Padres Press Clips Friday, October 5, 2012

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Young nucleus to lead optimistic Padres in 2013 MLB.com Brock 2

Padres' strong second half too little, too late MLB.com Brock 4

Headley extension major question facing Padres UT San Diego Center 6

For now anyway, Padres feel like gust of fresh air UT San Diego Canepa 8

Progress, but Padres could come to regret NC Times Paris 10 decision on Headley

Padres Chug Brewers' Last Offering San Diego Reader Dodd 13

Strong 2nd half, Headley’s breakout year AP Staff 15 give Padres hope for 2013

1 Young nucleus to lead optimistic Padres in 2013

By Corey Brock / MLB.com

SAN DIEGO -- There are more than a just a handful of Padres who feel the strong showing in the second half of this season could serve as a springboard toward a more bountiful 2013.

"I think this team has a shot at doing something special next year," said Padres pitcher Anthony Bass.

There's sufficient reason for hope after a strong second half to the season that saw the team play a lot better thanks in part to its offensive resurgence, buoyed by the bats of Carlos Quentin, Yonder Alonso and Chase Headley, among others.

"We do think this is a good group," said Padres general manager Josh Byrnes.

The group, at least from a position-player perspective, figures to hold firm over the winter, as Quentin signed a contract extension this summer, while all of the major players who fed that offense following the All-Star break are expected back.

Included in that mix is Headley, who had a breakout season at third base, surpassing the 100-RBI mark, showing more pull-side power while displaying durability.

"The lineup in general, there's an upside where I don't know if we need to mess with it a lot," said San Diego manager Bud Black, who just completed his sixth season with the team.

That doesn't mean there won't be some change. The Padres might be fairly set from a position-player perspective and at closer, where All-Star Huston Street returns after signing an extension this summer.

The Padres figure to go after -- either through trade or free agency -- at least two starting pitchers to add to their rotational mix, a unit that took heavy hits early in the season with injuries to Dustin Moseley, Cory Luebke, Tim Stauffer and Joe Wieland, all four of whom were expected to contribute.

If the Padres decide to add arms through free agency, they appear to not only have a new ownership group willing to increase payroll -- see extensions for Quentin and Street -- but they certainly have the pull of pitching at spacious Petco Park. That same attraction doesn't work with position players.

There are signs that a Padres revival might not be far off. Consider the case of Street, who likely would have made more money on the open market. But he liked the direction the team was headed, the attitude and the optimism of what could happen here.

He wanted to be a part of this.

"The organization itself is a bunch of people that I like, that I like being around, that I want to go play for, and ultimately you have to believe in that, you have to believe in everybody involved," Street said. "Like I told Buddy and the rest of the coaches, I wouldn't have signed this if I didn't believe in you guys, if I didn't believe in the rest of my teammates."

Catcher: Rookie Yasmani Grandal hit two home runs in his first start in June, and he handled the position so well in the second half that the Padres feel he's ready to handle it on a full-time basis, even if he's

2 caught fewer than 300 games in the Minor Leagues. John Baker took care of the backup duties very well and worked well with the pitching staff. Nick Hundley, who signed an extension in March, is still owed $7 million over the next two seasons. He could return as well, either to try and reclaim his starting job or as Grandal's backup. This one could be interesting.

First base: No mystery here, as Alonso, in his first full Major League season, has proved that he can handle the position, can hit left-handed pitching, is durable and isn't scared off by hitting at his home ballpark. There's a lot to like about his game, and don't be surprised if he shows more power in 2013. Jesus Guzman will play some first base, as well, though likely only against tough left-handers.

Second base: This position bears watching, as rookie Jedd Gyorko, if he has a good spring, could be the frontrunner here. He's done all he could at Triple-A, and if Headley isn't going anywhere, he will need somewhere other than third base to play. The good news is he got a big taste of second base in Tucson. Logan Forsythe, who was very good offensively in the second half, could see a lot of time here. A third baseman by trade, he fared well at second base at times, though he's still learning the position.

Shortstop: Everth Cabrera showed the Padres something in the second half, both with his bat -- a switch- hitter, he was much better hitting left-handed -- and his defense. Shortstop is a tough position to play, but Cabrera has the right skill set to make it work. There's no one in the system ready to play in the big leagues that can do so on an everyday basis. Look for Forsythe to get some reps during Spring Training at shortstop, but that's not his ultimate destination.

