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Padres Smart To Wait On Headley

Although Padres prospect Chase Headley is hitting .302 with 9 HR in 49 games at Triple-A, the Padres are smart to wait on calling him up. Yes, left fielder Paul McAnulty is hitting just .209 with 3 HR, but calling up Headley now would only put pressure on him to turn around the struggling Padres. Calling him up now while the Padres clubhouse is down in the dumps won't do his first taste at the big leagues any good. Not to mention that there really isn't anyone to send down to the minors. McAnulty is out of options, Huber is out of options, and it wouldn't make sense to send down any reliever at this point.

Of course money is somewhat of an issue, but history proves calling up players to struggling teams does not work. The Cubs called up top prospect Angel Guzman in 2006 when they were in a fight to stay in contention. Guzman, at the time, was considered the next Cubs phenom. However, he struggled to get into a rhythm as the Cubs clubhouse was 'down in the dumps.' Guzman went 0-6 with a 7.39 ERA as the Cubs finished 66-96. This is just one example of many, but the Padres are smart to have patience, as it should pay off in the end.