The Padres Will Not Be Getting a Christmas Card From The Hoffman Family

The news yesterday that the San Diego Padres had withdrawn their offer to closer and all-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman wasn't exactly a huge surprise.

With San Diego having what basically equates to a fire sale in hopes of cutting costs for next season, anybody who makes over $5 million a season should probably start packing their bags. Especially when you're a 41-year-old pitcher who's losing his effectiveness.

Still, Trevor wasn't very happy with the way the Padres handled the whole situation. When they offered Hoffman a one-year deal for only $4 million -- Trevor made $8 million in 2008 -- he basically knew then that it was the organization's way of saying it was time to move on, but that doesn't mean they had to toy with him.

The last negotiation between the Padres and Hoffman, after the 2006 season, had had some ugly moments, with palpable tension between Hoffman and Padres president Sandy Alderson. This time around, the Padres indicated that their $4 million offer was the best that they could do, so Hoffman asked Thurman to arrange a meeting -- with Alderson, Towers and owner John Moores. If Hoffman's time with the Padres was going to end, his feeling was that he wanted to hear it directly from the team's executives.

But the Padres declined to arrange the meeting, and this past Friday, the day after Thurman spoke publicly about Hoffman's desire for a face-to-face sit-down, Towers called Thurman and indicated to him that the Padres intended to withdraw the offer. The organization was upset, Towers told Thurman, that the details of Hoffman's offer had leaked out.

Hoffman, in Puerto Rico, again told Thurman that he wanted to arrange a meeting, with Alderson and Towers. He wanted to be told by Alderson, man to man, that the Padres were ending his time with the team.

The Padres' response: Towers told Thurman that the offer was withdrawn, the negotiation was over. He spoke to Hoffman over the phone Monday night.

Now that's just cold. The man has been with the organization for 16 years, the majority of which he spent as the face of the franchise, and they couldn't even tell him face to face? They did it on a cell phone? That's just classless.

I mean, when you've been married to a woman for 16 years and you decide you want a divorce, you don't call her and tell her on the phone do you? Of course not. You have a friend of yours call her and tell her you've died in a horrific plane crash and that you left all of your money to that friend.

That way you don't lose any in the divorce proceedings.