The Cavalry Arrives May 1st!!!!

Yesterday, Sandy Alderson was officially introduced as the new CEO of the San Diego Padres. One of the most respected names in the game, Mr. Alderson leaves the league office to return to a role in which he excelled while with the Oakland A's: building and managing successful baseball organizations. This is great news for the franchise as Alderson is the first "baseball man" to occupy the CEO suite since the departure of Larry Lucchino in 2002. Upon his introduction, Alderson immediately started making sense:

"For me," he said, "the job description is to make the San Diego Padres the best franchise in baseball, or otherwise, across the country."

Here, here! But to understand the true import of the Alderson hiring, one needs to look at the team’s recent history.

Friars fans were on the verge of losing their beloved team when John Moores bought the club in 1994. By immediately installing Lucchino as CEO and letting him call the shots, Moores quickly became the best owner in franchise history. Under Lucchino's stewardship, the Padres won the NL West in 1996 (please note the last three games) and made the 1998 World Series. Lucchino possessed the baseball mind that brought Kevin Towers, Bruce Bochy, Theo Epstein, Kevin Brown, Ken Caminiti and Steve Finley to San Diego. Along with personnel moves, Lucchino also had ideas for community outreach that would more firmly root the franchise in San Diego. As he was in Baltimore with Camden Yards, Lucchino was the visionary and driving force behind planning for Petco Park. The club also embarked on real marketing and community outreach for the first time in their history. MLB's first loyalty marketing scheme, efforts to reach out to the local military presence and cross-border initiatives to increase Mexican interest in the club are examples.

Lucchino ultimately left after a rocky period marked by health problems and a series of acrimonious and debilitating lawsuits which delayed the completion of Petco for three years. In my mind, the void left by Lucchino was never adequately filled by Bob Vizas, Charles Black or Dick Freeman. That's right, the Padres have had three CEOs since 2002. The lack of vision and stability lead to poor decisions relating to personnel (the Brian Giles trade and failure to re-sign David Wells), the opening of Petco (too many compromises following Lucchino's ouster prevented it from being all it could be) and player development (overseas operations and scouting).

One need only look at the farcical process surrounding the selection of San Diego schoolboy SS Matt Bush with the #1 overall pick in the amateur draft last summer. Holding all the cards with the top selection, Padres management decided on the eve of the draft that it would not award top-dollar contracts to prospects like Stephen Drew and Jered Weaver, who were not deemed "can't miss." OK, fine so far. But without an adequate back-up plan and insufficient scouting homework done on lower-dollar talent, GM Kevin Towers and head of scouting Bill Gayton scrambled to come up with alternatives, before finally settling on Bush.

Noted for his athleticism, defensive wizardry and strong arm (but not his bat), the 18-year old Bush was touted in the draft day spin campaign as "local boy makes good." Within weeks he was being dragged out of one of my favorite bars in Peoria, AZ for being underage and intoxicated while fighting with a bouncer. He was suspended by the team for a month without pay. At Single-A Fort Wayne, Bush is hitting a tepid .204 with five errors in eleven games. Last night, he went 1-5 and committed three errors. There were better “cheap” players than Matt Bush. Some experts have suggested that although it is far too early to label Bush a bust, he could very well end up being the worst #1 overall selection in the draft's history.

With Sandy Alderson in the fold, Padres fans can look forward to a return to the more visionary and responsible management style which characterized the Lucchino era. Alderson’s track record is impressive. Given successes in Oakland and the league office, he may be the most respected management figure in the game. During his tenure with the A’s, he helped turn a moribund franchise into a consistently competitive team which appeared in three consecutive World Series’. And he did it without breaking the bank on high-dollar free agents. His recipe for success was to build through the farm system.

Alderson's philosophy closely mirrors that of Moores. He now re-joins former employees Grady Fuson and Gayton in a management team also featuring Towers and ex-GM Randy Smith. It would be hard to argue that there is a better assemblage of talent evaluators anywhere in baseball. However, it will be interesting to see how Alderson gets four personnel evaluators and three men with GM experience to co-exist. But there can be no doubting the brain power and experience that currently resides in the Padres front-office. Meanwhile, there have been hints that Alderson was brought in to shake things up and I think that Kevin Towers will have to produce results to keep his gig. He has a generally solid track record in San Diego, but there have been enough Shane Victorinos, Bubba Trammells, Ray Lankfords and Jay Witasicks to raise doubts. If this year’s club doesn’t get it done, it’s clear that Alderson already has solid in-house alternatives in the form of Fuson and Smith. Bruce Bochy is also a lame-duck in the sense that he lacks a contract for ’06. While I think his position is also potentially in jeopardy with a lackluster 2005, he may have more rope than Towers. Regardless of how it plays out, the arrival of Alderson bodes well for the future of the team.