Sez Me …
The Padres were not going to beat the Brewers — even if Game 4 of the National League Division Series happened to be played in a maternity ward.
But that’s all just water broken under the bridge. Let’s just say, for now, that the Padres went 0-for-21 at the plate to finish that game and their season. Once again, as my daddy said, can’t win if you don’t score.
At the plate, they basically were pre-All-Star break vs. Milwaukee, which wasn’t that much better than them. But better.
And if it went to Game 5, in Wisconsin, which houses the nicest people in America, were they going to do much better with Le Miz throwing 150 mph on the mound?
OK. Enough on that. I’m concerned about baseball. Football, particularly the NFL, takes over in September, at the wrong time for the Grand Olde Game. Among the 100 most-watched TV shows in 2025, nearly 90 percent involved NFL games.
It’s because people gamble on football. To wager on baseball is foolish.
Anyway, here is my proposal.
MLB begins spring training on Jan. 2. It begins the regular season soon after the Super Bowl, when NBA players are making a mockery of the great game of basketball. Shorten the season to 154 games, which MLB wants.
(It also wants the Division Series to be best-of-seven, which will only drag the season on longer.)
This way, it basically would have the sports world to itself. Even in early September, the NFL is feeling its way through a dark room.
A lockout looms. There may not be a 2027. More fans will be turned off. In the back seat, baseball cannot drive alongside football. Right now, it just isn’t as important. …
Manny Machado should bunt in the playoffs about as many times as he runs gassers on the moon. …
Garrett Mitchell’s catch of the Machado shot to center may have taken a homer away from Manny, but if that was a “great” catch, I’ve never seen one. Mitchell was like 5 inches off the ground. …
Memo to Manny: If you’re going to hit the ball to center, at night, at Petco, take a lesson from Fernando Tatis Jr. and hit it harder. …
Michael King is an unafraid stud. …
I feel for Padres fans. Really. The best. …
Did Mason Miller tip his pitches? Maybe. Baseball cheats. But I think Mason looked a bit arm-weary. …
Ty France hit the baseball 105 mph, to the roof in Milwaukee. It caromed off a wire, fell straight down, and was caught near the left-field wall in fair ground for what was decreed an out. Did he get screwed? All I know is France’s ball was going to land in Versailles after clearing the Eiffel Tower. …
The Padres and the NFL Team That Used To Be Here both need an exorcist. San Diego State needs vaccinations. …
Jim Harbaugh gave an emphatic, “No! No! No!,” when asked if offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel’s job is in jeopardy. Neither was Nixon’s. …
NFL officials continue to throw flags on assumptions. You cannot assume. Think of the first three letters of the word. …
I have never seen officials more out of control. There must be a flow to a game, and they’re like beavers building dams. …
There were a record 963 accepted penalties through Week 4 in the NFL. Last week there were 271. Accepted. Unacceptable. …
Omarion Hampton ranks fifth among NFL backs in yards after contact, just ahead of Bijan Robinson. Then why isn’t he used? It’s like buying a Porsche and leaving it in the garage. …
Bijan Robinson is a terrific all-around back, but please (Joe Buck) stop comparing him to Barry Sanders and Marshall Faulk. Great runners have no comparisons. Bijan is Bijan. …
If the Washington Commanders can just win a few more games — or maybe just pretend to — they have a great chance of their nickname being changed to Trumps. …
Eagles coach Nick Siriani: “I don’t think we really know the identity of what we want to be.” Doesn’t he have a sense of smell? …
The 49ers have not allowed a sack. Right now, Brock Purdy is MVP. His passer rating is an astonishing 126.2. That’s about 50 points higher than Justin Herbert’s, which is absurd. …
The Bengals threw the ball 84% of the time vs. the Jaguars. Granted, Jax can play the run with the best of them, but it’s hard to be great when you’re playing off the ground. …
The Texans are the first team to go 0-4 without throwing an interception. Solution: Start throwing them. …
A big deal is being made of backup QBs, how, going into Thursday’s game, they were 6-0, and how starting quarterbacks are overpaid. Backups are backups because they are backups. …
During their divorce trial, Tyreek Hill’s ex testified under oath that he physically abused her. And the Chiefs seriously are considering bringing this guy back? Of course they are. …
Colorado State coach Jim Mora removed defensive coordinator Tyson Summers during the first quarter of its loss to Oregon State. A great decision. The Beavers, who put up 14 in the first 15 minutes, only ended up scoring 56. …
Deion Sanders, for a minute the hottest college coach on earth, says he has one problem — at quarterback. He says nothing about his biggest problem: Deion being nothing more than a myth. He can’t coach. …
Troy beat Southern Miss 55-34. In football. On Tuesday. Tuesday football. That’s right. …
The last time Curt Cignetti smiled, he was being tortured during the Spanish Inquisition. …
RIP, Eva Marie Saint. Simply, 102 years of wonderful. …
RIP, Mike Ditka (“If God wanted us to play soccer, he wouldn’t have given us arms.”). Only one has been made. …
Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson, by far the best player in the awful first round of the 2013 draft, has retired. He wants to have a brain and raise a family while he can. …
It’s amazing to me that people who sit behind computers or talk into cameras for a living can rip an athlete for retirement. Try to get pounded every time you hit a key or say something stupid. …
How about the NFL suspending some of these officials for incompetence? …
A Higher Authority, having a bad day, placed hamstrings on the back of thighs only to be pulled. …
Ronaldo has to be careful and more specific when he says: “Jesus broke his word.” Two thousand years ago, he doesn’t make Portugal’s team, either. …
Tony Romo is out at CBS. Wonder if he could have predicted that? …
Romo was making $18 million a year, which is prosperous, but not enough to afford an Uber, I guess. Anyway, that should tide him over until he’s eligible for the Senior Tour in four years. …
Remember, there is no “i” in team. But there is an “m” and an “e.” …
It’s about time. After living my entire life in San Diego, I am a small price to pay.