Third base: While Headley was coveted by other teams at the Trade Deadline, the chance the Padres trade him in the offseason is awfully slim. He produced a monster season at the plate, as he generated more pull-side loft in his swing and became a big-time run producer. Gyorko is in the wings, but he'll likely make the team anyway, though at second base. Headley is durable, his left-right splits (he's a switch-hitter) improved, as did his hitting at spacious Petco Park.

Outfield: The Padres are set in center field with Cameron Maybin and in left with Quentin, though he'll need relief on occasion. Super reserve Chris Denorfia will be back, and he can hit lefties well, as does Guzman. Denorfia could be a fit in right field, as well, if the team prefers to have a left-right platoon with Will Venable, unless the team decides to non-tender him. Also, veteran Mark Kotsay showed he can still play the outfield. There's a lot of mix-and-match options here.

Starting pitching: This is an area the Padres will address this winter, possibly adding as many as two starters to the mix. Clayton Richard and Edinson Volquez will return, and each was durable and had plenty of success in 2012. Casey Kelly, a 22-year-old, showed good signs. Luebke and Wieland each had Tommy John surgery in the spring and won't be back until midseason at the earliest. Another pitcher, Eric Stults, could win a job at the back end of the rotation.

Relief pitching: The team is set at closer with All-Star Street, who pitched like one when he was healthy. Street missed 64 games on two DL stints, none involving his right arm or shoulder. Luke Gregerson got his slider back in 2012, and will be a part of the bullpen moving forward. The second half gave Black and pitching coach Darren Balsley plenty of time to work with and evaluate rookies like Brad Brach, Dale Thayer and Nick Vincent, who could have spots in the bullpen in '13. Look for left-hander Joe Thatcher to return as well.

3 Padres' strong second half too little, too late

By Corey Brock / MLB.com

SAN DIEGO -- As much as the Padres would have liked to, you simply can't go back and erase the first two months of the season, nor can you protect your players in a plastic bubble, keeping them from the harm of injury and far away from the disabled list.

Baseball just doesn't work that way.

But for as much as the Padres were seemingly buried early by under-performance and injuries -- the team sent a player to the disabled list 15 times by May 19 -- they sure made for an interesting show in the second half, remaining (mathematically, at least) in the National League Wild Card hunt until late September.

"The biggest thing we can be proud of is that we've climbed back to where we are now," said manager Bud Black.

That's saying something, considering the Padres' best-laid plans in Spring Training went awry early, as a handful of pitchers -- Dustin Moseley, Tim Stauffer, Cory Luebke, Joe Wieland and closer Huston Street - - landed on the disabled list early, forcing the team to look outside the organization for reinforcements.

"You spend all winter building depth, and we went into Spring Training thinking that our depth beyond our Major League team was really good," said Padres assistant general manager A.J. Hinch. "As it turned out, we tested that theory quite a bit this year."

When asked about the slew of injuries early in the season, general manager Josh Byrnes simply shook his head.

"Maybe more than I've ever dealt with," he said.

Despite all of that, the Padres rallied in the second half, thanks in large part to their ... offense? Yes, a team that has largely been built on pitching and defense -- playing in a big ballpark will do that -- made inroads during the second half with its bats, providing Black with the best offense he's had in his six seasons as manager.

Third baseman Chase Headley had a monster season at the plate, well surpassing his career-best home run and RBI totals. Outfielder Carlos Quentin, who played his first game on May 28, was a hit when he was in the lineup, benefiting Headley and rookie first baseman Yonder Alonso.

"I do feel like our offense has gotten better," Byrnes said. "I feel like our offense and our position-player group -- where we can mix and match, how they can play defense, our depth -- is a lot better than it was last offseason. The long-standing issue is, 'Are we going to score enough runs?' I think we've taken a step in that direction."

Record: 76-86, fourth place, NL West.

Defining moment: By the time the Padres reached an off-day on May 10, they were already 9 1/2 games out in the NL West, 10 games under .500 (11-21) and had made 11 DL moves. Three of those transactions

4 occurred during a miserable eight-day stretch in which both Luebke and Wieland were lost to season- ending injuries and Street landed on the DL, where he stayed for 29 games due to a strained lat. The season could not have begun much worse.

