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“Bosa-Big Dollars-Big Mistake”

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They’re both wrong, but no one is suffering yet. If this goes much longer, everyone suffers.

The Joey Bosa-Chargers holdout-standoff, is now 1-week old. He’s now missed a full week of camp, working at full speed, and now in full pads.

The team is still another week away from the first preseason game, but time now becomes critical, because the team is in ‘installation mode’.

Everything they want to use during the regular season gets put in. All defensive formations, alignment, audibles. All the blitzes, the calls to drop coverage, nickle-dime-zone blitz schemes.

And once you install it, you practice it till it becomes instant recognition, based on formations, on adjustments at the line of scrimagge.

Ever read the phone book. Players tell me John Pagano’s defensive playbook is like that, complex, and takes time to understand.

The Ohio State first round pick may be in Florida staying in game shape, running and lifting, but he’s not here, and the mental part of what he is missing is staggering.

NFL holdouts like this supposedly went away with the Bonus-slot system in the last CBA. Bosa is the only holdout of the 223-players drafted in April.

He wants all 17M of his signing bonus paid upfront. He does not want a chunk of it deferred till 2017 without interest.

The Chargers historically paid 66% of their bonus money on signing, with the remaining third paid March 1st the following year.

But the Chargers have not had a high number 1-pick, this high, since Philip Rivers went 1-2 with the Eli Manning trade more than a decade ago. Rivers held out 3-weeks, but he was coming in as a backup to Drew Brees at that point and facing a 2-year learning curve.

The Chargers are still trying to do NFL business as if it were under the old agreement, not the current one.

Sources say over the last four years, covering the top five picks in the draft, 16-of-20 had all their signing bonus money delivered that first year. And none of those top five picks, in any of those years, had ‘off-set’ language, in case they were released.

So all this raises lots of questions.

Do the Chargers have a real cash-flow problem, they don’t or can’t write a 17M check?

This ia new set of rules, a new CBA, so why not do what others, who have had the high-high picks have done.

Why is Bosa beefing about the guaranteed money? He’s going to get it all, lots now, the rest in 7-months. For someone whol told us he is “All Football-All the Time” and comes from a father in football-John Bosa, there sure seems to be misguided.

He’s missing alot of learning curve time, and soon, real-honest live-fire playing time, by not being here, in the classroom, on the field, and in that lockeroom.

A compromise? Yes, maybe. Have the Chargers pay him the 11.1M they want now. Deliver the other 6M with ‘attached’ interest, next March.

I don’t want to hear any excuse out of Team Spanos about money spent on stadium studies, LA-Carson-Coliseum-14 locations in San Diego-Tailgate Park. You chose that. You cannot hold Bosa and his agent responsible for all the money Team Spanos wasted away with ideas that never got off the ground.

Not accepting the ‘cash flow issue’ either, since this team makes 15-to-25M profits per year according my NFL sources.

If he’s not here this time next week, then it gets really ugly.

We’ve seen what ugly is all about, namely the Chargers defense in recent years.

Dean Spanos-quit being cheap. Joey Bosa-quit being stupid.

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“San Diego-A Cuban Missle-Sighting”

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It’s going to happen, as sure as you having breakfast this morning, and the bold San Diego Padres leadership, needs to do something about it.

The rogue General Manager AJ Preller, who has spent freely, traded wildly, and hoarded prospects like they are gold, has the chance to be daring again..

Yasiel Puig’s name is going to appear on the waiver wire shortly. The Dodgers failed to work out a deal to move him by the Monday trading deadline. Now to move him, they have to put his name on waivers first, then can deal him. If a club claims him, LA can pull his name off waivers, and open trade talks with that club. If he goes thru waivers, not likely, and 29-other clubs pass on him, then LA can move him anywhere in a deal.

The Padres, who want to build with young players, can and should afford to take this gamble. Puig is owed about 2M for the rest of this season, 7.2M next year and 8.2M in the final year of his contract in 2018, all part of his original contract signed when he left Cuba. At age 25, there’s still lots of upside and time left on the Puig clock, for him to rally, him to grow, him to get more consistent.

You remember Puig, who made his debut in June 2013 at Petco. You remember the electricity in the air. He hit (.515) the first week in Dodgers colors. He hit (.409) that first month. He finished the season hitting (.319) with 19-home runs, and an amazing glove and arm in right field.

