i liked Mike Darr, he was a cool cat... sorry for what happened to him

He was out of options

 

Another possibility is San Diego's Ben Howard, a hard-throwing right-hander who is out of options. Howard, 25, posted a 3.63 ERA in six big-league starts last year.

 

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/basebal...-sports-marlins

Ok Now i REALLY LIKE this guy

 

Ben Howard -- RHP -- Middle of the Rotation Starter: After four consecutive seasons in which he failed to live up to lofty expectations, Howard put it all together in 2001.

 

In his second year at the high Class A level, the 6-2, 190-pound righthander was phenomenal for Lake Elsinore (8-2, 2.83 ERA) and finished the season with Class AA Mobile. Before he left Class A ball, however, Howard fanned a franchise-record 16 batters in one start -- he did not walk a single batter -- and was promoted to Mobile after losing just one of his final 10 starts in Class A.

 

Howard, who went 2-0 in seven outings -- five starts -- for Mobile, finished a combined 10-2 on the year and ranked fourth in the system with a 2.73 ERA. After walking roughly a batter per inning over his first four seasons, Howard issued just 3.2 walks per nine innings last season.

 

The 1997 second-round draft pick ironed out his mechanics in spring training and learned to control his off-speed stuff, which was essential to his success last season. Howard's fastball is among the best in the organization, topping out between 96-98 miles per hour.

 

That is really fast!!!!

 

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/padres/prospect.htm

Hopefully the change of scenery will put him in form.

he's no Tanyon Sturtze....

Obviously it looks like we got the better end of the deal here. I mean c'mon guys, it was for Blaine Neal.

he's no Tanyon Sturtze....

 

lolololololololoilolololololol

ben howard: rick helling II?

ben howard: rick helling II?

i think i can see that

anybody know a good Padres fan site? I'm interested to see what they have to say about Howard.

ben howard: rick helling II?

 

10 years younger too

"Howard is part of the All Prospect Starting Rotation at Double-A Mobile. He has the best raw velocity in the Padres farm system, capable of hitting 99 mph. He learned to throw strikes last year, while polishing up his slider and changeup. Howard has a 1.50 ERA in four starts so far this season, and if he continues to throw strikes, he will rank right up there with Peavy and Tankersley pretty quickly."

 

-from 2002

 

This is a very interesting move. Is it for next season as a starter? Is it for midseason as a long reliever?

I think it is for this year, possible midseason middle relief kind of guy. If the management is impressed enough with his command and his movement I'd bring him up, nothing like someone bringing 99-100 out of the pen.

From Baseball America:

 

Marlins, Padres exchange live arms

By Jim Callis

April 3, 2004

 

The Marlins and Padres swapped a pair of young righthanders, both of whom have electric arms but haven't been able to establish themselves in the majors, on Saturday. Florida sent Blaine Neal to San Diego for Ben Howard.

 

Once considered the Marlins' closer of the future, the 25-year-old Neal has gone 3-0, 5.01 in 54 games over parts of three big league seasons. His main weapon is a mid-90s fastball with late movement, and he also throws a tight slider. He still could use more consistency with his slider and with his command. Neal made 40 appearances for Triple-A Albuquerque last year, going 3-2, 2.33 with 21 saves. His ERA was misleading, as opponents hit .303 with one homer against him, and he had a 32-16 strikeout-walk ratio in 46 innings. He also got into 18 games with Florida, posting an 8.14 ERA. Neal had minor elbow surgery in the offseason.

 

Howard, also 25, was a 1997 second-round pick out of a Tennessee high school. He was the lone survivor of the February 2002 car crash that killed Padres outfielder Mike Darr and another passenger. Howard topped out at 99 mph before injuring his elbow in June 2002, and now pitches from 91-95 mph. He also uses a slider and changeup, which showed improvement last season. He doesn't repeat his delivery consistently, which can lead to difficulty throwing strikes. When he dials down his velocity to find the zone, he can get hit hard if he's not precise. Both those problems cropped up this spring, when he had a 16.20 ERA in big league camp with San Diego. Howard went 7-9, 4.55 in 22 starts with Triple-A Portland in 2003, missing a month with a left knee injury that required arthroscopic surgery. He received a late-August promotion to the majors, going 1-3, 3.63 in six starts. He limited opponents to a .235 average, but a whopping 10 of their 31 hits were homers. In 35 innings, he had a 24-15 K-BB ratio. His career big league record is 1-4, 4.96 in nine games.

You're kidding yourselves if you think Howard is the equivalent of R Helling. Helling was in the twilight of his career and was saavy, with a ton of experience to fall back on, he knew how to pitch in the MLs, using what skill he had left to get guys out.

 

Howard is the exact opposite, at the beginning of his journey. He has A quality stuff when he can control it. He's more like Blaine Neal in 2002.

 

He may turn out to be a Rick Helling but he's got alot to learn and alot of outs to get before we should be comparing the two.

Whoa, I'm not so hot on this deal anymore

 

Howard topped out at 99 mph before injuring his elbow in June 2002, and now pitches from 91-95 mph

Whoa, I'm not so hot on this deal anymore

 

Howard topped out at 99 mph before injuring his elbow in June 2002, and now pitches from 91-95 mph

i know i felt the same way, but then i remembered, it was BLAINE NEAL i think its well worth the gamble if there is any at all.

I guess if you look at it that way then it's solid all the way around.

anybody know a good Padres fan site? I'm interested to see what they have to say about Howard.

http://forum.uniontrib.com/upload/forumdis....php?forumid=10

anybody know a good Padres fan site? I'm interested to see what they have to say about Howard.

http://forum.uniontrib.com/upload/forumdis....php?forumid=10 Thanks

 

They didn't have a lot to say about Howard. Just that they were ok with the trade.

Meh

 

Id rather have gotten John Reidling from the Reds

Meh

 

Id rather have gotten John Reidling from the Reds

or Guillermo Mota

Meh

 

Id rather have gotten John Reidling from the Reds

or Guillermo Mota :lol :lol

anybody know a good Padres fan site? I'm interested to see what they have to say about Howard.

http://forum.uniontrib.com/upload/forumdis....php?forumid=10 Thanks

 

They didn't have a lot to say about Howard. Just that they were ok with the trade.

They have as much to say about Howard as we do about Neal

anybody know a good Padres fan site? I'm interested to see what they have to say about Howard.

http://forum.uniontrib.com/upload/forumdis....php?forumid=10 Thanks

 

They didn't have a lot to say about Howard. Just that they were ok with the trade.

They have as much to say about Howard as we do about Neal very true