Padres Link Dump 1/10/14

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Only 34 days until Pitchers and Catchers report! Man, that’s good to hear, huh? Here’s what people are saying about the Padres these days.

Paul Swydan at ESPN.com says that the Padres are 2014’s NL Sleeper. Here’s a link to the article, although you would have to be an ESPN Insider to read the whole thing. I am not. But, I do agree with the sentiment. The Padres are the definition of a sleeper. They are coming off a pretty good year considering all of the injuries that the team went through. They have only gotten better by addressing the areas identified by the front office at the beginning of the offseason. Really, what’s not to like? As long as the team stays healthy, it can only get better. We will be receiving several players back during the course of the season. It’s going to be a good year to be a Friars fan. If you can go ahead and accept the fact that we may not beat the Dodgers for first in the NL West but, we could most definitely get a wildcard spot, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

AJ Mass of ESPN.com also links to the same Swydan article and has an article up which requires a subscription. Mass’ article is about how the Padres are happy with their 2014 outlook. He mentions the depth in the outfield as a driving factor behind the team’s possible surprise Wild Card berth.

In case you weren’t excited enough, here’s another reason. The Padres – Dodgers season opening game has been moved up to Sunday Night, March 30th! It will be nationally televised on ESPN. The Dodgers will have already played two in Australia against the D-Backs so, the pitching matchup could be Andrew Cashner vs. Hyun-jin Ryu.

Padres win on Opening Day in front of a national TV audience? What better way to start off the Wild Card winning season?