What went right: In the second half, the Padres finally started getting players back from the DL, including Quentin. Chase Headley starred, and Street, despite two DL stints, was dominant as closer, serving as the Padres' lone All-Star representative. Two young players who came over from the Reds in the Mat Latos deal, catcher Yasmani Grandal and Alonso, performed well. On a pitching staff decimated by injuries, Clayton Richard didn't miss a start and finished with 14 wins. Edinson Volquez also proved durable and on July 19 tossed a one-hit shutout against the Astros.

What went wrong: In a word, injuries. Quentin missed nearly the first two months of the season after undergoing right knee surgery in March. Promising pitchers Luebke and Wieland were lost to injuries early, forcing the team to look outside the organization for help. The offense couldn't carry the Padres early on, and neither could the defense. Both improved in the second half, but the club was buried by its bad luck with injuries and a 17-35 record entering June. The Padres rallied in the second half, thanks to an improved offense, but their slow start hurt immensely.

Biggest surprise: It has to be Headley, who didn't just surpass his previous career highs in home runs (12) and RBIs (64) -- he absolutely blew past them. Headley was durable, created more pull-side power and had more success at Petco Park than he previously had. Grandal surprised the staff and front office with how he handled himself in the big leagues after only 171 games in the Minor Leagues. He performed well offensively and defensively and looks to be the Padres' catcher for the several years.

5 Headley extension major question facing Padres

By Bill Center

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Chase Headley could become the first major test for the Padres’ new ownership.

When the O’Malley-Seidler-Fowler group was formally introduced at Petco Park as the Padres new owners on Aug. 29, spokesman Ron Fowler said:

“We need to build a strong product on the field that will build fan support. Fire sales will not be part of how we do business. If we have good players who want to be here, we’ll try to keep them.”

Meet Chase Headley ...

Drafted in the second round of 2005, Headley is as homegrown as they come. And he’s always displayed loyalty to the Padres and expressed a desire to remain in San Diego.

Headley has never once mentioned what he might go elsewhere should he become a free agent after the 2014 season.

“I have always enjoyed playing for San Diego, I haven’t really ever given a thought about what it would be like to play for another team,” Headley said in July as rumors about his future in San Diego circulated as the trading deadline approached.

As we all know, Headley didn’t get traded. He went All-Star.

Over the final 57 games of the season, the 28-year-old switch-hitter batted .313 with 10 doubles, 19 homers, 44 runs scored and 63 RBI.

In two months he went from being a third baseman who might be replaced by prospect Jedd Gyorko down the road to the most identifiable Padres player since Adrian Gonzalez.

Headley became the type of marquee player Fowler was talking about.

He finished the season with a .286 average. He set career highs in hits (173), runs (95), home runs (31), walks (86), RBI, total bases (301), on-base percentage (.376) and slugging percentage (.498) and equaled career highs in games played (161), doubles (31) and steals (17).

Headley reached base via a hit, walk or hit-by-pitch in a franchise record 146 games, breaking Tony Gwynn’s record. Headley joined Dave Winfield (118 in 1979) as only the second Padres player to win the RBI title. He had more than 30 RBI in both August and September, becoming the first Padre to ever have more than one 30-RBI RBI month. The only other Padre ever to be named the National League Player of the Month consecutively was Ken Caminiti.

Plus, Headley is a solid defensive third baseman and a shrewd baserunner.

So, what is Chase Headley worth to the Padres?

6 And can they afford to keep him with a contract that extends beyond his free agent threshold?

The ball is in the Padres’ court. What do they do with Chase Headley?

The immediate answer is they don’t have to do anything. Although he is arbitration eligible, the Padres control Headley for two more seasons.

But while the Padres were extending the contracts of seven other players since spring training, Headley wasn’t approached.

Cameron Maybin, Cory Luebke, Nick Hundley, Carlos Quentin, Huston Street, Chris Denorfia and Mark Kotsay were extended.

Headley was not. And he did think about it. Why wasn’t he approached? Well, there was the Gyorko factor. Plus, given the fact that he is deep into arbitration, the Padres might have trouble coming up with a number that would suit both sides.

However, given the breakout season Headley just had, the Padres might have been pushed into a corner.

Headley made $3.475 million in 2012. Given his performance, his salary could double under arbitration.

But Quentin will make $9.5 million in 2013. Street will make $7 million. Looking back, Headley made less in 2013 than Jason Bartlett ($5.5 million plus a $1.5 million buyout on his 2013 contract) and Orlando Hudson ($5.25 million plus a $2 million buyout).

So, what is Headley’s worth?

And do the Padres just ride with one-year, arbitration-inspired contracts for the next two seasons or do they strike early and tie him up — which seems to be the goal set by the new owners.

