SHILDT SAYS: Discussing Cronenworth, the Reds Running Game, Being Swept by the Phillies. Tatis, Baseball Cards and Profar Leading Off
Padres’ manager Mike Shildt spent much of Monday’s pre-game media session talking about the Reds running game (specifically Elly De La Cruz) and the Padres’ running game strategy and getting swept by the Phillies over the weekend.
“We need to make sure we keep De La Cruz off the bases,” said Shildt. “He has a combination of speed and power that is pretty impressive. He clearly does a nice job on the bases. Keeping him off the bases is going to be important … keeping him close and giving ourselves a chance because he’s going to run.”
Shildt on baseball’s record-pace of stolen base successes: “We study the running game and the prevention of the running game a lot. Baseball a couple of years ago to make sure we got some of the athleticism back into the game. A part of that was the stolen base. Fans were polled and 81 percent wanted more stolen bases in the game and that the most exciting thing in the game was the stolen base. So, they started creating the structure around reducing engagements and also created the bigger bases to allow the success rate of 80 percent last year and 81 percent early this season.
“I think it’s also a combination of … generally speaking, pitchers are trying to get more stuff on their pitches … so their awareness of their time to the plate isn’t as dramatic. It’s more about the pitch to the plate, which I understand, which gives more opportunity to players who like to run to run.”
Shildt on the Padres’ running-game strategy: “We’re looking to run as well. I think we’ve demonstrated that. We’re an aggressive team. The metric is not just the stolen base — it’s first-to-third and second-to-home, first-to-home — we’re a top-five base running team. But there is a value to the out. We want to make sure we’re not running just to run, that we’re running to make sure we’re safe.”
Shildt then discussed being swept over the weekend by the Philadelphia Phillies.
“I think the weekend was a combination of things,” said Shildt. “The Phillies are a really good team. They’ve been to a World Series and were a win away from another one last year. And then they were playing their best baseball when you think about all the components that goes into a game. We talk pretty consistently here about that’s how you win games. You got great starting pitching, they played super clean defensively with the exception of one ball in the eighth Sunday. And their lineup was taking good at-bats regardless of where it was. They got homers from almost everywhere. They have a really good, talented team that did everything well from an executing standpoint.
“That’s going to be a challenge and we have to continue to match that. Having said that, we’ve played really good teams and won multiple series. It’s going to come down to us playing well against tough opponents and doing it consistently. We put on a clinic defensively and didn’t win a game. All I can say from our standpoint is that’s a huge win. Now let’s figure out how to have a few more shut-down innings, a few more consistent at-bats. Looking at the latest report, we’re a top-10 offensive team. We’re getting good at-bats and doing a lot of good things. We just have to put it together and be consistent. That’s what it comes down to and that’s what the playoffs are about. We have to do that consistently to be the playoff team we expect to be.”
Shildt on Fernando Tatis Jr.’s latest highlight play in right field on Sunday: “I have to change my seat in the dugout. I just got through watching that play again. I just love athleticism and great plays. He’s clearly on his way to another Platinum Gold Glove. But where I stand in the dugout — I have two great coaches that I love and I get to talk with and manage the game with. But I can’t see one of the most exciting players in the game in right field unless I run out on the field and start watching. So, I have to re-adjust where I watch from. But what a special talent.
“We talked in our coaching meeting today about what we’re doing well and what we need to improve upon. Looking back on the last series, wow, all the little things … we played as clean defensively. As for the Tatis play, that’s nothing fundamentally. That’s a great athlete making a play. It was really fun.”
Shildt on Jake Cronenworth’s improvement from 2023: “I give Jake a lot of credit for not only having the year he’s having this year, offensively and defensively, but having the awareness after last year to look at himself and decide ‘OK, what needs to change’ and then figuring out what the solution is and going out and executing it. I’m really impressed and he’s in a really good place.”
Shildt talked about collecting baseball cards as a kid: “I collected the heck out of baseball cards. I’d like to have some of the trades I made back. I did OK on some. I was always collecting Orioles because I grew up an Orioles guy. So, I feel I gave up some deals. Baseball cards are being sold for a lot of money. They’re collectables. I found myself in the off-season as a kid playing with them. I’d put them in order, arrange them by teams. I’d put them in batting orders. I was kind of a geek like that.
“There are some tangibles about collecting them, but it’s also like they were fun at times. There were some fun ones and interesting ones. They spurred memories and then there’s the facts about the players. You look at them and say ‘ahh man, that guy struck out as may times as he homered.’ Cards are part of the romance of the game for me. They were pretty good. And the gum was OK, too. I chewed a lot of that gum.”
Shildt on Jurickson Profar hitting in the lead-off slot: “When a guy is taking good at-bats, regardless of where you put him, you can put him in the lead-off spot. But ultimately, you want a lineup of guys taking good at-bats and it shouldn’t matter as much as to where they’re hitting. For example, yesterday (Xander) Bogaerts wasn’t leading off … but he led off two innings. I like the fact that Profar is taking good at-bats against righties and lefties. He’s working walks and getting big hits. But it’s about guys taking good at-bats.”
Shildt on Yu Darvish’s status and Tuesday’s starting pitcher: “We’ll announce Tuesday’s starter after the game tonight. Darvish is in a good place.”
Shildt on Manny Machado starting a second straight game at third: “Maybe it’s a hair sooner than we projected. We had his schedule in pencil. It’s partially the turn-around of a day game to a night game and how he felt after yesterday. He said let’s do it. There’s a lot of positivity to it.”
Shildt on using Eguy Rosario over Luis Campusano at designated hitter: “Rosario also homered the other day, too. It creates a little more versatility for our lineup for matchups. We can have Graham (Pauley) or (Tyler) Wade pinch-hit if they go to the right-hander later. If you do that with Campusano, you lose the designated hitter. And it also creates the possibility for Campy to come in later as he did yesterday.”
