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Subject:  Earthquake in SD! Padres Fire Bochy |
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Author: Raza (San Diego) |
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Date Posted: 07:44:28 07/04/05 Mon SAN DIEGO- In a shocking move, San Diego Padres ownership has fired longtime Manager Bruce Bochy. The move has sent shockwaves through the baseball world, where Bochy's job was considered cemented and secured based on his team's performance. Padres owner Raza Panjwani indicated through his spokesperson that the firing should have been expected. In a press release Panjwani stated "When I purchased the team in May of 2004, I inherited Bruce and didn't want to rock the boat as the team had been successful." Bochy's Padres had won 99 games in the previous year for former owner MikeD, falling to Phil Wallace's Dodgers in 4 games in the divisional series. Hobbled by injuries to superstar duo Barry Bonds and Juan Uribe, the 2004 team incredibly passed the Dodgers to reach the playoffs where they were defeated by the Rockies. In 2005, a slow start led to some rumblings about Bochy's job, further excaberated by ownership's surprise trades of ace Adam Eaton, starter Eric Cyr, and closer Billy Wagner. Onve again Bochy's squad surpassed expectations, racing past division leaders Arizona and Los Angeles, edging out a 2nd consecutive division title by a hair, and then puching the overpowering Astros to the brink in the division series. Restocked and reloaded for 2006, most baseball insiders figured that Panjwani had finally given Bochy the tools to dominate and make a serious playoff run. The Padres are currently on pace to win 102 games, leading the NL West 10.5 games, and have won 9 of their last 10. However, in early May Peter Gammons of ESPN noted that ownership's patience with Bochy's 'curious' managerial decisions had been wearing thin. "Constantly starting Phil Nevin at catcher, pulling starting pitchers after 2-3 innings for no apparent reason, attempting to close games with middle relievers while better options were available, the list of questionable decisions that has cost this franchise games is endless," stated the release from ownership. The breaking point appears to have been the July 13th game in San Diego against the Chicago Cubs. After sustaining 2 days of barbs from colleagues for Ryan Klesko's miscue in the All Star game which lead to the only run of the affair, ownership was already ill-humored when ace Bruce Chen took the mound at Qualcomm park. Chen proceeded to pitch brilliantly for 8 innings, striking out 14 and walking 1. Then in the bottom of the 8th, with his team leading 7-0 Bochy sealed his fate by pulling Chen for pinch hitter Kevin Eberwein. Chen had a no hitter going at the time. Replacment RP J. Christiansen gave up 1 hit in the 9th ending the chance for even a combined no hitter. "We had an opportunity to add a run, and Eberwein drove in the runner. No lead is safe in these offense-centric times. What more do you want?" growled an ornery Bochy. "A No Hitter!" retorted furious owner Panjwani, who reportedly "flipped a shit" in his private box when Bochy pulled Chen. Bochy had unwittingly prolonged the curse of Clay Kirby by wittingly pulling Chen after 8 innings of no hit ball. Former manager Preston Gomez pulled starter Clay Kirby for a pinch hitter on July 20, 1970 in a game against the Mets after 8 hitless innings. The Padres are the one of only three team in the majors without a no-no to their credit, along with the Mets and Rockies. The Padres have designated OF Ryan Klesko Player-Manager until a fulltime manager can be hired. Sources indicate that ownership already has a handshake agreement with Padres legend Tony Gwynn to take the helm as soon as the College World Series finishes. The SD Globe is also reporting that the Padres pitching staff depth and ownership's overtures have finally won over Leo Mazzone to take over as pitching guru in navy town to ensure that great pitching remains a Padres hallmark. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |