Kevin Towers Quotations

We're not going to rush him. We're not going to hold him back, either. But I'd like to see him get more innings at the professional level.

We're getting an experienced reliever who's pitched in the postseason and will add depth to our bullpen.

We're hopeful that in 2006 he will be the all-time saves leader. It's certainly within his grasp. I won't be surprised if he surpasses the 500 mark and goes to Cooperstown as one of the few relievers there.

We have to get busy. That's the thing about this job. You can't even sit back and reflect on the season you just had before you have to go to work.

Let's relax, have a good time and prove that we're better than people think. We play to our competition. All year long, we've done that. The Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals, if we're fortunate enough to get there, I don't think they're going to take us lightly.

Mike still thinks he can catch 70 to 80 games. We'll also use him as our designated hitter against American League teams on the road (nine games against the Angels, Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers). And he could play first base against some left-handed pitchers.

Mike Piazza is one of the greatest-hitting catchers in the history of baseball and has his name written all over the major league record books. This is an exciting addition to our club and we are thrilled to see him add to those numbers while wearing a Padres uniform.

My integrity and credibility mean everything to me. I've known Greenie over the years. I always had a lot of respect for him. He's married with (three) kids. I just felt that if he wanted his release, I would grant it to him.

No, I'm just superstitious. Very superstitious, ... The way I look at it, he's been successful. We've been successful. I've been successful. So why screw with it?

Ned deserves a lot of credit for what they've done in San Francisco the last 10 years, reinventing their club the way they do and always staying in the top two or three in the division. I know he's very good at negotiating contracts, has a good rapport with agents and is media-savvy.

If we got Wells, it probably would mean a pitcher going back the other way.

If we go three-and-out, fans may say this was the type of club we had all year. But I think we'll have a chance to win our first series, and if we do, people are going to forget our record. Maybe they'll say we're a team of destiny.

I don't have a problem with it. We play the game for the fans, and the fans like to see this guy play. To win the division, we have to beat the Giants. But if you're already talking about gamesmanship in spring training, I just think that's a little petty.

I bet I haven't seen him pitch live in about 10 years,

Certainly it was a blow. He had had such a good spring. He's a key cog to this whole club.

But we thought we needed to change there. We felt these were areas where we were not good at and needed to improve. We struggled in some decisions at the third-base coaching spot and in base-running (Lopes' responsibility).

Based on the type of year he had this year in the International League, we believe Kenny is on the comeback trail. We still feel like he has an upside.

If someone gives him a major-league opportunity, that would be more appealing.

He takes a lot of pride in calling a game.

He has been the foundation of our bullpen since 1993. And it's great to know that he'll continue to close out games and pursue major-league records in a Padres uniform.

He is a tremendous everyday player who's an offensive force and a solid defender. He's somebody that plays the game as hard as anybody in the game and you can write him in the lineup every single day.

We think he'll be a fine addition. I've always been a fan of his.

He's a fly-ball pitcher who should be effective in our ballpark, especially with our improved outfield defense. He can handle the bat, too.

(Good defense) affects you in a lot of ways. It prevents your pitcher from throwing too many pitches in one inning. It gives your bullpen a rest because your starter may be able to go a little deeper into games. Cameron is going to save games with his glove.

He's a tremendous athlete -- we've only seen the tip of the iceberg. Last year was his breakout year. He's had some success at the big-league level now -- and he's going to get better.

He's had to learn in the big leagues, which is tough. He's faced probably as much adversity as any young player in the game is going to face.

He's a very versatile player and a switch-hitter. I think we missed having him when Greene got hurt. Plus, he's a quality guy in the clubhouse.

The Rangers knew they had a commodity. The only way they were going to part with him was if some team grossly overpaid. I don't blame (them). I'd do the same if I were in that position.

He was tested quite a bit in the outfield, ... and he did pretty well.

He certainly was worth a $50,000 gamble (the price of a Rule 5 claim). He'll get a chance to make our club in some capacity.

He knows the runners a little bit now -- when he needs to rush and when he has time to make a play. I've seen a huge difference in him defensively.

Khalil is an exciting, popular player. We think he's going to have a real good year, offensively and defensively.

I think it not only affects the National League West, ... but the whole league.

I think the biggest reason we won last year was our bullpen. I don't think there's ever an excuse for not putting together a good bullpen.

I thought they were looking to add to their pitching, not give anybody up.

