I remember the 2002 version of Tony Clark. He was expected to be a pretty big player for the Red Sox (my AL team of choice) that year. Well, he hit a homer on opening day and then poked two more over the fence all season (both against the Yanks). .207/.265/.291. It was one of the worst seasons I remember watching, at least for someone who racked up almost 300 PA’s and was expected to be a well above average hitter. Nevertheless, I’ve always liked the guy.

Anyway, the Padres signed him for a 1 year, 900k deal (not quite official, I guess). Looking at Tango’s scale, 900k for a year is essentially just above replacement level player money.

With Gonzalez at first, the Padres should be able to pick the best opportunities to use Clark. If he crushes 97 mph fastballs, play him against pitchers who throw heat. If he hits well against pitchers who throw a bunch of slop, play him against them. Of course, this is countered by the fact that a pinch hit ab is the toughest variety. So when Bud is thinking of pinch hitting him over, say, Callix Crabbe in some key spot in August, they’ll be multiple things to consider, including the pitcher out on the mound, both Clark and Crabbe’s hitting projections (at the time), the pinch hitter penalty, and a bunch of other things (like the scowl Clark will give you if you stay with Crabbe). You really want to make a projection for that individual PA based on all of these factors, and then of course go with the guy whose projection in higher.

And I’m sure we’ll have plenty of these situations to analyze. I’m itching for some baseball, folks.