Puig has tailed off some. His averages have gone down each year, from (.319), followed by (.296-.255-.260). His mistakes in the field are still there. But so are the spectacular plays out in right. He has 12-errors in 4-seasons, but 35-assists, gunning guys down on the bases.

The maturity issues still loom, as do nagging injury issues. Is his diet right?. Can he manage his off field time and friendships better? What about the 5-different hamstring issues over the last two years?

A Padres front office thinks it has laid the foundation for the future. Can you imagine if you brought Puig here, as a bridge to the foundation, when it arrives in 2019?

AJ Preller and Logan White are dynamic people. White has long time relationship with Latin players, and with his past Dodgers track record, might be the right link to get to Puig.

Puig has been demoted to Oklahoma City, to refine his game. It’s just a way-station till they can move him.

Like having Corn Flakes in the morning, Puig’s name is going to be on the waiver wire shortly. As badly as this Padres season is turning out, they will likely be 4th or 5th in line to put in a claim, to say “let’s talk trade LA”. And why not. They did the Matt Kemp deal with that organization. They have lots of young pitchers they could use as trade bait.

Vin Scully called a young Puig, “wild stallion”. San Diego should see if they can get that bucking bronco, and ride him.

Preller has been bold so much in his two plus years leading this franchise. Do it again for an instant player upgrade, who still has untapped potential, or as Preller likes to say ‘ceiling’.

A Cuban Missle sighting in San Diego. Why not.

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“1st Class Guy-2nd Rate Situtation”

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What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger”. Never better said than in the Padres baseball clubhouse, or at least what is left for the 2016 season, the aftermath of this year’s firesale.

Actually what the Padres did was not a fire sale, just a buyout of outdated merchandise, and the purchase of a lot of new toys, players in Class A-ball, to restock the shelves.

On Friday, heading into the trading deadline, it was somber-sullen. This after the departure o Matt Kemp, Andrew Cashner and Melvin Upton. Last night the clubhouse was resigned to accept the fate of the team.

Send out the kids, hope they learn something, don’t get slaughtered.

GM-AJ Preller remade the club and farm sytem, but dealing away 6-veeteran players, spending 69M to have clubs except bad contracts. He wound up with 6-blue chip minor leaguers, most all in Class A.

His manager now will run the gauntlet of the rest of season schedule with a roster thati ncludes 13-of-25 players, who are either young prospects forced to the big show, 4A players, who have never been good enough to stay up, or waiver wire acqusitions.

All the Padres staffers got the Email that included words like ‘opportunity’, grow, ’embrace the process’. Fine and dandy, but they are on a downhill track to lose 100-tgames this year, and maybe next year.

Manager Andy Green was jovial, optimistic, and put on a good face before thegame with Milwaukee. Guess it beats crying over what his GM did.

The quotes were everywhere to read, and read between the lines.

“The trade deadline is a distraction to everyone. If you’re in the pennant race, everyone wonders who will be brought in to bolster your team. If you’re out ofit, everyone wonders, who will be the next to go.”

He painted everything with a wide whitewash brush. “We have a future here, we have opportunities”

Neither Green nor Preller talked to the players in the room about what was happening. Empty locker stalls where Andrew Cashner was, where Matt Kemp used to sit, amongst others.

The 34-deals wrapped around the trade deadline seemed high, possibly brought on by the 2nd wildcard teams added for postseason. Alot more clubs are in the running, so why not make a deal and see if it makes a difference.

But not in places like Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Oakland, Piottsburgh and of course Petco Park.

Preller had to meet with the media to discuss thebotched Miami deal, that saw the Marlins call and intimate they wanted to send injured pitcher Colin Rea back here, and they wantedyoung phenom Luis Castillo returned to them .

Nobody mentioned the word ‘damaged goods’, but you can read between the lines on what was said on that conference call.

So not only are we discussing deals made, the money spent, now the ethics involved about who knew what about Rea and his healthy. Now he comes back to San Diego days after which they sent him away.

Petco Park was almost empty a half hour before the game. So while all the VPs of the club will continue to run around extolling the ballpark experience, the ballpark sure has a differnt look now that they have traded away virtually the entire team.

