Sez Me \u2026<\/p>\n
If the Padres are lucky (and they certainly are not), they won\u2019t have to worry about playing baseball \u2014 or whatever sporting endeavor they\u2019ve lately attempted to do \u2014 next year.<\/p>\n
For them, and the 29 other teams, odds are there won\u2019t be a next year. The Cubs will have to wait until 2028 to top the 23 they scored on them the other day.<\/p>\n
Enjoy baseball, if you can, in 2026. Because you probably won\u2019t get the opportunity in 2027 \u2014 unless you have access to overseas TV. They play pretty good baseball in the Far East, Mexico, Central and South America.<\/p>\n
Major League Baseball? As Seinfeld might say: \u201cNot bloody likely.\u201d<\/p>\n
Think of it as a show you\u2019ve been watching, one that you love, and discover that it isn\u2019t being renewed. If you\u2019re truly amazing Padres fans, you\u2019ll watch it until the end, which will be very bitter to taste.<\/p>\n
MLB\u2019s collective bargaining agreement with the players union expires Dec. 1. The two sides aren\u2019t close. Simply put, the owners\u2019 demands are not \u2014 not \u2014 going to be accepted by the most powerful union on earth.<\/p>\n
So, what we have here is 1994 all over again, when, for much the same reason, baseball shut down for 7 1\/2 months, and invertebrate commissioner Bud Selig kiboshed the World Series. Of course, the union eventually won.<\/p>\n
As it always does. And will again.<\/p>\n
MLB has several demands, all of which have something to do with owners making more dough. But the main one is a salary cap (as it was in 1994), this time around $245 million per team.<\/p>\n
Not having a cap is the biggest chip the union has bargained for. The best unions don\u2019t throw these things back on the table. The owners are urinating into a hurricane.<\/p>\n
Getting a cap ain\u2019t happening. Call it a strike or a lockout. Doesn\u2019t matter. The union controls 40-man rosters, and the players aren\u2019t starving. The league minimum is $780,000.<\/p>\n
The owners are to blame for all of this. They have folded like a bunch of frightened omelets. Did the Padres have to extend Manny Machado when he was already under a $300 million deal?<\/p>\n
They will talk a good game, as usual. They will shovel out more propaganda than Joseph Goebbels. But it will be another war they will lose.<\/p>\n
If there is baseball in 2027, it will be done by minor leaguers. Seems the Padres have already started. \u2026<\/p>\n
The Padres lost to Chicago 23-3. Big days for Caleb Williams and Montez Sweat. \u2026<\/p>\n
If it\u2019s any consolation to the Pads, the Yankees also stink. \u2026<\/p>\n
It appears not even Jos\u00e9\u00a0Feliciano can light a fire under these guys. \u2026<\/p>\n
I have no qualms with Padres faithful selling their tickets to Dodgers fans. Maybe if the team didn\u2019t charge such exorbitant prices for people to watch players making hundreds of millions of dollars get one hit every 10 times they go to the plate, I\u2019d feel differently. \u2026<\/p>\n
Look at it this way: Dodgers fans leave early, so that makes getting out of Petco a breeze for real followers. \u2026<\/p>\n
From Andrew Fillipponi: Bobby Bonilla, 63, who hasn\u2019t played baseball since 2001, makes more money per year ($1.19 million from the Mets through 2035) for not playing than reigning NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes. \u2026<\/p>\n
Happy birthday, Mel Brooks. A hundred years, a million laughs. On the comic genius scale, he\u2019s No.1. \u2026<\/p>\n
Happy 66th birthday, John Elway. Best quarterback there\u2019s ever been. \u2026<\/p>\n
A tactical footrace means two things: Slow and boring. \u2026<\/p>\n
If La Jolla separates itself from the city of San Diego (is Little Italy, Mission Hills, Point Loma next?), what will be the boundaries? Personally, I don\u2019t think any place east of the I-5 should be included, but there are places east of Descanso that seemingly claim they\u2019re La Jolla. \u2026<\/p>\n
LeBron James has told the Lakers he\u2019s going to play at least another year, but somewhere other than L.A. Does this mean a lucky team gets Bronny? \u2026<\/p>\n
James says he wants to play \u201cmeaningful, competitive\u201d basketball. So he\u2019s finally going to college? \u2026<\/p>\n
