Short Story Contest Reading
I recently volunteered to be a reader for a short story contest run by the San Diego Writers Organization (SDW). This is my first time being a reader, and I was interested in learning more about how such contests are run. SDW is one of the largest writer's organizations in San Diego, and their contest drew a huge number of responses. There were several categories, but I chose to read for the prose category of short stories (max 3,000 words). There were no other restrictions. The winners of the competition would get their work published in an anthology.
I received the first of two sets of manuscripts for review late last week. There were fourteen manuscripts. I finished reading them all on Monday, 23 September. The genres ranged from straight fiction to fairytale fantasy. I was expecting at least a few thrillers, CSI type stories, mysteries, and maybe some vampire and undead entries. To my surprise, none of those genres appeared in any of these fourteen stories.
I enjoyed reading the stories, whether good or not so good. Readers were not asked to give full critiques. My role as a "first reader" was to provide short feedback so that the second readers could focus on the better entries. Condensed down, I gave my opinion on whether a story was worth consideration for the anthology, and why or why not.
Out of the fourteen stories I reviewed, none of them jumped out and grabbed me, but there were two that warranted a second look. The other twelve stories, no matter the genre or subject matter, had very common failings. They were, sadly, boring to read. Very little happens, conflict is lacking, and many of the stories simply end without any resolution.
Since the contest is ongoing I won't specifically discuss the two stories that caught my eye. I liked one of them because the writer really had something to say, and the story is one of those where you root for the main characters, but are afraid that the end is not going to turn out well for them. The other one I liked went into fairyland with tongue firmly in cheek in a very entertaining way. It was very short, too, which in filling an anthology could help it land a spot.
I got confirmation that the Read and Critique package I'd sent had been received. The day and time of the meeting is still TBD. Everything is on track for the conference.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
The La Jolla Writer's Conference Package
The La Jolla Writer's Conference Package
I received my conference package by email on 14 September for the 13th annual La Jolla Writer's Conference. The conference is at the Paradise Point Resort. The resort is actually in San Diego on Mission Bay near Seaworld, not La Jolla. That was good news as that will cut my driving time by a lot.
Three New York Times best selling authors lead the billing: Christopher Reich, Lisa Jackson, and Dale Brown. I checked on my Private Read & Critique (PR&C) submission. My request to see Jill Marr, a publisher of both fiction and non-fiction, was approved, but my submission package hasn't reached her yet. I had to make a decision on whether to provide a package for the novel, "The Majik of Spark." It really wasn't ready, though, with the changes I'm still making, so I did not submit it. Instead, I submitted a recently completed short story.
In addition to the formal PR&C, I also plan to get some time with adventure fantasy author Eldon Thompson to talk about "Majik." I'm signing up for a couple of his classes. He has a published trilogy that I'm just getting started on reading. I will also have a PR&C package about "Majik" should he, or anyone else, be interested.
The "official" welcome package is not yet official. They recommend having a hard copy (or download to your device of preference) for the conference, but don't recommend printing it until just before the conference since there will likely still be changes between now and opening. Classes come in two varieties - lectures, which run about fifty minutes, and workshops, which are scheduled for 110 minutes. For almost all of the lectures and workshops there is no pre-registration requirement - just pick what you want and attend. There are three classes that require pre-registration in person on the morning the conference. Those classes go deeper into their subject than other classes. The three are: The 7-Minute Pitch, "American Idol" Pitch Session, and an Advanced Read and Critique specifically for thriller, mystery, and suspense writers.
I have to admit that I don't have a good social media strategy, nor do I use that medium very well. This conference is a nice test for me, as I will try to engage in both Facebook and Twitter during the conference. My rather stodgy website is getting an upgrade, too, with a new bio and some other changes if I can unravel a few issues with Wordpress, the website software I'm trying out.
More to follow as I get closer to the conference opening.
There are new posts available in the Wild Family Adventures Blog:
Wild Family Adventures
I received my conference package by email on 14 September for the 13th annual La Jolla Writer's Conference. The conference is at the Paradise Point Resort. The resort is actually in San Diego on Mission Bay near Seaworld, not La Jolla. That was good news as that will cut my driving time by a lot.
