Who here thinks Maddux won't turn around Linebrink's latest slump? Don't forget last year when we got Cordero how bad he was doing...

Cordero
Texas: 49games 4.81era 48.2ip 27er 5hr 54k
Milwaukee: 28games 1.69era 26.2ip 5er 2hr 30k

Linebrink
San Diego: 44games 3.79era 45ip 19er 9hr 25k
Milwaukee: ????

Something alarming about Linebrink is that he had a similar second half slide last year too but this had not been the case in the past.

2004
Pre-Allstar: 2.22era 42g 48.2in 5hr 45k
Post-Allstar: 2.04era 31g 35.1in 3hr 38k

2005
Pre: 2.04era 40g 39.2in 2hr 40k
Post: 1.59era 33g 33in 2hr 30k

2006
Pre: 2.74era 40g 42.2in 8hr 42k
Post: 4.64era 33g 33in 1hr 26k

2007
Pre: 2.52era 38g 39.1in 7hr 22k
Post: 12.71era 6g 5.2in 2hr 3k (Small sample...)

All that said...I trust Melvin. Plus:

Zel123: "On the plus side, Trevor Hoffman and Jake Peavy are both furious that they traded him.  I don't remember the exact adjectives they both used, but they were indeed pissed, which is a good thing for us."

Found that article you were talking about Zel. The rest of the Padres team seems quite pissed that he is leaving. They only had good things to say about him. Apparently he has a ton of value off the field too. We may be overlooking that when evaluating the trade. Our already great team chemistry may get another lift.

"Incomprehensible," was Trevor Hoffman's reaction. "Four other teams in the National League West are awfully excited. I probably need to take a day before I say something about this because I'm going to say something stupid."

"You have to trust your front office when you are in the middle of a playoff run," Jake Peavy said. "But, man, to trade away your setup man . . . what kind of a message are we sending here?"

Said David Wells: "I know Scott has had some rough times recently. But he's one of the premier guys in the league. Scott Linebrink is a pitcher of magnitude. He's also one of the best people you'd ever want to know . . . a great friend and a teammate.

"The best," Wells said. "Just being around him made you better. And what he did . . . this team has been counting on Scott Linebrink for a long, long time in the eighth inning and he's come though. There's no wonder everyone wanted him."

Link: http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/padres/20070726-9999-1s26padres.html