Plus, there are some in the Padres front office who believe that, given the ceiling of Gyorko, this might still be the time to trade Headley. The argument is his value will never be higher and he might bring the type of mother lode that Mat Latos produced last winter.

Given the stance of the new owners on promoting from within, this doesn’t seem to be a likely option ... at the moment.

Padres notes

• Padres GM Josh Byrnes Thursday said the Padres are looking for a new bullpen coach. Jimmie Jones, who filled in for the late Darrel Akerfelds for the bulk of the 2012 season, will be returning to San Antonio as the Double-A pitching coach.

• The rest of the coaching staff will return.

7 For now anyway, Padres feel like gust of fresh air

By Nick Canepa

Thursday, October 4, 2012

It’s difficult to calculate how long it will last, because it involves the Padres after all, and this isn’t the first time we’ve felt these fateful zephyrs waft through our baseball yards. We know bait and we know switch, and bait stinks and switch stings.

But for now, at least, a gust of fresh air has made its way through the downtown ballpark, flushing out the stale, Victorian-house fragrance that had lingered through the latter years of the John Moores era. The product wasn’t very good. Moores basically had become a recluse and uninterested. Fan muscle seemed to be atrophying. Many of our citizens couldn’t even watch games on TV.

We can’t sit here now and say this is going to be baseball’s finest franchise, but Moores’ sale of his majority interest into the club to the Fowler, O’Malley and Seidler group obviously has pumped oxygen into this team’s lungs. There’s a different feel to the place, one of self-assuredness and confidence to the ballclub.

Of course self-assuredness and confidence don’t win games or sell tickets. But there’s no denying the team that just finished its season 76-86 after a horrific first two months made a rapid recovery under manager Bud Black. Its season ended with so much promise the baseball people don’t see any reason to make many offseason changes to its roster of position players.

Pitching is another tale, but when was the last time Padres brass said they were happy with their everyday players and hope to keep the cards in their hand?

“It looks like the group we ended the season with position player-wise will be pretty much intact,” Black said. “This group looks pretty stable. There was a learning curve here for a number of our players.”

Black and General Manager Josh Byrnes did a terrific job mixing and matching players from the minor league system until the pieces fit into the lineup. The killer was pitching. Of the 13 pitchers on the depth chart at the start of the season, nine were on the disabled list by the end of the fourth week.

Byrnes couldn’t give me an exact figure when I asked him what the franchise spent on back-and-forth airfare between San Diego and Tucson.

“It was a lot,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like it. Twenty-four pitchers threw at least 15 innings, which is incredible. Only two got to a hundred.”

Said Black: “Those five guys you intend to start out of the chute are the best five pitchers in your organization, with a good chance to win every night. For us, that didn’t occur. You’re going to lose pitchers, but not to the extent we did.”

Black and Byrnes spoke to the media Thursday and the hot topics were the Petco fences, Chase Headley and payroll.

8 It now finally appears as though Petco’s fences will be moved in (not dramatically) in left- and right- center, but that certainly doesn’t mean the Padres will have any advantage over visitors. It helps make for eye candy.

“I’m for it,” Black said. “Certain parts of the park play a little bit extreme. If you hit a ball a long ways, it should be a home run.”

Byrnes agrees. “My sense is it wouldn’t be a drastic change. There hasn’t been a home-field advantage over time.”

Third baseman Headley could have hit in Yellowstone in this, his breakout season, one in which he led the National League in RBI (“If you can hit, you can hit anywhere,” Black artfully noted). He’s signed through the 2014 season, but Headley’s going to get a hefty raise through arbitration — and Byrnes agrees he should — and my feeling is the club will (and should) do something with him sooner rather than later, when his price could go Prada.

But there’s also the gamble this could be a one-year shopping spree for Chase, although he certainly seemed to find himself over a long period of time. The Pads had 610 RBI. Headley had 115 of them. They hit 121 home runs. Headley hit 31.

“He had an unbelievable year,” Byrnes said. “We’ll talk to him and his agent.”

Byrnes should have signed Headley earlier, but third is a strong position in the organization.

“Probably, yeah,” he said. “The good news is that two years is a lot of time (to re-sign him). You have to access the risk of being wrong.”

Lastly, the payroll, and what he will do during the offseason?

“Whatever our budget is, it will be a budget,” said Byrnes, admitting all GMs lie about their payroll. “Our mix is good. We need to focus on starting pitching.”