Three New York Times best selling authors lead the billing: Christopher Reich, Lisa Jackson, and Dale Brown. I checked on my Private Read & Critique (PR&C) submission. My request to see Jill Marr, a publisher of both fiction and non-fiction, was approved, but my submission package hasn't reached her yet. I had to make a decision on whether to provide a package for the novel, "The Majik of Spark." It really wasn't ready, though, with the changes I'm still making, so I did not submit it. Instead, I submitted a recently completed short story.
In addition to the formal PR&C, I also plan to get some time with adventure fantasy author Eldon Thompson to talk about "Majik." I'm signing up for a couple of his classes. He has a published trilogy that I'm just getting started on reading. I will also have a PR&C package about "Majik" should he, or anyone else, be interested.
The "official" welcome package is not yet official. They recommend having a hard copy (or download to your device of preference) for the conference, but don't recommend printing it until just before the conference since there will likely still be changes between now and opening. Classes come in two varieties - lectures, which run about fifty minutes, and workshops, which are scheduled for 110 minutes. For almost all of the lectures and workshops there is no pre-registration requirement - just pick what you want and attend. There are three classes that require pre-registration in person on the morning the conference. Those classes go deeper into their subject than other classes. The three are: The 7-Minute Pitch, "American Idol" Pitch Session, and an Advanced Read and Critique specifically for thriller, mystery, and suspense writers.
I have to admit that I don't have a good social media strategy, nor do I use that medium very well. This conference is a nice test for me, as I will try to engage in both Facebook and Twitter during the conference. My rather stodgy website is getting an upgrade, too, with a new bio and some other changes if I can unravel a few issues with Wordpress, the website software I'm trying out.
More to follow as I get closer to the conference opening.
There are new posts available in the Wild Family Adventures Blog:
Wild Family Adventures
Thursday, September 12, 2013
A Third, And Final? Draft
A Third, And Final? Draft
As I promised in my prior post, the below list describes the main issues that need to be resolved in this third draft of "The Majik of Spark" based on the feedback I received from our writer's group. I've already begun work on it, but I'll have to set a feverish pace to have it ready for the conference. The changes will take significant work, but the majority of the story is still intact. There is no need for a complete rewrite, for example. Here are the areas I am working on:
The Main Character: The story opens with the character Jaundice. Naming conventions aside, no one liked the name or it's connotation. After a little resistance on my part, I had to agree. The name will be changed. More significantly, though, is that while Jaundice is an important character, she's not the main character. As the story evolved it became more and more apparent that the real main character is Philly. Philly is not introduced to the reader until deeper into the story, so I am going to alter and reorder the beginning chapters to put Philly front and center.
The Early Chapters: The group concurred with my concern over the lack of plot progression in the early chapters. The consensus was that there was too much information and not enough action. That I can definitely take care of. There was also a lack of focus on the purpose and goals of the expedition that the story centered on. This is my biggest challenge. Frankly, I changed those goals mid-stream during the second draft and obviously did not get it right. I know what I want, I just have to figure out how to get there.
Trilogy vs Satisfying Conclusion: The "Majik of Spark" is the first book of a proposed trilogy. I wanted to end the book with a cliff hanger to encourage readers to want to read the next one. Simply stated, I overdid it. When readers actually get angry at the ending of the story, the writer had better pay attention. In one sense I was happy that I could strike such a nerve, but I knew I had better come up with an ending that left the reader in a better frame of mind. What prompted that anger? Too many things were left hanging with no resolution. Cliff hangers are fine, but the book must have some sense of closure. It must be able to stand on it's own, with it's own, satisfying ending, even though it's the first part of a trilogy.
Writing a novel is a messy business. Getting under the hood like this and sharing where I went wrong is a little unnerving. My hope is that by sharing I might save someone out there from making some of these same mistakes. I certainly learned one important lesson - Writer's group help and writing buddies are a must and a treasure!
What do you think?
As I promised in my prior post, the below list describes the main issues that need to be resolved in this third draft of "The Majik of Spark" based on the feedback I received from our writer's group. I've already begun work on it, but I'll have to set a feverish pace to have it ready for the conference. The changes will take significant work, but the majority of the story is still intact. There is no need for a complete rewrite, for example. Here are the areas I am working on:
The Main Character: The story opens with the character Jaundice. Naming conventions aside, no one liked the name or it's connotation. After a little resistance on my part, I had to agree. The name will be changed. More significantly, though, is that while Jaundice is an important character, she's not the main character. As the story evolved it became more and more apparent that the real main character is Philly. Philly is not introduced to the reader until deeper into the story, so I am going to alter and reorder the beginning chapters to put Philly front and center.
