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I'm impressed. I was hoping for Hamels, but I guess that is now off the table.
If they don't make the playoffs, do we angry villagers get the torches and pitchforks back out or not?
So true.....When was the last time anyone got excited about the Padres before the season started? Never.
Actually 1992 Season Right before the Fire sale
Quote:
In Werner’s first season, the Padres went 75-87. They improved to 84-78 in 1991 before slipping almost imperceptibly to 82-80 the following year. The first sign of trouble (not counting Rosanne Barr’s apparently willful destruction of the national anthem before a July 1990 game) came on Aug. 31, 1992, when the Padres traded Craig Lefferts to Baltimore for two minor leaguers. Lefferts at the time had notched 13 victories for a team that was just seven games out of first place with 33 games remaining—hardly a gimme, but certainly not impossible.
Or you could say the trouble began when the Padres failed to sign second-round pick Todd Helton three months earlier. Wherever it began, the path from there is undeniable.
On Oct. 26, 1992, the Padres traded All-Star shortstop Tony Fernandez to the New York Mets for Wally Whitehurst, D.J. Dozier and Raul Casanova (yes, the guy who is playing for Tampa Bay now).
On March 30, 1993, the team sent Darrin Jackson to the Blue Jays for Derek Bell. The trade worked out well for San Diego, but it came just after the team sent a letter to season-ticket holders assuring them that the Padres would contend thanks to young players such as Jackson, among others. After a class-action suit was filed against the Padres, the club ended up offering refunds to ticket holders who asked.
On June 9, 1993, when it became evident that Werner and his cohorts would continue their slash-and-burn policy, Joe McIlvaine resigned as general manager. McIlvaine was replaced by Colorado Rockies assistant GM Randy Smith, who had been director of scouting for the Padres from 1989 to 1991. Just days shy of his 30th birthday, Smith became the youngest GM in baseball. Presumably such a young and inexperienced person would be less reluctant to balk at his boss’ orders to cut payroll regardless of the damage it might inflict on the franchise’s ability to compete.
Within weeks, Smith found himself executing Werner’s plan. On June 24, 1993, the Padres traded third baseman Gary Sheffield and lefthander Rich Rodriguez to Florida for three unknown pitchers. Sheffield, acquired from Milwaukee 15 months earlier for Jose Valentin and change, had flirted with the Triple Crown at age 23 (and been named Sporting News Player of the Year) and appeared to be a rising star. The deal happened the same day Sheffield was named to the Padres’ “25th Anniversary Dream Team.” Needless to say, the timing could have been better. The saving grace is that one of the pitchers acquired in the deal was a guy named Trevor Hoffman.
In Werner’s first season, the Padres went 75-87. They improved to 84-78 in 1991 before slipping almost imperceptibly to 82-80 the following year. The first sign of trouble (not counting Rosanne Barr’s apparently willful destruction of the national anthem before a July 1990 game) came on Aug. 31, 1992, when the Padres traded Craig Lefferts to Baltimore for two minor leaguers. Lefferts at the time had notched 13 victories for a team that was just seven games out of first place with 33 games remaining—hardly a gimme, but certainly not impossible.
Or you could say the trouble began when the Padres failed to sign second-round pick Todd Helton three months earlier. Wherever it began, the path from there is undeniable.
On Oct. 26, 1992, the Padres traded All-Star shortstop Tony Fernandez to the New York Mets for Wally Whitehurst, D.J. Dozier and Raul Casanova (yes, the guy who is playing for Tampa Bay now).
On March 30, 1993, the team sent Darrin Jackson to the Blue Jays for Derek Bell. The trade worked out well for San Diego, but it came just after the team sent a letter to season-ticket holders assuring them that the Padres would contend thanks to young players such as Jackson, among others. After a class-action suit was filed against the Padres, the club ended up offering refunds to ticket holders who asked.
On June 9, 1993, when it became evident that Werner and his cohorts would continue their slash-and-burn policy, Joe McIlvaine resigned as general manager. McIlvaine was replaced by Colorado Rockies assistant GM Randy Smith, who had been director of scouting for the Padres from 1989 to 1991. Just days shy of his 30th birthday, Smith became the youngest GM in baseball. Presumably such a young and inexperienced person would be less reluctant to balk at his boss’ orders to cut payroll regardless of the damage it might inflict on the franchise’s ability to compete.
Within weeks, Smith found himself executing Werner’s plan. On June 24, 1993, the Padres traded third baseman Gary Sheffield and lefthander Rich Rodriguez to Florida for three unknown pitchers. Sheffield, acquired from Milwaukee 15 months earlier for Jose Valentin and change, had flirted with the Triple Crown at age 23 (and been named Sporting News Player of the Year) and appeared to be a rising star. The deal happened the same day Sheffield was named to the Padres’ “25th Anniversary Dream Team.” Needless to say, the timing could have been better. The saving grace is that one of the pitchers acquired in the deal was a guy named Trevor Hoffman. On July 18, 1993, the Padres shipped Fred McGriff—who had finished just ahead of Sheffield and some guy named Bonds to pace the National League in home runs in 1992—to Atlanta for three prospects. The best of the lot, Melvin Nieves, never amounted to much. Supposedly Smith had asked for Ryan Klesko, but when it’s public knowledge that your boss is intent on moving contracts, you don’t have a lot of leverage, which means you settle for Nieves.
On July 26, 1993, in perhaps his finest moment under Werner’s thumb, Smith sent pitchers Bruce Hurst (who was attempting to come back from rotator cuff surgery) and Greg Harris to Colorado for Andy Ashby, Brad Ausmus and Doug Bochtler. Hurst (2 GS, 4.1 IP, 12.46 ERA) and Harris did almost nothing for the Rockies, while Ashby became one of the Padres’ more reliable pitchers over the next several years, including as No. 2 starter on the 1998 World Series team.
