FanHouse Cla Meredith

Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through every major player on each team. Fantasy FanHouse is here to help with a quick once-over.

Meet the ...
Worst team in baseball. Much like the 2008 incarnation, there are very few bright spots on the 2009 San Diego Padres. Jake Peavy is obviously awesome (although he does have a lot of mileage already), Adrian Gonzalez has been quite consistent the past few years, Chase Headley is dreamy if you're one of those folks that are obsessed with prospects (/raises hand), and Heath Bell might be able to save some games ... if the Pads can get him a lead.

Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2009.

After clinging to contender-ship for the past few years, it seems as though last season was a wake-up call to San Diego Padres GM Kevin Towers. Trevor Hoffman will not be the closer this year, Khalil Greene is likely to be traded, and Jake Peavy is definitely going to be traded. Let's examine what triggered this.

The Padres can't hit, and they are not in position to develop an offense any time soon. They had been able to survive with little offense the previous three seasons because their pitching and defense -- teamed with their home-field advantage in spacious Petco Park -- was able to churn out those 3-2 and 2-1 victories enough times to stay competitive. That all went by the wayside in 2008, as significant time was missed by Peavy and Chris Young atop the rotation (they made only 45 combined starts after making 64 in 2007) and the rest of the starters were shaky all season. In turn, the team ERA ballooned from 3.70 to 4.41.

Status Check is FanHouse's conversation with fans from the rest of the blogosphere. Today, we talk with Geoff Young from Ducksnorts, Anthony Trifiletti from Friar Watch, and jbox from Gaslamp Ball.

Q. How far can the Padres go this season?

A. Geoff Young from Ducksnorts: Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I think the Padres can go as far as they want this year. Of course, I thought that last year, so who knows. They have two studs at the front of the rotation in Jake Peavy and Chris Young, as well as veterans Greg Maddux and David Wells to pick up the back end. This mix gives opponents a lot of different looks, and even if they knock out the starters, they have to deal with -- statistically -- the best bullpen in baseball. It's popular to gripe about the Padres' offense, but Adrian Gonzalez is proving that last year was no fluke, while Mike Cameron, Khalil Greene, and Kevin Kouzmanoff all have been swinging the bat well of late. The addition of Michael Barrett, who destroys left-handed pitching, gives San Diego another weapon. The Padres really just need to stay healthy, keep executing well, and hold off at least one of Arizona or LA the rest of the way. Once the post-season starts, it's a crapshoot, but I think the Padres have put themselves in excellent position so far and should come out okay if they keep doing what they've been doing over the first 2 1/2 months of the season.

As Gaslamp Ball puts it, this must be a story the writers keep in their back pockets to use when they want to take an early lunch. Because Scott Linebrink is on the trading block apparently, once again. Ken Rosenthal on Foxsports.com suggested there is reason to believe a trade could happen:

The slow starts of third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff and left fielder Terrmel Sledge - combined with the stellar performances of right-handed relievers Heath Bell and Cla Meredith - are again raising the possibility of a Linebrink deal.

Additionally, Rule 5 draft pick Kevin Cameron has been lights out in the pen, still yet to give up a run on the season. I'm sure the Padres aren't in a hurry to get rid of Linebrink since he's a good pitcher, but the emergence of some other relievers is making a trade more reasonable. Only perpetuating this rumor is the report that Linebrink's agent says there haven't been any negotiations between himself and the team. Considering Linebrink's scheduled to become a free agent after the year, it appears more likely that the Padres will want to get something for him in a trade. Linebrink's name has always been associated in trade talks with the Red Sox, who could use some extra help in the pen. Linebrink for Wily Mo anyone?