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Monday Notebook-“This-That-Some of the Other”

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Padres…It has been another disappointing season,but it is fascinating to watch the development of Drew Pomeranz and Christian Freiderich, who have become the trustworthy #1-2 starters in a shoddy rotation. The Padres have used 10-different starting pitchers in the first 11-weeks of the season, and 20-arms in all. It seems like a challenge a day for pitching coach Darren Balsley.

Padres..GM-AJ Preller continues to play maverick. His 3-days at the draft table was full of intrigue, and gambles. Taking 2-pitchers coming off elbow surgery and a third one, who had a season long oblique injury seems a stretch. But he believes what he believes in his scouts, and what they took. Only time will tell. They took 24-pitchers of the 43-players drafted.

Dodgers…Some Sunday night outing from Julio Urias, shutting out the Giants for five innings early, in his second strong outing in a row. Forced to start against the Mets and Cubs on the road in his first two starts, you can see how good this kid is. Next up, Frankie Montas, who had a (1.50-ERA) in rehab starts the last 3-weeks, and may be here before July lst.

Angels..The losing continues, the pitching issues continue, the past contract mistakes of owner Arte Moreno continue. Fans want Mike Scoscia gone as manager. The Halos seem to be wasting, away the career of Mike Trout. The pitching staff is in tatters, the farm system in barren.

Cubs-Nationals…We have lots of baseball to be played but Chicago and Washington appear to be the best teams in baseball, and there’s still a trading deadline day coming to add more talent.

Golden State-Cavaliers…Much made of LeBron James career record of (2-4) in championship series. The Cavs are good, but the Warriors are much more diverse and dangerous. Golden State could clinch it tonite even with Draymond Green sitting out a 1-game suspension.

Lakers..Magic Johnson’s Vice President title removed from the NBA-team directory. As great a player as he was, it has not translated to being much in basketball post-career. Not when he was given the chance to coach the Lakers, a job he wanted, and failed at. Not when he became a VP. And now, because of his continued social media criticism, he is no longer a club exec.

Chargers…That was dome payday for WR-Keenan Allen, the (4Y-44M) extension after he caught (215) passes in two and a half years. That’s 11M per season, highest ever in Chargers history, and makes him the 7th highest paid receiver in the NFL. It’s the same amount the former GM-AJ Smith could have-should have spent to retain Vincent Jackson. That decision drove him off and took away a bullet in Philip Rivers gun The Smith dealings with VJ and Darren Sproles stazggered the offense, and wasted at least three years of Rivers career. Anyone else but me stunned that the Chargers have won just 1-playoff game in the last 7-years?

NHL…saying goodbye to Mr. Hockey-Gordie Howe, Canada’s ‘Favorite Son’. His 801-career goals was remarkable, in an era when players scored 20-a season, he was scoring 40-44-49. He was bigger than an oak tree, tougher than cement, and as loyal a teammate ever. Gentle in public, fierce on the ice. He played till he was 52, and scored 15-goals that final year with the Hartford Whalers, at age 52. You want to see how tough a dude he was, google up the historic pictures of New York Rangers forward Lou Fontinato, and see the end result of a 1950s fight. Gordie’s elbows-always the elbows. We always remember the NHL-historical foot note….”Gordie Howe-hat trick-Goal-Assist-Fight”

Penguins…Some NHL Stanley Cup performance by Pittsburgh…winning cup on San Jose ice….The Pens held the Sharks top scorers, Thornton-Marleau-Couture-Bruns to just 2-goals in 6-games.

Phil Mickelson…For all the junk off the course he has gotten himself involved in in the last month, that was some weekend at the St. Jude Classic in Memphis, a strong second place finish. Now with his game on the upswing, he heads to Oakmont in Pittsburgh for next weeks historic US Open

Belmont Stakes…A rousing finish to the Triple Crown with Exaggerator fading down the stretch, and Desdin being chased down….Nyquist could not run because of illness, giving us an empty Triple Crown summer…but look forward to the Delmar Pacific Classic and the fall Breeders Cup Classic.

Muhammad Ali……Boxing’s royalty and sports and political figures turned out en-masse for the memorial service for the champ. His headstone at the Louisville cemetary faces east towards Mecca. For all the things he accomplished in sport and society, the tombstone simply reads “Ali” and that says it all.

What do you think….Your turn..hit the message box below and reply.

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“Padres-Risk-vs-Reward”

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You can pick a wide variety of words to describe what happened to the Padres last night.

You may also want to circle June 9th on your calendar for a couple of reasons.

Stunned…surprised…panic stricken. Somewhere in all there, is the reason the Padres did what they did.

The first day of the free agent draft got them pitching, but it was a strange set of acquisitions. Looking in the rear view mirror, the Padres were forced to scramble at the top of the draft board.

