They Have To Be First At Something

It’s hard to be a San Diego Padres fan. We were promised a pony, or at least a few championship teams and quality free agent signings, when we voted for the financing to build Petco Park in the Gaslamp Quarter. Since then the Padres have done a good job of dumpster diving for free agents in order to stay competitive with the Dodgers and Giants, and they occasionally win a division title to keep the fans happy.

I don’t think they’re going to be too happy after this report appeared in Forbes magazine:

Padres President and Chief Operating Officer Tom Garfinkel took exception Wednesday with a Forbes article that said the Padres had a major league-leading operating income of $37 million last season.

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Forbes said the Padres grossed an estimated $30 million in revenue sharing in 2010, although MLB has never announced the revenue sharing figures.

Also, the article said the Padres were one of three franchises that did not increase in value last season. The New York Mets and Cleveland Indians were the other two. Forbes said the average increase in valuation for a major league franchise was 7 percent in 2010.

For years Padres fans been screaming for the team to open their books to prove they’ve been losing money year after year but to no avail. This latest news not only makes the Padres look like they’re lying about their finances, but makes one wonder if they had the money to re-sign Adrian Gonzalez rather than trade him to their major league affiliate in Boston.