Padres executive Ron Fowler calls team ‘miserable failures’

Padres executive chairman Ron Fowler called the team “miserable failures” in a radio interview on Wednesday.

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San Diego Padres executive chairman Ron Fowler called the team “miserable failures” in a radio interview with Mighty 1090 AM on Wednesday.

Fowler’s comments came in the wake of San Diego’s 1–7 road trip, which dropped the Padres’ record to 20–33 and extended its deficit in the National League West to 12 1/2 games behind the San Francisco Giants.

“It’s been embarrassing. I don’t know how else to put it,” Fowler said. “Our performance on the road trip, 1–7, was pathetic.

“I’m a very competitive individual. I think I’ve won a lot more than lost in my life. This baseball experience has been very frustrating, very embarrassing.”

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Fowler, who began his role with the Padres’ organization in 2012, places most of the blame for the team’s struggles this season on the players.

“It’s on the players, but the organization has to accept responsibility for probably having the wrong players,” Fowler said. “We don’t have a team out there right now that is competing effectively. We’re doing everything we can going into the draft and looking at international signings to get some guys who can get us there.

“But in terms of the manager and coaching staff, we’ve got as good a group or a better group than I’ve seen. They’re doing what they need to do. Part of it is on the players. But our job is to get the right players who can be motivated and determined at game time. Right now, we’re not doing it. That’s what’s frustrating for all of us.”