Linebrink traded to Milwaukee

I wish I had something insightful and useful to say as far as the Scott Linebrink trade is concerned but after ready what Anthony had to say over at Friar Watch, he pretty much gives all the details we need to know about the young guys SD gets and what they can bring to the club.

As far as Wednesday's game is concerned, SD got absolutely shelled by a guy who threw only 74 pitches and should be getting shelled himself considering the type of season he is having. While I admit that all good teams eventually slump at some point, you still can't lose games to teams like the Rockies when they send pitchers like Aaron Cook to the mound. His season stats beg for him to get knocked around every game and SD should be able to do that.

Now I have said before that you need to ride these things out a little bit before panicking, but I am starting to seriously wonder if the Padres have enough consistent offense to make the playoffs. Sure we can put up runs with the best teams but it seems when one or two guys begin to struggle there is no one there to pick up the slack. Adrian Gonzalez seems to finally be hitting the ball again but where is the support?

It would be nice if we could save some of the offensive outbursts the team seems to regularly have and stretch them out over a few games so SD could notch more wins but sometimes you just have to take what you get when you can get it, and if you are the Padres you never turn down any form of offense. Let's hope someone else finds their stroke at Minute Maid park this weekend. SD is going to need it with David Wells taking the mound to open the series.

You're out of here

After a couple of crazy days, I come back only to see David Wells finally stick to his pitch limit - even though it was not of his own choice. At this stage of his career, Wells is definitely a guy who needs to - and feels he deserves to - get the borderline calls on the corners. And when he doesn't get those calls, he gets angry.

Which brings me to an interesting topic - the star treatment. Talk to anyone in Dallas - or outside of Miami for that matter - and they will claim Dwayne Wade got some questionable calls because he is one of the faces of the NBA. The same could probably be said for guys like Roger Clemens, John Smoltz or any other player that has had a long and illustrious career. Even Wells' teammate Greg Maddux probably gets the benefit of the doubt. I haven't done any additional official research - Anthony at Friarwatch would be a better source for official stats - but it's obvious not all players are created equal.

Do I have a problem with the star treatment? Probably only when the calls go against the Padres. But then again, what fan isn't upset when the calls go against their squad?