Padres fans are sick of watching Mike Shildt sabotage their team's NL West hopes

Just a few days ago, it seemed like the San Diego Padres had everything in front of them. The bold moves AJ Preller made at last month's trade deadline were working like gangbusters, and his team had ridden a revamped lineup and high-octane bullpen to nine wins in 12 games and sole possession of first place in the NL West.

Unfortunately, Preller can only acquire the ingredients. He needs his manager to actually cook the meal — and right now Mike Shildt is doing his best to burn the food and set the kitchen on fire.

The Padres have now lost four in a row, and one of Preller's marquee acquisitions, former Baltimore Orioles slugger Ryan O'Hearn, has made just nine of 14 starts since coming over to San Diego on July 31. He's consistently sat against left-handed pitching, despite the fact that he's actually been better against lefties than righties so far this season.

He was sitting once again on Monday night against San Francisco Giants southpaw Robbie Ray ... until the seventh inning, that is, when San Diego bench coach Brian Esposito — filling in for Shildt after the skipper had been ejected earlier in the game for arguing a questionable fan interference call — called on O'Hearn to pinch hit. The result? A two-run homer, of course.

Unfortunately, it was too little too late in a 4-3 loss that kept the Padres two games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the division. Shildt was asked about his questionable lineup construction after the game. His response won't do a whole lot to placate a furious fan base; in fact, Shildt more or less refused to acknowledge that there was any problem at all.

Preller could not have gone more all-in; he and the Padres have darn near everything riding on the next couple of months. They can't afford any missteps, much less a manager who doesn't seem to know how to put his most competitive nine on the field consistently. It's threatening to unravel what was shaping up to be a dream season, and all of San Diego has had enough.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.

Mike Shildt's lineup decisions are costing the Padres their shot at the NL West

Padres fans had really started to believe that this year would be different, that the team finally had enough to unseat the hated Dodgers atop the division and get back to the World Series for the first time since 1998. Another sweep at the hands of L.A. has them looking for someone to blame, and it doesn't help that Shildt has made himself such an easy target. The whole point of Preller's deadline splurge was to give his manager optionality; instead, Shildt has chosen to just stick his head in the sand and ride with his same old guys.

You know things are bad when fans on the internet can clearly see what a Major League manager apparently can't.

Maybe this was the wake-up call that Shildt needed. Maybe he'll make O'Hearn a true everyday player from here on out, giving the Padres a deep lineup one through nine (assuming Jackson Merrill can come back quickly from injury). But it doesn't inspire a ton of confidence in Shildt's ability to push the right buttons come playoff time, and that's bad news for a team that's World Series or bust.