They got one of the live arms they wanted, though he has a scar on his elbow. They believe Cal Quantrill, the starting pitcher from Stanford, will totally recover, and become a dominant pitcher again after Tommy John surgery.

But there’s a story behind the story of what happened.

For the Padres, Four of the top players they liked, at slot 8, wound up going in the top 7-selections.

Milwaukee took Louisville star outfielder Corey Ray with the 5th pick. Atlanta chose pitcher Ian Anderson with the 3rd choice. and Colorado used the 4th pick on Kansas high school pitching star Riley Punt, and strong armed hurler Braxton Garrett went to Miami, right infront of them. All went ahead of where they were supposed to go..

All 4-were on the Friars radar. When they were gone, the Padres made the bold move on Quantrill, whom most thought they would get at the 20th slot. In doing so, they bypassed a couple of big hitting outfielders,

They bypassed slugging flychaser Kyle Lewis of Georgia, and hi school star Will Benson from the Georgia ranks.

Taking pitchers coming off Tommy John surgery is a gamble. The MLB network analysts, many of whom are former players and execs, all used the word gamble when discussing the Friars choice to take the Stanford star that early.

It’s not the first time it’s happened. Last year, Cleveland gambled on pitcher Brady Aiken. Toronto took the same road with surgically repaired pitcher Jeff Hoffman. Neither is back yet.

But there’s also a major track record that says pitchers coming off ligament transplant surgery may come back, but may not come back as the pitcher they were before the injury.

Then San Diego pulled a big surprise at 24.

They went for a shortstop, Hudson Sanchez from the Texas high school ranks, eventhough they have 3-shortstops already in their farm system they dealt for. Have you forgotten about Javy Guerra, who came from the Red Sox?

At 25, they took a solid college arm in Ken State hurler Eric Lauer, a crafty lefty, who led the nation with a (0.69-ERA) in the Mid American Conference, who also dominated the Cape Cod League last summer.

To wrap up the draft, they picked Florida Gators outfielder Buddy Reed and high school pitcher Reggie Lawson from Victor Valley.

Questions will abound today.

Most people are of the opinion, they would have had Qunatrill at the 20th slot. Why not take 6-7 pitching sensation Jason Groome from New Jersey, who slid down the board, at age 17?

Why not take Matt Manning, the fast track pitcher from Sacramento, whose father played in the NBA?

You could have had them to develop, and probably still had Quantrill at 20.

Why not take the athletic bats from the two outfielders, rather than another shortstop?

It’s AJ Preller’s show for sure. Ownership has bought into everything he’s done, though what he has done has given us two disappointing summers of Padres baseball.

Yes they wound up with 3-pitchers for a minor league system that needs arms, but did they get the right pitchers?

So you figure out why they did what they did.

And circle June 9th on your calendar. It’s the date the GM either got his organization up and running with a brilliant draft, or the night he laid the ground work to get fired, because he took more gambles, like the last group of player deal gambles he took, that have not worked out..

Only time will tell if Quantrill-Sanchez-Lauer were the right players to right this sinking ship.

There will not be much tolerance for Padres baseball going forward, if last place becomes common place in the Padres history. .

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“Padres Draft-Good-Bad-Ugly”

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San Diego Padres baseball has been known for lots of different things lately, and not much of it good.

Ownership changes, front office firings, big contracts and big mistakes, fire sales, and dealing away young talent. And then there are the bad drafts.

And you thought the drought that killed your backyard grass was bad. Try looking at the history of the Padres draft dating back a couple of decades. As close to killing a franchise as you can get.

The Padres go to the draft table late this afternoon, with the 8th, 24th and 25th picks in the first round, a payoff from last year’s bad record and the loss of free agents. In fact guru GM-AJ Preller has 5-of the top 68-picks in the draft.

The Friars need pitching, pitching and more pitching, so that should be the focal point by 8pm when the opening rounds end.

The history of Padres drafts is pathetic. In the last couple of years, the draft has brought San Diego some hope, that slugging outfielder Hunter Refroe and catcher Austin Hedges are ready to make the next step up to full time major league status.

But prior to that, you would be shocked at what transpired.

Dating back to the drafting of power hitting 1st baseman Derrick Lee, in 1994, the Padres have taken 39-players in the first round or with comp picks at the end of the round They have had exactly two of those players, yes two, who have had any impact at all, and then dealt those players away.

No, you are reading correctly, just 2-of-39 players made it in the show, and Khalil Green and Sean Burroughs, were here for a short time and then dealt away.

Yes, there were some fringe players who were number one picks and got here for a short time, 2nd baseman Cory Spangenberg, Tim Stouffer, the pitcher, Cory Luebke and his oft injured elbow. But that’s it.

