When Padres CEO Jeff Moorad retooled the club's baseball operations department, Paul DePodesta emerged as the holdover with the most power. The Gunslinger didn't have big plans for DePo, but Moorad and club president Tom Garfinkel appear to like him a lot. "He's a resource on both the baseball and the business side," Moorad told me last month.
Here is a story I wrote about DePodesta, and the more we hear about the McCourts, the more we can see the therapeutic value of smashing stuff with a sledgehammer. http://tinyurl.com/yzeou6f
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Not surprising that former Padres national crosschecker Scott Littlefield has joined the Rangers as a special assistant in baseball operations. Last offseason, the Rangers tried to hire Littlefield but the Gunslinger and Grady Fuson denied permission.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
San Diego and the Bronx
Some of the best scouts in baseball have worked for the Padres. One of them, Damon Oppenheimer, now has more World Series rings than he does fingers on one hand --- one for the thumb coming on Wednesday when the Yankees thumped the Phillies.
Number five was especially cool for Oppenheimer, New York's vice-president of scouting since 2004, because players he drafted such as Joba Chamberlain , Phil Hughes, Brett Gardner and David Robertson assisted the pinstriped run to World Series title No. 27.
"Seeing so many of our kids come up and contribute to this team -- that would be the most gratifying thing," Oppenheimer said today.
Maybe you hate the Yankees because their payroll is more than $200 million. Maybe you'd rather they not win another title in this century. Can't say that I blame you.
I refer to the Yankees as the Death Star -- cold and ruthless.
The rival Red Sox are The Matrix, equally ruthless and nearly as laden with resources.
I told the Smartest Man in Baseball last month that America should thank the Angels for sparing us a Yankees-Red Sox American League Championship Series and all of the East Coast ego and hype that comes with it. He laughed from his CEO's office at Yawkey Way, then protested the comparison. "The Yankees spend $40 million, $50 million more than we do on ballplayers," he said, and he's right, but that's warm beer to the rest of the baseball world.
Full disclosure: I enjoyed reporting on and watching Yankees teams that won the World Series in 1996, 1998 1999 and 2000. Rivera, Posada, Jeter, Pettitte are winners, hardly a blinding insight but not just a cliche. They're also as likeable as their public personas. And they all were signed and groomed by the Yankees, a tribute to the team's scouting and player development.
Which brings me back to Oppenheimer. Hired by Tom Romanesko and Randy Smith to scout for the Padres in 1988, he worked as an area scout and cross-checker until 1993, then joined the Yankees to scout amateur players in the Midwest.
In time, he earned the trust of not only GM Brian Cashman but The Boss.
He said he's elated for manager Joe Girardi, who ably replaced manager Joe Torre.
If you think of the Yankees as robber barons, fine. Oppenheimer disagrees.
"It really has become a true family atmosphere here," he said. "That's what really made it gratifying this year. You felt like you were such a big part of it. It's a good place to be."
One more quote: "You get used to winning. Winning's a good thing. That's why you do it, isn't it? That's why I do it."
New York's World Series title also will send a diamond ring to former Padres scout Jay Darnell, hired by the Yankees as a pro scout after the 2006 season. Oppenheimer and Darnell can compare their rings with the two won this decade by The Matrix. Boston's ranks include no fewer than six former Padres scouts or talent evaluators.
Number five was especially cool for Oppenheimer, New York's vice-president of scouting since 2004, because players he drafted such as Joba Chamberlain , Phil Hughes, Brett Gardner and David Robertson assisted the pinstriped run to World Series title No. 27.
"Seeing so many of our kids come up and contribute to this team -- that would be the most gratifying thing," Oppenheimer said today.
Maybe you hate the Yankees because their payroll is more than $200 million. Maybe you'd rather they not win another title in this century. Can't say that I blame you.
I refer to the Yankees as the Death Star -- cold and ruthless.
The rival Red Sox are The Matrix, equally ruthless and nearly as laden with resources.
