Padres helped by key moves

By: STEVE SCHOLFIELD - Staff Writer | Saturday, October 7, 2006 11:03 PM PDT ∞

General manager Kevin Towers should be considered a prime candidate for executive of the year.

The two trades that brought Adrian Gonzalez and Chris Young (from Texas in the offseason) and Josh Bard and Cla Meredith (from Boston in May) were brilliant moves.

The Padres would never have won the National League West without those deals.

Gonzalez led the team with 24 home runs, and played the best defense at first base since Wally Joyner was here. Meredith set a club record by not surrendering a run in 33 2/3 innings. Bard hit .338 and spelled catcher Mike Piazza in the late innings defensively.

Then there is Young. The 6-foot-10 right-hander pitched shutout ball for 6 2/3 innings and struck out nine Saturday to lead the Padres to their first playoff win this century.

+ Towers and his wife Kelley like to spend time in their vacation home in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, this winter. They bought the home from former Chargers quarterback Ryan Leaf, but the deal almost fell through when Leaf read a quote from Towers in the newspaper.

When Towers was dealing with 2004 No. 1 draft choice Matt Bush, who was suspended for being in a bar fight, he told the media, "We don't want another Ryan Leaf here." Leaf inquired about backing out of the deal but it was too late.

+ What an interesting sports day today for San Diego fans.

They could see the Chargers beat the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers on the same day the Padres square their series with the Cardinals. It'll either be euphoric or Black Sunday.

+ There are many reasons why the Cardinals should be a better team than the Padres, and it starts with payroll. The Padres' payroll is approximately $70 million, while the St. Louis payroll is approximately $93 million.

Let's see, what would an extra $23 million do for the Padres? That could buy them one or two power hitters and a starting pitcher.

Of course, when you look at what the Tigers did to the Yankees, money doesn't buy titles. According to USA Today, the Tigers started the season with a payroll of $82.3 million, compared to the Yankees' $198.6 million.

+ Cincinnati Reds hitting coach Chris Chambliss, an Oceanside High grad, is a candidate for the San Francisco Giants manager's job. Chambliss is one of the best baseball men in the business and should have been a manager years ago.

+ Nice job by 15-year-old Murrieta resident Joelle James, who sang the national anthem at Thursday's game at Petco Park. James has done the same at a number of Angels games the past couple of seasons.

+ The North County Health Services Fore For Kids Golf Tournament raised more than $30,000. As the honorary chairman for the event, my thanks to all who supported the tournament.

+ Let me see if I have this figured out. Chargers fans think Marty Schottenheimer is too conservative because he runs the ball too much, yet they are the same people who cheer every time LaDainian Tomlinson touches the ball. Confusing, isn't it? Schottenheimer was criticized for not opening up the offense last week in Baltimore, which is something he should not have done. His side had the lead and was running the ball to eat up time on the clock.

Would anyone have said anything if the Chargers' defense tackled better on Baltimore's winning touchdown drive? Or if the special teams hadn't thrown away six points? The game plan was solid, but the execution was poor.

Steve Scholfield is senior sports columnist for the North County Times. He can be reached at (760) 740-3509 or stevescho@cox.net.