TEAM STILL NEEDS BULLPEN, CATCHING UPGRADTING LOSS

by Jason Martinez
posted 6/19/08





Now that top prospect Chase Headley has arrived in the big leagues (probably for good), Padre fans need a new name to call for when things are going
bad. If Paul McAnulty continues to play as bad as he did yesterday, we'll be calling for the team to bring Justin Huber back, or maybe even Chip Ambres
or Will Venable.

But outfield is not the position to which I'm referring. I'm talking about the catching position, where four different players have combined to hit .185
with one homer and 55 strikeouts in 73 games. Doesn't get worse than that, huh?

While catcher Nick Hundley is hitting just .237 in AAA Portland, he would be an immediate upgrade. Someone batting .237 at Portland is an
immediate upgrade, you ask? Yes, because it can't get any worse than .185 with one homer.

The 24 year-old is solid defensively and while he still has a ways to go with the bat (.289 OBP), he will at least give the position some much-needed
power. Over his last 149 games (combined '07 and '08 between AA and AAA), Hundley has 30 HR's, 130 RBI's, 33 doubles, 56 walks, and 110
strikeouts. Not too shabby. Who knows how this will translate to the major leagues, but like I keep saying, it can't get any worse, right?

And if the team doesn't feel that Hundley is ready for the show, they would be wise to go shopping for a better option as long as they feel they still have
a chance in the NL West.

Now to the bullpen. Let's be honest, Kevin Towers did an amazing job by patching up a few holes in this sinking ship, but they are still not very good. So
where's the the next line of help coming from?

There are only two pitchers in AAA with a sub-4.00 ERA. One is lefty Joe Thatcher (1.54 ERA in 11.2 IP). But I think we've seen enough of Thatcher in
San Diego for 2008, no matter how good he pitches in AAA. The other is Clay Hensley, who has a 2.63 ERA in 24 innings, with just 20 hits allowed.
How about replacing Cla with Clay? He can't be any worse, right?

Another name to watch out for is 27 year-old Edwin Moreno. Promoted to AAA after posting a 2.95 ERA with 8 saves in AA San Antonio, the
right-hander has an unimpressive 5.29 ERA with Portland but has not allowed a run in his last six outings During this span, he's allowed just three hits,
no walks, and striking out seven. Opponents are batting just .210 against Moreno.

So it could be Hensley. It could be Moreno. Or we can just hope that Towers can pull off some more waiver wire magic.