As soon as the Padres dealt Adrian Gonzalez to the Red Sox, they figured 2011 would be a rebuilding year. They were right as they just couldn’t hit the ball. The Padres finished in last place in the N.L. West with a 71-91 record, 23 games behind the Diamondbacks. Here is a look at what stood out to me about the Padres in 2011:

TEAM MVP & BEST PITCHER: 34-year old righty closer Heath Bell was more important to the Padres than most closers’ were to their teams, due to the fact that they had a ton of close games in 2011. Bell pitched in 64 games (0 starts) for the Padres last year and he was 3-4 with 43 saves, a 2.44 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. He only gave up 51 hits in 62 2/3 innings while whiffing 51 batters, so he wasn’t dominating….but still really good.

PLEASANT SURPRISE: 27-year old righty swinging 1B Jesus Guzman really swung the bat well for the Padres in 2011. He played in 76 games for the Padres last year and he was 77 for 247 (.312 avg, .847 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 5 homers, 44 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Guzman will likely get to battle for the starting 1B job for the Padres this spring as he is now likely in the majors to stay.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: 22-year old lefty swinging 1B Anthony Rizzo was the key to the Adrian Gonzalez deal with the Red Sox. He played excellent in AAA-ball this year as he worked in 93 games in which he was 118 of 356 (.331 avg, 1.056 OPS) with 64 runs scored, 26 homers, 101 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. The Padres then called him up and he was overmatched by major league pitching. Rizzo played in 49 games for the Padres in 2011 and he was 18 for 128 (.141 avg, .523 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 1 homer, 9 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He did walk 21 times for the Padres, but he also whiffed 46 times which negated his “good eye”.