I told the Smartest Man in Baseball last month that America should thank the Angels for sparing us a Yankees-Red Sox American League Championship Series and all of the East Coast ego and hype that comes with it. He laughed from his CEO's office at Yawkey Way, then protested the comparison. "The Yankees spend $40 million, $50 million more than we do on ballplayers," he said, and he's right, but that's warm beer to the rest of the baseball world.
Full disclosure: I enjoyed reporting on and watching Yankees teams that won the World Series in 1996, 1998 1999 and 2000. Rivera, Posada, Jeter, Pettitte are winners, hardly a blinding insight but not just a cliche. They're also as likeable as their public personas. And they all were signed and groomed by the Yankees, a tribute to the team's scouting and player development.
Which brings me back to Oppenheimer. Hired by Tom Romanesko and Randy Smith to scout for the Padres in 1988, he worked as an area scout and cross-checker until 1993, then joined the Yankees to scout amateur players in the Midwest.
In time, he earned the trust of not only GM Brian Cashman but The Boss.
He said he's elated for manager Joe Girardi, who ably replaced manager Joe Torre.
If you think of the Yankees as robber barons, fine. Oppenheimer disagrees.
"It really has become a true family atmosphere here," he said. "That's what really made it gratifying this year. You felt like you were such a big part of it. It's a good place to be."
One more quote: "You get used to winning. Winning's a good thing. That's why you do it, isn't it? That's why I do it."
New York's World Series title also will send a diamond ring to former Padres scout Jay Darnell, hired by the Yankees as a pro scout after the 2006 season. Oppenheimer and Darnell can compare their rings with the two won this decade by The Matrix. Boston's ranks include no fewer than six former Padres scouts or talent evaluators.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Hazen interviews
Red Sox farm director Mike Hazen interviewed with the Padres for a front office job Thursday. Boston's director of player development since 2006, he's a former Padres minor leaguer and a Princeton alum. UPDATE: Hazen decided to stay with Boston.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
World Series connection
You might think 59 years is a long time.
To Jerry Coleman, it's just a blip between World Series involving the Yankees and the Phillies.
Win money from your friends by asking who won the Most Valuable Player award the last time the Yankees and Phillies met in the Fall Classic.
Not DiMaggio, Berra or Ford.
Not Rizzuto, Mize or Ashburn.
Not Raschi, Reynolds or Roberts.
They didn't stand a chance, not with Coleman, the skinny second-baseman known for his fielding prowess, knocking out the big hits for the Bronx Bombers.
Marilyn Monroe picked the wrong Yankee.
"Somebody had to carry the wand. Those turkeys and old-timers couldn't do it," Coleman cracked today.
He added: "It was 59 years ago. I was in my fifth career."
Harry Truman was president of the United States, the year was 1950 and the Cold War was rumbling in Korea.
Coleman was happy to be on a ballfield, instead of the cockpit of a divebomber. As a pilot, he had served in World War II, a role the Korean War would reprise.
Back to the baseball in the October sunlight. The Yankees won the Series in a sweep, outscoring the Phillies 11-5. The series opened at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, where the Yankees eked out victories by scores of 1-0 and 2-1. Games 3 and 4 drew crowds of 64,505 and 68,098 to Yankee Stadium.
Coleman had the only RBI in Game 1, off a sacrifice fly that scored Bobby Brown.
With his third hit of the afternoon, knocking home Gene Woodling with two outs in the ninth inning, he settled Game 3.
"It was a shot to left field where you could see the vapor trail coming off the ball," Coleman said, smiling.
"In the fourth game, I rested."
Players received a World Series bonus payment of $5,400 -- a sum that Coleman recalls a lot more clearly than the gift he got for being named MVP of the series.
"I think I got a plaque," he said. "My daughter has it. You'll have to check with her. I don't know what the hell it is."
The Padres aren't in the World Series, so when Coleman, one of their longtime broadcasters, tunes into the telecast Wednesday from his home in La Jolla, he'll be cheering for the Yankees to win their 27th World Series title.
