With all of the focus on Jake Peavy leaving the Padres, San Diego’s former heartthrob almost snuck in and out of town without notice. Then, for one fleeting moment, he was back. Trevor Hoffman finally pitched in a game at Petco Park on Sunday, working a hitless 9th in a 6-1 Milwaukee win over San Diego. The 23,696 in attendance showered him with cheers and praise, and Trevor responded with a pair of strikeouts. Short of hearing “Hell’s Bells”, it was just like old times once again in the Gaslamp District.
In a way, it really was a perfect reuniting of Trevor and his town. Nobody liked how it ended, but I think most of us can agree at this point that the sports relationship with the Padres and Hoffman had run its course.Certainly, Trevor wanted to finish his career in San Diego, but it didn’t make sense for either side. A terrible team with a 40 million dollar payroll didn’t need to spend 5-7 million dollars on a closer it would rarely use. A 41-year-old future Hall of Famer didn’t need to waste one of the last years of his career on a go-nowhere ballclub. Feelings were hurt on the way out the door, but the split was probably both timely and necessary.
I had the opportunity to speak with Trevor in the Brewers’ clubhouse on Friday afternoon, and he told me how excited he was for the chance to get into a game this weekend. Hoffman heard the critics last year, and the year before that, those who were ready to drive him to the airport and give him a one-way ticket to anywhere but here. But in the end, after Sandy Alderson’s brusque and tone-deaf negotiation with Trevor and his agent, most fans realized that Hoffman deserved better. Many were ready to see him go, but not like that.
Trevor probably should have been able to write his own ending in the town he made his home. It didn’t work out, and Hoffman had to leave. Has it lit a fire inside him? Would he have put together a great year like he has so far in ‘09 without the motivation to prove Alderson, the doubters, and Father Time wrong? Probably, but a little extra motivation never hurts. The pain that Trevor still feels somewhere deep inside over his bitter parting serves as the fuel which has propelled him to familiar heights this season.
Everyone has moved on now. The Padres have a cheaper alternative at closer in Heath Bell, one who is every bit effective as his predecessor. Hoffman has a 1.74 ERA, a beeline toward 600 saves, and an opportunity to play for a team that has at least a chance to contend for a playoff berth. It’s all probably worked out as well as it could on both sides.
But for one weekend, he was back, and he looked as good as ever. Still with the chiseled chin, the steely glare, the baffling changeup and get-me-by fastball, Hoffman took the mound, absorbed the cheers, and then performed his usual brilliance. He’s still got it, alright. Just like the old flame that shows up for a random weekend and then disappears, Hoffman gave his fans a taste of what once was, a great memory, and then he went his way, and we went ours.