Your Padres drafts included names like Ben Davis, Kevin Nicholson, Vince Faison, Mark Phillips, Jake Guatreau, Nick Schmidt, Allen Dykstra, Robbie Beckett, Matt Halloran and so many more. .

The worst pics of all included the alcohol troubled Matt Bush, and the total bomb that was always-hurt Donovan Tate.

Think about that, 2-draft picks, since 1994.

Now the Friars did use recent picks as parts of trades. Joe Ross, Mallex Smith Treau Turner, are all in the major leagues, but with other clubs now, as parts of deals that brought them the likes of Wil Myers and Melvin Upton..

In Padres history, they did well, but that was years back. Dave Winfield, Tony Gwynn, Kevin McReynolds, Andy Benes and Joey Hamilton. But all that was pre-1994.

So here we are today, with that tin-can of failure dragging behind them, as the Padres desperately need to rally this franchise.

Strength in numbers, having lots of picks helps. Time for Preller and his montage of minor league think-tank guys, to hit the jackpot.

The draft cannot be a crap shoot, especially if you are not a big player in free agency. The Padres had a total of 820 players on their draft board, some 111-they would consider in the early rounds.

By 8-pm tonight, they’ll have six more names to add to their organization. By the end of the weekend, they will have drafted probably 48-players in all.

Of course you can find a gem, like an Albert Pujols or a Mike Trout, but then again, with the history of this franchise, who can hold out hope they find something in the 44th round, a Mike Piazza type, when you consider they couldn’t hit the target when they were drafting in the first slot (Bush) or the 6th pick (Tate).

Good-Bad-Really Ugly, we’ve seen it all with the Padres front office and the draft.

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“Sneak Preview-What the Padres Are About to Become”

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Take a long look into the Atlanta Braves dugout, and you will see for yourself what Padres baseball is about to become.

The Padres close out their series with the lowly (16-42) Atlanta Braves today, head into the Draft tomorrow, then the baseball trading deadline at the end of July. By the time we get to August 1st, you might not be able to tell much of a difference between the Padres and the Braves, and that’s not good for fans at Petco Park, and long time suffering-disappointed Friars Fans.

You do remember the era, the aura, of Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Greg Maddux and Chipper Jones? What the Braves have on their roster heading into this afternoon’s game, is a far cry from what they used to be. You do remember Bobby Cox, the NL-East division titles, trips to the postseason? Not any more.

It’s the new blueprint in baseball. Tear it down. Tank it. Rebuild it. Hope you draft right. Hope you get lucky. Hope you stay healthy. Maybe you can become the Cubs, or the Royals or the Pirates.

But doing it that way means pain, lots of losses, an erosion of fan support.

The Padres seem headed where the Astros just went, where the Cubs have been, what the Royals and Pirates became, and now, in the other dugout, what Braves are this day, and for days to come, a bad ballclub.

It’s a nightmare. You can only buy Petco Park as a destination point for so long, if the product is so bad. You can only sell the fan’s experience for a limited time. You can only advertise the All Star week for one given period of time. You betray your corporate sponsors and your broadcast partner, when your brand of baseball becomes last place baseball.

It has been painful to watch what the Braves have become. In a span of two off-seasons, Atlanta off-loaded 9-established players. Stripped the roster to the ground, leaving behind 1-established star to suffer by himself, 1st baseman Freddie Freeman. And in rebuilding, there is no guarantee in what you get in return for what you give away. The deals, as of today, don’t look good, and that’s why the Braves are where they are in the standings, and why Padres fans should freak out.

Shelby Miller, promising pitcher, shipped to Arizona for minor league shortstop Darby Swanson, lst round draft pick, who could be years away.

Alex Wood, promising young starter, dealt to the Dodgers in a multi-player deal that brought back infielder Hector Olivera, now suspended.

Jason Heyward, budding star outfielder, traded to the Cardinals, for Shelby Miller, since traded away.

Christian Bethancourt, out of option catcher with a bad glove, sent to San Diego for pitcher Casey Kelly.

Michael Bourn, established outfielder, moved to Cleveland for since released 3rd baseman Chris Johnson.

Evan Gattis, power hitting multi-position player, flipped to Houston for minor leaguers, who never panned out.

Justin Upton, power hitting outfielder, on to San Diego for a collection of kids, Mallex Smith, Jace Peterson, Max Fried amongst others.

Andrellton Simmons headed to the Angels, for young arms Sean Newcombe and Chris Ellis, neither of who are in the majors yet.

Craig Kimbrell-Melvin Upton traded to San Diego for Cam Maybin, Matt Wisler, and the Carlos Quentin contract.

