San Diego Padres

SAN DIEGO PADRES

Last Year: 90-82, 2nd in NL West

Manager: Bud Black

PROJECTED LINEUP

C- Nick Hundley (R)

1B- Brad Hawpe (L)/ Jorge Cantu (R)

2B- Orlando Hudson (S) 

3B- Chase Headley (S) 

SS- Jason Bartlett (S)

LF- Ryan Ludwick (R)

CF- Cameron Maybin (R)

RF- Will Venable (L)

Padres All Star closer Heath Bell is the latest Padre to step to the edge of the contract precipice, looking down at the Padres future meager wage offerings and hearing the call of the Yankees or the Red Sox and their monetary sirens song.

This is what is wrong with the sport and in some waysm all sports in the 21st century. There is no longer any semblance of a level playing field when it comes to the buying and selling of players.

During the reign of Kevin Towers, and especially since their move to PETCO park, the Padres have been known as a team with good pitching and a below average and boring offense. Games of 1-0, 2-1, etc., are what Padres fans have come to expect.

The only constant in life is change. The San Diego Padres and their fans are certainly finding this to be true after the heartbreaking end to their 2010 season.

Two months after the season-ending defeat to eventual-champion San Francisco on the season's final day, the Padres made the move most Friar fans saw as inevitable. Homegrown superstar Adrian Gonzalez was shipped away to Boston, and the future seemed uncertain.

The San Diego Padres have had many great players over the years, and this list represents what I feel is the best lineup one can make from our all-time roster.

It's the cream of the crop, the guys you would put on a PS3 All-Time Padres team. 

I have been a Padres fan since 1976, and I have done my research of the seasons before my arrival. Here is my personal starting all-time squad, based on a statistical analysis as well as my own gut.

San Diego Padres (2010 record: 90-72)

Notable additions: SS Jason Bartlett, 1B Jorge Cantu, RHP Aaron Harang, 1B Brad Hawpe, 2B Orlando Hudson, CF Cameron Maybin, SP Dustin Moseley, C Gregg Zaun

Notable subtractions: 2B David Eckstein, RHP Jon Garland, 1B Adrian Gonzalez, CF Tony Gwynn Jr., SS Miguel Tejada, C Yorvit Torrealba, RHP Chris Young

Our 2011 fantasy baseball projections will be released one-by-one until the top 100 players have been revealed. These rankings consider past achievements, current performance and expected future results based on standard 5×5 H2H settings.

The San Diego Padres will have to find a way to overcome a terrible finish to the 2010 season. The Padres were atop the National League at 76-49 on Aug. 25, but fell apart down the stretch, going just 14-23 to finish the year.

San Diego ended up finishing second in the division to the San Francisco Giants, who eventually won the World Series.

Mat Latos has the 18th highest average draft position according to Mock Draft Central.

He is coming off a 14-10 season, where he posted a 2.92 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP while striking out 189 batters in 184-2/3 innings. His ERA was the 13th best in the league. His WHIP was 8th best. He ranked 19th in strikeouts.

Usually, If a player is exploring the fringe, they roll through sunny San Diego sooner or later. It's the preferred destination of guys looking for one more shot, returning from a long injury, or one last decent paycheck.

This season looks no different for the Padres, who have invited several familiar names to camp this year. I have penciled in 23 players so far, that leaves two player's jobs that are up for grabs.