The Warriors were said to be interested in acquiring LeBron. But they\u2019re also interested in winning a title, so they\u2019ve dropped the idea. Now, if they want to win an Oscar, maybe. \u2026<\/p>\n
My guess is James goes to Cleveland. Where it all began. \u2026<\/p>\n
Kawhi Leonard is traded to Toronto. The Clippers continue to Clipper. One of the more hopeless franchises, in any sport. And that\u2019s no matter the owner. \u2026<\/p>\n
The Celtics have traded Jaylen Brown, perhaps the best two-way basketball player on earth, to the Sixers. They are ready for the fork. Done. \u2026<\/p>\n
Congrats to the U.S. for shutting down Bosnia. But the red card keeping striker Folarin Balogun out of the upcoming Belgium match hurts plenty. I hate red cards. \u2026<\/p>\n
Putting aside all the jingoism I can muster, that was a bad red. \u2026<\/p>\n
The last time the U.S. and Belgium met for real, they were allies in the Ardennes. Bulge. \u2026<\/p>\n
England vs. Mexico on Sunday. Remember what Sockers coach Hubert Vogelsinger said: \u201cEnglish soccer isn\u2019t worth the time I don\u2019t spend watching it.\u201d \u2026<\/p>\n
Hubert also said: \u201cIf the British fought World War II the way they play soccer, it would have ended in a nil-nil tie.\u201d \u2026<\/p>\n
Sockers players back then weren\u2019t exactly enamored with Vogelsinger\u2019s replacement, highly successful and humorous Brit Ron Newman. Said Juli Veee (from atop a locker room table) after one of the team\u2019s numerous indoor championships: \u201cWe win despite our coach.\u201d \u2026<\/p>\n
Germany loses to Paraguay? That\u2019s what it gets for stretching itself thin and going after the Suez Canal and Russia. \u2026<\/p>\n
Speaking of the Suez, how about Egypt taking Australia? The Aussies fell to a pyramid scheme. \u2026<\/p>\n
Morocco. Rick, Ilsa and Capt. Renault would be proud. Ugarte would not. \u2026<\/p>\n
One thing we\u2019ve learned from this World Cup: The smaller countries without resumes are walking down the traditional powers. \u2026<\/p>\n
Bravo, Cape Verde. \u2026<\/p>\n
Serena Williams, a wild-card invitee, lost to 87th-ranked Maya Joint, 20, in Wimbledon\u2019s first round. Serena is 44 \u2014 age, not rank. She also damaged a knee and is out of doubles. \u2026<\/p>\n
Not everyone is Tom Brady. Sooner or later, the body cries: Uncle!\u201d \u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people never saw me do things.\u201d \u2014 Willie Mays. I did. Not enough, but I did. Magnificent. \u2026<\/p>\n
Jack Reber, good guy, mentor and one of the first among my newspaper bosses, is recuperating from a broken hip. Get well, Jack, and stop chasing Ramona turkeys. \u2026<\/p>\n
O.J. Simpson was the greatest running back of all time. I will argue it forever. But the Bills will not honor him in their new stadium. And they should not. \u2026<\/p>\n
Tommy John, on his famous surgery: \u201cI told them to put in a Koufax fastball. They did, but it was Mrs. Koufax\u2019s.\u201d \u2026<\/p>\n
At last. Bass Pro Shops is coming to Grossmont Center. A truly great store. And I am an outdoorsman only when outside. \u2026<\/p>\n
We missed out again, thanks to City Hall. Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce\u2019s first choice for their wedding wasn\u2019t Madison Square Garden. It was Qualcomm Stadium.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sez Me \u2026 If the Padres are lucky (and they certainly are not), they won\u2019t have to worry…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":386405,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[181,74,76,75,127,1326],"class_list":["post-386404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-latest-headlines","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news","tag-sports","tag-sports-columnists"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=386404"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386404\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/386405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=386404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=386404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=386404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}