Friar Watch

The Scott Linebrink trade rumors were finally put to rest today as the Padres shipped him off to Milwaukee for three minor league pitchers. Given Scott’s recent struggles I think that Kevin Towers got a pretty good deal. It seems like the recent trend in baseball is to overvalue the compensatory draft picks gained when a free agent like Linebrink leaves for another team. Sure the picks are nice but if you can get some good prospects back I think you’re in better shape overall. Sandy Alderson made the point today that they don’t have to pay a signing bonus for these young guys, plus they’ve already had some development time and a track record.

So who did we get?
1. Joe Thatcher - 25 year old lefty, people are projecting him as a LOOGY but Bud Black hasn’t shown an inclination to lock his lefties into a specialty role. Thatcher’s selling point has been his control, he’s posted excellent K/BB ratios throughout his minor league career. He’s expected to join the Padres in Houston tomorrow, most likely he’ll be dropped in the Justin Hampson/Kevin Cameron role as the Human Victory Cigar.

2. Will Inman - 20 years old, he’s put up some terrific numbers, striking out more than a batter an inning with excellent control in A ball. He’s struggled in AA but it’s still early enough to be an adjustment period. Some scouts have said Inman lacks a strong enough fastball to succeed in the major leagues but the Padres pride themselves on not falling into the velocity trap. 4/5 of their rotation throw fastballs that would be judged as below average but they’ve done alright for themselves.

One thing I’ve noticed in reading about Inman is every article mentions his competitive nature, his desire to get guys out and be a successful major league pitcher. I like this quote in particular:

“I think the biggest thing for me to be effective was the fact I don’t walk a lot of guys,” Inman said. “I throw a lot of strikes. I go right after guys. I hate walking guys. I’d almost rather give up a homer than walk them and let them get on base for free.”

I’m sure Bud Black and the rest of the Padres brain trust are happy to hear their 20 year old pitcher has such an aversion to walks.

As for his alleged below average stuff, I’ve seen reports that his fastball is low 90s and he has a pretty good slurvey breaking ball. He also throws a change up, something the Padre coaches will help him refine. That’s more than adequate for a major league pitcher, provided he throws it with good command and a confident attitude.

3. Steve Garrison - 20 year old lefty, listed at 6′1″ and 185, kind of small but he could still fill out a little. This article says that Garrison was throwing 91 mph as a high school senior and also has excellent control.

So the Padres got three prospects, ranging from decent to excellent, for a pending free agent who’s been getting shelled lately. Another great move from Kevin Towers.

One potential move doesn’t sound so great: the Padres are rumored to have offered Shea Hillenbrand a minor league contract with a promise to promote him within 10 days. In the past I wasn’t as down on Hillenbrand as some people but recently he’s been awful and he’s always seemed like a jerk. However, Bud Black must be familiar with him from their days with the Angels so maybe he knows something we don’t. As long as it doesn’t cost more than a minor league contract I suppose it can’t be a disaster but it’s hard to see the upside here, especially because promoting Hillenbrand would probably mean moving Branyan.

As for today’s game, I think we’ve hit a new low. Aaron Cook threw a complete game against the Padres today and only threw 74 pitches. And he gave up 9 hits! He also had two strikeouts so lets do a little math. 27 outs + 9 hits = 36 batters. That’s 2.06 pitches per batter. Subtract the minimum of 6 pitches for the 2 Ks and that’s 68 pitches for 34 batters, exactly 2 per. How is this even possible?? Looking closer I see that Brian Giles was caught stealing and the Rox turned two DPs so that cuts down on the pitches a little, but still. Any time your team allows an opposing pitcher to throw a CG with fewer than 100 pitches you have to hang your head. Truly pathetic.