Friar Thoughts

July 22, 1:27 PMSan Diego Padres ExaminerJudson Green

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Kevin Correia might be headed out.

- Here are the Padres in yesterday's starting lineup I would have recognized if I wasn't a fan: Adrian Gonzalez, Tony Gwynn Jr., and maybe Chase Headley.

- The way Kevin Correia has stepped up since falling ass-backwards into the ace role is ridiculous. 1-4, 5.37 ERA as the number three, 5-3, 3.36 ERA since. Maybe he felt a charge. Maybe being a de facto ace has somehow, inexplicably, given him powers he never knew he had. Or maybe he entered the role determined to silence all the critics who say he fell "ass-backwards" into it.

- Now that Correia's got something good going, it should come as no surprise that his name is involved in trade rumors, if weak ones, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock.

- Speaking of rumors, there was word on the street that had Adrian Gonzalez going to the Red Sox. I say word on the street because I literally heard it while standing on a street. However, the Red Sox traded for Pirates 1B Adam LaRoche today, and are no longer a likely destination for Gonzalez. Indeed, Brock says that Gonzalez and Heath Bell should be expected to stay for now. But the Padres may still be active in the market. In addition to Correia, Kevin Kouzmanoff and David Eckstein could be traded before the July 31 deadline.

- Congrats to Kyle Blanks for his first major league homer in last night's 3-2 loss to the Marlins. What a launch.

- And on the subject of homer congratulations, let's hear it for Adrian Gonzalez, who finally hit his 25th homer after a 23 game drought. Entering Monday's game, Gonzalez had two home runs in his last 40 games. Before that, he had 22 in 52 games. Actually, 22 in 49, since he didn't homer his first three games. Nor his next three after that initial homer, so 21 in 45. Problem is, opposing pitchers have zero respect for the rest of the Padre bats, and so Gonzalez has gotten nothing to hit. Slumps happen, but this is too epic to not have external causes. He actually produced a sub .200 batting average and sub .300 slugging average in a 40 game span. This is a guy who was once one of the top three MVP contenders in the NL. And now he just looks depressed. Could you blame him if he wanted to get out?

- I could watch Everth Cabrera throw out guys from the outfield grass all day.

- I joked that the Padres were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention before the season began, and I stand by that. The Padres were expected to finish in last place. Most fans had them losing 100 plus games. By that measure, they are overperforming, as their current record projects to a 98 loss season. But they are sliding, and should be expected to continue that trend. We should assume the final loss tally will exceed 100 games. Given the prognostications, such a season can hardly be called a disappointment. Because we saw it coming.