Padres Weekly Preview: Tough Homestand Ahead

It’s really amazing his name fits on that jersey. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Padre to Watch This Week:

The Padre to watch this week will be Kevin Quackenbush. Last week he picked up his first major league save and many were calling already to get rid of Benoit. Woah, woah, I say, not so fast! Though I have been enthralled with his stuff, poise, and performance so far this season, let’s not kick the veteran out of the closer’s role for 2015 just yet – large contract or not. I would like to see a full season or at least a half season until the trade deadline of Quackenbush setting up Benoit for the 9th before we get rid of a proven closer for the Kid. Many teams prove year after year (Oakland, Tampa Bay, St. Louis!) that in general the closer’s gig is over-rated, and that often you can find one on your own staff. Yet for every team that does that – a team is stuck in closer purgatory for years (including Benoit’s previous team Detroit) after getting cocky that they too can concert a catcher to a closer(see LA Dodgers).

So, while Benoit is hurting some, I would like to see the Quack get more chances to close out games, but let’s make sure we aren’t getting too caught up in one save and wait until we see 10 or so. At the very least, let’s see a few blown saves and recory before jettisoning Benoit.