FanShot

Padres to fire Kevin Towers

15
SAN DIEGO -- A person familiar with the decision says Kevin Towers, the longest-tenured general manager in the major leagues, is being fired by the San Diego Padres. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Friday night because the club hadn't made an announcement. The Padres said only that CEO Jeff Moorad will address the media on Saturday afternoon. Towers, in his 14th season, told The Associated Press in an e-mail that he can't comment on his situation. He is under contract through next season. The Padres are 74-85. Moorad leads a group that is buying the team from John Moores. He has spoken about making changes in the baseball operations department. Under Towers, the Padres won four NL West titles and reached the 1998 World Series. Nice. So going into next season, assuming Sabean's option is picked up as expected, we will have the longest tenured GM in the game. :( Honestly I like Sabean and think he gets a lot of shit for no reason sometimes, but at the same time I can't help but wonder if a new voice would be a good idea. Of course one could look at the entire way this organization does business since 93 and see that they're not the type of business to fire someone who has done valuable and extended service for the organization. Neither Dusty nor Alou were fired. Neither was Jack Hiatt. People are allowed to just "leave" here or "retire". It's nice they're so nice to each other and all, but sometimes I really wish this team cared more about winning then making money and in trying to be nice about everything.