NLDS Time
Dodgers Preview, the Beautiful Stupidity of Baseball & More...
Let’s Run it Back
2022 vibes all over again as the Padres and Dodgers get set to meet up in the NLDS for the third time in the last five years (some of you forgot about 2020 in Arlington, Texas, didn’t you?)
Last time, of course, we had some of the most memorable moments in franchise history. From the Game 2 Goose to Jake Cronenworth’s Dragon Slaying hit in clinching Game 4, Petco Park came alive in a way many of us only dreamed it was capable of.
This year, of course, is not that year. My broadcast partner, Tony Gwynn Jr., asked Joe Musgrove an awesome question at a press conference this week and Joe gave a stellar answer. I’m paraphrasing/summarizing here, but the gist was this:
Q: What do you see as the differences between this team and the 2022 team [in regards to the playoffs]?
A: Our consistent play makes it feel very different. In 2022, it kind of felt like “we’re not sure how we’re doing this, but let’s keep doing it!”
I think that last bit is so telling. The 2022 Padres were riding (an admittedly awesome) wave. The 2024 team is more piloting a large ship. Consistency, control, etc. Don’t get me wrong, 2022 was off-the-charts amazing, but there’s no doubt it’s a different feel this go-around. What does that mean in terms of this best-of-five series? Probably not too much…but it’s a great way to look at how good and solid this year’s team has been and will hopefully continue to be.
Speaking of Joe
We probably overuse “heart and soul” when describing what certain athletes mean to their teams, but I can’t be convinced it doesn’t apply to Musgrove. Not that he’s the singular guy like that on this team (a major positive), but there’s no doubt he’s an outsized presence in that clubhouse.
So the news of his season coming to an end obviously hits hard. Even in the game against the Braves the other night, you could totally feel the vibe shift in the ballpark after he came out.
From a baseball standpoint, no one ever said this was going to be easy, right? The Padres have weathered storm after storm this year and well, let’s add another one to the list. Big one at a big time, of course.
On a more human level, I really feel for Joe, who was throwing the ball so well and was doing so while knowing it was probably only a matter of time before his body was going to get to this point. Incredible fortitude and ability to focus.
There’s no doubt he will be back and as good as ever, and if there were ever a human specifically created to handle the grind of rehabbing from TJ surgery, it’s probably Joe Musgrove, but this one definitely hurts.
Wishing him all the best and looking forward to seeing him back on the mound. Can already imagine what a special night that’s going to be.
Some Game
If you’re a regular listener to Padres Radio1, you’ve very likely heard me refer to the “beautiful stupidity” of baseball on more than one occasion.
It’s one of my favorite little terms that I’ve come up with over the years and the Wild Card Series against the Braves provided a couple of stellar examples:
The Braves came into game one of that series having played an intense double-header against the Mets the day before. They absolutely gassed their bullpen in those two games. Close Raisel Iglesias and setup guy Joe Jiménez both pitched in both games of the twin bill and were unvailable. Conventional wisdom was, of course, that their ‘pen was in trouble in game one vs the Padres, but that the offense was still dangerous and that those guys were still going to hit. Well, Michael King had other plans. The Braves were shutout and their bullpen was absolutely brilliant that night, keeping the team in the game the entire way and at one point looking absolutely unhittable. As usual, conventional wisdom has no place in baseball. Beautifully stupid.
More granularly, in game two, the Padres loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the 1st inning. The math will tell you, teams in that spot will usually score about 2.3/2.4 runs. The Padres, as you likely know, did not score. The very next inning, the Pads had two outs and nobody on base with their number nine hitter coming up. Not a time you’re “supposed” to score. And what happened? Kyle Higashioka homered and then the hits kept coming. The Padres scored five, which was just enough to win the game and sweep the series. Beautifully stupid baseball.
Carbon Friendlier Baseball
Three of the four Division Series feature actual divisional matchups: Padres/Dodgers, Mets/Phillies and Tigers/Guardians.
Not only that, but all of those series will take place within driving distance of one another, and so those six teams will not fly back and forth for their respective series, but rather bus back and forth. Not often we can say that! Yankees and Royals, of course, will be in the air to get from NY to KC.
Kind of interesting. To me at least.
New Guys
Before we get going (and before I head out to Dodger Stadium this morning), great note from our friend AJ Cassavel of MLB dot com: of the 26 players on the Padres’ NLDS roster, 12 (nearly half!) were not on the 40-man roster at the start of Spring Training. That’s absolutely wild. What a year for AJ Preller (no relation) and his staff.
Profar (signed mid-Feb)
Cease (traded for mid-March)
Arraez (traded for early May)2
Merrill and Wade (non-roster invitees)
Solano (signed mid-April)
Perlata (signed mid-May)
Adam, Scott, Hoeing, Pérez, Lockridge (trade deadline)
Díaz (minor league deal in August)
Just another great reminder of how many guys it can take to get to this point and to not get too wrapped up in early-Spring lineups, etc.
Enjoy the games!!!
jesse
And a friendly reminder that Tony, Jesse and Dave continue to have you covered for every inning of the postseason live on the radio!
I accidentally left him off the original list. Or accidentally erased. Who knows. But here he is.