This will be a process. I remember poor Bo Porter, a bright light up and comer, hired by the Houston Astros. After he got there, management went on its scorched earth mission to deal everyone, cut payroll, stockpile draft picks.

In the process, the Astros lost 311-games in 3-years, and Porter got fired.

Andy Green is a good man. He has driven his players to play hard every night. He has had to make do in a badly made situation.

He deserves alot of credit for holding this mess together. I hope this experience doesn’t kill his managerial career..

I didn’t want to ask him if he knew Bo Porter.

Green, 1st class guy, in a last place situation, what Padres baseball has become.

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“Farewell to Friends-Foes”

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What an uneasy time to be a ballplayer, just hours before the baseball trading deadline.

The world of social media has changed everything in our sports world. Baseball insiders, with their contacts, can put out rumors in an instant. And it goes global almost as quickly.

Some fact, some fiction, some fishing expedition.

Players can say it’s all part of the business, but that does not make it any easier.

Yes, players make mega money.

Guys making the average salary of 4.1M, shouldn’t have the problem paying 5,000 to have their luxury SUV shipped to wherever they are playing, or renting a nice condo..

If they are moved, the clubs pick up moving expenses. Here’s your plane ticket. Kiss the wife and the kids goodbye and join us on our road trip.

You relocate to snazzy hotels. If you have young kids, they probably come and join you to finish out the season.

If you have older kids, they stay behind to get ready for school, but dad will likely be home once the regular season or postseason games are over.

The trading deadline over the last couple of years has become a ‘media event’ and a ‘fan fest’ of discussion for ticket holders, talkshow hosts, beat writers, tV network guys and more.

Yes it can be unnerving for a wife to wonder about all the rumors. It is hard to shut out all the noise from the media.

Players once traded just seem immune to it. because you learn you will be taken care of.

Matt Kemp is gone from the Padres, probably quietly seething, that he has gone from a bad club to a worse club in Atlanta. Yes he has the money due on the final threes of his contract, regardless of who pays what share, Dodgers-Padres-Braves.

It must be hard to leave a beautiful home here, the LA lifestyle, and face the reality he is becoming a piece of aging baggage in baseball, eventhough he is having a good season.

Melvin Upton is now on his fourth team. Quiet reclusive, give him credit for fixing three bad years of baseball. He exits more as a ‘mercenary’ than a teammate.

Andrew Cashner, still has free agency ahead of him, and has strung together four decent stars in a month, so a payday is coming. He will forever be the answer to the question, ‘who did we get for Anthony Rizzo-oh him?” The word to describe him here was ‘unfulfilled’.

Drew Pomeranz felt a comfort zone here, but is now in a pressure cooker that is Red Sox baseball-Fenway Park. Shall be interesting to see how he copes with it all, if he cannot continue to be the starter he was in San Diego.

Colin Rea is moving closer to his Mississippi home. Young, developing, and hopeful he can bounce back from this elbow setback to become a middle rotation guy.

James Shields, a free spirit, may be on the move again. Everybody said the proper things upon his parting, but he surely was never worth the money the Padres lavished on him.

Fernando Rodney was liked by everyone, cooperative, and pretty reliable. He’s a rent-an-arm reliever.

The sitting and waiting for Derek Norris isn’t all that tough. He’s been traded once already, and seems to be on the move before 1pm today.

“This seems to be part of being a Padre, the yearly trades”. He’s seen lots of guys come and go, since coming here from Oakland.

“It’s not that they don’t want you, it’s just that they have other needs, and you can help them get them.”

“It’s nice to fee somebody else wants you. Sure I wish I played better, we all played better, but baseball can be a humbling game.”

It is a strange Padres clubhouse now. So many young players. So many fringe players. So many Latin players.

Wil Myers is your star. A kid pitching in Class A-ball last summer, is your supposed ace.

Farewell to friends. Waiting to say hello to better days with the Padres.

Tomorrow is a new day, and new players will be in that clubhouse, and may of the others around baseball.

It’s what the business of baseball has become.

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“Chargers Training Camp Primer”

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STADIUM DRIVE….The push has begun, and getting the Chamber of Commerce to say ‘we back it’ is a positive, but small step forward….The inability to rally support from the Mayor’s office, City Council, County officials, the Hotel Industry, Comic.Con and others, still means there are huge obstacles ahead, but still time to rally support. I still maintain all the historical things that owner Dean Spanos has done in operating this team, the stadium, his friend Fabiani, the ticket guarantee, the move to LA, has left him with no political currency downtown. And that is why the polls show tons of people are not siding with him on the stadium.

