Dodgers Team News

MLB News: San Diego Padres Eliminated From Playoff Contention

For almost the entire offseason, the talk around MLB was between the Dodgers and Padres. Media members and the league itself made sure to hype up the apparent rivalry between these 2 teams, and it proved to be every bit as exciting as they hoped…for the first half of the season. 

The Padres just lost their 37th game of the second-half, winning just 25 games in the process. Because of that, they are now mathematically eliminated from MLB playoff contention. The sudden rise of the Cardinals made it so they had to win every game from here on out just to have a shot. 



Instead, they find themselves 8 games behind St Louis for the second Wild Card spot and out of the postseason. Calling them the biggest disappointment of the 2021 MLB season would not be an overstatement. 

It’s disappointing given the talent and potential that that gathered over the offseason. Trades for guys like Blake Snell, Yu Darvish, Ha-Seong Kim, and Joe Musgrove had MLB fans in San Diego buzzing. Their 19-9 record in the month of April only added to that excitement. 

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But there will be no Fernado Tatis Jr in the MLB postseason this year. There will be no Slam Diego, no Manny Machado highlight reel, and no Blake Snell World Series controversy. Instead, it’s the Dodgers and Giants that will be coming out of the NL West. 

Let this be a lesson to you: never overestimate flashy moves in the offseason. 

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18 Comments

  1. I guess we shouldn’t gloat. If the Dodgers play like they did last nite in the WC game they’ll be right behind the Padres on their vacation plans.

      1. Hello Dodgerglenn. One can wonder what a more competent manager might have done with this roster even with all the IL stints. For one thing I don’t think another manager who’s worth his salt would have constantly coddled someone like Bellinger and playing favorites at the team’s expense. And Bellinger’s defense is not or will not necessarily win games with the offense like it was last night and throughout the year being so inconsistent on many occasion. I hope I’m wrong but it looks every bit like the Dodger off season begins on October 7th.

        1. Paul, yes , I agree that it seems like our off season will begin Oct 7. I hope not but do not believe we will catch the Giants and will have to play St. Louis. Everyone seems to agree that we have by far the best players in MLB and Friedman has done a great job filling in the pieces but our (DR) lack of managerial skills is what has gotten us in this predicament of having to chase the Giants. Sure, we will end up having the 2nd best record and that in itself is great but we should have the best record. Roberts failure in leadership and a lot of his “decisions” has cost us and unfortunately, will end up badly for us. If not for the incompetence of Dave (there’s no need to dwell on that-a lot of us agree where Roberts have consistently made continual bad choices) the Giants would be chasing us. I don’t know how much the front office has in influencing Robert’s decisions but usually when a franchise does not meet up to expectations during the season, the manager/coach is the first to go. Of course, if the owners are really upset with the organization, the general manager or in our case, president of baseball operations, is released as well. Hopefully, Freidman will realize that with all the spending he has done to obtain to-notch players, the coaching and managerial has failed and needs to be replaced. Doubt that Freidman will release Dave but I can only hope for a complete reshuffling. Pitching staff, hitting staff, and medical staff have been missing in action this year and needs to go as well. It’s too bad the Dodgers couldn’t find a spot for Zaidi and let him go to the Giants. He’s one smart cookie.

          1. Well said, Dodgerglenn. Exactly on point in your post. I must believe, however that Roberts will remain because of all the injuries that were out of his control. However, for our sakes, for the Dodger’s sake, and most of all for Roberts sake, let’s hope for the DH to return next year. I’m sure you would agree that having a DH will protect Roberts from himself, in that he won’t have as many tough in game player or pitching decisions to wrestle with. I see a DH as making it somewhat impossible for Roberts to mis manage like he has at times this year.

  2. I agree. All too often the Dodgers seem to lack a spark, that little extra bit of energy. Of course they have the best roster, top to bottom, and could very well win it again, but I’ve got to admit I’ve got my doubts. We’ll know soon.

  3. It would definitely be a crying shame if the Dodgers don’t repeat. This incredible super roster probably won’t look the same next season. With all the injuries, mismanagement, and underperformance by certain players, it sure has been a disappointment so far, even with 99+ wins. It could’ve been so much better.

