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There seemed to be a common consensus from fans and the media alike when A.J. Preller was hired to be the Padres' General Manager. Preller would succeed as long as he had control of Baseball Operations.
I have no doubt AJ Preller is qualified. Padres fans must now hope people who hired him give him some resources & then stay out of his way.
— Jay Posner (@sdutPosner) August 6, 2014
When former GM Josh Byrnes was fired Padres CEO Mike Dee, more or less, installed himself as the head of Baseball Operations with the "Office of General Manger" reporting to him. I think most fans feared that when Preller was hired that Dee wouldn't give up his control to him. Dee was angered by that insinuation when Nick Canepa suggested it to him while he packed for a vacation to Europe.
“Not a chance,” he said. “Nothing could be further from the truth. I’m back to being CEO. It’s A.J.’s ship to run. And he’s already running it. I’ve stayed out of all his meetings since he got here. I talk to him at the end of the day.”
See if Dee just made this clear during the GM hiring process he wouldn't have to deal with questions before his European Vacation. With all the interviews and speeches he's done during and since the hiring, why not make that clear to everyone? Maybe because even though he never intended to hold the reigns permanently he's insulted that people think he shouldn't or can't..