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Scott Miller of CBS says he "dislikes" that the Padres are broke, which is debatable. The Padres probably dislike having limited resources too. I can totally see money being an issue, because it's always an issue, but there is no denying that Moores and Moorad slipped out of town with a buttload of money... a BUTT... LOAD.
Camp Report Likes & Dislikes: #Padres cbsprt.co/15gSnHg
— Scott Miller (@ScottMCBS) February 26, 2013
Padres camp report: Likes and dislikes - CBSSports.com
New owners so far have failed to make any significant first impression, and for good reason: This team is broke. Former owner John Moores and temp Jeff Moorad lifted $200 million off the top of the club's new cable television deal on their way out the door, leaving the Padres, once again, cash poor. Marquis was the club's sole major-league free agent signing over the winter. Publicly, the Padres spoke of a weak free agent market that was overpriced. But multiple sources say the dire financial situation forced the Padres to sit on the sidelines this winter after re-signing Carlos Quentin and Huston Street last summer. Money that had been the light at the end of the tunnel, that was supposed to be pumped into the club, instead disappeared with Moores and Moorad.
Miller cites multiple anonymous sources and one has to wonder if Dave Winfield was one of them. He said something very similar in a January interview.
MLB.com: They haven't done a lot of shifting around of bodies on the Major League roster yet.
Winfield: No, and it's hard to compare with what the Dodgers have done and teams like that. Everything pales in comparison. The Dodgers have an awful lot of money to spend. That's what it takes. These guys paid $800 million to buy the Padres. You know that always doesn't leave a lot of money to make the moves that you want.
Padres Chairman Ron Fowler denied that lack of money was the reason the team didn't make off-season acquisitions in a recent Darren Smith radio interview.
"That did not inhibit us from doing anything in the off-season."
Instead he says that the trigger was not pulled because Padres GM Josh Byrnes did not make any recommendations based on the price-value of perspective free agents.
In fairness to the Padres, being called "broke" is overly dramatic to say the least and when compared to the Dodgers' and their $8.5 billion TV deal it's all relative.