The gust of fresh air isn’t strong enough to blow away the need for that.

9 Progress, but Padres could come to regret decision on Headley

15 hours ago • By JAY PARIS [email protected]

SAN DIEGO ---- Another Padres season ends with Petco Park's tenants mimicking the real estate market.

The view from the stadium press box spies residences with mortgages under water and a team ending another season under .500.

But the Padres, despite finishing 10 games below break-even, won't be broken up.

That was Thursday's sermon delivered by general manager Josh Byrnes and manager Bud Black, as they tidied up after the team's fourth losing season in five years.

Byrnes isn't expected to grab this roster like a worn rug and give it a good shake to remove the dust.

Instead, he'll focus on the starting rotation ---- what team won't? ---- and hope the seeds planted this season continue to flourish.

"I do think the personality of who we want to be, with Buddy, the players and the coaches is very good,'' Byrnes said. "So I think we have taken a big step in the personality we want.''

Careful. When hearing of personality traits of a pro team, thoughts turn to blind dates gone bad.

Even with the Padres going 42-33 after the All-Star break, hitting the tape at 10 games under and hanging your shingle in fourth place is nothing to toast.

But Byrnes, as he has the right to, plays the injury card regarding his decimated pitching staff. He noted that 24 pitchers threw at least 15 innings, and good luck with those numbers spelling success.

It wouldn't be surprising if Byrnes swears off peanuts this offseason, having taken Southwest flights to Triple A Tuscon so much to scout replacement arms that he could cheat on the in-flight crossword puzzles.

But the biggest mystery to this passenger is why Byrnes didn't extend the contract of third baseman Chase Headley while he was busy re-upping the deals of his teammates. While catcher Nick Hundley, pitcher Cory Luebke and center fielder Cameron Maybin were rewarded ---- outfielder Carlos Quentin and reliever Huston Street received extension later in the season ---- Headley was ignored.

Byrnes is paid good cash to peek into the crystal ball and provide club-friendly contracts to employees poised to play themselves into rich deals.

The mistake gauging Headley will eventually bite this organization and make Headley wealthy at the same time.

He deserves it after smacking 31 home runs and driving in a league-best 115 runs.

"He was in the middle of his arbitration years as opposed to at the end,'' Byrnes said in presenting his case as to why a deal with Headley wasn't pursued. 10 And Byrnes mentioned the potential of prospect Jedd Gyorko, to date a steady minor-league player, and Logan Forsythe, who eventually cut his major league teeth at second base.

"We felt (third base) was sort of an area of strength,'' Byrnes said. "We certainly thought a lot of Chase, but for him to lead the league in RBIs? Did we see that coming? No.''

So if they didn't sign Headley then, and with his cost in arbitration seemingly rising each of the next two seasons, might Byrnes trade him with his value reaching a stratosphere the Padres didn't envision?

"I never say never,'' Byrnes said. "But we weren't that motivated in July to trade him and we're less motivated now."

Instead Byrnes' aim is to acquire healthy arms, especially those capable of throwing the first pitch.

Hey, ace Zack Greinke is a free agent; Padres fans can dream, can't they?

"I wouldn't put two-and-two together,'' Byrnes said, and so much for the new Padres owners with Dodgers roots being like the new Dodgers bosses and heaving money around.

"Although,'' Byrnes teased, "there are a lot of good golf courses out here.''

Greinke loves to tee it up, but he won't be the plus-one to another foursome rounding out the Padres' rotation.

Instead, Byrnes hopes his injured pitchers heal fast. But patience is required with Luebke, Andrew Cashner, Joe Wieland, Robbie Erlin, and, to a lesser degree, Casey Kelly.

But the Padres' positives are evident on a squad that was 22 games under .500 on June 20. Progress was made, and along with a fresh ownership approach, maybe a new day has dawned.

If Byrnes and Black get their way, the Padres' 2013 sunrise will include outfield fences closer to home plate at Petco Park and a home team closer to contender status.

What they can't recapture is their chance to sign Headley at a discount. And Padres fans know what happens when one of their stars becomes too expensive. In the names of Trevor Hoffman, Jake Peavy, Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell, could Headley, eventually, be headed elsewhere?

"The risk of waiting if Chase keeps having seasons like that, it will be a more expensive decision,'' Byrnes said. "But I wouldn't view this offseason as make or break. It might escalate the cost going forward, but two years is a long time.''

