"Josh Byrnes got the job as sheriff of Padre Flats, surveyed the populace and started blasting his six-shooters. The new Padres general manager has just enough old-fashioned gunslinger and mail pilot in him to fire away at the law of convention and fly by the seat of his pants.

The Padres won 71 games last season under the auspices of Byrnes' predecessor, Jed Hoyer (who blew off to the Windy City during the offseason), but Josh wasn't an outsider. He had been the Padres' VP of baseball operations after a successful run as GM in Arizona (he prefers not to discuss his end there), so he knew the territory and didn't like much of what he saw as a deputy.

Unlike the 90-win 2010 Padres, a cohesive unit with personality, last year's group was no such thing. Chemistry went poof. Hoyer made a mistake cleaning out chemistry guys such as David Eckstein and Matt Stairs. The 2011 clubhouse was a wet rag. So Byrnes made what he considered necessary changes, even if it meant watching fiery closer Heath Bell walk away. "