First year general manager of the San Diego Padres A.J. Preller proved on Sunday that there's never a bad time to make a blockbuster trade in the MLB. After a very busy offseason which saw the Padres steal the headlines at baseball's winter meetings in December by making acquisition after acquisition to remodel the outfield with such names as Matt Kemp, Justin Upton and Wil Myers as well as Derek Norris behind the dish and Will Middlebrooks in the infield, only to add the cherry on top a month and a half later in the form of pitching ace James Shields, Preller has helped morph the Padres from the doormat of the NL West to a potential contender. And on the eve of Major League Baseball's Opening Day, San Diego made yet another deal to revamp the franchise.
As if Padre fans weren't already ecstatic to turn a new leaf and witness a team with the potential to send the franchise to the postseason for the first time since 2006, they were given one final gift from their new general manager before the start of the season in the form of All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel. Preller made a deal to land Kimbrel and outfielder Melvin Upton Jr. aka BJ Upton from the rebuilding Atlanta Braves. The Friars managed to kill two birds with one stone with the trade as it helped solve their crowded outfield problem by sending outfielders Cameron Maybin and Carlos Quentin to Atlanta and also helped them add some extra depth to the back end of the bullpen with the acquisition of one of the best closers in the game. The Braves also landed right-handed pitcher Matt Wisler in the trade, who is one of San Diego's top prospects as well as Minor Leaguer Jordan Paroubeck and a Draft pick.
Taking on the hefty contract of the struggling Melvin Upton Jr. was less than ideal for the Padres who are now looking at an Opening Day payroll near the $109 Million mark which is a franchise record, but chances are they wouldn't have been able to land Kimbrel without it being a package deal and taking Upton as well. Unlike his brother Justin who is due to be a free-agent after the season, the 30-year old Melvin Upton is under contract until 2018 and is owed over $45 Million over the next three seasons. As for Kimbrel, the 26-year old fire-baller is owed $46 Million over the next four seasons with a club option to buy out in '18. But if the All-Star reliever can continue to duplicate the numbers he's produced in each of his first four seasons, there's little doubt the club would choose to part ways. Since being called up to the bigs in 2010, Kimbrel owns the lowest ERA in all of baseball at 1.43 with a minimum of 250 innings pitched and his 186 saves over the last four seasons are the most in the Majors during that span. With four consecutive seasons of 40 saves, a feat reached only three other times, Kimbrel will have a chance this year to become the first pitcher in MLB history to make it five straight seasons of 40 saves.
Padres skipper Bud Black was expected to give the ball to reliever Joaquin Benoit to close out ballgames, but chances are he'll now be moved to a setup role in the eighth as Kimbrel is assigned closing duties. With some pundits predicting the Padres to snap their playoff drought the moment they signed James Shields, they've gotta be licking their chops now that San Diego's chances just got a lot better. But since they were basically being declared a wild card team before Preller's latest blockbuster trade, does this now make them a potential favorite to knock off the consensus NL Western division champion L.A. Dodgers whom they open the season against and maybe even put them in the discussion for an NL Pennant? That's a question yet to be answered, but one thing that is for certain is that A.J. Preller and the Padres will more than likely be buyers at the trade deadline and not sellers.
Intimidation can often play a big role in sports, but no sport favors one player intimidating another than those in baseball. Whether it's a pitcher afraid of a certain hitter or vice-versa. And to help their case, players of the home team are greeted at the plate or out of the bullpen with a 30-second intro song of their choice. Whether it's the likes of Eric Gagne who was introduced coming out of the bullpen at Chavez Ravine/Dodger Stadium with Guns N' Roses' 'Welcome to the Jungle' blasting out of the speakers as he made his way to the mound to close a game in the 9th inning, or New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez stepping up to the plate with a Jay-Z song bumping in the background. And then there's those who select a song that relates to their name.
Take Cincinnati Reds third-baseman Scott Rolen for example, who makes his visit to the batters box to Limp Bizkit's "Rollin". Or former big league pitcher Mike Myers who came out of the bullpen to the theme song of the horror movie Halloween. Now to me, those all make sense. One song a number of players have recently been introduced at the plate to however, is raising quite a few eyebrows, including mine. Whether they're not afraid to share their soft side or they're just expressing their not so secret interest in Disney's Hannah Montana, the truth may never be told. That's right, Florida Marlins center fielder Cameron Maybin and New York Yankees designated-hitter Nick Johnson have both made trips to the plate this season with yep, you guessed it -- the young female pop mogul Miley Cyrus' hit song "Party in the USA." Now if this was woman's softball I can understand, but the Major League's? Playing in the big apple, it was only a matter of time before Yankee DH Nick Johnson was asked about his song selection. Johnson says the song is a favorite of his four-year old daughter who often watches her father play from the stands, but Johnson also admitted he likes the song as well by saying, "I'll get up in the family room and sing it. It's got a good twist to it." I'm guessing he's joking about the last part, but Maybin on the other hand has no excuse. As the 31-year old Johnson can use his daughter as an excuse for the decision to choose "Party in the USA" as his walk up music, Maybin can't do the same considering he's only 23 and doesn't have any kids. Maybe Hannah Montana is his little sister's favorite TV show? Neh, I'm not buying that. But as cheesy as the song is for a grown man to step up to the plate to, at least Maybin can get away with it given he plays for the Marlins who own a fan base or the lack there of who are infamous for not showing up to support their team. Johnson was a member of the Marlins last season, so maybe it's a clubhouse thing?
