A recent article from Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune caught the attention of the MLB world. The article called Machado and the Padres' leadership into question amid the team's 2023 abysmal season. Machado's former teammate Wil Myers defended him, and Machado himself addressed the article while talking to reporters Monday.

“Honestly, nothing to talk about the story,” Machado said, via 97.3 The Fan. “I don't think there's any good or bad publicity to keep doing on this story. Everyone is always going to have their own opinion. At the end of the day, we go out there and play to the best of our capabilities. I think at the end of the day that's what it is. A lot of quotes of that story were left out and everyone always has their own narrative that they're trying to persuade… the real point of this is we didn't play good baseball. I didn't play good baseball.

“We let a lot of people down in this city. But there's still 12 games left to make up to it.”

Manny Machado, Padres' difficult 2023 season

The Padres upset the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS and reached the NLCS before losing to the Philadelphia Phillies in 2022. Despite falling short of a World Series, many believed San Diego's future was bright. After bringing in no shortage of free agents this past offseason, the Padres were viewed as a World Series contender.

The wheels fell off in 2023 though. The Padres are currently on the outside looking in of not just the NL West, but the NL Wild Card. Their odds of reaching the playoffs are slim at the moment.

The Padres' 2023 frustrations have led some to question the team culture. Acee attacked the topic of San Diego's leadership uncertainty in his article.

“According to several veterans, what also does not exist is a team with a ‘winning culture' that doesn’t include the best players being the hardest workers and those players demonstrating in word and deed to the rest of the team what is expected and tolerated.

“To that end, several people maintain there is a leadership void in the Padres clubhouse — at least the kind of leadership the Padres need,” Acee wrote under a section called “The Manny.”

It's difficult to blame everything on Manny Machado. He's endured his share of ups and downs, but the fact is that this article wouldn't have ever happened if the team was winning. When a team falls short of expectations though, it's easy to blame the stars.

Manny Machado didn't necessarily fire back at Acee, but he did say everyone has “their own narrative.” Some people are big fans of Machado, while others can't stand him. There's no denying his talent, but it will be interesting to see what else comes of this recent drama.