Padres GM Hoyer isn't blaming hitting coach, isn't certain if he'll trade Heath Bell

XX Sports Radio: Jed Hoyer Interview with Darren Smith (MP3)

• Hoyer didn't get a break during the All-Star Break.  "Having 3 days off after those last 5 games was pretty awful." 
  
• The Padres have 3 losing streaks longer than 5 games.  "We just haven't been able to stop from having those ruts this year and I don't know what that is."
• Hoyer doesn't have a theory as to the difference between last year's team and this year's.  He obviously knew the impact that Adrian Gonzalez had.  "You look at the rest of our line up right now position by position, I still feel really good about it compared to last year."  Gonzalez "buoyed" the team more than they imagined.
• Hoyer says fans should not expect to see any changes on the field by Thursday.  "On Thursday you'll see the same group."  They can make changes at any time.  "If things continue how they are then we'll make changes."
• Hoyer says to focus on him and the players for their poor hitting, not Randy Ready.  "Being a hitting coach for the San Diego Padres is a great challenge."  Ready is working hard, he didn't go 0-25 with runners in scoring position over the weekend.  "It's an organizational failure so far offensively."  Padres need to score more runs in Petco Park. "Pinning it on Randy right now is the wrong thing to do.  I think you have to pin it on everyone, from me to Buddy to the players. "  Hoyer knows that Dave Magadan was a scapegoat in San Diego but did a great job for the Boston Red Sox.
• Hoyer isn't sure if he will trade Heath Bell. "At this point right now, I'm not certain."  It's a possibility.  There will be discussions at some point.  "It's been a pleasure having him."  He can't answer the question directly.  He has not been told to trade Bell.
• On deals at the deadline: "If players are not going to be here or players are going to price themselves out of our payroll range, you've got to look to the future."  That's the reality of Padres baseball.  Some fans that understand it and some who don't.
• The reason to keep Heath Bell is to continue to talk to him about his future with the team past 2011.
  
• Hoyer did talk to the Brewers over the past few months.  "We never exchanged names, we never had any serious conversations about any of our pitching."  Theoretically the Padres are asking for a lot for Bell because he's one of the best in the league.
• Hoyer won't answer if Heath Bell or Mike Adams has more trade value.  They're both great relievers.  "I'm not going to get into talking about who has more value."  The Padres control Adams next year, which is also why other teams may want him more.  It's possible that on August 1st that the Padres have both Bell and Adams on the team.
• Hoyer didn't see Heath Bell slide into the pitcher's mound.  He got calls and texts and he got nervous.  "I had no idea what happened."  Since Bell didn't blow out his knee then all is well that ends well.
• It's been challenging dealing with the frustration of the 2011 season.  "It makes you work that much harder."
• Hoyer says fans might be surprised how calls from other GMs ebb and flow with the Padres' record.
• Hoyer says they talked about Anthony Rizzo.  They wish he would have face more failure in the Minor Leagues. He's experiencing growing pains and has to make adjustments.  "He probably has some mechanical things he has to fix."
• Brad Hawpe will be back with the team this year.  He's still rehabbing right now.
• The Tampa Bay Rays have done a great job and Hoyer says the Padres want to emulate them.