Tear Down This Wall Mr. Byrnes-achev

On this date in 1987* West Germans gathered to hear President Ronald Reagan address a crowd in front of the Berlin Wall. This historic date, when President Reagan pleaded with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall, marked a seminal moment in the latter 20th century.

The Berlin Wall had become a physical manifestation of the division between a communist east and a democratic and capitalist west. Moreover it served as a mental divide between these two worlds.

The barriers of the mind can mean so much more than the physical, the tangible.

The Berlin Wall. Josh Byrnes. The San Diego Padres. Take a journey with me won't you . . .



New Padres General Manager Josh Byrnes has been an active participant during the Hot Stove and while it has ruffled the feathers of some fans there's no doubt he has made the winter interesting.

But there is one thing Byrnes could do that would no doubt capture the imagination of all Padres fans. It is President Ronald Reagan's Berlin Wall speech that I use as inspiration.

I paraphrase:

We welcome change and openness; for we believe that locker room cohesion and wins go together, that the advance of our 25 man roster can only strengthen the cause of the 2012 season. There is one sign that Josh Byrnes can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of this organization as a whole and the team that takes the field in 2012. General Manager Byrnes, if you seek unity, if you seek wins for the San Diego Padres and the people of southern California, if you seek the whole as being more than the sum of its parts, come here to this locker room. Mr. Byrnes, open this locker room. Mr. Byrnes, Mr. Byrnes, tear down this wall!

Tear down this Orlando Hudson Wall in the San Diego Padres locker room, Mr. Byrnes.

We are big believers that you can do it. Make this hot stove season an unrivaled success and tear it down.

I want to thank @homersapien619 for indulging me with an excellent photo-shop of the wall inside San Diego's locker room. Homer likes beer and is a fellow believer in belief. Follow him on twitter.

*This date is a fabrication. It was not December 21st, 1987 but June 12th of that year. But it's the off-season and points must be made.