San Diego Padres: Are the Padres on Course for an Epic Playoff Drought?

It couldn’t be any more clear that the San Diego Padres have fallen into some hard times full of bad luck. Bernie D’Amato explains what all went wrong.

In 2013, I moved to California just in time to experience the start of “exceptional” and “extreme” drought weather conditions, but the recent deluge of rain provided much needed relief, and hopefully, will be a sign of things to come for San Diego Padres fans.

The drought has been a streak of bad luck. There is no real reason why it stops raining and then all of a sudden there is record-setting rain. Bad luck is followed by good luck, and vice versa.

The Chargers found a streak of good luck that led the team to a showdown against the Broncos in the Divisional round of the 2013-2014 playoffs. The Chargers beat the Giants, Broncos, Raiders, and Chiefs (in OT) to slide into the Wild Card round where they beat the Bengals before losing to the Broncos by a touchdown. This amazing run electrified San Diego, but bad luck soon followed and the Chargers are moving to Los Angeles.

The Padres are not looking to leave town anytime soon. The downtown stadium is an amazing venue to watch a ball game, but the product on the field has been substandard. Since following the Padres in 2013, I’ve seen bad luck manifest in several different ways.

Yasmani Grandal goes to the Dodgers, and becomes an All-Star catcher. Edison Volquez ends up on the Kansas City Royals and has two solid starts helping the team win the 2015 World Series. Former Padre Anthony Rizzo has been an All-Star the last three years for the World Champion Chicago Cubs.

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There are other examples. Did anyone see Jedd Gyorko’s season in St. Louis last year? 30 home runs. And I believe the Rockies will soon be playoff contenders with the former Padres skipper, Bud Black, leading the club in the Mile High City. Former Padres bench coach Dave Roberts will be leading Los Angeles to another great season in 2017.

I just told you why the deck is stacked against the Padres. Formidable opponents in the NL West and bad luck combine to douse the hopes of the Friar faithful.

But what if Wil Myers has another All-Star season? What if Yangervis Solarte becomes an All-Star too? What if an ace emerges, and has a contagious effect among the rest of the pitching rotation?

Next: Five Things to Watch for in Early Cactus League Action

I know this is a lot of wishful thinking, but bad luck can’t last forever. Relief is on the way.

Do you think San Diego’s fortunes are soon to change? Tell us what player(s) you think will have a breakout year in the comments section.