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“Charters–No Luck-Bad Luck”

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If they didn’t have bad luck, they would have no luck at all.

The NFL injury report for the coming weekend goes are due out on Wednesday, and you wonder how much longer this can go on.

Philip Rivers is still standing at quarterback for the Chargers, but finding enough healthy people to put around him remains a challenge week-by-week.

The Bolts get a winless(0-4) Denver Broncos team this weekend at home, but you just wonder how many more injuries this team can take before it all collapses around them?

The siege of major injuries started in preseason camp, with the revelation of the blood clots plaguing LT-Russell Okung.  Season threatening, it has now become career threatening, as to whether will ever play again.

Then FS-Derwin James went down with a fractured foot, necessitating surgery, that will keep him out till at least week eight, if not the rest of the season.

Starting corner Trevor Williams never got healthy in camp from knee problems, and is gone on season ending IR.

Safety Adrian Phillips, their top nickel back, is gone with a broken forearm.

And oft injured LB-Denzel Perryman is hurt again, this time with a concussion.

His running mate, fellow LB-Jatavis Brown, can’t stay on the field. This time, anon going ankle injury.

Rookie safety Nassir Adderly, the second round draft pick, got hurt in OTA workouts, is just back, but yet to crack tq play with any regularity.

All that on the defensive side of the football.

And now the injury bug has gone across the hallway into the meeting rooms of the offense.

Hunter Henry, the young star TE, cannot get out from the injury clouds that have impacted his career.  A fractured kneecap will take him out till mid season, if not longer.

His backup Virgil Green has been dry docked for weeks with a groin.

And now the third TE in the group, Sean Caulkins, is gone with a ruptured Achilles, on a fluke play, going down untouched after catching a pass, turning up field and then going down.

Mike Williams had a knee injury and now a back injury, and just cannot stay on the field.

The third wide receiver Travis Benjamin has another nagging injury for the their year in a row, this a hip pointer.

Veteran journeyman WR-Donnie Inman came here, caught a few passesandnow has a quad injury.

The young power running back Justin Jackson, productive in cameo appearances, is down with a calf injury, things that do not heal quickly.

And who knows when we will see kicker Michael Badgley, groin injuries being what they are, slow to heal..

Add it up, and that’ 16- significant injuries, and we are just four games into the 2019 NFL season.

The Bolts are losing a quality player a week, and there just aren’t enough players around to step up and replace those going down.

They are struggling to find the right mix of “43” players to suit up on game day.

Here comes Denver, and their season is going down the drain too, with lots of ailing players.

Just think of the body bag count with the Chargers, and think of the absurdity of the new proposal made by the owners to the Union, increasing the schedule to 17-games next year.  Does anybody think this is a good idea?

The Chargers can’t, shouldn’t, and likely won’t support that move.  But money talks, and people walk, and change their votes.  The added dollars to each club can’t on the field and play.

The Bolts have the teeth of the schedule ahead of them yet.  You wonder when the weight of the injuries, will cause the team to fall down completely.

If the Chargers didn’t have bad luck, they’d have no luck at all.

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“Baseball’s Wild Season”

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Baseball’s 2019 season will go down as bizarre.

The question now, can Baseball’s 2nd season, the post season, top the regular season?

Things happened here you would have never expected.

4-teams won over 100-games.  4-teams lost over 100-games.

The Houston Astros continued their fabulous five year run of star powered baseball, grabbing 107-wins.  The Dodgers made it 7-straight first place finishes, doing what no Dodgers team ever did before, winning 106-games, surpassing the record originally set in 1953 in Brooklyn.  The Yankees, who spent most of the year without their star players on the disabled list, put together an incredible 103-win campaign.  And the lowly Minnesota Twins arose from the abyss, to get 101-victories this year.

At the bottom of the standings, there was lots of bad baseball.  The Tigers finished with a horrifying 114-losses.  The Orioles plunge took them to another hundred loss season, this one worth 108-losses.  Miami’s Marlins wound up losing 105.  And Kansas City plunged back got the norm, with a 103-loss campaign.

Some of baseball’e elite failed to get back to postseason.  The former World Series champion Cubs did not make the playoffs.  Ditto for the staggering Red Sox, who wasn’t play games in October.  Cleveland, for all its small market success, missed by 1-game getting into post season.  And Colorado, its pitching staff destroyed, failed to get to postseason.

