Tag: san-diego-padres

My San Diego Padres Mea Culpa

Trade deadline, trade deadline went. Too much to analyze even for me. The results won’t be fully known for a couple of years, given the number of prospects that were moved and the final pitch of the 2024 season over three months away. One team that made a flurry of moves in an attempt to finally get to the World Series was the San Diego Padres. As I glanced at my phone to see the update that the Padres acquired Tanner Scott, I thought, “Wow, way to go for it”. And then, it hit me.

I have been so wrong about A.J. Preller. He’s done a good job. Photo from San Diego Magazine

I need to give A.J. Preller, the chief baseball guy in San Diego, a lot of credit.

My kids and friends will tell you that for years, I have always thought Preller’s decisions were overrated. Year after year, we would hear how the Padres won the offseason and that they were poised for bigger things. Year after year they would disappoint experts and more importantly, their fans. Then, in 2022, after acquiring Juan Soto and Josh Bell, they finally broke through and made the National League Championship Series. In the following offseason, they added Xander Bogarts and got Fernando Tatis, Jr back from suspension. Yet, the Padres flopped and missed the playoffs in 2023. Before the 2024 campaign started, they traded Soto and lost Cy Young winner Blake Snell to free agency. Despite the misfortune, San Diego has been in prime playoff position all season. I’ve come to the realization that Preller has done an excellent job keeping his team relevant and consistently drafting well, allowing him to make bold trades like the ones orchestrated at this year’s trading deadline. For a good portion of my baseball life the Padres have been a below average franchise. With Preller at the helm, San Diego (with ownership’s commitment to higher payrolls), is becoming a more desirable place to play.

It is not easy to admit you are wrong. Once in a while, I was guilty of rooting against the San Diego Padres just to show people I was right. That was foolish of me. I should have respected the work A.J. Preller put in to making the Padres a good baseball organization. I won’t let that happen again. Hats off to A.J. Preller and I hope he sticks around to lead San Diego for another ten years.

Fernando Tatis, Jr Needs to Stay in Right Field

When Fernando Tatis, Jr burst onto the Major League scene in 2019, he was looked at as the game’s next great shortstop. 22 home runs at age 20 and playing highlight reel defense will put saddle you with enormous expectations. However, some quirky factors have placed the now 25-year old Tatis in right field. The largest of of these factors was Tatis missing the entire 20222 season because of a combination of a PED suspension and a shoulder injury. When 2023 began, the San Diego Padres committed Ha-seong Kim to shortstop, newly acquired Xander Bogaerts went to second base with Tatis moving to right field.

Fernando Tatis, Jr. belongs in right field. Photo from the San Diego Union Tribune

Tatis in right field has a chance to be really special.

He needs to stay there.

Once upon a time, and maybe the thought is still there today, shortstop was looked at as THE glamour position in Major League Baseball. Shortstops (and center fielders) were considered the best defensive players on the diamond and once Robin Yount and Cal Ripken, Jr. arrived, it grew into an offensive position as well. In the mid to late 1990’s, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Nomar Garciaparra took shortstop to another level. Those three combined great offense and stellar defense at one time, akin to Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Duke Snider playing center field during an earlier era. Shortstop does indeed possess a number of legendary players that have called the area home.

In my humble opinion, the real glamour position is right field. I’ll give you three reasons: Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente and Reggie Jackson. These players are among the greatest in baseball history and combined the best of what is needed as a corner outfielder: power, speed and perhaps most of a all, a cannon of an arm. They also had a certain flair for the dramatic whether it was Aaron becoming the Home Run King, Clemente putting on a show in the 1971 World Series or Jackson becoming Mr. October. I am not comparing to Tatis to the three Hall of Famers. However, he does have the same attributes of these legends, namely the ability to hit the ball a long way and cut down runners with that laser of a right arm. His giant contract will keep him with the Padres for the next decade. Can San Diego build a team around him that will allow him to reach Hall of Fame status?

The Padres did the right thing in moving Tatis to right field. He has the ability to continue the long line of superstars in the corner whom you have to keep an eye on every time he is on the field.