A team's strength is often measured by what they have up the middle -- catcher, second base, shortstop, and center field.
That is how the Padres are measuring their weakness these days. On Friday night, the Padres dropped a 5-1 decision to Arizona -- their ninth loss in 10 games -- to fall 8 1/2 games behind the Diamondbacks in the National League West. That is the farthest the Padres have been off the pace since Sept. 11, 2004.
And many of the problems facing the Padres can be seen in the heart of the diamond.
Padres center fielders Jim Edmonds (1-for-27) and Scott Hairston (1-for-14) are a combined 2-for-41 going back to April 16 and 5-for-52 -- Edmonds 3-for-36 and Hairston 2-for-16 -- dating back to April 12.
Catcher Josh Bard, who has made all but one start since Michael Barrett was injured on April 7, has gone 6-for-39 in the last nine games.
And the Padres' middle-infield combination of shortstop Khalil Greene (.220) and second baseman Tadahito Iguchi (.213) are hitting a combined .217 with nine doubles, one triple, no homers and 11 RBIs in 180 at-bats.
DIAMONDBACKS 5, PADRES 1: It was all over in the top of the third Friday as Arizona struck for five runs against Padres left-handed starter Randy Wolf. The big blow was a three-run homer by third baseman Mark Reynolds to cap the rally. Why was it over? The Padres are averaging just 2.3 runs per nine innings at home this season and have scored just three runs in their past three gamse at Petco Park.
