The San Diego Padres introduced new manager Craig Stammen, and we learned some truly earth shattering things about his relationship with GM A.J. Preller:
(1) They know and like each other
(2) Preller did a sales job to get Stammen to take the job
(3) They’re a little fuzzy on the “How’d we get here?” question, if you believe the sales job Preller tried on the media today.
As you may have guessed from this list, the presser was light on specifics. Stammen, a former receiver with the Padres, wasn’t interested in the job right away, but at some point during the interview process he was helping Preller to monitor, the GM started trying to talk Stammen into taking the job.
"He was very coy about it at the beginning," Stammen said in an AP story via ESPN. "We kind of got through the interview process, the beginning of it, and then he put the sales kibosh on me and said, 'I really want you to be a part of the process; I want you to think about being the manager of the Padres.'"
For Stammen, the process then shifted to talking his wife into moving to California. Once that was a go, Preller hired his third manager with no big league experience, so this isn’t exactly breaking new ground for him, and he cited Stammer’s prior experience with the Pads as part of why he thinks the third time will be the charm.
"He's an elite competitor, incredibly hard worker, very prepared and a natural leader and somebody that as a pitcher was able to touch different elements of our clubhouse and be able to bond and connect with different players in that clubhouse over the course of a seven- or eight-year period here in San Diego,” Preller said.
"Craig has a unique seat, a unique lens. He was part of those building teams and then he's been able to see it through to the playoff teams and the teams that have won 90-plus games here the last two years. He's part of some really high highs ... Craig starting a playoff game, which is definitely a career highlight, and he also had a front-row seat to some of the disappointments of the last few years, and I think he's going to carry those experiences with him here in this chair."
The one issue Stammen did take on in his followup comments is his relationship with pitching coach Ruben Niebla, who also interviewed for the job, and he talked about the required learning curve.
It will be a "challenge for sure. I've got a big learning curve ahead of me,” Stammen said before tackling the Niebla question. "One of the advantages of being a relief pitcher and viewing the game from that lens is you're always monitoring when the pitching changes are coming. Especially in the role I had, I had to be ready from pitch one until the end of the game."
Stammen stated that he and Niebla will “be a lethal combo” in making pitching decisions, although it remains very unclear which pitchers will be involved in those decisions and what direction the Padres will be going as they remake their staff this offseason.