Well, I’ve been taking the silence stance for the past few weeks to see what truly unfolds during the Josh Byrnes inaugural winter season as Padres General Manager. Being a long time season ticket-holder with the Padres I have vested interest to see what goes on and noting the dealings with the Angels in the adjacent county provides me great opportunities as well to take in some good old baseball. Let’s be real about this, spending hard earn money on a good entertaining team is one thing I pride myself and a stable legit franchise  as well. Thus, why this season, the Padres have to make a statement. The franchise can ill-afford to lose more season ticket-holders who been with the ballclub since 1998 or before. We expect to see results now, especially with too many front office personnel moving in and out like there is a gold electronic transfer fund deposit in the Padres executive offices. No, I will not bore you of the world economics which will have an enormous impact on society but I will try to keep this baseball related, in particularly the Padres state of affairs. With that being said, what has Padres GM Josh Byrnes done since taking over the Baseball Operations for the Padres ?

Hmmm, let’s dig deep into what Padres’ GM Byrnes has done so far.

1. RHP minor league prospect Jeremy Hefner was picked up by Pittsburgh Pirates in waiver wire, and then later acquired by New York Mets. (Note: Hefner was drafted by Alderson).
2. RHP Andrew Carpenter was picked up by Toronto Blue Jays in a waiver wire.
3. Released UT Alberto Gonzalez.
4. Signed Free Agent OF/1b Mark Kotsay.
5. Traded LHP Wade LeBlanc to Miami Marlins for C John Baker.
6. Traded LHP Nick Schmidt to Colorado Rockies for RP Hudson Street.
7. Traded OF Aaron Cunningham to Cleveland Indians for RHP minor league prospect Cory Burns.
8. Traded RHP Mat Latos to Cincinnati Reds for RHP Edison Volquez, 1B Yonder Alfonso, C Yasmani Grandal, and RHP minor league prospect Brad Boxberger.
9. Traded C Luis Martinez to Texas Rangers for RHP minor league prospect Ryan Kelly.
10. Traded minor league prospects RHP Simon Castro and LHP Pedro Hernandez to Chicago White Sox for OF Carlos Quentin.

Look closely, Josh Byrnes like his former colleague Hoyer used Padres pitchers and pitching prospects in trades. There is one problem to this scenario. The Padres still have many Outfielders on the team and there is more work to be done before the plane can leave the hanger. I am a bit concerned about the amount of pitching the Padres have given up this year. I am wondering who is going to be the next Gomes this year when the Padres gave up so much pitching for SS Jason Barlett. Also, I feel that OF/1B Kyle Blanks can do much more that Carlos Quentin if Blanks is given a fair chance. It will be a huge mistake if the Padres do indeed trade Blanks this year. Kyle has shown previously that Petco Park is small with his hitting abilities, Blanks just needs playing time and Mgr. Buddy Black should give him some time, unlike what Black did to Aaron Cunningham.

So what is my opinion of the Josh Byrnes winter moves ? I am not impressed yet, just a few shuffling of blocks around and stacking up the chips for more major trades to come shortly. To me the Padres do not have a player that I can say “Hey we need to go to a game to see this player”. The Padres franchise needs to step up to the plate, their neighbors north of them has made a sales pitch to many of the north county residents for a better value per buck to watch baseball. One last statement to make, when is Jeff Moorad going to buy the team outright and show us season ticket-holders that he will bring a winning ballclub to the City on a yearly basis, not bi-yearly or bi-decade basis.

I want to wish all my loyal readers a Happy New Year and the best for 2012. Here is the last blues video of the year by ex-Bad Company Vocalist Paul Rogers singing “Muddy Water Blues” as the Padres franchise is in deep muddy waters and the competition for fans has been turned up a notch by the Los Angeles Angels.