Hell: see "Bells"

So we have a landmark event here. The seemingly difficult-to-achieve all-time saves record has been broken by that guy I was pissed the Padres acquired for Gary Sheffield back in 1993. He not only did it in a few less years than it took the great Lee Smith, he did it after getting nailed with some pretty intense injuries for a couple years.

So naturally, in the subdued hoopla that always accompanies a San Diego-based achievement, it took a real hack SD newspaper mook to puke in Hoffman's parade car. This is typical of San Diego reportage, where boredom is the buzzword among the press box elite and cynicism reigns supreme. In San Diego Union Tribune columnist Tim Sullivan's article: "Great, But The Greatest?" (c'mon, the title really does say it all, no?), the scribe questions the validity of Hoffman's record in comparison to--and yes, you've heard this before--the innings put in by closers past.

No doubt this is of the more tired arguments to be put forth by the "back in my day" set. And as a non-AARP member I refuse to accept the premise. These are the same people that will not recognize the basic changes the game has endured in the last forty years. The DH, the wild card, the 10-inch mound (as opposed to the pre-1969 17" standard)...the Montreal Expos (okay, they won that round), they have a Reagan-like geezer agenda, and they want it enforced, dammit.

Hoffman has always been up and ready to come into a game whether he was ready or not; in the 8th inning or the 9th, and many times when the team just needed an arm out there (non-save situations, extras in a tie-game...) Bochy's usage of Trevor--while not always prudent--has not traditionally been of the "Just get him out there to get the cheap save" variety.

There is an informal poll making the rounds asking whether Hoffman should be a first-ballot HOF-er. Personally, I think anyone who can perform consistently where the Jose Mesas, Brad Lidges and Keith Foulkes could not speaks volumes about the caliber of closer Trevor has proven himself to be.