Iguchi Separates Shoulder

Padres second baseman, Tadihito Iguchi, will be placed on the DL after separating his shoulder attempting to dodge a Kevin Kouzmanoff grounder in Thursday night's 2-1 victory over the Mets. Iguchi will be out 4 - 6 weeks which leaves the Padres without a consistent defender (zero errors this season) and the 2 hole hitter in their lineup. The most likely replacement will create an all Gonzalez right side of the infield as FF expects Edgar Gonzalez to see the bulk of the playing time with a promotion in line for Craig Stansberry, who was a PCL All Star last year.

Backstop Backup Brainstorm

The U-T's Tom Krasovic reports that Padres General Manager Kevin Towers may be looking at veteran receiver Damien Miller should Michael Barrett be sidelined for an extended period of time. Also discussed is the extent of Barrett's injury, which is thankfully less severe than originally anticipated. We've discussed ulnar collateral ligament injuries in regard to former first round picks Ceasar Carillo and Nick Schmidt, who both required Tommy John surgery. This invasive procedure doesn't appear to be in the cards for Barrett, but the timetable for his return is likely around 2 months.

Miller has spent the bulk of his 11 season career in the National League with Arizona, Chicago and Milwaukee. A career .262 hitter, Miller is solid backstop that has tossed an impressive 37% of would-be base theifs in his career. This plainly addresses a need on the club, which has been victimized by opposing teams on the basepaths an epic manner of the last two seasons (setting and then breaking a Major League record for stolen bases allowed).

Trade Front And Center For Padres

The Padres couldn't or wouldn't come to an agreement to retain their free agent center fielder Mike Cameron this offseason and instead turned the position over to former All Star and Gold Glove winner Jim Edmonds, who was acquired in a trade with the Cards. Immediately following this trade, questions regarding the age and health of the Friars CF (Edmonds) and RF(Brian Giles) accompanied the questions about the lack of a starting left fielder. Through the first week of Cactus League play the Padres Edmonds and Giles have combined for 1 base hit, granted Brian Giles has yet to lace up his spikes due to his recovery from offseason knee surgery ~ but then again, that in itself is a problem. Edmonds is now on the shelf for 2-3 weeks due to a calf strain he suffered while in the batters box in a game this week.

The only left field clarification to date is that Jody Gerut , Chase Headley, and even Paul McAnulty have all proved that they can hit enough to compete for playing time with incumbent Scott Hairston, who himself has never been an everyday major league starter. So, lets toss in the huge hole in center created by Edmonds' calf muscle and the Padres have a tough situation with few in house fixes.

On Friday Kevin Towers reported that he had talked with the Boston Red Sox regarding Coco Crisp, it is suspected that the Sox would want top prospects Chase Headley or Matt Antonelli ~ and the Pads are not giving those 2 away for almost anyone at this point. So, may the Friars see yet another aging player passed their prime sporting the sand and navy in FA Kenny Lofton? Or would the Pads give up top talent to bring Tony Gywnn, Jr. back home from the Brewers? Something will have to happen, because the season is drawing ever closer and the Pads outfield is getting older each inning that passes.

Look for the Pads to also speak to the Angels, who have too many bodies in their outfield - some who are out of minor league options. FF believes (or wants to believe) that the Friars will find a way to get younger, healthier, and faster in the outfield prior to the March 31st opener.

Edmonds Leaves Game With Leg Injury

That sound you hear is the San Diego Padres front office holding their collective breathes. Newly acquired, and well seasoned Jim Edmonds was taken out of the Padres 10-3 win over the reigning NL champion Colorado Rockies. The 37 year old center fielder is disappointed and stated that his calf felt very tight.

It would be nice if FF could say that this wasn't expected, I, for one had accepted my chilled glass of Kool Aid and was gulping it down when hearing of Edmonds' feverish off season workouts led by a SWAT officer. The ex-Cardinal center fielder was said to be in great shape and prime for a career renaissance. The scariest part is - the reason the Friars brought Edmonds in was because there were no in house solutions to the vast grounds at Petco. If, in fact, this injury is a sign of more to come from the experienced legs of Edmonds and right fielder, Brian Giles, then the Padres might be in for a very long season.

