San Diego placed C-R Gary Bennett on the disabled list with a sprained right knee on Wednesday, one day before his 31st birthday. Bennett suffered the injury on a play at the plate in the sixth inning of San Diego's Wednesday game in L.A. Brian Jordan knocked Bennett away from home plate in order to beat Mark Loretta's relay of Xavier Nady's throw from right field. Multiple sources have commented on the fact that Jordan is a former NFL defensive back, so he has more tackling experience than most baseball players.

The Padres initially believed Bennett had partially torn his MCL, but an MRI concluded that the ligament was intact. San Diego believes Bennett will be able to rejoin the team as soon as he's eligible to leave the disabled list. Due to the stress catching places on players' knees, no knee injury to a catcher should be taken lightly. Nevertheless, while the club might want to give him some extra rest days in May, this injury seems unlikely to cause Bennett serious problems this season.

San Diego called up C-R Mike Rivera to replace Bennett on the roster. Rivera has displayed considerable offensive promise in the minors, and I believe the 26-year-old can develop into a better than average hitting catcher. However, at the prompting of the Padres, Rivera has focused on improving his defense this spring, so I'm not surprised that his offense suffered in his first couple of weeks at AAA Portland. He had 5 hits with only 1 2B in 36 AB, as well as 14 K and no walks. Rivera's posted solid walk rates in the past that indicate he's capable of exercising good strike zone judgment, but his plate discipline hasn't been consistent and his contact rate has always been an area with room for improvement.

The Padres also are urging C-R Wiki Gonzalez to improve his defense, but while he's making progress on his catching skills, Gonzalez hasn't abandoned his offensive abilities. I still believe Rivera possesses more offensive potential, but Gonzalez is currently a more complete player and rightfully will receive the majority of the playing time behind the plate in Bennett's absence. Rivera probably will play infrequently during his time in the majors, and I don't expect his offense to rebound while he's here.

San Diego called up RHP Dennis Tankersley for a spot start on April 9th, because RHP Clay Condrey, who was the rotation member scheduled to start, was unable to pitch due to a strained groin. The Padres demoted LHP Mike Bynum in order to clear room on the roster for Tankersley. Bynum was a candidate to make the start himself, but San Diego didn't feel his arm was prepared to go several innings in a start after relieving for most of the spring. However, Tankersley left the bullpen with a full nine innings to pitch, though since the Giants were leading in the ninth, the relievers only had to cover eight innings.

Tankersley tossed 33 pitches in his start but failed to retire a single batter. In succession, he allowed a walk, two singles, three more walks, and a double before the Padres sent in RHP Jaret Wright to relieve him. The 24-year-old's AA performances indicate promise, but he really needs to be left in AAA for a full season, as he has yet to establish himself at that level. Tankersley also reportedly possesses a number of personal problems that could easily distract him from focusing on his pitching. It is too early to write him off entirely, but he was only a 38th round draft pick and the Padres acquired him and SS-S Cesar Saba for the bargain price of Ed Sprague. At the moment, San Diego should focus on the talent that has made it to the majors and is pitching successfully.

Meanwhile, Bynum will remain in the minors as the Padres want him working on developing into a starter and not limiting himself to lefty relief work in the majors. San Diego drafted Bynum out of the University of North Carolina with the 19th overall pick of the first round of the 1999 draft. After signing, he spent a short time at Idaho Falls in the Rookie-level Pioneer League before moving up to A+ Rancho Cucamonga in the California League. Bynum returned to Rancho Cucamonga for most of 2000 with a half-dozen start stint at AA Mobile in the Southern League before the end of the season. The lefty spent all of 2001 at AA Mobile and wasn't promoted to AAA Portland in the Pacific Coast League until July of 2002. On August 17th of last year, he made his major league debut in Montreal. He's struggled with some injury problems and needs to improve his control, however San Diego should definitely give him some more time to attempt starting before moving him to the bullpen.

Tankersley is back at AAA with Bynum, as after his horrible start the Padres returned him to the minors and called up RHP Matt Herges. Herges likely won't stun the competition, but he should provide the team with solid relief in the middle innings. Condrey's groin strain was minor, so San Diego didn't need to place him on the disabled list. After making a couple of appearances out of the pen, he's scheduled to start Saturday.