Josh Byrnes firing is FRESH

Overall I was pretty happy with Josh Byrnes's performance as GM, so I wasn't rooting for his dismissal like some.  Most of his trades received positive reviews at the time, even though not all of them worked out.  He made some risky and ballsy transactions that could have paid big dividends if only the players stayed healthy or lived up to their potential.  The downside of the Byrnes era was there wasn't enough turnover in my opinion.  It'd have been nice if he had cashed in when Headley and Byrnes had big years and traded for some younger talent with more upside.  Then again, what do I know? I can't even manage a fantasy team.

Let's see what the media and bloggers think of the firing.  When bloggers were vague like they often are I took my best guess if they thought the trade was rotten.

Vote for yourself in the poll below.

This firing of Josh Byrnes was on par with movies the likes of Napoleon Dynamite.

With new reviews added, the firing was the Elysium of firings.

Apologies to RottenTomatoes.com

Padres, who need all the help they can get, fire a good baseball man - CBSSports.com
Josh Byrnes, one of the most respected young GMs in baseball, got only two and a half years to turn around an out-financed, out-manned, oft-injured Padres team. It's no surprise that timetable turned out to be unrealistic.

MLB - San Diego Padres' firing of Josh Byrnes was overdue - ESPN
The San Diego Padres' decision to relieve Josh Byrnes of his duties as general manager is unsurprising, and was probably overdue, given the team's poor performance at the major league level and lack of production from young players, especially those acquired in trades or handed long-term contracts.

Baseball Prospectus | Overthinking It: Josh Byrnes Breaks Streak; Padres Face Uncertain Future
Even with the benefit of hindsight (which at this point is still somewhat blurry), he has a mixed record—and an inconclusive record, really, given that he was allowed relatively little time in which to work magic

The Padres and Unrealistic Expectations | FanGraphs Baseball
While some have pointed to Byrnes’ superior record during his tenure to what Jeff Luhnow has done in Houston, the Astros have a clear plan in place, and it doesn’t involve maximizing short-term wins. The Padres are bad now and not building for the future, which is the kind of thing that rightfully gets GMs fired.

The Firing Of Josh Byrnes | Padres Public
I just always had this feeling that Josh Byrnes was never going to be the guy who built a sustainable successful franchise in San Diego.

Padres Finally Act, Fire GM Byrnes | Friarhood
Byrnes’ strategy of identifying the club’s best young talent and locking it up to long-term deals, while sound on the surface, has backfired in just about every instance.

What's Done is Done, But Was Byrnes Really To Blame? - Friars on Base
Byrnes got the short end of the stick. Granted, this team may not have everything that a team needs to win. But Byrnes was profoundly unlucky. Take away those TJ surgeries, and things could have been quite different.

Josh Byrnes Era in San Diego ends with a whimper | The Outside Corner
Two and a half years isn’t all that long for a GM to turn things around. But when that many things have gone wrong in such a short span, it’s hard to blame a still-new ownership group for wanting to try someone else.

The 5 moves that should have kept Josh Byrnes in charge of the Padres - SBNation.com
He could have used a little luck, but he got absolutely none. In an alternate universe, the Padres are in the middle of their third straight competitive season.

@MWhicker03
Another young genius bites the dust. Padres were smart to fire Byrnes and not Black, although I imagine Bud is on the clock.

@AvengingJM
I feel like the Fowler/Dee combo has the ability to create more problems than Josh Byrnes ever could.

Padres fire GM Josh Byrnes; team struggling in NL West - MLB - Sporting News
Under Byrnes, the Padres payroll increased nearly $40 million to $89,881,696 on opening this season — 23rd overall — but the team has made little progress.

@Ducksnorts
The downside to firing Byrnes is that it leaves the #Padres with one less scapegoat.

@WoeDoctor
It's not all on Byrnes, but he also did himself little favors with the MLB team's performance.

@Judson1360
Josh Byrnes relieved of his duties. Felt my timeline should acknowledge. With the Padres payroll, u need 2 hit on almost all moves. Didn't

@DCameronFG
This team was just never very good.

@Steve_Adler
Byrnes fired for politics. Has drafted well and has more good moves then bad. Amazing how Black continues to lose and keeps a job.

UPDATE:

Fixing the Padres problems won't be quick or easy | FOX Sports on MSN
From this distance, it looks like Byrnes was fired because even the modest money spent by ownership seems to have been utterly wasted. So far, anyway.

Fired Padres general manager Josh Byrnes not to blame for San Diego's woes - MLB - SI.com
And this is how ownership expects to contend in a division with two of the six biggest payrolls in baseball, the Dodgers and Giants? Like any GM, Byrnes had his hits and misses, but the hits, especially given the payroll restrictions, outweighed the misses.

It was time to move on… | Padres Public
People question whether or not 2.5 years is enough time. This team is in shambles from top to bottom and is clearly worse off than when Byrnes took over. That’s not a good thing. It was definitely time to move on.

What’s Wrong With the Padres? "
Byrnes made lots of mistakes in his relatively short time in charge, but his firing only begins to address the team’s problems.

Peter Gammons: With Byrnes out, Padres ownership has a lot to prove - GammonsDaily.com
There is no one way to any success, and when the Padres ownership made their statement with the public execution of Josh Byrnes, the statement throughout the industry was that they do not now understand baseball. Now they have to prove that they care for the game and its business as much as Josh Byrnes cares.