3 realities San Diego Padres fans need to accept and 1 fantasy that may yet come true

Xander Bogaerts put it best when he said "there's not a lot of tomorrows left" for the San Diego Padres. And he's right: if this sleeping juggernaut doesn't launch into overdrive soon, Bogaerts and his teammates could be out of luck in 2023.

Considering we're nearly halfway through the season, the ability to claim that it's early or that San Diego's underperformance is entirely due to bad luck or suspensions or injuries is now irrelevant. In keeping with this theme, it's time for Padres fans to accept these three realities about the 2023 season.

1) "Super teams" like the San Diego Padres rarely function as intended

Good news, Padres fans: your team isn't the only one seeing this reality play out the hard way.

Across baseball this season, teams with high payrolls like the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays are underperforming across the board. Even the Dodgers, who have baseball's fifth-highest payroll per Spotrac, are trailing the 21st-ranked Arizona Diamondbacks, who currently occupy first place in the NL West.

So if money doesn't buy you success, then what does? That's a question the Padres have yet to answer. But all you need to do is look at the NBA as an example of how super teams are far from a sure thing.

When was the last time an NBA "super team" won a title? The Golden State Warriors' dynasty comes to mind, but even in that instance, their players were mostly drafted and developed in house, save for Kevin Durant.

The point being: having the most talent doesn't equal automatic success. No matter the sport.