| Alex Cohen. 21st January, 2006 - 1:22 pm
 Ever since the Padres lost Game 3 of the NLDS to the Cardinals, many of the players walking off the field with expressions punctuated by dismay. Kevin Towers and Sandy Alderson have attempted to improve the roster, through numerous trades and signings. However, were these trades actually intended to improve the roster, or were they for the sole purpose of taking a couple bucks off the payroll?
We start with possibly the most perplexing off-season move.
After deciding that mid-season acquisition Miguel Olivo was a little too pricey, Alderson sent fan-favorite Mark Loretta off to Boston for Doug Mirabelli. The average baseball fan would read this and say, "Doug Mirabelli?". This guy is no better than a backup catcher, and his only purpose on Boston was to catch for the erratic knuckle-baller Tim Wakefield. His career stats do not drop jaws, nor do they warrant a starting position. This situation would not have arisen had Towers been willing to spend a fairly hefty wad of cash for big swinger Ramon Hernandez. Ramon has proven that he is one of the best overall catchers in the league, and is most likely more valuable than Ryan Klesko, who has done very little to impress Petco dwellers the last couple years. This move weakens the Pads at second, although we have recently acquired Red Sox Mark Bellhorn, and gives them suspect depth at catcher, with David Ross being the potential backup. This position will haunt the Padres the whole year, and will be the sole reason they will not compete for the NL west crown, let a lone a Wild Card berth.
In one of the bigger off-season trades around the league, Towers unloaded inconsistent relief man Akinori Otsuka, starting pitcher Adam Eaton, and a minor leaguer for a package containing behemoth starting pitcher Chris Young (standing tall at 6'10''), San Diego product, and early 1sst round draft pick (Eastlake High School) Adrian Gonzales, and quick outfielder Terrmel Sledge. I can't help but wonder what kind of numbers Gonzales could put up when given a starting job. Nothing would make me happier than to see Klesko shipped out for a catcher that hits over .230, allowing Gonzales to slid into first base, though he is quite versatile and can play outfield as well. Although Eaton was delicious prior to getting injured, the return in this trade was to intriguing to pass up for KT, and he had to pull the trigger. In my mind, everyone in the NL West was starting to figure Otsuka out, and this move is very warranted. As his replacement, the front office has looked to Japan once again and signed Brian Sikorski, a right-hander, who Towers and Alderson are hoping will fit into the roation well, after it lost many of its successful members from last year's squad. This move will help the Padres overall, and give them a nice, new look in the bullpen.
In a move that still baffles me to this day, the Padres shipped supersub Xavier Nady to the Mets for Mike Cameron, an injury-prone underachiever. With Dave Roberts already in the outfield, despite his affinity for leg injuries, a center fielder should not have been the Padres prime objective. Don't be surprised to see Nady put up huge numbers in the future. This powerful utility man out of Cal-Berkeley will have a great future in New York, if given the opportunity, and will show the whole front office why he should've received more playing time while in San Diego. More importantly however, the heart of this team, Brian Giles was re-signed. Until this off-season, in which the Padres were almost certain he would depart to a big market like New York or Boston, Giles had been very underrated around the league. Also a San Diego native (Granite Hills High School), Giles is the only reason why this Padre team will finish in front of the young and rapidly improving Rockies. This signing was vital, and if the Padres had somehow let this special baseball player get away, I and thousands of other season-ticket holders would be very disheartened and mad at the club. When the front office found out that teams like the Yankees and the Red Sox were interested in Giles, they basically gave up on the situation, and Padre fans alike. It seemed as if Towers was making a feeble attempt at unloading payroll. If they had let Giles go, who would've been signed to take up that extra space? Alex Cora? Typical Kevin Towers….. Half the time this guy looks like a genius, half the time he looks like a San Diego congressman being indicted for some immoral monetary transactions.
Can someone please explain to me the Sean Burroughs situation. I agree that it was time to let go of this guy. I don't think he'll ever develop major league power, but why Dewon Brazelton?
I know this dude was a first round pick, like Burroughs, but he had a terrible year last season, and his E.R.A is higher than a Harvard grad's GPA. Hopefully he can develop some solid bullpen skills, because if his E.R.A gets up above 7, we might have to call up some of our Little League World Series 3rd place finishers, to finish the job.
Finally, why did the Padres trade for Vinny Castilla? O.K, I realize he hit 30 homers and over 100 RBI's at Coors, but this guy had about as much offensive production as pitcher Mike Hampton, who plays every 5 days. Both were injured last year, so I'll give Vinny the benefit of the doubt, but if this guy is hitting anything like Mirabelli, we might have to put the batboy in there at 3rd. What I don't understand is why we would give away our consistently solid (couple years in a row with 200+ IP) Brian Lawrence, for this third-basemen, who's age compares with that of George Washington. I'd like to see Vinny prove me wrong, but right now I just don't see it happening.
Whether to actually improve the club, or to take some pressure off the payroll, you have to commend Kevin Towers and Sandy Alderson, as they did take the Padres to the 2005 NLDS. Despite the 3-game sweep, I remember being there for Game 3. I remember that Petco Park has never been close to as loud as it was that night. Hopefully, this year, Padre fans can come to appreciate all the new faces, and cheer them on, just as we did for our boys in 2005. |
