San Diego Padres: Padres as “footwipes”

The San Diego Padres have plenty of reason to complain. Just these past two three game sets have provided examples of the team’s “footwipe” status.

The bully crybabies, aka Los Angeles Dodgers, finally left town after an eventful series, which seemed to last weeks rather than three days. Although LA continued its winning ways in the first two games, the underdogs pulled off a win on Sunday.

The first game of the series started out with an old-fashioned imbroglio. Dodger pitcher Alex Wood (8-0 at the time) must have eyes in the back of his head because he accused Jose Pirela (who was on second) of relaying signs.

Padres manager Andy Green took exception to Wood’s accusations and protected his player. His Dodger counterpart (and former fan favorite) Dave Roberts went completely nuts, even shoving Green, in defense of his pitcher. The benches erupted, and umpire Greg Gibson tossed both before the second inning.

Former pitcher and Fox Sports field reporter, Bob Scanlan, weighed in on Twitter:

But San Diego Union Tribune columnist Nick Canepa suggested there’s a bigger problem and that Ron Fowler should use his influence in MLB to “find out why his Padres are being treated like footwipes by the league,” adding that “the Pads aren’t good enough to get continuously screwed.”

More from Friars on Base

• Jurickson Profar free agency update likely rules out Padres reunion
• Fernando Tatis Jr. may not take to outfield move after Xander Bogaerts addition
• Padres News: Fernando Tatis Jr. trade rumors, Seth Lugo chase, Manny Machado
• Padres barely missed out on high-end veteran starting pitcher
• This veteran DH target seems ideal for contending Padres roster

Getting screwed indeed. In other footwipe incidents, the umpires on the field and Major League Baseball’s replay review officials in New York stole a home run from Wil Myers in Tuesday’s first game of a series against the Atlanta Braves and awarded him a double. The next day MLB executives including Joe Torre, chief baseball officer, admitted that Petco Park ground rules had been misinterpreted.

“I was certain what the ground rule was yesterday,” Green responded. “Talked to them about what recourse is. There’s really no recourse at this point in time.”

In the third game of that series, Braves manager Brian Snitker actually insisted that umpire Jim Reynolds examine rookie pitcher Dinelson Lamet for evidence of substance abuse with the baseball. To his credit, the rookie didn’t flinch, pitching seven innings and giving up four hits and no runs in a 6-0 shutout.

Next: Series Preview: Padres vs. Indians

Just as Lamet shook off Snitker’s insult, this young Padres team can take these collective insults and turn them into a positive. Bench clearing “brawls” and bad calls and general disrespect can bring a tight team together even more, especially vital during the long, dog days of summer in a losing cause.