Comments on: Potential Fire Sale FAQ

By: Stephen

Stephen — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:23:09 +0000

#14@Bruce: If the Pads were less concerned about making a good baseball deal why didn't they trade Peavy this past week to the Braves (at least have a deal in place) for 3 or 4 of those familiar names?

By: Geoff Young

Geoff Young — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 00:05:24 +0000

#19@Field39: If I were in Alderson's position, I don't think I'd even listen to the radio. Have someone give me condensed summaries that cut through all the crap and leave only useful information. Should fit on a single page, take two minutes a day to read. #21@Steve C:

Sure they may get a killer package for Jake but has anyone really been happy with the names that have been bantered back and forth?

No, and this is why I'm not following the "story" all that closely until something actually happens. People are reacting to speculation, not to reality. Maybe they enjoy doing that, but I find it a bit silly.

By: Mark O

Mark O — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 23:56:52 +0000

It looks like MLB won’t let Mark Cuban buy the Cubs…but maybe they’ll let him buy the poor Padres that no one pays attention to.

By: Steve C

Steve C — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 21:36:32 +0000

Is breaking up a 99 loss team a bad thing? Well it depends…in 2007 the Rays had 96 loses and they kept a lot of the core players in tact and well we all know what happened in 08â€¦

Hereâ€™s the problem that I have with the Padres breaking up their 99 loss teamâ€¦They are trading their CY Young Award Winning Pitcher! And treating their face of the franchise and sure fire hall-of-fame closer like he was wellâ€¦Josh Bard. Sure they may get a killer package for Jake but has anyone really been happy with the names that have been bantered back and forth? Itâ€™s a good sign that KT has not caved in to the Braves offer but who knows if this is financially driven (which it seems to be because this org does not have much as far as #1 starters coming up from the farm) then who knows what the Pads will get for him especially if Peavy hand picks the team.

By: Schlom

Schlom — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 20:34:09 +0000

#10@Geoff Young: I guess that Moores was smart enough to hire Kevin Towers to be his GM (was that his decision or the team president's?). I'm not sure whether the Padres made it to the playoff those seasons because of, or despite, Moores. It's unfortunate that the Hoffman situation has overshadowed this off-season. The funny thing about the whole thing is that if the Padres were not trying to compete at all next season they would be more likely to bring Trevor back. If they had any aspirations of making the playoffs, they couldn't have Hoffman as their closer. Kind of odd that a decision to make the team more competitive is the one that they are getting really hammered for.

By: Field39

Field39 — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 19:53:38 +0000

#18@Geoff Young: I would suggest one thing is certain. Sandy needs to step away from the microphone. His inability to suffer fools makes him the wrong person to go on the radio every week, and talk about the state of the club.

By: Geoff Young

Geoff Young — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 16:56:48 +0000

#17@Bruce: Agreed. Habitual inability or unwillingness to engage fans in a meaningful way remains the single greatest failing of the current regime. When the community responds to success ('04-'07) with indifference, something is broken. When the community responds to subsequent setbacks in the wake of that success with anger, something is broken.

By: Bruce

Bruce — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 16:42:31 +0000

#15@Geoff Young: I know it was just a one liner, but the most concerning thing I have ever heard come out of Sandy Alderson's mouth was when he said over the summer that he "wasn't in the business of selling anything." Alderson is very intelligent and a good baseball man, but he doesn't appear to be such a good businessman. And since he is running the show with an absentee owner, that concerns me. Contrasting him with Lucchino shows just how much the Padres are lacking. This is not to say that Alderson has not done a good job bringing structure and process to the organization, but you still have to sell a vision to the fans.

By: Tom Waits

Tom Waits — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 13:52:05 +0000

#3@Field39: Agree with Bruce and others that what makes these moves particularly distasteful is the front office talking out of all sides of its mouth. And if we're looking for the root cause of the 99 loss season, it can be found in the front office (where they handed out promotions like Halloween candy) moreso than in the clubhouse.

By: Geoff Young

Geoff Young — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 13:11:24 +0000

#14@Bruce: Yeah, the PR problems are very real -- to the extent that four years of solid work have been completely undermined in the public eye by one down season and a little bit of turmoil. This administration is good at developing and executing a plan, but not so good at selling the stakeholders on that plan. Both components are necessary to succeed, and it's going to take a lot of work to regain the fans' trust. Marketing isn't my strong point, so I don't know how they go about fixing the problem. I hope they do, though, because the current FO is littered with talent, and it would be a shame to see them ridden out of town essentially because they are unable to adequately communicate their vision to the folks that make it possible for them to pay the bills, i.e., you and me.