Storm Davis Seeks a More Acceptable Climate : Pitcher Says Trade Request Is Result of His Bullpen Demotion and His Trouble Fitting In

Take one Storm Davis, a quietly competitive, sensitive, 25-year-old pitcher.

Take one Larry Bowa and a Padre team that has adopted the manager’s bark and bite and emotion.

Put them together and . . . well, don’t.

An imperfect fit became even more strained Tuesday when Davis made an impromptu pregame announcement that he wished to be traded.

On Wednesday, after he had stayed awake until 5:45 a.m. thinking about it, Davis explained why.

He said part of the problem is Bowa and his decision to send Davis to the bullpen, and part of it is his teammates. But most of it has to do with just being accepted.

“I just haven’t really fit in over here,” said Davis, who was traded from Baltimore Oct. 30 for catcher Terry Kennedy and pitcher Mark Williamson. “Where I came from, it was more laid back. Everybody played hard but still did their own thing. Over here, well, I still haven’t figured some of the guys out.

“I hear talk that because I don’t show emotion, I don’t care. I hear talk that because I’m a Christian, I don’t play hard. I even heard one comment about, how come I didn’t get to the ballpark at 3 o’clock and ride the bike (a common pitcher’s exercise, particularly for those on the disabled list)? Well, they don’t know what I do at home before I come to the park. They just don’t know.”

Nor have the other Padres figured him out.

“I think,” Bowa said, “that sometimes he thinks that logo across our chest means Storm Davis instead of San Diego. I guess in Baltimore he was the big cheese. Well, here he’s just another fish in the pond. I guess he was used to special treatment but here, I have a habit of treating everyone the same.”

Said infielder Tim Flannery: “I hope he’s not being too sensitive. We don’t care what time a player comes to the park, or what he wears, or what he eats. All we care about is what he does between the white lines.”

Perhaps Davis just hasn’t pitched enough to be understood. He was activated from the disabled list Sunday after being out since June 30 with torn cartilage in his left rib-cage area. He has pitched in only 17 games, 10 of which he started. He is 2-7 with a 5.84 earned-run average.

Davis said he felt that while he was hurt, some teammates were uncertain of his ability to play with pain. He felt that when Bowa was criticizing some unnamed players about not playing tough, he was criticizing him.

“Maybe it’s my fault. Maybe I should be outgoing enough to go up to people and make sure they know I care,” he said. “But ask my wife. All my sleepless nights, all my worries over this season. I want the city to know that I am very competitive, and I do care. I want to win as bad as anyone.”

Early in the season, Davis pitched poorly and was sent to the bullpen, but he worked his problems out and returned to the the starting rotation. Then he went on the disabled list. Because the five Padre starters were pitching reasonably well when Davis was reinstated, he was sent to the bullpen again.

Being sent to the bullpen irked him, and although he emphasized that this wasn’t the only reason he wanted a trade, that is what started it.

“I told them I disagreed with the decision to go to the bullpen,” he said. “They told me I would do one rehabilitation assignment in the minor leagues, and then go back to the rotation, but I pitched twice down there, and then ended up in the bullpen.

“I understand there are five guys throwing pretty good in the rotation right now. I don’t want to displace them. All the more reason to trade me because I’m the extra guy.”

One of Davis’ agents, Michael Maas, said his Baltimore law office would be calling Padre General Manager Jack McKeon later this week.

“Storm is definitely upset, and we have to see what’s going on,” Maas said. “He’s not going to help the team in a bullpen situation. I think a change of scenery would help everybody.”

Said McKeon: “Storm hasn’t even said anything about it to me, but I would tell him what I told all of our players earlier this year. They want to be traded, go out and do something so somebody would want you.”