Paul DePodesta has been hired on as assistant to Sandy Alderson. Our front office now looks like an All-Star Team of new school baseball management. Sandy Alderson, Kevin Towers, Grady Fuson and now Paul Depodesta. There's a rumor that Theo Epstein will be returning to head up the Padres intern department and Billy Beane will be hired on as Director of Scouting Front Office Personnel.

Sandy Alderson says that his strategy is to develop the best organization starting from the top down. I'm thinking his strategy is to just hire up all the front office talent, leaving nothing for any other team. If all the smart people are with the Padres, then we got a solid chance in terms of outsmarting whoever's left. Who's gonna take us on? The Baseball Prospectus people? Please. All we'd have to do is hire on Keith Woolner. They'll be creaming their pants over us at that point. "That's the guy who invented VORP! The Padres got him too! Oh snap!"

Anyways, the DePo thing... Very bright guy. Very good acquisition. Dodgers gave up on him too soon. Too many chiefs with not enough indians? Maybe, but as long as everybody is reasonable, I don't think this is necessarily a problem.

Look at it this way. KT has pulled off some trades. He's not as active as some GMs, but I think he's solid in that:

1. His GM friends are the guys that you want your GM to be GM friends with. Guys like Theo Epstein, Brian Cashman, Billy Beane...
2. 
   
3. He has an insane knack for scouting and acquiring undervalued catchers and relief pitchers.
4. 
   
5. He's passionate in a front office now perhaps filled with guys who aren't... or at least aren't that way in the public eye. Good PR.

They added Sandy Alderson...

1. He has a history of winning and developing teams from the front office to the field.
2. 
   
3. He's not afraid to think outside the box.
4. 
   
5. He's a former Marine and therefore a certified, government issue killing machine. You never know when that might come in handy.

Grady Fuson got hired on...

1. He's a SuperScout
2. 
   
3. He's developing a pipeline for us, meaning he's good at working with pipe.
4. 
   
5. When he sees talent, he will not only daydream about it in a slightly homoerotic way, 9 times out of 10 he'll tell you about it. The tenth time, he'll draw you a picture.

And now, Paul DePodesta...

1. He is so computer savvy that he is both a Mac and a PC.
2. 
   
3. The Dodgers don't like him, and that means that we are contractually obligated to do the opposite... which is to like him.
4. 
   
5. He was that dude in Moneyball.

Like I said, All-Star cast. I think Padres fans can be comfortable for a little while. The dudes in charge are, in fact, the poop.