Add "Opening Day Starter" to the dubious roles enacted by Dodger du jour Vicente Padilla. Manager/God Torre insists the honor doesnt signal Padilla is "better" than LA colleagues, but I imagine it's hard to be a Dodger fan and feel too good about this.
Statistically speaking, the opening game is no more important than any other, but the implied lack of confidence in Billingsley and Kuroda, as well as an apparently marketing-driven bump of Kershaw (to ensure he'll pitch the April 13th home opener), are notable.
Padilla's (98-85) hardly a punch drunk bum. He was even an All Star once, after he left the Dbacks in the Curt Schilling deal. But this is a notable choice for an organization with a rich tradition of pitchers, ranked second in NL ERA+ over the past couple of years.
1 comment:
There's just something about Padilla (best pronounced Puh-dill-uh)...
No human being sweats more while doing less than Padilla.
The guy fears nothing.
And he's ugly as hell.
Not quite Randy Johnson-like intimidating, but intimidating nonetheless.
Post a Comment