Simon And...Garfinkel?

Following the Padres first win of the 2009 season the Padres are set to announce the addition of Tom Garfinkel as president and chief operating officer of the club. This move was somewhat expected as Garfinkel held a similar position with the Arizona Diamondbacks with new owner-in-waiting Jeffrey Moorad.

Game Notes:

In the Friars 4-2 victory Tuesday night FF was impressed with the over powering fastball that propelled Heath Bell to striking out the side in a scoreless 9th to earn the first save in as many chances in the post Trevor era.

FF is concerned with the amount of free passes given up by the bullpen in 3 scoreless innings: 2 issued by a visibly nervous Edwin Moreno in his MLB debut, and one by Bell to bring the tying run to the plate in the 9th. The frames were blank but the Pads were playing with fire.

Duaner Sanchez tossed a perfect 8th in his Friar debut.



Friar Fashion Marks:

In the first, and hopefully last, installment of FF Fashion question marks we would like to call into question the hair of 2008 NL Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum. FF is wondering if the addition of Randy Johnson to the Giants has brought about the silly looking long locks of the talented young starter.

GM = General Misconception?

Jeff Moorad has reportedly moved to demystify any general misconceptions surrounding the reporting and decision making structure within the front office. As we noted in December, the Friar front office was rumored to have a bizarre reporting structure where GM Kevin Towers had to get his baseball operation moves cleared by former CEO Sandy Alderson's deputy, Paul DePodesta. This rumor had a number of variations, making it difficult to know the real story. Regardless, it remains clear that front office gossip is a negative development, possibly impacting the perception of the club as a destination for players in the process. New CEO and partial owner Jeff Moorad has clarified the situation, according to the U-T, altering the front office organizational structure to have DePodesta report to Towers. While the article contains a number of interesting quotes, all seemingly aimed at portraying the story as a non-issue, we can't help but read into the following statements by Towers:

“If anything, it'll be good for all of us... I doubt there was really any truth to Paul nixing deals. Sandy always gave me full autonomy. Did Paul have the authority to maybe squash a deal or maybe talk Sandy out of it? I doubt that ever happened. I think from a perception standpoint, it put all of us in an uncomfortable situation.

and

“If anything... it should help Paul in the way of fitting in with everybody else. Even if there was zero truth, maybe what people speculated (about who was making decisions), I don't think there will be that now.

Hmmm... this doesn't exactly leave the impression that Towers felt like he was fully in charge of baseball operations. Kudos to DePodesta for being classy about the whole thing, saying:

“Really, for all practical purposes, nothing really changes for me. I've always deferred to Kevin on baseball issues and always felt I reported to Kevin on baseball issues. I did some non-baseball work for Sandy, which is the primary reason I reported to him.”

FF thinks Moorad made the right decision here. One less thing to focus on off the field makes the club stronger.

Change We Can Believe In

For a community that has consistently been promised change over the years, we here at FF hope that we finally have some change we can believe in. This is, of course, a loaded statement, what with the series of disappointing regimes we have faced over the years. A quick stroll through memory lane doesn't bode well for the nascent reign of Jeff Moorad, the new Padre co-owner/CEO:

• The Krocs had their ups (Ray) and downs (Joan)


• Tom Werner is synonymous "The Fire Sale I"


• John Moores has had his moments, but personal issues have clearly impacted the team

Then again, Moorad is sending all the right signals so far:

• According the Union-Tribune, he chimed in on the possibility of moving Peavy this season to meet payroll with:

  It would be premature for me to say what is going to happen. The goal is to build this for the long term. I don't know how that impacts the Peavy situation. But we're going to do whatever we can to improve the team.

  Sure, this doesn't say that they will keep Peavy, but it also seems to eliminate the probability of moving him at fire sale prices. Let's be real, by not moving him this offseason, the club was put in a position where Peavy's value declined on a daily basis. Every club knew Moores couldn't afford Peavy on his own, and the club would become disparate to move him at some point. The idea of someone over paying for him when the club doesn't have the ability to just stay the course is ludicrous.


• Moorad seems poised to draft based on talent over affordability. Also from the U-T article previously referenced:

  We'll look at the minor league system. There have been some drafting challenges. I'm looking forward to drafting near the top ... in that aspect, we'll go in the right direction.

  The Chargers used to engage in draft trickery during the Bobby Beathard era. It didn't work for the Bolts, and it surely hasn't worked for the Padres. The good news here is that Moorad seems to have an AJ Smith vibe toward the draft. This can only be a positive move. Even (former?) nemesis of Friar managament Scott Boras seems to agree.


• According to ESPN, Moorad has signaled that "...his goal is to compete with a payroll of $70 million to $80 million." Hallelujah.


• Multiple reports indicate that Moorad is not in this to make a quick profit. He gives the impression that he wants to right the ship, then let market forces provide the profit. This is a stark contrast to what Friar fans have become accustomed to - no more Blue Light specials.


• Given the fragile state of the economy, funding the purchase was difficult without a source of credit, but Moorad and company were creative, and found a model leveraged in the NFL as a template to stretch the sale out over time. Moores must be credited here as well, as he has essentially agreed to become Moorad's line of credit.

Sure, Moorad's tenure is still a giant unknown. But we have to be encouraged that his brand of change is thus far devoid of double talk, shortsightedness, outright inaccuracies, or anything else we've all become used to. A little change that we can actually believe in would be a nice.

Pads Add Arm On Sandy's Final Day

The San Diego Padres continued their quest for effective pitchers Wednesday when acquiring Eulogio De La Cruz (who goes by "Frankie") from the Marlins for cash. The 25 year old Dominican born starter routinely touched the high 90's while posting a 13-8 record in Triple A last season. De La Cruz has worked out of the bullpen as well as starting which fits the needs of the Padres who have holes to fill in both possible roles. The right hander is likely to break camp with the Padres who will keep him on the roster due to his lack of minor league options just as much as his power arm and and potential upside. The Friars scooped up Shawn Hill after the right handed started was released by the Washington Nationals. The Padres seem to have at least 2 rotations spots still up for grabs, and the bullpen remains a wide open competition. FF does not beleive KT is done adding pitchers prior to opening day. FF also predicts that freshly released lefty Royce Ring will be back in San Diego within a week.

Another step towards new ownership will take place on Thursday as owner John Moores will bring Jeff Morrad, the owner-in-waiting, in as the CEO while Sandy Alderson will step down from that same position. FF will recap the Alderson Years in a fuure post.

New Year, New (Potential) Owner

Nothing new to report hear, but we are pleased to see some movement on selling the club in the reported exclusive bargaining rights between the Friars and Jeff Moorad. Hopefully the club will sit on Peavy until this transaction is complete. With a little more money in the potential payroll, the logic behind moving Peavy is significantly less attractive.