Heath Bell made it through the trade deadline untouched, but we now say goodbye to Mike Adams and Ryan Ludwick. Ryan Ludwick was a gentle soul. Not one to ever complain or do anything too loudly. Oftentimes, he would meekly attend to his business without much to-do. More than once, I forgot that he was on the team though he did hit for power decently enough and he played left field better than Chase Headley or Kyle Blanks or anybody else the Padres have thrown into left field that had to pretend to be a left fielder in their illustrious history of doing amazing things with left fielders.
For that, and for the year he spent in Padre Blue/Sand/Sky/Brown/Orange/Yellow/Green/Camo/Grays, Ryan Ludwick will always be a Padre as he drifts off into the sunset of even worse obscurity than he was faced with in San Diego.
Seriously though, that last part. How would you like to be Ryan Ludwick and go from St Louis, though hot as hell and a stadium filled with El Camono driving "good" baseball fans, to San Diego where the weather's nice, but the fans are mostly indifferent, to Pittsburgh, baseball hell. That sucks.
Heath Bell, the most valuable resource to move, remains unmoved. I know some people are bummed about that, but I'm thinking that it might imply good things about our future payroll and opportunities.
For Mike Adams, we get prospects to grow and nurture in the city known in all of baseball as the Cradle of Closers. For Ryan Ludwick, we get something even more prospective than prospects in the form of a prospective prospect (or cash).
What does all of this mean? Season is cashed, folks! Come for the Trevor Hoffman ceremony. Stay for the future. 2010 was Almost the Best Season Evar. 2011 is the season of the Lame Duck Payroll. 2012? THE FUTURE.