Padres GM Kevin Towers Shown The Door

Faux Twitter Tweet Of The Day

With an overall record of 1,107 – 1,160, I’m really surprised that I lasted 14 years as GM of the Padres

Ex-GM Kevin Towers       October 3rd

I’m really surprised too, KT.  In fact, here is what I wrote back on May 4th:   

There are only four above average players on the entire Padres roster:  Adrian Gonzalez, Jake Peavy, Chris Young and Heath Bell.  That’s it folks.  Everyone else is average, below average, well past his prime or a complete stiff.  Meanwhile, Towers is now the longest tenured general manager in baseball as he ineptly struggles through his fourteenth year with the team. 

Outside of brief playoff appearances in 2005 (even though the final regular season record was only 82-80) and 2006, the Padres have been mediocre at best during KT’s tenure as GM.  1998 was really the only season in which the team achieved any significant success.  For the life of me, I can’t understand why Towers isn’t being held accountable.   

Former owner John Moores often gets blamed for failing to give Towers the money he needs to build a quality team.  However, how hard can it possibly be to bring in players that can excel in a cavernous ball park like Petco? 

The Padres should have at least three guys in the lineup capable of stealing thirty plus bases.  Instead, there is absolutely no speed on the base paths.  Through twenty-five games, the team has a grand total of 11 stolen bases.  Hell, Carl Crawford just stole six bases in one game last night.

Nothing seems to stick to this guy…and I just don’t get it.  Even though the Padres started the season on fire, I still don’t think they are capable of being anything more than a 70-win team.   If Teflon Towers doesn’t turn things around very soon then new Padres CEO Jeffrey Moorad will have no choice but to show him the door.

Thanks to a nice run at the end of the season the Padres did manage to crack the 70-win barrier.  However, it wasn’t enough to save Towers’ job as Jeffrey Moorad has just announced that the team will be hiring a new GM within the next few weeks.     

It was a move that was overdue and had to be made.  Although the Padres have been playing in Petco Park since April 2004, Towers failed to field a team that matched the immense size of the ballpark until midway through this season.  Yes, it took him over five years to realize that it might be a shrewd idea to incorporate athleticism and speed into the lineup.   Simply inexcusable.

I have no doubt Towers will catch on with another team before the end of the month.  Although he definitely had his shortcomings, Towers’ track record at the trade table was commendable and he did manage to pull off a number of lopsided deals over the years.  A top-tier team looking to add a piece or two to put it over the hump would be wise to bring KT aboard. 

Moorad should be lauded for the decision and as long as Paul “The Laptop” DePodesta isn’t promoted to GM then the Padres should be a playoff contender again very soon.