Twins, 7, Padres 4

Well, it was fun while it lasted. 

The four runs are really deceptive, being that we scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth when we were down by six. For eight innings, they handcuffed us, with the exception of a Manny homer (who else?) that gave us the lead. Musgrove pitched six, gave up two runs, four hits, eight K's. Not good enough. 17 runners left on base, our batting average with RISP is atrocious. We have an overall team batting average of .244, but we can't pull the trigger when we have runners on base. In last night's lineup, we had one good player (guess who). We have a few complementary players (or utility players, if you will), like Kim, Profar, Nola, and Voit. Then there are the players who have been underachieving, like Crone, Grish, and Hoz. 

One thing I miss about a winning team is that you can open up the box score in progress and expect a good result. Here, whenever I check on the games I am not watching, it's always fingers crossed. It's painful watching our team like this, slugging it out every single day. We can be beating winners like the Mets one day, only to succumb to dogs like the Tigers. A carriage one day, a pumpkin the next. Win one, lose one, win one, lose one, etc. until you put your fans to sleep. Let's rename ourselves the San Diego Z's. We can also talk about possible newcomers like Juan Soto or Shohei Ohtani or Lou Gehrig, for all I care, and it won't make a difference. Only the Padres can get geeked up about a single player, which is, of course, extremely foolish. The Dodgers will get a Max Scherzer and a Trea Turner and a Mookie Betts and still chug away, looking for that extra edge that will get them over the top. That's what winning franchises do. All our GM has proven is that he can spend money. Hooray, I guess, it's nice to have the kind of ownership to make funds available, but spending money does not buy chemistry, and it does not buy a team. Building a team takes skill, and we don't have it. Look at how the Rays have operated over the years, and they have won a ton of ball games...in the AL East, no less. Look at the A's before this year's inevitable collapse. Our GM simply doesn't have it. Sign free agents for big bucks, but no players to complement them. When you have a ton of money locked up in two players, but the rest of your team can't hit a beachball, then you are failing the team and the franchise. 

Same thing with the pitchers. A bunch of good starting pitchers, but not one good guy in the pen? A closer? So we have no bullpen, no offense, and no GM. Feel lucky, Compadres? Over the first eight games after the All-Star break, we are 4-4, meaning another fail. We need a spark here, and quick.