Another TTM Return! Clayton Richard

After losing hope on a lot of the TTM requests I sent out at the beginning of Spring Training, I finally got another back. Hopefully the ones signed at the end of Spring Training will start trickling in. This one is from none other than the Padres current #4 starter, and only productive piece (so far) of the Jake Peavy trade: Clayton Richard.

I've also heard Clayton Richard is picking up a lot of the slack from Kevin Kouzmanoff as new Padres heartthrob with the ladies. Good for him. He is one of the very few lefties on the Padres pitching staff, and honestly, with this mediocre Spring, that is probably what got him the slot in the rotation.

I know it seemed to be an accepted assumption that Clayton was going to be part of the rotation, but I'm not sure why. I'd assume the Padres brass wants to show that they are getting something out of the Peavy haul, which is more important since vaunted prospect Aaron Poreda is being pushed back to AA to start the season (as opposed to AAA where he was last year). I'd love for Clayton to establish his presence in the rotation, but he seems pretty susceptible to the "blowup" inning where he just tires or loses focus or something. In all honesty, I thought Wade Leblanc and Tim Stauffer looked much better at the end of last season and during the Spring than Clayton. Oh well, gotta have a left hander I guess...

I will say that Clayton is a better signer than Wade Leblanc who ignored my request last year to Portland. So he's got that going for him. Which is nice.

All the best to Clayton this year, and cheers for signing my card. Hopefully he can put everything together and we can have the first real lefty presence in the rotation since David Wells' semi-good year (or maybe going back to Sterling Hitchcock).

Anyways, here is a scan of Clayton Richard's signature - please note his dreamy eyes that are captivating San Diego county's women.