Gone, but Still Answering to the Colorful Nickname "KT"

With a solid second half of the season, the Padres appeared headed toward some semblance of respectability. But almost on cue, they reminded us that they are still the Padres.
Still the laughingstock of baseball.
The only thing that makes less sense than trading Jake Peavy is firing Kevin Towers, but the Padres did just that Saturday, ending the regime of the longest-tenured general manager in baseball.
We've disagreed with some of Towers' moves, and we've rarely missed a chance to poke fun at the man who answers to the colorful nickname "KT," but we always respected his professionalism. In fact, KT was a much better GM than this organization deserved the past 14 years.
Jeff Moorad, the team's new CEO, provided some vague answers Saturday when asked by reporters about Towers' firing. Using phrases such as "who we want to be going forward," "skill set," "prototype" and "in sync," Moorad sounded like a prototype CEO. No word if Moorad mentioned any other boy bands.
Towers, meanwhile, says he was not given a reason for his firing. Perhaps Moorad just didn't feel comfortable, or safe, working alongside a "gunslinger." No word on whether Moorad is a gun-control advocate.
"When I think of a gunslinger, I think of a guy that shoots first, or throws the first punch, he wins the battle," Towers told reporters Saturday. "KT was always about winning the battle."
So not only does KT answer to the colorful nickname "KT," he also refers to himself in the third person with the colorful nickname "KT."
Tremendous.
With quotes like that, we're really going to miss KT around here. And it's sad to note that KT now joins a growing list of our Minor-League Town favorites who have departed San Diego. It's quite an illustrious group: Jake Peavy, David Wells, Milton Bradley, Sandy Alderson and now Kevin Towers.
We don't know what we're going to do with this huge void in the Minor-League Town well of material.
Who are we going to make fun of now, Wade LeBlanc?