I watched the Padres game last night. Soto is 2 for his last 27, both singles. His at bats were ugly last night. One time he had a 3-0 count and took two very hittable strikes before grounding out on a 3-2 pitch. I was watching the Arizona feed and they said the walks are great but at this point the Padre fans want to see him swing the bat when he gets a fat pitch ahead in the count. In the 8th he came up with 1st and 3rd 1 out with the Padres down 5-4. He struck out on three pitches.
In an interview Soto said:
“The challenge is just going from a team that doesn’t care about anything because they know they don’t go anywhere to a team that has a really good chance to win the World Series,” Soto said, as quoted by Acee. “That changes everything from one day to another.”
This next in the article:
While a harsh assessment of his former club, Soto spoke at different points this season about the pressure he put on himself trying to carry a struggling Nationals offense as the losses piled up. During his introductory press conference with the Padres, he shared that “to go from a team that has no chance to come all the way here, it's a great feeling.”
My take, you have protection with Machado behind you, stop crying about challenges and play ball.
