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.

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.

Maybe Moores Should Move On

Here's a minor break in FF's offseason silence: maybe John Moores should move on from the Padres. We wouldn't be the first to note that Moores has been very generous to the San Diego community. For this, he should be commended. We've even heard that he's a generally nice, well meaning guy that genuinely cares about those with which he works. While this and additional accolades may be true, maybe it would be best for him and his wife to put the club behind them. Simply put, many people and caught up in this alleged divorce fight over the club. Friar fans - check. Trevor Hoffman - check. Jake Peavy - check. The 2009 club - check. If this isn't enough, hearing that Kevin Towers must have all player moves approved by Sandy Alderson assistant Paul DePodesta surely adds to insanity (maybe this is old news, but it is the first we've heard of it... we are so disgruntled with the team at the moment, that we aren't keeping close tabs). We'd like to see one of two actions:

• Have each half of the divorcing couple fund half of the team at last year's level (no salary inflation) and put "ownership" in the hands of their daughter. This has long been rumored as eventual direction for the team - make it happen now.


• Put the team on the block.

Both seem more reasonable then holding the franchise hostage.

Managerial Mayham

With sharks circling Bud Black's locker with ever-increasing anticipation that they may get a meal, FF continues to feel the burden of this unacceptable season lift. We think Black should go. After being reasonably happy with him as Bruce Bochy's successor in 2007, we lost patience very early this season. Let's be clear - Bud Black was just a rebound relationship for Friar fans. After common law marriage with Bochy, we were all happy to embrace a new model that wears a normal hat size. Now that we've had our post-Boch fling, it's time to find a managerial relationship we can stand by. Below is FF's suggested list of items for the front office's personal ad, hopefully it will help lead this next foray to the alter:

• Black has recently lamented not having his starting catcher this season. He has nobody to blame but himself for that one. He rides catchers into ground. The next Friar manager has to recognize the demands of baseball's toughest position and give these guys the rest they need to span the season. Bochy was better.


• Black, in the previsouly linked U-T article, isn't happy with pitching, in general nor the bullpen:

  “We kept trying to find the right guys in the bullpen and we never got the right combination from the start of the season. That is something we need to address.”

  Were there more than two or three relievers in the bullpen? I guess FF was confused, because it seemed like Black just trots the same guys out over and over until he's worn them down as well. Bochy was better.


• Black's team never stole bases. In fairness, they played American League style ball - station-to-station, waiting for the "big hit". Great strategy on these teams. In fact, there seems to be a pattern forming here - AL ball doesn't work in the NL West. Bochy over-managed, Black has under-managed. Let's avoid the characteristics of managerial predecessors on this one.


• Three hitting coaches in two years isn't Black's fault. This is actually the primary problem in Padre-ville. The front office has created defacto dysfunction with whomever it cozies up to in the form of an outlandish home. It's time to fix Petco. Good pitching is good pitching - we don't need a brutally unfair park to "make" pitchers good. It should neither play like Death Valley nor a bandbox. A balanced park will give the team a chance when pitching and defense isn't perfect.

FF hopes the front office catches us a hottie.

Where There's Black Smoke...

After Padres hitting coach, Wally Joyner, resigned prior to his likely dismissal at seasons end, the stability of the entire coaching staff is in question. The Padres extended manager Bud Black's contract through the 2009 season this spring, however the Sandy Alderson's and Kevin Tower's in the organization are refusing comment and not publicly supporting their skipper.

FF has regretfully slowed the frequency of posts due to the most disappointing season in recent memory. It takes a lot of poor play and lack of franchise direction to turn two lifelong Friar fanatics into those who can't stand to watch the on field product.

Whether it is right or wrong there are scapegoats when a season falls this shy of expectations. The head that usually rolls is that of the manager, and in this case FF completely supports the idea of going a different direction. Let the domino's start to fall, rip this thing apart and rebuild quickly (possibly starting with the 1st pick in the draft).

The San Diego Discount Paradox

The Padres have become (in)famous for their "San Diego Discount". The basic idea is that San Diego is America's self-proclaimed "Finest City". The fantastic weather, almost brand new ballpark and it's excellent playing surface, as well as the highly regarded training staff do come at a price. The San Diego Discount.

Folks like Jake Peavy, Brian Giles, and Phil Nevin have all taken less money to play in the bastion that is San Diego. Kevin Towers seems to seek out Southern California natives that may be even more likely to come back to the future. The trick here is that any player that really can get big money elsewhere rightfully demands some level of no trade powers to take less money. These (relatively) long terms deals seem to frequently lead to players that cannot be moved (despite the front office's best efforts). At some point, the front office has to ask itself what the opportunity cost of the San Diego Discount really is. Otherwise said, how does the San Diego Discount affect the next best opportunity that Padres could pursue.

