Gaslamp Ball, a San Diego Padres community

Remember back when the nickname "Savior" was first coined? When the Kevin Towers and Sandy Alderson were keeping Chase stuck in AAA, while the team struggled? They said it was about saving money and helping the franchise. Well, the one thing they were trying to avoid was a day when the "Savior" would attain Super Two status. They failed. They should be sacked. Oh, wait...

"There is a case to be made for sweeping changes in part of the Padres' baseball operations. Both amateur scouting and player development have been poor for much of the past decade and, for that, Towers bears some responsibility. But given his body of work over the past 14 years -- heck, his body of work over the past eight months -- what Towers deserved was a "thank you" and a contract extension, not a firing."

Craig Elsten of 619 Sports caught up with Padres GM Kevin Towers before Friday nights game against the A's. KT talked about Kyle Blanks being called up, the makeshift pitching staff, and Cliff Floyd being out for the season. www.619sports.net

Word on the street is Towers found a third team that may complete the Peavy to Cubs deal. Much chatter suggests that it would involve Cubs 3B prospect Josh Vitters, who could be the third team seeking a 3B prospect that has pitching prospect(s) to offer? On to speculation...

KT is in San Diego. Scott's pissed about the phone line. KT doesn't know what the budget will be like next year. Giles wasn't interested in the Red Sox so they didn't even get to talk about players. KT thinks the leak came from the clubhouse. This off season, he, Sandy, and John will get together and decide who fits into the budget. Nobody said anything about a $40m payroll. We lack team speed, we need to add depth to our lineup, bullpen. Miss Brocails and Linebrinks. Seriously, there wasn't discussion about Giles going to Boston, he never wanted to go, KT could tell from the beginning. The Padres will inform Bick/Giles if they're going to re-up him at the end of this season. Dykstra deal may be a stare-down 'til the deadline. We've lost considerable time due to #1 picks suffering injury, that's why it's taking so long.

"While the Padres have said they won't grant Seattle permission to speak with Kevin Towers, two people close to Towers said they still think he could end up as the Mariners GM. Those same people say that Towers should want out of San Diego because the Padres don't have a good chance of getting better anytime soon. There's a fear that San Diego will have no money to spend on the free-agent market this winter, in part because owner John Moores' wife filed for divorce a few months back."