Week That Was…Never Supposed to Happen

Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Week Recap

I refuse to get too excited yet. You can’t be a baseball team that wastes as many scoring opportunities as the Padres have this season, leave as many runners on base as they have, and score as few runs as the Padres did in the first half, and consider yourself a contender in late August. Too late to make a comeback at this point, leave the races to the teams like the Pirates and Braves who have been battling for spots all season. Surely they deserve it and you, the team that was setting offensive ineptitude records should just plan for next year. Especially after sending away your closer, 3B and face of the franchise, and starting outfielder.

Yet, it’s hard not to have some excitement for this late 2014 San Diego Padres Baseball Club. The new faces are fitting in seamlessly, and providing critical roles for the team. The former shutdown 8th inning guy continued the shut down pitching in the 9th. The rookie who has gone between Triple-A and San Diego about 18 times this season is now the shut down 8th inning guy, with a movie clip intro to boot. The rookie who started the year in the bigs, got sent down then back up after an injury is raking in Tommy Medica, and a spare part pick-up in Chris Nelson provided what might be the play of the year Tuesday night, by falling into the stands and catching the ball all Derek Jeter -like. (I think we know Medica didn’t actually need to fall into the stands on the next play don’t we?).

Then there is the prospect who started the year in Double-A, hitting a ball into the third story restaurant in the Western Metal Supply building in Rymer Liriano. So while we should temper our expectations for 2014, it’s OKAY to get excited about what is playing out with the Padres right now.

Though they lost 3 of 4 to the Cardinals in what could have been a HUGE boost, they played tough and showed a fight they had been lacking earlier in the year.

GM A.J. Preller is feeling great, while former GM Josh Byrnes is wondering where all this was before. On to the weekly recap.