PEORIA, Ariz. -- Humility has never been a lost lesson for Joe Thatcher, the Padres relief pitcher who took the road less traveled to get to the Major Leagues after he was undrafted out of college and had to pitch in independent leagues just to get noticed.

"My career, what it took to get here, it was a long path and I knew I would have struggles along the way," Thatcher said Sunday.

He just didn't think they would all occur last season, one right after the other in what was a lost season for the left-hander who not only lost his spot as a prominent setup reliever in the Padres' bullpen mix but lost his confidence along the way.

"It obviously wasn't the year I wanted to have. Last year, I started struggling and I never really struggled before in my professional career and I didn't handle it very well. It sort of snowballed on me," Thatcher said.

Thatcher, 27, made the team out of Spring Training last season after an impressive run in September of 2007 when the Padres were fighting for a playoff spot. He had a 1.29 ERA over 22 games and positioned himself well for a job as a setup man in the bullpen.

But Thatcher struggled in April, blowing two saves and losing two games while compiling a 7.24 ERA. He was subsequently sent to Triple-A Portland on May 11, his head, no doubt, still spinning from the unforeseen events of April.

"I lost my confidence and started questioning what I was doing. That's the last thing you can have happen. I went down to Triple-A, worked on some stuff, got some confidence," said Thatcher, who had a 8.42 ERA in 25 games last season.

Thatcher was generally a different pitcher in Portland, going 5-2 with a 2.77 ERA over 37 games, providing the Padres hope that he had turned things around. But Thatcher still struggled on subsequent promotions to San Diego, as he struggled to resolve confidence issues and embrace the realization he could get Major League hitters out.

"You're sort of hoping for something to happen instead of trying to make it happen," he said.

The bottom finally dropped out on Thatcher on July 23, when he yielded a grand slam to Cincinnati's Adam Dunn. He was optioned back to Portland after the game.

"That was when I decided to look at myself in the mirror a little and decided to get back to the basics," Thatcher said.

Thatcher returned to Portland and performed well, though he wasn't recalled when the Padres expanded their roster in September. He pitched during the Dominican Winter League and was generally happy with his performance.

"I just got back to basics, keeping the ball down in the zone, fastball command, worked on the slider, fine-tuned that a little bit. Last year when I was out there, I didn't have the confidence I wanted to and sort of guided the ball up there. You can't do that," he said.

Thatcher arrived in Peoria ready to recapture a role in a bullpen where there are many jobs that can be won. He's confident in himself, in his stuff. That much his pitching coach with Portland, Glenn Abbott, has already noticed this spring.

"I think confidence is the major thing for him," Abbott said. "That's something that you have to keep reinforcing. I've talked to him a few times and I think he's in a good frame of mind. He's got good stuff but it's all about comfort.

"You see guys struggle with confidence when they're trying to break into the big leagues. There's that added pressure there instead of just doing what you you've been doing to get you there."