As promised, a day after we bid farewell to the 2009 season — for some of you, apparently, it was not quick enough — let’s look ahead to the 2010 season.

Now, with a new GM coming aboard, we don’t know exactly how he’ll handle the roster moving forward, what he’ll see as needs, etc.

But we do know how outgoing GM Kevin Towers would have gone about the job. I talked to him during the final days of the regular season, and this was his, if you will, off-season wish list.

1. Right-handed hitter, preferably for center field
2. Another starting pitcher
3. Help for the bench, likely someone to backup Eckstein and Cabrera
4. Another left-handed reliever
5. Making a decision on the catching position. Retaining Blanco or finding an upgrade.

Here’s a position-by-position breakdown of the Padres moving forward.

Given the Padres won’t be big players in the free agent market, what would you like to see them do moving forward? Do you trade Heath Bell or Adrian Gonzalez, keep one, keep them both? What is the missing piece?

Corey Brock, MLB.com, Padres.com, @FollowThePadres

Happy Wednesday everyone from Philadelphia. Getting ready for the start of the NLDS and I wanted to get caught up on some Padres things.

Here’s a look at a story I wrote the other day about the 2009 season, complete with a pretty cool photo gallery and some video highlights of the past season.

One of the topics in the story addresses the defining moment of the season. There’s really no right or wrong answer here. I picked the walk-off, grand slam Everth Cabrera hit against the Mets in August.

What was it for you? What was your “defining” moment from 2009?

Coming tomorrow, we’ll spin things forward and talk about 2010.

Corey Brock, MLB.com, Padres.com, @FollowThePadres

Sorry, it’s been a busy last couple of days. In Philadelphia getting ready to help cover the NLDS.

I’ll provide a few blogs during the week that will serve as talking points moving forward into the off-season.

The first regards the dismissal of longtime GM Kevin Towers.

Here’s my story from a few days ago about Towers time in San Diego and the link to the story from Saturday when CEO Jeff Moorad talked to reporters about his decision not to retain Towers.

For me, KT was a dream to deal with. Always returned calls, was open, candid and helped me a lot as someone new to the beat. And, of course, he’s an Oregon Ducks fan, as am I.

Here’s a line from that Towers story that I thought summed things up nicely.

“If you were to define a gunslinger, you think back to throwback,
old-school guy,” Towers said. “… That’s the way I was taught when I
played [from] coaches, rival executives, scouts, players, teammates.
That’s the way I was taught to do it.

“When I think of a gunslinger, I think of a guy who shoots first or
throws the first punch. He wins the battle. K.T. was always about
winning the battle.”

What are your thoughts on the decision to remove Towers as GM? As you excited about the prospect of a new GM? What do you want in a new GM?

Corey Brock, MLB.com, Padres.com, @FollowThePadres