Padres Eyeing Vizquel, Eckstein, Grudz

Vizquel + Eckstein = grittiest infield ever? :)

"Hey, Kevin, there's this team called the Braves, and they have two middle IFs who are both good and cheap. They need a top of the rotation starter. If you have one of those that you're willing to trade, maybe you could match up with them? Hmm? Maybe? Maybe trade with the Braves? Maybe stop changing deals at the last minute? Hmm? Wanna do that?"

Hey, Frank, guess what? It's going to take more than one above average SS and a CF prospect to get a young Cy Young- winning ace under team control for 5 years at a more than decent salary.

How easily Braves fans knock Towers. After failing to trade for Peavy, missing out on Burnett and now Furcal, there's plenty to look at in Atlanta.

Vizquel is exactly the type of washed-up 'bargain' that KT will get. Think Vinny Castilla.

I know what you're saying, but I really think that ultimately any deal for Peavy had to feature pitching first. Towers made tht pretty clear. Personally, the minute Atlanta made Hanson off limits, talks should've stopped. Same with Marshall and Chicago.

Maybe Towers tried to be a little too flexible or open to alternatives, but when he really thought about it, he knew Peavy should command young talented pitching in return.

And like you said, I don't blame him for making this trade difficult. It's his job to get as much as possible.

Ultimately, I think it hurts him that he has to trade Peavy at all, so he's making a point out of making it look like a great deal for SD. From a fan's perspective, I respect that.

And like I said, you can't say Wren is doing great at striking deals either. You have to wonder how much he screwed up in these negotiations as well. Both for Burnett and Furcal, he was confident he had something done or close. Maybe he misunderstood Towers. Who knows. Ultimately, who cares? Peavy to the Braves is dead, no matter how we turn it.

"Why would any of those players listed above want to play for the pathetic padres."

To be honest, I'm a Padres fan and even I can't make a compelling case. We'll be horrible in 09.

At least Towers is up front about it. He's said the one reaason to come would be to resurrect a career.

I can make a strong case as to why you'd want to spend half of the year in San Diego, on the other hand.

But I do sense a slight degree of bitterness in your point. Are you a Cubs/Braves fan? Maybe a Dodgers/Giants fan?

I can understand how Towers has aggravated many Braves fans. He obviously has earned a lot of credit throughout the years among SD fans (he's struck great deals in the past), so I must admit that I'll stand by him here. The fact that no one wants to see Peavy leave also affects how we look at trades. But he's a pain to other GM's because he's stubborn. I guess you have to be on the SD side of the deal to appreciate it.

As far as the rest of the FO is concerned, we clearly feel let down. We're all dying to see an owner who actually cares about baseball take over now that the team is for sale. It's not Moores' fault, but he just isn't made to own a MLB franchise. No charisma whatsoever. And Alderson is so full of himself he can't even see that he hasn't improved the team one bit since he took over.

It seems like the Padres and the Nationals have the same type of GM, but at least Towers isn't in love with players from his former team. Ugh.

"Why don't they offer Barry Bonds a league minimum deal?"

We're the ones who threw a syringe at him, remember? He's victimized SD so much over the years that no other team may hate him as much as SD does. I can't see that happening.

As far as Loretta goes, he just signed a new deal last week to return to the Astros I think (not 100% sure of the team).