Sez Me \u2026<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s get real and not tiptoe around on pointe shoes.<\/p>\n
The Padres don\u2019t have many players who should not be touched. From the farms to the Show, they do have all of three \u2014 Fernando Tatis Jr., Mason Miller and Jackson Merrill.<\/p>\n
Maybe you\u2019re surprised by one of my choices. More on that in a second.<\/p>\n
In baseball, The Untouchables have nothing to do with Eliot Ness. Or Capone. Or Prohibition. Or the FBI.<\/p>\n
They are the players who are invaluable. In most cases, those traded away cannot be replaced. Unless the team \u2014 usually a desperate, penurious stiff \u2014 gets lucky and finds a Rembrandt hidden behind some hack\u2019s chromo in a dusty attic.<\/p>\n
I know I haven\u2019t gone easy on Tatis. Called him a bust. But a different kind of bust. A power bust. But you can\u2019t give up on a player who still can hit a ball 450 feet.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s something wrong, somewhere. To trade him would be a grievous error. He\u2019s young. He turned 27 in January. He\u2019s the finest right fielder (when not playing a very legit but unnecessary second base) in the sport. He can run. He seems healthy.<\/p>\n
Watching him go somewhere else and shine would bring shade to this franchise and city, which would lose its most popular player.<\/p>\n
Jackson Merrill? He\u2019s a fine center fielder. Very young (23 as of April), with some power. You need a center fielder in Petco. He\u2019s homegrown. They\u2019re not easy to find.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in that GM A.J. Preller has left himself few options \u2014 with the big club, where huge money is being spent on low production, and the farm, which he has dried up \u2014 there have been rumors Miller could be traded.<\/p>\n
Allowing the best closer in the game to depart would be one of the biggest mistakes made by a franchise that has made too many of them.<\/p>\n
Miller, who\u2019s now more dominant than any closer who\u2019s ever closed, is under club control for three more years. If anything, he should be locked up and extended.<\/p>\n
The worst rumor in the sporting world has had the Padres trading for Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman, who, like Miller, can throw 100 mph-plus.<\/p>\n
Chapman is 38. Miller is 27. This is first-grade arithmetic.<\/p>\n
There is a small corner Preller has painted himself into, and there isn\u2019t a Rembrandt he can just hack over. \u2026<\/p>\n
Is Brandon Aiyuk really worth all this attention? He\u2019s a wide receiver, No. 1, which makes him more important off the field than on it. No. 2, he deserted the 49ers last season (he blames his ex-agent). No. 3, he\u2019s not exactly Jerry Rice. \u2026<\/p>\n
Adding to his problems, Aiyuk apparently wants to play for the Commanders, who aren\u2019t jumping out of their shorts to grab him. \u2026<\/p>\n
If you think the most impressive player in an NFL camp is a backup quarterback, then you\u2019re either watching a bad team, or can\u2019t get it through your head that 7-on-7 drills are for amateurs. \u2026<\/p>\n
Justin Herbert has spent most of the NFL Team That Used To Be Here\u2019s minicamp working on footwork prescribed by new offensive coordinator\/physician Mike McDaniel. Justin knows how to throw to open receivers, even off the wrong foot. \u2026<\/p>\n
The NFL has nixed Brendan Sorsby\u2019s attempt to get The League to hold a supplemental draft. Know what this means? Green supplements for lawyers. \u2026<\/p>\n
Does this insinuate the NFL no longer will have a gambling partner? Hypocrites don\u2019t have the teeth to bite the hand that feeds them. \u2026<\/p>\n
If Sorsby wants to play in Canada, he might try hockey. The CFL doesn\u2019t want him, either. \u2026<\/p>\n
Man, the stars are shining in this World Cup. The big boys have come out to play. \u2026<\/p>\n
Ivory Coast soccer coach Emerse Fa\u00e9 criticized Germany\u2019s lack of \u201cfair play.\u201d Didn\u2019t Churchill first say that? \u2026<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know if Lionel Messi is the greatest soccer player of all time, but if he\u2019s not, he will be in 50 years. \u2026<\/p>\n
Mbapp\u00e9 really is good, too. But Messi and Ronaldo are easier to pronounce and spell. \u2026<\/p>\n
Meaningless World Cup games are NFL exhibitions \u2014 only with wild fans. \u2026<\/p>\n
Shohei Ohtani homered for his new child. The Dodgers lost. That\u2019s OK. Congratulations all around. \u2026<\/p>\n
You do not choke the U.S. Open. The U.S. Open chokes you. \u2026<\/p>\n
Stalin would have received more appreciation from New York golf fans than Wyndham Clark. \u2026<\/p>\n
All majors should adopt Masters protocol. No cell phones. No running. Idiots who yell are thrown out. \u2026<\/p>\n
If it\u2019s not in Great Britain, where things are British \u2014 and thus, different \u2014 I like my golf courses with trees. \u2026<\/p>\n
I thought the NASCAR races at North Island were beautiful. I wonder how many people know it\u2019s the birthplace of Naval aviation? It is the military\u2019s Kitty Hawk. \u2026<\/p>\n
Hopefully, NASCAR returns next year to the Naval Station Coronado turns. But please, please, not on the Fourth of July. How much bending can that bridge endure? \u2026<\/p>\n
Wimbledon begins Monday, and Serena Williams will take part in singles competition. I\u2019d be more excited if it were Steffi Graf, but, as much as I admire the Williams sisters, Steffi knew when her time was up. \u2026<\/p>\n
In 1885, a German professor discovered that most of what you learn cramming for tests goes away in 48 hours. I crammed \u2014 really crammed \u2014 for one test at SDSU. Right up to game time. Thought I knew every answer. Got a 74. C. Thanks, prof. \u2026<\/p>\n
The Heat gave up a ton to the Bucks for The Greek Freak. But nobody in the NBA is smarter than Pat Riley. This is his last stand. \u2026<\/p>\n
Kansas guard Darryn Peterson is the best pure player in this NBA draft. His rap is health. He missed games due to cramps. But this is pro ball. He can miss 20 games, easy, and be Rookie of the Year (which has no restrictions). \u2026<\/p>\n
Is it true an American canoeist was arrested for vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool? Hadn\u2019t that already been done by reconstruction? \u2026<\/p>\n
The pool is a disaster, but at least they found Jimmy Hoffa. \u2026<\/p>\n
Oklahoma won the College World Series. Finished 11th in the SEC. Stunk coming into the tournament. Baseball. It can not be figured. \u2026<\/p>\n
Great retirement to ESPN\u2019s Linda Cohn. Groundbreaker. Thirty-four years of getting it right. \u2026<\/p>\n
Dusty May, who just won an NCAA title at Michigan, is leaving to coach the NBA\u2019s Mavericks. College coaches have a great recent history of success once reaching the NBA. Kind of like Napoleon vs. the Duke of Wellington. \u2026<\/p>\n
See where Finland has been named the happiest country. So the Finns have a real reason for not allowing me in. \u2026<\/p>\n
There are things that can\u2019t be explained without aid from a higher authority. The persecution of Caitlin Clark is one. If there are lucky stars, jealous WNBA players should thank them for Caitlin every waking moment. Without her, they are four letters. \u2026<\/p>\n
Caitlin should go play overseas. That\u2019ll teach \u2018em. \u2026<\/p>\n
Watch parties are fun. I never knew \u201cStorage Wars\u201d was so popular. \u2026<\/p>\n
Giants teammate Monte Irvin on Willie Mays: \u201cIt was his solemn duty to catch a ball that wasn\u2019t in the stands.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sez Me \u2026 Let\u2019s get real and not tiptoe around on pointe shoes. The Padres don\u2019t have many…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":737327,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2407],"tags":[5,853,4,43,137,18,4339,4338,185,430,3546],"class_list":["post-737326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego-padres","tag-baseball","tag-latest-headlines","tag-mlb","tag-padres","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-padres","tag-sandiego","tag-sandiegopadres","tag-sports","tag-sports-columnists","tag-top-stories-sdut"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116825197391423986","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=737326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/737327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=737326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=737326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=737326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}