Josh Byrnes on Quentin, injuries, Tate and the WBC

Josh Byrnes inteview with Lee Hamilton (MP3)

• To some degree the Padres are treating Carlos Quentin with kid gloves. They want to get him in ideal shape, so he'll DH and be eased into his role. Most hitters want 40-50 at bats before the start of the season. Byrnes is happy with the way Bud Black schedules rest for Quentin. Hopefully he'll play 120-130 games this season. Quentin looks good and feels good so far.
  
• Tim Stauffer looks like himself again. He's got a lot of fans inside the organization. He's mixing his pitches and his velocity. He is where it needs to be.
• The topic of injury prevention came up a lot last year. They hired a new strength and conditioning coach. One of the things they are emphasizing a bit more is fitness, not strength at the expense of fitness. "Sometimes they add more muscle mass than they need to, to play the game." Being limber and flexible is really important.
• Kyle Blanks looks very good. Left field is looking like a very strong area for the Padres.
  
• With Jedd Gyorko in the mix Logan Forsythe may be freed up to play shortstop of outfield.
• Donovan Tate has a personal issue that he needs to deal with, so he will not be reporting to Minor League camp.
  "I'm not sure where we stand with respect to his baseball career." -Josh Byrnes on Donovan Tate
  
  Byrnes can't get into the details. "Obviously going back to his draft story it's another dose of not great news. Hopefully we can turn this thing around." Byrnes can't say whether Tate is about to be disciplined by baseball. "I can't answer that and I don't know that. So all I can really say on that is that he has to deal with a personal issue."
• Ross, Bass, Stauffer, Kelly and Erlin are in theory battling for one rotation spot. Andrew Cashner may get into a game on Sunday and enter the competition as well.
  
• It's hard to tell if there is a buzz in camp about the WBC. They're mostly just rooting for their guys. The timing of the WBC is always difficult on players.