You’re probably thinking to yourself, “Who is this *** and why does he think he can write about sports.” Well, let me tell you. I watch an average of 9 hours of sports each day, and while this may sound like a dream to you, it’s my job. Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s a dream job. But there are times when it’s more like a nightmare…especially when you are forced to watch Padres baseball. Remember the 22-inning marathon against the Rockies on April 17th? 22 innings, 11 hits, and 1 run for the Padres! That is tough to watch. The only enjoyable moments of that debacle were the announcers getting a little bit loopy.
In the 9 years I have been here, the Padres have amassed an astonishing 669-730 record. That computes to a .478 winning percentage. UGLY. What is wrong here? Well, let’s try to figure it out.
I think it basically comes down to money. A wise person once told me, “There are 2 kinds of owners in sports. One that doesn’t like to lose, and one that doesn’t like to lose money.” Unfortunately for all Padres fans, ours does not like to lose money. As sad as it is these days, if you want to compete, you have to spend money. Look at the success of the Red Sox, Yankees, Angels, and even the Cubs this year. Even if these teams don’t win the World Series each year, at least they are sending a potential World Series contender on the field each day. Also, these teams are selling out almost every, if not every, home game. When was the last time the Padres could say that…um, probably never.
I think the San Diego fans have been patient enough. We were promised a competitive team if the Padres got a new ballpark. The ballpark is here and the competitive team is not. This is the 5th year in the “new” ballpark and the Padres have played in 7 postseason games with a forgettable 1-6 record. And we all know there will be no playoff games this year.
Now let’s make one thing clear. This is not an attack on the team itself. I love watching competitive baseball. But that is not happening here. I feel bad for the Padres. The players are not to blame. General Manager Kevin Towers is not to blame. CEO Sandy Alderson is not to blame. We can only blame John Moores. And there is a solution here. He needs to sell the team.
Agree? Disagree? The Mike is open.
