Doogie Howser, G.M.

By ERIC S. PAGE

Updated 1:16 AM PST, Wed, Oct 28, 2009

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On Monday, the Padres trotted out their newly signed 35-year-old general manager, Jed Hoyer, for a dog-and-pony show.

Padres' fans will be happy to hear that Hoyer is not a square-peg-in-round hole type of guy -- he wants to tailor the team's lineup to Petco Park, which demands speed and athleticism of players, according to CEO Jeff Moorad. For the first couple of years, the Padres seemed to have no idea how to play to the park, according to 619Sports.net's Craig Elsten, who spoke with Hoyer on Monday.

"I don't think a strength of the organization has been building a team to the ballpark," Hoyer said. "I think that that's something actually that at the end of this season, I think that was one of the best fits for the ballpark that it had had, but I don't think, if you look back over a five- to seven-year period, I don't think the team has necessarily been tailored to the ballpark."

Note to Jed: Petco opened in 2004; there was no seven years ago at Petco Park.

Hoyer is a protege of GM Theo Epstein, who signs the checks for the Boston Red Sox and whose payroll is exactly three times the size of the Padres', who shed many of their marquee players -- including pitching aces Jake Peavy and Trevor Hoffman -- during the last year.

Boston will have you believe they've won two World Series in six years because of their minor league system, not their deep pockets. Now, the Padres are about to find out if that's true: Hoyer's strengths are scouting and player development, which is straight out of Moorad's game plan.

"A young executive with a couple World Series rings on his finger is the kind of executive that I want to lead this organization," Moorad told the guys at 619Sports.net.

Still, one has to wonder if a first-time GM is the right fit for a team that has to be built, mostly, from the bottom up. Hoyer might point out that he has been a co-GM for 44 days (during a brief departure by Epstein), but it may still be a stretch for him.

"He carries a resume that is stamped 'Boston' and not much else," writes Jay Paris in the North County Times. "As Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein's trusted assistant -- and that's not easily dismissed -- Hoyer has never run a department or any level of baseball operations."

Still, could Hoyer do worse than the team Kevin Towers helmed in 2009, which went 75-87 and finished 20 games out of first?

"In Hoyer -- one Internet scribe referred to him as 'Doogie Howser, GM' -- the Padres get an up-and-coming suit not shy about staying late and competing early," Paris went on to say.