The Padres aren't good enough
Somehow, the Padres are once again in the midst of a historic collapse with no clear way to get out of it.
I’m struggling to maintain a semblance of optimism in this space today. Once again, Bud Black and his witch’s spell put the San Diego Padres squarely in hell as they try to figure out what is wrong with the team and how to fix it.
The overriding question right now, amongst Padres fans and baseball media alike, is “Are the Padres doing it again?”
Last year’s collapse wasn’t just bad, it was historically bad. Like a thousand-year flood kind of thing. And, yet, it looks like they’re about to do the exact same thing with a bunch of different players and a different manager in charge. I bet, somewhere, Jayce Tingler is laughing.
The Padres can’t really do anything right at the moment. Their defense has issues. Their bullpen has issues. They offense has issues. Even the starting pitching has been rocky lately.
I am out of good ideas. The Padres need to trade for someone that injects something special into this club, a thing that they have failed to do almost every single year since moving to Petco Park. Or they need to ride out this part of the season and hope that they have the right mix of players coming back from injury (Tatis, Myers, Pomeranz, Johnson, etc.) and young players finding their footing (Abrams, Ruiz, Gore, etc.) for it to plug many of the holes heading into the playoffs.
But will that be too late? Will they miss the playoffs in the meantime?
Man, I don’t know. I could tell you that I feel like there’s something rotten in the clubhouse that is sinking the team, and that the Padres won’t be able to overcome the problem until the source of the rot is gone, but I don’t know that for sure and I don’t even know that my own personal biases aren’t playing a role in that line of thinking.
Here’s what I know. Here’s how I can maybe hope to maintain some optimism…
Nobody believes in the San Diego Padres
Shout it. Put it on shirts. It’ll be silly while the team continues to set attendance records, but it will eventually make more sense. Ride it out.
Maybe the problem is they got too full of themselves. Maybe, after playing so well without Fernando Tatis Jr., they started to take it easy because they thought they were guaranteed a playoff spot. Maybe the same thing happened last year. Maybe this group of guys is inclined to take their foot off the gas when they feel like the job is done.
But I’m not speaking lies here. Nobody believes in the Padres. The only ones left that believe in the 2022 Padres to even make the playoffs (they’re still 2.5 games up on the Cardinals for the 2nd Wild Card spot, by the way), are people that would believe the same thing no matter what. They embody the term “fanatic”. They’re fans no matter what, and they never stop to think about if the team they’re rooting for is actually good or bad. They treat the team as if it’s good and hope that, if they’re wrong, eventually the team catches up.
I’d be okay if the inside of the Padres clubhouse were plastered with this post and every other post that said it so that the players know: Nobody believes in you. Nobody thinks you can be pulled out of this tailspin, again. Everyone is predicting a second historic collapse and all the bad crap that comes with that. Not even Bob Melvin could save you guys from yourselves.
It feels like it’s the only hope we have. Turn the Padres on the world. Piss them off. Bring them together and make them fight for one another in an effort to make the rest of us eat crow.
This isn’t a playoff team. It’s not even a good team. Not unless something special happens over the next month or so (after that, they’ll probably be out of time to right the ship), and waiting around for a miracle is a good way to find yourself regretting your actions.
So, please, Padres. Prove us wrong. Show us that you’re as good as you think you are and not a sheep in wolf’s clothing. Laugh in our faces when you go on a long winning streak. It’s the only chance you’ve got. What you’re doing now isn’t working.
Been trying to put that in words also. Kind of like if they’re expected to win they can’t. They need to be expected to lose so they can motivate themselves to prove the odds makers wrong. Idk. I believe there’s something bad in the clubhouse too and I think maybe the organization has a bunch of warts that we don’t see but the players do?
It is bad, but let's not have the season play out in our heads. Facts are that we haven't had our best player the entire year, and some of the guys we do have are playing worse then expected by all measure. The pitching (starting) has been solid and I'm thinking it will continue to be. I'd like to see what gets done after the trade period and get Tatis and Wil back. Keep in mind, the losses in Colorado were happening even with the 'good start'. I gotta believe in Melvin, Manny and this team. That doesn't mean that your 'lost Padre' wouldn't be a great shirt! Keep the Faith. This is gonna turn, and this team is gonna win.