I am sure we all know how belittled our Friars are by bandwagoners and delusional critics who call themselves experts simply because of how much the ownership spends on the roster. Well let me tell you something:

There is no reason for us (small or large market team) to unnecessarily spend large amounts of precious money on highly overrated free agents. It is perfectly possible to field a winning team without spending as much as large market teams. Remember, quality, not quantity.

The Padres did better in the 2010 season than the year before that, and that was with a payroll of about $30 million shorter than the 2009 season. 

Don't listen to the critics, don't even look at season predictions, and don't stop believing!