Brown, Padres Are Making Togetherness a Huge Issue

When Kevin Brown took the mound for the San Diego Padres on Saturday night in Game 3 of the division series against the Houston Astros, he and they knew it might be his final start for the National League West champions.

Brown can file for free agency at the end of the World Series, as can first baseman Wally Joyner, third baseman Ken Caminiti and center fielder Steve Finley.

The theme of the 1998 San Diego season has been inescapable:

Is this a last chance to win with the current core?

Is it, ultimately, one of the Padres’ last seasons in San Diego?

As frequently chronicled, the Padres contend that unless November voters approve funding for a new stadium, unless they are guaranteed improved revenue from a baseball-only facility, they cannot sustain a competitive payroll under current conditions at Qualcomm Stadium and would eventually have to consider a move.

With the possibility now that each series could be their last of the year, with the calendar moving inexorably toward the November election and the free-agent filing period, the issue has grown in intensity.

Brown and teammates have refused to discuss it, unwilling to see it become a distraction, but General Manager Kevin Towers talked about it again in Houston the other day. Towers said that since explaining to his potential free agents before the season that the club would not be in position to negotiate new contracts until the results of the season and the vote were in, his admiration for the players has grown.

“I can’t thank our guys enough for keeping their minds on business and just going out and playing,” he said. “I mean, I think about the way the [Mike] Piazza thing turned out with the Dodgers and that was plain ugly. It was tough on Mike, tough on the Dodgers and certainly tough on Fred Claire.”

Towers referred to the fact that Piazza created headlines on opening day by complaining about his unresolved future, and the situation deteriorated from there, with the catcher ultimately traded to the Florida Marlins and Vice President Claire, left out of that trade loop, ultimately fired.

While each of the four Padres represents varying degrees of importance to the club, Brown’s ongoing dominance as a No. 1-caliber starter puts him in what Towers acknowledged is a special category.

“He’s like a Roger Clemens, John Smoltz and Randy Johnson,” Towers said. “When they’re on, when they throw their A game, you’re not going to be able to beat them. We haven’t directly talked to any of the four, but I think Kevin has gotten enough hints from us that he knows we want to keep him.

“I think he’s grown to like San Diego and recognizes how well the ownership treats players and their families, but I think what Kevin Brown will want to know is are we going to keep the club together, are we going to be competitive? I mean, he’s been pretty outspoken about the way the Marlins were broken up at a time when he felt they could become a dynasty. No one is more competitive or wants to win more. The biggest pitch we can make to Kevin Brown is to keep winning. I think it would have been very difficult to retain Kevin if we hadn’t won this year.”

From the start, of course, the Padres felt a winning season would go a long way toward eliciting a yes on C vote--as the billboard in right-center field at Qualcomm urges.

But even if the stadium issue is approved, Towers said, he thinks it is unlikely the Padres would be able to retain all four

“Brown played a special role and had a better year than the others,” he said, “but Cammy, Finley and Wally played a special role in ’96 [when the Padres also won the division]. All have contributed to putting San Diego on the baseball map. I would hate to lose any of them, but whether we can keep one, two, three, I don’t know right now. It depends on budget and organization depth. We’ll sit down at the end of the year and prioritize. I’m not going to try and slot them right now.”

Brown is 33, made $4.8 million this year and figures to double that in the market. Caminiti ($3.8 million this year) is 35; Joyner ($3.75 million) is 36, and Finley ($3.4 million) is 33. Catcher Carlos Hernandez, the former Dodger who has played a significant role for the Padres, is also eligible for free agency.

In addition, the Padres must weigh the expense of four arbitration-eligible players--shortstop Chris Gomez and pitchers Dan Miceli, Joey Hamilton and Sterling Hitchock--and an option year on Jim Leyritz.

“We’ll have a competitive payroll, we’ll never be the Marlins,” Towers said, “but the owners are not going to continue subsidizing losses of $15 million and $20 million. We drew a franchise record of 2.5 million this year and still lost money. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know where the payroll [now about $50 million] will go if we retain all of our free agents, plus our arbitration players. If we have to stay at Qualcomm are we going to be able to subsidize a $50-million payroll? I don’t think so, and I think the city realizes that.”

It is the reality of baseball’s economics now that it takes a payroll in the $60-million neighborhood to prosper in the playoffs--as evidenced by the annual appearances of the Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians.

A $40-million to $50-million payroll doesn’t cut it, as the Angels have discovered. A $40-million payroll in the National League West, where the Colorado Rockies are about to hire Jim Leyland as manager, and where Jerry Colangelo isn’t going to sit on his wallet waiting for any five-year plan with his Arizona Diamondbacks, and where the San Francisco Giants are preparing to start mining the riches of a new ballpark, and where Dodger General Manager Kevin Malone is warning rivals about the new sheriff in town, is likely to be scoffed at, Towers said.

Will voters scoff at the idea of a new stadium here? The Padres think it will be close.

Kevin Brown and his free-agent teammates will be tuned in on election night.