PHOENIX — Right-hander James Shields is confident that San Diego can contend this season. Why wouldn’t he be? He has seen it happen.
Kansas City was 48-50 and eight games behind AL Central leader Detroit the week after the All-Star break last season, Shields’ first season with the Royals, before a team meeting sparked a 25-9 run that got them back into the playoff chase. We all know what happened when the Royals made the playoffs.
Shields and Tampa Bay were 9 1/2 games back in the AL East with three weeks remaining in the 2011 season before recovering to clinch a wild card berth on the wild final day of the regular season.
“I think almost every year in Tampa we had something different. It was crazy,” Shields said. “I always believe that teams go through really good stretches three times a year. The good news for us, we haven’t had ours yet.”
The Padres are 34-38, in fourth place in the NL West and ahead of only Colorado with three weeks remaining before the All-Star break. The middling start cost manager Bud Black his job, with Pat Murphy taking over as interim manager Tuesday.
“It’s kind of cliche, but we do have a long season to play,” Shields said. “We are not happy with the way we are playing right now, but I’ve been in way worse situations. We’ve just got to clean it up a little bit and move forward.
“It’s a process. Any good team will tell you, you have to stick to your process, and if you stick to your process it will be good at the end of the day. If you try to change it up, it doesn’t work. At the beginning of the year we had a goal, we had a plan. We’re going to stick to it and go for it.”