What a year for records.  An all time high (6,776) home runs were knocked out of the park this summer, busting last year’s home run high record.

The Twins and Yankees both set records, crashing 307-and-306 home runs this year.

The woeful Orioles pitching staff erased the record book, with the Birds hurlers allowing a record 305-bombs.

Mets phenom Pete Alonso set a rookie record, hitting 53-bombs, making people forget Aaron Judge.

The games were wild, the crowds disappointing as MLB finished with its lowest attendance in 16-years, drawing 68.4M fans to MLB stadiums.  In fact baseball ticket sales plunged, dropping 14% from the high set in 2007.

The attempts by Commissioner Rob Manfred to speed up the game have failed.  Last yar games lasted 3-hours even.  This year, with home run balls, pitching changes, and lots of big innings, games went (3:05:35), much to the chagrin of baseball leadership.

The playoffs now open, with teams with loaded pitching staffs.  The Astros trio of Justin Verlander-Zach Grienke and Garrett Cole, had a combined record of (59-16).  Pick your poison, you want to have them beat you to death with their batting order, or just strike you out inning-by-inning…with Verlander and Cole combined for 626-K’s this season.

The Dodgers front three starters, Clayton Kershaw-Hyun Jin-Ryu and Walker Beuhler went a combined  (44-14), and they have a batting order and a bench that wears you out.

The Twins earned accolades for an amazing season.  No one gave much credit, but that was another 90 win season by the small market Athletics.  Low budget Tampa Bay is back with its small payroll, and even fewer recognizable names.

Yankees baseball could ber about hitters hammering homers, but it’s also about a depleted-inquired-starting rotation trying to stay afloat.

Milwaukee survived the loss of Christian Yelich and Ryan Braun to get a wildcard spot.  Washington overcame a horrible start to earn a chance in a wildcard game.

St. Louis hasn’t been what it was in the past decade, but still good enough to get back to postseason.  Atlanta was red-hot but not right now, and a bit banged up too.

We’ll see what the playoffs bring starting with the the Tuesday night wildcard games.

A bizarre season will get better now that all the really good teams are ready to square off.

Prepare for a wild ride again.

So despite the good-the bad-the ugly of a regular season, we now embark on the best time of the baseball year, the post season.

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“Monday Morning Memos”

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Take a memo to the teams in town.

PADRES….There has been a lot of bad baseball played here over the decades of the Friars, but more than anything else, has there ever been such a bad letdown as we have just experienced.  The sad-sack season, the one the started with great expectation is over, and how big a disappointment was this?  Last place baseball, big money players who became underachievers, too many kid pitchers all on the roster at the same time.  The manager lost his job, the coachi9ng staff will likely be the next to go, and major decisions away when it comes time to post the 40-man protected list for the Winter Meetings.  There will be changes, have to be on this roster.  You wonder whom they hire as manager next.  I would have never ever believed, after all the signings of talent, the ranking of the farm system, that this team would wind up in last place, but that’s what happened by season’s end.  15-losses in the final 17-games.  Discouraging to say the least.

CHARGERS..The record stands at (2-2),but the Bolts have not played a quality 4-quarters of football yet.  Sunday’s game saw Miami rise up to the challenge and put a scare into the Chargers for at least a half, and had Miami not committed 4-self destructive major penalties in the first half, they might well have had the lead, and kept the lead.  Lots of football to be played, Melvin Gordon will likely play next week, but the injury toll on the roster keeps climbing.  Seven starters missed practice this past week leading into the Miami game, and 3-more starters suffered injuries win the win over the Dolphins.  Oh by the way, they start playing real people, real quick on this schedule.

AZTECS…SDSU football comes off the bye week and moves back into conference play next weekend at Colorado State.  SDSU is (3-1), but is coming off the surprise loss to Utah State.  The bigger surprise story is how many Mountain West teams have posted wins over Power 5-Conference schools this early season.  Keeping the Aztecs healthy will be the difference maker between a strong bounce back season, or another disappointment.