Often, the San Diego Discount translates to a few million dollars saved on a yearly basis for a declining, unmovable player. See Nevin and Ryan Klesko. Padre fans should consider that the only true offensive threat in the lineup may never have become a force for the Friars if Klesko hadn't injured himself, opening a position for Adrian Gonzalez. Otherwise put, Klesko's San Diego Discount almost cost the Padre's Gonzalez's bat. The front office may argue that this would have only been for one year, while Klesko's contract expired, but that still means that they would have been fielding Klesko solely to justify his unmovable contract.

In the case of Nevin, the opportunity cost of his no-trade powers ended up being Chan Ho Park. For a mid- to small-revenue club, Chan Ho Park at $14M per season seems a little extravagant. Then again, it really wasn't Chan Ho Park's fault - FF would place the causality on the San Diego Discount. (We would be remiss not to note that Nevin did do the Padres a favor by vetoing a trade that would have brought Sidney Ponson to the Friars, but that doesn't justify the San Diego Discount) Nevin also vetoed a trade that would have brought Ken Griffy, Jr. to San Diego, but we digress. The main point here is that Phil Nevin's San Diego discount ended up being more than $15M spent for a marginal pitcher. That money could have definitely been put to better use, but for the San Diego Discount.

This week we saw another execution of the San Diego Discount with Brian Giles killing a deal to Boston, apparently creating something of an uproar in the clubhouse. Giles plays hard, is having a decent season, and is a good clubhouse guy. That said, he's a big investment for a small budget club. FF doesn't fault Giles for vetoing the trade. Here's a shocker - we fault the San Diego Discount. We'd like to see those statisticians and economists that Padres employ take a good look at the San Diego Discount. Given Sandy Alderson's stated distaste for long term contracts, we suspect that no trade powers attached to those contracts only leaves a more bitter taste in his mouth. It certainly does for us.

The San Diego Discount should be abolished. We suspect that paying the market rate where reasonable is likely worth keeping all options open. Players with five years on the same team and ten years of MLB service get the no trade powers they deserve. Let's just leave it at that.

Maddux Remains In San Diego

Thursday's non waiver trade deadline has come and gone with the Padres holding onto players like Greg Maddux, Brian Giles, and Josh Bard. Other Padres players who had their names in a few trade rumors included bullpen arms Cla Meredith and Heath Bell. FF was hoping to see the Pads unload Maddux and maybe Bard, as the catching duties for the rest of this year should go to Nick Hundley to allow the Pads to evaluate where he stands in their fuure plans. Towers has never been shy with the waiver wire deals; he made plenty of deals in August last year and FF would be surprised if there aren't a few coming this season.

KT Staying In San Diego

The Padres Sandy Alderson put a quick stop to the notions that Kevin Towers was on the Seattle Mariners short list to fill their newly vacant General Manager position. Alderson said that the Mariners have not called, and if a call from the northwest was placed KT would not be granted permission to speak to them regarding the job. Rumors where spinning as the there is a popular sentiment that Towers has lost some power in the Alderson regime. It most likely did not help that the Padres gave Towers the green light a few years back to interview with division rival Arizona. KT did throw his name in the hat, but the Diamondbacks decided to go a different direction.

Read Alderson's Lips: No Barry Bonds

God bless Sandy Alderson, who has made it possible for FF to continue on as Friar fans with the following quote from the San Diego Union-Tribune:

“We have no intention of signing Bonds, and that's not a decision predicated on popular opinion, or one based on commercial success, but what we feel is appropriate for the franchise... This is something we're not prepared to consider.”

Can KT Learn From AJ?

San Diego sports fans know about the promise of big names and bold moves. We've heard it all many times and have even experienced it a time or two. But watching the Padres operate this offseason has been painful. I can't actually believe I'm saying this - but I am: Why can't KT be more like AJ? KT is, of course, the esteemed General Manager of the San Diego Padres; AJ the corollary with the San Diego Chargers. FF has a great deal of respect for both. KT is much more open about his plans while AJ is as closed as (ironically) a Marty Shottenheimer practice. I can't quite understand why the Friar front office is making such a big, public deal out of everything this offseason. I'm not big into conspiracy theories and this isn't meant to be one itself, but there is so much telegraphing of moves going on that it makes one feel like they want everyone to know they tried, should they eventually fail. We saw the reports that Milton Bradley, Brett Tomko, and even Glendon Rusch were all but done deals; none of these players has signed (and perhaps that's a good thing). Sandy Alderson even got into the act in regard to Bradley and Kosuke Fukudome (audio clip). I think the Friar's front office is fantastic on the whole - but agents and other teams don't need any help. AJ keeps everything close to the vest and nobody really knows what he'll will do at any given time. In the giant game of chicken that is a pro sports personnel management, it makes sense to keep the rest of field wondering.