Padres News: Manny Machado Refuses to Address Media After 3rd Straight Loss
The 2022 San Diego Padres squad lived and died by Manny Machado. After an up-and-down first part of his MLB career where he established himself as one of the brightest stars in Baltimore, he was then traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers and rolled with them for about half a season into a World Series appearance but the fit wasn't the best.
Then the Padres and him were able to connect and it eventually became a match made in heaven. He was one of the first to receive a huge contract that Peter Seidler and the rest of the Friars' front office started handing out over these past couple of years and it only grew bigger with his extension this past offseason. And Machado deserved it... he willed last year's team to the NLCS on his back and was a finalist for the NL MVP.
However, due to him becoming the unquestioned leader and the heart and soul of this clubhouse, right now is when they need him the most and I'm not even talking from a numbers standpoint. June is about to wrap up and he's batted .290 to go with 14 RBI's and a .796 OPS this month. Is there room for improvement? Sure, their problems extend beyond him and his defense has been elite as always.
The Padres just lost their second straight game to the Pirates, who are second to last in the NL Central division, and now boast a record of 37-42 on the year. I understand that postgame interviews have not been the most fun this year and Machado, along with the rest of the stars, are tired of giving the same answers whenever they lost.
But with San Diego clearly needing some life in them right now and a voice of encouragement and guidance, Machado stating that he does not have time for his media session on Tuesday is certainly a bad look. The Friars held a team-only meeting just a couple of days ago and rumors have been spiraling that tensions are starting to brew in the locker room... there have been no legit signs of this but Manny skipping his interview is odd.
Maybe he actually did not have time to talk. After all, it's important to remember that baseball players are humans too and have responsibilities outside of just their main job. However, Machado knows that his role on this team means that sometimes he has to bite the bullet and lead by example. The whole team is frustrated, everybody hates losing to teams that the Friars have no business playing down to their levels.
And that is why something as simple as answering a few questions from the beat writers and reporters goes a long way.