AZTECS…Pre season basketball practice has begun, but nothing feels the same up on the Mesa.  All the skill talent of the past couple of years are gone, missing the NCAA tourney again was a disappointment, and there are empty seats lots of places in Viejas Arena.  There will be a truckload of transfers on the floor this year, and it remains to be seen how quickly they all jell.  You get the sense the program has slipped off the town’s radar, for the buzz is gone.

USD…The tiny, yet very successful 1-AA program, continues to be a power in the Pioneer Conference.  In what was supposed to be a rebuilding season at the skill position, the Toreros appear to have a gem in senior QB-Reed Stinnett, who waited his turn.  His numbers thru the first month of the season are impressive, and if he throws the ball the next 6-weeks like he did the first 3-weeks, this could be a playoff team again.

USD…That was a nice run they had in basketball thanks to the transfer Isaiah Pinero and others.  Now Pinero is headed to the Sacramento Kings-NBA camp, and four starters in all are gone.  Big challenge for the coaching staff to find the next wave of talent to keep this team on the radar in the West Coast Conference.

GULLS…A do-over, a rebuild, a new look coming to the AHL team.  At last check 9-key players from last year’s team have departed.  Some will be with the parent NHL-Ducks in Anaheim, a number have moved on to other NHL teams.  New coach Kevin Dineen will almost be starting from square one, compared to what former coach Dallas Eakins had to work with, all those high draft picks the Ducks selected.  Too early to say it will be a long season, but it will. be a different season for sure.

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“Padres–Disappointments Never End”

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It’s almost over, the conclusion of another disappointing summer.

Not the hot-humid  weather that has engulfed San Diego on a yearly basis for the last decade or so, but rather, another disappointing non playoff summer for the Pades, that has now reached over a decade in a row..

They are not going to finish (81-81) as I had projected in the spring.  Instead we are on the brink of another 90-loss season, and 90-losses is 90-losses, regardless of how many promising young pitchers the Padres have unveiled this summer.

Progress, yes some with this franchise, especially the flashes on the mound.  Despite all the high ERAs they take with them on this final weekend of the season, there have been a lot more good outings than there have been bad innings for all those young arms.

Compare San Diego to the awful set of stats compiled by the Orioles or Royals or Tigers pitching staffs, and you have to have a positive feeling about going forward.

The recovery from Tommy John surgery by Garrett Richards and Dinelson Lamet means the Padres could have as many as 9-potential starters by he time they go to the Cactus League next February.  That plus the group of 100mph relievers who learned on the job thru good and bad outings in the bullpen.

But the feel good segments of the season are off set by the failures of the highest paid players in the everyday lineup.

Not so much Eric Hosmer, who had a solid bounce back season after his 2018 disappointment.  Of course the real story is who and what Fernando Tatis became till he went down with a back injury.  All that from someone just over 20-years of age.

But if you look at the other established players, you have to be upset, disappointed, maybe even resentful.

Manny Machado faded so badly the second half of the season, it was stunning.  He didn’t look like the same player we saw in the first 3-months.  For someone making 30M a year, he did not display very much fire.

Heading into the past Dodgers series, Machardo was hitting (.191) since August 1st.  Quit being excited about his 30-home run season, what about this (33-172) slide, fraught with strikeouts, and an apparent devil-may-care attitude around the plate.  Add to that, this apparent lack of emotional leadership in the clubhouse, and you ask was he really worth a 10Y-300M deal

Baltimore beat writers didn’t have a lot of nice things to say about his Camden Yard stay, not so much the stats, but the person.  Just think, the Padres have 9-more years of this to come.

Slump ridden Will Myers, about to embark on a 20M per year payday starting next spring, has given the Padres 2-and-a half summer of streakiness.  He’s never been the same guy as the one who slugged his way to the All Star Game at Petco Park a couple of summers ago.

He doesn’t have a lot of fire in his belly.  He doesn’t have a lot of consistent defensive play to deliver either.  And as we entered this Padres-Dodgers final series at home, Myers was hitting (.211) over the last 3-and-a half months.

So tell me how this number (20M) per yer looks next to these numbers (29-for-135) since June 17th.  That’s what Myers wears around his neck heading to the off season.

Hunter Renfroe looked as if he arrived at mid-summer, his defensive play sparkling, his average up, and his home runs.  And then it all stopped.  Maybe it was fatigue, maybe it was this nagging ankle injury, maybe they pitched around him.  Since July 1st, Renfroe has a (.181) mark, with his name next to the line that reads (35-for-193).

