Vicente Padilla designated for assignment.
Wednesday night, after Vicente Padilla's latest questionable display, including a moment when the cameras caught him in the dugout laughing and mimicking home plate umpire Bob Davidson's demonstrative warning to both clubs that the next purpose pitch would result in an ejection, I posted this on Twitter: "For a team that has forever been thin on starting pitching, there's simply no question that TX will cut Vinny Padilla loose at season's end" Well, I was wrong. He'll be long gone before this season is over. For all intents and purposes, he's gone now. You can dispense with the baseball terminology. Vicente Padilla was fired. Yeah, Texas has 10 days to trade the righthander, release him, or get him through waivers and outright his contract to the minor leagues. Translation, in this case: He'll be released. Jon Daniels did a number of interviews shortly after today's move, talking about 25 guys pulling together, a team mentality, "addition by subtraction." It was another Jimmy Johnson moment for Daniels, not only in the boldness of the decision but in the positive message it sends to the players this organization is counting on. It's a potentially galvanizing moment. Said the Rangers' emotional leader, Marlon Byrd: "It's about time. When a player disrupts a team, eventually there is going to come a time when management has enough. They have seen enough. We are fighting for a playoff spot. The last thing we need in the clubhouse is a distraction like that. There are 25 guys in this clubhouse who are behind management on this. They showed that they are serious. They did their job. That just serves as assurance that they are doing the right thing here." It's sad from the standpoint that Padilla is a monster talent, but one who squanders that talent with a renegade mentality and complete lack of interest in what it means to be a teammate. The interesting thing about the move is that Texas will owe Padilla the remaining $4 million on his 2009 deal (unless the highly unlikely occurs and Padilla is either claimed off waivers or traded for by another club in the next week and a half) even though he's finished as a Ranger. The club was obviously going to buy out his $12 million option for 2010 for $1.75 million, but the fact that ties are being cut now is a clear signal that management still believes in 2009 (and in the deleterious impact that Padilla's presence for the next two months could have had on the club's young players). In a different way, but not all that different, it's comparable to a trade deadline acquisition, a statement from front office to clubhouse that the organization believes in its players. Addition by subtraction, as Daniels put it. Thanks to the solid, if unexpected, contributions of pitchers like Tommy Hunter and Dustin Nippert, each of whom makes 1/30th of what Padilla earns this season, this move was possible without the fear that a dependable arm was being removed in favor of a question mark as the final third of the season gets rolling. Still, even if the move was made possible, it still took some guts to make, and the approval seems to be universal, among fans and among media and, without question, among Padilla's former teammates. =========================================================== To join the free Newberg Report mailing list so you can get e-mail deliveries of every edition of the newsletter, daily minor league game recaps, and frequent Newberg Report News Flashes, go to www.newbergreport.com and click the "Mailing List" link on the top menu bar. (c) Jamey Newberg http://www.newbergreport.com Twitter @newbergreport If you want to be removed from this list, please e-mail me at newbergreport@sbcglobal.net