    1. And now matter what, Roberts is partially to blame for his inept in game management all year long. As many here said, even with all the injuries throughout the year, a more competent manager that doesn’t coddle certain players and play favorites would have gotten more out of this roster of players..

      1. Paul, totally agree. You can look at the Giants and see how Gabe got the most out of his players. Even when they are down in a game, they are always clawing back. And they have had their share of injuries as well.

        1. Exactly. Again, Roberts most likely returns in 2022, win or lose. But I hope and pray for the DH because that will save Roberts from himself as far as in game management goes.

        2. I will give Kapler (and Zaidi) some credit, but the synchronous success of every Giants’ veteran player defies logic. They have become homerun and power hitting machines outperforming themselves and doing so throughout this entire season. My spouse is a Giants’ fan and attributes the veteran players’ success to the Giants’ hitting coaches…Anyways, athough the Giants may have had their fair share of injuries, I believe that the Dodgers dealt with much more, specifically when one takes into consideration how compromised our starting rotation was. Regardless, it would now seem that some poor decision-making has come back to bite the Dodgers.

  4. Lots of places and faces to point fingers and Roberts is right there front and center. However, one can scan this roster and say on paper it’s by far the most talented lineup in MLB. However, with just a few exceptions, this is one underachieving group of individuals. You can say Will Smith has exceeded expectations offensively because of his occasional big hits and home runs. Nice year for AJ as well. However, Mookie, Seager, Muncy and JT who are supposed to be the heart and soul of this team and supposed to put the team on their backs have been mediocre at best. A good game here and a bomb there doesn’t justify the paycheck Mookie and Muncy et al. Most productive, consistent and talented hitter on this team is Trea and they better figure out a way to sign him to a long term deal. Not even mentioning Belli as that mule’s been kicked enough. Now this lethargic “offense” will get to face Wainwright in the one and done. Max better put up a bunch of zeroes or it will be “how long before pitchers and catchers report to Camelback”

    1. Bobbyd, I concur and even in today’s 3 to 0 win, we saw an offense score 3 runs via the HR early in the game and then the offense laid an egg for rest of game. Thankfully Dodgers obviously got a well pitched game or they could have been 3 back with 6 to play. And it’s really the offense that will decline Dodgers fate one way or another. But from the way they looked in AZ, I fear what may take place against a much better Cardinal team.

    2. Hmmm … it’s difficult to defend suggesting a team that’s won 100 games has underachieved. Further, the players you state as mediocre at best all have WARs of 3 or better with 3 of the 4 exceeding a 130 OPS+ (JT is at 121 which is 21% better than average.) Betts – who has fought through a hip injury – still performed at all star level along with Muncy who has produced a 4.9 WAR. These guys have more than earned their money.
      I’d rather give a tip of the cap to SF who has overachieved this season. Take a look at Crawford, Lemonte Jr, and Belt’s stats where you’ll see that they have wildly surpassed norms to enjoy career years.

  5. The Giants win because of their amaZING approach at the plate. They, to a man, do not chase bad balls. Don’t believe it? Just watch an entire Giant game. You’ll be able to count on one hand how many the team, as a whole, go after bad balls.

  6. It’s up to the manager instill the confidence, fight and desire to compete every night . DRRRRRRRRR’s =The Jockey that can’t ride , so the Horse doesn’t perform…Put a Tommy, Billy Martin motivator in charge of all these over paid athletes, and this team wins 120 games….

  7. Guys, I see a lot to agree with in the above posts but one glaring omission… no one has said anything about how the loss of Bauer has impacted this team. His ERA would prob be around 3.00 same as Urias and despite how you feel about him he was a strong competitor and could have been worth 3-4 more wins. Reference our offense, as much as I love Mookie and JT, they have failed to “bring it” thus far…Mookie is 30 points below his career avg! They have both been injured and one can’t expect 100%, but they need to produce for us to have a shot. Muncy and CT3 seem to be striking out much more (CT3 top 10 in MLB). Pollock and Trea may not be enough to get us through! Roberts deserves much of the criticism I see here and I don’t want to be an an apologist for him but there are many other factors at play and BTW his winning % is higher than both Alston and Lasorda. A final thought, don’t review the 1962 season!

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