The Editor’s Desk with Billy Brost: A Sign of Hope Or Just Luck?

What a weekend for the San Diego Padres huh? I wrote earlier last week, that if the Padres wanted to have any chance of finishing the season at exactly .500, they would have to win-out. Well, they’ve won five in a row now, and over the weekend, swept the San Francisco Giants right out of Petco. The Padres beat the G-men in every conceivable way, from lights-out pitching, to a barrage of offense during Sunday’s series finale.  If the Padres can finish the season by winning their last 7 games, stretching their winning streak to 12 games, they will indeed finish 2014 at .500. What a shame huh?

It’s been a struggle all season. The excellent pitching, the historically poor hitting and run production. Events that led to the dismissal of one general manager, several weeks of the team being operated by a three-headed monster in the front office, just to see the hiring of yet another GM to take this team into the future. [related-topic]

A weekend sweep of one of the contenders for another World Series title has to be bitter sweet for Padres’ fans. All season long, the Padres have shown glimpses of the ability to beat the elite teams in the National League, and just as quickly show why there are in the middle of the pack. For every series win against teams like the Giants, the Cardinals, and the Brewers, they lay down and get shellacked by the Diamondbacks and Rockies. What the hell are fans supposed to think?

Well, what we’re supposed to think is this: the front office better do whatever it is they must, to bring in a couple of impact bats to augment this lineup in 2015. The potential is obviously there. With a rotation of Andrew Cashner, Tyson Ross, Ian Kennedy, Robbie Erlin, and a combination or competition of Casey Kelly, Jesse Hahn, Matt Wisler, and Odrisamer Despaigne, pitching is and has not been the issue. Add to the blueprint, young, reliable power arms in the bullpen, with a proven veteran closing out games, the answer to the question is obvious: bats.

The sign of hope was that the Padres have proven they can play with the big boys in the National League. The luck? The fact that they were able to score runs at times, while being ice cold in others, and still having an outside shot of finishing .500. Perhaps that’s more of joke than luck.

Keep the Faith.