This is me on the acquisition of Todd Walker to play third base.

[OBBoltsFan]

Only thing I'll add to this is about Gonzo......yes he got lucky....and everyone has given KT his props with regards to some of the moves he's made.... I'm simply giving him crap for not being able to finish what he starts.....again....

He's made some good move, and some not so good moves in the past, and as I said before.......this deadline is my ***** right now, not what he was able to do last offseason

So I, as many padre fans at the UT forum, were also just lucky when we raved and cheered for KT on this trade? We were all just lucky in believing in Gonzos upside?

No, we are simply informed fans who have mentioned Gonzales in trade discussions for the past 3 years. And even with that, none of us are as informed as KT. KT is not the contract specialist we'd like him to be, but he certainly is not a bad GM when it comes to trading (even with the Giles fiasco which can't be completely put on him, considering Giles was then one of the ebst players in baseball).

[HollywoodLeo]

I still fail to see how getting Adrian included in the deal is luck.

Unless you're telling me KT was about to agree to an Aki/Eaton/minor league catcher for Sledge/Chris Young deal until the Rangers GM said "Wait! You know what? Let's just give you Adrian Gonzalez as well!" to him?

Somehow I doubt that's the way it went.

Furthermore, If I recall reading an article on it correctly, it was Chris Young who was added to the deal at the last minute, not Adrian Gonzalez.

If you want to say they "got lucky" that Klesko opted for surgery, allowing Adrian the opportunity to start, well that's fine. But it's kinda dumb to say they got lucky to trade for him.

[padrefanforever]

Well Merv did correct Barfields swing, and for a while he had Kahlil taking much better approaches...... I think team morale is at an all year low right now, especially now that guys inside the clubhouse are starting to spout off to the media....

Boch is a non-motivator ( problem ), Balsey has done a great job IMO so he's immune from blame this year I think.... Merv has only been here for a limited time, and in that time he had the guys heading the right direction, be it coincidence or effect, either way the right direction.....then the deadline hit, and we didn't DO a damn thing..... now the guys are pissed off and feel that the FO has abandonded them to their own devices, and they all know they don't have the talent to do what's needed, and they are self destructing before our very eyes....

did you read the article in the UT ? http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports...6sullivan.html

...This is not your garden-variety grumbling. The mood of the Padres clubhouse, so sprightly a few weeks ago, now conjures Phil Nevin with a toothache during jury duty.

“They (screwed) us,” one veteran player said yesterday. “They felt they had to do something, and they would have been better off standing pat.” ...

[HollywoodLeo]

I firmly believe Moores cares less about his team than you or I do; I believe he is in this organization more so for the team and it's excitement than the actual money made off the Padres, but I do not believe he cares half as much as you, me, Towers, Bochy, Alderson, Fuson, or any other player or coach on the team does.

This I agree with.

[Rufio181]

Here's another side to this:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports...6sullivan.html

Frustration has given way to fuming. Confusion has turned to suspicion. Players who were miffed that management did not do more at baseball's midseason trade deadline now wonder whether something more sinister may be at work.
“They (screwed) us,” one veteran player said yesterday. “They felt they had to do something, and they would have been better off standing pat.”

Some of them have pondered the possibility that General Manager Kevin Towers and field manager Bruce Bochy are being set up to fail in order to justify an offseason housecleaning.


Frankly, the conspiracy question sounds ludicrous and illogical. It suggests the organization's higher powers – specifically owner John Moores and CEO Sandy Alderson – would deliberately undermine their ballclub to gain political cover they don't really need. I don't believe it for a second. If Moores and Alderson run a tighter ship than their players would prefer, they are nonetheless deeply competitive people.

If they want to make changes, they don't need a community consensus.

What do you guys think of this? Perhaps this synicism from some of the players is causing them to play subpar.

[Rufio181]

Well Merv did correct Barfields swing, and for a while he had Kahlil taking much better approaches...... I think team morale is at an all year low right now, especially now that guys inside the clubhouse are starting to spout off to the media....

Boch is a non-motivator ( problem ), Balsey has done a great job IMO so he's immune from blame this year I think.... Merv has only been here for a limited time, and in that time he had the guys heading the right direction, be it coincidence or effect, either way the right direction.....then the deadline hit, and we didn't DO a damn thing..... now the guys are pissed off and feel that the FO has abandonded them to their own devices, and they all know they don't have the talent to do what's needed, and they are self destructing before our very eyes....

did you read the article in the UT ? www.signonsandiego.com/sports/sullivan/20060816-9999-2s16sullivan.html

...This is not your garden-variety grumbling. The mood of the Padres clubhouse, so sprightly a few weeks ago, now conjures Phil Nevin with a toothache during jury duty.