"I'm rooting for them, period," he said. "The Phillies might have a little more pitching, I don't know."
To Jerry Coleman, it's just a blip between World Series involving the Yankees and the Phillies.
Win money from your friends by asking who won the Most Valuable Player award the last time the Yankees and Phillies met in the Fall Classic.
Not DiMaggio, Berra or Ford.
Not Rizzuto, Mize or Ashburn.
Not Raschi, Reynolds or Roberts.
They didn't stand a chance, not with Coleman, the skinny second-baseman known for his fielding prowess, knocking out the big hits for the Bronx Bombers.
Marilyn Monroe picked the wrong Yankee.
"Somebody had to carry the wand. Those turkeys and old-timers couldn't do it," Coleman cracked today.
He added: "It was 59 years ago. I was in my fifth career."
Harry Truman was president of the United States, the year was 1950 and the Cold War was rumbling in Korea.
Coleman was happy to be on a ballfield, instead of the cockpit of a divebomber. As a pilot, he had served in World War II, a role the Korean War would reprise.
Back to the baseball in the October sunlight. The Yankees won the Series in a sweep, outscoring the Phillies 11-5. The series opened at Shibe Park in Philadelphia, where the Yankees eked out victories by scores of 1-0 and 2-1. Games 3 and 4 drew crowds of 64,505 and 68,098 to Yankee Stadium.
Coleman had the only RBI in Game 1, off a sacrifice fly that scored Bobby Brown.
With his third hit of the afternoon, knocking home Gene Woodling with two outs in the ninth inning, he settled Game 3.
"It was a shot to left field where you could see the vapor trail coming off the ball," Coleman said, smiling.
"In the fourth game, I rested."
Players received a World Series bonus payment of $5,400 -- a sum that Coleman recalls a lot more clearly than the gift he got for being named MVP of the series.
"I think I got a plaque," he said. "My daughter has it. You'll have to check with her. I don't know what the hell it is."
The Padres aren't in the World Series, so when Coleman, one of their longtime broadcasters, tunes into the telecast Wednesday from his home in La Jolla, he'll be cheering for the Yankees to win their 27th World Series title.
"I'm rooting for them, period," he said. "The Phillies might have a little more pitching, I don't know."
Monday, October 26, 2009
An era begins
Talked to the Smartest Man in Baseball today. Like a proud papa, he vouched for the Doogster.
"You're catching a rising star," he said this afternoon from his Red Sox office, and it was kind of sad to hear that raspy voice not screaming at me like in the old days.
"He's a new-style GM," he continued. "To be sure, he's not the old scout in a windbreaker. He's new age, new wave, new school."
Later today at Petco Park, Jeff Moorad introduced Howser as his GM and, sure enough, he looked new to me.
The contract runs four years with a club option for 2014. I'm hearing the front office purge soon will resume, with an announcement as soon as Tuesday about restructuring, but let's not dampen Howser's arrival.
He was impressive today. And he's got a sense of humor, putting him ahead of some lumps of coal who read this site. I told him that he looks so young that I dubbed him Doogie Howser, the teen-age M.D. "Yeah, I heard about that," he said, smiling, sort of, and wouldn't you know, his dad and grandpop were doctors but the Doogster only had eyes for baseball.
He said: "I'm 35 years old. Thirty-five, it seems like that's become the average for a GM."
Thirty-five being the new 25, the Doogster has more energy to burn than one of Obama's green power plants, so while everyone else is eating breakfast in San Diego, he'll be working to improve your favorite baseball club.
"He's not as young as his face suggests, but he also has one of the great attributes of youth -- enormous energy," said the Smartest Man in Baseball, who got past cancer and is a workaholic himself. "He came in as an hourly intern and worked his way up the ladder."
Moorad said Howser often toiled until 4 a.m. on Yawkey Way, making a name for himself among the brainiacs and go-getters in Boston's front office.
