What is the most powerful force in the universe? Is it gravity? Is it love? Is it money? Professional athletes may live in a different world than the working man, but for the most part, things are relative. Don’t get me wrong — fame, recognition, quality of life all come into play — but as we have witnessed many times, money is the deciding factor at the end of the day. In San Diego we are very fortunate to have players such as Tony Gwynn and Trevor Hoffman in our recent history; players that stayed in San Diego for less money and less security. They loved San Diego and San Diego loved them back.

We’ve also seen marquee players come and go, like Jake Peavy, a player that was developed in the Padres system. Peavy emerged as an amazing pitcher with the team, I would argue the best starting pitcher in team history. He committed to San Diego, signing a contract below market value to stay in here and moved his family out here…and let’s face it, what pitcher wouldn’t want to call Petco home? Shortly after Peavy made his committment he was traded White Sox.

Since Peavy one of the more notable Padres' contracts has been that of Adrian Gonzalez, arguably the best power hitter in Padres' history.  Adrian signed a contract that guaranteed his salary through his arbitration years and then some, at a bargain rate. He seemed poised to be the next long-term Padres star: he grew up in San Diego, was very active in the community and was a fan favorite. At the end of the day, Adrian wanted fame, recognition, and he wanted to get paid. Once again let’s be honest — not many hitters would like to spend half their season hitting in Petco Park. Adrian Gonzalez now calls Fenway Park home.

This brings me to Heath Bell, a Southern California native. Bell has been very outspoken that he wants to stay in San Diego. Bell moved his family out here and is involved with many non-profit organizations such as the Miracle League. After working on one-year contracts his entire career it is now time for Bell to make the decision that others before him have made: locally we refer to it as the “San Diego Discount” and like players before him, love, security and money are all factors.

Last July, then-General Manger Jed Hoyer failed to trade Heath at the deadline. Hoyer decided that instead of trading Bell for a couple top prospects he would rather eat over $2 million in salary for 2011 and hope that Bell would decline arbitration and sign elsewhere so Hoyer could collect draft picks (which he would then need to invest more money in, but that’s for another discussion). After the deadline passed Heath came out and said he was happy to accept arbitration and stay in San Diego but he would prefer a three-year deal, something he has been very consistent about since last year. The Padres are offering a two-year deal and in hindsight, if they had offered a three-year deal last spring, this would all be water under the bridge, but I digress.

I’ve spent time with Heath personally, I have spoken with pitchers on the team about the influence that Heath has on the staff and the pen and I will say this:  you can break down his numbers, his K rate, the break on his curve, but you can’t quantify his impact on the young pitchers on this Padres team. With that said, this will be new General Manager Josh Brynes’ first major move, to let Heath walk or to find a creative way to allow him to stay. Make no bones about it, the third year is a sticking point, but if Heath loves the city as much as he has told me he does, then he will bend to make it work.

Not that Josh Byrnes needs my help, but if I may I'd like to present a couple of options:

• - Third year is triggered by performance, such as number or saves or conversation rate.
• - Two-year deal with mutual option for third season, but if Heath is traded the third year automatically is guaranteed.