The Early Chapters: The group concurred with my concern over the lack of plot progression in the early chapters. The consensus was that there was too much information and not enough action. That I can definitely take care of. There was also a lack of focus on the purpose and goals of the expedition that the story centered on. This is my biggest challenge. Frankly, I changed those goals mid-stream during the second draft and obviously did not get it right. I know what I want, I just have to figure out how to get there.
Trilogy vs Satisfying Conclusion: The "Majik of Spark" is the first book of a proposed trilogy. I wanted to end the book with a cliff hanger to encourage readers to want to read the next one. Simply stated, I overdid it. When readers actually get angry at the ending of the story, the writer had better pay attention. In one sense I was happy that I could strike such a nerve, but I knew I had better come up with an ending that left the reader in a better frame of mind. What prompted that anger? Too many things were left hanging with no resolution. Cliff hangers are fine, but the book must have some sense of closure. It must be able to stand on it's own, with it's own, satisfying ending, even though it's the first part of a trilogy.
Writing a novel is a messy business. Getting under the hood like this and sharing where I went wrong is a little unnerving. My hope is that by sharing I might save someone out there from making some of these same mistakes. I certainly learned one important lesson - Writer's group help and writing buddies are a must and a treasure!
What do you think?
Friday, September 6, 2013
Writing is Lot Easier than Pitching!
Writing is Lot Easier than Pitching!
Yes, we were at Petco Park to watch the Padres beat the Giants, 3-2, this week, which got us out of last place (at least for a day). That's not what I mean about "pitching," however. Having written a novel seems to be the easiest part of the process of publishing a book. The amount of information that has to be prepared and available for presentation when pitching a manuscript to an agent/publisher is daunting! I have the One Sentence Storyline completed. I have the Five Sentence Storyline done. The Chapter Synopsis is done. I am working on a Two Page Synopsis, a Scene Synopsis, and a One page Synopsis. This last one pager is for the La Jolla conference specifically, an extra task. Once the above is done I'll be working on my Query Letter.
The Chapter Synopsis has been an eye opener. Frankly, it's been a little discouraging. There is a heavy emphasis on maintaining plot continuity. Each scene, each chapter, has to advance the story. In the earlier chapters, the troupe of adventurers certainly progress along the journey they are on toward their final goal. But, I'm less certain that the plot of the story is advancing as it should. There is a lot of explanation, but I'm worried that there isn't enough action and conflict.
I have tentatively selected the twelve page excerpt of my manuscript required for the conference. I fitted together parts of Chapter Fifteen and Eighteen. These two chapters focus on the conflict between the fiend, Kee, and Philly, as well as involving the rest of Dice's Troupe. I hope that the excerpt will show my writing style and relevant examples of how Majik and Song make up the twin worlds.
Our writer's group met on 5 September. I got some truly superb critiques on "The Majik of Spark" that sent me back to the manuscript to work on the suggestions and issues that were brought up. There are three major changes that I need to work out.
I'll get to what those are and what I am doing about it in a future post. Getting that done before the conference is going to be a challenge.
There is a new post on the Wild Family Adventures Blog:
http://wildfamilytales.blogspot.com/2013/09/rules-of-pve-pet-battle-engagement.html
Yes, we were at Petco Park to watch the Padres beat the Giants, 3-2, this week, which got us out of last place (at least for a day). That's not what I mean about "pitching," however. Having written a novel seems to be the easiest part of the process of publishing a book. The amount of information that has to be prepared and available for presentation when pitching a manuscript to an agent/publisher is daunting! I have the One Sentence Storyline completed. I have the Five Sentence Storyline done. The Chapter Synopsis is done. I am working on a Two Page Synopsis, a Scene Synopsis, and a One page Synopsis. This last one pager is for the La Jolla conference specifically, an extra task. Once the above is done I'll be working on my Query Letter.
The Chapter Synopsis has been an eye opener. Frankly, it's been a little discouraging. There is a heavy emphasis on maintaining plot continuity. Each scene, each chapter, has to advance the story. In the earlier chapters, the troupe of adventurers certainly progress along the journey they are on toward their final goal. But, I'm less certain that the plot of the story is advancing as it should. There is a lot of explanation, but I'm worried that there isn't enough action and conflict.
