Padres trying not to make waves, lose to Giants, 3-1

"I think the most important thing," said a Padres player who asked not to be identified. "Is to not stir up too much trouble for other teams. That's why we gotta figure on losing the whole way out."

After the Padres lost again to the Giants in unimpressive fashion, most of the Padres felt similar sentiments. Said one Padres coach, "If we beat the Giants, then it's like we're helping the Diamondbacks, but if we don't beat the Giants, then it's like we're helping the Giants! It's a no-win situation, so we've decided to just let the other team decide how they want the game to turn out. Tonight it was the Giants, so we let them decide what they want to do. When we played the Diamondbacks it was the same way. This way everybody likes us."

Indeed, the 2011 Padres rallying cry of "Just Don't Hurt Us, Physically" is a far far cry from the 1983 rally of, "We're the San Diego Padres and we're mad as hell", a rally that preceded the 1984 World Series season. Most new Padres have a hard time believing that such a sentiment was ever the case in San Diego.

An anonymous Padres infielder commented on the '83 slogan, saying, "People felt that way in San Diego? Why would you get mad? When you let the other guy kick you in the ass, what's there to be mad about? You've achieved the mutual goal. A foot in your ass and the other guy kicking it."

The Giants, to their credit, have been very appreciative. One Giants front office staffer noted the Padres 10 game collapse towards the end of the 2010 season. "They were real helpful last year and that got us to the World Series. I know they're doing their best to just roll over and be pathetic this season, but it might not be enough. Oh well. There's always next year."