JULY 7, 2009 -- Professional baseball is fun and games for the fans but not the participants. In the big leagues if you don't hit or pitch well, you get benched, sent down to the minors, traded to another team, or outright released. Your life can be dislodged in many ways with prolonged failure. With the San Diego Padres, you can also do well and get traded. Ask Scott Hairston.
Tough weekend for the hometown boys versus the dreaded Los Angeles Dodgers. They lose two out of three games, catcher Henry Blanco blows out his right hamstring and lands on the disabled list (a minimum 15 day stint), dynamo second baseman and 2006 World Series MVP David Eckstein sprains an ankle and also lands on the 15-day DL, and the Padres find their ballyard invaded from the north by thousands of blue-clad Dodger fans.
There was so much Dodger blue in Petco Park that a drunkard may have entered the stands wondering if he had made a wrong turn and landed in Dodger Stadium.
Nope, it was just Manny Ramirez coming off of his ignominious 50-game suspension for using a banned substance. Some do, but these Dodger fans did not care a whit about his transgressions. They had their Mannywood Mania back and the revelers would not be denied.
Manny hit a hanging curve from Josh Geer for a homer but was otherwise quiet and understandably rusty. Everth Cabrera and Tony Gwynn robbed him of singles with nice defensive plays. Manny went Hollywood to the media with mirrored sunglasses and answering questions while chomping away on a wad of bubblegum. Just Manny being Manny, you know.
Ah, but our Padres. Kevin Kouzmanoff is 1-21, Chase Headley is 1-20. Adrian Gonzalez slipped down to .263. Did you hear that while the Padres second best offensive weapon--Scott Hairston--was on the DL poor Adrian went just 1-16?
This does not bode well for the Padres and All-Star Gonzalez since Hairston was traded after Sunday's game to the Oakland Athletics for two minor league pitchers (one being assigned to Single-A Lake Elsinore), and one other hurler to be named later this month.
If you were pitching against the Padres, why would you give their best player any good pitches to hit? Who else in the most effete lineup in the big leagues can hurt you?
Another rumor has Kouzmanoff being shopped, but who wants him and what would you receive of any value in return? A Kouzmanoff departure would mean that Chase Headley could go back to his best position at third base and left field could be manned by prospective stars like Kyle Banks and Will Venable.
Hairston was arbitration-eligible next season, meaning that he would be due a lot more money and the Padres are still trying to pare down their payroll. They would love to get the Jake Peavy and Brian Giles contracts off the books this season, but both are on the DL.
Enjoy the summer tryouts at Petco Park this summer. Lots of young players will be on display.
(Rob MacKnight is a pitching coach who lives in Clairemont. At 53, he still pitches in the San Diego Adult Baseball League. His writing can be found at hubpages.com/author/pitchingguru/hot/.)