Padres Editorial: Things Are Gonna Get Worse, Before They Get Better
Kimbrel and Benoit were an absolute luxury for the Padres. On a team that is constantly winning, they are a necessity. However for a team trying to compete and in a sense rebuilding, they are not needed. The Padres have far more issues to address for the 2016 season than who will setup and close games for the team. Both were wisely dealt for terrific young prospects and each were replaced fairly easily. All though Fernando Rodney is hardly a replacement for one of the best closers in the game. He is a cheap alternative that still can be effective.
So where do all those moves leave the team? Quite honestly the team has a bright future. Probably brighter than the franchise has had in the last 20-30 years. I understand the product on the field is suffering at the moment. The team made a run at a world title last year, and they did not come close. They failed miserably as the team was not good. Wisely management chose to change gears. Sure they could have made a run at Justin Upton and tried to bring back the slugger, but that would be like putting an expensive band-aid on a gun shot wound.
For the second straight year the team will have a payroll slightly over the $100 million dollar mark. Fans cannot complain the team isn’t trying to compete. The front office just needs to find the correct combination of players. You can throw all kinds of money around trying to build a winning team and make no traction. Ask the Dodgers. $300 plus million dollars a year and no World Series titles. Building a team to win is not as easy as people think.
Watching Peter Seidler speak before the game on Tuesday on the #PadresSocialHour show impressed me. He talked about the team embracing the history of the franchise. Seidler understands the problems with the past. He spoke about the draft and the fact the Padres had a terrible history with their selections. Part of that had to do with their frugal pasts, but in reality their scouting and developing department was sub-par. He also talked about being upfront with the fan base and looking them in the eyes. That kind of talk is refreshing to Padres fans.
The team knows what went wrong in the past. Can they do something about changing it? With six draft picks in the first 85 selections, the farm system will get a huge boost this Summer. Factor in the potential money the team will spend on the International Market and the Padres could easily have a top 10 farm system by the end of the year. That farm system and all those prospects will not doing anything for the present, but the future sure is bright.
The team is now 0-2 on the 2016 season. They have been outscored 18-0 so far and there seems to be no hope among Padres fans. Some have already pronounced this team as the worst team in the history of the franchise. Just the norm for Padres fans. The fan base has always had a propensity to over-exagerate on everything and anything. This Padres team is not going to be a playoff worthy team just yet, but they certainly will play better this season. When the dust clears the team has a shot at finishing .500 on the season. That all depends on how quickly the team can develop the type of play they want from the current roster.
Andy Green will have his work cut out for him though. You can just see the wheels turning in his head about the future of this team. He is looking at each player and evaluating their skill set in order to determine if they can be useful to the team. In this evaluation period there is going to be some rough patches and the team just so happened to start the season in one. Not a big deal. That first run, and that first win will go a long way to relax this team. The season is the proverbial marathon so starting out on a sour note is not the end of the world. Its how you react that makes the difference in success or failure.
It will most certainly get worse before it gets better Padres fans. This team does have a bright future though. The ownership intends to compete, but the fan base just needs to be patient. Not the easiest thing to ask from a fan base that has been put through the ringer by its past ownership groups. The new brand and winning culture that is being implemented is not an easy task to complete by any means. Just keep the faith and rest assure that the front office has your best interests as far as the product on the field. It is just going to take some time, the San Diego Padres franchise was really a mess.
James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.
