The Padres sucked upon admittance to the warm season and now we sweat beads of optimism as we push through August. Strange.
As fans expected trades to color our summer the Padres have instead extended a core of players: Carlos Quentin, Huston Street, and now veteran clubhouse presence/role player type, Mark Kotsay.
Since the Padres are extending players not named Chase Headley allow me to make a suggestion . . .
I ask you first to read the following quotes:
"Understanding there's still growth to come makes what he's doing even scarier. He's so advanced right now, especially with the bat. He takes great swings. He has power from both sides of the plate. But the thing I appreciate the most is he's willing to listen and learn."Hmm. Whose words are these? And of who does he speak?
"He wants to improve. After the first game he played, he asked me if he was setting up too early. He's asking about how to talk to pitchers to get them going the right way. He's open to advice. He doesn't think he knows it all, which is a huge asset to someone so young. Some young players who advance to the big leagues so fast feel like they know it all. That's his biggest asset . . . his capability to learn and understand and process information quickly and translate that into a baseball game. I think he's way advance (sic) beyond players his age."I get the sense that you're an intelligent person. So you know who this quote is about and you probably have a decent idea of who said it. Let me give you a little more.
"The first thing I said about him in Spring Training after watching him swing the bat and catch a few bullpens was that I thought this guy was going to be an All-Star in the Big Leagues. It's just a matter of time."Alright let's dispense with the quotes. Finalize your guesses. And continue reading . . .
These quotes appeared in Corey Brock's article, The Fast Track, in Issue #08 of the 2012 Blue Print.
The cover boy for Issue #08 was Yasmani Grandal and the above commentary was provided by . . . if you guessed catcher John Baker then you're smarter than a guy who calls himself Ochocinco instead of Ochenta y Cinco to signify his football number.
While I have no problem denigrating the name of Chad Johnson/Ocho Cinco I'm not here to disparage Nick Hundley who may very well be a fantastic teammate. The problem with Nick Hundley however, is that he's a 28 year-old guaranteed $7M through the 2014 seasons. I don't know it with certainty but I have to imagine that Nick still fancies himself as a starter more than he does a mentor to the youngster Yasmani Grandal. But it is Grandal who is a part of the future not Hundley.
When we look at the words of John Baker we see a guy who understands his role, a guy who knows that Grandal is the future, yet still wants to serve as his mentor. Baker went to Cal Berkley which means that, while he might smell like patchouli oil, he's definitely intelligent. Moving forward, I think that he and Grandal would make a fine team.
John Baker currently earns $750K and he's arbitration eligible. The Padres need to act now. Don't let Baker even get to arbitration. If Tom Garfinkel gives Baker a sales pitch with Huston Street standing over his right shoulder it's a done deal -- Baker will take the league minimum!
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In all seriousness: I think Chase Headley will get an extension this winter and Nick Hundley will be traded. I also think the Padres would be wise to keep John Baker around to back up Yasmani Grandal. I'm not saying he deserves a full No Trade Clause, just that we shouldn't discriminate against catchers from Berkley who may, or may not, smell like they once made a living selling Jerry Bear t-shirts during Grateful Dead tours.
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