First off, props to the folks over at Fanstop. Much of what I write in this space is inspired, directly or otherwise, by what goes on there.
Free-Agent Signings
Okay, as promised, I’ll share my thoughts on yesterday’s signings. Carlton Loewer, as you may know, came over from Philly in the Andy Ashby/Adam Eaton deal. He’s been injured pretty much his entire Padre career, but he’s going to give it another shot and has signed a minor-league contract with the club. There’s virtually no risk here and considerable upside. Loewer once was viewed as a potential #2 or #3 starter in the bigs. While that may never happen, if healthy, he’s another power arm in the system.
Dave Hansen is a Dave Magadan clone. He works the count and drives balls in the gaps. I absolutely love this signing. Like John VanderWal and Mark Sweeney, Hansen is a guy who probably deserved a shot as a regular earlier in his career. It never happened and he became a great pinch-hitter. He’s got a chance to make an impact on this ball club, both at the plate and in setting an example for some of the younger hitters. Great, great signing.
Finally, Jaret Wright. A SoCal native returns home. Kevin Towers has serious intentions with Wright, who is expected to serve as a setup man for Trevor Hoffman. Both the Hansen (2 yrs, $1.3M) and Wright (1 yr, $725K) signings are big-league deals, which means a couple of spots will need to be cleared on the 40-man roster. When you consider that guys like Kevin Eberwein, Kory DeHaan, and Donaldo Mendez are on the 40-man, that shouldn’t be a problem.
Here’s more on the signings, as well as the happy news that Royce Clayton apparently has rejected the Padres overtures, thus clearing the way for the superior option of Mark Loretta (which also would allow Ramon Vazquez to stay at shortstop): Wright arrives as insurance for Hoffman. Keep the faith, mis amigos.
Pete Rose
I don’t want to get into this one too much, because it’s such a politically charged issue, but rumor is that Pete Rose may have his lifetime ban from MLB lifted (without dying). All I have to say right now is that if Bud Selig allows this to happen, he’s more evil than I ever could have imagined. Oh, and according to an ESPN.com poll, 65% of fans want to see Rose reinstated. Sigh.
I don’t know if I’ll make good on my threat to stop following MLB if Rose is ever reinstated, but I’m pretty sure I’ll take it a lot less seriously than I do now.
More Pleasant Matters
In other news, I’m happy to announce that I’ve joined the Baseball Primer staff. They do great work over there, and it’s an honor to be a part of the team. My first articles are about a couple of left-handed pitchers who are on this year’s HOF ballot and should appear later this month. That’s all I’m gonna say; you’ll have to read the articles to find out who they are. Guesses will be neither confirmed nor denied (although I’m open to bribery).
Oh, and in case you’re wondering, my addition to the Baseball Primer staff will not affect the output here at Ducksnorts. I’ll still be blogging away over here. 
The Ubiquitous "Other Stuff"
Later…
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