Posts Tagged ‘Moorad’

The Padres are legit, come on fans….

Monday, May 31st, 2010

On this current homestand I would have expect to see good crowds with three good quality teams, St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Nationals and New York Mets. Yeah Yeah I heard the fans might come out when the weather gets a bit warmer, but for crying outloud this is San Diego ! Not North Dakota ! Even where I work, I ask a few people why haven’t they been out to the games, and I get the same response all the time. It’s the Padres, they are lucky. I stand before them and say check out my blog, watch a game on TV, even better go to one game and be a judge for yourself. What truly amazes me, is we are damn lucky to even have a professional baseball franchise and a good one at that. Come on folks ! Many of you had criticized the Moores and Alderson regime, why not support this trio of Moorad, Garfinkel, and Hoyer? What I always hear from colleagues at work and abroad the streets of San Diego is. The team can’t win with a lousy hitting. Even the Nation wide sports writers are starting to notice the Padres, though I am sure they are also doubting that this team can make it to the playoffs.

Well since we are speaking about the Padres and their lack of potent offense, let me bring a few real examples of teams that did make it deep into the playoffs and even two teams won the World Series.

  • 1906 Chicago White Sox – The 1906 World Series featured a crosstown matchup between the Chicago Cubs, who had posted the highest regular-season win total (116) and winning percentage (.763) in the major leagues since the advent of the 154-game season; and the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox, known as the “Hitless Wonders” after finishing with the worst team batting average (.230) in the American League, beat the Cubs in six games for one of the greatest upsets in Series history.
  • 1983 Philadelphia Phillies – The average team age of these 1983 “Wheeze Kid” Phils was 32 years, a contrast to the cast of “Whiz Kid” Phillies of 1950 who averaged 26 years. Wags in Philadelphia joked at the time that this older team even played in Veterans Stadium. Joining 42-year-old first baseman Pete Rose were 1970s Cincinnati Reds teammates, 41-year-old first baseman Tony Perez and 39-year-old second baseman Joe Morgan. But the real batting star on this team was 33-year-old Mike Schmidt, who would have another MVP-type year with 40 home runs and 109 RBIs. No other teammate would hit over sixteen home runs (Joe Morgan) or drive in over 64 runs (Bo Diaz). Veteran pitcher, Steve Carlton had a mediocre year at 15–16—his first losing season since 1973 when his record was 13–20. In his first full season with Philadelphia, John Denny, would win the Cy Young Award with a league leading 19–6 record, and a 2.37 ERA winning thirteen of his last fourteen decisions. Closer Al Holland would finish second in the league with 25 saves and win the NL Rolaids Relief Award. Hanging around for their swan songs were relief pitchers, 40 year-old Ron Reed and 38 year-old Tug “Ya Gotta Believe” McGraw, who wouldn’t see any World Series action. The 1983 Phillies had the lowest overall batting average (.195) for a World Series team since the 1974 Oakland Athletics.
  • 1988 Los Angeles Dodgers – The Dodgers’ team batting did not finish in the top five in any offensive statistical category except batting average (fifth), at .248—no regular or backup hit over .300 or drove in over 90 runs. Kirk Gibson’s 25 home runs led the team but was only good enough for seventh in the National League. Slugger Pedro Guerrero had a sub-par year and was traded in July to the Cardinals for pitcher John Tudor. No position player was good enough to make the All-Star Game. However, the Dodgers were sixth in the NL in runs scored and backed that up with excellent pitching. Despite dealing All-Star pitcher Bob Welch to Oakland prior to spring training and an injury to Fernando Valenzuela (5–8, 4.24 ERA), the Dodgers were second in the NL in team ERA and runs allowed, and led the league in complete games and shutouts. The staff was anchored by Cy Young Award-winner Orel Hershiser, who led league in wins, won-loss percentage (23–8, .864), complete games (15), shutouts (8), and sacrifice hits (19). Hershiser was backed-up by a pair of “Tims,” Tim Leary (17–11, 2.91) and rookie Tim Belcher (12–6, 2.91), and the July acquisition of John Tudor further strengthened the staff. The bullpen was outstanding, headed by Jay Howell (21 saves, 2.08), Alejandro Peña (12 saves, 1.91), and longtime New York Mets closer Jesse Orosco. The Dodger bullpen led the league in saves with 49.

Now, the above facts speaks for themselves. Two out of three teams had WON a World Series, it’s so overlooked by those who expect big bombers and lot’s of runs scored. If you take a deeper look at those three teams above, the 1988 Los Angeles Dodgers were far more awful in terms of offensive performance than the 2010 Padres so far. Even the Padres pitching staff is performing above the 1988 Dodgers team. So, folks in San Diego, stop your whining about this Padres team that can’t hit. Give them time, there are many youngsters on this team that are learning the ropes of the Major Leagues while holding tight onto 1st place. Give them credit ! Come out and support them ! Cheer them on !

