Hoffman: "Really, we all could have handled it a lot better"

Hoffman: 'It was time to move on'

I still believe that if the Padres could have handled the situation better they probably could have gotten Trevor for the $4m they offered if they didn't act like they were doing him such a big favor.  I'm not convinced it was about the money for Trevor, I think he was more concerned about the direction and his place on the team, with good reason.  Really he doesn't fit into a club like the one we are left with.

"The offers were pretty similar," Hoffman said. "The fact that Milwaukee was so bullish made a difference -- the general manager calling, the manager calling, getting to talk to the trainer. The excitement they showed for me possibly being there was the biggest factor. They stayed pretty firm. They kept coming. If you're going to leave your house, it doesn't matter whether you're an hour drive up the road or five hours away by plane. You're still not going to be home very much."

It wouldn't have really bothered me too much if Trevor went to the Dodgers, he's got to go some place where he can play especially if the Padres didn't want him at this point, why not go to the team that wants you the most.

"Yeah, that would've been a tough pill for everybody to swallow," he said with a laugh. "But the fact is, because my relationship with the Padres was severed without any desire on my part for it to happen, I had to look at all options. Had the Dodgers wanted to pursue it a little harder, then it might have happened. In Milwaukee, I thought it was definitely a firm commitment on their end."

It's such a shame that the Padres and Hoffman couldn't separate on good terms.  Sounds like Hoffman has a pretty good attitude about the situation now, which isn't much of a surprise.

"I just can't see that," he said. "I think once Heath Bell gets settled into the closer's role, they'll be comfortable with that. They could have handled my situation a lot better. There could have been a meeting of the minds. They could've said they were just going younger, which is their right. Really, we all could have handled it a lot better. We could have walked away feeling a lot more respect for each other. I just don't think a deal there was to be had. And I'm fine with it. I just think it was time to move on.

"Now there's just the backlash that I took the money and ran. [People] are having a lot of fun with it right now. It's not real pretty. I'm getting a lot of calls. But it was fun. It was a good run. Shoot, 16 years, I can't squawk about it. Not many players get to stay with a club for 16 years. I was pretty lucky."