If you're anything like me, you're a San Diego Padres Fan and the second that Jed Hoyer joins the Chicago Cubs, he will become a Chicago Cub and no longer will you root for his success, because... let's be honest... rooting for the Cubs is ridiculous.
Let's also be honest... Kim Ng is to Major League Baseball GMs what Los Angeles is to NFL stadium deals. It's a nice dream that Kim Ng would be a GM somewhere. It's also nice leverage for teams to be like, "Oh let's move to LA". I only brought her up because I like the idea of mentioning Kim Ng whenever a GM is being hired.
Let's think more about what you'd be like if you were like me. You'd be reading tweets from people threatening to root for other teams, threatening to blog about other teams, threatening to cancel their season tickets. And then, because you are me and I like going against the grain a little bit, you will start to come up with reasons why everybody else in Padres Fandom is wrong.
First off, if Twitter is right, then Theo Jed asked for an extension to stay in San Diego. What do you think would've happened if Jeff Moorad was like, "Sure. You get a contract extension... Even though we have you under contract for two more years and you came in last place last season." He would've been rightfully KILLED.
I like Jed Hoyer. He put together a decent run, but if he really wants to be in Chicago, then go to Chicago. People complain about Moorad not spending money, and they have a point, but I guarantee you people would've screamed bloody murder if it was announced that Jed Hoyer was going to get a contract extension. And really, how many GMs out there are truly "great"? The GM that got that movie made with Brad Pitt? He won nothing.
If you had to compare the two guys, Byrnes got the Diamondbacks to the NLCS. Would Jed have been able to do that with the Padres given another two years? Sure. Maybe. Who knows.
The second thing to note about the Epstein/Byrnes Twitter reports is the idea that, if you trust that Theo Epstein is a smart dude, then we are getting the person who was Theo Epstein's first choice to be the GM of the Cubs. Is it a figurehead position? Probably. But that's gotta be a little bit of justification that Josh Byrnes isn't a nincompoop.
Also, Krasovic is reporting that the idea that the Padres aren't getting compensation is unconfirmed. So maybe we do get some money out of the deal. That would be nice.
In the end, the worst thing about the way this has gone down is it makes the Padres look indecisive and cheap, which is how they've looked since 1969. So... yeah. Don't go thinking that things are so different all of a sudden.
What I don't understand is why these videos aren't working.