Up For Sale

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🔥🧨 FIRST PITCH: For Sale

The Padres are on the market. Stunning news for a team that just ripped off back-to-back 90-win seasons.

Peter Seidler made San Diego a baseball event. He spent with swagger. He believed San Diego could be more than sunshine and empty seats. And it worked. Petco Park was electric, the Dodgers had a rival, and the Padres were loud, and fun.

Then Seidler died, and the magic leaked out. The leadership stumbled. The money dried up. The Seidler family drama—infighting between Peter’s widow and brothers—turned a tight-knit contender into a soap opera.

Peter was the grandson of former Dodgers’ owner Walter O’Malley. He dreamed of bringing a World Series to San Diego—and he tried like hell. Fans showed up in droves. He didn’t get the ring, but he made San Diego matter.

Now the team is up for sale.
And this is still one of baseball’s crown-jewel ballparks.
San Diego shows up when you give them something to believe in.

Here’s hoping the next owner brings the heart and the wallet.

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💥 THE GOOD — Tony Blanco Jr.

Remember this name: Tony Blanco Jr. He’s about to break Statcast.

At 6'7", 243 pounds, he looks like he was built in a Marvel lab. In the Arizona Fall League, Blanco turned batting practice into a fireworks show — 24 homers to win the AFL Home Run Derby, including one that traveled 464 feet. He also smoked a 120.4 mph double, the second-hardest-hit ball in league history.

He’s raw — probably a year away from the Bigs — but when a dude that size is vaporizing baseballs in the desert, people start paying attention.

The Pirates might have something special here — if they can manage not to screw it up.

Baseball could use a little more madness, and a few more 120-mph doubles. Tony Blanco Jr. might just provide both.

🧨 THE BAD — The Accidental Manager?

Speaking of the Padres. They finally found their new manager, a decision that had many scratching their heads.

The team interviewed a bunch of candidates for their open job — and somehow hired the guy who was supposed to help them interview those candidates.

Craig Stammen, former pitcher, team advisor, and apparently surprise finalist, is now the manager in San Diego. It’s the kind of move that feels less like a decision and more like a clerical error.

To be clear, Stammen’s a respected baseball guy — smart, steady, well-liked — but the process is just… strange. The Padres spent weeks running a search, calling references, and setting up interviews, only to look around and decide the best option was sitting at the table taking notes.

If this works, A.J. Preller looks like a genius. If it doesn’t, he’ll look like the guy who accidentally hit “reply all” and hired himself a manager.

Stranger execution.

🙈 THE UGLY - CLEVELAND INDICTMENTS

It’s a story that’s hung over baseball like a dark cloud this season. Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz — accused of tipping off bettors by manipulating pitches — have been indicted on federal charges of bribery, conspiracy, and illegal gambling. Both face up to 65 years behind bars.

Clase, one of the game’s top closers in the game is accused of feeding gamblers inside info — what pitch was coming, ball or strike, even velocity.

The feds started looking into Clase back in 2023. MLB knew. They cooperated. And somehow… Clase just kept pitching. That’s the real question now: how was this guy still on a mound while a federal investigation was unfolding? Instead of being sidelined, he was out there closing games, making All-Star teams, and helping push the Guardians into October.

That can’t sit well with Cleveland’s opponents who faced him. And if the early details are any hint, it’s about to get a whole lot uglier for baseball — right when the league should be celebrating a successful World Series.

🏥 ONE FOR THE ROAD — Paying It Forward

The World Series nearly broke our collective nervous systems, but it also delivered something baseball’s been short on lately — grace.

After L.A. edged Toronto in that seven-game heart-stopper, Dodgers fans started flooding Toronto’s SickKids Hospital with donations — more than $75,000. Over 1,000 U.S. donors have chipped in. Not bad for a fan base with a reputation for bailing in the seventh inning.

The whole thing started with a group of Dodger fans on Reddit, paying it forward after Blue Jays fans donated to Seattle Children’s Hospital earlier in the postseason during their series with the Mariners. Rivalries get loud — but generosity travels louder.

Some fans even donated $51 in honor of the number — a tribute to L.A. lefty Alex Vesia, who stepped away from the Series after the tragic death of his infant daughter. The Dodgers and Blue Jays bullpens both wore No. 51 on their hats — a small gesture that clearly hit home.

After a World Series that nearly killed us all, it’s nice to see fans on both sides open their hearts — and wallets — to something that actually matters.

Good game. Good series. Good people.
That’s baseball at its best — messy, human, and still capable of surprising you.