Fan Sentiment: Many Miss Bowa, Blame Feeney for Padres’ Troubles

Should he or shouldn’t he have been fired?

It will come as small consolation to Larry Bowa, but a sample of opinion at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium Friday night turned out in his favor. A clear-cut majority called Bowa’s dismissal as Padre manager a mistake, and most of those polled branded team President Chub Feeney the heavy.

Bowa was sacked last Saturday, and Jack McKeon, also the Padres’ general manager, made his home debut in his dual role Friday night against Atlanta.

While many Bowa supporters took shots at Feeney, none blamed McKeon for what they said shouldn’t have happened.

Earl Carrubba of Mira Mesa, a senior chief petty officer at Miramar Naval Air Station, said, “Feeney is a dinosaur. I kind of think he thinks these are the ‘50s and ‘60s. Some of the things he says--I’m not sure he has caught up with the rest of us.”

Mary Ellen Munyon, a season ticket-holder from Point Loma, put her anti-Feeney sentiments this way: “I think it was a mistake for Joan Kroc to bring Feeney in. It’s unfortunate that Ballard Smith is gone. I haven’t seen anything from Chub Feeney yet that shows dynamic leadership.”

The beat went on. Katherine Behles of Clairemont, who with her husband, Cid, has held season tickets for the past 19 of the Padres’ 20 seasons, said, “I feel badly for Larry Bowa. I have nothing against Jack McKeon, but I don’t think management gave Bowa enough to work with. I think Feeney is too old (66) for the job . . . They need a younger president.”

Steve Allen of Scripps Ranch is such a big fan that he has gone to the Padres’ spring training base in Yuma, Ariz., every year since 1973.

“I think they made Bowa the scapegoat,” he said. “They just don’t have the ballplayers. I think Larry could be a great manager for some team. What they need for such a young team is a teaching type like Frank Howard or Steve Boros. The biggest mistake they ever made was letting Roger Craig (now manager of the San Francisco Giants) get out of town.”

Tom Polzella of Mira Mesa, a chief petty officer at Miramar, said, “They should have given Bowa at least the rest of the year. I think Joan Kroc ought to get off her wallet. She could have signed Tim Raines for a mere $200,000 more than she was offering.”

Most vocal of those who approved of Bowa’s ouster was George Felix of San Diego. “I’m glad they fired him,” he said. “He’s the Billy Martin type. He’s too rough on the guys. He criticizes them in the press before he even talks to them.”

Another anti-Bowa voter was Tom O’Laughlin of San Diego: “I think the change was a good one. The club needed it because there was an element of tension created by Bowa. McKeon is a more relaxed sort.”

Don Love of La Mesa, another season ticket-holder, said, “I liked Bowa, but I think maybe the players didn’t play as well as they should have under him. He was a little too tense. I know he knows his strategy, but handling players is more important than strategy.”

A fan on the fence was Joe Marciano of Mira Mesa, a petty officer second class at Miramar. “It doesn’t bother me. It’s a matter of whether Joan Kroc would lighten up on her pocketbook,” he said. “She needs to get out of the ‘60s into the ‘80s.”

Marciano echoed another suggestion: “They ought to get rid of Feeney, too.”