The locker at the end of a row, on a corner adjacent to a hallway represents the promise and quandary of the Padres’ starting rotation.
The mere presence of the occupant of this prime real estate illustrates the convergence of the team’s desire to get better now and its commitment to being great later.
This locker, as one teammate put it, is for a “big dog.”
Among the half-dozen choice lockers in the Padres clubhouse, this one is the equivalent of Rancho Santa Fe or Santaluz, depending on how one’s tastes run.
And this season, it is occupied by Garrett Richards, a pitcher who probably won’t appear in a game for the Padres until next spring.