Blogging the San Diego Padres… established 1997

We’ve been watching this all day and it’s finally happened. At least a version of it has happened. As we reported late Thursday afternoon, the Padres have acquired left-hander David Wells from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations.

Speculation on who the player to be named will be has focused on Triple-A catcher George Kottaras, but that’s all it is at this point — speculation. Still, where there’s smoke…

As for the acquistion of Wells, I’m not super excited about it but as long as the cost isn’t too high, he’s worth a shot. If you’re looking for a positive spin, you could do worse than point to the 2.65 ERA he’s posted over 34 innings in the month of August. If his body can hold up for another month and a half, he could give the Pads some quality innings down the stretch and deep into the playoffs.

The nightmare scenario, of course, is that the Padres don’t reach the post-season and surrender Kottaras. As much as I love what Josh Bard has done this season, I’m not completely sold on him as Mike Piazza’s successor (assuming Piazza doesn’t return, which is yet another unknown in this little drama), and Nick Hundley still has a ways to go before he reaches the Show.

What I’d really like to see is the Padres give back some of the money they took from the Red Sox in the deals that sent Mark Loretta to Boston and brought Josh Bard and Cla Meredith to San Diego. Easy to say, since it’s not my money.

Enough spinning of wheels; let’s deal with what we’ve got. Wells is a member of the San Diego Padres. I believe he has a chance to help, and perhaps more importantly, some of the Padres players might be inclined to believe the same. Whatever else we may think we know about baseball, there’s still something to be said for belief. Even if Wells is a difference maker only in the minds of his teammates, he’ll have done his job.

In the broader scheme of things, we won’t be able to fully judge this deal until the proverbial other shoe drops. Then, when we have a better understanding of what has been lost and what has been gained, we’ll know whether our shouts should be for joy or for something else.

But for now, with the information currently available, I’m okay with the deal. Welcome home, Boomer; now get out there with your teammates and bring home a championship.

Rudy Seanez, one of last year’s bullpen anchors, is expected to rejoin the Padres before Friday’s game against the Reds at Petco Park. The Boston Red Sox, who signed Seanez to a hefty contract following his career year, designated the veteran right-hander for assignment last week, clearing the way for his return to San Diego. Right-hander Scott Cassidy, effective early in the season, also will be back with the big club when rosters expand on Friday. Between those two and sidewinder Cla Meredith, the Padres and their fans can be grateful to the Red Sox for helping the Pads build a strong bullpen.

As for David Wells, rumors have him coming to San Diego for Triple-A catcher George Kottaras. I hope that this is wishful thinking on the part of Boston writers desperate to cast the Red Sox in a positive light to rabid fans and not a reflection of reality. If everything in this article is to be taken at face value, then I hope the Dodgers are able to land Wells for one of Matt Kemp, Andy LaRoche, or James Loney (preferably Kemp or LaRoche — I’d love to see those guys out of the division).

I get the whole “he plays in a big market on the East Coast so he must be better than anyone you can offer” angle they’re trying to work here, but I still don’t see how one month of a broken-down 43-year-old left-hander with name recognition is worth anyone’s top prospect. Peter doesn’t see it either. That said, if there’s one thing I learned from the Mark Loretta for Doug Mirabelli fiasco it’s that we cannot dismiss seemingly ridiculous rumors.

If the Padres were to make a deal for Wells, wouldn’t it make more sense to offer up one of the spare bats at Triple-A they don’t plan to use but who could come in handy? Jon Knott immediately leaps to mind. Heck, why not Terrmel Sledge or Jack Cust? <sarcasm>Moneyball’s all about walks, right?</sarcasm> Cust has plenty of those (137 in 131 games at last count).

I guess my first choice would be to see the Padres pick up Wells on the cheap. It’s possible the guy has enough left in the tank to be useful down the stretch as a replacement for the Chan Ho Park/Mike Thompson spot in the rotation. My second choice would be to see the Dodgers pay through the nose to get him. Ask me again in five minutes, and those could be reversed. Put it this way, as long as the Padres don’t give up a top prospect (e.g., Kottaras) to get Wells, I’ll be reasonably happy wherever he lands.

Before we get to the food, I’d like to point out real quick that I’ve set up a page where you can order tickets to any remaining Padres games this season. I get a cut, so if you’re thinking of buying tickets and you’d like to support Ducksnorts in the process, now you have a way.

Okay, so last season we put together a guide to San Diego taco shops, and judging from the search results, it’s one of the more popular features at Ducksnorts. In fact, I’m thinking of changing our tagline to “Come for the tacos, stay for the baseball.” The only thing stopping me is that it’s totally lame.

What isn’t lame is finding some good restaurants near Petco Park. I get a decent number of emails from folks who are coming to San Diego and planning to catch a Padres game or two while they’re in town. They always want to know where to stay, what to see, and where to eat. I’m not very useful when it comes to those first two, but I’ve hit some pretty good restaurants near the ballpark and I’ll bet you have, too. I’m thinking that together we can come up with a solid list.

If you’re local and have a favorite restaurant or three, let us know in the comments. We need the name, location (roughly), and why it’s worth our time and money.

If you’re from out of town and looking for places to eat when visiting, let us know what kind of cuisine(s) you like and maybe one of the locals can help.

After a couple weeks or so I’ll clean everything up and throw together a dedicated page incorporating our collective culinary wisdom. Then, next time someone sends an email asking where’s a good place to eat near Petco Park, we just point ‘em to that page. What could be easier?

Here are a few of my favorites:

• The Field: 544 Fifth Avenue between Market Street and Island Avenue. Traditional Irish faire and beers, friendly atmosphere.
• St. Tropez Bistro and Bakery: 926 Broadway Circle (Horton Plaza, north side). Local chain. Good sandwiches, crepes, and salads.
• Sammy’s California Woodfired Pizza: 770 Fourth Avenue (Horton Plaza, east side). Local chain. California style pizza, huge salads.

That’s a start. What else is there?

You know what’s irritating?

If the rest of the division would stop beating up on the Padres and rolling over for the Dodgers, we’d be in a lot better shape right now.