By Bob Scanlan
The All-Star break was anything but relaxing for the city of San Diego, as it threw one of the best week long All-Star parties in recent MLB history. No matter how you look at it the event was a huge success for the Padres, MLB, and the city of San Diego which sparkled brightly the entire week. The hangover should be over for the fans and players who participated, and now it’s time for everyone to get back to the real world of finishing the second half of a long MLB season.
The Padres players, other than their remaining All-Star rep, Wil Myers, should be well rested and will start the back end of the season against the team that’s given them the most trouble all year, the first place Giants. The Padres will look to get off to a good start to the second half by….
- Continuing to swing the hot shillelaghs – By far the biggest turnaround for the Friars in the
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first half was the emergence of the offense. Mired near the bottom of the pack in almost every offensive category through the first two months of the season, the bats came to life the last month and a half. In fact, the Padres scored more runs in the months of June and July than any other team in the N.L.! A big part of that had to do with Myers finding his rhythm and going on a tear hitting .319 with 12 home runs from the beginning of June until the break. Matt Kemp, Jon Jay, and Melvin Upton Jr. were also big contributors to the offensive revival with multiple other Friars chiming in as well along the way. This is not the same offense that the Giants pitching staff faced in April and May against whom they pitched two shutouts and beat 9 straight games. The Padres will once again face the top of the rotation boasting the 4th best ERA in the N.L., in Madison Bumgarner, Jeff Samardzija, and All-Star Johnny Cueto, but at least this time they should have some fire power to bring to the plate. - Not completely imploding on the mound – With the offense leading the way now, you would
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think things would have gotten easier for the pitching staff. Unfortunately that has not been the case as the rotation and the bullpen have both struggled recently due to injuries, trades, and inconsistent performance. Given the fact that the most consistent starter, All-Star Drew Pomeranz, and the closer, Fernando Rodney, have both now been dealt to playoff contenders, others are going to be asked to step up. They do not need, nor are they expected to fill the empty shoes of the staff leaders who left. They are, however, expected to perform up to there capabilities and at least keep the Padres within striking distance to give the offense chance to do it’s magic, in many cases in come from behind fashion. The starters don’t have to pitch shutouts into the 6th, but they can not be giving opponents 4 run leads before the end of the 4th, which is what happened to Andrew Cashner in his last outing, and has happened to each of the remaining starters in the rotation at least once in their recent outings. Luis Perdomo has actually been the most consistent starter of late, having pitched 6 innings and allowed 3 ERs or less in each of his last three trips to the hill. That’s all the Padres need from the rotation to keep the team in the games, and not blow up the bullpen creating a downward cycle for them that is tough to pull out of. - Staying focused on the game at hand, not the rumor mill – It’s that time of year when the
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rumors about trades will be running rampant, and don’t think for a second that the players are immune to it. Even more so in this day and age of social media where there are more speculations and predictions (founded and fabricated) about player moves than ever before, and more ways for players to see them. With the recent departures of James Shields, Rodney and Pomeranz, the Padres clubhouse is understandably anticipating more moves to come. Almost no one is immune to the rebuild that is taking place, and no matter how seasoned or mentally tough the players appear to be it’s human nature to speculate, ponder, compare, and in some cases flat out worry about what move may be on the horizon that will send their and their family’s lives in a completely different direction. The best way to escape all the distracting noise is to immerse yourself in the moment and what you have to take care of right now which is that night’s game. The rest is just distracting “what ifs”. Having been there I know first hand that it’s easier to say than to do, but whenever a player can simply focus 100% on the job at hand and ignore the rest of the $#%& flying around, the better he can perform. The better he performs the more relaxed he feels. The more relaxed he feels the less concerned he will be about the distractions he has no control of. The less concerned he is the easier it becomes for him to stay focused on the job at hand, and the cycle can feed itself in a positive direction.
This should be a very interesting next few months in padres baseball, with more trades likely to take place and possibly first glimpses of some of the young building blocks of the future who may be making their MLB debuts as the roster transforms yet still tries to stay competitive each day on the field.
