Padres Editorial: Fowler’s “Foul” Comments
The words “embarrassing” and “miserable failures” are not the words anybody wants to hear when describing a baseball team. However, those were the words that Padres executive chairman Ron Fowler chose when conducting an interview with Mighty 1090 Wednesday morning.
Fowler apparently decided that he was going to get on the air and blast his very own team. To me, this was one of the most unnecessary and unprofessional interviews I have heard from a chairman of a Major League ball club.
Have the Padres been playing poorly? YES. There is no debating that. Though as an executive of the ball club, how is Fowler surprised? The roster that the San Diego Padres have constructed for the 2016 season realistically does not stack up with other National League contenders.
Fowler went on to say “I’m a very competitive individual. I think I’ve won a lot more than lost in my life. This baseball experience has even very frustrating, very embarrassing.” I have two problems with this statement. First off, Fowler is part of the leadership team that puts the product on the field. How about taking a little bit of credit for the poor product that is on the field? Second, this should not be about Fowler. This is about the San Diego Padres, no Padres fan wants to know about the past successes that Fowler has had, they want to know what Fowler is going to do to help turn the ship around.
If the red flag is not already soaring, Fowler went on to talk about individual players. He decided to target James Shields, saying, “To have a starter like Shields perform as poorly as he did yesterday is an embarrassment to the team, an embarrassment to him”. Really, Ron Fowler? James Shields obviously had an awful start, and Shields knows that better than everyone in the clubhouse. Shields is an eleven year veteran, who has actually pitched decently well this season other than Wednesdays blunder. The last thing Shields needs to hear, is the chairman of his ball club calling him an “embarrassment”.
Many Padres fans are looking for a reason to back the ball club, and these comments by Fowler are nothing but negative and sour. Sure, Fowler was “telling it how it is”, but that is not his job to make comments like those. By no means are the players going to be fired up to go win after comments like those. Players, Coaches, and Managers are responsible for firing up the team. Comments from upper management such as Fowlers’ do nothing but irritate the players in the clubhouse.
Currently attending San Diego State as a Journalism major. I was born and raised in San Diego, and my passion is following and covering the Padres and the Chargers.
“but that is not his job to make comments” – He does not have a job. He is the owner. He can say whatever he wants. And more importantly he is right! It is not to know that the owners care as much as the fans.
Thanks for reading, Chris. Interesting take.
Matt, it was not unprofessional, it was keeping with Padres tradition. Take a look back in Padres history and listen to the Late Great Ray Kroc on the night of April 9, 1974. Then tell me that he was out of line.
And as far as Shields being decent is concerned, explain then why your fellow writer Mario Sanfilippo expresses his thoughts today that he is regressing? I was initially happy that we signed Big Game James, I now see why the Rays got rid of him.
Hi Chris.
Thanks for reading. I understand your point of view, and that Kroc did the very same thing. However, this is a completely different circumstance, Fowler has not been around long enough and is lacking any history of winning. As far as Shields goes, I agree with my fellow writer. Shields is older, and is beginning to regress, but Shields is still the ace of the squad(without Ross) and like I mentioned is an eleven year veteran. Shields does not deserve to be called out, that was the main point.