It’s tough to argue with getting something for nothing, and extra cash is certainly helpful as the team considers buying at the trade deadline. Still, it would have been nice to see the Padres be able to get a player for Gallagher, or be able to send him to the minors.

It was unlikely he would make it through waivers, though, since he’s an experienced arm with upside and youth (he’s just 24).

For more on Gallagher’s DFA, check out my post on it.

The Padres dragged Stauffer’s rehab from an appendectomy out for a full month, likely trying to figure out who to get rid of when he had to return, but ultimately, Gallagher’s poor performance stuck out like a sore thumb in the excellent Padres bullpen.

Still, it hurts to give up a 24-year-old with as much potential as the stocky Gallagher and possibly get nothing in return. I’d be very surprised if a team (say, bullpen-starved Arizona) didn’t claim Gallagher and see what he could do. Hopefully, enough teams will jockey to get him that the Padres will be able to trade him and get a semi-decent prospect in return.

Stauffer, 28, worked as a starter in Triple-A Portland on his rehab assignment, with mixed results. He threw 17 2/3 innings of 4.58 ERA ball, with just an 8/7 K/BB. He didn’t allow any homers, however.

He had a 19/4 K/BB in 23 1/3 innings for the Padres before hitting the DL, posting a sparkling 0.39 ERA.

Gallagher was hampered by an injury earlier in the year and struggled with his command in 2010, walking 19 in 23 1/3 innings of his own. He did strike out 21, but allowed five homers and posted a 5.40 ERA and ghastly 6.85 FIP.

Sure, the fastball is the most thrown and most important pitch in baseball, but it just isn’t too much fun to watch. Sure, it’s exhilarating to watch Stephen Strasburg or Joel Zumaya throw a heater, but consider that Strasburg’s heat only is about 30% harder than Tim Wakefield’s. The ball gets there in maybe .05 seconds less than an average fastball, which is cool to watch, but it looks possible, at least to me.

When watching Strasburg pitch, though, what really gets me is that huge low-80′s curve he throws. Making a ball move that much doesn’t look possible.

So, it’s pitches that move a tremendous amount that really provide a great watching experience for me. Watching a Strasburg or even a Barry Zito is a treat, just because you know that several times an inning, you’re going to see a baseball move like crazy.

So, I love breaking pitches. Slider, curve, whatever, they’re fun.

Thus, it often annoys me when I read “Prospect X has a slider and a curve, but he’s going to need to pick one to throw.” Luke Hochevar, Phil Hughes, and Rick Porcello are three guys who had two good breaking balls and ultimately had to settle on one, just for some examples.

Why would prospect development guys be so stuck in their ways? My natural inclination was that more pitches are better, because they give a hitter more things to worry about. Take Mike Leake of the Reds, who throws a four-seamer, two-seamer, cutter, slider, curve, and changeup. None of them are that great, but they give hitters fits as a whole. Make Leake a fastball-slider-change pitcher and he wouldn’t be as good.

If you read the title of this article, you’re probably wondering by now what the hell Padres righthander Sean Gallagher has to do with this.

(If you’re reading this article on the Chicken Friars homepage, click “Continue Reading” for the rest of the entry).

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