Okay, guys. That’s enough depth now.

Quick reaction: wait, Brian Lawrence is only 34? And he still plays baseball?

Lawrence is etched in my brain as the example of a successful low velocity sinker-baller. I also remember him as being one of those guys who didn’t seem very good but also managed to shut down the Giants. That memory, it turns out, is not quite fair. Lawrence was a pretty decent innings eater until his shoulder turned into pudding.

Also, my God, what were the Padres thinking with some of those early to mid-oughts rotations? Woody Williams? Kevin Jarvis? Ismael Valdez? My condolences, Padre fans.

Lawrence has been banging around the independent leagues and AAA for a while now.  His slow rise in strikeouts may give hope to the notion that he’s finally recovered from his labrum and rotator cuff woes. You don’t really want to find out if he has anything left in the tank, but he might.