Kevin Towers has not been told if he will return next season as GM of the Padres
by jbox on Oct 1, 2009 2:35 PM PDT
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PrintXX Sports Radio: Kevin Towers Interview (MP3) with Darren Smith
- Towers flew with the Blue Angles yesterday. "It was an incredible experience." He didn't barf.
- The Padres are finding ways to win each and every night. The young players are no longer in survival mode, they believe they can play in the big leagues. "This has been one of the better bunches I've been around in a while."
- Kevin Towers considers '98 to be his best work, but that was a veteran club. This is the youngest club Towers has had in his 14 years. "We finally have a team that fits Petco Park." The 2009 team is a lot like the '96 and '98 clubs because they may not be favored to win, but they expect to win. Bud Black had his best year as a manager. The coaching and scouting staff has done a good job too.
- "I'm contractually obligated to the club until the 2010 season." He's glad he didn't leave the organization in 2005. Towers wants to be part of the club. Ownership will make the decisions about baseball operations after the season. "My relationship with Jeff [Moorad]and Tom [Garfinkel] has been good. The working relationship is great. I'm smart enough to know that when new people come in they want new people to run things."
- Towers doesn't know when decisions will be made. The month of October is usually a busy month for Baseball Operations. He doesn't know if a decision has been made yet about bringing him back.
- "There have been no assurance beyond this year." He's going to give them everything he has as long as he's here.
- "I haven't lost a lot of sleep, I keep my head down and my boots on, until they tell me to take those boots off, I'm going to keep wearing them."
- "I'm not surprised by anything Darren. I'm certainly -- this is kind of where I want to be, but if something were to happen, I have a lot of confidence in my ability that I'm going to be sitting in a GM chair somewhere if it's not in San Diego."
- "In the 2008 season we rolled over in May and never came out of it." Towers is really happy with the way the 2009 team has finished strong. "There is definitely a big light on at the end of the tunnel." He's hoping that the Padres will be popping champagne in a couple years.
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this has to be the smartest poll ever
Homeboy throw in the towel
Your girl got dicked by Ricky Powell
deploy the GLB Secret Police
Isn't it enough to know that I ruined a pony making a gift for you? ◔ヮ◔
Uncommon Sportsman :: Absurdity in play
I'm worried by this
Looking at this year alone, I think he deserves at least another year.
Isn't it enough to know that I ruined a pony making a gift for you? ◔ヮ◔
Uncommon Sportsman :: Absurdity in play
This was a good/GREAT job by him
Look at how different the team is from opening day…bullpen rehaul…new young talent through the organization..all with most of his low payroll being worthless this season (Giles, Peavey, Young, etc.) not contributing.
"Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!"
"Here, do it all, but with nothing."
Can you really ask for more?
Isn't it enough to know that I ruined a pony making a gift for you? ◔ヮ◔
Uncommon Sportsman :: Absurdity in play
Mr. Garfinkel, you love focus groups and surveys
Look at our poll. We just made the decision for you.
Please don't tell Garfinkel
to use this poll. 7 people voted “no, it’s time to bring in a new GM”, and under Garfinkel’s completely idiotic “breakfast theory” he would say “at least 7 people told me that they wanted KT out as GM so I passed it on to Moorad so we can fire him”
by SDPads_1 on Oct 1, 2009 4:59 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Why is everybody so hard on Mr. Garfinkel?
hehe; I said ‘hard on’
www.FriarsOnCardboard.blogspot.com
"jbox does not drink coffee, as it makes him clean house big time." ~Kev
by TheThirdGonzalez on Oct 1, 2009 7:24 PM PDT up reply actions
Because Garfinkel is terrible
I’ve never seen a more out of touch high Padres executive in my life. Absolutely the ONLY good thing he has done since taking over was to wine and dine dex and jbox.
by SDPads_1 on Oct 1, 2009 9:44 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Kind of a loaded question
I feel like I could answer the question yes if the Padres were to bring in a young “whiz kid” GM like the Rays’ Andrew Friedman.
But would I swap Towers for guys like Hendry or Cashman? Not at all.
I’ve questioned a lot of the moves that Towers has made in the past, but if this year has shown anything, he knows how to work with a budget (something Hendry still has no luck with). As long as the Padres remain thift store buyers, I’m pretty confident in Towers being one of the best as GM.
Not gonna lie,
I used to be an avid anti-KTer. But there is no doubt in my mind now that he is what this organization needs. I questioned a lot of the moves he made this year, but now I can see that he knows what he’s doing.
I think KT is the best GM in all of baseball.
And I think other teams know that, too. That’s why he mentioned that if he’s not the GM here, he will be the GM somewhere else.
by theodore donald kerabatsos on Oct 1, 2009 4:05 PM PDT reply actions
KT 4 GM, for sure
I predict that we will win the World Series in 2011.
"Get on board early," Black said, alluding to, what he feels, is a crop of up-and-coming players.
"I would tell those fans that we're going to play good baseball. We're going to play hard. We're going to have exciting young players..." -Bud Black
Who are these 11 people who want KT gone?