I think we'll sign him back. We wanted to negotiate a better deal. We lose exclusivity, but we were down the road with both of them. We're hoping we'll be able to sign those two back.

I think we know what intangibles that people with the last name of Hoffman bring to the ballpark. This guy knows the NL West very well. He's managed before. He's been a former player. He's driven, organized and has those 'Hoffman' intangibles that we look for.

I think Brian will want to know if we'll have a chance to win. He'll want to know how we're going to strengthen this club and get it back to the postseason.

I think after going through that process and coming back and having a chance to kind of reflect on a lot of the positives, I came to the realization that I had it pretty good in San Diego. This was the organization that drafted me, made me scouting director and the GM at a very young age, an organization that has stuck with me through some very difficult times.

I think those are the options and the decision is going to come soon.

I saw no fall-off in Castilla last year. He did have some knee problems, but our reports are good. I think he'll play 120 to 130 games.

Playoff games are usually decided in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings by bullpens, closers, the bench,

Players with other clubs don't take us lightly. The Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals, if we're fortunate to get there, I don't think they're going to take us lightly.

Parting ways with Peach and Davey is difficult,

I think he'll be a starter ---- it's just when will he be a starter? There's no doubt he's got the skill set to play out there. It's just looking for that break, that opportunity. This is probably the best opportunity since he's been in the organization.

I still think everybody in the division has a chance to win it, with maybe Colorado the exception because they're looking to rebuild. The Dodgers are hanging around, the Diamondbacks are a good team and I'm so used to the Giants winning 90 or more games I can't picture them ever being out of it. I fully expect the race to come down to the last month.

I thought he looked great, ... I told a couple of advance scouts I was sitting next to, 'He's got his 'A' game today.'

We were more at risk taking Castilla on than they were with Lawrence.

We have to talk to our doctors to see if he's ready, ... He's a guy who could be a big part of our plans. He fits the profile we're looking for at that position.

We need to find out who the real Tim Stauffer is ---- the guy we called up in May and the guy who threw that shutout, or the guy who struggled a good part of the year.

We're kidding ourselves if we say this problem is not happening. Look at the before and after shots, at the size of some of these players from the '90s to now. It's a joke.

We'd look at our schedule last year and pray our big games were on the road. This year it's the complete opposite. We actually love it here at home.

We wouldn't have gotten that if it weren't for Sandy, no question about it. Everyone knows how he feels about international play.

We would like to express our sincere thanks to Davey, Rob and Jeff for the time they have invested in the organization and wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors. However at this time we feel it necessary to head in a different direction entering the 2006 season.

We have added some great character guys, something we really lacked. We had some shared leadership last year at times from (Dave) Roberts, (Mark) Loretta and others, but it was something we really lacked. I have heard nothing but good things about Mike Cameron; he's a good guy to have in the locker room.

We lose a little bit of leverage now. People realize he doesn't quite fit for us. It ties our hands a little bit.

We feel we have a lot of depth at both corner spots. We think we'll improve our production at the corners.

We felt we had a chance to compete based on the rest of the division,

Brian spent little time on the disabled list. We looked at 200 innings and at least 30 starts.

Fans want to have a chance in the playoffs,

There's nothing I can do about that ? we'll have to find a way to get him out. I'm happy to hear that he does have something. That's good.

There's nothing better than champagne in the clubhouse,

The way I look at it, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to leave (the offer) out there for other teams to beat.

The way he handled himself during adverse times, his poise, man, there's not many like him.

The smell of champagne in a clubhouse is a great thing, ... regardless of how you get there.

Sometimes with guys like him and Burroughs, there's much more pressure, being in the organization that spent a lot of money on them and made them No. 1 draft picks. If the performance isn't there, it becomes tough mentally for them.

Ramon is not an easy guy to replace. We plan to get our offense elsewhere. I've heard the criticism about our catching. These guys are not chopped liver.

After what I went through with Arizona, the last four or five days, they were crazy with all the speculation out there. I don't think it was fair to this organization. One thing I want to make clear is that I wasn't throwing my name out there. It got to the point where it didn't stop.

During rough times and tough times his leadership came out, ... He could have been volatile, but he was a calming influence. He remained strong.

Defensively, he's one of the best in the game. I think he will bring leadership and serve as a role model for some of our Hispanic players.