I have tentatively selected the twelve page excerpt of my manuscript required for the conference. I fitted together parts of Chapter Fifteen and Eighteen. These two chapters focus on the conflict between the fiend, Kee, and Philly, as well as involving the rest of Dice's Troupe. I hope that the excerpt will show my writing style and relevant examples of how Majik and Song make up the twin worlds.
Our writer's group met on 5 September. I got some truly superb critiques on "The Majik of Spark" that sent me back to the manuscript to work on the suggestions and issues that were brought up. There are three major changes that I need to work out.
I'll get to what those are and what I am doing about it in a future post. Getting that done before the conference is going to be a challenge.
There is a new post on the Wild Family Adventures Blog:
http://wildfamilytales.blogspot.com/2013/09/rules-of-pve-pet-battle-engagement.html
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Preparing for the Writer's Conference
Preparing for the Writer's Conference
I have definitely decided to go to the La Jolla Writer's Conference scheduled for November 1-3, 2013. Taking advantage of the discounts available, the cost for the full conference is $310, which includes meals and all the events. I live close enough that I will be able to drive to and from the conference, so I can avoid the hotel costs.
I am also going to sign up for at least one session of private "Read and Critique" sessions. I've been reviewing each of the listed agents/publishers/publicists/faculty to determine who to ask for. I have tentatively picked one already, but I haven't finished going through the list, yet. If I find a second person that I really like I might do two sessions. Each session costs $55 for a twenty minute interview. I have to prepare and mail (hardcopy) a one page synopsis and up to twelve pages of my manuscript. The package has to be in the hands of the conference organizers by September 25th, which - GAH! - means I only have about two weeks to get it in the mail.
I'm looking forward to the feedback from my writer's group and suggestions on which part of the manuscript I should take the twelve pages from. The next meeting of the group is on September 5th.
Also note that there is a new post on the Wild Family Adventures Blog:
Making Arrangements
I have definitely decided to go to the La Jolla Writer's Conference scheduled for November 1-3, 2013. Taking advantage of the discounts available, the cost for the full conference is $310, which includes meals and all the events. I live close enough that I will be able to drive to and from the conference, so I can avoid the hotel costs.
I am also going to sign up for at least one session of private "Read and Critique" sessions. I've been reviewing each of the listed agents/publishers/publicists/faculty to determine who to ask for. I have tentatively picked one already, but I haven't finished going through the list, yet. If I find a second person that I really like I might do two sessions. Each session costs $55 for a twenty minute interview. I have to prepare and mail (hardcopy) a one page synopsis and up to twelve pages of my manuscript. The package has to be in the hands of the conference organizers by September 25th, which - GAH! - means I only have about two weeks to get it in the mail.
I'm looking forward to the feedback from my writer's group and suggestions on which part of the manuscript I should take the twelve pages from. The next meeting of the group is on September 5th.
Also note that there is a new post on the Wild Family Adventures Blog:
Making Arrangements
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Like I Never Left
Just a quick note for those who follow my World of Warcraft blog, called Wild Family Adventures. I had planned to retire that blog, but changed my mind. This blog, the JadedWalker, is my primary blog site. Whenever there is a new post on the Warcraft blog, however, I'll add a link here. That way you don't have to check both.
There is a new post today:
Like I Never Left
There is a new post today:
Like I Never Left
Saturday, August 24, 2013
A Fatalistic view of the 2014 San Diego Padres
A Fatalistic view of the 2014 San Diego Padres
Writing about writing can get a little boring, so I'm going to mix things up a bit and talk about another obsession of mine, and that's baseball. Since I live in the San Diego area, I have grown to love the usually hapless San Diego Padres team. We've lived here since 1999, but it was only in 2012 that we made the decision to become season ticket holders.
After two years as full season ticket holders, we have had to reconsider the number of baseball games we could physically get to as we look toward the 2014 season. We love to go to the games and we have the perfect seats for us. For our third year as season ticket holders, however, we decided to sign up for one of the half-season packages. Instead of 81 home games, we get 41 home games. We can keep the seats we have. One drawback we could have is that we may have to sit somewhere other than our own seats for the opening day game (since a full season ticket holder might get that seat for opening day). We also only get to go to Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday games, and while that shouldn't be a problem, it's possible that due to scheduling we could miss a series now and then. All in all, though, we should still get to see at least as many games as we have in the past, for about half the price, although we will have fewer tickets to give to friends.
