If the Mets did not exist, the Padres would surely be regarded as the most disappointing group of under-achievers in all of the game.
They went 89-73 a year ago and made it as far the NLCS, knocking off the mighty Dodgers along the way. In 2023 they would have a full season of Juan Soto. Fernando Tatis would return to the lineup, having missed the entire 2022 season. They signed free agent Xander Bogaerts to take over at shortstop. They were expected to seize control of the NL West.
It hasn't happened. The Padres are 44-50, and stand 10 games off the division lead, and 8 games out of the Wild Card. But they haven't been bad - it's more that they've been very, very unlucky - they've played 21 one-run games and have won just 5 of them. The quality of their play suggests their overall record should probably be closer to 50-44. Which would probably have been a huge disappointment after what was expected, but they would gladly take it at this point.
The strength of this team is preventing the other fellows from scoring. Only one team in the NL gives up fewer runs. This is what you would expect from any team that plays half its games in Petco Park, but the Padres have indeed received strong pitching this season. All of a sudden Yu Darvish is 36 years old and not quite the ace he was in years past - but no matter. The Padres have four other starters having better seasons than Darvish anyway, led by former Cy Young winner Blake Snell. Closer Josh Hader, who struggled so badly after coming over from Milwaukee last July, appears to have completely regained his mojo.
The offense is about league average - it has a couple of unsightly holes at positions one normally expects to provide production: first base, where Jake Cronenworth has moved over from second base, and DH, where Matt Carpenter and Nelson Cruz have both looked thoroughly past their Best-By date. Cruz has already been DFA'd, and that day may be coming soon for Carpenter as well. Fernando Tatis has settled in as a right fielder and picked up where he left off with the bat. But Xander Bogaerts has merely been adequate. He obviously wasn't going to be the same hitter in Petco that he was in Fenway. And he hasn't been. Perhaps more concerning is that Juan Soto does not hit very well in Petco Park at all - his career numbers are .222/.372/.389 - and he might be counting the days until he can hit somewhere else. His enormous walk totals have become the most impressive part of his game. And Manny Machado has just turned 31 and is having his worst season in ten years. It's been pretty decent by anyone else's standards, just not his.
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