Enough with "The Savior" bullsh*t. Chase Headley is still in Portland for one reason...and one reason only: MONEY.

Christopher Harris had an article on ESPN.com Tuesday titled "The Big Rotowski: Major impact players waiting in the minors", in it he writes:

When the Padres cut Jim Edmonds, it was the clarion call for Headley. With the likes of Jody Gerut and Scott Hairston playing most nights, San Diego seems to be waiting for June 1 to pass, when Headley gets another year tacked on to his "super two" arbitration rights.

Headley is ready...and has been ready. Hell, he's so ready they're giving him spot starts at third base. This has been a decision based solely on the financial ramifications of his arbitration rights.

Actually, the Headley scenario has worked out perfectly for the front office. The excuses have been set-up so well, it was like Sandy was writing the script.

• "Chase can't start the season with the big club because he needs more time to learn and practice his new position in left field."
• "Chase is off to a slow start. He's only hitting .224 with one homerun and way too many strikeouts. He needs to work it out in Portland before making the jump to the big club."
• "The team is really struggling. We can't bring him up now because the expectations and pressure on him to be "The Savior" and  turn the season around will be too intense."
• "The team is awful. The worst in the major leagues right now. We can't bring Chase up into this kind of an environment."

Delay...delay...delay. All nothing but stall tactics to get the Padres to that magical June 1st date in an effort to save some dough in the long run.

The excuses not to bring him up, especially this "Savior" crap, ring hollow. What are we supposed to believe the Padres are so afraid of?  The intense media pressure he'll be under in San Diego? Please. This ain't New York. We have one newspaper in the San Diego Union-Tribune. (One and a half if you're so inclined to count that rag called the North County Times.) Were they worried if he got off to a slow start he'd be ripped mercilessly on sports talk radio? Hardly. One station's ratings are so low (XTRA Sports 1360), it didn't even measure on the latest Arbitron reports. The other station (XX Sports Radio 1090), happens to be the Padre flagship station and is so far in bed with the Padres I would bet that John Moores wakes up every morning to John Lynch serving him breakfast. 

Were they scared the fans would be disappointed and turn on him if he hit .220 in his first couple months? With all due respect Padre management, we have exactly zero World Series rings, we've won one playoff game in the last 10 years, we've drafted the likes of Matt Bush, Mark Phillips, Jake Gautreau, Tim Stauffer, etc...we've gotten pretty damn good at dealing with a little disappointment as Padre fans.  If Chase struggles out of the gate, I strongly doubt anybody is gonna be hurling themselves off the Coronado Bridge.  I think we all handled the horrible start of Kouz last season with a measure of patience that certainly wouldn't be seen in too many baseball cities. Please...give us a little credit.

Now we're supposed to believe they're worried about the "environment" in the clubhouse? As Tom Krasovic reports in this mornings U-T...even the players think that's total bullsh*t.

A few Padres players find it strange that Towers recently sounded off about their effort and baserunning, attempting to heighten the players' sense of urgency, yet the front office appears passive about promoting Headley. As for the environment Headley would enter, several players have said veterans such as Trevor Hoffman, Brian Giles and Greg Maddux excel at reducing pressure.

The Padres have always prided themselves in having a good clubhouse...with good character guys. Hell, there are two first ballot Hall of Famers in there. Guys like Brian Giles, Adrian Gonzalez, Jake Peavy, Chris Young...we're really supposed to buy that they're concerned about the "environment" in that clubhouse??

And can we please show Chase some respect and quit coddling him? Chase is a smart guy...he was the valedictorian of his high school...he was an Academic All-American at the University of Tennessee.  He's 24 years old and a bright guy. Obviously he understands there are high expectations for him as a Padre...but he's also intelligent enough to know we're not going to run him out of town if he doesn't hit 10 homeruns his first week up. You think he wasn't paying attention at the beginning of last season to Kouz's situation?

Fine, Padre FO...we give up. You've dragged it out this long...go ahead, save your cash. Wait until after June 1st. But he better be up on June 2nd...the players in the clubhouse and the fans deserve at least that much.