Austin Hedges, a Gold Glove catcher with bat full of holes, has a (.179) batting average for the season.

Once promising Manny Margot has a (.236) mark.  Supposed super utility man man Ian Kindler was hitting (.217) before he got hurt.

I don’t know how you can expect to vault to a wild card status team next season if you bring the same cast of characters back en-masse.  You are not dealing Machado.  I doubt anyone wants Myers and his impending contract.  Maybe Hedges becomes a decent bargaining chip.  Everybody has utility men, no one needs Kinsler.

And to complicate it all, the Padres do have a lot of players they must account for when they have to turn their 40-man winter roster in.  They have 61-veteran players and another 10-hot prospects that must be accounted for.

So while they celebrate fan attendance that bumped up to 2.3M this year, and the fun that Don Orsillo and Mud Grant had nightly on TV, or the honors given to 40-year broadcaster Ted Leitner, or all the cheerleading columns in the newspaper about all these prospects, let’s be realistic.

90-plus losses is 90-plus losses and the Padres have two things for certain.  Lots of young talent here and coming, and some bad contracts they are responsible for.

Padres baseball = Summer disappointments.  Again.

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“Chargers–Holdout Over–Damage Done”

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Melvin Gordon, the Chargers holdout running back is reportedly checking back into camp, ending his holdout that began in July.

He comes in with his team having lost 2-games already this season, with the teeth of the schedule ahead of them, and a raft of injuries hanging around their neck just 3-weeks into the season.

Gordon comes back into camp with plenty of football ahead for his team.  But his ability to contribute will probably take a couple of weeks  to find his rhythm.

Nothing was accomplished during his 9-week holdout.

His team lost games he would have made a difference in, losing to Detroit and then Houston.

Nothing was accomplished by his holdout., financially.  It cost him 2.3M in game checks, the four preseason games and the 3-regular season games he missed.

He will not get a contract extension in season, at least that is what GM-Tom Telesco said when the season opened.

It means he plays out the season for the 3.3M remaining on his contract.  He risks injury, he risks negotiating leverage by going back on the field.

But he will finish out his contract, and then become a free agent next February.  Of course the Chargers can retain his services.

They can give him an extension once the season is over.  They could franchise tag him next year on a one year deal that would get him 14M for 2020, on another just one year deal.

Of course, there is no signing bonus and he would then again play 2020 with the injury risk hanging over his head.

It should have never come to this.

Gordon, who has piled up (5,005) yards in all purpose offense in four seasons, makes the offense go, and makes things easier for superstar QB-Philip Rivers.

He outplayed his original contract, but he overplayed his hand by going AWOL.

The Chargers should have taken care of him this past off season, with at least upgrading the last year of his contract, taking it from 5.6M to 10M for the final season, and using that 10M figure as the jumping off point for next year.

But no, everybody had to play hardball in football.  The Bolts offered him a 5-year extension, but the average salary of the deal would have taken him to just 8M a year, and the five years was not guaranteed, and guaranteed money was limited.  Of course he would turn it down.

His demands were just as stupid.  No one gets a pay raise from the 5.6M he was making to 14M, the top money the top backs were getting this season.  He built a barrier in the talks by the demands.

And just as stupid, the ‘trade me’ demand.

The Chargers wanted a 1st round pick for him.  No NFL team would trade a #1 pick to rent a player for one year, unless they could reach an agreement on an extension.  And no one was going to give him that big pay bump from the 5.6 to 14M level.  And no one would trade for him, at the the price of a #1, because once traded, the team that got him could not ‘franchise tag’ him next offseason, per the CBA rules.

It’s typical Team Spanos.  Mis-play the hand.  Treat the star player poorly.  Lose games in the process.  Any number of top Chargers players have always had problems with the team getting deals done.  The team always got hurt,, from recent 1st round pick Joey Bosa, going back years and players before that..  And the team always lost games during holdouts.

So Gordon comes back, four weeks into the season.  Long term damage?  We find out.  Short term damage, on a team that could have been (3-0), not (1-2) with a very tough schedule still to come.

Holdout over…but damage likely to linger.  No one won in this one.  Not the Bolts, not Gordon, surely the fans of the team.

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