Last night the Padres finally climbed to .500, and in the process clinched the NL West. The Cardinals likely first round opponent leads me to ask the question: Who are the Padres?

(Stats are BA/OPB/SLG (VORP))
Catcher Ramon Hernandez (R)

.292/.323/.456 (24.4) Ramon has been a decent catcher this year, giving them some pop out of the position. Keep in mind that all of these hitting statistics come from an extreme pitchers park. In past years Ramon has had a much better batting eye but this year he's not walking nearly as much as he has in the past. He's making up for it with a career high batting average.

Ramon is not going to take up a ton of time in pitcher preperation meetings.

First Base Mark Loretta

.277/.358/.341 (17.1) Was it only last year that Mark Loretta went nuts on the league? Loretta hits for no power at all but gets on base at a good clip. Another decent player that you wouldn't want to be the cornerstone of your team.

Third Base Joe Randa

.289/.356/.491 (27.8) Randa was a July pickup from the Reds. Those stats are from the Reds, he hasn't been so hot in ~50 at bats for the Padres so far. A good hitter at Reds production levels, we still have yet to see an elite player in the reds lineup.

Shortstop Khalil Green

.253/.300/.438 (21.7) Khalil is 25 and his middle name is Thabit. Not important but worth noting in case we have some heckling opportunities later on. Khalil hits for some power but gets on base at something less than an anemic level.

Left Field Ryan Klesko (L)
.249/.359/.421 (19.9) It seems like Klesko's been around forever, but he's only 34. He's also hitting in the mid 200's with little power. Klesko has been vocal about his dislike for Petco park, but at 34 maybe he's just old? The batting eye is still there and the isolated power clocks in at .172. That falls between the Cardinals First baseman (.273) and their Shortstop (.104). Take that however you will but Klesko is clearly not the offensive force he once was.

Right Field Brian Giles
.304/.427/.489 (66.4) Notice how this line is different than all the other padres lines. Giles is the Padres main man, their elite hitter. They usually stick him in right, but the last week has him in center so I'm betting we'll see him there over the series. Giles power has dropped off since he came to San Diego, but he's still a great hitter.

The Last Three

All three of these players see time in the outfield, with Roberts playing center when Giles doesn't. Nady and Johnson have gone back and forth playing right when Giles is in Center and I'm not sure who Bochy will pick so they're both here.

Dave Roberts
.275/.356/.428 (25.1) It seems like every Padres hitter looks about the exact same: Decent on base, ok power. Roberts is no exception. The problem with these guys is that they're great filler material or roster round out, but theres no core here except Giles.

Xaiver Nady
.263/.323/.445 (14.0) Gets on base less and but hits for more power than Roberts.

Ben Johnson
Johnson was called up on August 30th, making him eligible for the post season roster. He's only seen 66 at bats in the Majors and he's only 24.

His line in those 66 at bats?
.227/.325/.500. I'm not sure you can tell much from that.

And that's the Padres. Underwhelming for sure but with some possible sharp corners to catch: Petco is a pitchers park and it's quite possible that offensivly they're not as bad as they look up there and they have no really terrible players in the starting nine. Given the unpredictable nature of baseball it's possible the Cardinals could lose, but it's not likely.

It's a good break for the Cardinals, who will hopefully not stumble on their good fortune.