As for the team itself, the Padres have imploded this season after a promising start. With a record of 57-70, 13 games below .500, the team has a worse record this season than last season (10 games below .500). Just to match last season, the Padres would have to go 19-16 the rest of the way. That doesn't look remotely possible. I think the current team goal is to stay out of last place. The Giants are in last place right now, but only a half game behind us at 56-70.
Looking to next year, the team is mostly made up of young players who the team hopes will improve. Most of our players will be back, so next year's lineup will look much like this years. Given the Padres history, I am taking a fatalistic approach - I love the Padres, but I don't really expect them to win. From that standpoint, here are my predictions for the Padres 2014 lineup (I'll handicap the pitchers later).
Batting 1st: Everth Cabrera (SS) is serving a 50 game suspension for using PEDs (performance enhancing drugs). He was leading the league is stolen bases and was having the best season of his career until his suspension. In 2014, will he be like 2013, or will he revert to his pre-PED output? Prediction: Cabrera will fall from grace, dropping his OBP from .355 to under .330 and slipping back to being a decent but not exceptional shortstop. He'll still steal bases, but he'll struggle to get on base enough win any more stolen base titles.
Batting 2nd: Chase Headley (3B) had a phenomenal year in 2012, hitting 31 homeruns and leading the National league with 115 RBIs. A major disappointment in 2013, he's hit only 8 HRs and driven in just 35. Prediction: He's better than the awful season he's having now, but I don't think he'll ever be the power hitter the team needs, having never hit more than 12 homers in a season before 2012. Chase has good speed and should recover his ability to draw walks, so he could be a decent #2 hitter. If he fails to get on base enough, he could fall as far as 6th or 7th in the lineup. 2013 was going to be the year he earned a big contract, but that has evaporated. He's also going to be 31 years old in 2014, on the cusp of ... well, we'll have to see.
Batting 3rd: Yonder Alonso (1B) wins this spot by default. He's a young 26, and has hit well in his first two years with the club. Alonso can hit for average (.290 recently), but managed only 9 and 6 homers in those years. Not good for a #3 hitter. It's the best the team has, though. Prediction: His batting average will drop as he tries to build up his power numbers, say in the .260-.270 range, but he'll still fall short of 15 HRs.
Batting 4th: Carlos Quentin (LF) is an excellent slugger with a long history if injuries. The Padres paid him a lot of money and we're stuck with him for at least a couple more years. For five straight years he hit more than 20 homers a season (with other teams), but then he joined the Padres in 2012 and his HR totals dropped to 16 and 13. Quentin is hurt and is probably out for the season after playing only 82 games. Prediction: The Padres will have to eat his contract (who would trade for him with his injury history?) even though he he'll be hurt more often than he can play.
Batting 5th: Jedd Gyorko (2B) is the likely #4 hitter when Quentin can't play, but is slated for the five spot in 2014. Gyorko's a rookie, in his first season in the majors, and he has impressed us all with his superb play at secondbase and his level of maturity. He is second on the team in HRs (16) and his .254 batting average should improve over time. Prediction: My favorite player, the 24 year old should have a bright future, although the Padres will find a way to lose him to some other team.
Batting 6th: Nick Hundley is a fine catcher with otherwise modest talents. He's hit a career high 10 homers this season so far, though he is destined to be the backup to 24 year old Yasmani Grandal. Grandal is out for season with injuries and is also a suspended PED user. He hit .297 in 2012 over 60 games, but only .216 in 28 games in 2013. Prediction: Grandal will be the starting catcher in 2014, assuming he's healthy, but his success in college and his rapid rise from the low minors in 2010 to the major leagues in just two years is suspect. Who knows if he has any true talent that isn't PED boosted.
The rest of the lineup is a hodgepodge that changes with every game. The contenders for the last two spots in the lineup are:
Will Venable (OF) is having a career year, if one considers a .263 batting average, 17 homers, and 14 steals to be a "career" year. Asked to bat in the #1 spot with Cabrera suspended, he is getting a lot more at bats than usual. Under normal circumstances the 30 year old is platooned against lefty pitchers. He will be pushed by rookie Jaff Decker (yes, that's spelled correctly) who is getting a good look, though the 23 year old is hitting only .174 in 11 games so far. Prediction: Back to platooning in 2014 for Venable, back to the minor leagues for Decker.
