-0-

“Padres-Losing But Not Failing”

-0-

San Diego Padres baseball, played in a Crown Jewel of a Ballpark, a great place to be, even with a losing team.

Coors Field-Colorado, home of the Rockies, where there is excitement every night, slugfests, home runs, extra basehitx, high scores,a beautiful yard, and fun place to be, even if they are losing.

Both teams are trying to fix their franchises on the fly, and that can be painful.

The Rockies, managed by ex-Padres boss Bud Black, are just ahead of the curve, while the Padres remain buried in last place.

Colorado has decided to put all their kid pitchers in the starting rotation, let them learn on the job. That’s painful, that takes time, but if you are right on the players you have, then you have a foundation in place for years.

The Rockies rotation is growing together. Jon Gray, Kyle Freeland, German Marques, Tyler Anderson and Chad Bettis, were all high draft picks, taken fro 1st thru 3rd rounds.

The Padres may need to flip the page in their game plan, photo copy what the Rockies are doing, and have their kid arms learn on the go.

Enough of this dragging Clayton Richard and Bryan Mitchell out there to get shelled. Enough with the rhetoric of ground ball outs, ad lively fastballs, leadership and potential.

Richard has 1-win this year, sandwiched around lots of starts and losses. Despite a strong outing on Tuesday night, he has just 3-wins in his last 19-starts dating to the middle of last season. Mitchell is winless in 7-starts here, out of the rotation now, and has never accomplished anything as a starter in the majors.

Everytime you look up, they have men on base in scoring position. Richard has a (6.21-ERA) while Mitchell’s is (6.47) as he sits in the bullpen. Between them, a combined 69-innings and 129-baserunners allowed. You don’t need anymore metrics than that.

Tyson Ross has embarked on a bounce back season from blood clot surgery, and competes (3.89-ERA) but is there much upside to him?

The loss of Dinelson Lamet to season ending elbow surgery was tough, but he will be back. Luis Perdomo hit a plateau, and needs to grow. Robbie Erlin needs more time to bounce back from his surgery.

The kids, Joey Luchessi and Eric Lauee are the future of the rotation. Both have pitched well, avoided catastrophic losses, and survived a bad inning here or there.

The Padres farm system is teeming with pitching talent. The top two farm clubs, El Paso (18-14) and San Antonio (21-10) are off to sparking starts because of the arms there.

Take a look at what’s happening with those closest to the major leagues.

..Cal Quantrill (2-2) 3.52
..Brett Kennedy (3-0) 2.45
..Luis Perdomo (2-1) 3.18
..Logan Allen (4-1) 2.78
..Miguel Diaz (1-1) 3.06
..Jesse Schultens (4-1) 2.80

Further down the ladder, there are positive numbers too, though those arms might be a couple of years away.

..Nick Margeviscius 2.81
..Luke Bachar 1.98
..Reggie Lawson 1.44
..Charis Paddock 0.00
..Michael Baez 3.80.

Aside from young Cubans, most every arm in the system is doing well

..Adrian Morejon (0-3) 6.45
..Ron Bolonas (0-2) 7.45

In the past, the cry has always been the Padres should go out and take a gamble on a veteran. This year they passed on Clay Bucholz, who has a (1.03-ERA) in the minors coming off rehab. They elected not pay for ex-Giant Tim Lincecum. They did not keep 39-year old Chris Young coming out of camp. They seem ready to pass on an affordable deal that could rent them Matt Harvey.

They have 11-pitchers having quality seasons in the minors right now, most of them coming off similar quality seasons last summer in the lower ranks of the farm system.

The losing wears you out. Andy Green is (152-216) with the players GM-AJ Preller has given him. He puts up a good front but this losing is hard on him. Maybe time San Diego do what Colorado did. Commit to all the kid pitchers, get them to the show, and let them learn on the job.

The Padres are losing, and might lose more, but the future is about to happen. Might as well start now. Colorado did, and feels good about it. Time to let the Padres fans start to feel good about this franchise.

-0-0-0-0-0-

-0-

“Dodgers Baseball-Going Downhill Fast”

-0-

Things are not going well at Dodgers Stadium.

You remember Dodgers baseball last year? The amazing (43-7) run during the season. The playoff drive. The World Series appearance.

It was more than just winning the division again, it was how far they went into the Fall Classic.

Boy that seems like ages ago, not just six months ago.

The Dodgers, with all that money, the big payroll, the huge TV contract, and the fabulous tradition, are in trouble.

Ripped apart by injuries, questionable team chemistry, and strange off season roster decisions, leadership decimated the roster we saw, and rooted for last year.

The starting lineups right now looks like something from a spring training game.

The Blue have a better team on the DL than they have on the field.

This is not just about the loss of Clayton Kershaw (bicep) and Hyun Ji-Ryu (groin), and those are significant losses, it’s much deeper than that.

The devastating knee injury has ended Corey Seager’s system. A broken wrist in the spring has prevented slugger and leader Justin Turner from even starting his rehab assignment.