Bryan McCann, established clubhouse leader-catcher, let go to become a free agent starter with the Yankees.

Cam Maybin, coming off a good year, exits and heads to the Detroit Tigers.

The nightmare that is Atlanta’s roster also includes the loss of four key young starting pitchers to surgeries.

Kris Medlen, never came back from arm woes, and is now in the KC Royals chain. Mike Minor, struggling with post-surgery issues, was cut loose, and is also in the Royals chain. Brandon Beachy had two elbow surgeries, and was last seen, was trying to find his career in the Dodgers organization. Jair Jurjjens never rallied back from knee surgery. The afore mentioned Wood, and youngster Randal Delgado, were packaged in trades.

All the hope for Atlanta, has been washed away, by players who washed out, injuries that wiped out careers too. Since their philosophical change, and the importation of GM-John Hart, the Braves are (83-137) in the last year and a half, and it’s going to get much worse before it might get any better. They could get close to 300-losses by closing day 2017.

How awful this must be for a franchise and a city that saw 15-first place finishes and 3-second place finishes in a 2-decade span.

Oh you can rave about what the Chicago Cubs have become. Wrigleyville is so much fun now, and granted Cubs fan is a loyal lot, but Chicago bottomed out, going (198-288) over a three year window, till the draft picks and the Cubans arrived.

The Royals have had a nice little run in the Mike Moustakas-Eric Hosmer years, but KC gave its loyal Royal fans a product that was (176-310) over a three year period.

The Pirates went 22-years without a playoff game, went thru lots of ownership changes, front office firings, and philosophical U-turns. The Buccos had a six year stretch where they went (388-573). Anybody for that type of rebuilding calendar?

And of late, there is the Houston situation. The Astros had a bounceback surprise season last year, though this year has been slow off the launching pad. But Houston tore the Astrodome down, and burned the franchise to the ground. They were a catastrophic (162-324) over three seasons, till last year’s summer of exciting baseball.

So the Padres appear to be about to embark on tanking. James Shields is gone. Matt Kemp might be next. Fernando Rodney, Andrew Cashner, John Jay anyone?

Yes they have 6-of the top 85-draft picks tomorrow. Yes they have money to spend in the International Free Agent period. But those type of talents, if they pan out, are three to five years down the road. And the scoreboard has just told us what kind of teams the Cubs, Pirates, Royals and Astros gave their fans over three years, using the same business model.

Padres, and Padres fans, take a long look into the Braves dugout today, and see for yourself, what your ballclub is about to become.

A sneak preview of what the next couple of summers might be like.

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“I Am the Greatest-He Was-Still Is”

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The legend of the man are everywhere. The stories are non-stop. The memories are being re-told and relived.

How influential was Muhammad Ali.

Not only will boxing and sports royalty come to Louisville for a Memorial service. Similiar get togethers are being discussed for the Vatican, St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, and in London.

Cassius Clay became Muhammad Ali. He became a symbol for the Nation of Islam. He became a radical. He became a boxer. He became a champion. He became an ambassador.

No matter what segment of life Ali touched, he carried influence, equal to the thunder of the punches he threw in the ring.

And in the ring, it is where he changed the sport. He single handledly brought it back from the match fixing scandals of the 1950s.

Ali fought and beat all the greatest heavyweights of that era, when that weight class carried, and made the sport. Smokin Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, George Foreman, Earnie Shavers, and Sonny Liston.

He was defiant, he was verbose, he was bombastic, he was dominant. The record show a (56-5) career mark, winning the title back on 3-different times.

The bouts are national landmarks of the sports history. The Thriller in Manila. The Phantom Punch fight in Lewiston, Maine. The Rumble in the Jungle in Zaire.

His life was about working with Malcom X. Taking on the Black Panthers. Receiveing the Medal of Freedom from President Bush.

It was his verbal jousts with his alter-ego Howard Cosell. It was going toe to toe with columnists. It was a war that carried him to the Supreme Court, in his decision to be a conscientous objector to the war in Viet Nam.

He was a man of global integrity. His charity work in Africa a primary example. His involvement in helping get US hostages released from the Persian countries.

In a world where people like the Pope, FDR, JFK, Churchill are held in high esteem, Ali’s name must be added for his influence and involvment in all things worldly.

He was a sportsman and a showman. He feared no one, not the draft board, not opponents. He called people White Americ’s championa, and Uncle Toms. He stood over a fallen boxer and screamed ‘get up you gorilla’. He told us ‘Norton must go down’. You do remember Cosell screaming into a mike “Down goes Frazier” He called Liston “Old Penitentary face” and Frazier “Big Ugly”

Muhammad Ali was all things to all people. Champion in the ring. Champion around the globe.

No truer words spoken, “I am the greatest”. He was. And he still is.

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