San Diego Padres Keep Jason Marquis and Look Positively Towards 2013

According to the Associated Press (via CNNSI.com) he San Diego Padres re-signed starting pitcher Jason Marquis. The 34 year old right hander might not be an elite pitcher, but his staying in San Diego shows that the team has an upbeat attitude heading into 2013.

The club, which won 90 games as recently as 2010, fell badly the past two season and saw the payroll dip and an exodus of well known players.

However some of the familiar names who left turned out to be disappointments in their new homes. How bad would the Padres management look if they blew their payroll on Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell?

And while the Friars were not contenders with a 76-86 record, according to Baseball Reference, they finished the season 42-33. Pitchers like Edinson Volquez and Clayton Richard can be effective. All Star Huston Street anchors the bullpen and young arms like Miles Mikolas, Casey Kelly and Brad Boxberger can give them hope in the pitchers park.

Marquis gives the team another able arm. And the team has resisted dealing Street, Carlos Quentin and MVP candidate Chase Headley.

Essentially the new ownership, run by former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Peter O'Malley, do not appear to be running the team as a Quadruple-A team.

No division in the National League will be as competitive as the West. The Defending Champion San Francisco Giants will be the favorites. The Dodgers are spending money like the Mayans were right. The Division Champs of 2011, Arizona Diamondbacks, are loaded with talent.

Competing will be no easy task for the Padres. But as they are demonstrating by not dismantling the team and re-signing players like Marquis, San Diego is not conceding anything to anyone.