Padres' Storm Passes: Unhappy Davis Traded to Oakland for 2 Players

By BILL PLASCHKE

Aug. 31, 1987 12 AM PT

<i> Times Staff Writer</i>

SAN DIEGO — Think of it not as a trade, but an annulment of one of the most mixed-up marriages since celery and peanut butter.

Eleven days after demanding a deal, Padre pitcher Storm Davis’ wish came true.

Sunday, the Padres traded him to the Oakland Athletics for two players to be named.

“It’s unbelievable,” said a pleased Davis, in a telephone interview after the game. He leaves with a 2-7 record and 6.18 earned-run average in his only Padre season. He was acquired from the Baltimore Orioles for Terry Kennedy last Oct. 30 and could never adjust to the change of leagues or scenery.

“I’ve always wanted to go to Oakland,” he said. “When I told my wife (Angie) today, she cried. It is such a big thrill.”

Said Tim Flannery: “It’s good for Storm and good for us. He didn’t want to be here, and we don’t want anybody here who doesn’t want to be here.”

Although the Padres have 60 days to name their end of the deal, and Padre General Manager Jack McKeon wasn’t giving any hints, the two players have been decided upon, a source said Sunday. One player will come from the current Oakland roster, and the other from Triple-A Tacoma. At least one, if not both, will be a pitcher.

The player from Oakland won’t arrive until the Athletics--tied for first in the American League West--finish their season or the pennant race. Thus the player likely won’t be with the Padres until next season.

The player from Tacoma might not make it here until mid-September, at the end of the Pacific Coast League playoffs.

There are two leading pitching candidates from Oakland, right-hander Rick Rodriguez, 26, and left-hander Dave Leiper, 25.

Rodriguez, who can start or relieve, is 1-0 with a 2.96 ERA in 15 games. Leiper is 2-1 with a 3.33 ERA in 44 games, with 32 strikeouts and 17 walks in 51 innings. Neither has played a full season in the majors.

There is also a chance that the Padres could pry away Oakland second baseman Tony Phillips, who has been displaced by Tony Bernazard. Phillips, 28, a five-year veteran who just returned from a broken wrist, is hitting .254 with eight homers in 303 at-bats. Injuries have limited him in each of his last three seasons, but in his one full healthy year, 1984, he hit .266 with 24 doubles and 62 runs scored.

From Tacoma, it could be one of two hard throwers. There is Tim Birtsas, a 6-foot 7-inch, 240-pound left-hander who is 6-2 with a 3.34 ERA. In 1985, he started 25 games in Oakland, going 10-6 with a 4.01 ERA, but lost 30 pounds in a winter diet, and it has taken almost two seasons to get back to full strength and velocity. Another candidate is Tom Dozier, a 25-year-old right-hander who has spent nine years in the minors with only four big-league games in 1986. Yet this season has been one of his best, 12-7 in 152 innings with a 3.95 ERA and 117 strikeouts.

Meanwhile, Davis caught a late flight last night for New York, where the A’s, battling Minnesota for the AL West title, are playing the Yankees. Because of the trade was made before Aug. 31, he will be eligible for the playoffs. Davis should have a comfortable spot on a rotation with only three regular starters (Dave Stewart, Curt Young and Gene Nelson).

“I remember when he pitched for Baltimore against me and the White Sox,” said A’s Manager Tony LaRussa. “I remember saying, ‘We’ve got to find some way to get a run against this guy.’ It’s just going to be a matter of us getting him into the games.”

Many Padres who believe in addition by subtraction are happy for Davis. “Hey, Storm wanted out, his heart just wasn’t in it,” said pitcher Ed Whitson. “So it’s a good thing.”

“I wish him the best,” said Manager Larry Bowa. “Guys here who aren’t happy, we do our best to accommodate them.”

Davis was certainly happy Sunday. After a couple of months of talking, the deal was finally consummated by McKeon and Oakland Vice President Sandy Alderson at about 1:20 p.m. The Padres and Philadelphia Phillies were in the top of the second inning of a game eventually won by the Padres, 6-1.

McKeon took the elevator from his private booth to the Padre dugout, where he summoned Davis from the bullpen. McKeon, Davis and Manager Larry Bowa went to Bowa’s office to break the news.

“Storm came here and tried to do more than he was capable of doing,” said McKeon. “To go to different leagues takes adjusting. Some guys do it quickly, other guys need more time. Storm was one of the other guys.”

Davis did not return to the dugout. He cleaned out his locker and was driving home before anyone knew what had happened.

Things never did make sense with Davis. He left spring training as the team’s No. 4 starter, yet in his first start April 10 at Cincinnati, he lasted only three innings, allowing five hits and three runs in a 6-3 loss.

Bad pitching, coupled with an absence from June 30 to Aug. 7 because of a rib injury that not everyone believed was so serious, led Davis to the bullpen, where he would have remained for the rest of the season. On Aug. 18 in Philadelphia, upset about the bullpen and the season, he finally asked out.

“I really wanted to throw well here . . . and then I saw it all slipping away,” said Davis. “Maybe down the road, when I look back, I might be able to figure out what happened here better. I know I wasn’t very happy the way I was used.”

Said Bowa: “He had his chance. But he took 50 days for a rib injury, and maybe he needed 50 days, but you can’t expect to come right back and start. I’ll be damned if I was going to take out one of our kids for him.

“My main goal is to please the Padres, and if I just try to please one person, I’ll lose everyone’s respect.”