-0-

“What Fans-Voters-Think About NFL-National Anthem-Players”

-0-

The war of words involving the NFL, the Players Union,the President, the Media, and its fans was taken to a new level.

Quinnipiac University, which conducts political polls of voters, ha spent the past week doing a random nationwide survey of voters about their feelings of who is right, who is wrong, what they feel about the on going debate of the National Anthem issues and the Social Problems the players are attempting to address.

Statistics worth studying:

Quinnipiac University….Political Poll on National Anthem
..58%-Players are not being unpatriotic…35%-Criticize players-disrespectful

..82%-Democrats-Players right to protest…13%-Players wrong
..82%-Republicans-Players are disrespectful..18%-Agree with players

..67%-Hispanics-Players have right..23%-Players wrong
..85%-Blacks-Players have right protest…13%-Disagree with players
..51%-White Voters-Players are wrong..44%-Allow players protest

..51%-Americans agree with NFL new rules…42%-Disagree
..51%-Americans disagree NFL should fine teams…44%-Agree discipline

-0-

“Baseball-The Glare of the Light”

-0-

This is a tough call to make. Tough to take a stance on. Tough to write about. Tough to watch the young man deal with it.

Tough too to know what really happened.

Oregon State’s top pitcher, lefthand Luke Heimlich, is a player without a team going forward.

1-of the top college pitchers in baseball, he has now gone thru the draft a second time, and has not been chosen.

The Beavers ace is a registered sex offender, for an incident that happened when he was 15-years old.

He is on track to graduate. He has been a model citizen in Corvallis his entire career.

He confirmed his plea agreement after an incident with a 6-year old niece, so there would be no trial, and his extended family would not be put thru the pain of a court case.

Now he says he was co-erced into accepting the deal. A year after being taken off everyone’s draft board, he gets bypassed again.

The family says he was victimized in the legal system. The university has supported the young man thru all the counseling programs he volunteered to enter.

The mother of the daughter says he is not innocent, but refuses to shed details.

The Oregonia newspaper dug up the incident a year ago getting access to the file of police, which showed he had registered as a sex offender.

Now no major league baseball team wants to draft him, and likely none will sign him, as his ‘past’ trails him around.

This is the same game of baseball that has tolerated PED cheats, drug abusers, alcoholics, wife beaters, those guilty of DUIs, gun violations, and more.

For a pitcher, who dominated college baseball for a second year in a row, and went (15-1) this year, his personal trial seems never ending, with no resolve, until some club takes a stand saying everyone deserves a second chance.

The fact he has never been in trouble since, should be some type of message. The fact teammates speak up for him, and a Unigvrsity President has supported him thru his rehab, should merit some consideration.

But because this involved an innocent child who was touched, it obviously makes a difference.

Everyone recognizes the names Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, Matt Lauer, Jerry Sandusky and so many more. Now Luke Heimlich’s name is now mentioned in somewhat the same circumstances, with a very different type of victim, a child

You be the baseball exec of a team. Would you take a chance on him, in that he seems reformed?

I would with conditions, and after extensive due diligence.

Sadly, no one else in baseball seems willing, at least not yet.

The glare of the light is oh so strong on this situation.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

-0-

“NFL Questions Worth Asking”

-0-

Notes-here-there-everywhere around the NFL.

WHITE HOUSE…..President Trump keeps tweeting about NFL players, the anthem, and more. The Eagles deliver their own message, as only 10-players say they’d go with owner Jeff Lurie to a so called Super Bowl honor ceremony for Philadelphia. Trump cancels it, uninvited the Eagles, and invites lots more public rebuke going forward.

PATRIOTS….The final week of their OTA’s, then their mandatory full minicamp. QB-Tom Brady and TE-Rob Gronksowski both finally show up, so crisis averted about a player’s revolt about Bill Belicheck’s ‘Doom’ personality. Gee it’s just June-now what the Pats beat writer going to write about.

CAROLINA…So many new things in off season camps. Watch this project. The Panthers new offensive coordinator Norm Turner, trying to refine the mechanics of quarterback Cam Newton. Not reign him in, or stop him from running with th ball, but rather, up his poor 52% completion rate.

MINNESOTA….New QB-Kirk Cousins, meet the new pages at the back end of the Vikings playbook, about the run-pass options they want to install in their offense.

SEATTLE….Things will be different for QB-Russell Wilson now, with a retooled offense, new RB-Rashaad Penny, and new offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer. Look for a very different offensive package.

RAMS…They are going for broke this season, with all their off season acquisitions. Ndomakong Suh, Aquib Taleb, Marcus Peters. The big story is will they be broke next offseason, and how will they resign all these players headed towards free agency? Still unresolved, the future pay scale for their top defensive tackle Aaron Donald, whom they refused to restructure after 3-very good seasons.

