I guess the rumor birds were right when they said that Kevin Towers thought Hensley was done. It's been pretty obvious that Clay doesn't have many fans in the front office or the ranks of the coaches. It'd be really interesting to find out what has happened in secret this season with Clay Hensley. The one time golden boy of the Padres has fallen on hard times.
I wonder where he will be traded in the off-season. I know Clay has a lot of fans in San Diego and I've never quite understood that. I can see cheering for him since he's on your team but I don't get the fanaticism that he seems to create with young girls and older men.
Maybe it's just that he was one of the few Padres that was single, young and somewhat talented. I was talking to some Party Girls about Clay a few months ago. They had just seen the Padres payroll and saw how little money he made compared to the rest of the team and started asking more questions about Maddux's status. Maybe that's all it is, he's young, a big leaguer and makes a lot more money then their boyfriend. Aren't there a lot of players like that?
I've never really seen the appeal of a guy like Hensley, he had some good moments, like the time he was hit in the back of the head by that bat in Dodger Stadium then continued to pitch for a win after having stitches in the club house. He had a few good wins last year too, but most big league pitchers shine here and there. Mostly he's mediocre and there's nothing wrong with that. A mediocre pitcher will bump up and down between the minor and major leagues and can still have a nice career.
He's also had some bad moments, like the time he tested positive for steroids, his injury plagued season this year, really bad minor league starts and giving up a record tying home run to Barry Bonds.
I don't dislike him at all, I'm a Padres fan so I'll root for him, but I find myself being extra hard on him because everybody else seems to think he's the "chosen one" and that just seems ridiculous to me.
I hope Clay can help us for the rest of the year, but I feel his time with the Padres is coming to an end.