Jump The Gun

This calf injury will most likely prove to be nothing more than a strain, however, if it leads to a long absence of a CF where would the Friars turn? FF sees few (neither solid) options already in the Peoria clubhouse being Scott Hairston, and Callix Crabbe. Neither has logged many innings in center and let us not forget where the Pads play 81 of their games...Players available in the trade market or free agency are either old or expensive ~ a few examples would be the 40 year old Kenny Lofton (who is still looking for a job, and playing for the Padres would, unofficially, be his 75th team), or the Dodgers Juan Pierre who signed a ridiculous contract last year and is expendable with LA's signing of Andruw Jones, and young Andre Ethier fighting for more AB's.

Hold your breath Padres fans, our outfield is huge and the legs roaming it are close to expiration!

Bard Latest Friar To Go Under The Knife

Padres starting catcher Josh Bard underwent a procedure to correct an issue in his right wrist. Maybe Padres fans across the world have thier explanation as to why he couldn't throw runners out this season, including a game in the final series of the year where the stout Prince Fielder stole second base twice (SB's 1 & 2 on the year for Mr. Fielder).

This marks the 3rd Friar to have off season surgery. It sounds like Josh Bard's procedure is the most minor of the three (Hoffman, and Brian Giles).

Hoffy's Bone Chips-Stats Link?

Trevor Hoffman notes that he and the club only considered surgery to remove bone chips over the last 3 months of the season. During that specific time period, Hoffy posted a 5.14 ERA with a 2.5-1 K/BB ratio - not exactly numbers that evoke Trevor Time. That said, it seems unlikely that they were cause of this late season slide. In September, Hoffman posted an excellent 1.15 ERA with a 10-1 K/BB ratio. It would be interesting to know exactly how the injury was bothering him and when the symptoms started, thought he implies that he never pitched in pain over the course of the season.

Like all the injured Pads, FF hopes for a speedy recover on the way to a big 2008 season.

PS - Root for AL teams for the '07 Series!

Hoffman has Arthroscopic Surgery

Today, Trevor had some small bone chips removed from his pitching elbow. This is a small surgery, not anything like Tommy John. Hoffman should be ready to roll come spring.

2007 1st Round Pick Gets Tommy John Treatment

Batting .666 initially sounds like good news - but not when it denotes the average that first round picks require reconstructive elbow surgery. Unfortunately, such is the case for the Padres as the Union-Tribune reports that 2007 first rounder Nick Schmidt had Tommy John surgery on 10/3. Ceasar Carillo, a first rounder in 2005, was the other player to require the procedure. While much will likely be made of this event, it is hardly the problem of Grady Fuson, Padres Vice President of Scouting and Development. Predictions of arm trouble are sketchy at best. If we were to listen to the nay-sayers, Jake Peavy would have destroyed his arm many years ago and never made to presumptive Cy Young-status. The bottom line is that 99% of pitchers and position players have health problems; you can't help but have them in an impact sport like baseball. One can't predict how these health issues will go, we can just hope that the 18 month rehab schedule goes smoothly and you end up with a productive pitcher at some point.

Continuing our recent tradition, here's an overview of Tommy John Surgery from Wikipedia:

Tommy John surgery, known by doctors as ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction (or UCL), is a surgical procedure in which a ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with a tendon from elsewhere in the body (often from the forearm, hamstring, knee, or foot of the patient). The ulnar collateral ligament can become stretched, frayed or torn through the stress of the throwing motion. After the tendon from the forearm or below the knee is harvested it is then woven in a figure-eight pattern through tunnels that have been drilled in the ulna and humerus bones that are part of the elbow joint. The surgery is named after Tommy John, a pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers who was the first professional athlete to successfully undergo the operation in 1974. The procedure was performed by Dr. Frank Jobe.