"I liked being able to hire someone out of the Red Sox organization," he said, noting that the Doogster has two World Series rings. "There's an argument that they've got three or four future GMs working in their front office. We think we got the best of that group. And I'm excited to have someone who has, indeed, been mentored by Theo Epstein and Larry Lucchino."
Moorad's infatuation with the Red Sox goes back to his hiring of another Theo Epstein aide, Josh Byrnes, as GM of the Diamondbacks in November 2005. So far, the Byrnes era qualifies as a C-minus, but give the Snakes an A for tricking me into picking them first last March.
Howser was a Red Sox fan while growing up in New Hampshire, making him familiar with whining fans and World Series droughts. I asked him when the Padres will break their own little curse.
"Hopefully, it won't take 86 years," he said. "It's at 40 and I hope we don't have 46 more years (to wait)."
A writer from Boston, grateful to be far from Sox fans mourning the team's quick ouster from the playoffs, asked the Doogster if he looks forward to fleecing his mentor Theo in a trade, and I mentioned that the Gunslinger had already done that in the Mirabelli deal. Wasn't able to ferret out whether the Doogster advocated that move. "I was asleep," he said. "I think it was like 2 a.m." So, that's how the Gunslinger does it, striking while everyone's groggy. I reminded Howser he's supposed to be working at 2 a.m. if the Padres are ever to win a World Series.
Here are some of the other bases covered today:
* Howser put himself "head and shoulders" above the other GM candidates, Moorad said, by compiling a detailed analysis of the Padres baseball talent, including a breakdown of how he envisioned the front office working. He needed a binder for the treatise, which runs some 50 pages.
* Previously he'd interviewed for GM jobs with the Pirates and Nationals, which explains why Padres look like the '27 Yankees to him. "I think I'm incredibly lucky to have a lot of pieces in already," he said.
* Moorad, outdoing himself, used the phrase "at the end of the day" at least five times. He pointed out to me afterward that he hadn't used the phrase "strategic thinker" or "strategic planner" throughout the news conference and interviews afterward. I asked him when the strategic plan calls for the Padres to win their first World Series. "I'll let you know in a couple of months," Moorad said. "Until there's a victory parade in San Diego, we won't rest."
* New England is stuffed with smart people and makes a mean clam chowder but Howser said: "There is no magic formula that I learned in Boston. There is no special sauce. It comes down to great scouting."
* Rest assured that the Doogster's spell-binding binder includes several paragraphs about fitting the ballplayer talent to Petco Park, something the Gunslinger never mastered, although he was getting better at it. "It's really important to dominate your home games," Howser said, too classy to mention that his new employer, using its first-round pick in 2005, opted for Cesar Carrillo over super-fast center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, whose exploits helped Boston win it all two years ago.
* The Doogster will be limited in bringing over his pals from the Red Sox. Before Randy Smith left the Padres to become GM of the Tigers in November 1995, the Smartest Man in Baseball made him agree that he wouldn't select any Padres minor leaguers in the Rule V draft for a year. Smith also wasn't allowed to hire any Padres personnel for a year, a rule that he got around when the contracts of two Padres scouts expired before he went to Detroit. Today, The Smartest Man in Baseball declined comment when I asked him if he tied Howser's hands similarly. "I say that in part because I'm not sure what limitations there may be," he said. Brain drains can have a huge impact on a club. Padres majority owner John Moores was remiss in not restricting The Smartest Man in Baseball after he sacked him early this decade. The Padres ended up losing a lot of talented people to Boston, including the scout who persuaded Jake Peavy to forgo a scholarship to Auburn, Mark Wasinger, and Jason McLeod, who's excelled as Boston's scouting director and now might have interest in returning to San Diego.
* I'm still hearing that Bill Gayton will not return as scouting director of the Padres, that Grady Fuson may not survive as the farm system's overseer and that Padres scout Chris Gwynn is on the rise within the franchise.
