San Diego Padres

With the winter meetings just a few days away, the San Diego Padres and Boston Red Sox are apparently not waiting to get their trade talks going.

After falling a victory short of the playoffs, the Padres entered the MLB offseason with a goal in mind: lay low at the winter meetings. With that being said, the Padres have made risky and regrettable moves.

Those of you that are regular readers of this space know my opinion on drafting pitchers early: With so many players that impact your team on a daily basis, it is hard for me to draft ones that only take the ball once every five days.

What an unbelievable Saturday it was in the National League. The Atlanta Braves and San Francisco Giants are proving that the last win is the hardest to get.

The pendulum of momentum has swung in the National League West.

San Francisco squandered their second chance in a row to close the division's door Saturday.  The Padres have a chance to break that door down Sunday in the regular-season finale.

On August 25, the San Diego Padres were the class of the National League. They were 76-50 and had a six game lead over the San Francisco Giants. The Padres were the surprise team of baseball, picked by most experts to finish in fourth in the NL West. 

Led by young starting pitching and a reliable closer in Heath Bell, the Padres had led the division a majority of the season. Manager Bud Black had done a phenomenal job with the club and was the front-runner to win NL Manager of the Year. 

One more.

That's all the San Diego Padres can afford before their off season officially begins a lot sooner than they thought it would.

Looking back to the end of August, the Padres had what most would consider a big lead in the National League West over the San Francisco Giants. Fast forward one month, and not only is their lead gone but the deficit has reached its breaking point after losing 22 of their last 34 games.

They were called the Cinderella team of 2010: a collection of second-hand, ragtag players who stepped it up all season long and put together a season of shock and awe in San Diego.

Now, with just three games left in the regular season, all the magic potions in the universe may not be enough to help the San Diego Padres.

The Padres have quite a bit on their minds right now as they are making a playoff push into the postseason. But it seems like Adrian Gonzalez wants to bring more attention to the team as he announces that he wouldn't mind listening to what the Cubs have to offer when he becomes a free agent after 2011. 

When I die, I want to come back and be Dr. James Andrews for a day. How unbelievable must it be to be the preferred doctor of every team and every athlete in North America? I would put his wall of fame up against anyone on the planet.