GM Towers hopes that Buddy Black will manage the Padres longer than Bruce Bochy

XX Sports Radio: Kevin Towers Interview (MP3) with Darren Smith

• Towers has been with the AA club for the last 6 days. September call ups would likely be from the AA club, they've pretty much exhausted the AAA club.
• Towers hopes that Randy Ready will be the batting coach going forward.  He's a good communicator and he's closer in age to the players.  Towers calls Ready "Spike".  "Breath of fresh air for the players."  Towers and Buddy pulled a few core players in to see what the feel of the club house was towards Lefebvre to help them make a decision.
• Made a lot of progress with Donovan Tate, it's not done yet.  Hopefully something will get done before the end of the weekend.  "My sense we'll get quite a lot done in the next 4 or 5 days."  The Padres anticipated Tate going to camp at UNC.  He'll have to pass a significant physical because of the large signing bonus that he'll likely get.
• Asked if the commissioners office gets upset if clubs give to much money to first round picks. The majority of MLB clubs stay in close contact so as not to over pay.  It's helped in arbitration and in the amateur draft.  
• Gwynn has more experience so when he's playing he'll usually hit leadoff.  Cabrera gives speed at the bottom of the order.
• More than likely Chris Young will be shut down the rest of the year.  He might be scoped to see what's going on in his shoulder.
  
• Giles is probably a week or two from a rehab assignment.
• Edgar Gonzalez gets slight vertigo when laying on his back.  He's probably a ways away.
• A year extension for Buddy Black was a comfortable length for Towers and Moorad.  They didn't want to give him a multi-year contract.  Towers is absolutely convinced that Buddy Black can bring this team back in contention. "Buddy is here for the long haul, that's my hope."  They want him to be here as long as Bruce Bochy was.  Black is certainly not on the hot seat by any means.
• Towers thinks Strasburg will sign with the Nationals in a record deal.  Towers guesses under $29 million deal.