Padres Fan Confidence Poll

After a half-season of baseball in the books, the Padres are currently 38-50 and sit in 4th place in the NL West, 4 games ahead of the imploding Giants. While many in the Padres fanverse knew what to expect this season (Team Tank) others are already kicking and screaming in the backseat, wanting the 2015 offseason DVD put back in the player. It’s tough to be a fan when the blueprint for success won’t bear fruit for another couple years, if that. Not every prospect will shake out to become a major leaguer, let alone a superstar. We have tons of talent on the farm, however...and plenty of players who could make a splash in the coming years.

So tell me...how do you really feel?

Very Confident - Team Tank all the way!

You’re ok with the losses and subpar play on field because you have your eyes on the prize: those awesome prospects tearing up the minors and developing into future Padres. There’s a reason why we have A.J. at the helm: he knows how to pick ‘em, and these kids on the farm are gonna make the Padres competitive and World Series contenders! Shop Hand (and whoever else), load the farm, let’s tank and get higher draft picks! 2020 is only 3 years away...

Confident - I want high draft picks, but I also want to win...

You like the idea of getting the top players in the coming drafts, but...who knows if those players will really shake out to be worth their pick? Hitting somewhere in the top 5-10 should be enough; in the meantime, let’s field a competitive team and find out which of the minor league kids in AA/AAA can play in the bigs. We may not win them all, but let’s at least try to!

Negative - Real teams don’t tank.

You agree with Nick Canepa: real teams don’t tank for draft position. They take the best of the crop they have on the farm and supplement with veterans. Spend money on free agents. Take the best player available at whatever draft position you have. Trade one or two players from the loaded farm for a veteran presence. Make the team as competitive as possible and make winning the constant goal instead of a pipedream based on lottery ticket minor leaguers. You wouldn’t mind seeing a Zach Cosart or Mike Moustakas signed next offseason: not a huge name in the loaded 2018 class, but a contributor.

Upset - Enough losing and all this farm stuff! I want to win now!

You really don’t like this whole tank talk. Losing on purpose is an asinine idea. Development of players takes way too long and doesn’t always result in the players you need to win the ultimate prize. It’s time to trade those so-called valuable future players to field a true team of major league talent who will win games now. Let the other teams wait years for those players to develop slowly. A veteran roster sprinkled with a little homegrown talent will win a World Series. You want to see the team open up that pocketbook and try to sign a Bryce Harper or Manny Machado next year. Yu Darvish would make an awesome ace.

Indifferent - Tank, no tank...I just want to win.

There’s a reason why A.J. Preller and Andy Green were hired: to make the team win no matter what. You don’t care about the vagaries of behind the scenes and on the farm. You just want the Padres to win baseball games and win the World Series, whichever way works.

Time to make a choice: which option do you best feel fits your confidence in the Padres on-field product? Do you feel one way but have a better way to describe it or a different reasoning behind your pick? Let’s talk it out.