Kevin Towers on his way out with Padres?

Sunday could be the final game day for Kevin Towers as general manager of the San Diego Padres. John Moores bought the Padres in 1994 and installed Towers as his general manager the next year, but Jeff Moorad took over the team this season.

Moorad has extended the contract of Manager Bud Black but has promised nothing to Towers. One club insider said he thought the chances of Moorad retaining Towers were no better than 50-50.

Moorad, who previously ran the Diamondbacks, could consider importing one of two highly regarded Arizona assistants, Jerry DiPoto or Peter Woodfork.

The two longest-tenured general managers are Towers and Brian Sabean, hired by the San Francisco Giants in 1996. Sabean, who also worked under new management this season, is expected to return.

The Giants finally emerged from beneath the wreckage of the “Win One for Barry Bonds” era, posting their first winning season in five years behind the homegrown arms of Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, both first-round draft picks. Pitcher Madison Bumgarner and catcher Buster Posey, top picks in 2007 and ’08 and stars in waiting, arrived in San Francisco in September.

Bobby Thomson breaks Dodger hearts

As the Dodgers and Giants prepare to renew their rivalry Friday, Dodgers fans must never forget one of the main reasons to hate the Giants. Stealing signs led to this moment: 

Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard Round the World"

Former Journey singer Steve Perry on Dodgers anthem: 'I don't want to hear it'

Steve Perry is the former lead singer of Journey, whose song "Don't Stop Believin' " is played nightly at Dodger Stadium.

Perry, it turns out, is a fan of the San Francisco Giants. He tells the San Francisco Chronicle that he hates that the Dodgers play the song -- as opposed to the Giants.

"I really wish we'd have hijacked it first," Perry said. "I think the song is about hope and power, and it's working for them, damn it."

-- Bill Shaikin 

Brad Penny headed to Giants

Former Dodger pitcher and All-Star whiner Brad Penny is going to sign with the San Francisco Giants, according to ESPN.com.

Penny, who often complained when he was removed from games at what he considered too early a time (and which to sane people was really a couple of batters late) is the perfect addition to a team Dodgers fans are already pre-disposed to hate.

Penny was 7-8 with a 5.61 ERA with the Boston Red Sox this season. The Red Sox put him on waivers last week.

Note to Tim Lincecum: Watch everything that Penny does and copy it. That will only help the Dodgers' chances to win the division.

-- Houston Mitchell

Photo: Brad Penny. Credit: Matt Campbell / European Pressphoto Agency

Giants accelerate talks with Manny Ramirez

The Dodgers might not have been talking with Manny Ramirez, but the Giants have.

While Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti said Friday that he had not spoken with agent Scott Boras in the previous 48 hours, Giants President Larry Baer said today his club had spoken with Boras several times in the past few days, including on Friday.

"We have been talking," Baer said.

Baer would not say whether the Giants have extended an offer to Ramirez.

The Giants are not believed to be enthused about topping the Dodgers' offers of one year at $25 million or two years at $45 million, but a source familiar with their thinking recently told The Times they had not ruled out a three-year contract.

"I'm not going to get into dollars and cents," Baer said. "We've said all along it has to be the right fit for the Giants."

-- Bill Shaikin

Photo: Manny Ramirez is greeted by Andre Ethier after hitting a sixth-inning home run in Game 1 of the National League Divisional Series at Wrigley Field. Credit: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

Giants' interest in Manny Ramirez is real

It appears that at least one NL West team is preparing to ramp up -- and it isn't the Dodgers.

Bill Shaikin is reporting that the San Francisco Giants have a very real interest in signing Manny Ramirez -- and might even consider offering a three-year contract.

The Giants' hopes stem from two big factors: 1) A pitching staff led by Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum that includes Matt Cain and now Randy Johnson; 2) The fact that the Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres have done little if anything to improve.

Stay tuned to latimes.com for the complete story.

-- Mike Hiserman

Andruw Jones' cold summer followed by cold winter

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Depending on whom you believe, Dodger outfielder Andruw Jones is either in Curacao or Atlanta for the holidays and is either returning this weekend or not for the Dominican League playoffs.

Dominican newspaper carried the conflicting reports Monday. Luis Garcia, who works for Jones' agent Scott Boras, says half of the information is right: Jones is in Atlanta and is planning to return for the playoffs.

What there can be no doubt about, however, is that Jones' performance so far this winter has been no better than his performance last summer, when he hit just .158 and struck out 76 times in 75 games.

