Peavy catches up with his former teammates — by playing catch
"When the new (Jeff Moorad) ownership took over, it was made very clear to us that we had to go," Peavy said. "It just didn’t fit the financial game plan at all…
Jake Peavy had a no trade clause. He didn't have to leave San Diego, he chose to leave. He made it very clear that he didn't want to be part of the Padres rebuilding. Winning for himself was more important than winning with the Padres and he didn't believe in the organization's direction. He chased fortune and glory. Since then things haven't worked out very well for him with the White Sox, so he just continues to criticize his former team.
Jeff Moorad and company did the right thing by finding a trade for Peavy. His career is on the decline, he's been plagued by injuries and his salary kept the team from getting better. The Padres have only improved since Peavy left.
"Here, we’ve got an owner (Jerry Reinsdorf) who’s trying his rear end off. He gives us all the resources to compete. As a player, you can’t ask for anything else. If we’re in this (pennant race) in July, if we need something, it will happen. That’s an incredible place to be as a player. In baseball, anything can happen. But we don’t need a Cinderella story to come true to win the World Series."
Is Peavy taunting the Padres, saying that they would need a Cinderella story to make it to the World Series? If so he sounds an awful lot like one of Cinderella's ugly step sisters when they told her a maid could never attend a ball.
What does Peavy know about getting to the World Series anyway? He choked in both of his playoff starts and in Game 163, dashing the Padres own attempts to advance in the post season.
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | Series | Rslt | Opp | W | L | G | GS | GF | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | IBB | SO | HBP | BK | WP | BF | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 24 | SDP | NL | NLDS | L | STL | 0 | 1 | .000 | 16.62 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.1 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 2.538 | 16.6 | 4.2 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 1.00 |
| 2006 | 25 | SDP | NL | NLDS | L | STL | 0 | 1 | .000 | 8.44 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.1 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 2.250 | 18.6 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 3.4 | 2.00 |
| 2 Seasons (2 Series) | 0 | 2 | .000 | 12.10 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.2 | 19 | 13 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 49 | 2.379 | 17.7 | 2.8 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 1.25 | ||||||
| 2 NLDS | 0 | 2 | .000 | 12.10 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.2 | 19 | 13 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 49 | 2.379 | 17.7 | 2.8 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 1.25 | ||||||
"I didn’t know at times how we were winning games when I was there," Peavy said. "A lot of times in San Diego, it gets to the point where you feel like you take the field outmanned. We did everything we could and the people in charge, (then) Kevin Towers, did an amazing job of finding talent. The coaching staff and managers did a great job of getting the most out of guys, but on a nightly basis, if you went position-by-position, a lot of times you’d take a lot more of their guys than yours."
The reason why the Padres won 90 games last season was because they believed in themselves. They believed that they could beat any team. They weren't comparing positions to see who had bigger names and higher salaries. That's what was lacking when Peavy was a Padre.
"I’ll always be a Padre because that’s what I first was," Peavy said. "When you come up as a kid, you compare everything to that experience. That’s something I’ll always hold dear to my heart.
"There’s not any bad blood. It just came to the point where I didn’t fit into the plans anymore and had to go."
He's not a Padre now and I'm glad.