San Diego Padres Had a Tough Week, But Some Progress Was Made

The San Diego Padres lost five in a row before their win over the San Francisco Giants last night. Though it was undoubtedly a crummy week, there were some bright spots.

Right off the bat, yes, the San Diego Padres dropping five consecutive games after winning five consecutive series is a bad thing. Could they be reverting back into the proverbial pumpkins that most fans had them pegged as? Possibly. But maybe this was simply just a bad week.

But there are still positives emerging each and every game as if to help us not to lose track of where our focus should really be. This week, as FoB pointed out this morning, has been highlighted by the outstanding play of Manuel Margot (.333/.400/.500 with three doubles and just two strikeouts in 18 at-bats), as well as the reemergence of Cory Spangenberg as a viable super-utility option (.412/.474/.471 in 17 at-bats).

Travis Jankowski continues to impress, even though his production has indeed waned a bit over the last seven days (.267/.421/.333 in 15 at-bats). Though one has to wonder, with Wil Myers back in the fold and Spangy swinging a hot bat, will Jankowski’s role begin to be a bit more watered-down?

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Pirela’s streakiness brings along a dilemma

Jose Pirela (.143/.174/.190 in 21 at-bats this past week) has cooled off considerably, as he tends to do, being the streaky hitter that he is.

Though, his days as the starting second baseman may be numbered as Luis Urias continues to rake in El Paso.

Whether Pirela is one of the Padres on the move as the July 31 trade deadline approaches is yet to be seen.

Even if he stays in San Diego, there’s still a great chance Urias will be taking over that spot.

At the very least, Andy Green will give him a real shot at this level, simply to see what, exactly, they’re working with when it comes to the young Mexican infielder.

As the season wears on, and as we are all very well aware of, players will hit their fair share of hot streaks and slumps. The big picture, of course, is progress. Whether this team wins 81 or 70 games, without incremental improvements, no real progress will be made.

Next: Padres Beat San Francisco to End Slide

If this team can continue to show flashes of productivity and win some games while they’re at it, the San Diego Padres will head into 2019 with a head full of steam, regardless of who’s still on the roster.