Chris Denorfia (OF) is a solid, competent player who gets his 100-120 games each season. He has a little pop in his bat, some speed on the bases, and steady play. He'll also be turning 33 in 2014.
Alexi Amarista (OF, SS) is a versatile player still young enough (24) to make a future impact, but is projected more as a utility player than a regular with his .243 career batting average and low stolen base totals despite good speed. Prediction: Amarista is young enough and cheap enough and versatile enough to hold on to, but see Logan Forsythe below.
Logan Forsythe (multiple positions) falls into the same Amarista/Venable camp, though he is already 26. Prediction: Either Forsythe or Amarista will be traded; they won't keep both utility players. Jesus Guzman and Kyle Blanks are others wannabes who have yet to show they can hold a spot on the team.
Then there is Cameron Maybin (OF) who has shown glimpses that he can be a fine centerfielder with all the physical skills of a potential superstar: power, speed, strong arm, etc. Staked to a large contract, he's already played in parts of seven seasons though he has yet to see his 27th birthday. The clock is ticking, though, as he fights through injury after injury (out for the season after just 14 games). He's never had a break out season, has never hit more than 9 HRs, and never batted over .264 (.243 career). Yet, he is apparently "still" the great hope of for the team. Prediction: Even when healthy, he doesn't seem to be able to harness all that physical talent. Maybin will always be a "what he could have been" player.
So, there's our 2014 San Diego Padres hitters.
PS - We also rooted for a local little league team in Eastlake who made it to the Little League World Series, and came just one game short of winning the national title.
Writing about writing can get a little boring, so I'm going to mix things up a bit and talk about another obsession of mine, and that's baseball. Since I live in the San Diego area, I have grown to love the usually hapless San Diego Padres team. We've lived here since 1999, but it was only in 2012 that we made the decision to become season ticket holders.
After two years as full season ticket holders, we have had to reconsider the number of baseball games we could physically get to as we look toward the 2014 season. We love to go to the games and we have the perfect seats for us. For our third year as season ticket holders, however, we decided to sign up for one of the half-season packages. Instead of 81 home games, we get 41 home games. We can keep the seats we have. One drawback we could have is that we may have to sit somewhere other than our own seats for the opening day game (since a full season ticket holder might get that seat for opening day). We also only get to go to Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday games, and while that shouldn't be a problem, it's possible that due to scheduling we could miss a series now and then. All in all, though, we should still get to see at least as many games as we have in the past, for about half the price, although we will have fewer tickets to give to friends.
As for the team itself, the Padres have imploded this season after a promising start. With a record of 57-70, 13 games below .500, the team has a worse record this season than last season (10 games below .500). Just to match last season, the Padres would have to go 19-16 the rest of the way. That doesn't look remotely possible. I think the current team goal is to stay out of last place. The Giants are in last place right now, but only a half game behind us at 56-70.
Looking to next year, the team is mostly made up of young players who the team hopes will improve. Most of our players will be back, so next year's lineup will look much like this years. Given the Padres history, I am taking a fatalistic approach - I love the Padres, but I don't really expect them to win. From that standpoint, here are my predictions for the Padres 2014 lineup (I'll handicap the pitchers later).
Batting 1st: Everth Cabrera (SS) is serving a 50 game suspension for using PEDs (performance enhancing drugs). He was leading the league is stolen bases and was having the best season of his career until his suspension. In 2014, will he be like 2013, or will he revert to his pre-PED output? Prediction: Cabrera will fall from grace, dropping his OBP from .355 to under .330 and slipping back to being a decent but not exceptional shortstop. He'll still steal bases, but he'll struggle to get on base enough win any more stolen base titles.
Batting 2nd: Chase Headley (3B) had a phenomenal year in 2012, hitting 31 homeruns and leading the National league with 115 RBIs. A major disappointment in 2013, he's hit only 8 HRs and driven in just 35. Prediction: He's better than the awful season he's having now, but I don't think he'll ever be the power hitter the team needs, having never hit more than 12 homers in a season before 2012. Chase has good speed and should recover his ability to draw walks, so he could be a decent #2 hitter. If he fails to get on base enough, he could fall as far as 6th or 7th in the lineup. 2013 was going to be the year he earned a big contract, but that has evaporated. He's also going to be 31 years old in 2014, on the cusp of ... well, we'll have to see.