“They (screwed) us,” one veteran player said yesterday. “They felt they had to do something, and they would have been better off standing pat.” ...

Dang you beat me to it!

[HollywoodLeo]

did you read the article in the UT ? www.signonsandiego.com/sports/sullivan/20060816-9999-2s16sullivan.html

Yeah, OBBF made a thread about it...

[HollywoodLeo]

Dang you beat me to it!

OBBF beat you both to it.

[Rufio181]

Then off to that thread!

[padrefanforever]

So I, as many padre fans at the UT forum, were also just lucky when we raved and cheered for KT on this trade? We were all just lucky in believing in Gonzos upside?

No, we are simply informed fans who have mentioned Gonzales in trade discussions for the past 3 years. And even with that, none of us are as informed as KT. KT is not the contract specialist we'd like him to be, but he certainly is not a bad GM when it comes to trading (even with the Giles fiasco which can't be completely put on him, considering Giles was then one of the ebst players in baseball).

Uh when the deal happened it wasnt' just the UT forum that was very happy......just about everyone was.....and I also liked the addition of Gonzo, ahd you been in here you'd have seen that....but that's hardly what is being said here.... and you're not lucky for being happy that the Padres made a move to fill a hole we had with a young former 1st overall pick....

Gonzo was a toss in similar to Bay , and has been damn near as pleasant a surprise as Bay was for Pitt.... gonzo's bat speed was always in question and we got him as the toss in player, if you think otherwise, you're just lying to yourself....and yes it was a very lucky p/u for us....they could have tossed in someone else for all we know...I highly doubt that Gonzo was the make or break part of that deal......lol.....and he's a great addition to our team...

[padrefanforever]

Hollywood........I highly doubt we were going to move Eaton and not get a starting pitcher in return........we wanted a younger arm, they wanted a veteran starter.....They needed bullpen help and a closer, we needed depth in the OF & IF, they had Sledge and since we they have some guy named Texiera they didn't have a place for Gonzo who was then included in the deal....

Eaton / Otsuka for Young / Sledge / Gonzo

[padrefanforever]

This I agree with.

I disagree entirely........ First this is a Moores investment, and you never want to see an investment fail, that's just basic common sense. Second Moores has more at stake than just his ballclub here....he's heavily invested in the surrounding area as we all know. So as the team thrives, his property values go up.......as the team falls, so will the value of the surrounding area....it will never plummet simply due to it's geographical location.....but drop it will if this team fails...

He's got more reasons than ANYONE to see this team succeed, and to think otherwise is just crazy to me..... If he continues to keep his word, which he has, then fans have zero reason to give him shit of anysort.....get back on the guys in charge of acquiring players instead...

[HollywoodLeo]

I'm sure they had Tiexiera in mind when KT either suggested they add him to the deal, or they suggested throwing him in when KT was balking at making a deal.... but to suggest they just arbitrarily threw him in is kind of silly.

Sure Tiexiera was blocking Adrian's path, but don't you think they would've held on to Adrian and traded him elsewhere had they thought KT would've accepted the same deal sans Gonzalez?

In regards to Chris Young, I might be wrong, but as I recall the initial offers were Eaton (no Aki, either) for a combination of Laynce Nix and Gerald Laird or Adrian Gonzalez and Laynce Nix, or Laird and Nix.

At some point they offered to throw in Young if we threw in Aki, and somehow Nix got changed to Sledge and we threw in a minor league catcher.

Believe me, I was pissed at all the rumored deals, thinking Gonzalez was the best of the bunch (Eaton-Adrian straight up was rumored as well)

When Chris Young was suddenly incorporated into the deal I was pleasantly suprised.

[HollywoodLeo]

pff - I only agreed with OBBF's post because he said that we care about the team more than he does...which, being rabid fans, is probably true.

The bottom line is, however, that Moores does want the team to win, and really wants them to win, and it's evidenced by his actions if you really look into them.

Debating who cares more is just silly.

[padrefanforever]

I think the most rabid fans find a way to buy a team........ I don't think you buy a team in this day and age unless you're a complete freak of a fan