Just as a heads-up, transmissions may be sporadic for the next couple of weeks. I’ve got to do a full wipe and reinstall of Windows on my main machine (been putting it off for a long time) plus I’m heading out to Vegas this coming Thursday. Yeah, I’ll miss you, too. Don’t go getting all weepy on me.

Pads have officially recalled Brian Howard. He is scheduled to make his big-league debut Saturday in Pittsburgh. Turns out Kevin Jarvis isn’t okay and has been placed on the 15-day DL. I asked Josh Boyd, in yesterday’s Baseball America chat, for his take on Howard:

Ben Howard is about to join the San Diego rotation. How do you think he’ll do in the short-term? What about long-term? Jim Callis recently compared him to Milwaukee’s Nick Neugebauer. Do you agree with this assessment, or is there someone else you might compare him to?

Josh responded as follows:

These one-and-out starts for young pitchers seem to be real hit or miss. I’d bet on Howard giving the Padres an average start, maybe five innings or so, but I think in the long run, as he continues to develop his secondary stuff in the minors, he’ll turn into a solid big league pitcher for them. I don’t see his ceiling as high as Neugebauer’s, who can be an ace, but that’s an interesting comparison.

At the time I wrote the question, I didn’t realize that Jarvis had been placed on the DL and that Howard would be taking his, and not Brian Tollberg’s, spot in the rotation. But I have a sneaking suspicion that if Howard pitches well, when Jarvis returns it is Tollberg and not Howard who will be sent to the minors. It just feels like the Adam Eaton situation a couple years ago, but we’ll see.

Josh also had encouraging words about the recuperating Xavier Nady: "He’s legit. He’ll hit. He mashed this spring, but he is coming off Tommy John surgery."

I have to second this. The only question in my mind with Nady is where he’ll end up playing in the field once his elbow is okay. For what it’s worth, although his numbers aren’t there yet (and even still, they’re really not all that bad), I’ve been more impressed with his at-bats this year than last. But as I’ve said many times, Nady never seemed to do much at the plate when I saw him in 2001.

That’s all for now. Wish me luck on the reinstall. And wish Ben Howard luck on his first big-league start. It should be fun…