After winning the Cy Young award last year, Jake Peavy is 9-9 with a 2.69 ERA for the Padres this season. Scott Wachter/Icon SMI

Padres expected to make cuts after tough year

Word is, the Padres are going to scale back this offseason, cutting their alltime high payroll of $78 million (it's actually a little less than that now that Randy Wolf and Greg Maddux have been traded). And some suggest owner John Moores' impending divorce is one impetus for the expected cuts.

In an interview this week, longtime Padres GM Kevin Towers didn't address any personal situations but did not dispute that it might be time to shake things up after suffering an extremely disappointing season. Towers also complimented how the A's and Marlins have turned things over, seeming to suggest it might time for the Padres to try the same tactic. Towers said he admires what Billy Beane's done with the A's, and two former A's executives Sandy Alderson and Paul DePodesta are prominent decisonmakers in San Diego's hierarchy.

Until this year, the Padres generally have outperformed their payroll, which has consistently been in the bottom third in baseball. Under Towers, 48, they entered the season with six winning seasons and six losing seasons despite adhering to a strict budget.

Despite staying the race until game No. 162 last year, Towers had no great illusions entering the season. He said he thought they'd be either third or fourth best in what was believed to be a tough N.L. West Division. As it turns out, they are fifth best in baseball's worst division. "I didn't expect us to hit the bottom,'' Towers said.

But they have. Towers said he's been frustrated to consistently lose to the rival Giants (and his old buddy, manager Bruce Bochy) and frustrated by the performance of their middle relievers. Towers said they have missed Scott Linebrink and Doug Brocail terribly. Towers said, "Our bullpen just didn't get the job done.''

Around the Majors

• The free agent game is such a tricky one, and so many GMs have been burned by it. Towers said the one GM who plays it best is Pat Gillick because Gillick thoroughly researches everyone he pursues. Towers thought he might get a steal when he made a play for Jayson Werth coming off an injury with the Dodgers. But Towers said when he called for Werth and was told, "You better move fast. Pat Gillick's sitting in his living room in Springfield, Ill.'' Werth, who has 21 home runs, has turned out to be a steal for the Phillies.

• The Red Sox breathed a major sigh of relief when Josh Beckett came back with a completely clean bill of health after visiting Dr. James Andrews. Boston people appeared confident before Beckett visited Andrews but felt much better after hearing Beckett's elbow was fine.

• Mets starter John Maine is a tough kid, and he tried for a while to tough it out. But he doesn't appear close to picking up a ball now. So he may join a long list of Mets who won't make it to the finish line, starting with El Duque, Moises Alou, Angel Pagan and Matt Wise.

• Carlos Delgado, whose $12-million options vests if he's MVP of the season, the NLCS and World Series, is suddenly and stunningly a candidate for that first honor. He leads the NL in homers and RBIs over the last two months.

• The Mets will try to extend Omar Minaya's five-year contract, which expires after the 2009 season, sometime this winter. Minaya has an excellent rapport with the Wilpons. Beyond that, he's put together a team at least good enough to challenge three straight years.

• I am sure Ozzie Guillen meant well when he called AL MVP candidate Dustin Pedroia a "jockey.'' But it didn't necessarily come out that way. Guillen was frustrated having to walk the 5-foot-7 Pedroia when he remarked how impressed he was that Pedroia could go from riding Big Brown to starring with Boston. Everyone should be impressed.

• Andruw Jones conceded his brutal season is over, not that we couldn't have figured it out on our own. Joe Torre has settled on Manny Ramirez, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier as his outfield trip. With Juan Pierre on the bench also, the Dodgers have expensive outfield depth -- it's $27 million between Jones and Pierre.

• Few folks see Derek Lowe returning to the Dodgers next year. A free agent, Lowe is looking for the magic of the 2004 Red Sox, a magic that is tough to duplicate.

• There's some skepticism whether owner Frank McCourt will pay what it will take to keep Ramirez, who some suggest will aim to match A-Rod's $27.5-million annual salary. But out in L.A. he may be worth it. They are selling his jersey in the shop at Dodger stadium for $302, and the shirts are said to be flying off the shelves.

• Jason Giambi's story of how he cut his eye on the hotel bathroom door probably drew a few chuckles. And Giambi's one of the nicest guys in the game. But for his own sake, maybe he should consider slowing down. He's a lot faster outside the basepaths than maybe he should be.

• Brian Cashman's hint that the Yankees may be leaning toward putting Joba Chamberlain back in the bullpen suggests they continue to be concerned long-term about Chamberlain's arm. The Joba Rules live.