MIAMI….Ryan Tannehill, meet your new teammates. The Dolphins are very different in camp now. The quarterback returns, but there is no Jay Ajayi, Jarvis Landry, Ndomakong Suh. A lot of talent gone.

CHARGERS….It appears they want Antonio Gates in their rear-view mirror, not willing to re-sign him, even with the loss of Hunter Henry to a season ending injury. And now Mike Williams, last year’s top pick, is ailing again, with a hamstring in camp. Knee and back problems wasted away his rookie season.

-0-0-0-0-0-

-0-

“Padres Pitching-A Trickle Becomes a Torrent”

-0-

Baseball is all about pitching. If you have it, you have a good team. If you don’t you are in trouble.

The Padres are about to put trouble in their rear-view mirror.

There will likely be no more 1-year rentals. No more gambling on guys taking low priced contracts job to rebuild their career. No more journeyman trying to hang on. No more injury rehab guys.

At least not it you connect the dots, look at the blueprint, and follow the rosters of each of the Padres minor league teams.

Another big arm joined the list of new Padres pitching acquisitions, with the first round selection of high school phenom Ryan Weathers, a 19-year old left-hander, and the son of former major league hurler David Weathers, a former Reds-Mets-Brewers pitcher.

The stats are staggering, a (10-0) record with a microscopic 0.09-ERA in the hight school ranks with 148-striekouts in 76-innings.

He may be three years away for sure, but the conga line of arms has just started at Petco Park.

In the last 4-drafts, the Padres have selected 82-pitchers in the draft, signed 7-pitchers in the International Free Agent period, and traded for 5-other big arms in a wide variety of trades.

Tyson Ross and Clayton Richard head up this rotation. Joey Luchessi and Eric Lauer have just arrived. Luis Perdomo and Dinielson Lamet will rally from arm issues.

If you believe quality and quantity go hand in hand, then Ryan Weathers heads up a wave of a total of 95-new pitchers in the organization.

(2017)…The Padres added 16-pitchers, headed by high school phenom MacKenzie Gore, and young arm Nick Margevisius already having success in the minors.

(2016)…First round pick Calvin Quantrill seems to be the next one in the assembly line of draft picks to be called up, but the real gem might be Class A-pitcher Reggie Lawson, dominating at lower levels.. Luchessi and Lauer have already graduated to the majors. That was part of a stunning 24-pitchers picked up in one summer.

(2015)…Phil Maton was the first to get here, but injuries has slowed the progress of the rest of the group, led by Jacob Nix. The disappoint has been the top pick in that draft, Austin Smith, who has never found his talent level yet. Seventeen pitchers joined the organization.

(2014)…Sometimes it takes time, you have to hope so, that this group of arms don’t wash out completely. TJ Weir, a reliever, is still in the system, as are Chris Huffman and Corey Bluberg, each having had some success at different levels, but no consistency. Kyle McGrath has had a cup of coffee. Injuries stopped Zach Lemond. The retooling on the mound started with 25-arms that summer.

(Surprises)…Luis Perdomo came as a Rule 5-draft pick and has had some success and will be back from El Paso this season, in what turned out to be a solid acquisition from the Cardinals. Lamet got here faster than anyone projected, and will recover from surgery.

(Trades)…Jose Castillo came from Tampa Bay, and has climbed up the ladder. The Padres believe there is star status in Miguel Diaz, an ex Miami Marlins prospects. Logan Allen came from the Red Sox and authored a no hitter last week. Surgery slowed the progress of Chris Paddock-Miami, and Anderson Espinosa-Boston, but the upside still exists.

(Internationals)….There are six young arms slotted at different spots in the farm system, all very young, and all a bunch of years away. Adrian Morejon, Ron Bolanos, Osvaldo Hernandez, Henry Henry, Michael Baez and Omar Fernandez are arms worth following.

Within a year, Padres ERA’s of 5.00-plus should no longer be part of any conversation. Pitching takes time to develop, and you get the sense, that the franchise is built to win for the next five years going forward. They surely won’t all make it. Some will get hurt. Some flameout. Some reach plateaus and never go beyond that. Some might be trade bait.

So just keep that new number in mind “94”….Ryan Weathers, and all the others acquired in the prior four years by the Padres front office.

Padres pitching, a trickle of talent about to become a torrent of talent. Winning should follow.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

-0-

“Padres Draft Day-Drafting-Failing”

-0-

The MLB Draft is the lifeline of a baseball franchise. Now you can understand why the San Diego Padres have been in a state of disrepair for a decade or so. Why there hasn’t been a playoff appearance in oh so long. And why this franchise has gone thru so many General Manager over so many years.