So is 1998.

Back then, the Padres' October residence was the World Series. Like real estate, a team's standing is always about location, location, location.

11 Four bad; one good

The Padres, who have 13 winning seasons since entering the major leagues in 1969, ended another year under .500 this week. Here's a look at their records the last five seasons and how many games behind first place they finished.

2012: 76-86; 18 GB

2011: 71-91; 23 GB

2010: 90-72; 2 GB

2009: 75-87; 20 GB

2008: 63-99; 21 GB

12 Padres Chug Brewers' Last Offering

David Dodd, October 4, 2012

Last game of the season, who cares, right? Apparently, the Padres care, fighting back from being drunken under the table. Down six runs, the Padres chipped away and downed Milwaukee's finest on Wednesday, the last game of the season, 7-6.

Impressively, at one point in the game, San Diego was down 6-0 and never gave in. Padres starter Andrew Werner was responsible for all of the runs that the Brewers scored, but his teammates came through to get him off of the hook.

But the Brewers came hard and fast in this last game of the season for both squads. They started in the first inning and never let up on Werner.

In the bottom of the first inning with one out, Rickie Weeks singled to center field. After Ryan Braun lined out, Weeks stole second base and Aramis Ramirez singled Weeks home and the Brewers took a quick 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the second inning, the Brewers added on when Carlos Gomez singled to center field to open the frame. Gomez took second base on an errant pick-off throw by Werner, and then stole third base before Travis Ishikawa grounded out, plating Gomez, and the Brewers were up on the Padres 2-0.

And it really went bad for the Padres in the bottom of the third inning. Norichika Aoki singled, and Rickie Weeks struck out, but Ryan Braun singled to put runners on first and second base with one out.

Jeff Bianchi then flied out for the second out in the inning, but Jonathan Lucroy doubled home Aoki and sent Braun to third base. After Werner intentionally walked Carlos Gomez to load the bases, Travis Ishikawa belted a double to clear them, Cory Burns then replaced Werner and got Jean Segura to ground out to end the inning, but the Padres trailed 6-0 to the Brewers after three innings.

But San Diego whittled away at that lead slowly. Chris Denorfia hit his 8th home run of the season over the right field wall in the top of the fourth inning and the Padres trailed 6-1.

In the top of the fifth inning, the Brewers replaced starter Josh Stinson with reliever Kameron Loe, and the Padres got busy in a hurry. Alexi Amarista pinch-hit for Cory Burns and opened with a double.

Everth Cabrera then hit an infield single, putting Amarista at third base. Cabrera then stole his 44th base of the season, and Amarista scored when Brewers shortstop Jean Segura failed to catch the ball.

After Will Venable accounted for the second out, with Cabrera taking third base, Chase Headley hit a ground-rule double (after review, as it was first ruled a home run), and Cabrera scored, and the Padres trailed the Brewers 6-3.

In the top of the sixth inning, the Padres continued to climb up on that lead. Brandon Kintzler replaced Kameron Loe for the Brewers and Chris Denorfia greeted him with a single to right field, and then Cameron Maybin homered to left-center field, his 8th of the season, and the Padres were within a run at 6- 5 in favor of the Brewers.

13 In the top of the seventh inning, the Padres completed their coup de grâce, their bastard swords thrust mightily into the sternums of the braumeister's hearts. Jim Henderson replaced Kintzler and he duly granted Will Venable a walk.

Chase Headley then tripled, with Venable simply dancing home to tie the score. After Yasmani Grandal struck out, Yonder Alonso hit a sacrifice fly to center field and Headley tagged and scored and the Padres were up a run and held the fort nicely.

Padres relievers stayed the course, and the Brewers couldn't manage a rally. Climbing back, down six runs, and winning, says a lot for this Padres squad, let's hope this is what we'll see next season out of the gate.

Notes:

Hey, give it up for Everth Cabrera, most stolen bases in the National League. Everth nabbed 44 bases this season, tops in the NL and that was accomplished with fewer plate appearances than his competition. And Chase Headley topped the National League in runs batted in with 115 this year. Simply awesome, considering the extremely poor start by the club and the lowered expectations thereafter. Baseball is a team sport, with individual contributions meaning more than in many other team sports. So, kudos to Everth and Chase, well-deserved and let's hope this carries into next season.