* Both Moorad and the Doogster like the Padres' increased emphasis on speed and athleticism, notably in the 2009 amateur draft, and Moorad said it showed up at Petco Park this year. "To take nothing away from teams that have been built here in the past, we feel that the second half of last season, when the club demonstrated some more athleticism and speed, perhaps was a glimpse of the future, and the kind of clubs that ought to be built here going forward." Moorad said. "To be sure, it was a theme of our discussions. Jed brought it up day one, and Jed consistently expressed his belief that that was an inherent advantage that we have at Petco, and we ought to be taking advantage of it every day."
* Why Howser instead of another year for the Gunslinger? "A fresh set of eyes and analysis," Moorad said today.
* Does the Doogster have final say on player moves? "He certainly has the ability to motivate the final decisions," Moorad said, topping himself once again.
"You're catching a rising star," he said this afternoon from his Red Sox office, and it was kind of sad to hear that raspy voice not screaming at me like in the old days.
"He's a new-style GM," he continued. "To be sure, he's not the old scout in a windbreaker. He's new age, new wave, new school."
Later today at Petco Park, Jeff Moorad introduced Howser as his GM and, sure enough, he looked new to me.
The contract runs four years with a club option for 2014. I'm hearing the front office purge soon will resume, with an announcement as soon as Tuesday about restructuring, but let's not dampen Howser's arrival.
He was impressive today. And he's got a sense of humor, putting him ahead of some lumps of coal who read this site. I told him that he looks so young that I dubbed him Doogie Howser, the teen-age M.D. "Yeah, I heard about that," he said, smiling, sort of, and wouldn't you know, his dad and grandpop were doctors but the Doogster only had eyes for baseball.
He said: "I'm 35 years old. Thirty-five, it seems like that's become the average for a GM."
Thirty-five being the new 25, the Doogster has more energy to burn than one of Obama's green power plants, so while everyone else is eating breakfast in San Diego, he'll be working to improve your favorite baseball club.
"He's not as young as his face suggests, but he also has one of the great attributes of youth -- enormous energy," said the Smartest Man in Baseball, who got past cancer and is a workaholic himself. "He came in as an hourly intern and worked his way up the ladder."
Moorad said Howser often toiled until 4 a.m. on Yawkey Way, making a name for himself among the brainiacs and go-getters in Boston's front office.
"I liked being able to hire someone out of the Red Sox organization," he said, noting that the Doogster has two World Series rings. "There's an argument that they've got three or four future GMs working in their front office. We think we got the best of that group. And I'm excited to have someone who has, indeed, been mentored by Theo Epstein and Larry Lucchino."
Moorad's infatuation with the Red Sox goes back to his hiring of another Theo Epstein aide, Josh Byrnes, as GM of the Diamondbacks in November 2005. So far, the Byrnes era qualifies as a C-minus, but give the Snakes an A for tricking me into picking them first last March.
Howser was a Red Sox fan while growing up in New Hampshire, making him familiar with whining fans and World Series droughts. I asked him when the Padres will break their own little curse.
"Hopefully, it won't take 86 years," he said. "It's at 40 and I hope we don't have 46 more years (to wait)."
A writer from Boston, grateful to be far from Sox fans mourning the team's quick ouster from the playoffs, asked the Doogster if he looks forward to fleecing his mentor Theo in a trade, and I mentioned that the Gunslinger had already done that in the Mirabelli deal. Wasn't able to ferret out whether the Doogster advocated that move. "I was asleep," he said. "I think it was like 2 a.m." So, that's how the Gunslinger does it, striking while everyone's groggy. I reminded Howser he's supposed to be working at 2 a.m. if the Padres are ever to win a World Series.
Here are some of the other bases covered today:
* Howser put himself "head and shoulders" above the other GM candidates, Moorad said, by compiling a detailed analysis of the Padres baseball talent, including a breakdown of how he envisioned the front office working. He needed a binder for the treatise, which runs some 50 pages.
