San Diego Padres scapegoats: 1 to fire, 1 to put on the hot seat, 1 to be patient with

San Diego Padres manager Bob Melvin should be on the hot seat

It's not all Melvin's fault, but again, this is how this game works. When your team that made the NLCS last season and added Fernando Tatis Jr. and Xander Bogaerts to the offense while also having Juan Soto and Josh Hader for the full season, the team is expected to at least compete for a World Series.

World Series or bust aspirations are always hard to reach, but this team has the talent to get back to October and has played poorly all year long.

The Padres have either split or lost series against subpar teams like the Rockies, Cubs, and Royals while winning just once in six meetings against the division rival Dodgers. They're not winning the games they're supposed to win, and aren't winning games against their biggest rival.

Last season, it was easy to see the impact Bob Melvin played. He outmanaged Dave Roberts in the Padres NLDS victory over the 111-win Dodgers, but it's been harder to see his impact this season.

The Padres have dealt with their share of injuries and underperforming players, but the bottom line is this team should not be under .500, let alone five games under at the end of May while being one of the worst teams in the National League.

It might not be fair, but Melvin deserves some blame for this slow start, and if they don't pick it up, it wouldn't be surprising to see him go.