Everybody Else Is Doing It...

In the course of yet another seemingly endless argument about the Trevor-Sandy-Moores-KT saga...sdsuaztec4 and I were going back and forth and 'Tec wrote this:

Whatever. When it comes down to it, I’m not going to stop rooting for the Padres because Trevor Hoffman wasn’t happy with the way they handled this.

That's fair. Right? I'm with him. I strongly doubt any one of us is going to just quit rooting for the baseball team we love because Trevor isn't happy with the way the Padres have handled this. But that's not the point...the point is: I'm not happy with the way they handled this. You aren't. The season ticket holders that have declined to re-new aren't happy. Former players aren't happy. Current players aren't happy. Nobody is happy with the way they handled this.

The reason why this is such an idiotic move is because in the grand scheme of things it's only going to effect the franchise negatively. This isn't in any way close to the Jake Peavy trade situation. The upcoming trade of Jake Peavy is a move that is going to alter the path of this organization for years to come. It's success - or failure - will be the determining factor in the course of the Padres pursuit of our first World Series Championship. Signing Trevor Hoffman to a deal that would allow him to happily retire a San Diego Padre will not.

The Padres are, as Buster Olney put it, "going back to the dark ages".  Coming off a 99-loss season...days away from trading away one of the best pitchers in the history of the franchise...slashing payroll in preparation to be sold by an owner in the midst of a nasty divorce...and this is the decision the front office feels is in the best interests of the club? Right now? At this point in time? Really?

The root of the problem is that Sandy Alderson is a prick and a tyrant that has no clue as to how to relate to the fans. John Moores is too tied up in his divorce to even bother dealing with the team and has given Sandy free reign to do whatever he wants, however he wants to do it. Think about it...how could anybody with any sense of public relations at all want to put himself in this position in the midst of everything else that's going on? And there's your problem right there....Sandy just doesnt give a f**k what we think. Moores can't be bothered...KT doesn't have any power...all the heart has been stripped from the organization. And while I agree wholeheartedly that baseball is a business...one of the reasons I liked to think the Padres were special was because it seemed like more of a family than a business. Now this is the way we're treating players like a Trevor Hoffman? All I can say is thank God Sandy wasn't around when T. Gwynn was hobbling around right field in The Murph.

This team was horrible in '08 and will be horrible '09...how is it going to hurt this franchise by making Trevor happy at a reasonable cost so he can retire in our uniform and continue to be a part of the Padres organization for years to come? It's not. What's the cost? $5 million? A roster spot? Given our circumstances right now, it seems like a simple choice. Sit down with him, talk it out and come to a fair agreement.

Now can we please get back to concentrating on the pending move that should be our main focus right now?