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| It was about three hours before game time on Friday when Jack Cassel drifted out of the visiting clubhouse at Great American Ball Park and made his way to the mound. "I was just letting it soak in," Cassel said. "I was trying to remind myself it's 60 feet, six inches [to the plate]. It is the same dimensions that I have played on since high school." Forgive Cassel for having a "Hoosiers" kind of moment, as he was surely a long way from Kennedy High School in Los Angeles. Eight years after signing his first professional contract, the 27-year-old Cassel realized a dream on Friday, when his Triple-A contract was purchased by the Padres. The right-hander was in uniform for the first game of a three-game series against the Reds. Better still, he made his Major League debut when he came in for starter Wil Ledezma in the third inning. "It was everything -- shock, relief, satisfaction and realizing your ultimate goal," Cassel said. "I relate it almost to a graduation. It's one of those deals where I did it, I attained that goal, and I'm proud of myself for doing it." Cassel was added to the 25-man roster to take the place of reliever Doug Brocail, who was placed on the bereavement list after the death of his grandfather in Colorado. The Padres made another roster move on Friday when they recalled left-hander Joe Thatcher from Portland and placed outfielder Scott Hairston on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left oblique. As for Cassel, he doesn't know how long he'll stay, though manager Bud Black said on Friday that Brocail will join the team on Tuesday at PETCO Park. Cassel will pitch in long relief for the Padres after going 7-11 with a 3.54 ERA over 24 games (21 starts) for the Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League. "I'm a sinker, slider guy," Cassel said. "I give up my fair share of hits because I try to stay aggressive. I'd rather give up a hit than a walk. With that I've been fortunate to keep the ball in the ballpark and keep my walks down." Cassel, whose younger brother, Matt, is a former USC quarterback and now the backup in New England to Tom Brady, said that his promotion to San Diego truly felt like a reward for sticking with baseball even when peers were passing him by. "It got to the point where I saw a lot of peers ... guys that I was playing with and against, getting up there," he said. "For me, I think if you think you can't do it, you're in the wrong business. I always told myself to keep working and that day will come." Pain in the side: Hairston said that the pain in his left side, where he strained his oblique, was so bad when he got up on Friday that it even made getting out of bed difficult. "It's still really sore and really sensitive," Hairston said on his way to the training room at Great American Ball Park. "We are going to treat it and hope it gets better gradually." Hairston sustained the injury in Thursday's 5-0 loss in St. Louis when he tried to stretch a single into a double. He grabbed his left side before going into his slide at second base. "When I swung ... I kind of tweaked it a little bit," he said. "Halfway from first to second is when it really pulled. When I started my slide, it really hurt. It was something new to me. I didn't know what was going on. I had no idea. I thought it was cramping at first. But when I stood up and bent over, I knew it was more than a cramp." Now, Hairston -- who was hitting .400 with three home runs and seven RBIs in his first 11 games as a Padre -- will be lost to the disabled list for at least 15 days, if not longer. "It looked bad," Black said of Hairston's injury, "and it is bad." Padres to claim Igawa? There were reports on Friday that said the Padres had put in a waiver claim for left-handed reliever Kei Igawa of the New York Yankees. If true, the Padres and Yankees would have a 47-hour window in which to work out a trade for the 28-year-old, who is 2-3 with a 6.79 ERA in 62 1/3 innings for New York after signing a five-year, $20 million deal in the offseason. The Yankees paid Igawa's former team, Japan's Hanshin Tigers, $26 million just for the rights to negotiate with him. Of course, as procedure, the Yankees can simply pull Igawa back. And if that happens, they can't trade him for 30 days. San Diego general manager Kevin Towers wasn't available for comment on Friday. Friars notes: The National Radio Hall of Fame announced on Friday that longtime Padres broadcaster Jerry Coleman will be one of five inducted in November during a ceremony at the Renaissance Chicago Hotel. ... Portland pitcher Clay Hensley will start on Friday in a game at Salt Lake. He could rejoin the Padres next week. ... Ledezma's start on Friday against the Reds was his first start since Sept. 29, 2006, when he was with the Detroit Tigers. He is 8-13 in his career as a starter. ... The Padres are in the middle of a stretch in which they'll play 13 games in 13 days and 30 games in 31 days. On deck: The Padres continue their three-game series against the Reds at 12:55 p.m. PT on Saturday. Justin Germano (6-6, 4.30) gets the start for San Diego. Cincinnati will counter with Bobby Livingston (2-2, 4.46). There will be no local television feed for the game, which can been seen live on MLB.TV. |