitcher last year. And he was throwing 98 mph with a sharp-breaking curve. But Bush heard his elbow pop and underwent Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery. He won’t be close to 100 percent before spring 2009.

— Right-hander Cesar Carrillo initially put up good numbers in the low minors after the Padres drafted him from Miami with the 18th overall pick in 2005. Then he hurt his elbow. Tommy John surgery followed early last season. He’s back on the mound at Lake Elsinore, but is being handled carefully.

— Three starts into his professional career, 2007 first-round pick Nick Schmidt felt pain in his elbow. He underwent Tommy John surgery and is scheduled to return in 2009.

— And Dykstra isn’t the only Padres’ 2008 first-round pick to succumb to injury. Infielder Logan Forsythe, taken in the sandwich round, tore a ligament in his thumb while sliding into first base in his third professional game. He won’t play again this season.

“Just once, I’d like to get lucky with health issues,” said Bill Gayton, the Padres’ director of scouting. “Eventually, we’ll get all these guys healthy, but we just can’t seem to keep our high picks on the field.”

Hey Bill, you need to get freaking fired!  Seriously!  You might get a pass on one or two injured players here and there over the course of 10 years or so, but every year you pick injured players with our first round choice and I watch decent players like Jered Weaver, Chase Utley, and Justin Verlander make appearances in All-Star games or World Series Games.

FIGURE IT OUT!

The Padres Will Be Fine… FINANCIALLY!

The Padres are making theirs off of you, but for some reason you still pay $9 per beer and $6.75 per hot dog.  You could feed the entire Brady Bunch 3 hot dogs each for $6.75 and get the whole family a beer for $9 at the grocery store!  While the Padres may not be good at economics when it comes to talent, they sure know economics when it comes to concession stands.  The Padres chose July for “Dollar Days” because there are only 9 home games during the entire month.  What a bunch of penny pinching a$$hole$!