Batting 3rd: Yonder Alonso (1B) wins this spot by default. He's a young 26, and has hit well in his first two years with the club. Alonso can hit for average (.290 recently), but managed only 9 and 6 homers in those years. Not good for a #3 hitter. It's the best the team has, though. Prediction: His batting average will drop as he tries to build up his power numbers, say in the .260-.270 range, but he'll still fall short of 15 HRs.
Batting 4th: Carlos Quentin (LF) is an excellent slugger with a long history if injuries. The Padres paid him a lot of money and we're stuck with him for at least a couple more years. For five straight years he hit more than 20 homers a season (with other teams), but then he joined the Padres in 2012 and his HR totals dropped to 16 and 13. Quentin is hurt and is probably out for the season after playing only 82 games. Prediction: The Padres will have to eat his contract (who would trade for him with his injury history?) even though he he'll be hurt more often than he can play.
Batting 5th: Jedd Gyorko (2B) is the likely #4 hitter when Quentin can't play, but is slated for the five spot in 2014. Gyorko's a rookie, in his first season in the majors, and he has impressed us all with his superb play at secondbase and his level of maturity. He is second on the team in HRs (16) and his .254 batting average should improve over time. Prediction: My favorite player, the 24 year old should have a bright future, although the Padres will find a way to lose him to some other team.
Batting 6th: Nick Hundley is a fine catcher with otherwise modest talents. He's hit a career high 10 homers this season so far, though he is destined to be the backup to 24 year old Yasmani Grandal. Grandal is out for season with injuries and is also a suspended PED user. He hit .297 in 2012 over 60 games, but only .216 in 28 games in 2013. Prediction: Grandal will be the starting catcher in 2014, assuming he's healthy, but his success in college and his rapid rise from the low minors in 2010 to the major leagues in just two years is suspect. Who knows if he has any true talent that isn't PED boosted.
The rest of the lineup is a hodgepodge that changes with every game. The contenders for the last two spots in the lineup are:
Will Venable (OF) is having a career year, if one considers a .263 batting average, 17 homers, and 14 steals to be a "career" year. Asked to bat in the #1 spot with Cabrera suspended, he is getting a lot more at bats than usual. Under normal circumstances the 30 year old is platooned against lefty pitchers. He will be pushed by rookie Jaff Decker (yes, that's spelled correctly) who is getting a good look, though the 23 year old is hitting only .174 in 11 games so far. Prediction: Back to platooning in 2014 for Venable, back to the minor leagues for Decker.
Chris Denorfia (OF) is a solid, competent player who gets his 100-120 games each season. He has a little pop in his bat, some speed on the bases, and steady play. He'll also be turning 33 in 2014.
Alexi Amarista (OF, SS) is a versatile player still young enough (24) to make a future impact, but is projected more as a utility player than a regular with his .243 career batting average and low stolen base totals despite good speed. Prediction: Amarista is young enough and cheap enough and versatile enough to hold on to, but see Logan Forsythe below.
Logan Forsythe (multiple positions) falls into the same Amarista/Venable camp, though he is already 26. Prediction: Either Forsythe or Amarista will be traded; they won't keep both utility players. Jesus Guzman and Kyle Blanks are others wannabes who have yet to show they can hold a spot on the team.
Then there is Cameron Maybin (OF) who has shown glimpses that he can be a fine centerfielder with all the physical skills of a potential superstar: power, speed, strong arm, etc. Staked to a large contract, he's already played in parts of seven seasons though he has yet to see his 27th birthday. The clock is ticking, though, as he fights through injury after injury (out for the season after just 14 games). He's never had a break out season, has never hit more than 9 HRs, and never batted over .264 (.243 career). Yet, he is apparently "still" the great hope of for the team. Prediction: Even when healthy, he doesn't seem to be able to harness all that physical talent. Maybin will always be a "what he could have been" player.
So, there's our 2014 San Diego Padres hitters.
PS - We also rooted for a local little league team in Eastlake who made it to the Little League World Series, and came just one game short of winning the national title.
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