“PADRES-ARE THEY REALLY A PLAYOFF TEAM?”

by | Aug 31, 2026 |

Call it Tropicana Field.  Call it the Suncast Dome.  Call it the Thunder Dome.

Call it a ‘House of Horrors’ for the Padres.

The Domed Stadium, its roof ripped off in a bad hurricane two years back, has been rebuilt.  Looks-feels different.  Still plays weird, with the lighting, the glare, the catwalks at the top of the roof.

And it was all on exhibit in the Friday-Saturday-Sunday losses the Padres suffered at the hands of the 1st place Tampa Bay Rays.

Bad defense.  Blunders on the basepaths.  A bad injury.  2-ejections.  An overtaxed bullpen.

It was a Nightmare for Friar Fans, that drives home the fact, a (107M) Rays payroll is in the first place and the (224M) Padres payroll is fighting for breath, fighting to stay in the last wildcard race.

FRIDAY…Starter Casey Mize melted down giving up a mammoth home run, botching a grounder back to him that became an error, hitting a batter, throwing a brutal wild pitch.  When it was done the Rays capitalized on all the San Diego sloppiness to score 5-runs in the 4th inning enroute to a (9-4) win.

SATURDAY..Gut-wrenching, watching heart-and-soul guy Luis Rengifo’s knee buckle trying to make a throw to home plate, with the bases loaded, that resulted in 3-runs, and the likely season ending loss of a (.291) hitter.  Bradgley Rodriguez melted down allowing 4-runs without recording an out.  The Rays hit more long distance home runs.  Even Fernando Tatis’ steal of home and a gritty outing from Walker Buehler, could not stop the bleeding in a (7-6) Rays win.

SUNDAY..Victory turns into defeat.  Pick any play that makes you sick to your stomach.  Utility man Samod Taylor runs like hell into the left field corner-leaps, has a fly ball in his glove, hits the wall, and the ball falls out of his glove over the fence for a 2-run HR.  Then Xander Boegaerts mishandles a short hop grounder with the bases loaded allowing an 11th inning tying run to score.  And Taylor cannot get to a line drive up the alley allowing the winning run to score.  All that on top of the ejections of Fernando Tatis and Craig Stammen over a bunt call for Tatis running out of the bases.  And Mason Miller fatigue-faltering outing out of the bullpen.

So they are now officially in another skid.  Swept in Tampa Bay.  Have lost 4-of-5 and 8-of-14.  Do you know they have won 29-games since late July, 21-of them against really bad teams.  Look at what happens when they play real people, like the 1st place  Rays.

And still to come the Yankees and Dodgers wait ahead.

And to make it worse, beyond the pain we all felt with what happened to Rengifo, Manny Machado is hitting (.214)..Xander (.217)…Cronenworth (222)…Jackson Merrill is at (.239).

You can have faith in the Friars still.  But what does it all mean?  You think San Diego is any way comparable to the Cubs-Braves-Phillies, whom they’d have to play on the road, even if they got to the playoffs.  And I have not even mentioned the (82-53) Evil Empire Dodgers.

Lost weekend.  Starting to feel like another wasted Padres season.  Playing their worst against one of the MLB’s best, Tampa Bay.  No comparison.

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