Former Padres Catcher Says Team Has Exorcised Its 'Bad Juju'

Matt Levine | 2 Hours Ago

The San Diego Padres will be back in the postseason in 2024 after missing out during the 2023 season. San Diego used the offseason to figure out what went wrong and fix the issues that plagued the team.

It has worked extremely well and the Padres will have a chance to compete for their first-ever World Series trophy. San Diego will be playing in the National League wild-card series next week after they dropped two of three games to the rival Los Angeles Dodgers this week.

Los Angeles officially clinched the NL West after a strong fight until the end by the Padres. But nonetheless, San Diego feels very good about themselves as we enter into the final weekend of the baseball regular season.

Prior to the Dodgers clinching the division, former Padres catcher Cody Decker appeared on Mad Dog Sports Radio to discuss the team. He believes that San Diego has exercised their "bad juju" and the fact remains the same even if they can't win the NL West this season.

"These guys are good. They actually, right now, have a chance to catch up to the Dodgers. We need to stop pretending that the Padres are carrying around 55 years of just bad juju. This is a helluva baseball team. I’m legitimately worried about any team that runs into the Padres.”

"If there's a team I'm really worried about for the Los Angeles Dodgers this October, it's just down the street in San Diego."@Decker6 explains why the Padres could be a problem for the Dodgers in the postseason.

🔗https://t.co/GCyc3Qn6By@robinlundberg | @SiriusXMSports pic.twitter.com/6eAZNJzXex

— Mad Dog Sports Radio (@MadDogRadio) September 25, 2024

Nobody in the NL will want to face off against the Padres in any playoff series but San Diego has played especially well against Los Angeles. Prior to their series loss this week, the Padres had beaten the Dodgers in every series that they played this season.

While the Dodgers are one of the top teams in the league, the Padres were constructed with the idea of being them in mind. The two sides have met in the postseason twice over the past five years, with each team taking a series from the other.

San Diego has the pitching needed to win in the postseason, giving them extreme confidence heading into whatever series they play. Their opponent in the NL wild-card round won't be known until after the regular season comes to a close but the Padres will likely be at home for the first-round.

The team has gone through the long regular season and worked their way to the postseason. But now, the real test begins. Can they finish the job? Or will they fall short of expectations again?