Friar Freestyle: In A.J. Preller We Trust

As far as the hot stove, A.J. Preller seemed to initially have the Padres pot bubbling, but after missing out on Pablo Sandoval and Yasmany Tomas — Preller’s solid start with the fans has been crumbling and has taken a little pummeling.

The fans are saying things like: “No action”, “They haven’t brought one bat in” with mixed in complaints like “It’s been just a bunch of rumblings that haven’t gone beyond mumblings”.

For weeks, reports from those like Ken Rosenthal, have painted the Padres as being so involved, they say the Friars are trying hard to solve their offensive problems, yet so far — the problem isn’t close to solved.

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I’ve been seeing a lot of bitter tweeting and Padres fan inner beefing, (Aaron Rodgers voice) Relax! Can we at least let Preller get through the winter meetings before we give him a twitter beating?

I mean sheesh; can the guy have any shorter leash? The contract the Padres offered Sandoval doesn’t warrant at least a little belief? And honestly money wise, I feel given Sandoval’s production, even for Boston that was a lot to give him. So with that said, the fact that the Padres whose biggest contract in history was $52 million, offered Sandoval upwards of 90 should breed some optimism.

Now, If the team enters spring training having done nothing significant, then you would be well within your rights to hop on twitter and tweet out something belligerent. But recognize that when it comes to free agency, all you can do as an organization is be diligent, and know that even though you can offer a contract, you can’t force a player to put a pen to it.

As far as Sandoval, realize it was less about the amount of money the Padres tried to toss him, it was more about the fact that it was evident that Sandoval’s heart was in no other place but Boston. As far as Tomas goes, the non-signing backlash is a little odd to me, I mean, if you’re thinking logically — should fans really be ornery about the team having multiple holes to fill and limited funds not risking spending $70 million on an unproven commodity?

If money was comparable and you were a free-agent hitter with winning in your heart, would you rather choose to sign with a team with a better roster playing in a band box, or a team lacking talent playing in a pitchers park? With that said, the odds are already stacked against the Pads — let’s call a spade a spade — and recognize that any roster improvements made, will probably be less about free agents paid and more about players acquired through a trade.

That takes time, but the Padres have many desirables, especially catching and pitching the other teams see as reliable. So if a trade for an offensive upgrade isn’t made, again — be my guest and publicly berate Preller and hold him liable.

But until then, let’s not judge Preller until the time is up, and all the impact bats are signed up. And no trades were made that have significantly improved the Padres lineup.

I know as a long suffering fan, for something better we lust. And I also know to get the Padres out the offensive cellar he must. But until he gives us a reason too, we shouldn’t label Preller a bust, Keep the Faith Padres fans… #InPrellerWeTrust.

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