It's sick out there and getting sicker---ANOTHER TREVOR BARF ALERT

Piling on the corporate spin on Sept. 17, 2006, Mike Berardino adds a bunch of gross impressions to the ad campaign for Trevor. Mike's spin is that Trevor's Hall-bound because he gives union employees such as baseball writers, some quotes to fill up the blank page when they are "deadline strained." It couldn't be Trevor sees an HOF voter in front of him. Or thinks, my HOF campaign is in trouble since I screwed up again, & even though I DESERVE to be paid as much as Mariano (Berardino somehow forgets St. Trevor said this some months back), I'll simply stand here by my locker. As Berardino shows in his column, that's what will win votes--not actually being the best at the job. (Mike is with the So. Fla. Sun-Sentinel, which no longer permits its employees to vote on baseball awards).
(BARF ALERT):
" There is no Hall of Fame for great teammates, but if there were Trevor Hoffman would be a charter member.

Those who have cycled through San Diego over the years continually rave about the Padres closer, and not just because he's about to pass Lee Smith (478) atop the career saves list.

"He's a great guy, a real family man," said Marlins catcher Miguel Olivo. "He's the same guy on the field and in the clubhouse."

Hoffman, 38, has long made a point of inviting younger players and new teammates to his home for dinner. But what really made an impression on Matt Herges was the impromptu catering service Hoff-man ran for his teammates while out with a shoulder injury in 2003.

• Berardino is apparently unaware other senior players do this for younger guys.
  

When the team bus would arrive back at Qualcomm Stadium following each road trip, Hoffman would be there to greet the other Padres.

"He would have a full spread when we got off the bus -- Outback Steakhouse or P.F. Chang's," said Herges, now a Marlins reliever. "Right there, as we walked off the bus, he'd shake everybody's hand. `Hey, good road trip. Come get something to eat.' That was just out of his pocket. Nobody does that."

Herges was traded to the Giants in July 2003, but he still had enough time with Hoffman for the closer to make a lasting impression.

"He goes way above and beyond the norm," Herges said. "Even if he was the worst pitcher ever to pitch in the big leagues, he's still the top teammate that I've ever had."

For that reason, Hoffman's latest accomplishment will rank as one of the more celebrated achievements within the baseball community.

There may not be a more respected player in the game than the Padres closer,

• THIS IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE. IF MIKE CHOOSES HYPERBOLE, MAYBE HE COULD FLESH OUT THE ARGUMENT A BIT.
  

who has become a San Diego institution since the Marlins traded him in a package deal for Gary Sheffield and lefty Rich Rodriguez 13 years ago.

From a media perspective, Hoffman secured his reputation after Game 3 of the 1998 World Series, when he stood at his locker for more than 30 minutes patiently discussing the game-turning homer he allowed to Yankees third baseman Scott Brosius.

• SEE, JUST BE NICE TO VOTERS. BEING A FAILURE ON THE FIELD IS ERASED.
  

This July in Pittsburgh, after Hoffman blew the save to Michael Young and the American League All-Stars, the closer again stood at his locker, answering every last question from wave after wave of deadline-strained reporters.

Such classy gestures aren't forgotten.

Between the lines, Hoffman has earned praise as a converted shortstop that thrives despite a mid-80s fastball. He was closing in on his eighth season of 40 or more saves thanks to perhaps the finest changeup the game has ever seen.

What the cutter is to Mariano Rivera, the changeup is to Hoffman.

• THERE'S NO COMPARISON BETWEEN THE 2, MIKE. TREVOR HAS SIMPLY TRIED TO GO FOR A PHONY STAT, TOTAL SAVES. YOU'D NEED 3 OF HIM TO DO WHAT RIVERA DOES.
  

"I think singlehandedly he has made changeups cool," Herges says. "You can have a changeup as an out pitch. You don't have to throw 98 [mph]. You don't have to have a humongous Sandy Koufax curveball. You can strike people out with a changeup."

Hoffman's career save percentage was holding steady at .896, including 38 of 42 conversions this year. While some of it is no doubt due to Hells Bells -- still the best entrance for any closer -- the
bigger factor by far is that changeup.

"He has just got an unbelievable ability to sell it," Herges said. "You sit on a changeup and he throws it and you're like, `I think that's a fastball,' and you change your mind and the next thing you know it's a changeup. That's how good it is. Everything is exactly the same. You can't pick it up until you're swinging and missing at it, pretty much."

Even Olivo, who spent the last two months of 2005 with the Padres, wasn't able to hold off on the change when he faced Hoffman this year.

"I knew it was coming and I still couldn't hit it," Olivo said. "I could catch it with my glove, but not with my bat."
(End of ad campaign portion of this column).