Everything's going wrong at the worst time for the San Diego Padres. They've lost seven of their last nine games, including the last two agains the St. Louis Cardinals, the very team they're chasing in the Wild Card race.
Tempers flared in the fifth inning of the Padres' latest loss to the Cards. Fernando Tatis Jr. struck out looking and was furious about the call. In an attempt to take the heat off his star player, manager Jayce Tingler argued with the umpire and was subsequently ejected. The Padres were up 2-0 at that point, eventually blowing the lead late to fall 2-3.
Manny Machado went at Tatis Jr. at the Padres dugout, hurling expletives to emphasize that he needs to be thinking more about the team and not put them at risk like that.
https://twitter.com/joe_yancey3/status/1439396650712289282?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1439396650712289282%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Flarrybrownsports.com%2Fbaseball%2Fvideo-manny-machado-confronts-fernando-tatis-jr-padres-dugout%2F584135
Neither Tatis nor Machado were available to the media after the game. The ejected Padres manager spoke on their behalf, emphasizing that the veteran third baseman was actually exhibiting good leadership to keep the young Tatis accountable.
Via Dennis Lin of The Athletic:
“I would say Manny’s done a good job with all his leadership throughout the year,” Tingler said, reiterating that he would not get into details. “But I would say Manny being able to share his experience and share his past experiences of coming up in the league is a good thing.
Manny Machado hasn't had the best reputation when it comes to leadership and being mature as a player. But his reaction against Fernando Tatis Jr. was breathing fire towards a worthy cause.
I know people will take the angle of “Machado is a bad teammate”…but you couldn’t be more wrong here. This was a leadership move. Let’s not forget FTJ is still 22. A phenomenal player, but still a lot to learn. Tatis can’t get tossed in the 5th inning of a game they need to win.
— Will Middlebrooks (@middlebrooks) September 19, 2021
The Padres are in dire straits, with every game possibly being the one that makes or break their playoff chances. Fans can only hope that this flare up makes them stronger towards the final stretch of the MLB season.
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