Just Say No to Dye

The Padres only run in their win last Thursday came through a sac fly from Latos. So Sullivan’s “Anemic hitting has Padres seeking one more big bat” headline in the UT Friday morning wasn’t exactly hard-hitting investigative journalism. But true nonetheless.

His primary focus was on acquiring Jermaine Dye, with a quote from Dye’s agent that “San Diego was one of the places Jermaine was excited about playing,” referring to their high hopes for a contract in the off-season... which they're still looking for.

My take: No thank you. Dye looked miserable the last half of ‘09 in Chicago and I have 36 reasons why we should stay away. (He's 36.)

But, an upgrade in the outfield does seem like the most reasonable place to add some offense. Scott Hairston and Thin Gwynn seem to do best when they get the occasional (as in every other) day off. And as Dicky Enberg just pointed out during today's game, Blanks and Venable are on a combined current tear of 1 for 40.

This is the part where I tell you who we should trade for.

Player X: A 33-year-old former superstar who tanked for a few years and is back this year on a $500,000 contract with 9 HR’s, 6 SB’s and a .948 OPS through 98 AB’s… for a team most likely going nowhere and on the rumor mill as potential sellers.

After checking out Player X's career split stats, he’s also put up the best offensive numbers in his career while playing at Petco Park. Granted in 72 AB’s, but 9 HR’s and 1.159 OPS is still hard to ignore at a ballpark that’s not supposed to allow hitters to do that.

Okay, it’s Andruw Jones and I know it’d be easy to laugh at the idea. But he’s on a dirtcheap contract and the last two paragraphs show that he might not be as crazy of a fit as it seems. Putting him in the 3-hole in front of Adrian Gonzalez would certainly give him some good pitches to see. And if the White Sox are still floating at the bottom of the Al Central in July, then why not put together a package of prospects to lure Andruw away from Kenny Williams?

It may sound insane, but Andruw Jones might be the “one big bat” for the Padres’ “anemic hitting”. And if he comes to San Diego and continues his resurgence, it'd be a nice middle finger to Los Angeles and the $36 million they blew on him.

Oh, and while my girlfriend was in Santa Barbara this weekend, she was at a bar and asked a guy in a Dodgers jersey who was winning last night's game. He said he had no idea. She said he was a shitty fan if he doesn't keep track of his team (her attitude was likely aided by a few beers). Then he got mad and told her to get away from him. She's awesome.