THE GM….Tom Telesco had a good off season, not a wild spending spree, not names in neon lights, but affordable people, who can change the chemistry of the defense, and anchor the offensive line.

THE SALARY CAP…Still some 6M in dead money they must swallow, the aftermath of the Donald Butler contract mistake, then release, but the roster is young, athletic, and they are in good shape going forward.

THE FIRST ROUND PICK….The agent for Joey Bosa is trying to change the NFL landscape, but the club will not give him the entire 17M signing bonus upfront, and surely will not change language in any contracts for offset payments, if he is ever cut loose. Bosa is all football, and should be in camp from minute one. They’ve had 7-weeks to solve this, and as of Thursday night had not. 7-weeks of camp lays ahead.

THE COACH..Mike McCoy may have had an extra year added on his contract, but if they don’t make the playoffs this year, he could be headed out of town. Last year was a fluke-no team loses its offensive line, and a couple of running backs, and survives. But the scoreboard does not lie, the Chargers have 1-playoff win in 7-years, even with the greatness of that quarterback in the huddle. McCoy, and the 9-new coaching staff members, better rally this in 2016.

THE QUARTERBACK….We head to the final years of the brilliant career of QB-Philip Rivers, who has done more with less recently. This should-could be a brilliant offensive season, with depth at the skill positions, an improved and healthy offensive line, solid running backs, and multiple pas catching tight ends. That plus the addition of Ken Whisenhunt.

THE RUNNING BACKS…Too much blame is being placed on Melvin Gordon for his strange season last year, not enough blame on the coaching staff, use of personnel, and the trauma upfront. He never got comfortable in a 1-back set; there was no continuity upfront with 11-different starting OLineman; there were no holes. He seems completely recovered from the microfracture knee surgery, as does his alter ego Brandon Oliver. The group will be good.

THE WIDE OUTS….Goodbye Malcom Floyd. Tyrell Williams and Travis Benjamin get first shots to make plays opposite Keenan Allen. There will be fierce competition from some of the younger, but with some experience, backups. And Stevie Johnson looms out there with ability, but not alot of consistency.

TIGHT END….Farewell tour for Antonio Gates. Welcome Hunter Henry, the heir apparent. If they can spot the use of Gates, no reason he cannot have a strong final year, as Hunter proves his ability down the field.

OFFENSIVE LINE…So far so good, nobody hurt yet, after last year’s Red Cross season. They are lying if they are saying they are not concerned about OT-King Dunlop becoming concussion prone. File and forget the injury riddled season Orlando Franklin had last year. Welcome in the street toughness of ex-Bears center Matt Slauson. One of the young lineman, who played in spots last year, Ken Wiggings or Tyreek Burwell needs to step up, just like Chris Watt needs to stay healthy.

DEFENSIVE FRONT…The entire personality of the front changes with the arrival of big body NT-Brandon Mebane, and the speed of Joey Bosa. It allows them to move some other people around. They do like oft-injured pass rusher Tenny Palepoi and 2nd year man Darius Philion.

LINEBACKERS…Melving Ingram is in a contract year, coming off 10-sacks. Jerry Attaochu has shown flashes. Now both must showup every Sunday and make plays, but maybe having Bosa as a running mate will help. They do like the combo of Danzell Perryman and Mantei Te’o but the truth is, Perryman is a small inside backer, and Teo’ still seems a step slow. And depth here is lacking.

SECONDARY…There is no Eric Weddle, but there is Jason Verrett, a fast emerging star, a tough guy growing into the job Jahleel Addae, and the addition of two steady secondary veterans in Dwight Lowrey and Casey Hayward. Watch and see what kind of growth they get from Craig Muger, Stevie Williams and Adrian Phillips. Brandon Flowers is not what he used to be, but played better as an inside slot cover guy last year after a horrific start.

SPECIAL TEAMS….Josh Lambo was very strong. The new punter Drew Kaser has a strong leg, and it will be fun to see if Travis Benjamin can be as good in San Diego as he was in Cleveland bringing kicks back.

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