There will be quite a few familiar former Phillies putting on their Dodger Blues this evening in Los Angeles. Randy Wolf, the Dodgers game four starter, spent the bulk of his career in Philadelphia. It's crazy to think the Wolf Pack debuted over a decade ago at the Vet. Jim Thome, perhaps the key acquisition brought in to revitalize a struggling franchise just in time for their move into their posh new ball park digs, was brought to L.A. this summer to play the Matt Stairs role off the bench. Oh, and a guy named Larry Bowa works third base. But the name on L.A.'s NLCS roster that is the biggest head-scratcher is Vicente Padilla.
Bowa's one of the greatest shortstops this city has ever seen and if it wasn't for trusty number eleven out there now, he may be the best. But while Thome and Wolf are also held in high regard among most fans for their years of service to the Fightin' Phils, Padilla isn't remembered quite as fondly. People often forget he was an All-Star in 2002. It's his failing to ever really live up to that All-Star season and an injury-prone 2005 season that fans remember the most.
Pop quiz: who was Padilla traded for to the Rangers in '05? If you know, you're a geek.
Padilla put together a respectable career with the Rangers for a few years but things seemingly turned sour this season due to his reported attitude problems. The L.A. Times has this quirky tale of clubhouse happenings.
When the Texas Rangers learned two months ago that Vicente Padilla would no longer pitch for them, several players exchanged handshakes with General Manager Jon Daniels in the clubhouse. Second baseman Ian Kinsler even reportedly said, "Congrats."
In the same article, everybody's favorite D-bag (that's not a Diamondback) catcher, Russell Martin can't understand it, "It's kind of hard to imagine why they let him go because of how good he is right now."
Alas, Padilla was released from the Rangers and found his way onto the Dodgers in late August. Not only did he find a new team but he now finds himself pitching game two of the NLCS against one of his former teams.
I'm not going to lie, this guy scares me a little bit. In both his pitching and his strange demeanor. We'll find out what he really has left tomorrow afternoon.
>>Ex-Phils Star in L.A. [Philly Burbs]
Padilla Flotilla image via
Original Story:
http://www.the700level.com/2009/10/wa...
