Padres Rolling, Giants 32 Games Back | JUS MLB Blog 9/21
WE’RE BACK. AND APPARENTLY THE PADRES MISSED US.
JackedUpSportz took a week off.
The Padres apparently took that personally.
San Diego has now won 13 of its last 14 games, including five straight, and after sweeping the Marlins this weekend the Padres are sitting at 87-69. They are five games ahead of Arizona, one game ahead of Philadelphia and tied with the Cubs at the top of the National League Wild Card race. Their magic number to clinch a playoff spot is down to two.
You’re welcome, San Diego.
Because before we went away, did we call Casey Mize an exploding oxen tank?
Yes.
Did we say Jackson Merrill would swing at anything up to about 100 feet above the strike zone?
Yes.
Did we say Manny Machado batting around .100 was unacceptable and he needed to step it up?
Yep.
Did we say the bullpen was basically drawing cards before every game to see who got to blow it?
We did.
Sometimes some tough love is necessary.
And since those call-outs, the Padres have basically shoved the entire column right back in our face.
We love it.
THE PADRES ARE ACTUALLY PLAYING LIKE A PLAYOFF TEAM
Sunday was another one.
Jake Cronenworth went deep twice and drove in five runs, Fernando Tatis Jr. homered, Walker Buehler gave San Diego 6 2/3 innings and the Padres beat Miami 7-3 to finish the sweep.
Remember when we were yelling:
BUEHLER, BUEHLER, BUEHLER…
Apparently he heard us too.
More importantly, San Diego is no longer hanging around the edge of the playoff picture hoping everyone else loses.
They’re taking care of their own business.
And now we’re getting close to what we’ve wanted all along.
Playoff baseball in San Diego.
If you’ve never been to an MLB playoff game, go.
Every pitch matters. Every at-bat feels like somebody is defusing a bomb. A 2-1 count in the fourth inning suddenly seems like a major life event.
It’s stressful.
It’s fantastic.
And eventually, if this thing goes where we hope it goes, there is one team we’re going to want standing on the other side.
The Dodgers.
Of course.
THE DODGERS ARE STILL THE DODGERS
Los Angeles is 96-60 and has already locked down the NL West. The Padres are nine games behind them in the division, so we’re not pretending there’s still a division race here.
We are talking about October.
Because the best possible version of this Padres season ends with San Diego getting another shot at Los Angeles when the games actually matter.
The Dodgers can spend whatever they want.
We don’t want a salary cap.
Spend $500 million. Spend $1 billion. Buy a small country if that’s what you want to do.
Just understand that the rest of us are also free to root against you.
Fair deal.
MEANWHILE, MY GIANTS…
This hurts.
The Giants are 64-92.
The Dodgers are 96-60.
That puts San Francisco exactly 32 games back in the NL West. And just to make the weekend more pleasant, Los Angeles swept the Giants and beat them 3-1 Sunday.
Thirty-two games.
I grew up a Giants fan.
Even back in the 1970s when the unofficial survival mechanism was:
“Come on Giants, Hang in There.”
I don’t remember us needing to hang in there from 32 games back.
So here’s the plan.
Bring the slogan back next year.
Put it on shirts.
Put it on the scoreboard.
Put it on the side of Oracle Park.
COME ON GIANTS, HANG IN THERE.
And I fully expect it to springboard us directly into the World Series.
This is based on absolutely no baseball analysis whatsoever.
