Unacceptable Fernando Tatis Jr. decision sums up Padres' continued downturn

Oh boy, Fernando Tatis Jr. What are we doing? There are aggressive plays. And then there’s whatever that was on June 7 against the New York Mets. Calling it aggressive baseball is just bad baseball dressed in a disguise.

In the bottom of the fifth inning of the Padres’ 7-3 loss to the Mets on June 7, Tatis doubled with San Diego down 4-2. Ty France came to the plate with a runner in scoring position. They had a chance to really put pressure on Sean Manaea.

Instead, Tatis took off for third on the first pitch.

Luis Torrens caught it cleanly and easily threw Tatis out. It wasn’t even a bang-bang play. The rally killed. Petco Park deflated. Enough said.

Fernando Tatis Jr.’s baserunning mistake was the exact kind the Padres cannot afford

So, we really have to do the Baseball 101 stuff now? You don’t make the first or third out at third base. Especially not the third out. And especially not when your offense has been gasping for air for weeks. The juice simply is not worth the squeeze in that situation.

Even if Tatis makes it, what changes? He’s on third with two outs instead of second with two outs. France still needs a hit to score him. Maybe a wild pitch scores him, sure. But the Padres weren’t chasing a maybe in that situation. They were protecting one of their few real chances to get back into the game.

It’s not a secret that this team hasn’t been playing well enough to donate outs. The Padres are not an offensive machine that can shrug off these kinds of mistakes right now.

So when your most electric player runs you out of an inning, it cannot just get filed under “that’s Fernando being Fernando.”

Craig Stammen seemed to understand the play was a mistake, but his postgame tone didn’t exactly quiet the frustration. He wasn’t interested in crucifying Tatis for the decision, and he made it clear the Padres still want to support aggressive baserunning. 

But there’s definitely a difference between supporting aggression and excusing recklessness. In the current the Padres are in, this might be blurring the line a little too much. 

Craig Stammen can defend the mindset, but the Padres need better judgment

Stammen’s doesn’t need to torch Tatis for a bad read. He should protect his guy like a good manager should. But he and the Padres have to be careful. Because fans aren’t just reacting to one caught stealing. They are reacting to the larger feeling that this team keeps playing sloppy baseball.

Jon Schaeffer’s criticism resonated. He wasn’t nitpicking Tatis for fun. He was pointing at a play that simply cannot happen in that spot. 

The Padres are on quite the skid. They’ve lost 11 of their last 13 games and look like a team grasping for answers anywhere it can find them. So yes, we can understand why they might get a little more aggressive. Desperation does that. But this kind of aggression is not sustainable, no matter how badly a team needs a spark. If there is any lesson to take from this mistake, it’s that the Padres do not need to force the game. They need to play it cleaner.

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