Padres Editorial: Padres Need to Change Philosophy
The San Diego Padres team is currently going through some growing pains. Like a teenager being invited to their first sleepover, the team was just far too eager this season to compete and win.
Building a Championship Major League baseball team is no easy task. You can put together what you believe is a winner, only to see them lose 90 games in a season. So is life. Once you think you have it figured out, it turns around and slaps you in the face. If it didn’t, it wouldn’t be life and the sweet taste of victory would not taste so sweet.
In reality general manager A.J. Preller has been employed by the team for a little over one year. To expect immediate success was just not feasible. The team needed to build chemistry and develop a sense of who they were as a team. The nucleus of this Padres team is very strong, but there are holes that need to be mended or they are just going to be a below average team.
Matt Kemp, Craig Kimbrel and James Shields provide veteran leadership at all three facets of the game (hitting, starting pitching, relief pitching). With leaders like that, there should be a very bright future for the team. The overall leadership and philosophy of the team needs direction.
Pat Murphy shows a lot of passion but I question if he is the right skipper to manage this team. Being that he has no professional experience as a player, leads me to believe he hasn’t garnered the respect from all his players. That is natural. Players will tend to listen more intently to a manager who once was in their shoes as a professional player. The Padres need to find someone who can lead and command respect from all his players.
In my opinion the team needs a tough, no non-sense manager who is not afraid to manager with emotion. Being a nice guy is great for the press and helps keep the team loose but is that what you want from the leader of your team. A manager is a leader and should command his players to have accountability for their actions. The need to stress and all for one attitude is key. The players must rally around each other and play the game with this mentality.
The current philosophy of the team is changing and the current management team is attempting to make up for years of fan abuse. The team has continually sold off its talented players once they become too expensive and with this type of disloyalty, fans have rightfully been displeased with the team. What will this team do during the off-season? What kind of additions will be made?
With a young nucleus of players like Tyson Ross, Wil Myers, and Derek Norris, the Padres have a decent future. The key for this team to really take off as a franchise is for the team to have a couple of really successful drafts. Unfortunately for Padres fans the fruits of those drafts will not be reaped for years and years. It is a slow process to build a wining franchise, but the Padres are making strides in the right direction.
I write, I write, and then I write some more.. Lifelong Padres & Chargers fan who is tired of the acceptance of losing that grips all of San Diego sports fans!