2005 Player Preview

Outfield

The only change in the outfield this year will be CF where Dave Roberts takes the place of Jay Payton. Our OF was one of the least productive in the NL last year, thanks to drops in career production from all three spots, especially Payton...

LF-Ryan Klesko...Klesko was named to ESPNs first half, "All disappointment team" last year and it would be hard to make an argument against that. After shoulder surgery following '03' he was not able to lift weights in the offseason, and along with the move to homer-unfriendly Petco Park, put up abysmal numbers in '04' before going on the DL in late May with a strained ribcage. As the injury healed, he began to show patience and power at the plate, hitting .380 in September while slugging .582. His final OPS of .847 was actually very good, considering his horrendous start. Like Nevin, Klesko has two years remaining on a pricey contract which includes a no-trade clause, so fans need to keep their fingers crossed that his bad start was due to injuries, and not declining performance.

CF-Dave Roberts...Roberts was a pricey acquisition for Towers this offseason, as it cost us Payton(who certainly may have a better year, and has much better career numbers), and a decent prospect plus cash. Desparate for a leadoff man with some speed, Roberts certainly fits the bill as his 123 stolen bases over the past three years,(averaging only 376 ABs) puts him right atop the league leaders. Throw in the fact he was only caught 27 times, and it's easy to see why you would want him patrolling spacious CF in Petco. But Roberts is 33 this season, has a history of hamstring problems, and has a career OBP of just .335, making this quite a gamble.

RF-Brian Giles...When the team acquired Giles From Pittsburgh halfway through 03, they were hoping to get the player who averaged nearly a 1.031 OPS for the previous four seasons. This type of production warrants trading young players the caliber of Oliver Perez and ROY winner Jason Bay. Instead we got an .849 OPS, his lowest total since becoming an everyday player. At 34, he's in the last year of his contract, and the Pads seem uneasy giving him an extension before seeing exactly which Giles we have. I imagine last year was more of an adjustment than anything else, and while his earlier monster numbers won't resurface, expect him to put up slightly better stats than last year.