COO Garfinkel talks Padres on XX Sports Radio

XX Sports Radio: Tom Garfinkel Interview (MP3) with Darren Smith and Randy Jones

• Garfinkel has done a lot of talking and listening to fans.  They respond to all of the letters.
• "I love the fact that you're so angry... because it means you're passionate about the Padres."
• The Padres are fortunate to have an asset like Petco Park.
• "What we are really trying to do is build a great organization.  The first priority of a great organization is to win championships and compete for the division."
• There has been some great ideas from fans that they've implemented.  
• "Almost without exception, almost every meeting we've had... fans walk away -- just say 'I'm just more excited about the Padres -- about the future than I've ever been."
• Fan input matters but decisions are not democratic.
• They've taken down some of the images of the players and put up pictures of fans.  You won't see the cliche hero baseball pictures.  They are going to put up more candid pictures of the players.  Trying to manufacture heroes is pretty dangerous.  Adrian Gonzalez and Kyle Blanks are heroes.
  
• The Padres want to tap into the civic pride in San Diego.  They are proud to associate with the military.  They are going to market to college students and the Hispanic community. 
  
• "People that like bacon like baseball."
• The first priority is on the field, things like breakfast and other ideas are to create fan memories.
• "Spending more money than you have is a bad idea.  Borrowing more money than you can afford to pay back is even a worse idea."
  
• Owners that treat baseball as a hobby and subsidize the business eventually grow tired of throwing money away and leave the organization in financial ruin that lacks discipline.
• Not sure if there is a correlation between high payroll and a winning record.