Last modified Saturday, January 29, 2005 11:18 PM PST
Hot Stove League leaves many questions

By: STEVE SCHOLFIELD - Senior Sports Columnist

There's an old poker saying about knowing when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em.

The Padres showed us during this time of year, known popularly as the Hot Stove League season, that they would prefer to mostly stand pat.

Yes, they did add Dave Roberts, Woody Williams and Eric Young, but there was no marquee free-agent signing, which disappointed many fans.

The Padres' strategy tells me that general manager Kevin Towers thinks the roster he has can get better. He thinks the Friars can improve on last year's 87-win campaign that landed the local team in third place, six games behind the Dodgers.

Towers is on record as thinking that a healthy Ryan Klesko will have a better season than he did in '04. Same with Brian Giles and Sean Burroughs. And Towers is hoping that Williams fills the void left by the departure of David Wells to Boston and that his young pitchers ---- Jake Peavy, Adam Eaton and Brian Lawrence ---- continue to improve.

If Towers needs any validation for this theory, all he has to do is look at what Drew Brees did with the Chargers. After three seasons, Brees became one of the game's better NFL quarterbacks while leading the Chargers into the playoffs.

All it took was time ---- and a better supporting cast.

If that same kind of maturity catches up with some of the Padres, then we can look forward to an exciting season.

But that remains to be seen. That's the beauty of having a long baseball season ---- nothing is really decided in the first month.

That being said, how a team performs can generally be traced back to the Hot Stove League. That's where some players are added through free agency at ridiculous prices, while others are traded.

Naturally, the New York teams made the biggest noise this offseason by luring Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran to the Big Apple.

But let's narrow our focus to the National League West and see how the Padres stack up with the opposition.

Here are my Hot Stove League awards for the NL West:

  • Most active team: Arizona is a hands-down winner in this category. After going 51-111 a year ago, the Diamondbacks threw caution to the wind and spent money like a drunken sailor on shore leave.

    Arizona could have a new infield of Tony Clark at first, Craig Counsell at second, Royce Clayton at shortstop and Carlsbad High grad Troy Glaus at third. And that doesn't include ex-Dodger Shawn Green, who will either play first or right field.

    Add to that a pitching staff led by Javier Vazquez and Russ Ortiz, and the Diamondbacks are competitive again.

  • Single biggest move: When San Francisco signed closer Armando Benitez, the Giants solved their most pressing problem. Benitez recorded 47 saves with Florida, tying the Cardinals' Jason Isringhausen for the league lead.

    The Giants finished two games behind the Dodgers a year ago when their pitchers blew 28 saves.

  • Most improved team: I've got to go with the Giants over Arizona. In addition to Benitez, San Francisco also added two Gold Glovers, shortstop Omar Vizquel and catcher Mike Matheny, as well as outfielder Moises Alou. Combined with their existing roster, one that includes Barry Bonds and a healthy Jason Schmidt, the Giants have enough talent to win the division going away.

  • Asleep at the switch: The Colorado Rockies, who can't seem to stick with a plan. They are now dumping salary, and their biggest offseason move was signing journeyman infielder Desi Relaford.

  • Most dubious move: Not quite sure what the Dodgers are doing. The signing of Derek Lowe gives Los Angeles the best starting rotation in the division, but Lowe plus fellow starters Jeff Weaver and Odalis Perez are sinkerball pitchers who rely on ground-ball outs to a strong infield. Newly acquired second baseman Jeff Kent is limited in his range, and new third baseman Jose Valentin made 20 errors as a shortstop for the White Sox a year ago.

    Wouldn't it seem logical to shore up the defense for these pitchers? After all, the Dodgers led the National League in fielding a year ago. That won't happen again.

  • The Nostradamus award: It looks like the Giants have improved the most, followed by the Diamondbacks, Dodgers and Padres, with Colorado way behind. But that is only a paper prediction. Such factors as injuries and team chemistry don't enter into this equation just yet.

    Oh, and there's a full spring training and 162 games left before we know how this season will turn out.

    Steve Scholfield is senior sports columnist for the North County Times. He can be reached at (760) 740-3509 or stevescho@cox.net.

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