That fire sale is forgotten in San Diego

Sporting News, The, May 6, 1996 by Bob Nightengale

Kevin Towers, general manager of the Padres, took his fiancee out for dinner last week when he suddenly winced.

He was surrounded by people talking about the Padres. In years past, this always would ruin the evening. The Padres were the butt of every joke in town. Fans showed up at the ballpark only on the nights the team gave away beach towels.

But here they were, and Towers could not believe what he was hearing. They were praising the Padres. They were talking about going to games. They were talking about honest-to-goodness playoff hopes.

"It's nuts," Towers says. "I used to just sit there and listen to people bash us and abuse us. It's strange after all of this time to finally hear people praise us.

"I go to work in the morning, and there's lines halfway around the stadium. The fans are really getting into iL You don't hear the boos anymore. They know other players besides Tony Gwynn."

Do they recognize you, too?

"It hasn't gone that overboard," Towers says. "I still get carded just to get into my own box."

Hey, if this team keeps winning, Towers will be a household name by mid-summer. There hasn't been this much excitement in San Diego since the invention of the fish taco. These people have been starving for a winner, and, finally, they have a team that makes them proud.

It has taken four years for the fans to reconcile with the Padres. They were left bitter and hurt when the fire sale began in 1993. This team could have been in contention year after year, but it dumped Fred McGriff, Gary Sheffield, Bruce Hurst, Craig Lefferts and everyone else making a seven-figure salary, except Gwynn. It left not only the fans disgusted, but also the players who were stuck in San Diego.

"It was very difficult to manage there just because of the attitude," says Jim Riggleman, now with the Cubs. "The players were preoccupied so much with what was happening off the field that it affected them on the field. They were upset by all of the players that left and kept thinking they were next

"I thought the talent we were left with could have been competitive, but the attitude made it impossible."

The Padres who tried every marketing gimmick possible to bring back the fans, tried something unusual in these days of small-market and small-minded clubs: They decided to assemble a winner.

They went hard after Ron Gant and Craig Biggio, and when they failed, they came up with Wally Joyner, Rickey Henderson and Bob Tewksbury. They re-signed free agents Ken Caminiti and Steve Finley. They upgraded the bench with Craig Shipley and Chris Gwynn. They traded for starter Sean Bergman.

They believed they had put together a winner, leaving no excuses for the fans not to show up: You want a winner, you got a winner.

The Padres are off to the best start in franchise history, entering this week 16-9 and three games ahead in the National League West. It's much too early to start taking playoff ticket orders, but these guys are showing this is no fluke.

"I don't think we're playing over our heads at all," says Bruce Bochy, one of the finest young managers in the game. "Look at all of our injuries, and we're still playing good ball. I believe in this team."

Indeed, this team played nine games without Gwynn and went 7-2. It played without Henderson for much of April. Joyner has been out. What in the world is going to happen when these guys get healthy?

The injuries have allowed the Padres to get a good look at rookie outfielder Marc Newfield, whom former general manager Randy Smith stole from the Mariners in the Andy Benes trade last July.

Then there is Caminiti, who is proving to be the best third baseman outside Matt Williams. Caminiti, who was batting .347 with 17 RBIs entering the week, clinched the Gold Glove award simply for a play last week. He made a diving stop on a shot by Marlins first baseman Greg Colbrunn, then threw him out from the sitting position. It was a play that would make Brooks Robinson envious.

"I know it's early, but we are this good," says Joyner, who entered the week leading the league in hitting.

Certainly, the Padres have made believers of the fans. They have nearly doubled their average attendance of a year ago, drawing 27,188 a game compared with 13,846 a year ago, when they drew a total of 1,041,805.

Funny what winning can do.

Who's in charge?

Closer Lee Smith is infuriating not only Angels management, but also his teammates with his blatantly selfish attitude and disregard for team unity.

The Angels, closer should be Troy Percival. He proved his value last month while Smith was on the disabled list, going 8-for-8 in save situations without yielding a run. Yet when Smith came off the disabled list last week, he demanded that he return to his closer's role; he also threatened to demand a trade or even to quit.

"I don't think I could help the team in a non-closing role," Smith says. "It would be like asking Chili Davis to bat ninth."

The Angels should put Smith back in the stopper role, all right, then trade him at the first opportunity.

Expos magic