FanHouse JeffMoorad

Thursday, a new era quietly, yet officially, began for the San Diego Padres franchise. Sandy Alderson officially stepped down from his post as Padres' CEO, and Jeff Moorad is now in charge of the day-to-day operations for the NL West squad. Moorad heads up a group who now owns 40 percent of the Padres, and his title is CEO and vice chairman of the board.

Despite the transition, Padres fans shouldn't be getting up their hopes for the short term. There are no plans to increase the payroll, and John Moores -- the one who wanted payroll trimmed in the first place -- is still in charge.

In a signing that's going to change no one's 2009 NL West predictions, the San Diego Padres signed David Eckstein to a one-year deal Thursday. It's expected that he'll play second base for them in 2009, which can only be part of their master plan to secure the first overall pick in the June 2010 draft.

Too harsh? Eckstein has long been a product of some people's fascination with intangibles like hustle and grit. (Champ Kind loves his musk over the tangible results provided by players that are actually good.) That makes sense since the value in his signing has nothing to do with wins and losses. The real reason for the deal isn't on the field, anyway, but the way it fits into the team's planned sale.

From the Windup is FanHouse's extended look at a particular portion of America's pastime.

Believe it or not, Spring Training is just one month away. It's been a long, cold winter -- at least everywhere except Philadelphia (or Florida or Southern California) -- but if you listen closely, you can practically hear the sharp crack of the bat. Daydream long enough, and you can almost see that first session of pitcher's fielding practice.

But we aren't there yet. The slow free-agent market has left plenty of unfinished business as the clock counts down toward reporting date. So with that in mind, here are 12 big questions that figure to be answered before the moving trucks are loaded and sent on their way to Florida and Arizona.