XX Sports Radio: Adrian Gonzalez Interview with Darren Smith (MP3)
- Adrian Gonzalez is back in San Diego and he's disappointed in the Chargers loss.
- Gonzalez says you have to go through the Boston media blitz to really understand it. He's looking forward to the new challenge and the rivalry with the Yankees.
- Adrian knew that if he ever did get traded that it was likely that he'd go to the Red Sox. "It didn't have to be the Red Sox, that's for sure."
- Adrian Gonzalez didn't have to walk through San Diegans at Lindbergh field on his return to San Diego. "I did not walk through that because the Red Sox fly you private, they're a little different in that sense, in a good way."
- It doesn't matter to Adrian who the Red Sox gave up in return for him.
"I'm glad that they gave up, from what I hear, three really good players that the Padres are going to get to enjoy for years to come, which is exciting for me because I'm still a Padres fan."
- Adrian defends himself against those fans that think he's greedy and doesn't care about his hometown team.
"The biggest way to even comment to that is the fact that here in San Diego they never even made an offer and I was traded. So it wasn't like I left as a free agent somewhere else. It wasn't like I turned down a certain amount of money. So the two things is that I was never made an offer and I was traded. I didn't have a choice in staying or leaving. That's the two ways I can answer that."
- Adrian thinks that those types of fans don't understand. "People don't understand that a player has zero control over a trade, they can't say yes or no unless it's in the contract."
- "I was never made an offer. I never turned down money from the Padres." If they had made him and offer he would have thought about it.
"Definitely. Yeah. It's one of those things where we knew what we were looking for but if they had made an offer it might have been one of those things that when once you have that money put in front of you, you might take it knowing that you'd be in San Diego for a long time."
- He doesn't say if he was disappointed that the Padres didn't offer him a contract. "More than likely I was going to turn it down, that was their opinion." If he was in the Padres Front Office he would have done the same thing
- "I think both sides are happy. I think from my end if I couldn't be a Padre than a Red Sox is where I want to be." The whole trade happened as professionally as he could have hoped for.
- He wants a chance to go to the World Series.
- He's going to miss the fans, the weather, being able to play at home, the playing turf, the training staff and the coaches.
- Gonzalez is rooting for the Chargers if they end up playing the Patriots in the playoffs. "I'm a Charger fan that's never going to go away for me."
- Gonzalez says that fans need to look at what the Padres are doing in the off season as a whole. With the money they are saving from Gonzalez they can get other pieces.
- Gonzalez thinks if the Padres keep a player long enough he can beat Nate Colbert's Padres home run record but playing in Petco makes it tough.
"You never know maybe I'll come back later in my career and get those two extra homers and beat it."
- He says he'll give the Padres love on the East Coast.