The longest tenured general manager in baseball is about to be out of a job. According to multiple reports, the Padres are planning to fire general managerKevin Towers, who is coming to the end of his 14th season. The Padres said that CEO Jeff Moorad would address the media in a press conference Saturday, although the subject was not specified.
"We're continuing our evaluation and assessment of multiple parts of the organization, baseball included. At this point, Kevin is our general manager, and is under contract through the 2010 season."
MINNEAPOLIS -- Johan Santana had never seen the Metrodome before the Twins took him from Single-A in the Rule 5 draft.
"When I first got there," Santana told FanHouse, "my first impression was, 'How can you play baseball in a place like this?'
"I came from Single-A and from Venezuela, and we don't have any of that stuff. ... I couldn't figure it out. How could this thing [the roof] be up in the air? And then it feels like you're in a bubble. And then you play baseball."
After an improbable stretch where the San Diego Padres won eight of nine games, they were sitting with a 9-3 record. Since then, they have fallen to 12-15, a bad stretch which included a six-game losing streak. The team has many issues, obviously, but the offense is not doing the job at all. They rank 11th in the NL in runs scored, 15th in batting average and 14th in on-base percentage.
SAN DIEGO -- If there were any doubts that Kevin Towers was a baseball lifer, they were answered on his wedding day.
Just before exchanging vows with his wife in December 1996, the Padres general manager exchanged players with Tigers GM Randy Smith, a member of his wedding party.
"Any time you get baseball people together, especially general managers, regardless of what the venue is or what the situation is, baseball will come up," Towers said. "We started talking about players while we were waiting for my wife to show up. She was running a little late, so we decided to consumate a deal, about 30 minutes before our wedding vows."
MLB Power Rankings:Where we care what you've done for us lately when we break down the who's who and the what's what in the baseball world each week.
We're almost there. You can smell it in the air, can't you? That's right ... the NHL playoffs! Ha. I kid, of course. No one actually watches hockey (if it even exists). But people do get amped up for baseball, and the season is upon us. So, in that vein, we've got our final installment of preseason power rankings ready for your digestion. Play ball.
FanHouse continues its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the San Diego Padres.
You know that scene in Caddyshack where Chevy Chase turns to Rodney Dangerfield and says, "You're not ... you're not good, Al. You stink" If Kevin Towers was sitting near me right now, that's what I would say. And one would imagine if there wasn't so much ownership turmoil around the Padres right now, someone else might have noticed as well.
FanHouse begins its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Atlanta Braves.
It's not my typical policy to engage in cheesy headline writing, however, this is GM Frank Wren's second full year at the helm with his team. Things are going to be different, in theory. But more importantly, it might be time to go ahead and realize that this isn't your dad's Braves team, or your older brother's for that matter. After 14 straight division titles, the Braves have been absent from the postseason for two straight years. Wren's job, obviously, is to fix that.
Our MLB editor files dispatches from the Winter Meetings in Las Vegas in Notes From Sin City.
This city was built on the potential of winning big, and the reality of losing in the same manner, so its fitting to take a look at who won and lost this week at the Bellagio Hotel.
Winners
New York Baseball Fans: Let's see, the Yankees added the best pitcher on the market, and just maybe the best pitcher on the planet, in CC Sabathia and they aren't done yet. A.J. Burnett could be added to the rotation by the end of the week and they'll add another hurler before the end of the winter. Suddenly it looks like they're right there with the Rays and the Red Sox.
Omar Minaya was, by far, the most visible GM in Las Vegas, and that's because he made major upgrades to the Mets' wretched bullpen, signing Francisco Rodriguez and trading for J.J. Putz and Sean Green. The Mets biggest weakness coming into Las Vegas now appears to be a strength.
"It's tough. Jake was pretty shaken by it,'' Axelrod said. "He was starting to think about what life was like to be a Chicago Cub, and now that was taken from him.''
Axelrod also told Heyman that Peavy is "frustrated now more than ever," which I'm guessing could make for an extremely awkward spring training if GM Kevin Towers doesn't find a way to revive talks or find another partner.
In Towers' defense, Peavy didn't help matters by giving the Padres a list of only five teams he'd agree to be traded to, and then playing armchair GM by blocking a trade to the Braves because he felt Atlanta would be giving up too much to remain competitive. It's his right to do so, but don't pout later when things don't work out.
The longest tenured general manager in baseball is about to be out of a job. According to multiple reports, the Padres are planning to fire general manager Kevin Towers, who is coming to the end of his 14th season. The Padres said that CEO Jeff Moorad would address the media in a press conference Saturday, although the subject was not specified.
After an improbable stretch where the San Diego Padres won eight of nine games, they were sitting with a 9-3 record. Since then, they have fallen to 12-15, a bad stretch which included a six-game losing streak. The team has many issues, obviously, but the offense is not doing the job at all. They rank 11th in the NL in runs scored, 15th in batting average and 14th in on-base percentage. 
SAN DIEGO -- If there were any doubts that 
FanHouse begins its 
Our MLB editor files dispatches from the Winter Meetings in Las Vegas in 
If Cubs fans are disappointed to see 
