It is now the Monday after the ‘big deal’ and after reading and listening to all the reactions over the last couple of days it seems appropriate to take a moment to breath and try to relax. We have all lamented the business of baseball that made it more than obvious that the Padres would not be able to retain their best player past the 2011 season.

Everyone feels terrible about the situation.  Well, except the Red Sox.

We blame Bud Selig, Jeff Moorad, Jed Hoyer, the overreaching organizations that can buy whoever they want,  all owners who keep the status quo in place. But the reality doesn’t change. And small to mid-market teams like the Padres have to deal with the reality. If you plan on remaining a baseball fan in the future you will either have to accept this reality and work with it or change your allegiance to a big budget team that doesn’t disappoint you.

Adrian Gonzalez is going to be a superstar with the Red Sox.  You can’t be angry with him for wanting his share of the baseball pie. He signed a very San Diego-friendly contract that kept him here thru his arbitration years. But he recently made it very clear that was not going to happen again.

Many of us have suspected for quite a while that Adrian did not really want to stay a Padre for his whole career, despite his statements to the contrary. It has been obvious to anyone paying attention that Petco Park frustrates him to no end.

Seeing him clobber the ball and watching it die in the outfield as a harmless fly  was frustrating for the fans as well. But this is Adrian’s career and he has more at stake than we do. Who can blame him for wanting to showcase his talents to the best of his ability?

So now we move to the post Adrian era and the daunting task ahead of  Jed Hoyer. Building a team that can play well inside Petco Park and on the road. We have all heard many times that that team will have great defense, swift outfielders and baserunners, great pitching and enough offense to support the pitching. There will be a couple guys who can hit homeruns. But they will be selected based on their ability to hit down the lines or over the right field wall. Most of the candidates will have to forget about  the centerfield wall. If they can clear the CF wall on a regular basis they won’t be here for long. We all know by now what happens when the Padres develop someone with that kind of ability. One of the superpowers will come thru and sweep them away.

So, what about 2011?

Of course, the Padres front office will not say the dreaded words  “rebuilding”. We, the fans, were all hoping  the Padres would be able to build on the surprise success of last season and make another run for the division in 2011. If that happens this season it will be a bigger accomplishment than last year. We have no middle infield, question marks at all the corners (as far as production is concerned), only one catcher and no set fifth starter. What remains as an area of strength is the bullpen and a strong starting four.

Some good news.

With Chris Young and Adrian Gonzalez off the books the payroll is now flexible to add some talent. Even if the front office chooses to keep Ryan Ludwick (a bad choice, in my opinion), Heath Bell and Chase Headley there is an approximate payroll of 31.5 million as it stands now.

It can be safely assumed that Jedi will look for some bargains to add depth at catcher and first base.  Sign or trade for defense-minded middle infielders and continue to add pitching. (As the cliché goes, you can never have too much pitching).  Keep in mind that Simon Castro, Cory Luebke and/ or Casey Kelly could be joining the parent club within the 2011 season.

This off season will be a serious test of Jed Hoyer’s skill as a GM. The Padres have alienated a lot of fans this off-season, with Adrian’s trade being the capper. To keep the positive fan momentum going from last season, the Padres will have to give the fan base something to come to the park for in 2011. That is Jed’s challenge and I can’t wait to see what he comes up with.