Mention the baseball draft, and the the words that come to mind, are penny pinching, injuries, failures and trades.

When you say MLB draft, the names that flash infront of your face are Matt Bush and Donavan Tate, both very high draft picks,both got a lot of money, both flamed out badly, costing the team lots of wasted bonus money, and damaging the credibility of ownership and the people they hired.

This is 2018. Do you know the last ‘impact player the Padres drafted was 2005. Chase Headley was a second round draft pick. The last power hitting player the Padres drafted was 2002, in 1st round pick Khalil Greene. The last great pitcher they drafted was in 1988, Andy Benes.

Yes, the Padres have a highly rated farm system, thanks to the ownership decision to spend wild amounts of money of international players, and to sign their top picks. Some of those young picks have already arrived, more are coming, but this takes time.

But nowhere in modern baseball, have we seen the pitiful decisions made by Padres leadership. that may have classified them as having the worst baseball decision makers in a decade.

A look back at why they are, where they are, perennially in last place.

(2017)s…P-MacKenzie Gore’s first full season has been waylaid by blister problems, but the future is very much infront of him. OF-Luis Campusano and C-Blake Hunt are just beginning their careers.

(2016)…P-Calvin Quantrill is stalled at AA-San Antonio, still trying to polish his secondary pieces, is a ways away. 2B-Hudson Potts started slowly, but is hitting well finally at Class A, as if young outfielder Buddy Reed. The gems of the draft, P-Joey Luchessi and Eric Lauer are already in San Diego, so this becomes the best draft of the AJ Preller era.

(2015)..P-Phil Maton was a later round pick, who got here quickly as a mid-inning reliever. Top pick Austin Smith never signed. The next pick Jacob Nix has struggled with health issues, but the pitcher is finally back on the mound. C-Austin Allen is in the minors.

(2014)..SS-Trea Turner was a very high pick, and is now starring for the Washington Nationals. He was part of the 3-way trade that netted power hitter Will Myers, who’s career has been hampered by nagging injuries. OF-Michael Gettys is behind the curve, still trying to hit in the upper minors. 1B-Brandon McKay never signed, and wound up being a top pick in the draft a year ago after going to college.

(2013)…Hunter Renfroe moved quickly thru the farm system and seems to have all the tools, plus the work ethic. But strikeouts and inability to hit right-handed pitcher have stalled his stardom. He will be given time to grow.. They gave up on SS-Dustin Peterson and P-Trevor Gott, both dealt away…It took Adam Cimber 5-years to get here as a 9th round pick-so far so good.

(2012)..A complete washout, with P-Walker Weikel being release, and hurler Max Fried-Zach Eflin being trades. Travis Jankowski arrived as a multi-position player, but surely not a difference maker.

(2011)…Corey Spangenburg is a super utilityman as the 20th man on the roster, and starting catcher Austin Hedges was a second round pick, but nothing else came in the draft. Jace Peterson was dealt, as was promising P-Joe Ross. P-Mike Kelly is gone, and they did not sign P-Eric Fedde-who is now a hot Giants prospect.

(2010)..P-Karsten Whitsun never signed, went to college and got hurt, a horrible finish for a high pick.

(2009)…OF-Donavan Tate failed miserably despite getting huge money as a signing bonus. Injuries, attitude, and a lifetime stuck in Class A-ball. Just an awful choice.

(2008)…Allan Dykstra had hip problems before he drafted,and was taken none-the-less. He bounced around and never got close to the majors. Ditto for career minor league outfielder Jaff Decker. Logan Forsythe made the majors, was traded to Tampa and is now with the Dodgers.

(2007)…P-Corey Leubke got to the majors with promise, then had 3-elbow surgery and retired. Injuries wiped out Nick Schmidt and others.

(2006)…The so called future 2nd baseman was top pick Matt Antonelli , whom they discovered a hitch in his swing, after they drafted him. Can you say lifetime minor league players.

(2005)….Injuries and drug issues eroded the careers of P-Cesar Carrillo and Cesar Ramos.

(2004)…Need I say more, for we all know what happened to Matt Bush, player and person, and how it hurt the organization.

So Monday, the Padres will go to the draft board, with picks 7-38-74-84., needing to what they have hardly done in more than a decade. Find some star players.

Who’s atop the standings today? Red Sox, Yankees, Astros, Braves, Nationals. Who’s in their lineup? Lots of draft picks. Not so in San Diego.

Chase Headley and Khalil Green were a long time ago. So was a winning season.

-0-0-0-0-0-

.