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Craig Stammen was a reliever for the San Diego Padres long before he was their manager. By all accounts he was a beloved teammate who could relate to anyone on the roster no matter their age, background or nationality. He was the perfect teammate. Perhaps this is the reason it was so surprising that Stammen, who was assisting the Padres front office with managerial interviews before general manager A.J. Preller asked him to consider interviewing for the position, landed the job. Stammen went from being a teammate to the man in charge.
Padres fans were right to wonder if Stammen could assume the leadership role and get the most out of players he played with like Manny Machado and Joe Musgrove. That question has yet to be answered on the field with just 11 games played this season, but it is a storyline that will no doubt be watched and documented as the season progresses.
What we have seen so far under Stammen is the San Diego offense continues to struggle with run production and at times, the defense has been spotty. Of course, at this point in the season there is nothing to say that what we have seen from the Padres under Stammen is what they will be going forward, but like anyone in a new position, there are multiple areas where fans can and should expect improvement as the first-year manager settles into the new reality of being the one making decisions in the dugout rather than running in from the bullpen.
San Diego has played three series under Stammen and will complete the fourth against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday at 9:35 a.m. PST. The Padres dropped the first two series at home winning one game in each before taking two of three from the Boston Red Sox on the road. The series in Pittsburgh is tied 1-1 and San Diego has Michael King on the mound in the rubber match.
For this week’s Padres Reacts Survey Gaslamp Ball asks you to grade Stammen’s performance to this point in the season. There is a lot of time between now and 162, but everyone has an opinion on how things are going, so here is your chance to tell us yours. Results will be posted later in the week.
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