Playing for Aguilas Cibaenas, Jones is hitting .188 through five games with three singles and eight strikeouts in 16 at-bats. Jones has twice struck out three times in a game and has yet to collect more hits than strikeouts in the same game.

Jones, who has $22.1 million left on his Dodgers contracts, was overweight when he reported to his first spring training with the team last February. He seems to be in better shape physically, but his swing hasn't improved. He has said he'd like to get 40 winter league at-bats and then hopes to play for the Netherlands -- he was born on the Dutch-held island of Curacao -- in the World Baseball Classic this March.

Former Atlanta Braves and current Dodger teammate Rafael Furcal, who helped persuade Jones to come to the Dominican, got off to a better start in his winter league debut with Aguilas, going 2 for 5 in the final game of the regular season. Aguilas, the defending league champion, opens the round-robin playoffs after Christmas, joining Gigantes, the regular-season winner, Azucareros and Licey, the defending Caribbean champion.

"The Gigantes figure to get a playoff boost from the return of Angel slugger Kendrys Morales, who is hitting .404 despite having sat out most of December, while Licey has gotten a great spring from Angel shortstop Erick Aybar, who ended the regular season fifth in the league in hitting at .348. But the MVP of the regular season was Aguilas' outfielder/DH Victor Diaz, a major league free agent, who shattered the Dominican record with 17 home runs and became the first native player in league

Bay Area writer elected to baseball Hall of Fame

LAS VEGAS -- Nick Peters, who covered the San Francisco Giants for 47 seasons, was elected to the Hall of Fame in balloting by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Peters, a San Francisco native, wrote primarily for the Oakland Tribune and Sacramento Bee.  He also covered baseball for the San Francisco Chronicle and served as a correspondent for Sports Illustrated and The Sporting News in addition to writing five books on the Giants before retiring last year.

The Times' Ross Newhan and Jim Murray and the Los Angeles Herald Examiner's Bob Hunter are past winners of the award, which honors "meritorious contributions to baseball writing."

-- Kevin Baxter

Giants out on Manny, maybe in on CC

LAS VEGAS -- The Giants say they have no interest in Manny Ramirez, even if he could transform them into the favorite to win the National League West next season.

The Giants could use a drawing card to replace Barry Bonds. They could use a thumper too after hitting the fewest home runs of any team in the major leagues last season. Ramirez hit 37 home runs. The Giants' starting outfield of Fred Lewis, Aaron Rowand and Randy Winn combined to hit 32.

So we asked a Giants official if the team were interested in Ramirez.

"I can say definitively we're not," the official said.

The official said the Giants are interested in CC Sabathia, the ace pitcher who grew up in the Bay Area. The official would not confirm whether the Giants had offered a contract to Sabathia but said they would need to make other moves before they could sign him.

Sabathia has offers of $140 million over six years from the Yankees and $100 million over five years from the Brewers, with Milwaukee apparently willing to discuss a sixth year as well as an opt-out clause. The Angels are interested too, and Sabathia said he is interested in the Dodgers.

-- Bill Shaikin

Photo: Manny Ramirez. Credit: Jed Jacobsohn / Getty Images

Dodgers still looking as shortstops land elsewhere

Two shortstops are gone, and maybe a third. The Giants have signed Edgar Renteria, the Cardinals acquired Khalil Greene from the Padres, and the Tigers reportedly are pushing hard to acquire Jack Wilson from the Pirates*.

The Dodgers still don't have a shortstop, with management unconvinced that Chin-lung Hu can hit major league pitching, at least not now. They say they're still interested in bringing back Rafael Furcal, but their decision not to offer him arbitration says they weren't interested in him accepting a one-year contract if it might cost them in the range of $13 million, which is the same as his 2008 salary.

It is unlikely that Furcal could have gotten much of a raise in arbitration, given that he was limited to 36 games last season because of a back injury and subsequent surgery.

Other than Furcal, who visited last week with the Oakland A's, the top remaining free-agent shortstop is Orlando Cabrera. The White Sox offered him arbitration, so the Dodgers would have to surrender their first-round draft choice to sign him, and they would prefer to explore other options. But it's a steep drop from Furcal and Cabrera to the likes of Alex Cora, Cesar Izturis and David Eckstein, so the Dodgers will be talking trade at next week's winter meetings.

The Angels are satisfied with Erick Aybar, who had an eventful week in winter ball, and are not looking for a shortstop.

-- Bill Shaikin

* Corrected Wilson's team from Padres to the Pirates.

Photo: Rafael Furcal tags out Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley to end the first inning of Game Three of the NLCS on Oct. 12. Credit: 26) to Gary A. Vasquez / US PRESSWIRE