This has gotten far beyond the talking stage, for the lost and reeling Padres. After coughing up a home series Wednesday to the hapless Royals, the worst MLB team not named the A's, they're painfully and inexplicably tardy for the doing-it stage.
Stop taking first-pitch strikes in the heart of the plate, only to feebly swing through breaking balls an Uber ride out of the zone. Stop taking third strikes down the middle with bats double-parked on shoulders. Plate discipline, not so long ago, had been a weapon.
Stop making the basepaths the property of others. Stop running into brain-camp outs, especially when runs have become as precious as pearls. While you're at it, steal a few bases of your own. Remember how the Padres began 2022 under new manager Bob Melvin by feasting on smart, aggressive scampering?
Stop, as Melvin said in the ashes of a ninth loss in 11 games, feeling like the ones under pressure with a pitcher on the ropes. Crank up the heat. Dictate the terms. Wobble someone else's knees.
And more than anything: Play to your pay stubs.
"For the longest time, we've been saying that, 'Oh, we're gonna be fine' or 'This team's too good,' " veteran designated hitter Matt Carpenter said. "Well at some point, you just gotta go out and you got to do it. You can't talk about it anymore."
A, meet -men.
On one hand, it borders on insanity to think a big-league team can scrape a season's rocky bottom in May. Though baseball plays at the alter of overreaction, there still are 118 games to go and the Padres have played as badly on offense as imaginable.
Nowhere to go but up. Right?
Right?
They know that's not how this looks, though. They know that's not how this feels. They know how it sounds after boos rained down at Petco Park as the Royals could not believe their good fortune, winning a series against a payroll-engorged lineup in spite of themselves.
It's getting late early, as good ol' Yogi famously reminded. The Padres trail the Dodgers by eight games in the NL West. When's the last time that group gagged up a division lead of that size, no matter the date on the calendar?
"We have to clean it up, all aspects of the game," shortstop Xander Bogaerts said. "All."
Want to bench centerfielder Trent Grisham, despite his glove, slide Fernando Tatis Jr. to center and tinker with the corner spots to mine more offense? Fine with me.
Want to shuffle the top of the batting order like a Reno blackjack dealer? Fine, too. This team is one game from living in the division basement, after all.
The reality, though, is that it comes down to now-injured Manny Machado being Manny Machado, Juan Soto being Juan Soto, Bogaerts being Bogaerts and Tatis being Tatis. Things will fall in line from there if and when that happens.
As of now, though, Padres hitters maddeningly freeze when scoring opportunities arrive. True contenders and bonafide playoff teams salivate and pounce.
"I know the fans have a certain expectation for us," pitcher Joe Musgrove said. "Obviously we feel when the life in the stadium isn't there. When you hear the boos, that makes us very aware of where we stand in the eyes of our fans right now.
"We're not performing to our capabilities."
Has the team brimming with career superstars heard and believed too much about its can't-miss potential? Are players counting wins before they're won or large cakes before they're baked?
I asked Melvin if it's possible the rosy forecasts for the Padres, truly national and seemingly unanimous for the first time after a run to the NLCS, have gotten their claws into this group.
"I would have said early on, no," Melvin said. "But I think there are expectations from Day 1, and the farther we go into this, maybe there is something to that, that guys are trying to do a little bit too much."
The rational approach is to check off boxes. Solid defense? Check. Starting pitching? For the most part, check. Bullpen? More often than not, check — especially considering injuries to Robert Suarez, Nabil Crismatt and others. Are preseason contenders like the Phillies, Mets and Cardinals struggling? Check, check and check.
Again, though, this feels different.
"Of course, there's frustration," Tatis said.
Early on, some of the in-flight turbulence could be attributed to the quality of teams, pitchers faced and relentless run of games. Out of the gates, some of the stumbles could be attributed to how many Padres played in the World Baseball Classic, robbing on-field cohesion normally cemented in the spring.
Not now. Not anymore.
The Padres have slipped four games under .500, the low-water mark of the season. They've drifted behind the Giants and into fourth place in the West. They lost a home series to the Royals, who came in with 12 wins and a $157-million payroll deficit.
Meanwhile, the boos echo.
"I don't blame them," Machado said. "I mean, we're not playing well right now."
The team with the big bank and bigger expectations is being tested, May or not. Many are being paid to respond in salty situations exactly like this.
"We have a target on our back," Bogaerts said. "Nobody feels sorry for you in the end."
Stop the losses? Start hitting.
That's the doing-it part.