* Previously he'd interviewed for GM jobs with the Pirates and Nationals, which explains why Padres look like the '27 Yankees to him. "I think I'm incredibly lucky to have a lot of pieces in already," he said.
* Moorad, outdoing himself, used the phrase "at the end of the day" at least five times. He pointed out to me afterward that he hadn't used the phrase "strategic thinker" or "strategic planner" throughout the news conference and interviews afterward. I asked him when the strategic plan calls for the Padres to win their first World Series. "I'll let you know in a couple of months," Moorad said. "Until there's a victory parade in San Diego, we won't rest."
* New England is stuffed with smart people and makes a mean clam chowder but Howser said: "There is no magic formula that I learned in Boston. There is no special sauce. It comes down to great scouting."
* Rest assured that the Doogster's spell-binding binder includes several paragraphs about fitting the ballplayer talent to Petco Park, something the Gunslinger never mastered, although he was getting better at it. "It's really important to dominate your home games," Howser said, too classy to mention that his new employer, using its first-round pick in 2005, opted for Cesar Carrillo over super-fast center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, whose exploits helped Boston win it all two years ago.
* The Doogster will be limited in bringing over his pals from the Red Sox. Before Randy Smith left the Padres to become GM of the Tigers in November 1995, the Smartest Man in Baseball made him agree that he wouldn't select any Padres minor leaguers in the Rule V draft for a year. Smith also wasn't allowed to hire any Padres personnel for a year, a rule that he got around when the contracts of two Padres scouts expired before he went to Detroit. Today, The Smartest Man in Baseball declined comment when I asked him if he tied Howser's hands similarly. "I say that in part because I'm not sure what limitations there may be," he said. Brain drains can have a huge impact on a club. Padres majority owner John Moores was remiss in not restricting The Smartest Man in Baseball after he sacked him early this decade. The Padres ended up losing a lot of talented people to Boston, including the scout who persuaded Jake Peavy to forgo a scholarship to Auburn, Mark Wasinger, and Jason McLeod, who's excelled as Boston's scouting director and now might have interest in returning to San Diego.
* I'm still hearing that Bill Gayton will not return as scouting director of the Padres, that Grady Fuson may not survive as the farm system's overseer and that Padres scout Chris Gwynn is on the rise within the franchise.
* Both Moorad and the Doogster like the Padres' increased emphasis on speed and athleticism, notably in the 2009 amateur draft, and Moorad said it showed up at Petco Park this year. "To take nothing away from teams that have been built here in the past, we feel that the second half of last season, when the club demonstrated some more athleticism and speed, perhaps was a glimpse of the future, and the kind of clubs that ought to be built here going forward." Moorad said. "To be sure, it was a theme of our discussions. Jed brought it up day one, and Jed consistently expressed his belief that that was an inherent advantage that we have at Petco, and we ought to be taking advantage of it every day."
* Why Howser instead of another year for the Gunslinger? "A fresh set of eyes and analysis," Moorad said today.
* Does the Doogster have final say on player moves? "He certainly has the ability to motivate the final decisions," Moorad said, topping himself once again.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Moorad and Howser
Still appears Doogie Howser might become GM of the Padres. Here's what I was told about him: "Very bright. Hard worker. Very good listener. Has the administrative aspects down. Hasn't run a staff, so a challenge will be learning how to manage people. Baby face. Preppy look."
Howser apprenticed under another Boy Wonder, Red Sox GM Theo Epstein, who did all Boy Wonders a favor by raising two World Series trophies not long after The Smartest Man in Baseball hired him as GM, not many years after Theo was handing out Padres game notes to the hacks who covered the team. My Howser source said of Doogie: "He's not a Theo Epstein, but who is?"
It'd be the second time Padres CEO Jeff Moorad hired an Epstein aide as GM. After the 2005 season, Moorad hired Josh Byrnes into Arizona's GM job, for which Kevin Towers, then GM of the Padres, interviewed with the assumption that he'd get it, and now Howser could get the job that Towers figured he'd keep through 2010, until Moorad told him in September that he wanted to look for a new GM.