As I wrap up this post, the Padres are on the verge of closing out the 2nd month of baseball and it’s time for San Diegan’s to get that BOUNCE in their legs and head down to Petco Park. It’s time to support this exciting team ! With that being said, the music video is of Blues Musician, the Blind man from N’Orleans Bryan Lee with the song titled “The Bounce”.

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Moores do us a favor, pull the plug now…

Monday, May 11th, 2009

This franchise is completely handcuffed by one person and that is Owner John Moores. The product on the field is a true reflection on Moores investment philosophy. Which is put a cheap product on the field and reap the benefits of any money that can be made. Even in the years of 07 and 06, during the trading deadlines the Padres never made any profound impact moves. Which told me back then, they really weren’t serious about winning a championship. Now, as the years have moved on, it’s becoming very apparent the Owner is only worried about the bottom line which is the profits he can make on the minimum investment at the major league level. This reminds me the same mentality of Los Angeles Clippers Owner Donald Sterling has, why win ? when you can make a profit. Being a season ticket holder, this attitude is unacceptable and I just hope Jeff Moorad will do something quick. Moores is on the way out, though on his terms only but he is handcuffing this entire franchise by his mere presence. If I can’t stomach watching 5 innings, can you imagine Troy Aikman watching these games as a minority owner as well. Aikman has won several superbowls and knows what it takes to win. I am sure, Troy is just as frustrated as we are.

Hey Front Office personnel, Rip it up ! Make a blockbuster deal to prove to the fan base you are trying to build a competitive team and with that being said. A music video by Orange Juice, titled ‘Rip It Up’.

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What Moorad means to the Padres…..

Friday, March 27th, 2009

First of all, I would like to congratulate Jeff Moorad and his investment partners on the acquisition of the Padres. I have purposely stepped back to allow my thoughts to flow through my mind before I attempted to post about what Moorad’s presence means to the Padres and the fans of San Diego. Listening to the formal introduction on Padres.com, John Moores handed over a portion of controlling interest of the Padres to Jeff Moorad. I could only imagine how tough it was for Moores to do so. You have to remember Moores is the man who saved Baseball in San Diego. Moores had a tremendous impact on San Diego with not only the baseball team but as well with the development of Downtown. In the same token, Moores had some ill-advised decisions just like any human being does on occasion throughout their lifetime, when Moores fired Larry Lucchino. That one move practically set back the Padres franchise for 4 years in my opinion. Yesterday, the torch has been passed over to Jeff Moorad. What can you expect from Moorad ? I’ll try to give my best shot from a perspective of a fan.

During Moorad’s tenure with the D’Backs, there were some free-agent signings and of course development through the farm system. The person who was responsible for the farm system was Mike Rizzo, who is now with the Nationals. Rizzo had left D’Backs after Moorad had selected Josh Brynes as the GM of the D’Backs. If you do your research, Padres’ GM Kevin Towers was also interviewed by Moorad for that same opening. So, now let’s digest this even further. What are the possible changes on the horizon, given a time-line of 9-12 months. I expect Moorad to analyze the entire baseball operations and will make a few changes that will adhere to his philosophy. One of the positions that could change would be the General Manager, thus we are talking about Kevin Towers. Kevin is the last thread from the Moores ownership and I think that Paul DePodesta could be given a shot to run the ship. DePodesta got the bad end of the stick when he was the Dodgers GM and given that experience, Paul would relish the opportunity to have a second chance. Keep in mind, if Sandy Alderson re-emerges with another baseball franchise, DePodesta could join Alderson. That’s why I say, if Moorad makes a change it will happen after the 2009 season to keep DePodesta or perhaps Moorad will choose someone else outside the Padres. Who can that be ?? Nationals’ Mike Rizzo ? D’Backs’ AJ Hinch ? D’Backs’ Jerry Dipoto ? Angels’ Abe Flores ?

As you know with any take over, changes will come they are just on the horizon. To wrap this up, a good song to dedicate to the new ownership is called “Beginnings” by Chicago & Earth Wind Fire.

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The Padres Bailout and CEO Carousel…..

Thursday, March 26th, 2009

We knew the day was going to be here soon. Thursday, March 26, 2009 officially marks the new chapter in Padres history and concludes another one as well. Officially, Jeff Moorad becomes the CEO of the Padres and will eventually become the owner of the franchise in the long-term. Current, Padres CEO Sandy Alderson has stepped down and I am sadly disappointed to see Sandy leave. As I have alluded on previous posts, we lost one great baseball man in Larry Lucchino and now we are losing another great baseball man in Sandy Alderson. How befitting, one man is responsible for Petco Park and the other for the Dominican Facility, yet fans in San Diego still do not appreciate the tangibles that Alderson brought to this organization. Now, it’s Jeff Moorad’s show and this should be an interesting period for the next few months. When Alderson came onboard, there were not many changes made to the front office. Only one most notable was the departure of Manager Bruce Bochy. Can the same be said under Moorad’s transition? We can only observe and see what eventually transpires. As for Alderson, I expect Sandy to re-emerge somewhere in the baseball community. I wish Sandy the very best and thank him for re-establishing accountability within the organization.

