JUS MLB BLOG 10/9: GREAT SEASON, PADRES. SOMETIMES BASEBALL IS JUST BASEBALL.

Well.

That’s it.

The Padres’ season is over.

Milwaukee won Game 4, 3-1, took the series 3-1 and ended what turned into one hell of a Padres season.

And yes.

We know Padres fans are upset.

People are already saying:

They’ll never win.

They need to blow this up.

They need different players.

They need different pitchers.

They need to change this.

Change that.

Fire somebody.

Trade somebody.

Everybody calm down.

This is baseball.

SOMETIMES BASEBALL IS JUST BASEBALL

Here’s the thing about the baseball playoffs.

Anything can happen.

And I mean anything.

You can build a great team.

You can have great pitching.

Great hitters.

A great bullpen.

You can make all the right moves.

And then your season can turn because a baseball moves half an inch one way instead of half an inch the other way.

That’s October.

This series wasn’t some complete collapse by the Padres.

They weren’t getting destroyed every night.

Milwaukee is an extremely good baseball team, and almost every important moment in this series came down to tiny margins.

Game 1?

Ty France hits what might have become a go-ahead home run.

Instead, the ball hits a cable hanging from Milwaukee’s ridiculous roof.

We’ve discussed this.

At length.

We’re still angry.

Game 2?

Jackson Chourio hits a ball just beyond Jake Cronenworth’s reach.

Game 4?

Manny Machado hits a ball 406 feet that looks like it’s going to tie the game.

Garrett Mitchell catches it at the wall.

Four hundred and six feet.

In 19 Major League ballparks, that’s a home run.

At Petco?

Out.

That’s baseball.

IT REALLY IS A GAME OF INCHES

People say football is a game of inches.

Baseball might be worse.

In the fifth inning last night, Garrett Mitchell hit a ground ball down the first-base line that stayed fair by practically nothing.

Triple.

He eventually scores.

That becomes the difference in the game.

Now take Machado’s ball.

Another couple feet?

Tie game.

Different ballpark?

Tie game.

Different wind?

Maybe tie game.

Different angle off the bat?

Maybe tie game.

That’s what makes baseball amazing.

And absolutely infuriating.

There isn’t always some grand explanation.

Sometimes the ball is fair.

Sometimes it’s foul.

Sometimes it clears the wall.

Sometimes somebody catches it.

And sometimes your season ends.

REMEMBER THE EXPLODING OXYGEN TANK?

At one point this season JUS had basically decided the Padres were Apollo 13.

We compared Casey Mize to the exploding oxygen tank on the way to the moon.

The moon, in this analogy, being the World Series.

Things did not look good.

We questioned Manny.

We questioned Merrill.

We questioned Bogaerts.

We questioned the bullpen.

We questioned pretty much everybody who came within 50 feet of Petco Park.

The JUS editorial staff was furious.

Again, the JUS editorial staff consists primarily of me and Kodiak.

Kodiak maintained a more professional demeanor.

Then something happened.

The Padres pulled it together.

Big time.

They went on a huge run down the stretch.

They got into October.

They won their Wild Card series.

They got into the Division Series.

And they went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in baseball.

So maybe the oxygen tank exploded.

But they didn’t crash.

They figured out how to keep flying.

THAT’S ALL YOU CAN REALLY ASK

This is what people forget about October baseball.

Getting there matters.

Because once you’re there?

Nobody knows what’s going to happen.

I’ve watched Giants teams enter the postseason without everybody declaring them the best team in baseball and then suddenly become completely unstoppable for a month.

That’s how you win a World Series.

You get there.

You get hot.

Your pitching gets hot.

Your hitters get hot.

You get a couple breaks.

A ball falls in.

Another ball stays fair.

Somebody makes a ridiculous catch.

And suddenly you’re holding a trophy.

The best team doesn’t automatically win the World Series.

That’s not how baseball works.

The team that survives October wins the World Series.

Sometimes that’s the best team.

Sometimes it isn’t.

That’s why they play the games.

THE BREWERS GOT THEIR BREAKS

And let’s admit it.

Milwaukee got some enormous ones.

Their stadium literally helped them make an out.

Still ridiculous.

Still want the roof removed by crane.

A few balls went exactly where they needed them to go.

Mitchell made an incredible play on Machado.

That’s baseball.

You don’t have to like it.

We certainly don’t.

But that’s baseball.

And Milwaukee deserves credit too.

They’re really good.

They made the plays.

They got the outs.

When the opportunities showed up, they took advantage of them.

That’s what good teams do.

PADRES FANS HAVE NOTHING TO BE ASHAMED OF

That’s the biggest point today.

This wasn’t a failure of a season.

Not even close.

Could it have ended better?

Obviously.

Everybody wants the World Series.

But there are 30 Major League teams and only one of them gets to finish the year happy.

If every season that doesn’t end with a parade is considered a disaster, you’re going to spend most of your life miserable.

The Padres gave San Diego a great season.

They fought through stretches where they looked terrible.

They responded when people like us started yelling at them.

They got hot.

They made October.

They advanced.

They competed.

They gave themselves a chance.

That’s all you can ask.

AND JUS WILL NOW EAT THE REST OF ITS WORDS

We’ve already started this process.

But let’s finish it.

Manny Machado?

We complained.

Jackson Merrill?

We complained.

Xander Bogaerts?

Oh, we definitely complained.

The bullpen?

Absolutely complained.

Pretty sure we complained about everybody except the guy selling hot dogs behind home plate.

And then the Padres made us look stupid.

Good.

That’s exactly what we wanted.

So Padres:

JUS officially eats its words.

Most of them.

We’re keeping a few in reserve for next season.

AND NEXT YEAR LOOKS PRETTY GOOD

The most encouraging thing is that this organization is clearly trying to win.

This isn’t a franchise sitting around hoping something magical happens.

Ownership is willing to spend.

The organization expects to contend.

The fan base expects October baseball.

That’s a pretty good place to be.

So take a few days.

Be annoyed.

Complain about the roof.

Complain about Machado’s 406-foot out.

Replay every pitch in your head.

That’s what fans do.

Then move on.

Because spring training will come.

The Padres will have another shot.

And if they get back to October next year?

Anything can happen.

Again.

ONE FINAL JUS PREDICTION

Now that we’ve spent an entire article praising the Padres, we should probably remind everybody where our true baseball loyalties began.

The Giants.

So congratulations on a great season, San Diego.

Seriously.

Great run.

Nothing to be ashamed of.

We’ll see you next year.

Unfortunately for you, JUS already has its prediction ready:

The San Francisco Giants are winning the 2027 World Series.

We have learned absolutely nothing about making predictions.

See you in spring.