Padres New Year Resolutions

The New Year is coming, and with it will come countless blog posts about what is going to be different about the New Year. While an honorable quest, how come we never talk about the items in our lives that won’t be changing with the flipping of the calendar?

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The Padres should have plenty of New Year Resolutions – but also have plenty of trends that as the calendar flips to 2016 they should continue doing at all costs:

1. Keep improving Petco Park. I know there are many out there who wish the team would spend more money on the team than the stadium. While I see the logic, the reality is that the team is spending more money on the team than ever before and still has money to spend on the ballpark. Petco Park looks outstanding still for a nearly 12 year old ballpark, and these improvements keep it looking that way. For a reminder of why this is important, look no further than the Q which stopped looking good years ago.
2. Continued focus on the minor league system again. Yes, we are still looking for some big moves at the major league level to field any semblance of a competitive team, but don’t overlook some of the minor league arms and position players General Manager A.J. Preller is stockpiling.
3. Not being afraid of admitting that 2015 was a failure. I see the Craig Kimbrel trade as the first real admission (of any kind – which is a problem) that 2015 was a horrible failed experiment. Trading catcher Derek Norris and P James Shields would further show Preller acknowledging where he messed up and is looking ahead – not backwards.

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As for the actual resolutions, the Padres just need to figure out where they want to go as a team and when they want to be competitive again. They remain in limbo while the Diamondbacks are clearly loading up for this season and the Giants aim for their 4th World Series in 7 Seasons. Ironically the Dodgers have had a similar off-season to the Padres. They have lost co-ace Zack Greinke and seem paralyzed on what to do with conflicted superstar Yasiel Puig. As a result they seem to be drifting down a middle path that is leading nowhere in particular.

Happy New Year!