The San Diego Padres basically blew away a decade of an opportunity from 2000-2010 when the Los Angeles Dodgers franchise was performing way below their expectations. Now, as the Dodgers are about to be put up for sale, this does not bode well for any NL West team. Especially, if the Dodgers ownership is either Peter O’Malley or Mark Cuban. I will stand out on the limb to say this, in this next decade 2012-2022, the Los Angeles Dodgers will re-established themselves as a premier franchise on the west coast. Translation, the Padres will face the most toughest challenges of all the NL West franchises due to the lack of resources and the already jaded fan base. The silver lining in this entire scenario is if the Padres new ownership and baseball operations can assert themselves as one of the best scouting and development organizations. But this is a huge “IF” and history is against the Padres.

As for the current state of the Padres organization, there will be some tough decisions to make in regards to the personnel. In the background, awaits the Cubs, Mariners, Mets, and A’s to see what players are put on waivers by the Padres. There will be some major talent transfer going on that will most likely take 1 to 2 years before the impact can be seen at the Major League level. There are also other questions that need to be addressed such as:

1. Orlando Hudson, do the Padres move him for prospects and allow Evereth Caberra to take over at 2b.
2. Chase Headley, is it time to package him with another position player to get more prospects OR a legit pitcher.
3. Wil Venable, Aaron Cunningham, and Chris Denorfia, two of these players must go as the Padres need to keep Kyle Blanks. In Blanks, you get speed and outstanding power which only Venable can come close to this potential.

My prediction is that there will be two major trades during the winter season that will either setback or slingshot this organization. On the clock is new GM Josh Brynes and he has a hard task ahead. Every move Brynes makes is going to be very crucial as there are other organizations with insider information on the entire Padres farm system watching very closely.

Before I close out this post, I would like to ask the loyal readers of this blog a question. A comment would be most appreciate. Here is the question….

1. Which franchise (Diamond Backs, Mets, A’s, Mariners, or Cubs) do you most fear that are run by ex-Padres executives ?

Alright, it’s that time to close out this post and I look forward to hearing from my loyal readers via their comments. With that being said here is Blues Female Singer Beth Hart and Blues Guitarist Joe Bonamassa, song titled “For My Friends”. This goes out to all my loyal readers, have at !