1-Man’s Opinion on Sports-Tuesday “PADRES-THIS IS THE WRONG TIME”

Posted by on  •  0 Comments  • 

=========

“THIS IS THE WRONG TIME”
=========

What seemed to be so right a week or two ago, now seems to be so wrong.

The Padres, who looked so complete, so dominant, are staggering right now, at this hour with more questions than answers.

The pennant race in the NL-West is not over, though this coming Friday-Saturday-Sunday games will really have a bearing on the Padres-vs-Dodgers first place hope.

But suddenly the Friars have people hurt, players struggling, and seemingly more questions to be answered as the clock ticks down on this long hot summer.

Headlines everywhere:

CEASE..The once ace of the Padres staff has turned in more bad outings than the few good outings this year.  An enigma, he cannot harness his mechanics.

DARVISH…He has thrown alot of pitches, has had no elbow setbacks.  But he has been knocked around.  Home runs, walks, hits allowed.  He has changed his arm slot and release point, and a dominant outing was followed by a rough one.  You never know start to start.  You’d wish the Padres could use a full 6-man rotation and have Darvish go just once a week.

KING..The swelling knee comes after the long rehab of the shoulder issues.  This is a great unknown as if he can stay healthy and what kind of quality starts they get from him.

VASQUEZ..They have to use him in the rotation and they have gotten quality innings, but he has gone months with just 1-win in the rotation.

SEARS…Gets his second chance to start, but the first start was not a good outing.

WALDREN…He saved them last year for half a season, but has drifted back into the minor leagues and has not dominated in start to start at El Paso.  The fact he has not been recalled, even if the Friars are shorthanded in that rotation means they are no longer believers.

BULLPEN..So dominant, but you wonder about the juggling of roles that Mike Shildt is experimenting with.  Strange the early use of setup guy Jason Adam.  Same with how they utilized Mason Miller in different roles.  Wandy Peralta is taking on more and more responsibility, earlier and earlier out of the pen.  A wealth of riches, the ‘6-Pack’ of relievers.  Are they being deployed the right way.

MERRILL..3-different injuries this year for the Padres centerfielder, and it has impacted him at home plate. Not the same hitter.

CRONENWORTH…Leads the team in getting plunked and out of the lineup right now with the swollen elbow.  12-times he has been hit by pitches.

MACHADO…Hard to see the wide variety of errors he has made, most of them on tough chances, but 13-miscues none the less.  Tell me he is not headed into another at bat tailspin, the latest being a (6-35) ice spell.  Alarming to is the fact Machado is a (.215) career post season hitter.  Think about that.

TATIS..No home runs in some 78-at bats.  More critical outs than timely hits.  Still chasing everything down in the field and running the bases with abandon, but not the dominant star he was in the past.

ARRAEZ…Still sprays the ball, but the batting average is sub .300 and not in the .320s we have been used to seeing.

SHEETS-O’HEARN..Trying to configure how to use them, and where to use them, and we are nearly 3-weeks beyond the trade deadline.

The season is far from over, but the Padres seem to be grasping for answers.  That is complicated by the fact the Dodgers seem to be getting alot of their injured pitchers back.  But there is no Max Muncy yet, the bench is weak, and there are defensive lapses too.

Who gets answers the quickest might be the difference maker in this pennant chase.  But this is the wrong time to have problems.

==============

Please follow and like us:

Leave a Comment:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *