Padres Mid Season Report Card

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The scoreboard does not lie and neither does the stat sheet.  The Mid-Term report card is out.
 
You are what the record says you are, and for the San Diego Padres, the glass is not half empty for half full, but you’d have a hard time convincing the fans the bottom of the franchise looks as if it is going to fall thru and the roof is going to cave in.
 
How this team has won 41-games this year is beyond me.  Well actually, pitching won 41-games despite next to nothing support from the batting order.
 
And the mid-season report card grades are in.
 
Ownership-(C)…They’ve just about completed two full seasons, the Fowler-Seidler-O’Malley group.  The franchise is a combined 85-games under .500 since they bought the team at the end of August 2012.  The payroll has gone up.  The production gone down.
 
General Manager (F)…You fired one general manager already for mistakes made in contracts given.  Josh Byrnes made some astute veteran trades and some blunders too.  Not to blame for this shame entirely.
 
Manager (B)..Yes Bud Black has never made the playoffs, but he has made the team proud, never let it quit, never gave up despite ridiculous injuries.  You’d wonder what he would do if they gave him a 25-man roster sprinkled with guys like Caminitti-Finely-Kevin Brown-Gwynn from back in the day.
 
Coaches (B)..Daren Balsley is the best in the business at scoping out, sighting, and fixing pitchers flaws.  Phil Plantier can only teach so much, the rest has to come from the players  themselves.
 
Offense (F)..Major league hitters with a combined batting average of .214 when they resume play Friday.  Chase Headley healthy can hit.  Carlos Quentin used to hit when healthy-but cannot.  The jury remains out on Cam Maybin.  You wonder if Grandal-Cabrera; success in the past was PED driven.  Alonso needs a healthy hand.  Gyroko needs to figure out pitching.  The rest are just utilitymen elsewhere-here they are starters.
 
Defense (B)..If all the starters were on the field, a pretty competitive bunch, but when was the last time all the starters were on the field.  Better than the norm, but they have to be to patrol the wide expanses of Petco Park.
 
Pitching (A)..Never has so much been done, with so little run support.  The team has scored 5 runs in Tyson Ross’ starts.  Ian Kennedy’s teammates scored 27-runs in his 20-starts.  See what I mean.  Andrew Cashner has now had five different arm injuries in his short career.  Might he be better as a closer.  The rookies Hahn-Despaigne have 7-wins in 3-weeks, and the bullpen brigade, Street-Benoit have shined.
 
Franchise (D)..Until they rid themselves of bad contracts, till the cavalry in the farm system arrives within a year, till they take the payroll to 100M and spend it correctly, we are looking at non-playoff baseball, and 11-losing seasons in 16-years.  At least a night out at Petco Park is fun for the family-fans, even if the team isn’t fun watching.

The All Star Game

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It’s tonight.  It’s history.  It’s color-pageantry.  It’s one of the things that makes the game great.
 
The stars come out tonight in the Twin Cities.  Minnesota hosts Baseball’s All Star Game.
 
Baseball is all about history, and what better way to celebrate than to watch it all tonight.
 
And as you watch the Cuban Missile-Yasiel Puig, or the brilliance of Clayton Kershaw, or the farewell journey of Derek Jeter, the memories should come crashing back like a wave in the ocean.
 
The All Star game has given us great moments.
 
1999-Fenway Park…the salute to Ted Williams, the outpouring of baseball-fan-media love to Teddy Ballgame.
 
Tony Gwynn jumping up and down after scoring the winning run, thundering around 3rd in the 1994-game in Pittsburgh-20 years ago this night..
 
Reggie Jackson, Mr-October, became Mr. Midsummer with his 520-foot home run atop the roof at old Tigers Stadium.
 
Randy Johnson, the big Unit, throwing a fastball over the head of John Kruk, who then refused to get in the box.  That and Larry Walker of Montreal turning around and batting right-handed against the lefthander.
 
The 1960s when they actually held two All Star games each summer.
 
1984-Fernando Valenzuela throwing the screwball and Dwight Gooden the fastball-struck 6-in a row.
 
Pete Rose-Charley Hustle-running over Ray Fosse of the Indians at home plate in 1970.
 
Stan “The Man”  Musial and his home run into the light towers to win the 1955 game.
 
The 1941 game-Ted Williams 2-run homer late at niter to win it in the year he hit .406 and DiMaggio had the 56-game hitting streak.
 
1934-King Carl Hubbell struck out Ruth-Gehrig-Fox-Simmons and Cronin in a row.
 
Cal Ripken hitting a homer in his final swing in an All Star Game.  Babe Ruth hitting a home in the lst game in ’33.
 
The Mid Summer Night Classic.  The stars come out tonight, and we remember the stars of years gone by too. 
 
History of the game, it is what makes baseball so great.

World Cup

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It’s over..it was riveting…it was watched…will it have any affect?
 
Have they stopped drinking in Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich or Kaiserslautern?  Is it like a death in the family in Buenos Aires, Rosario and LaPlata?
 
Is there self-satisfaction in Amsterdam and Antwerp?  Grief and anger in Rio,  Sao Paulo and Asuncion?.
 
Germany won its 4th World Cup yesterday, a sledgehammer affair with Argentina.  It was (1-0) in extra time. 
 
It was brutal, bloody, physical.  It was one touch passing, yellow cards, lots of fouls, and some point blank saves by goalies.
 
The world will have to get on with the rest of their life now that there are no more games to watch, no more debates to have, no more bites-kicks-or raging over refs blown calls.
 
But what effect will what we saw the last four weeks have on US soccer.  Ask a fan and they will tell you about Tim Howard, Michael Bradley and maybe even Jurgen Klinsmann.
 
The TV ratings were shattered.  24 million watched the US-Portugal; almost that many to see the play and lose game to Belgium
 
American viewing is wrapped around big events on TV.  Nothing more.  Yes the MLS, our outdoor league, is growing, expanding.  But no, it does not have much in terms of TV ratings,and attendance is about 21,000 per game in their small stadiums. . 
 
Yes we pay attention when a David Beckham arrives with the LA Galaxy, but no you probably cannot name very many other players across the league.
 
Would you actually stop what you’re doing to watch the Columbus Crew vs the Chicago Fire? Doubt it..
 
What we do know is the Fox Soccer Channel’s decision to televise the English Premiere League has brought the great game to us daily.  We know global players, but cannot identify with New York Red Bull or Toronto FC.
 
We won’t make an appointment to watch that, nor the NCAA finals with Hartwick College vs St-Louis University.
 
But we will make an appointment four years from now to get ready for the games in Russia.
 
Wish the World Cup was every two years, so we could see Messi, Muller, Suarez and the likes more often.  We pay attention to the important things.  
 
We just saw 4-weeks of the beautiful game as it is meant to be.  Anything else is not worth the time...Time to turn our attention to the other game of futbol, played here, the NFL.

Dodgers Baseball

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You may hate the team… the owner… their payroll… but you should appreciate the pitcher.
 
The Padres got a dose of Special K last nite at Dodgers Stadium.  Clayton Kershaw was masterful, mercurial, special, in striking out 11, throwing a 3-hitter, and running his record to (11-2), in beating the Padres..
 
It’s now a common place occurrence.  When he pitches, they fill the stadium, 50,000 last nite on a Thursday nite.  When he pitches, they usually win, his career record is now (88-48).  When he pitches, he strikes out tons of batters.
 
You may dislike the big money Dodgers.  You may despise all things that live in LA.  You may not like Magic Johnson-part owner.  Or the 239-million payroll.
 
But you should appreciate excellence and the gifts that guy, Kershaw, brings to the mound at age 26. 
 
His shutout streak was snapped by a Chase Headley home run, at 41-plus innings.  He won’t chase down Orel Hirshiser nor Don Drysdale’s shutout records.  But he keeps winning, keeps dominating;.
 
Kershaw has all these accolades, wins, ERA titles, Cy Young trophies.  
 
He also has a big heart.  He and his wife pour money, lots of it, into 3rd world countries to build orphanages.  He travels to African nations in the off season to meet the leadership groups he has put in place in these foundations.  He does charity work in the states.
 
He is utterly brilliant on the mound and benevolent off the field. 
 
You can scream all you want, beat-LA, but you should scream and shout and clap for Clayton Kershaw, who he is, what he does, and the person he represents.
 
Something beautiful about that guy wearing Dodgers Blue.

Dodgers Lawsuit

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The decision has been rendered. Can you imagine how hard it would be to vote on it.
 
As ugly a moment in the short lived history of the Frank McCourt ownership of the Los Angeles Dodgers. 
 
The McCourt’s, bankruptcy, divorce, greed, MLB foreclosure, and the beating of a fan at their stadium on opening night.  Some era.
 
Can you imagine being on the jury, or being the jury foreman, and having to make a decision in the Brian Stow lawsuit against the Dodgers and it’s former owner.
 
Brain damaged for life, savagely stomped by 2-Latinos with criminal records, Brian Stow will forever be in a wheelchair, will never work, and will never have all the brain faculties he had when he went to see the Dodgers-Giants opening night game in 2011.
 
He was jumped, pummeled, kicked in the face, had his head slammed into the parking lot pavement.  The two who did the assault are serving 24-years in prison.
 
Stow will forever live in the prison of his injuries.  He was awarded not the 37M he asked for, but 18M.  The jury however will order the Dodgers to pay just 4.5M of it.  McCourt will pay nothing.  The hoodlums will be held accountable for the rest, but they are penniless in prison.. 
 
Somewhere in between the accusation that the owner skimped on parking lot security and the explosive fans taunting exchange that led to the fite, there is blame enough for everyone.
 
The baseball team testified they had  a record number of security, uniformed police, and non uniformed there that opening night.  They admit as the sellout crowd streamed out into the lot, it was impossible to have police everywhere.  They did admit, unruly fans had tended to take over the pavilion at Chavez Ravine in recent years.
 
But somewhere in all this is the blame to be passed on Stow too.  Caught on video taunting fans, while wearing his Giants jersey.  Caught on video spewing shouts at Dodgers fans in the parking lot.  Caught with a blood alcohol count of .187, over double the legal limit, before the first punch-kick reigned on him.
 
Imagine being on the jury having to determine blame, future earning powers lost, and value of a crippled father with kids.
 
Part of me says the thugs got what they deserved.  Some part of me says the Dodgers insurance money will be spent now to help the Giants fan.  Part of me says Stow himself invited all this too by how he acted and how much he drank.
 
In a world of macho men, fueled by beer, impassioned by rooting for their team, this should be a lesson.  Sporting events are not meant to wind up like this.  Somewhere deep in the recesses of his damaged brain, Brian Stow’s thought process has to be held as accountable as the two toughs, locked away till 2026.
 
It’s a sad commentary on what a chunk of society, sporting society,  has become.