Andrew Toles, coming off a surprise season a year ago, got hurt, and has yet to back to the major leagues.

Logan Forsythe and Yasiel Puig have logged time on the DL too.

All those setbacks, 7-key guys out, in just the first 7-weeks of the season, an amazing toll.

The losses in the lineup have been devastating. The off season losses to the roster may have also have had a stinging effect.

In efforts to get below the MLB luxury tax, the LA brain trust rid the team of the final year of Adrian Gonzalez’s contract, shipped to Atlanta, then onto the Mets. Veteran outfielder Andre Ether retired after struggling with nagging injuries two years in a row.

They rented Yu Darvish in a trade deadline deal, and he helped get them to the Series, but he is gone too, a club unwilling to fork over big money to keep him.\

Brandon McCarthy’s contract and talent was included in the Matt Kemp multiplayer package with Atlanta.

The once deep bullpen has exited. Key setup guy Brandon Morrow wasn’t offered a deal, and headed to the Cubs. Left-handed setup man Tony Watson took over for the Giants. Luis Avilan went to Kansas City.

Even bench guys are gone or not producing. There are no cameo appearances from past contributors like Trayce Thompson nor Scott Van Slyke. Both are gone to other clubs.

Joc Pederson, a former rookie of the year, has been up and down to Oklahoma City two seasons in a row, and seemingly has forgotten to hit. And promising hurler Julio Urias won’t pitch at all this year, still recovering from shoulder capsule surgery.

If you are keeping score at home, that’s 16-players, who were contributors one way or another to a roster that went to the World Series, no longer around.

You can provide manager Dave Roberts all the analytics you want, but if you don’t provide him enough players, you don’t win.

Equal parts bad luck-bad baseball decisions.

And that’s where the Dodgers are today. Closer to the last place Padres than they are to first place Arizona.

.Dodgers baseball, it’s messy, and it’s only the month of May.

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

0-

“Shooting Hoops-Here & There”

-0-

We’re marching towards the NBA finals, and there are fast break stories everywhere on the floor.

GOLDEN STATE….Back comes a healthy Steph Curry, and the blowout wins start all over again. Teaming with his ‘Splash Brother’, Klay Thompson, the Warriors seem headed for another title. Those two plus Kevin Durant and the big play talents of Dramond Green and Andre Iguodala, no one seems able to matching up with them.

HOUSTON….You knew they were going to score, the question, could they play any type of defense to not be an upset victim. James Hardin and Chris Paul lead the firepower brigade. It’s an odd night when they might shoot 40% from the floor and lose, but they are a collision course to face Golden State. That will be a challenge.

SAN ANTONIO…A long hot summer is coming, and this is not related to the weather. It’s about the 1-on-1 game between Kawhi Leonard and coach Greg Popovic, or it might be about Leonard vs the Spurs ownership. He has one year left on is contract, but also has one major injury issue with a quad issue that has lingered since this time last year in the playoffs. Do they offer him a 210M max contract? Do they shop and trade him rather than lose him a now from now? How serious is the damage in the relationship with Coach Pops? Stay tuned.

OKLAHOMA CITY…An awful end to the Thunder season, Russell Westbrook taking 43-shbots in the final playoff loss, with Paul George and Carmelo Antony standing around watching. Bad chemistry, an indictment on a coaching staff that failed to make all the pieces of a so-called dream team fit, and the big question, how do you fix all this?

BOSTON….A good cross section of young players, teamed with grizzled veteran center Al Horford, this is a pretty good team And they are playing on headed to the finals. GM-Danny Ainge worked long and hard to put the pieces together.

CLEVELAND….Not the top of Cavaliers season you would expect, but come game night, LeBron James is willing his team to wins. James may be headed to free agency, the roster needs to be overhauled, and someone needs to make a decision as to whether they have the right head coach. When the playoff ends, the waiting for answers there will come.

NEW ORLEANS…To go this deep in the post season is a credit to coach Alvin Gentry and the growth of monster big man Anthony Davis. Losing DeMarco Cousins at mid season should have killed this team. They were still playing this weekend. Get Cousins back and wow, what a frontline next year.

PHILADELPHIA….It’s a process, tanking, rebuilding, ending the losing and starting the winning. A very young team, led by Ben Simmons, and Robert Covington, got to experience the playoffs. This year’s learning experience will serve them better a year from today too.

NEW YORK KNICKS….David Fizdale is the next guy trying to make something out woeful big money team. Owner James Dolan is still there, the losing seasons are still there, and nothing seems right at Madison Square Garden.

LAKERS….It was a season of improvement with a young talented team. We still don’t know how complete a player Lonzo Ball can be, because we saw flashes and then disappointments sandwiched around three different injuries. Everyone is waiting to see if Magic Johnson can convince a marquee star to take a max contract and join the kids. An alternative would be to trade Julius Randle for the Spurs Kawhi Leonard, both in the final year of their contracts.

CLIPPERS…Ownership tore the roster apart, missed the playoffs, and now wants to re-sign coach Doc Rivers. Interesting to watch if consultant Jerry West can be the magnet to draw a max free agent there in a rebuild season.

