It’s not you, it’s me. No, wait. It’s you. It’s absolutely you. Through the first eleven games of the season, you’ve stunk. No, I’m not talking about my dog who just had the audacity to fart next to me (although that stinks less than this team). I’m talking about the 2016 version of the San Diego Padres.

At 3-8, they have one of the worst records in the majors. But that’s not what is so upsetting. Through the first week and a half of the season, the Padres have set three different records (two of which you can read about in my previous column here). The latest of which? The Padres are the only team to ever be shut out five times in their first eleven games. To put that into perspective, they are on pace to be shutout 81 times this season. Of course we know that won’t happen. Right?

The problem, unlike the opening series against the Dodgers is not the pitching. Even during the Colorado series you could say the pitching staff did its job. During the four games in Philadelphia and last nights game against Arizona at Petco Park, Padres pitching has surrendered just fourteen runs over the last five games, or 2.8 runs per game. Strong performances by back end guys like Drew Pomeranz, Colin Rea, and Robbie Erlin, coupled with a strong start by James Shields last night have kept this team in games. This 3-8 record should very easily be 7-4.

Also not helping is the defense, which has been at times worse than last season. Through eleven games the Padres are tied for the third most errors in MLB with 10. In 2015 they ranked 15th with 92 total errors. This year they’re on pace for 147 errors, twenty-one more than last years Oakland team that led the league with 126 errors.

 

This Padres offense is ranked in the bottom of the league in offense. As a team their hitting .224(22nd)/.278(27th)/.321(26th). Pitching on the other hand has a team ERA of 4.83 over the first eleven games. However if you take out the Dodgers series where they surrendered a whopping twenty-five runs, that ERA drops to 3.37 which would be good enough for eighth in the league, right behind the Dodgers.

So what’s the problem? It’s not Matt Kemp or Melvin Upton Jr., the two big money contracts on the offense. It’s the guys who we are counting on to have break out years and help take pressure off of guys like Kemp and Upton, who lead the team in hitting, batting .275 and .265 respectively. Out of guys who qualify for the Padres, there’s a huge drop off after the top two. Four guys which the Padres need to have strong seasons, Jon Jay, Alexei Ramirez, Wil Myers, and Derek Norris, are batting a combined .201 with Jay leading the group hitting .217 and Norris bringing up the rear hitting an embarrassing .147.

The upcoming schedule is still pretty easy. Two more games against an Arizona team that isn’t meeting early season expectations either, especially when it comes to pitching and series’ against Pittsburgh and a St. Louis team that isn’t as good as we’ve come to expect, all at home.

The season is nowhere near over. But through eleven games, this years Padres offense has Tony Gwynn rolling in his grave.

Follow Jake Harman on Twitter for more news surrounding the San Diego Padres, and check out this weeks edition of the Friar Domination Podcast!

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