[editor's note, by Dex] I wrote this last night (9/27) just in case the yesterdays, todays, and tomorrows read weird.
A lot of negativity around the Gaslamp Ball the last 24 hours, and much of it was from me. I admit it. Losing last night's game just seemed like such a blatant lack of guts from our team that I could hardly take it. It was a punch in the stomach. A kick in the crotch.
That being said, I do take exception to commenters who say that we're fairweather. Ain't nothing fairweather about wearing Padres cap day in and day out. Watching every game. Begging to see more playing time for Nady. Elation with every win and a broken heart after every loss. That's basically just being diehard.
A fair-weather fan is defined in the New Dickson Baseball Dictionary as "A fan who roots for or supports a team only when it is doing well or challenging for the pennant". That's hardly the case here.
I'll admit it. I'm not some sort of Happy Times Robot. I may be a pretty positive guy, but this season has been an extreme test in remaining positive. Maybe if I just read the box scores every morning, it would be easier to take, but actually seeing 14 men left on base in the course of a game is brutal. Watching leadoff doubles regularly get stranded is an inherently negative experience.
Maybe in a perfect world, we'd let every loss just slide off our backs like water on teflon. But let's face it, if we did that, we'd be Cubs fans. And the Cubs are perfectly happy to put together bridesmaid teams because Cubs fans are perfectly happy to have them. (no offense, Smooth Jazz Man) As Padres fans, we still have hope for something more. Unfortunately, first place with a losing record in a division as bad as ours is a situation that's very difficult to fully cope with. Of course we're happy to be in first place. But there are likely more than a few AAA teams that could've achieved first place in our division, and a losing record means that more often than not, we as fans are going home bummed.
Well, it's almost over now. A Padres win today let's us breath just a little bit easier. I'd really like for the clincher to happen tomorrow night. Once we're in the postseason, I'm sure we'll all be happier campers.
Filed under: