When the Padres signed 30-year old righty Jon Garland it raised my eyebrows a little bit. It told me that the Padres saw themselves as contenders and they were right about that. Garland has started 26 games for the Padres this year and he is 13-8 with a 3.25 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. He has been a nibbler as he has walked 71 batters in 157 2/3 innings but he’s missing a lot of bats as he has given up 138 hits. This is the 9th straight season that Garland has won at least 10 games. The younger pitchers on the Padres have been learning tricks from the 30-year old Garland and that’s a good thing too as signing him was a outstanding move for the team.

The Padres are probably going to put IF/OF Jerry Hairston on the 15-day D.L. soon as he will likely need to rest his strained right elbow for a couple of weeks. Hairston has played in 115 games for the Padres this year and he is 104 of 417 (.249 avg, .667 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 10 homers, 50 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. The thing the Padres will miss the most about Hairston is his versatility as he can play all over the field.

UPDATE: (8/29/2010) - The Padres have placed Jerry Hairston on the 15-day D.L. They have recalled Everth Cabrera to replace him on the roster. Cabrera played in 64 games earlier this year for the Padres and he was 40 of 196 (.204 avg, .558 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 1 homer, 22 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. The Padres need Cabrera to play better this time around.

36-year old righty swining SS/3B Miguel Tejada and 31-year old righty swinging outfielder Ryan Ludwick are both swinging the bats well for the Padres. Tejada has played in 18 games for the Padres so far and he is 22 of 74 (.297 avg, .763 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 1 homer and 8 RBIs. He might not have the power he once had but he can still hit for average. Ludwick has also played in 18 games for the Padres and he is 16 of 63 (.254 avg, .782 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 3 homers and 10 RBIs. Ludwick is giving the Padres the power bat they have needed for a long time behind Adrian Gonzalez.

29-year old righty swinging outfielder Chris Denorfia never had more than 106 at bats in a major league season until 2010. He has played in 66 games for the Padres this year and he is 57 of 197 (.289 avg, .830 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 8 homers, 31 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. It’s a real darn shame that no one gave Denorfia a legit shot until the Padres did this year. He’s trying to make up for lost time and the Padres are benefitting from it.

The Padres have signed 32-year old lefty swinging outfielder Jody Gerut. Gerut played in 32 games earlier this year for the Brewers and he was 14 of 71 (.197 avg, .596 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 2 homers and 8 RBIs. Gerut has now played in 574 games in his major league career and he is 472 of 1,804 (.262 avg, .758 OPS) with 246 runs scored, 59 homers, 226 RBIs and 30 stolen bases. Gerut played in 137 games for the Padres in 2008+2009 and he was 122 of 441 (.277 avg, .790 OPS) with 63 runs scored, 18 homers, 57 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. With Tony Gwynn on the D.L., Gerut could come in pretty handy for the Padres down the stretch.