Padres News: Team Finding Positives in Late-Season Winning Streak Likely Coming Too Late
Everyone picked the San Diego Padres to win the National League Western Division before spring training began. The Padres couldn’t handle the pressure of the huge expectations, and they could go down in history as one of the most disappointing teams. Ironically enough, though, they are now playing the best they have all season.
The team is currently riding a seven-game winning streak, and barely keeping their playoff hopes alive. Xander Bogaerts is finding the positives in the almost lost season.
“I think it would be worse if we never found it,” Bogaerts said. “It’s still bad it took so long. But at least we figured out what was in there, and we’re kind of showing it right now. This is what everyone expected. This is what [we] expected to play like, this level of baseball. It’s really tough that it’s this late.”
Some teams are able to live up to lofty preseason expectations, but the Padres just couldn't.
There were reports of turmoil in the organization, and the team struggled to work well in all facets of the game at the same time. Fernando Tatis Jr. talked some of the things he thought didn't go there way.
“You know,” Tatis Jr. said. “For five months we were like, ‘We need to make it happen. Come to the field, work, make it happen, make it happen, make it happen.’ We didn’t make it happen. So I feel like we just said ‘(Expletive) it!’ And we went out there and play baseball and play as kids.”
With the pressure off about making the playoffs, the Padres can just play baseball and have fun. And they're doing just that, and — somehow, someway — keeping their postseason hopes alive.