Brian Giles Undergoes Microfracture Surgery

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports Padres right fielder underwent microfracture knee surgery on Thursday to repair an ailing knee that had been affecting him for the majority of the season. In 1991, Tony Gwynn tried microfracture surgery in an attempt to restore cartilage in his balky left knee.

According to Wikipedia:

Microfracture surgery is an orthopedic surgical technique that can help restore knee cartilage by creating tiny fractures in the adjacent bones, causing new cartilage to develop. It can be used to treat both degenerative knee problems as well as cartilage injuries, and has gained a high profile in the sports world in recent years; numerous professional athletes including members of the NBA, NFL and NHL (most notably Steve Yzerman and Amare Stoudemire) have undergone the procedure.
The surgery is quick (taking around 30 minutes), minimally invasive, and has significantly shorter recovery times than an arthroplasty (knee replacement). Combined with a high rate of success, these factors have caused orthopedic surgeons to use the procedure with increasing frequency.

Padre Outfield Devastated

Sunday proved especially devastating to the Padres who lost both Mike Cameron and Milton Bradley for the season - playoffs included - to ligament injuries. Cameron was injured chasing what would become a Garrett Atkins inside-the-park home run. As Cameron dove for the ball, Bradley stepped on Cameron's hand, tearing his ulner collateral ligament. Later, Bradley tore his right anterior cruciate ligament while arguing with first base umpire Mike Winters. Padres CEO Sandy Alderson, who formerly oversaw MLB umpires, has indicated that a complaint will be filed and that umpires should not "bait" players. FF has been upset by umpires who have become a central story to far too many games this year.

Scott Hairston is FF's pick to move into a permanent role in the starting lineup. Additionally, it is likely that Friar fans will be seeing more of former USD star Brady Clark. Kevin Towers also cut a deal with new Astros GM (who just left Towers' staff to accept this position in Houston) that brought Jason Lane to San Diego. Lane will likely see time in center field and will be heavily considered for a spot in the 2008 outfield with both Cameron and Bradley free agents that have the potential to leave America's Finest City.

Slide Puts Giles on DL, Stansberry Called Up

The Padres telecast has just reported that Marcus Giles has been placed on the 15-day DL as a result of injuries related to last night's bush league slide by Carlos Ruiz. Friar announcer Matty V reports that Giles had to obtain help from the Padres medical staff at about 4:30AM as his knee became swollen and made it difficult for him to move around. Diagnosed as a sprained knee, the new injury overshadows the hip pointer that forced Giles out of last night's game. Craig Stansberry was called up to fill Giles' spot on the Big Club and is uniform for tonight's game. Stansberry was recently mentioned by GM Kevin Towers as a likely candidate to join the Padres, partly due to his .820 OPS at AAA Portland this year.

Vasgersian also mentioned a questionable column in the Philly Inquirer today. The author, Phil Sheridan, suggests that Philly starter Jamie Moyer could have plucked Giles in response to his "histrionics". So let me try to understand this - the team that commits the egregious offense should be doing the plucking? He also says that Ruiz's slide wasn't "an outrage against all that is holy in baseball". Really? I don't know if the slide was intentionally dirty or not, but the bottom line is that it was far enough over the line to be called for interference. Oh, and now Giles may be lost for the season. Maybe the Padres are just being theatrical about that too...

UPDATE:
Doug Brocail hit Carlos Ruiz on the thigh in the 6th inning of tonight's game. In case Mr. Sheridan is confused, this is the typical plucking relationship for an event of this nature.

UPDATE II:
Stansberry entered the game as a pinch hitter in the 7th and lined the first pitch he saw into right-center field for a base knock. Running out Brian Giles' fly ball, Stansberry look fairly fleet of foot. A little more speed can't hurt the Padre bench.

