Barfield and other minor league news

[riverdunesrat]

What gives with Barfield situation?


By Tom Krasovic
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
September 5, 2005

MILWAUKEE – Many players less productive than Josh Barfield were promoted to the majors this month when 25-man rosters were expanded.

Barfield, a second baseman with Triple-A Portland, has batted .346 with 20 doubles, 11 home runs and 50 RBI in 321 at-bats since June 1. For the season, he is batting .309 with 15 homers and 72 RBI. Barfield has batted .350 at home. He has at least one hit in 19 of the last 20 games, and he has stolen 20 bases in 25 tries.

But the Padres bypassed Barfield, 22, when they promoted four others from Portland.

It wasn't a surprise. General Manager Kevin Towers said two weeks ago that Barfield would stay with Portland, because the Padres had ample depth at second base.

"He would be up here if we were not contending this year and playing second base, but that is not the case," Towers said yesterday.

Tell that to Barfield, who probably would be starting for at least a few clubs, and has more than 2,000 at-bats in the minors. "I understand why Barfield would be disappointed," manager Bruce Bochy said.

Why not reward Barfield with a promotion? Why not give him a feel for the majors before he goes to the Arizona Fall League? Promoting Barfield, whose defensive improvement has kept him at second base, wouldn't require creating a 40-man roster spot. Barfield is on the big roster.

Are the Padres putting dollars over merit?

"Our not calling him up has nothing to do with finances," Towers said. "We don't want him receiving service time and not getting to play. He is also going to be playing in the AFL, and we don't want him to be going into that league late."

By delaying the start of Barfield's work-service clock, however, the Padres appear to be hedging their financial exposure. A player's arbitration eligibility is determined by the number of days he spends in the majors. The financial effect can be huge. Example: The Padres weren't happy last offseason when third baseman Sean Burroughs barely qualified for arbitration, which enabled Burroughs to more than double his salary to $1.65 million.

Triple-A
In six games with Portland last month, Tim Stauffer allowed a .421 batting average in 27 2/3 innings. He gave up 36 runs (33 earned) . . . Mike Thompson, a strike thrower in the Brian Tollberg mold, has allowed three runs or fewer in eight of nine starts since joining Portland.

Double-A
Given two extra days of rest, Sean Thompson responded with his best outing of the season for Mobile on Friday, allowing one run in seven innings. The left-hander, who is on the 40-man roster, lowered his ERA from 5.92 to 5.20.

Single-A
In 92 at-bats with Lake Elsinore, catcher Colt Morton, 23, has batted .315 with eight home runs and four doubles.

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Tom Krasovic: (619) 293-2207; tom.krasovic@uniontrib.com

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[padrefanforever]

He's staying down, so that he can play everyday and stay sharp.........this is simple to see.......

[HollywoodLeo]

when does Portland's season end?

[padrefanforever]

That's a great question........not sure.......... I know Elsinore's playoffs are coming up soon......so Portland's is probably getting ready to end