Padres RHP Hints SD May Have Let Hype Get to Their Heads

Never get too comfortable...

Had the San Diego Padres as a collective franchise ever had as much hype heading into a season as they did a couple of months ago? Blockbuster signings, big-time extensions, and the pending return of one of the brightest, young stars in the league will lead to quite the environment in a city.

Nobody ever doubted that downtown Gaslamp would indeed be a movie once April rolled around. However, everybody was expecting an action-packed thriller instead of the rollercoaster drama that has been the Padres' start to the 2023 season. You never know what version of the Friars you are going to see and with them not producing the best results leading up to this current away Dodgers series, the clubhouse is doing some heavy soul-searching.

Bob Melvin speaks with the media following today's game against the Twins🎙@Padres | #PadresLive pic.twitter.com/O09t5cVbTG

— Bally Sports San Diego (@BallySportsSD) May 11, 2023

Juan Soto goes dead center! pic.twitter.com/83pLqvZOPr

— Talking Friars (@TalkingFriars) May 11, 2023

Sure, the first few weeks of the season, I could definitely see why majority of the blame would be placed on Juan Soto. Everybody expected him to enter the year with a chip on his shoulder and prove to the front office why he deserved the extension he had yet to receive. However, his offense proved to be nonexistent.

But the 24-year-old finally started breaking through recently and in the Minnesota Twins series right before this one against LA, he was electric. With a batting average of .700 to go with seven hits and a home run, you couldn't have asked for much more.

It's a group effort at the end of the day and bouncing off of the harsh reality comments from Bob Melvin, RHP Joe Musgrove had a lot to say about the Padres' mindset the past month. He believes that they are way too comfortable with their current record and probably let the preseason hype get to their heads.

“You look around the clubhouse and if we had to go out there for one game and it all mattered, we feel like we can beat everybody,” Musgrove said. “I just feel like it might not be the right approach mentally or the right level of aggression, or like we’re too comfortable.”

(Via The San Diego-Union Tribune)

Musgrove also drew a very legit comparison to illustrate how they are going about their business.

“There’s something about things getting down to where they have to be done,” Musgrove said. “The kid that doesn’t do his homework until the night before but he gets it done because it has to be done that night. We don’t want to wait too long to get to that point, so we’re going to have to find a way to turn it around, whatever it is.”

(Via The San Diego-Union Tribune)

No sugarcoating can be done anymore. The Friars need to all come together or this weekend against a red-hot Dodgers squad will turn ugly.