To the immense credit of owner Peter Seidler, the San Diego Padres in recent years have heavily committed themselves to fielding the best team possible.
What's more is that the Padres are at present running the third-highest payroll in all of MLB, according to Cot's Contracts, and they're doing so seemingly despite the fact that San Diego is just the 27th-largest media market in the U.S.
That the Padres are operating in such a way and doing so with not only viability but also profitability continues to be a source of consternation for other owners who would very much prefer to continue not trying to win baseball games in relative peace and comfort.
The latest to air his grievances toward the Padres and their efforts to win the World Series is Dick Monfort of the Colorado Rockies.
"That puts a lot of pressure (on us)," Monfort said. "But it's not just the Padres, it's the Mets, it's the Phillies.
"What the Padres are doing, I don't 100% agree with, though I know that our fans probably agree with it.
The Padres' recent ways have caused more than one ownership mask to slip a bit, and it's not hard to take away a couple of conclusions from this latest set of grievances.
those same owners know fully well that fans want them to, you know, try to win baseball games.
The single biggest problem in Major League Baseball right now -- and the driver of many related problems -- is the owner who doesn't care about winning, who views the franchise as a portfolio holding rather than a civic treasure that carries with it certain obligations.