Kevin Towers: "We could be the 2010 Giants"

by jbox on Sep 24, 2009 9:12 AM PDT Comment 11 comments

"We could be the 2010 Giants," Towers said. "I think we have the opportunity to go from 70 wins (a number they reached last night) to above .500 and contending for a playoff spot next season."

The 2010 Giants!? You mean we could be 9 games out of first place at the end of the season with no chance at the wild card? Okay I realize that Towers is talking about the Giants improving themselves from 2008 to 2009 and that it's better than being 21.5 games out of first place, but the Padres always seem so satisfied and pleased with themselves when they "contend" and are barely above .500. You think champions talk this way?

Please tell me that Towers and the rest aren't satisfied with being in the hunt and the ability to play spoiler for real playoff caliber teams in September. That was the message that we always got from the John Moores era:

"The goal is to play meaningful games in September," he said. "Unfortunately for us, and fortunately, the West is quite competitive.

I thought things had changed.

I see real promise in this club but I was really hoping that they wouldn't just rest on the laurels.

"I don't know if we need to do a lot this winter," said the general manager

This current team has played good baseball for a month and a half, but I am not at all confident that they can play this well over the course of a full season. I guess they see something that I don't.

I didn't expect Towers to crown this team as 2010 World Champions when interviewed, but I don't like him thinking his job is done because the team could be like the Giants. That's the not the goal!

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don't know the economics

It is very likely that Moorad is dedicated to the DBacks, Indians, A’s style of baseball. Keep the team young, hopefully good, and try to contend for 2-3 years out 5-7. Are they doing this out of necessity, since they cannot afford more (non-cynical)? Or are they doing it because that is the profit maximizing path for a small team (cynical)? I don’t know.

Look at the Brewers. They kept their payroll high, and went .500. How many more seasons can they afford of that? My hope is that they are hoping for another year of player maturity and then add a couple of impact FA when they feel we have the base to do it.

Unless we are consistently brilliant at drafting and trading, better than everyone else, a small market team does not get to contend every year. Until there is significant revenue-sharing across the teams, it will remain so.

It pisses me off, but I get angry at the salary structure. This set up apparently works that big market teams get to load up on FA, small market teams dump and player get paid. If the small market teams are making a decent return on their team, perhaps the owners don’t care, the players don’t care, the only people who care are small market fans.

But ESPN doesn’t care about the small markets, BP does not care about anything that could stop the gravy train to the players, so the only place we have a voice is a place like this.

by jayman66 on Sep 24, 2009 9:59 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

It's better to live in denial than to worry about the inequities of MLB's pay structure.

It’s not fair. It probably never will be. You either have to accept it, stop being a baseball fan, or end up like Golum from Lord of the Rings.

by theodore donald kerabatsos on Sep 24, 2009 11:43 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

maybe negative in paper, but not the way i feel

I have been gleeful with the Padres’ run, feeling hope rush back in. My post was in response to the main post, which was “Why do we have to accept this BS and not be competitive” or something along those lines. The salary structure is probably the main answer, not the FO’s attitude. Despite the salary inequities, I continue to hope that we will pull it off and get a good team next year.

My mind goes something like, “well, if get the good CY, the good Stauffer, the suddenly good LeBlanc, the decent Corriea, the good Latos with the good Richard for depth, wow. And Venable keeps hitting. And Chase steps forward. And we get someone good for KK. And Blanks keeps on a tear. And Everth gets better. And we get a real 2B and catcher (or Hundley gets better). And our pen stays really good.” Despite the low odds of all this happening together (and we need most of it to happen together), I still get excited.

But if pieces don’t come together and we end up in the mid to back, out of contention, I do get frustrated. Not at the FO, which I think is great (though not immue to mistakes or incorrect assessments), but at the salary gap.

by jayman66 on Sep 24, 2009 1:11 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

There's the negativity!

I’ve seen some fanposts around here recently that were just way too positive. Now we’re back to normal!

Unapologetic Trevor Hoffman apologist.

by sdgaucho on Sep 24, 2009 10:39 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I don't think it's unreasonable to want to be competitive in 2010

I would laugh in KT’s face if he told me the 2010 Padres were expecting to make the playoffs, but being over .500 a year after losing 90 games or whatever sounds pretty nice. Obviously the ultimate goal isn’t to perpetually be a .500 club, but significant improvement from this year to the next is a goal I can believe in. Maybe in 3 or 4 years when KT says we have a World Series caliber ball club, I would hesitate to laugh in his face.

DODGERS, RED SOX, YANKEES, BRONCOS, PATRIOTS and RAIDERS all suck. Especially the Dodgers.

by LJbumfool on Sep 24, 2009 11:04 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

There are posts in the UT today

predicting 90-100 wins next season.

by strummer on Sep 24, 2009 2:33 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sir Yes Sir

It is apparent that KT needs to incorporte a version of the “Sir Yes Sir,” concept into every statement he makes.

It should go someting like this:
Our goal is to win the World Series. I will take a breakfast burrito, extra jalapenos . Our goal is to win the World series.

by field39 on Sep 24, 2009 1:03 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

The Padres need a lot more production

from catcher, second base, third base and one outfield spot. That’s half the lineup. So where are these holes gonna be filled? From the farm system? There’s only one minor-leaguer on the horizon who might be able to help, but the Padres lack confidence that Luis Durango can perform on the major league level. Too bad. It would be nice to watch him run around the bases in these last few games of the year.

The free-agent market? I can only see them taking this route if they trade Heath Bell and decide to replace him by bringing Trevor Hoffman back. Perhaps that would even help to sell some tickets. The trade market? Heath Bell is arbitration eligible and has had a great year. That means the Padres can’t afford him. But he does have enough value to bring the Padres someone who can fill one of their four holes.

So what about the other three? There’s always the Padres’ favorite source of major-league-ready talent — the Rule 5 draft.

Wow, mediocrity, here we come!

by dontkickthebaby on Sep 24, 2009 4:09 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

lmfao

There are plenty of minor leaguers that will be able to contribute and durango probably isn’t one of them

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 Sep 24, 2009 4:14 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Dude, I'm just not seeing any.

The original post was about 2010, and I was writing about position players. Perhaps you’re looking further into the future? For next year, the only possibilities, other than Durango, are OFs Mike Baxter and Chad Huffman. Fact is, by calling up so many players during the season the Padres decimated their triple-A roster.

by dontkickthebaby on Sep 25, 2009 5:46 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs