I feel like I am bitter, both of my first two blogs are at least partly about why Adrian Gonzalez is no longer manning first base and the #3 spot in the line-up for the San Diego Padres. I don’t really feel that I am bitter, though, maybe more just justifying why we don’t have this superstar on our Pads anymore. Was it really the Padres fault they lost Adrian? Was this just another case of losing a San Diego superstar to a higher market team? Was he pushed out by the front office? No, no, and emphatically no. Now before I go on, there is the disparity between a closer and a full time player, basically it is easier to pay one to “market value” than it is the other – but keeping that in mind there is still a big difference between the two players.

Even in 2007 rumblings of Adrian wanting a huge contract when he was eligible for free agency were already coming from both him and his agent, John Boggs. They didn’t want to sign a contract that would have kept Adrian in San Diego till 2012, one year after he would have ended arbitration years and begun his free agency years. And beginning around 2009 we started hearing tid-bits from Adrian about how he would not take a “hometown discount” despite being from Chula Vista. Essentially Adrian was saying that he wanted to get paid, he wanted the $200 million contract and there just isn’t any way he is ever going to get that contract here in San Diego (we have too many transplants who don’t adopt the Padres as their team and go to the games, which is the real problem, not the alleged fair weather fans, but that rant is for a different blog). What really upsets me though is you hear nothing about how Adrian left his hometown for money from the media or anyone really. Yes I know, a lot of money, but you would think that the eventual $80-100 million he would have received from the Padres would be enough to support the guy and his family for the rest of their lives, he obviously will not settle for anything less than twice that much. I hear a lot about how the Padres can’t keep anyone, how do you keep a guy with this mindset in a small-middle market city:

“This next contract is going to be the one where I look for what I deserve. I’m going to let my agent worry about those negotiations, but in talking to my agent, it’s going to be about where my value is.

If (the Padres) want to keep me around, they’ll find a way to keep me around. There hasn’t been any talks about anything other than just go out and play, which I told them I’m going to do.”

Well what Gonzalez “deserves” he is going to get in Boston, I’m sure, and it just would have never happened here and he knew that. I guess playing for your hometown team isn’t really that important.

Heath Bell, another local kid born and raised in his early childhood in my hometown of Oceanside before his family moved to Tustin, came here from the Mets with Royce Ring for pitcher Jon Adkins and outfielder Ben Johnson. Ring, who was the center piece of the deal, pitched for less than half a season before being dealt to Atlanta – Bell earned his place by pitching 93.2 innings with a 2.02 ERA and a sub-1 WHIP (0.961) in his first year with the Pads. We all know what he has done since then, most saves of any closer in the last two years, but to me this is the most encouraging part of Heath Bell:

“I really don’t want to go anywhere. I know [changing teams is] the nature of the business … the nature of the beast. But here is like family for me, the players and coaches. It’s hard to move to another family. I want to stay here for a long time.”

He wants to be here first, he doesn’t talk about money, which I think he would take a big break, think about a 3 year/$21-24 million contract, which the Padres could likely afford and would likely pay if this season the team does well enough to keep fans going. Bell goes on to say:

“To be honest with you, I am a little surprised I’m here. Last year, at the end of the year, I wasn’t sure if I had thrown my last pitch for the Pads. But I’m really glad to be back here.

When I heard Adrian was going to get traded, I felt fine … because I thought one of us was going to have to get traded. I didn’t think both of us were going to be here [in 2011]. I’m glad I’m the one here.”

The “nature of the beast,” it is a business this baseball. But hopefully some people do want to stay here, and understand that. Bell may or may not be here at the end of the season, but I’m willing to bet that he will be – despite what others say.