Ng should be the first female GM

Baseball has long since been known as a man's sport. Men play the game and men run the team.

Men will always play the game, but they may not always run the team.

Kim Ng, Los Angeles Dodger vice president and assistant general manager, interviewed for the San Diego Padre vacancy on Saturday.

Ng's expertise comes in the art of negotiation. Specifically, she handles the arbitration process for the Dodgers.

Arbitration is when players who have the necessary Major League experience cannot agree to a deal with his current club. So, both sides go through an arbiter to determine the contract the player will get in the next season.

The player wants a certain amount; the team offers an amount they deem fit. An arbiter rules for the side he sees fit. This is where Ng steps in for the Dodgers.

She has never lost an arbitration case. Granted, only two cases have gone to a hearing: Eric Gagne (2004) and Joe Beimel (2007). She is basically arguing for the team and against the player. She is not the only person to do this, as it is a common part of front office baseball.

However, it does say something about her abilities, as the Dodgers have had only two cases since 2004.

And the Dodgers are going to need her services, as many of their core players are eligible beginning this winter: Chad Billingsley, Matt Kemp, James Loney and Hong-Chih Kuo. Other players will be eligible for a second time: Jonathan Broxton, Russell Martin and George Sherrill.

Ng is definitely a hot prospect in the GM ranks. She interviewed for the Seattle Mariner opening in 2008 and if she does not get the Padre job, it won't be her last.

In fact, Dodger GM Ned Colletti has a mutual club option for 2010 that hasn't been picked up yet. Ng could be a candidate if the Dodgers decide to cut ties with Colletti.

Colletti has made some good moves: Acquiring Andre Ethier, Manny Ramirez, Orlando Hudson and Randy Wolf. He has also made some questionable, even bad, ones: Signing Jason Schmidt, Juan Pierre and Andruw Jones and trading away Carlos Santana.

However, it's hard to argue with three playoff appearances in four years, including back-to-back division titles in 2008-09 -- a Dodger first since 1977-78.

It might take some time for people to get over the stigma of a female GM, but Ng should and will be the first in any of the major sports. She has the credentials, performance, education and everything a team could want in a potential GM. She will not be able to prove her worth until she's given a chance, though.

Will the Padres give her the chance? Who knows? If she doesn't end up as the Dodger GM, she will get a GM job somewhere -- and the Dodgers' front office will have taken a big blow because of it.

Ng has paid her dues and it's time for her to be recognized for her hard work. A team will take what little chance there is to be taken, and that team will not be sorry.

Besides, what do the Padres have to lose? Aside from more baseball games, which they've been perfecting without Ng at the helm.