Jake Cronenworth Resuscitates the Padres Season With One Swing of the Bat

 

(Image is from Twitter, we do not own the rights)

Baseball is truly an unbelievable, unpredictable narrative. I was literally in the middle of a blog describing the end of the Padres season as we knew it. It was the same damn song and dance YET again. The Padres were getting perfect gamed by Austin Nola's younger brother Aaron up until Trent Grisham came up in the 7th and ripped a ball off of the first baseman's glove. And then with the no-hitter still in tact, Manny Machado ripped a single into center field, bringing Grisham home, and tying the game at 1 a piece. BUT of course of course, the dark cloud over this team continued and we gave up 2 runs in the following half inning. BOTH on hit by pitches with the bases loaded. Jiminy Christmas. So with the score 3-1 Phillies going into the bottom of the 9th and the Reds winning their game against the Marlins, I believed the script was written. Padres officially blow their wild card lead, lose 5 in a row, and we can abandon all hope of any kind.

We did have the top of the order coming up in the 9th but you'd have to be insane to actually think something good was going to happen. Ordinarily I think having optimism with the top of the order coming up would be justified but the way this slump has gone, I thought it was a formality. Kill us already, forget it. Grisham struck out to lead things off and followed suit. Tatis Jr. had a disciplined at bat and drew a walk. Mind you, Nola is still out there pitching. So the narrative was very clearly, Nola pitches an absolute gem and the Padres are officially done-zo. Machado lined out on the first pitch to make it 2 outs with Tatis on first. 

And in steps Jake "the Rake" Cronenworth........





Absolute shock to the system. What a HEROIC swing of the bat by Jake Cronenworth. It reminded me a lot of the Caratini walk off home run on re-opening day earlier in the year. Look, it's one win but this is the type of event that can lead to momentum and getting things back on track. If the Padres lose that game we are done, finished, whatever you want to say it was over. And one win doesn't mean we're going to go to the postseason for sure but it does give us a little bit of light in the darkness. There are 42 days left until the regular season is over, so now is the time to use the Rake's lightning rod and get us back on track. Today's game is an absolute must win. If we win today, then the intensity of the Dodgers series is back. Maybe not what we expected, but in another way the intensity is back.

A win today and I'm all the way back in on this roller coaster. Here we go.


-Peanut



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bears Empty the Brinks Truck for New HC Ben Johnson

Image
  (photo is owned by Bleacher Report, we do not own the rights) This analysis based on the ESPN article (https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/43627047/nfl-bears-ben-johnson-coach-contract-caleb-williams) Are things finally changing in Halas Hall? On January 21, 2025, former OC of the Detroit Lions and offensive guru Ben Johnson became the new head coach for the Chicago Bears. If you had taken a poll when the head coaching carousel began, odds are the general belief was that the Bears were #1 not going to pay top market money to get the most sought after coach and #2 mess it up. But after the dust has settled it is clear that GM Ryan Poles, President Kevin Warren, & Chairman George McCaskey, were all in alignment to doing whatever it took to get Johnson to Chicago. This act serves as an anomaly when compared to all of the head coaches hired since Lovie Smith was fired in 2012. It has been a cycle of dysfunction and none more obvious than the most recent HC Matt Eberflus. He was n...
Read more

Back to the Basics: Build the Line

Image
  (Image is owned by the Chicago Tribune, we do not own the rights) The main focus that GM Ryan Poles needs to have going into the 2025 NFL Draft and free agency is addressing the offensive line. If last season taught us anything, it’s that shiny objects i.e. Caleb Williams, DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, Keenan Allen, & D’Andre Swift, are not enough to build sustainable success around. The big men in the trenches may not get the shine or glory, but they are what makes the wheel turn. In Caleb Williams rookie season, he was sacked 68 times which ties David Carr for the 3rd most ever in an NFL season. This is not a new concept to the Bears shortcomings as previous QB Justin Fields was sacked 55 times just 2 years ago in only 15 games played. In order for any offense to function efficiently, the quarterback needs time to operate. It's just that simple. With 3 selections in the top 41 of the upcoming NFL Draft, there should be no doubt which position group the Bears will be addressing. S...
Read more

The Padres Mess

Image
(photo is owned by 97.3 The Fan, we do not own the rights) If you would've told me on opening day that on 8/2 the Padres would be 53-55, 8.5 games out of 1st, and 5 games out of the last wild card spot, it would not have computed in my optimistic Padres fan brain. But here we are witnessing exactly that. To say this season has been frustrating to watch is an understatement on a colossal level. Whatever can go wrong, has gone wrong basically. Here's a breakdown of what has gone on for far too long:      Danny Vietti ⁦‪@DannyVietti‬⁩ San Diego Padres this season Extra-innings: 0-10 record -WORST IN MLB 1-run games: 6-18 record -WORST IN MLB (-6.62) FanGraphs Clutch Rating -WORST IN MLB .226 BA with RISP -WORST IN NL .217 BA in 7th inning or later -WORST IN MLB (10-16 record vs. current last place teams) pic.twitter.com/W97pV8nYlN   8/1/23, 2:27 AM     Whatever can go wrong, has gone wrong. To put it lightly it's been a TOUGH watch. A couple things that stand ...
Read more