No games on Thursday, and no more Padres games in 2012. We'll have some follow-up stuff here for the next week or so, grading and guessing and raking Time Warner Cable and AT&T U-verse over the coals, the rat-bastards. We'll try to be entertaining through all of the vitriol, that's all that we can promise at this point. And if any breaking Padres news occurs, we'll be all over it between now and spring training; meanwhile, enjoy the playoffs.

14 Strong 2nd half, Headley’s breakout year give Padres hope for 2013 By Associated Press, Published: October 4

SAN DIEGO — A strong second half, fueled by Chase Headley’s breakout season, showed that there’s promise for the low-budget San Diego Padres.

That hope was strengthened when the Oakland Athletics, who have baseball’s lowest player payroll, won the AL West.

General manager Josh Byrnes said the TV in the Padres’ clubhouse was tuned to the A’s game against Texas on Wednesday.

“Seeing Oakland, if that doesn’t sort of get your attention, big market or small, our players were riveted watching that game,” Byrnes said Thursday. “I thought it was a great achievement. We want to be that team.”

The Padres, who had the second-lowest payroll, went 42-33 after the All-Star break. While far better than their awful start, it wasn’t enough to prevent them from finishing 76-86, their fourth losing record in five seasons. They were fourth in the NL West, 18 games behind the San Francisco Giants.

San Diego hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2006.

The Padres believe they have most of the pieces in place to contend next year under manager Bud Black. Byrnes said they’ll need to add starting pitching, mostly because their rotation was hit with a rash of injuries early in the season that contributed to the team winning only 17 games through May and being 22 games under .500 — 24-46 — on June 20.

“I do think the personality of who we want to be, the mix in there of Buddy, players, coaches, is very good,” Byrnes said. “So I think we’ve taken a big step in kind of the personality we want. To me, from a personnel standpoint, I think our starting pitching needs to get better. Even the winning we did over the last 100, 110 games, wasn’t on the backs of our starting pitching. At times, even in September, we kind of ran out of gas. But it’s a tough area to address and a lot of our good ones are hurt, so projecting when they return next year, how many innings we can count on are unknowns and will make the planning tricky. But as far as things we’re trying to go get in the offseason, the focus will be on starting pitching.”

The Padres had only two pitchers throw more than 100 innings, lefty Clayton Richard with 218 2-3 and Edinson Volquez with 182 2-3. Besides Richard and Volquez, 22 pitchers threw at least 16 innings.

While the pitching was an issue, Headley’s season was phenomenal. He won the NL RBI title with 115. Among his other career-bests were 31 homers, 173 hits and 95 runs scored.

The Padres have given several players long-term deals, but Headley isn’t among them. Byrnes said the team has discussed a multi-year deal for the third baseman, but the Padres control his rights for two more seasons. At the very least, Headley will certainly cash in via arbitration.

Asked if the Padres were wrong for not extending Headley, Byrnes said: “Probably, yeah.”

Byrnes pointed out that the extensions the team has given were either to players approaching free agency — left fielder Carlos Quentin and closer Huston Street — or younger players including center fielder

15 Cameron Maybin, pitcher Cory Luebke and catcher Nick Hundley. Luebke was among several Padres pitchers who required surgery and Hundley struggled after getting his deal and later was injured.

Byrnes said Headley falls in between those two groups.

“The good news is, two years is a long time,” Byrnes said. “If having such a good year makes negotiations difficult, we’ve got a lot of time. He’s a home-grown guy, he’s invested in this franchise, but the system is designed for a reason. It protects him, because he’s going to get a nice raise because he had such a nice year, and it protects us because we control him for at least two more years.”

Until this year, Headley hadn’t put up the power number expected of a third baseman. The switch-hitter said he worked hard at elevating the ball on the pull side.

On that topic, Byrnes and Black said they support moving in the fences in certain parts of Petco Park. Byrnes said the club is still discussing the matter and that no decision has been made.

“I think there are certain parts of the park that play a little bit extreme, that I think will help balance out some well-hit balls,” Black said. “In simple terms, if you hit a ball a long ways, and hit it well, it should be a home run.”

Black said the areas that need to be addressed are right-center, which has flummoxed Padres hitters since the park opened in 2004, and a bit in left-center.

“My sense is it wouldn’t be a drastic change,” Byrnes said. “I think the extreme parts of the park would be corrected. ... We know when a ball’s really crushed, the park has been a bit unfair.”

The Padres were purchased in August by a group headed by the O’Malley and Seidler families and local businessman Ron Fowler. They haven’t said what their target player payroll is for 2013.