PHOENIX…Once upon a time, a great franchise run by a brilliant businessman Jerry Colangelo, now a franchise in disrepair. Bad trades, bad coaching hires,and a likely long road back in a once proud market.

BROOKLYN…..Russian oil money hasn’t made a difference to a team that used to be in New Jersey. New building, same old mess. No progress and don’t know if anyone cares either.

SACRAMENTO….CHICAGO….CHARLOTTE…..Will the Kings ever win? When will the Bulls start to win? Is Michael Jordan capable of winning?

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

-0-

“TV-It Can Make a Difference”

-0-

TV and sports, a popular topic lots of places.

NFL TV ratings have dropped 17-percent over a two year period.

Sounds devastating, but in the big picture, when the NFL games dominate the weekly TV ratings, even with a drop-off, they still drawn huge audiences.

The NFL TV contracts grow in value every time they come up renewal. And those TV contracts for games on Sunday-Monday-Thursday and in Europe drive the bulk of the income for clubs. And fans cannot get enough of pro football, even in off-season with the NFL draft.

Major League baseball is growing rich based on the income generated by the MLB network, the national TV packages, and the individual contracts. Yes, lots of baseball on TV, but people are watching.

The NBA has lots of TV partners, and come playoff time, everyone wants to-has to watch the likes of LeBron James, the Splash Brothers at Golden State, upstart Houston etc.

And the Charles Barkley-led pre-post game shows generate audience too.

But the most amazing thing is what has happened to two niche sports, NHL hockey and International soccer.

The NHL playoffs have been riveting, on-ice, The newly formed NBC-Sports Network has delivered sizzling postseason games, in a league that found its life in so many new cities.

The reibrth of the Winnipeg Jets, and now the ‘White Out’ sellouts in their arena and the parties in the street outside the Arena have galvanized the explosive popularity of the sport.

It’s the same in Nashville, in Edmonton, and even in stoic Toronto, where Maple Leafs hockey has caught on.

In soccer, Americans are flocking to TVs at all weird hours to watch the English Premeir League, also on NBCSports Network. Manchester City and Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea are now fans favorite teams here, even if you have to get up at 4:30am on the West Coast on Saturday and Sundays to see games.

The Fox Soccer Channel was the first to deliver quality broadcasts from abroad. Now we don’t have to wait every four years for the World Cup.

Up next will be the challenge to see if struggling sports, NASCAR and Indy Car can rally back.

Of course college football is king on Saturdays in the fall, and now with the playoffs in place. And March Madness is the great money maker for the the NCAA schools.

Stock car ratings have plunged into the crater, possibly over saturation, too many races, too many starting times, not enough superstar personalities.

Indy Car racing has never recovered from the civil war between USAC and the IRL. They almost disappeared off the TV networks, and so has the star power..

The loss of Tiger Woods, via injuries and scandals, damaged the PGA ratings, with the exception of the historical Masters.

TV has made a difference to hockey and soccer. Shall be interesting to see which is the next sport in line to rally.

TV-Can Make the Difference.

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

0-

“Hail to the Chiefs-They Hope”

-0-

The off season became the trading season for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Great in-season, the post-season for Andy Reid ended in disappointment.

Changes, changes, changes, everywhere. The most busy team in the off season.

The Chiefs started the off season early with the trade of QB-Alex Smith to the Washington Redskins, just as the free agent season kicked off.

By the time Reid was done walking thru the lockerroom, 16-players in all exited Kansas City.

The housecleaning included talented but volatile corner Marcus Peters, shipped to the Rams, the exit of longtime linebacker Derrick Johnson and pass rusher Tamba Hali.. The decision not to bring back Darrelle Revis, Ron Parker, and the loss of WR-Albert Wilson and OG-Donald Stephenson to free agency, meant a real overhaul..

It was the kind of purge you normally see with bad teams, not playoff teams.

It is Pat Mahomes team now at quarterback. The Chiefs add big play WR-Sammy Watkins to a dangerous pass receiving core headed by Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce.

KC is 6-deep at running back adding ex-Miami Damien Williams and ex-Bills-Cardinals Berwyn Williams, and hopes to return Spencer Ware, to aid and their bright young star in Kareem Hunt..

They are paying a lot of money to Watkins, who is now on his 3rd team in 3-years, so you wonder if it is a good investment, or whether there is some flaw in Watkins the player?

Ex-Cowboy Anthony Hitchens comes on board, plus the return to health of a wide variety of injured players, including Eric Berry, and the hope that it will be two years since Justin Houston had his knee scope surgery. will make this team dominant.

Corner Kendall Fuller has good credentials, and was a key get in the Redskins-Smith deal.

Reid didn’t have a 1st round pick, but got a big body DT-in Breeland Speeks, out of Ole Miss.

In season success under Reid has been blunted by post-season failure, thus all the changes.

Hail to the Chiefs? We find out this coming season, because the pressure is on, not to make the playoffs, but do something in the playoffs.

——————.