Before the Padres took off their East Coast road trip we asked a few of their players about the slim chances of making the playoffs. To a man they said they were "optimistic" they can still make a run.
I myself have been among those saying they're not out of it yet! Well after dropping two of three in Washington then losing 7-1 to the Phillies on Friday night it pains me to say the Padres are out of it.
Sure they're 9.5 games out of first place and the Dodgers have not acted like they have any interest in running off with the National League West. Mathematically the Padres are still very much alive for a post-season spot.
Realistically, however, the Friars simply don't have the horses to run to the front. There will be no late-breaking sprint to the front of the pack. After 128 games (yes I'm a slow learner) it's clear this team simply is not playoff-caliber.
Friday night the only run the Padres scored came on a solo home run by Justin Upton. The only other hit they got came on a double by Cory Spangenberg. Staring pitcher Ian Kennedy took the loss despite only allowing two runs in 6.2 innings with seven strikeouts. Philly did its damage with five runs against Marc Rzepczynski and Odrisamer Despaigne in a 5-run 8th inning.
The grand experiment by Padres General Manager A.J. Preller did not work out. But I will not give up hope that the fact they tried something new will lead to the right formula being assembled in San Diego soon.