What has KT done other than make kickass trades, find diamonds in the rough, and deal with front office shenanigans like a pro?
by theodore donald kerabatsos on Oct 1, 2009 7:15 PM PDT reply actions
He is a good GM
but one thing that concerns me a bit his man crush for David Eckstein. Yes, Eckstein is a great guy and a scrappy little player, but there are just so many better players out there on the open market this year, I don’t see why we had to extend him.
I think there's more to Eck than what he gives us on the field.
We have a very young team and I think we need a veteran guy like Eck who they can look to as a role model for all these rookies.
I don’t know, that’s just my take on it. I’m really glad to have him here.
that’s fine and dandy, but that doesn’t mean he needs to get 600 PA’s to lead the team. At what point do you keep playing a below average player because of his abilities as a mentor?
I disagree with your criticism regarding Eckstein...
and I think your argument lacks merit unless you can provide an alternative.
With KT’s budget (almost nothing) and the 2B prospects in our system (almost none), what do you suggest he should have done? You want to see more Luis Rodriguez? Call up Matt Antonelli again? What other free agents could we have gotten for $1 mil?
For the money and the other options available, I don’t see how he could have done any better than Eckstein.
by theodore donald kerabatsos on Oct 2, 2009 7:28 AM PDT up reply actions
Eric Sogard
A kid who has a unicorn ranch in his room cannot call other people weird. Yes, we know about "Rancho Unicorno."
by Sam (sdsuaztec4) on Oct 2, 2009 8:00 AM PDT up reply actions
Placido Polanco, Akinori Iwamura, Craig Counsell, Felipe Lopez, Freddy Sanchez, Orlando Hudson
Non-tender/trade candidates: Dan Uggla, Kelly Johnson
All of these players are markedly better than Eckstein. Obviously some (Hudson, Uggla) are likely out of the Padres price range, but the other players are not.
2B is the strength of this FA class and a lot of those guys are going to make under 5 million next year, which is well within SD’s price range
as for 1 mil...
none of those guys (mayeb Counsell) would be 1 million, but this team does have some money to spend. You get what you pay for and just because Eck is a cheap part doesn’t make him the right part. There is a reason Eck is this cheap, it’s because he posesses no above average skill on the field, only in the clubhouse.
Now, KT could be lookign at Eck strictly to be a mentor on a bench and to spot start, and if that’s the case, it’s a different story
If there's more money to spend, great...
I agree that we’re going to need an upgrade if we’re serious about trying to make the playoffs. But for $1 mil, it’s a no-brainer that you should bring Eck back. He’s not a great player offensively or defensively anymore, but he’s not a total embarrassment either.
If you can spend $1 mil for a guy who is a reliable stopgap, can play backup if something better comes along, and is probably the #1 most valuable clubhouse asset you have, I think that’s a tremendous value.
by theodore donald kerabatsos on Oct 2, 2009 10:02 AM PDT up reply actions
If that is the role KT sees him in, then I can be okay with it. It just seems like he loves Eck so much that he can’t wait to give him 600 PA’s. That’s one of the few positions SD has that will be simple to upgrade and I just hope they do it.
I’m completely fine with Eck off the bench providing leadership and as feisty little bat off the bench. I’m just concerned he’s viewed as more than that based on quotes in the paper
by NeifiChicken on Oct 2, 2009 11:33 AM PDT up reply actions
I'm pretty sure Eck is just keeping the seat warm until
Sogard or Zawadzki are ready to come up (probably about half way though next season). My guess is that by the ASB next year one of those two will be the every day 2B and Eck will be more of a role player.
This seems like odd timing
Which the Padres are really good at.
They are playing their best ball all year. KT did what KT had to do and now the team, the rookies and the vets, are jelling.
I am quite optimistic about next year.
Then, I see this. I just dont get it.
Chicks Dig a Low ERA Bullpen.
KT does a great job!
especially considering what he has to work with. He also seems willing to work with superiors and embrace their plans like he did with Sandy Alderson and is now doing with the Moorad Group. I don’t see why they would consider letting him go…if the team falls flat on its face next year….then whether rightly or wrongly it would at least make sense to have KT on the hot seat. However, to do it now when fans are really starting to rally around this young club that he built, just does not seem like a good move at all.
Let that be a warning to you.
We likes our “Around the Mission”s with breakfast.
Isn't it enough to know that I ruined a pony making a gift for you? ◔ヮ◔
Uncommon Sportsman :: Absurdity in play
Bud is the first coach who
actually played young players
by putting the in the lineup
to see if they sink or swim. Of course,
he had to, since they gutted the club.
However, when you see the guys
he picked up right in front of you, you really get a feel for what
he has done or been doing all these years.
"Quote me as saying I was mis-quoted."
Groucho Marx
The possibility of not having KT anymore
Scares the crap out of me. This would be an absolutely bonehead move.I’m pretty sure the man could put together a 5-course gourmet dinner for 10 out of 29.95 worth of ingredients from the Try and save.
"And now for something completely different"
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