Welcome to San Diego Jeff Moorad ! We, the Padres fans look forward to a prospering franchise that produces a championship-caliber team year in and year out.

As the changing of the guard takes place in Petco Park, it’s time for a throw-back song by the Doobie Brothers ‘Listen to the Music’

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USA Manager Johnson makes a wise decision…..

Sunday, March 22nd, 2009

Manager Davey Johnson made his mind to start Roy Oswalt instead of Jake Peavy for the semi-final game against Japan. This is a wise decision, since Peavy historically had bad performances in the big games. Oswalt is far more tranquil during huge games and has demonstrated that during his post-season performances. If you put yourself into USA Manager Johnson’s mind, the strategy could be that if USA wins tonight there is a chance the entire staff will be ready for the championship game. I am taking into account that if Peavy falters during the championship game, rather then exposing the entire staff for the semi-final game which could have an impact on the championship game if USA qualifies. As it stands, the South Koreans are awaiting after bombarding the powerful Venezuela team by the score of 10-2. That 5-run first inning sealed the game for the South Koreans since the Venezuela team never recovered from that. Who will be facing the South Koreans? Let me hear your voice !

Back in Peoria…..
Kyle Blanks continues to tear up the opposing pitchers and he is doing his best to force the hands of those in the Padres Front Office. Blanks has perked Grady Fuson’s attention already as Grady has hinted to Kevin Towers that Blanks will take fly balls during warm-ups in the minors. There are others who are making a push to the big leagues, specifically Wil Venable and Chad Huffman. Anyone on this roster with no doubt should be overlooking their shoulders, especially those who carry a huge salary. I expect to see some trades within the 1st half of the season as the Padres have no choice. Shortly, there should be some news on the impending sale of the club to Jeff Moorad. I feel sad for Sandy Alderson, since many fans in San Diego were highly critical of his decisions as the Padres Executive. Though, if you step back and re-analyze what Alderson brought to the table in terms of stability and a process for baseball operations. You have to applaud him and this club wouldn’t be on the verge of making some noise without those important and key fundamentals of baseball operations that Sandy implemented.

As spring unfolds in Peoria, the club is about to come together. Which leads to the next video, John Lennon ‘Come Together’

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Spring Training 2009 Update…..

Monday, March 2nd, 2009

On Sunday the Padres finally broke through on the win column, by beating the Chicago Cubs. Yes, those same Cubs who were trying hard to acquire Padres P Jake Peavy. In fact, it was Peavy who started the game on Sunday and pitched three scoreless innings. Speaking of the Cubs, there is a rumor flying around in Chicago and was stated in the Chicago Tribune that Padres CEO Sandy Alderson may be in the running for the CEO title once the sale of the Cubs is completed. Just imagine, Larry Luchinno left the Padres for the Red Sox and now there is a possibility that Alderson will be employed by the Cubs. Wow ! Talk about ex-Padres CEO’s landing big time gigs with storied franchises. I guess that bodes well for the next CEO for the Padres, just kidding.

More news around the league that may have an affect on the Padres down the road in the future, resides in Washington DC.  After the resignation of Nationals GM Jim Bowden, CEO Stan Kasten will conduct several interviews for the vacant GM position. Now, you may ask yourself “What does this have to do with the Padres ?” Well, one of the candidates for the Nationals’ GM position is Mike Rizzo, who currently is employed by the Nationals. Rizzo was the former scouting director with the Diamondbacks when Jeff Moorad was the CEO. Rizzo left the Diamondbacks after being passed over for the D’backs GM position. Chances are if Rizzo is bypassed again, perhaps he will be available and might accept an opportunity to work for Moorad once again. Remember, there are many pieces to fall into place and this is assuming Alderson goes to the Cubs and takes a few of his guys with him. If that does indeed occur, then Rizzo is regarded as a top evaluator of talent and helped the D-Backs draft 2006 Cy Young Award winner Brandon Webb, shortstop Stephen Drew, outfielder Justin Upton and infielder Chad Tracy. Also, Rizzo’s first draft with the Nationals in 2007 was rated by Baseball America as the best in baseball. You can’t deny those claims at all, just take a look at the D’backs and Nationals prospects. In any event, things should get very interesting in San Diego as I don’t take Moorad as the type to sit on his laurels.

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