You're not going to find too many people with his resume,

You're never off, ... That's one of the things about being the general manager of the Yankees - you're always on call. The intensity is always there. That's pretty obvious just in talking to Brian. You can always sense the importance of every moment and how much there is going on around him.

This is certainly a big night in San Diego. I can't put into words what it means to the community, his teammates and the minor-league players we have in our system.

The way you get a good non-roster player for less than a million dollars is after a bad season. It's a no-lose situation for us. If he makes the club, we got a solid veteran guy and a bargain price. If he doesn't, it won't cost us a dime.

This deal was significant enough to put everything else on hold.

It's a tremendous program. I've been here for 11 years and we've seen some of the youngsters who have come through the program and graduated college. It's very successful. It's kind of neat to see kids at this age, in the eighth grade, ready to embark into their high school years and be able to feel that the Padres have had something to do with it, which can lead to very long and successful careers.

I told my wife we're not going anywhere this winter,

For a guy who has that many moving parts, trying to keep your balance and the same release point is difficult. So it's a huge plus that he has command. Once he gets a better feel with that command, I think he might be able to turn it loose more and maybe pick up some velocity.

It just happened that we had more of a need in center field. We all knew 'X' can play. Certainly, this would have been the year that would have provided a great opportunity to play one of the corner positions. But in this outfield here, we thought it was more important to go get a guy who can play center field.

It's good for our players, too. I think it's important to be able to give back to some of these kid that are less privileged. I think it's a gut check for them to realize how fortunate they are and what they have and be able to bond and get to meet some of the kids in San Diego who aren't quite so lucky.

It's probably the biggest win we've had since '98 because we haven't been in this position since '98,

It's nice to have two guys who are homegrown middle infielders who can be together for a long time. It's nice to be able to draft and develop your own. It would be great if someday they could be Trammell and Whitaker.

Everyone said we were going to fold. I even had some doubts creep in. But we never did. I think we got stronger. And I really believe we're going to be tough in a short postseason series.

Everyone said we were going to fold, ... I even had some doubts creep in. But we never did. I think we got stronger. And I really believe we're going to be tough in a short postseason series.

The best thing is, we're going to go in and face good competition. That's when we're at our best. This is a team that plays to the level of its competition. It's been like that all year.

No, and I don't plan to, ... Everybody talks about how great it is to hear Hell's Bells and his entrance into the game, but as soon as he is about to toe that rubber, I'm gone.

That is one of the toughest roles there is in the game. The mentality you have to have. The pressure. The situation that you inherit. The crowds, on the road, the noise,

I want him to keep grinding, but he hasn't done anything to make us believe he shouldn't have the job. He's been by far our best player in camp.

They were positioned in the right place. The ball Loretta hit was a good pitch that he hit hard down the line and Nunez happened to be in the right spot. Sanders happened to be in the right spot on (Dave) Roberts' ball. It was almost the identical ball that Edmonds hit and we couldn't get to.

They were positioned in the right place, ... The ball Loretta hit was a good pitch that he hit hard down the line and Nunez happened to be in the right spot. Sanders happened to be in the right spot on (Dave) Roberts' ball. It was almost the identical ball that Edmonds hit and we couldn't get to.

There've been times when I said, 'Who are we?'  ... But right when I started to wonder who we really were, we'd put together a streak that was not too bad.

Once I was able to get a pitcher who was more affordable and who we liked as good or better, the deal happened rather quickly.

Once I see the team healthy, then we can begin to make some calls about where we stand,

Any time you get a chance to get your hands on a first-round pick, you're interested, because there was enough talent there at one point for the player to be drafted highly.

Any time you lose exclusivity on a player, there's always that chance you'll lose him. But he's a guy who loves this organization and means so much to the city. As he's often said, he's one of the few guys who plays for the name on the front of his jersey, not the one on the back.

Any time you lose a player the caliber of a Mark Loretta, it's a big blow. However we are encouraged that Mark did not need to have a full reconstruction of the thumb and that he will make a full recovery to be back on the field before too long.

The middle of our order has been non-existent.

In talking to him, he's got me excited. He really wants to show the rest of baseball he can be a real force. Certainly, he's going to be a presence in the middle of our lineup.

In talking to him, he's got me excited.

In our ballpark, the emphasis is as much on defense as it is on offense with our outfield, ... We saw it. We got out-doubled and out-tripled in our park. We really have to have somebody really go out and get the ball.