Earlier this afternoon, the San Diego Padres fell at home to the Colorado Rockies by a score of 6-2 to lose their ninth consecutive game. The Friars, in that time span, have seen their six game lead dwindle down to just a meager 2.5 games pending the outcome of the Giants/Dodgers game later this evening. This substantial slide has made many people wonder if this is indeed it for the Padres, who have basically been baseball's version of "The Little Engine That Could" the entire season.
Around the beginning of the season, many prognosticators (myself included) had the Padres tabbed for a last-place finish in the National League West. In fact, you might have been lucky to see anyone who had them picked to finish above fourth place this year. However, one of the beautiful things about baseball is that when you watch the season unfold, you always have the chance to see something unexpected happen, and the Padres have been a prime example of this. They have shocked everybody in the baseball world up to this point by not only contending, but by leading the National League West for the majority of the season over heavy favorites like the Giants, Rockies and Dodgers.
The Padres are not a flashy team, and they certainly are not a team that lends itself to excitement. In today's homer-happy culture in baseball, the Padres are decidedly different than most teams, as they are absolutely reliant on their pitching to win them ballgames. Their starting rotation that features Mat Latos, Jon Garland, Clayton Richard, Kevin Correia and Wade LeBlanc is arguably the best in baseball in 2010, and those who would even bother to argue against that are likely just playing devil's advocate. Their starting pitching had to be the best in the game this year in order for this team to survive, since their 579 runs scored as a team ranks 12th in the National League and 21st overall in MLB. Their starting staff has not only met many people's expectations, they have went above and beyond them.
The starting staff cannot do it all by themselves though. The Friars have featured the best bullpen in all of baseball by far this year, with a fearsome trio of Luke Gregerson, Mike Adams and Heath Bell closing out games. With the combination of a rock-solid starting rotation and a bullpen that slams the door shut on rallies time and time again, it's no wonder why the Padres have the best team ERA in baseball at 3.36.
However, this team has had their fair share of detractors and non-believers this season. They'll point out the fact that their starters are overachieving, their bullpen is being overworked, and that their lineup is anemic, even with Adrian Gonzalez. All throughout the season, they have been waiting for the other shoe to drop with this team, and for most of the time, they have been coming away disappointed. Now that the Padres are suffering through their worst slump of the season, everybody- supporters and detractors alike- is eagerly waiting to see what will become of baseball's biggest surprise this season. Do the Padres have the intestinal fortitude to snap out of this slump and ride on to the postseason, or has midnight finally struck for this Cinderella team? They still have a whopping seven games left with second-place San Francisco, including the final three games of the season at AT&T Park in early October. When looking at the glass half-full, you could say that this slump is just a prelude to what could be a fantastic finish in the NL West. In the meantime, I'll just hope that this is nothing more than just a temporary slump for the Padres. Besides, what fun would a pennant race be if you didn't have the twists and turns that come with it?
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