Teddy Mitrosilis and I recently began our division-by-division breakdown on BlogTalkRadio, beginning with the National League West division. The series continued with the National League Central, and we wrapped up the Senior Circuit with the N.L. East this past Monday. Click here to listen to our latest show.

To supplement our work via podcast, we are also going to put our work into writing as well. In this post, we take a close look at the N.L. West, and what to expect from each team in the division going forward in 2009. Next up is the San Diego Padres.

Recap:

Not a lot went right for the San Diego Padres in '08. From ownership-divorce, financial issues-to a poor product on the field, it is safe to say that it was a down year. How the franchise, which is now officially up for sale, handled the Trevor Hoffman situation to off-field incidents with Brian Giles and Khalil Greene, it was almost a surreal nightmare. The Moore family can only hope that Goldman Sachs will find a buyer relatively quickly.

Unfortunately, things are not expected to get better anytime soon.

Offense:

It is not a secret. Petco Park is a tough place to hit, and has been suppressing power production since its inception. Despite the ballpark, Giles (.314 EqA) and first baseman Adrian Gonzalez (.309 EqA) put up nice offensive seasons, as did a few others.

Gonzalez, who also won a Gold Glove, batted .279/.361/.510 with 36 homers and 119 RBIs. The former first-round pick also scored a team-best 103 runs scored while ranking first on the club with a 138 OPS+.

Giles ranked sixth in the circuit with a .398 OBP, eighth in hitting (.306) and 10th in walks (87). A patient hitter with an excellent approach, he produced an excellent 136 OPS+. Recent domestic abuse accusations have shed a negative light on him as a person, though, and the allegations could become a distraction.

Outside of Gonzalez, the rest of the infield struggled offensively. Greene, Kevin Kouzmanoff (99 OPS+) and Tadihito Iguchi (65 OPS+) all were below-average performers at their respective positions.

Greene had a disastrous-and, boy, do I mean disastrous-campaign. He batted only .213/.260/.339, with a 100-to-22 K/BB ratio while his defensive output also regressed to league average levels. To make matters worse, his self-inflicted injury led to one of the strangest union suits in history. He took out his frustrations for his offensive struggles-a likely response for a major league hitter with a sub-.600 OPS-by bashing his left hand against a storage chest in the Padres' clubhouse on July 30. The unfortunate incident ended up breaking his hand, costing him the final two months. After the grievance, it was not surprising that the former Clemson star was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals this November.

Run Prevention:

Peavy was again solid (2.60 ERA, 1.18 WHIP) but, after the trade negotiations this winter, it will be interesting to see what happens if he returns to San Diego. The right-hander is still likely to get dealt at some point, as the Padres look to cut costs anyway possible. He was the only pitcher to win more than seven games, though.

Chris Young was hurt, but is likely to rebound. Most of the rest of the group-Greg Maddux, Randy Wolf-are gone, though, and the Padres' 09 pitching staff could consist of Young and four bodies.

Hoffman, the all-time saves leader, is not coming back, either. A franchise icon, he was disappointed that Kevin Towers would not meet with him to discuss a potential contract, following his decision to reject their initial offer. A closer is not a luxury that a non-contending team like the Padres can really afford, but the way in which the situation was dealt with left a bad impression with an already agitated fan base. The baseball decision was wise, how they went about portraying their decision was not.

Looking Ahead:

The Padres have some young talent developing-will Matt Antonelli emerge?-but the club is a long way from playing meaningful games, even in their division. That extra-innings one-game playoff with the Rockies seems like forever ago at this point. Kevin Towers is a smart general manager, and his right-hand man, Paul DePodesta, has a brilliant baseball mind as well. Which makes the situation all the more surprising.

2008 Rewind Snapshot:

San Diego Padres:

Division Rank: 5th

Record: 63-99

Runs: 637, 16th in N.L.

Runs Per Game: 3.93, 16th in N.L.

Batting Average: .250, 15th in N.L.

On-Base Percentage: .317, 16th in N.L.

Slugging Percentage: .390, 14th in N.L.

OPS+: 98

Run Prevention

Runs Allowed: 764

Runs Allowed Per Game: 5.07

Team ERA: 4.72, 10th in N.L.

Team ERA+: 87

Opponents' OPS: .741, 8th in N.L.

Team Defensive Efficiency: .696, 5th in N.L.

To reach Tyler Hissey, send an email to TylerHissey@gmail.com.