Week That Was…Never Supposed to Happen

. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Wild Card Attainable?

The Padres went on a nice winning streak there, but needed to do better against the Cardinals. When looking at the wild card race, the key is not so much how many games back you are, but how many teams. Right now the Cardinals and Giants hold the two wild card spots. After that, there are the Pirates, Braves, Marlins, Reds, Mets, and THEN the Padres. Beating the Cardinals was an easy way to gain some ground. They do end the season with 6 games against the Giants in the final two weeks, but that is the only direct games they have against their wild card competition. In that scenario, it makes it difficult to have much control except going out and playing winning baseball.

The other intangible of it all of course is the confidence factor. As the youngsters like Solarte, Rymer Liriano, and Tommy Medica get everyday playing time, they begin building a major league track record that will serve them well next season. Playing well is important too, but there shouldn’t be a reason why these players won’t get everyday playing time especially with so many of their “starter” counterparts have had such horrible seasons anyway. Would you rather play Will Venable who has shown to be the same player for 5 years minus 2/3 of a season last year or a rookie who can blast third deck home runs in Liriano? Easy answer. There is still a good amount of baseball left, and the Padres have plenty to play for and a lot to be excited about in 2015.