Padres Refocus On Field After Getting Back In Wild-Card Race

The San Diego Padres are back home after their biggest road trip of the season, and third baseman Manny Machado said the trip felt like it took “forever,” according to an article from Dennis Lin of The Athletic. 

The Padres are back in the pennant race to some extent, even though they’re just a game over .500, but Machado’s comments made it sound like the team’s difficulties had never happened. 

“I think there’s a lot of good players right now that are doing their job, and we’re kind of rolling as a group,” Machado said. “I think all of you guys — not fans, for you guys watching; reporters in front of me — I don’t think you guys saw us doing this or getting here, but here we are. I think we’re going to finish off strong as a group.”

Lin was part of a group of reporters that asked the inevitable “from where” questions, and that brought back the expected knee-jerk response. 

“Yeah, I mean, you guys love writing negative about us all year, so hopefully just some positives start coming out,” Machado said.

There have been plenty of positives coming out, though, as Machado ignored the fact that the job comes with presenting both sides of the story based on the results on the field. 

Now the Padres are dependent on GM A.J. Preller, although the prevailing belief is that San Diego won’t be able to take on much payroll despite the fact that the franchise’s farm system is currently ranked 30th in the league, according to Lin. 

Second baseman Jake Cronenworth was one of several players who said initially that the Padres have made their point with Preller, and he reiterated it again now that San Diego is riding a five-game winning streak. 

“I mean, I’d hope so,” second baseman Jake Cronenworth said. “How we’re playing right now, I think, is the true identity of this club. Obviously, A.J.’s — I’m sure he’s doing what A.J. usually does and on the phone 24/7. But we’ve just got to keep continuing to play really good baseball.”

The Padres need starting pitching and a left-handed bat, Lin added, although the competition for the former will be fierce. But the streak may have brought a reprieve for certain players, and that means the focus can stay on the field for now. 

“I don’t think we live in terms of relief,” said closer Mason Miller. “It’s like we’re focused on today, and we’ve got tomorrow and the rest of the week. It’s fruitless to sit here and worry about much of anything besides today. For yourself and for your team.”