FanHouse Padres

One of Major League Baseball's two general manager vacancies could be filled in the next few days. The Padres appear poised to hire Red Sox assistant general manager Jed Hoyer to replace long-time GM Kevin Towers, who was fired at the beginning of October, according to multiple outlets including the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Hoyer has been a bit of a hot property for awhile now, having interviewed for GM positions with the Pirates and Nationals in recent years, but this won't be his first general managing job.

He and Ben Cherington were named co-GMs of the Red Sox in the winter of 2006 during Theo Epstein's brief hiatus from his post running the club, and most famously helped orchestrate the deal that brought Josh Beckett to Boston.

Former Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres second baseman Marcus Giles was arrested early Wednesday morning for domestic battery after his wife called the police. The details of the incident are somewhat sketchy, but the El Cajon police were called by the California Highway Patrol to the scene where the incident allegedly took place.

Police arrived on the scene to find the Giles' car parked on the shoulder of the highway, placed Giles under arrest and took him into custody.

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.

Moorad released a statement:

"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."

Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.

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."

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That the Yankees are still fired up despite their large lead in the AL East.

After two Yankees pitchers hit Blue Jays batters in Tuesday's game, Toronto's Jesse Carlson threw behind Jorge Posada in the bottom of the eighth.

Posada glared, benches briefly emptied, but there were no punches. Yet.

Instead of letting it end there, or charging the mound, Posada waited until he walked and then scored a run to give Carlson a shove after he crossed home plate.

And then it was on.

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Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.

Ahhh, the National League -- where pitchers can play out their golden years without a care in the world.

Think of the NL as baseball's rest home.

Just in the past few weeks, Brad Penny and John Smoltz have reached the legendary fountain of youth that Ponce de Sabathia discovered last year in the wilds of Wisconsin.

"In reality, it's a little tougher to pitch in the American League than it is the National League," said Cubs manager Lou Piniella, who formerly managed in Seattle and Tampa Bay.

At least he admits it.

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That in a game of runs -- the basketball, not baseball variety -- it was Adam Lind who stood out.

The Blue Jays jumped out to an 11-0 lead through five innings in Texas. Then the Rangers, fighting to hang with Boston in the AL wild-card race, answered with 10 runs of their own. And Toronto followed with seven insurance runs in the ninth inning to win a slugfest 18-10.

The main difference? Lind, who homered twice, including a grand slam, and drove in eight runs

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The San Diego Padres have made no secret of the fact that they're going with a youth movement to try and rebuild their franchise. They've traded Jake Peavy for four young pitchers, and reportedly came close to moving first baseman Adrian Gonzalez at the trade deadline as well.

So, with that youth movement in mind, the Padres went out and announced on Saturday that they'd signed second baseman David Eckstein to a contract extension. Yes, he's 34 years old, but he looks like he's 13, so it's cool.

Mark Prior has not pitched a game in the major leagues since 2006. Thanks to state-of-the-art age-progression software, here is an image of what he might look like today. If you see him, please contact your local police department. Also, please check the back of this website for valuable Little Caesar's coupons.

The Dugout has had a lot of fun making light of Prior's perennially injured status, largely because we sit in front of our computers all day and are free of the perils of playing sports or going outside. As Matt Snyder points out, though, he didn't ask for this. Despite the frustration and the jeers, he refuses to quit, and we're pulling for him.

This morning's Dugout is after the jump.

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That Russell Martin and Brendan Ryan felt just grand last night.

The Dodgers catcher and Cardinals' shortstop both swatted grand slams for some rare RBI as their division-leading teams won.

Martin's sixth-inning blast broke a tie with the Cubs, and the Dodgers went on to win 7-2. His four RBI on that swing were more than he had in the previous 21 games. It was also Martin's first homer since July 26 and his fourth of the season after hitting 13 a year ago.

"I haven't trotted around the bases too often this year," Martin said. "It was nice just to get a breather."

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