San Diego Padres: News and Notes

Winners of 12 out of their last 18 games and two out of three in Houston, the San Diego Padres find themselves with a 19-12 record and a half-game lead in the very competitive National League West.

Let’s look at why the Padres are playing so well in the early stages of the season.

The Bullpen is getting it done. Before he was ousted as GM, Kevin Towers didn’t leave the cabinet bare in the bullpen. As a matter of fact, Towers handed new GM Jed Hoyer quite the bullpen.

Led by Tim Stauffer, Luke Gregerson, Mike Adams, and of course, Heath Bell, the Padres’ bullpen has a 2.75 ERA, lead the National League with 10.61 K/9, and lead baseball in BAA with a .195 mark.

The anchor of this bullpen is Bell, or as I like to call him “The guy most likely to punch Rick Peterson if he ever saw him in the street.” Bell, who in a very short period of time, has established himself as one of the best closers in baseball. He really has made people forget about Trevor Hoffman in San Diego.

Chase Headley is blossoming. In my “Key” player for each team series , I thought the “Key” player for the Padres was Headley. I thought if Headley could provide protection in the lineup for Adrian Gonzalez, the Padres’ lineup would be a whole lot better.

So far, Headley has answered the bell.

Headley is batting .325 on the season with two home runs and a .370 OBP. Despite Headley’s efforts, the Padres offense still isn’t great, but so far he has showed the Padres made the right decision when they traded away Kevin Kouzmanoff to the Oakland A’s.

Jon Garland has been the man. I know wins aren’t the best way to evaluate pitchers, but something has to said for a pitcher who just knows how to win games. Jon Garland knows how to win games.

Garland isn’t flashy, he doesn’t throw 95 mph, and his peripherals are never the best. However, when you look at the scoreboard, Garland is 4-2 with a 1.71 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP.

In Garland’s last four starts, he is 4-0 and has allowed just two runs, 14 hits, and has struck out 16 in 27 innings. That is dealing.

Help is on the way. Shortstop Everth Cabrera, who has been on the 15-day DL because of a bad hamstring, will begin a rehab stint at Single-A Lake Elsinore. If all goes well, he should be returning to the Padres’ lineup in about a week.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg