Another day, another birthday. Yesterday was that of Jody Reed and Kevin Barker but I'll get to them in 2013 or '14. Today is all about 38 year old Brian Sikorski, who pitched 14.1 innings in 13 relief appearances for the 2006 Padres. His performance in navy and sand was underwhelming but his brief presence continues to benefit the Friars to this day. You see, he was sent to the Indians for a Triple-A reliever by the name of Mike Adams who blossomed into one of the game's premiere set-up men and was flipped to the Rangers last year for two promising young arms. While there is a certain element of truth in the axiom that "there is no such thing as a pitching prospect", Robbie Erlin and Joe Wieland are considered valuable pieces of the Padres' future.
In other birthday news, Shea Hillenbrand turns 37 today. He never played for the Padres but was briefly part of the organization during 2007. He was signed as depth July 27th and released less than two weeks later after hitting .147 in 34 at-bats with Triple-A Portland. Hillenbrand then latched on with the Dodgers, with whom he finished his career in a bench role- not the most dignified end for a guy who was an All Star for Boston in 2002, his second season.