Towers figured he was fired so Padres CEO Moorad could hire his own guy

October 7th, 2009 A's squash speculation about Forst and San DiegoSAN DIEGO — The Oakland Athletics squashed speculation that assistant general manager David Forst is in the mix to become the next general manager of the San Diego Padres The A's said in a statement e-mailed exclusively to The Associated Press on Wednesday that Forst has not interviewed for the job, nor has anyone asked for permission to interview him. "At this time, he has no interest in pursuing a position outside of Oakland and has no plans to leave the A's organization," the statement concluded.

October 4th, 2009 Big Unit makes possible final appearanceSAN DIEGO — Randy Johnson made what could be the last appearance of his brilliant, 22-year big league career, pitching one adventuresome inning of relief in the San Francisco Giants' 4-3, 10-inning win over the San Diego Padres on Sunday. Although the Big Unit gave up an unearned run in the seventh that tied the game at 3, Pablo Sandoval provided the go-ahead run when he homered on the first pitch of the 10th inning.

October 3rd, 2009 LeBlanc shuts down Giants in 2-0 Pads winSAN DIEGO — Left-hander Wade LeBlanc held San Francisco to two hits in seven innings and struck out a career-high eight to lead the San Diego Padres to a 2-0 win over the Giants on Saturday night. The Padres improved to 37-24 since July 28, the fourth-best record in the major leagues during that span.

October 3rd, 2009 Towers: no real reason given why Padres fired himSAN DIEGO — Kevin Towers, a gunslinger if ever there was one, marveled at how he always managed to stay one step ahead of the posse. He never got fired from a job while growing up in Medford, Ore., he said; never got cut from a team, released as a professional ballplayer or fired from any of the baseball jobs he held before becoming the San Diego Padres' general manager in November 1995.

October 2nd, 2009 Source: Padres GM Towers is being firedSAN DIEGO — A person familiar with the decision says Kevin Towers, the longest-tenured general manager in the major leagues, is being fired by the San Diego Padres. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Friday night because the club hadn't made an announcement.

October 2nd, 2009 Source: Padres GM Towers has been firedSAN DIEGO — Kevin Towers, the longest-tenured general manager in the major leagues, has been fired by the San Diego Padres, a person familiar with the situation said Friday night. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the club hadn't made an announcement.

October 2nd, 2009 Zito knocked out of game by Gonzo's line driveSAN DIEGO — Barry Zito's season ended when he was hit by a line drive in the sixth inning Friday night, leaving him with a bruised left forearm. "It didn't feel good," Zito said after his San Francisco Giants beat the San Diego Padres 7-2, although he didn't figure in the decision.

September 6th, 2009 Blue Jays' Ruiz hit in face by pitch by pitchTORONTO — Blue Jays rookie Randy Ruiz was hit in the face by a pitch from Josh Towers of the New York Yankees, and was able to walk off the field without assistance Sunday. Ruiz batted with the bases loaded in the fifth inning after Towers relieved Mark Melancon.

August 5th, 2009 Padres release Mark Prior after slow rehabSAN DIEGO — The San Diego Padres have released right-hander Mark Prior, whose once-promising career has been interrupted by two shoulder surgeries since April 2007. Prior had signed a minor league contract with the Padres in January.

July 24th, 2009 Padres eliminate 10-20 business office jobsSAN DIEGO — The San Diego Padres have eliminated between 10 and 20 positions as part of what new CEO Jeff Moorad calls the first step of a reorganization of the team's business operations. Moorad wouldn't provide the exact number or identify any employees who were laid off.

July 8th, 2009 Padres designate RHP Silva for assignmentPHOENIX — The San Diego Padres have designated right-hander Walter Silva for assignment and called up infielder Craig Stansberry from Triple-A Portland. Silva was 0-2 with an 8.76 ERA in six starts for the Padres this season.

July 4th, 2009 Padres expected to extend Black's contractSAN DIEGO — It looks like Padres manager Bud Black is going to get a contract extension. Despite having an overall losing record in three seasons, Black apparently has done enough to impress new CEO Jeff Moorad, the head of an ownership group that has acquired 35 percent of the team from John Moores.

June 19th, 2009 Avs hire Konowalchuk, Deadmarsh as coachesDENVER — The Colorado Avalanche have hired former players Steve Konowalchuk and Adam Deadmarsh as coaches. Konowalchuk will be an assistant coach and Deadmarsh will be video and development coach.

June 5th, 2009 Raptors hire Iavaroni as assistant to TrianoTORONTO — The Raptors have hired former Memphis Grizzlies coach Marc Iavaroni as an assistant to Jay Triano and are parting ways with assistants Mike Evans and Gord Herbert. The Raptors also announced on Friday that Alex English will return for his sixth season with Toronto, his eighth as an NBA assistant.

June 1st, 2009 Gonzalez homers again to lead Padres to winDENVER — Adrian Gonzalez hit his major-league leading 20th home run, Chad Gaudin struck out a season-high nine and the San Diego Padres beat the Colorado Rockies 5-2 on Sunday. Brad Hawpe and Yorvit Torrealba had two hits each for Colorado, which lost for the first time under interim manager Jim Tracy, who replaced the fired Clint Hurdle on Friday.