After an epic failure of a season, where do the San Diego Padres go from here to achieve their lofty goals? 

The 2023 season was horrible if you are a San Diego Padres fan.

One thing is to not expect anything from your roster at the beginning of the season, only to see your playoff hopes diminish quickly before the heart of the summer. Something that the underachieving Padres managed to do year after year in San Diego to its fanbase.

But the 2023 season was supposed to be different. The Padres were supposedly destined to be good. Not just good, but one of the best teams in the league. Playoffs were a given. That’s what we were told. If the franchise could’ve pre-sold tickets for the 2023 playoff season, they would have. The organization was that confident. But it all fell apart quickly as we got an early glimpse at the inadequacies of this unit.

The game of baseball is not played on the stat sheet. Though the Padres should be better in the standings than they presently are- they are who they are. This roster is underachieving in the worst way. Despite the fact they recently went on a hot streak, a series of injuries to key individuals put the final nails in the playoff hopes for this once-promising team.

What happened, though?

How did they become the punchline to jokes around the league? How did this franchise fall flat on its face in arguably the most highly-anticipated season in the history of the Padres?

Baseball is a mysterious entity. When it is all said and done, the game’s results can’t be explained every time. The better team doesn’t win each time. We would like to think that, but it simply isn’t true. Instead, the most cohesive unit is victorious. The group of players who play the game as one single motivated unit are generally the winners at the end of the game.

The 2023 Padres contained many personalities. But this group of men failed to play the game with balance. They refused to pick each other up. The San Diego Padres are 7-26 in one-run games and 1-12 in extra-inning affairs. That speaks volumes about the character they displayed this season. Showing no ability to rally and get the job done is a reflection of bad chemistry. Somewhere, the Padres are suffering internally.

Whether it’s not being prepared daily or simply bad luck, the Padres did not get the job done.

So, where does this team go from here?

Is A.J. Preller on the hot seat? Will Bob Melvin survive the winter?

Black Monday is fast approaching, and we may get some answers as soon as next week. Stay tuned.

James Clark

James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.