Joe Musgrove Feels Padres Have Been Folding Under Heavy Expectations

Stress has hit the Friars harder than we think!

One of the biggest assumptions that fans jump to in sports when a player under a big contract starts disappointing is that they get their money and simply do not care anymore. Your San Diego Padres committed a lot of dough as of late to their star power and with results yet to show, that stigma is starting to kick in for some people.

As a group, San Diego still is one of the worst offensive teams in the MLB as they are posting a .177 batting average in the last seven days to go with a .287 OPS. A.J. Preller and the rest of the front office did not go all-in on pitching or defense, they broke the bank to bring together what they thought were some of the best hitters in the game.

Even Xander Bogaerts, who was SD's savior early in the year, has been falling off as of late. In his last five outings, he has recorded just three hits to go with a .167 batting average. The Friars were able to finally capture a solid 7-0 win against the Boston Red Sox this past Sunday but there is still a ways to go to re-establish themselves in the NL West.

Joe Musgrove talked to @SammyLev about the Padres' early season struggles: "I know we haven't met the expectations of the fans. I completely understand the frustration. We're frustrated in here, too." pic.twitter.com/QHeGrkXwEg

— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) May 17, 2023

Pressure Doesn't Make Diamonds?

One of SD's most vocal leaders as of late has been Joe Musgrove and he not been vocal in a sense of blaming others or being rude to reporters. The 30-year-old RHP has been quite honest about how maybe the main core of the team didn't expect such expectations to loom heavy over them the way they are.

Heading into the 2023 season, the Padres were being talked about as a favorite to win the World Series by many. Even with the talent they were welcoming in and the experience they already had, that's a lot to endure for anybody. Musgrove revealed that part of the reason why success has been tough is because of this.

"I know a lot of people are saying, like, people are getting paid and now the fight and the desire and the need to win is not there anymore," said Musgrove. "And it couldn’t be further from that, man. You get a contract, there’s

more

pressure on you to perform to that contract and do your job and earn what you’re getting paid."

"I don’t think that is the reason that everyone is struggling right now. But it adds a lot of stress on top of it. It’s like a secondary thought to the fact that you’re struggling, like, ‘I’m also making all this money.’ It’s more a secondary thought than it is a cause and effect.”(Via The San Diego-Union Tribune)

Fernando Tatís Jr. was frustrated after fouling off the first pitch of the at-bat

A few pitches later he sent one 440 feet pic.twitter.com/qbAEIIR9eM

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 21, 2023

As tough as it's been to watch this squad, we are still barely creeping up on the second month of the season wrapping up. They must get everything together.