Got it?
Safe to assume Howser gets the job only if he has the thumb's up from another Whiz Kid, Paul DePodesta. A Padres special assistant and former Dodgers GM, Depo relates well to Tom Garfinkel -- the club president who followed Moorad to San Diego.
I just realized that none the folks mentioned above either played or coached professional baseball, save the Gunslinger , who is out of work. Safe to assume the industry's tobacco dippers and cup-wearers, past and present, will chew the cud over that one.
Hiring Howser might create side opportunities for Moorad.
The Red Sox are known for having smart scouts, including a few that Epstein and The Smartest Man in Baseball stole from the Padres. Maybe a few would follow Howser to San Diego. Among the Sox top evaluators who worked for the Padres are Craig Shipley, Dave Finley and Jason McLeod. McLeod is Boston's scouting director and still has ties to San Diego. He's also the former son-in-law of Padres majority owner John Moores, and you can't help but think about Palin and the state trooper, so maybe he stays with the Sox. As a Marlins scout, Finley looked smart for recommending that Florida use a No. 1 overall pick on Adrian Gonzalez, a controversial move at the time. I reported a few weeks ago that Bill Gayton isn't expected to remain as scouting director of the Padres. Connect the dots if you like.
Howser's knowledge of Boston's farm system would come in handy if the Padres decide that paying Adrian Gonzalez close to $20 million per year after 2011 isn't in the cards. The Red Sox are interested in trading for Gonzalez, and even if they lose interest, they'll act interested to help bid up the price and maybe as a favor to Howser.
And if Howser doesn't get the job? Never mind.
Howser apprenticed under another Boy Wonder, Red Sox GM Theo Epstein, who did all Boy Wonders a favor by raising two World Series trophies not long after The Smartest Man in Baseball hired him as GM, not many years after Theo was handing out Padres game notes to the hacks who covered the team. My Howser source said of Doogie: "He's not a Theo Epstein, but who is?"
It'd be the second time Padres CEO Jeff Moorad hired an Epstein aide as GM. After the 2005 season, Moorad hired Josh Byrnes into Arizona's GM job, for which Kevin Towers, then GM of the Padres, interviewed with the assumption that he'd get it, and now Howser could get the job that Towers figured he'd keep through 2010, until Moorad told him in September that he wanted to look for a new GM.
Got it?
Safe to assume Howser gets the job only if he has the thumb's up from another Whiz Kid, Paul DePodesta. A Padres special assistant and former Dodgers GM, Depo relates well to Tom Garfinkel -- the club president who followed Moorad to San Diego.
I just realized that none the folks mentioned above either played or coached professional baseball, save the Gunslinger , who is out of work. Safe to assume the industry's tobacco dippers and cup-wearers, past and present, will chew the cud over that one.
Hiring Howser might create side opportunities for Moorad.
The Red Sox are known for having smart scouts, including a few that Epstein and The Smartest Man in Baseball stole from the Padres. Maybe a few would follow Howser to San Diego. Among the Sox top evaluators who worked for the Padres are Craig Shipley, Dave Finley and Jason McLeod. McLeod is Boston's scouting director and still has ties to San Diego. He's also the former son-in-law of Padres majority owner John Moores, and you can't help but think about Palin and the state trooper, so maybe he stays with the Sox. As a Marlins scout, Finley looked smart for recommending that Florida use a No. 1 overall pick on Adrian Gonzalez, a controversial move at the time. I reported a few weeks ago that Bill Gayton isn't expected to remain as scouting director of the Padres. Connect the dots if you like.
Howser's knowledge of Boston's farm system would come in handy if the Padres decide that paying Adrian Gonzalez close to $20 million per year after 2011 isn't in the cards. The Red Sox are interested in trading for Gonzalez, and even if they lose interest, they'll act interested to help bid up the price and maybe as a favor to Howser.
And if Howser doesn't get the job? Never mind.
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