Pete Crow-Armstrong didn’t try to dress it up after the Chicago Cubs were swept by the San Diego Padres in the NL Wild Card series. The 24-year-old knew the bat never got going, and he said as much after a frustrating finish for a team that entered October hoping to make some noise.
The Cubs were held in check on both sides of the ball throughout the series, but the offense was the biggest problem. Chicago’s bats went quiet when it mattered most, and Crow-Armstrong was part of that shutdown. He finished 0-for-7 with four strikeouts and only reached base once, then added a stolen base after that walk.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Crow-Armstrong didn’t hide from the performance. “We were challenged this year,” Crow-Armstrong said, per The Athletic.
“This team showed a lot of heart and a lot of fight through all the challenges. But I would say, to start: I show up.
I show up when it matters in these games. That would help us immediately.
But that’s all I got right now.”
He added, “You can look at the scoreboard, you can look at the stat sheet, wherever you get your numbers from, and it is clear to see that I didn’t contribute.”
That kind of blunt self-assessment has long been part of Crow-Armstrong’s makeup. He’s not the sort to dodge responsibility, and this series gave him plenty to answer for. It stands in sharp contrast to what he did during the regular season, when he finished with 45 home runs and a .943 OPS.
But none of that carried over into the postseason, and this series will sit with him for the rest of the offseason.
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Padres Owner Just Added Heat To A Rivalry Fans Already Feel
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Craig Stammen was asked about the bigger-picture possibility of a playoff meeting with the Dodgers, but he kept the focus where it needed to be. The Padres manager steered the conversation back to the next series and the Milwaukee Brewers, which remains the immediate task in front of the club. Even so, the moment was another reminder that when these two organizations are anywhere near the same October conversation, the edge never stays quiet for long. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Enter Padres Series With One Flaw Fans Can't Ignore
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For the Padres, the matchup offers a clear opening. San Diegos lineup brings more power, and its pitching gives it the kind of balance that can stress a team built more on run prevention than long-ball damage. If Milwaukees offense cant produce enough thump, especially in the kind of tight October games that define a short series, this could turn into the kind of flaw that decides everything. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Fans Have Heard This Kind Of Manager Backing Before
The Padres have changed managers plenty of times in the last seven seasons, but the common denominator has stayed the same: A.J. Preller. Through four different skippers, San Diego has still managed five postseason trips in that span, and now Craig Stammen is the latest to get the kind of public backing that has accompanied this job before.
Stammen is hardly a stranger to the organization, having spent most of the past decade in different roles around the club, and Prellers support has centered on the traits that matter most in a dugout and clubhouse. Accountability and leadership are the qualities he singled out, the kind of language that suggests the front office sees something sturdier here than the usual short-term vote of confidence. The question, as always in San Diego, is whether this one lasts longer than the others. [Read more 🡒]