Padres News: Little Victories Not Sufficing for Bob Melvin & Friars Anymore
A clear attitude change s starting to take place within the Padres' clubhouse and seeing that their stars are starting to all really connect on the field, it will become contagious for the entire roster.
It's super easy to dwell when times are tough and feel sorry for one another but that never happened to the Friars in this first quarter of the 2023 season. Did they try to uplift each other? Yes. Did they hold each other accountable and address what could be worked on? Yes.
So all opposing fanbases can focus on the payroll and the standings right now but this squad still has returners from their 2022 squad that beat the odds and kept fighting all the way from the wild card round to the NLCS. The adjustment period has gone on far longer this year than anybody would have liked but we've seen it a number of times already... when this group is clicking, they can generate runs like nobody else.
A number of fans have been calling Bob Melvin out for not being able to fix the problems this team is facing faster but when you really look at how he approaches this group of stars, he is going to bring the best out of them eventually.
A different manager may be scared to address the fact that these guys get paid more handsomely than majority of people in the country and haven't met expectations but Bo-Mel has done so publicly, showing the fanbase that he echoes their thoughts.
And he doesn't do so in a manner of tearing down their dignity, he does it so they can realize just how great they can be. San Diego is on a hot streak that has seen them win three straight series but Melvin wants them to think bigger than just what is happening right now.
“That gives you some traction, but where we are in the standings, with the personnel we have, we still feel like we need to go on a roll,” Melvin said. “And that’s going to make up ground in a hurry. Winning series, you pick up one game or whatever. It’s great. You win a series. But we still have ability to do more then and that’s what we’re waiting for still.”
(Via The San Diego-Union Tribune)
Let's hope the Padres continue taking care of business!