Harris for Ashby, Win Shares exchanged
To SD 104 Meanwhile, the Padres, now largely gutted of big-league talent, saw their win total plummet 21 games to 61. For the first time since 1974, the team had lost 100 games in a season. In August 1993, rumors surfaced of a possible sale of the franchise and subsequent move to Washington, D.C., but nothing ever came of that talk.
The next year, the Padres lost only 70 games. Of course, that’s the year Major League Baseball couldn’t get its act together and a work stoppage limited the team to 117 games. The Padres were on pace for a 65-97 season (and Tony Gwynn—under some pressure to leave a team that apparently no longer cared about winning—was on pace to hit .400, but that’s another story altogether).
In June 1994, Smith and company made a couple of potential impact picks at the top of the amateur draft. In the first round, with the third pick overall, they snagged Kent State closer Dustin Hermanson. Although Hermanson never accomplished much in San Diego, he did net the Padres second baseman Quilvio Veras, who served as a catalyst at the top of the order for the 1998 World Series team.
The Padres’ second-round pick that year also has had a distinguished career in the big leagues. San Diego took a local high-school shortstop, but Werner wouldn’t spend the money needed to sign Troy Glaus, who went to UCLA instead and then starred with the Angels, among other teams. (Incidentally, in 1992, the McIlvaine-led front office had drafted Todd Helton in the second round, but under Werner, a deal never got done. A farm system led by Helton, Glaus and Derrek Lee boggles the imagination.
In December 1994, Werner finally sold the Padres to a group led by John Moores. (Some fans may be appalled to learn that Werner didn’t completely cut ties with the club until the 2006-2007 off-season.)
On July 18, 1993, the Padres shipped Fred McGriff—who had finished just ahead of Sheffield and some guy named Bonds to pace the National League in home runs in 1992—to Atlanta for three prospects. The best of the lot, Melvin Nieves, never amounted to much. Supposedly Smith had asked for Ryan Klesko, but when it’s public knowledge that your boss is intent on moving contracts, you don’t have a lot of leverage, which means you settle for Nieves.
On July 26, 1993, in perhaps his finest moment under Werner’s thumb, Smith sent pitchers Bruce Hurst (who was attempting to come back from rotator cuff surgery) and Greg Harris to Colorado for Andy Ashby, Brad Ausmus and Doug Bochtler. Hurst (2 GS, 4.1 IP, 12.46 ERA) and Harris did almost nothing for the Rockies, while Ashby became one of the Padres’ more reliable pitchers over the next several years, including as No. 2 starter on the 1998 World Series team.
Harris for Ashby, Win Shares exchanged
Meanwhile, the Padres, now largely gutted of big-league talent, saw their win total plummet 21 games to 61. For the first time since 1974, the team had lost 100 games in a season. In August 1993, rumors surfaced of a possible sale of the franchise and subsequent move to Washington, D.C., but nothing ever came of that talk.
The next year, the Padres lost only 70 games. Of course, that’s the year Major League Baseball couldn’t get its act together and a work stoppage limited the team to 117 games. The Padres were on pace for a 65-97 season (and Tony Gwynn—under some pressure to leave a team that apparently no longer cared about winning—was on pace to hit .400, but that’s another story altogether).
In June 1994, Smith and company made a couple of potential impact picks at the top of the amateur draft. In the first round, with the third pick overall, they snagged Kent State closer Dustin Hermanson. Although Hermanson never accomplished much in San Diego, he did net the Padres second baseman Quilvio Veras, who served as a catalyst at the top of the order for the 1998 World Series team.
The Padres’ second-round pick that year also has had a distinguished career in the big leagues. San Diego took a local high-school shortstop, but Werner wouldn’t spend the money needed to sign Troy Glaus, who went to UCLA instead and then starred with the Angels, among other teams. (Incidentally, in 1992, the McIlvaine-led front office had drafted Todd Helton in the second round, but under Werner, a deal never got done. A farm system led by Helton, Glaus and Derrek Lee boggles the imagination.)
In December 1994, Werner finally sold the Padres to a group led by John Moores. (Some fans may be appalled to learn that Werner didn’t completely cut ties with the club until the 2006-2007 off-season.)
The only good thing to come out of the fire sale was Trevor Hoffamn
Last edited by hitman619; 02-10-2015 at 09:23 AM..
Man, can't believe that happened 23 years ago. Thanks for the memories.
Didn't mean to bring that up dawg!
Rereading what i posted, some of the trades where not that bad. How in the the hell did we not sign Troy Glaus?
Good riddance to Bruce Hurst. That guy was always injured.
I went to a few games pre fire sale and I remember the "Murph" was rockin! It'd be nice to have that excitement at Padres games again this time at Petco.
Tony Gwynn, Darrin Jackson, Fred Mcgriff, Tony Fernandez, Benito Santiago, Gary Sheffield . . .Man were we stacked! It was like a home run derby each night
I went to a few games pre fire sale and I remember the "Murph" was rockin! It'd be nice to have that excitement at Padres games again this time at Petco.
Tony Gwynn, Darrin Jackson, Fred Mcgriff, Tony Fernandez, Benito Santiago, Gary Sheffield . . .Man were we stacked! It was like a home run derby each night
imagine if we would have kept that line up for at lease two more years.
Any thoughts on the potential early 2015 lineup? There's no true leadoff hitter in the lineup, and I suspect lots of platooning (especially if Alonso/Meyers/Middlebrooks go into slumps). Still have too many OFs on the roster. Is Quentin even able to walk yet?
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