Friar Infirmary Report - CY & Barrett

Tuesday night's biggest story wasn't the last minute loss to the Mets - it was the loss of Chris Young's next start to a balky back. It appears that Young will held out at least one start, with more information pending an exam by the Padres medical staff back in San Diego. It's not currently known who will fill Sunday's open slot in the rotation, but the Wil Ledezma or Tim Stauffer, who's been hot in AAA Portland, are the leading candidates.

Michael Barrett may be turning the corner; he's experienced 3 straight symptom-free days and has been told that he needs that streak to reach 7 in order to get back on the field. That would target him for a rehab assignment on Monday. The Padres could really use someone to spell Josh Bard right now. Bard's fielding has been lacking in recent days as he hasn't been able to block a few balls over recent games that have put the team in a bind. If we learned nothing else in Bruce Bochey's tenure as Padres skipper, splitting time is instrumental for catchers, especially at this point in the season.

Bush's Stock Tumbles Again

Just when Matt Bush's stock began to rise, its tumbled again. Drafted first overall by the Padres in the 2004 draft class as a shortstop, as much for his sign-ability as his potential, Bush struggled through parts of 4 seasons at the plate and in the field. His .570 OPS and career best .940 fielding percentage tempted the front office into trying him out as a pitcher. Stranger things have happened - Trevor Hoffman himself is a converted minor league shortstop. The early returns were nothing short of breathtaking: a 8-1 strikeout to walk ratio (a statistic known to make the front office swoon), 0.95 WHIP and a strikeout per 9 innings pitched rate of nearly 20 in the Arizona Rookie League. All of this for a guy that hadn't pitched since high school. Did I mention that he was nearly hitting 100 on the gun? Well, it now looks like he's facing Tommy John surgery.

Michael Barrett To DL/ Bard Still A Switch Hitter?

The Padres have been bitten by the injury bug once again as they plan on sending catcher Michael Barrett to the 15 day disabled listed due to concussion like symptoms. The Friars plan on calling Pete LaForest (29 HR's) up from Portland for the second time this season.

Did you see that:

When switch hitting catcher, Josh Bard, pinch hit for the injured Michael Barrett in the 6th against a right handed reliever he walked into an unfamiliar territory ~ the right handed batters box. His game changing 2 run triple in the Padres 5 run 11th was as a right handed hitter slashing a line drive into the right field corner...he was facing another RHP. Bard has been far more successful as a right hander, hitting .391 compared to just .227 as a lefty. Is the switch hitting a thing of the past for Bard?

Tales from the Training Room

The Padres medical staff remains busy, but good news appears to be around the corner with Chris Young appearing likely to make his next start on Thursday. Not only will this return the League's best ERA to the lineup, but will supply the Friars with a much needed fresh arm; Young has averaged a (high) quality start in 2007, excluding the 2 inning start in which he was injured. Additionally, Justin Germano is recovering well from a cracked finger nail suffered Sunday and is not expected to miss any time.

Bub Black can pencil Geoff Blum back into infield as both Brian Giles and Scott Hairston have returned to action. It will likely be a couple more days before new Padre fan favorite Milton Bradley brings some attitude back into the batting order. The gaggle of media following Barry Bonds brought some unwanted attention to Bradley over the weekend, suggesting that he and Moneyball star Billy Bean didn't get along, precipitating his departure from Oakland. Regardless of how he got to the confines of Petco Park, Friar fans have to be pleased with his 1.082 On Base Plus Slugging (OBPS) percentage since donning a blue Swinging Friar jersey.

Bradley Strains Right Hamstring

The San Diego Padres most exciting player since his arrival from Oakland, Milton Bradley, will take a couple of days to rest a strained right hamstring. It does not appear to be severe enough to warrant another trip to the DL, but paired with right fielder Brian Giles' ankle injury it leaves the bench a little thin.

Chris Young Listed as Day-to-Day

We can only hope that Chris Young's early exit from tonight's game is due to an abundance of caution. Young came out to pitch in the bottom of the third inning, threw a single warm up pitch and was then yanked. He's currently listed as day-to-day and hasn't spent time on the disable list in his career to date.