Tuesday, July 18, 2000 | 10:27 a.m.
Dusty Allen returned to his Palace Station hotel room late Monday morning to find the message light flashing on his phone.
"It was from (San Diego Padres GM) Kevin Towers," Allen said. "I had no idea what it was about."
Allen, who had just driven back to Las Vegas from San Diego on Sunday afternoon after being demoted by the Padres, was about to get even more sobering news.
"He told me that I was involved in a trade," Allen said. "My jaw hit the floor. I had no idea."
The Padres dealt Allen, 27, arguably the Stars' MVP for the first half of the 2000 season with a .311 average and 14 home runs, to the Detroit Tigers for infielder Gabe Alvarez.
Alvarez, originally drafted by the Padres after a successful college career at USC, is expected to join Las Vegas in time for tonight's game against the Sacramento River Cats at Cashman Field. He was hitting just .209 with eight homers and 35 RBIs in 68 games at triple-A Toledo for the Tigers this season.
"When he left here he had a pretty good swing," Stars manager Tony Franklin said of Alvarez. "I remember the player he was. I thought he was going to be a pretty good third baseman and I think he still can be."
Alvarez, a shortstop at USC, will play third, first and some outfield for the Stars.
Allen, who stopped by to clean out his locker and say goodbye to his teammates before Monday night's 8-4 win over Sacramento, will be missed just as much for his off-the-field contributions as for what he did on it.
"What (Detroit) is going to get is not only a guy with pretty good baseball abilities but also a real character guy," Franklin said. "It's tough to lose a guy like that but I think he'll get a good opportunity with them."
The Tigers were in dire straits for a first baseman. Injury-plagued starter Tony Clark was put on the disabled list Sunday with what was termed a lumbar spine strain (sore back) that has plagued him recently. And backup Robert Fick will likely be sidelined for two months with a separated right shoulder suffered while colliding with Tampa Bay's Bobby Smith two weeks ago.
Detroit had to call up star prospect Eric Munson from double-A Jacksonville ahead of schedule to fill in.
"There's a possibility that it could be a real good thing for me," Allen said. "Only time will tell."
Allen, who went 0-for-12 in his first major league duty with the Padres, will report to triple-A Toledo to brush up on his first base skills. He had spent most of the past season playing outfield after playing primarily first base at both Stanford and in the minors.
Allen, who played for the Stars in each of the past three seasons, said it will be tough leaving Las Vegas.
"I've made so many friends here the last few years," he said. "The fans have been tremendous to me. I've always been treated well. It's going to be tough to leave here."
So tough, in fact, that Allen still plans to buy a home in Las Vegas.
"As a matter of fact, I was looking at homes here (Monday) with a friend of mine," Allen said. "I still intend on making this my off-season home. I love it here."
Las Vegas will wear the special uniforms for Friday night's game against Tacoma when the team holds a St. Patrick's Day in July promotion.
Stars fans better hope they aren't crying in their green beer afterward. Tacoma is expected to start 6-11 lefty Ryan Anderson, who allowed just one hit and struck out 13 batters in seven innings in the Rainers' 2-1 loss to Calgary on Sunday, in Friday night's game.
The Stars now trail the River Cats by two games.
Buddy Carlyle (5-4) picked up the win for Las Vegas while Carlos Reyes pitched the final three inning to earn his first save.
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