Say a Little Prayer

One hesitates to make sweeping generalizations this early in the year, but the Padres’ NL West title defense took a largish hit last week when Shawn Estes hit the DL with a strained elbow.

It’s bad enough that part of the title defense involves Shawn Estes. But it boggles the mind that losing Estes could put them in a hole. But that hole is gaping in front of them, as they Pads are forced to move Woody Williams and Chan Ho Park into the rotation for the time being.

Estes is expected to be out four to six weeks. But as Dr. Phil has taught us, those strained muscles can be especially tricky to figure out.

After a rough first week, a lot of pundits were writing off the Padres. Should we feel better about their chances with Williams and Park being forced to shoulder a greater load? Perhaps they’ll step it up. But Padre Fan better hope Kevin Towers can come up with a Plan C pretty quick.

And, if I may be so bold: Mr. Towers, I’m pretty sure that you can get a lefty from Jim Hendry pretty cheap. The guy’s the second-best pitcher whose last name is pronounced “Rush” in Cubs history!